Grocery Shopping Tips

Do you have NO idea what so ever what to look for when doing the groceries? Here are a few tips to help you at the supermarket

• Bread/bakery section: Rye, rye, rye! Buy rye bread and rye mountain bread wraps (these can be used in place of pastry too) If you or your kids dont like rye, wholemeal is fine too; i personally LOVE it, and make my own. Steer away from white bread/wraps, donuts, cakes, pastries ect
• Fruit & Vegetable (and nuts) section (or fruit/vegetable shop): BEST section! Load up your trolley with every type of fruit and vegetables in season. Buy organic if you can afford it. Sweet potatoes instead of white. Nuts are great in cooking and as snacks as they contain GOOD fats. Steer away from salted ones. Dried fruit is a no no! Full of sugar
• Meat & Deli section (or butcher): Make sure all meat is as lean/low fat as you can afford. Im not a big meat eater but i personally buy all my meat from Coles; extra lean/5 star ones. Sausages are a no no unless they are kangaroo ones. Organic chicken is best.
• Frozen/fridge section: When buying yoghurt, make sure its natural/greek. Dont buy kids yoghurt or other flavored ones, they are full of preservatives and sugar. Greek yoghurt has a pretty boring taste, but can be flavored with a whole heap of yummy clean foods/flavors. Dips are a no no, full of crap too (I will be posting up how to make clean dips soon) Always buy low fat block cheese/cottage cheese/ricotta/cheese spread. Frozen chicken nuggets/schnitzels are a no no, full of low quality meat (Will also be posting on how to make clean nuggets/schnitzels soon) seafood and fruit/vegetables that have been snap frozen are usually pretty good, but fresh is always best. I personally use frozen peas, beans and berries as we dont use enough before they go off. Frozen cakes/ice cream/pasties/pies/dim sims ect are a no no.
• Health food section/shop: I shop at Coles so im not sure what other supermarkets health food sections are like, Coles is ok but they dont have much, i personally go to our local health food shop. It will depend on your budget/tastes to what you buy here, but i personally buy quinoa, rye flour, agave, apple cider vinegar, coconut butter/oil, chia seeds, green tea tablets (or green tea, i take the tablets as i dont like the taste of green tea) fish oil tablets (a MUST!) and cacao... thats all i can think of off the top of my head, you can buy nuts/flours and more there but i find the organic/simple range at coles is fine, especially when on a budget :)
• Other sections: Tinned fruits are usually ok if they are in natural syrup, but again, fresh is best. Spreads are 95% of the time a no no! FULL of sugar. My boys still have Vegemite. If buying peanut/nut butter, buy from health food shop or Coles have natural peanut butter in the health food section, other one is full of crap. You can make your own nut butter too but nuts are expensive and it takes AGES to make, so its cheap enough to buy :) Sauces; NO! Wholemeal pasta and rice, not white. Tuna in brine/water, not in sauce or oil. If you or the kids drink juice, only use 100% juice, and dilute around 1:15 in water. Still has sugar, so its better to not have it but a little bit wont hurt. Energy drinks/soft drinks/cordial, no! Most biscuits are a no no, try to look for wholemeal, but still check for sugar (Will be posting clean biscuit recipes soon) Wholemeal rice cakes, not white. 85% dark choc or make your own HERE. Chips, no!

If i have missed anything or you have any questions please comment below :)

Jessica xx