Last week, I was invited to attend a Shopping Sense tour at IGA to learn about choosing healthier, budget-wise food options for my family. Global TV’s on camera dietitian Melodie Yong walked us through the store and shared some great tips on healthy shopping choices. A few of my favourites are:
- plan weekly menus and shopping from a list makes it easy and affordable to make healthy choices in the grocery store
- spend the most time on the perimeter of the store where you will find fresh produce, meat, dairy, and bread and less time in the aisles where you find mostly processed foods.
- purchase a cooked barbecue chicken from the store and use that to cut up into portions that can be sent in lunches instead of deli meats that are high in fat and sodium.
- make your own cookies and muffins at home.
- for yogurt, choose plain greek yogurt with a low level of fat and add your own fruit for flavour
- for milk, choose skim milk unless your child is under age 2
- choosing local in season produce and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables is the key to a healthy diet of fruits and veggies
- whether to buy organic or not buy organic is a personal choice. Organic is expensive and may not fit in your budget regardless
- serve one orange vegetable per day
I am happy to report that everyone can go on the Shopping Sense virtual tour which was recently launched on HealthyFamilies BC to learn lots more tips from Melodie.
The virtual tour also includes some great tools that I am definitely going to check out:
- An easy Meal Planner and Pantry Planner
- Food safety tips
I am happy to be giving away a $100 IGA gift card provided by the Healthy Families BC team who put on this event. Please use the rafflecopter entry form below to enter by March 23 and tell your friends! BC residents only for this one.
Full Disclosure: I received a grocery store gift card in exchange for attending the tour and blogging about my Shopping Sense experience. The blog post is written by me and expresses my thoughts and opinions.
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Meal planning using a calendar is key! I’ve never been able to stick to it, but this has re-inspired me to try!
Planning – Get Organized. Plan Ahead. Make a List
thanks for sharing 🙂
I like the reminder to shop around the edge of the store for healthier groceries.
Make a list before you go
Get organized, plan ahead, and make a list are great tips.
That kids and adults don’t get enough produce a day.
I love that they have links for getting started on meal planning etc. That was my new years resolution, but I still haven’t started.
I like the tip on fats and oils. Fat has been given such a bad name, people forget that it’s important to make sure we include a little bit of fat in our diets to remain healthy.
I like the little videos since I’m already a big list maker and menu planner.
I like the little videos as I’m already a big menu planner and list maker
I like the meal planning ideas. I keep meaning to try doing it, but time always seems to get away from me, haha.
Meal planning is a big one for me that is new. So far so good =)
Learnt that shopping when you’re hungry or tired can lead to impulse purchases.
Thanks for sharing the tips!
I like the idea of getting organized, planning ahead with weekly menus, and creating a shopping list.
I like the idea of shopping around the periphery of the store – healthier ingredients there!
Meal planning!
Shop the perimeter of the store first, starting with the produce section.
Definitely putting time into meal planning!
Shopping perimeter of the store like the produce part first. Healthiest foods to be found in perimeter.
I like the suggestion of shopping the perimeter of the store first.
Meal planning is the way to go.
Learning portion sizes of meat & poultry
I like the tip of making a list beforehand!
Planning meals ahead of time and shopping with a list is the best tip!
making lists and meal planning
I like the tip of making a weekly meal plan and then writing a shopping list based on the meal plan. I also like to buy local fruits and veggies when possible.
Thanks for sharing!!!
I am always looking for new ideas to trim our grocery budget. Thanks ka for the Blogger Lori!!!
Love a good meal plan- ok really I’m lost without meal planning these days!
i have to meal plan or i am lost!
Thank you so much for the chance to win
All the info on meal planning is great–we really need to start doing this…
Meal planning helps a lot for the week,not to mention saving a bit.
Making a list and checking it twice!