My husband and I were talking last night about how easy it has become for us to stay on our Love Diet. It doesn't take us a whole lot of will power to eat well or avoid TV . . . that's just the norm in our house. And when it comes to the food part of things, we realized that we don't really make our choices at home. We decide what we'll be eating for the week when we're at the grocery store! So I thought it might be helpful to share some thoughts on how we choose the foods that make it on our Love Diet Shopping List!
Focus on Whole Foods
Maybe you've heard it said that you're best off "shopping the perimeter". We find this to be true, aside from a few items in the middle aisles. On the outer edge of the grocery store, you'll find things like produce (Yay for fruits and vegetables!) and nuts, eggs, milk (including almond and other varieties), yogurt and meat. These are the types of whole foods that fill up most of our shopping cart. If you don't have to read the ingredients, because the only thing in it is the food itself, this is the best!
Note: We don't skimp on things that are both yummy and satisfying. One of my nutrition mentors taught me a super important thing: Fat burns fat. Please remember that fat is good for you! It fills you up and helps your body run!
Read the Ingredients
For foods that do have an ingredient list, read them!!! Because I come from a family that has Celiac Sprue (Our bodies don't digest gluten, and therefore suffer when we eat it), our house is gluten free. Although this was potentially quite a challenge a few decades ago, there are so many options on the market now, I don't even give it a thought. However, just because something is gluten free doesn't mean it will make the Love Diet cut!
Besides gluten, we have come to recognize that refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup (highly refined sugar!), hydrogenated, and artificial anything are also things we skip! Who needs 'em? Not us!
Trust me, I've got a sweet tooth. I love honey, molasses, maple syrup or coconut sugar or even raw cane sugar if the need arises. But these can truly be in the "use sparingly" category and still take care of that flavor craving without the addictive effect that the "white death" has.
Write your Love Diet Shopping List
So, with this simple principles in mind, you're ready to go to the store! Of course, if you don't actually write your list, it may be incredibly easy to get distracted and put more in your cart than you intended. If you want to start with my sample grocery list as a guide, I've included it here for handy reference. (I wouldn't buy all of this at every trip, but it'll give you the idea of what we put in our shopping cart.)
Milk (cow for the kids, unsweetened almond for me!)
Cheese (Shredded, cheddar, etc.)
Plain Whole Milk Yogurt
Kefir (I mix it with the plain yogurt to cut down on the sugar!)
Eggs
Salsa
Gluten freeTortilla chips
Gluten free Tortillas
Gorditas
Gluten free bread
Gluten free, non-sugary cereal e.g. -Cheerios©, Chex©
Gluten free oats (To make homemade granola!)
Flaxseed meal
Hemp protein powder
Meat
Long grain brown rice (20 lb bag. We put it in Mason Jars!)
Quinoa
Peanut Butter
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Kale
Brussel spouts
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Carrots
Butternut squash
Turnips
Beets
Parsnips
Onions
Green onions
Garlic (Pre-minced ~ So much easier to use than processing from whole!)
Peas (frozen in winter)
Corn (frozen in winter)
Spinach (frozen or fresh)
Organic Peppers
Tomatoes
Avocados
Spring mix/baby spinach blend salad
Mushrooms - Baby bella, shiitake, bunapi-shimeji, buna-shimeji, maitake
Bananas
Apples
Oranges
Blueberries (frozen or fresh)
Organic strawberries
Raspberries
Lemon or lime juice
Dates
Figs
Prunes
Dried apricots
Almonds
Walnuts
Pistachios
Pecans
*We drink lots of water!
Now, please keep in mind that you want to always be paying attention to how food makes you feel. Just because it works for me, doesn't mean it will work for you. No matter what, focus on Loving yourself with every decision. And make it easier to make Loving decisions at home by using your Love Diet shopping list when you go to the store!
For more support and a step by step guide to adopting The Love Diet Lifestyle,
check out my 6 week Love Diet Coaching Program!