Holiday grocery shopping tips that keeps your eye on healthy foods

Getting ready to hit the grocery store for the various ingredients you will need to create your special holiday meal.  This can be a bit overwhelming because of the increased amounts of advertising and enticing displays that will be calling to you...and many of them higher priced and not so nutritious.

The best way to avoid unnecessary purchases and less nutritious foods is to have a strategy.  We ran across this great article that gives you 50 key points to buying the healthiest foods and staying within your budget.  Here are some key points to help you get started.

The key to success is:

Have a strategy when shopping this will really help you stay focused.

• buy healthy items first
• don't shop while you are hungry (otherwise, you want to buy everything!)
• avoid the end aisles
• look up and look down since grocery stores put their items they want to promote right at eye level

• fresh foods are best, they don't need a label because you know what you are getting
• avoid foods with long ingredients and ingredients that you can't pronounce (that is not real food)
• read the food labels and compare
• look at the amount of sugar and fat on labels
• don't believe everything you read on the front of the package, these are mostly marketing claims, read the food label to get the facts

• look for in-season produce
• be choosy, buy organic for the the foods you eat most

• look for 100% whole grains
• choose low fat dairy
• buy 100% fruit juice
• buy fresh fruits and vegetables in-season

• print a free grocery list organized by food groups for your holiday shopping

Other Shopping Resources:

Holiday Recipes Cookbook for Kids Print your free Holiday Cookbook for kids. We picked our favorite healthy fun recipes that kids will be sure to enjoy cooking. This is our special gift to you and a great way to get kids in the kitchen. Happy Holidays.

Healthy Holiday Guest Planning Sheet (Spanish version)

Holiday-themed Leftovers Labels (Spanish version)

Cook your Holiday Turkey germ-free! (Spanish version)

Healthy Holiday Food Substitution Guide (Spanish version) Organized by food group, find easy ways to make your favorite holiday meal healthier!

Holiday Grocery Shopping List (Spanish version) Organize your grocery list by food groups to make sure you have a healthy balanced holiday meal from all the food groups!

Holiday Cooking with Kids Simple steps to bringing the kids into the kitchen during the holidays.

How to prepare Healthier Holiday Snacks and Desserts Article with helpful tips on how to make those holiday treats and sweets healthier.