How does your shopping basket look? Does it contain more of a certain food group? Are there more chocolate and sugary items in the basket when you’re shopping with the children?
Make sure you pick up a range of foods, which will make your diet varied and interesting. A diet based on starchy foods such as rice and pasta, with plenty of fruit and vegetables, some protein-rich foods such as meat, fish and lentils, and some milk and dairy foods (and not too much fat, salt or sugar) will give you all the nutrients that you need.
So try to include different food groups in your shopping basket;
- Fruit and vegetables
- Meat, fish, eggs and beans
- Bread, rice, potatoes, pasta
- Milk and dairy foods
- Foods and drinks high in fat and sugar (treats once on a while)
But achieving a healthy balanced diet in the modern life can be tricky. After a long day, it is very tempting to grab the first ready meal on the supermarket shelf, which is OK occasionally. But the nutritional labels on these foods show that many ready meals contain high levels of fat, added sugar and salt. If you eat ready meals too regularly, they’ll upset the balance in your diet.
So why not pay attention to the “traffic light” labelling system on the packaging of many foods in the supermarkets. Foods with red labels contain a high amount of sugar, fat or salt. Foods with a green label contain less sugar, fat or salt so will be a healthier option.
So when placing things in your basket, why not opt for foods with more green labels on its packaging?
Happy food shopping this week!