Navigating the Supermarket: How to Make Nutritious Choices

Stepping into the supermarket can sometimes feel like an overwhelming experience, like entering a maze of choices. With countless products grabbing your attention, and uncertainties about what foods to choose, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. However, by gathering knowledge and strategies, you can navigate the aisles with more confidence and fill your trolley with nutritious options that support your health and well-being. In this guide, we’ll explore some practical tips for your next supermarket trip.  

Planning:  

A classic! But one of the most effective strategies for ensuring you only end up with what you intended in your trolley (or at least close to it!), feel less overwhelmed, and (potentially) save some extra money. An important step here is to consider what day/time of the week works best for you to do your supermarket shop. For some, the weekend makes sense, but for others, grabbing groceries while the kids are at sports practice on a Tuesday is more time-efficient and effective! 

1. Check what staples you’ve already got. Check whether you’ve got any leftover vegetables in the fridge that need to be used up. This is an important step in saving money and reducing food waste! You can then look for recipes that contain these ingredients or consider how you could add them to recipes.  
2. Get out your favourite cookbooks, find your go-to foodie Instagram account or blog, or think of your go-to meals. Flick through and bookmark your favourite recipes. Consider what you usually have for breakfast, lunch, and snacks too – if you need inspiration here, search online for some recipes (or better yet, book a consult for tailored advice 😉).  
3. Write them down on a piece of paper, and then consider how they might fit within your week. On busy days, you might like to choose something quick and easy. Whereas on days you’ve got extra time, you may like to try something new.  
4. Once you’ve got a bit of a plan – copy them into our Printable Meal Planner, which you can download here for free.  
5. Now you’ve got that part sorted. Look at what you’ve already got in the pantry and fridge again and plan your shopping list accordingly. Don’t forget those extras you might need e.g., fruit, carrots for carrots and hummus, dark chocolate etc.  
6. When writing your shopping list, you might find it helpful to group things based on where they are in the supermarket (roughly), this makes it easier to check things off the list as you work your way through the supermarket e.g., spices with spices, dairy products together, and canned foods together.  

Shopping 

Now, time to shop!  

Firstly, don’t forget to bring the list... 

Secondly, consider having a snack before heading in, particularly if you’re hungry! Or grab yourself a balanced snack while you’re in there rather than just a chocolate bar – grab the chocolate bar if you really want it, but also grab some nuts from the pick-mix bins! Or grab a natural yoghurt pouch from the fridge section and a piece of fruit. This adds some extra nutritional value to your snack and is likely to keep you feeling fuller for longer due to the additional fibre, healthy fats, and protein.   

Get your list out, and work your way around, section by section, marking things off as you go.  

If you want to choose a more nutritious option between two or more similar products (e.g., yoghurts). It can be useful to read the label. What you might be looking for varies person, but here are a couple of different examples that follow the same principles.  

• Do you want to increase your fibre intake? You might pay particular attention to packaged foods that are rich in carbohydrates such as rice, bread, wraps, and crackers. Look for >5g per 100g, or choose the option which is highest in fibre. 
• Do you want to increase your protein intake? You might pay attention to what yogurt you buy. Or whether your plant-based milk has any protein in it.  
• Are you trying to increase your calcium intake? Check the labels on different milk products to see which is getting you the most  
• Are you trying to decrease your saturated fat intake? You might compare similar animal-based products to choose the lower saturated fat option e.g., compare milk, yoghurt, and cheese  

The general principles for each of these is the same 

1. Compare like with like i.e., compare yoghurt with yoghurt, not yoghurt with bread  
2. Use the per 100g or 100mL column when comparing 1 or more products. This is instead of using the per-serving column, as servings can vary from product to product.  
3. A case where this may change is in something like a muesli bar which is single serve, if you’re wanting to choose a muesli bar for a post-workout snack that is higher in protein, you might compare the servings to get the most bang for your buck in the single bar.  
4. Don’t fall into marketing traps. Remember that companies want you to buy their product, so some marketing claims can be misleading!

Unload, Prep, and Store 

Unloading groceries and putting them away is personally my least favourite part of the process. But taking more time here can help me to implement some of my habits throughout the week.  

• Put your frozen items in the freezer  
• Put away pantry items  
• Take care of refrigerated items and produce  

• This is where I try to spend some extra time (when I have the energy to). Chopping up vegetables into a container with a damp handy towel, putting fruit for snacks into a bowl at the front of the fridge as a visual reminder, and splitting my bag of nuts into mini containers ready to grab and take to work.  

Navigating the supermarket doesn’t have to be a daunting task, and having a plan and some practical strategies in place can help. By planning and equipping yourself with tools to make choices that align with your goals – you can make nutritious decisions that support your overall health and well-being.