Mindful eating or eating healthy is the topmost priority for every individual, but the first step to any form of Mindful eating is Mindful shopping.
During this pandemic, when most of us are working remotely, we are eating whatever is available at home, and most of them are either packed or processed food. Hence, we are seeing a lot of altered nutrition behavior. We must understand that what we eat, affects our health. What we stock up in kitchen, we mostly end up eating everything.
Now let’s walk the market aisle together and understand how we can get to mindful shopping and eventually eat mindfully. Successful planning is the key for smart and healthy shopping. So,
Plan a complete balanced diet by keeping in mind the Macro and Micro-Nutrients.
Carbohydrates provides the energy for functioning of our body. The brain itself needs 20% of energy and it is the single largest organ which uses simple food energy.
Fats provides the long-term energy. Hence, increase the intake of fat-soluble vitamins such as, Vitamin A, D, E and K as they are pillars of our hormone system.
Proteins promotes growth and development by building and repairing body tissues. Even our hair needs protein.
Vitamins and Minerals (the micro-nutrients) from all fruits and vegetables are naturally rich in fiber and are high in antioxidant which plays a very big role in immunity building.
List down the food items you need at home for a week and stock up the kitchen. For this, you can refer your diet plan and create the shopping list according to the dishes mentioned. Include back-up ingredients on your list as it may help in case of unavailability of first choice items.
If possible, go for shopping after you have your meal or snack as it can avoid any fancy snack purchases.
Focus on sticking to the shopping list. Carry a hand basket instead of a cart.
Chose seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables as it has a better flavor. Moreover, they are comparatively cheaper. Focus on the colors, aromas and quality of the fruit and vegetables. Avoid special offers. If that item is not in your shopping list, do not buy.
Avoid panic buying!
Read the labels (nutritional values information) of the packed food items.
The product ingredients are listed with respect to quantity, that is, from highest to lowest. If the first ingredient is refined flour or sugar, the product will not provide nutrition. The best way to understand the goodness of the product is to read the first three ingredients of the product.
Be cynical about the product with a lengthy ingredient list as it suggests that the product is highly processed. Longer the shelf life, more the preservatives it will have.
Hence, if you keep the afore-mentioned points in mind, you will definitely succeed in Mindful shopping!
Do share your experience in the comments section below. Also, you can provide more inputs for this topic.
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