One of the biggest struggles that folks have is knowing how shop and choose the right foods when visiting the grocery store. And while there are SO many choices and a TON of confusion at your local grocer, they’ve actually made it really EASY for you to shop, if you know what sections to visit, and which to avoid.
In fact, I can get in and out of the grocery store with a full cart of fat-burning groceries in just 15 mins nowadays, simply because I know I’ll NEVER even visit 90% of the store aisles on most visits.
So, before we get into my exact grocery list, here’s my EASIEST grocery store tip EVER:
Shop the perimeter of the grocery store and avoid the middle aisles. That’s it!
Here’s why it works:
With few exceptions, the middle aisles of the grocery store are full of process packaged foods while the perimeter contains almost all of the whole, natural foods you’ll need to stock up your fat-burning kitchen.
Here’s my usual routine when visiting my local grocery store, and I’m sure your store is set up in a similar way.
When I walk in the door I make sure to walk right on past the bakery! Did you know that nearly every grocery store puts the bakery right at the entrance intentionally? If they can get your saliva glands working right away, it’s very likely you’ll spend more as you travel through the store…nothing in a grocery store’s layout is by accident, which is why I know your store is probably laid out the same way.
So, quickly pass by the bakery and head straight to the produce section…this is where wholesome goodness starts…fresh fruits & veggies. In my most recent trip, here are the items I grabbed from the produce section:
Apples
Oranges
Bananas
Cherries
Berries
Green Beans
Brocolli
Sugar Snap Peas
Carrots
Red Potatoes
Spinach
Romaine Lettuce
Of course there are a ton of other great choices lying around the produce section…pretty much any vegetable and/or fruit would be a great fat-burning, nutrient-rich choice.
I then walk 5 steps from the produce section to the fresh meats and poultry. At our grocery stores here in Florida (Publix) they have an “all natural” section of the meat department called Greenwise where you can get all-natural and organic meats that are sourced from animals not treated with hormones and antibiotics…your store probably has something like this as well. Just ask if you aren’t sure.
From this section I grabbed:
All Natural Chicken Sausage
Grass Fed Ground Beef
Grass Fed Chuck Roast (for pot roast)
Organic Chicken Breast
Grass Fed NY Strip Steaks
Next up is the milk and eggs section, again right on that back wall (still haven’t ventured into the aisles at all). From here I picked up:
Organic Large Eggs
Organic Butter
Organic Whole Milk
Along the very last aisle in the store are some more dairy items where I grabbed:
Organic Greek Yogurt
All-Natural Cheddar Cheese
Also in that last aisle is water, so I grabbed a case or two and that essentially took me back to the front of the store to check out. A full cart of fat-burning groceries all while NEVER visiting the center aisles where I’m sure I would have been tempted to toss in a bunch of processed garbage like cookies, crackers, chips, ice cream, cereal, stove top pasta “mixes”…and the list goes on.
If I do ever make a strategic trip into the middle of the store, it’s almost always to get these items:
Beans
Spices
Tomato Puree
Nuts
Stevia
And that’s about it.
Follow that simple advice next time you’re at the grocery store and you’ll be in and out in no time while avoiding all those processed items that wind up ruining your diet once you get them home.