Healthytarian Minutes with holistic teacher Evita Ochel. This episode teaches you how to navigate the grocery store in order to make the best food choices.

Learn how to eat an optimal diet for your health and weight with the Eat Real Food: Whole-Food, Plant-Based Eating online video program.

Video Transcript:

Healthy eating starts with healthy food choices, and there is no better place to start than at the grocery store. The advice shared in the past was to stick to the periphery or outer edges of the store, however this isn’t fully effective. Many processed and refined foods are found on the outer edges, where as many whole and natural foods can be found in the middle aisles.

Here is how to navigate the grocery store for the healthiest food choices:

Always start with the produce section, and fill your cart the most with foods found here, namely fresh fruits and vegetables. Follow the Clean 15 and Dirty 12 guidelines to help with organic options. Organic means the food is grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

If you visit the bakery department, pick a whole grain bread without added fats, oils, sugar or artificial additives or preservatives, and a sodium amount less than or equal to the number of calories. Avoid the numerous refined carbohydrate options available here.

If you visit the meat or seafood section, focus on organic, fresh and whole forms of these foods, and avoid the many processed ones.

If you visit the dairy and egg section, choose organic and plain versions of any dairy or non-dairy items you buy.

If you visit the frozen section, focus on plain and whole frozen foods, and avoid the numerous processed foods and prepared packaged meals in this section.

Visit the middle aisles only where whole, unprocessed foods exist to stock up on things like your dry beans and grains, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices.

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