What You Need to Know Before Entering a Grocery Store
According to the great Michael Pollan, we should only eat foods that eventually rot. To elaborate, food processing began as a way to extend the shelf life of food by protecting it from fungi, bacteria, insects and rodents. The more processed a food is, the longer the shelf life, and the less nutritious it becomes. Real food is alive and eventually dies!
So how can you bring this new knowledge into the grocery store? Try shopping the peripheries of the supermarket.
Most of the immortal food-like substances in the supermarket are found in the middle aisles, while the fresh food, such as produce, meat, fish and dairy typically line the walls. Shopping JUST the peripheries is easier said than done—I know. So, when you’re browsing the middle aisles for things like cereal or crackers, be aware of the following techniques used by grocery stores to encourage consumers to make certain purchases:
The eye-catching end of the aisle displays, which are designed to draw the consumer down an aisle.
The eye-level product placements using higher profile brands.
The “unreachable shelves” where no-name products are often located.
These are just some examples of subliminal marketing techniques, which drives me crazy!
Just to reiterate-–we do need to browse the middle aisles! But when we do, just remember that the more processed the food is, the less nutritious it is. Conversely, the less processed the food is, the more nutritious they’ll be…and the further in the peripheries they’ll be found in the supermarket (just kidding on the last one).
Here are some healthy shopping tips:
Plan your menu around Canada’s Food Guide and promotional fliers from the store.
Make a shopping list in order of the grocery store layout, and stick to the list when shopping.
Buy locally.
And lastly, shop the perimeter.
As a side note – I also think it’s great to get out of the supermarket whenever you can. At markets like farmer’s markets or quays, you won’t find any elaborately processed food products with unpronounceable ingredients. What you will find is fresh, easily recognizable food that will rot. For more information on farmer’s markets check out this site: www.eatlocal.org
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Image courtesy of AleksandarPasaric
