Grocery shopping had always been a challenge for women. From listing the items to choosing the correct brand, everything should be planned perfectly. Groceries are not just a part of the food, but they are a part of your body and health. Are you one of the women who are worried about next month’s grocery list? Do not worry. Read the below passage to understand the world of grocery and crack it using some simple steps. Let’s create Create a perfect grocery list.

Some people purchase their groceries every month. But some people, especially women, buy their groceries every week so that they can eat fresh and stay healthy. Regardless of when you purchase, a grocery list is essential for every purchase. Make sure you create an excellent grocery list for every purchase. Below are some items that can contribute to a healthy grocery list. 

1. Bread and Bakery

You can purchase 

• Whole wheat Bread
• Muffins
• Whole grain flour Tortillas

The maida bread may taste better, and you might like it better than the whole wheat bread. But the whole wheat bread and whole grain flour Tortillas are much healthier. Maida is made from the endosperm of wheat. The whole wheat is made up of all the ingredients of grain. Maida is filled with carbohydrates, while entire wheat has essential vitamins and carbohydrates with fibers. Consuming whole wheat or whole grain is much healthier than consuming a part of it. 

2. Meat and seafood

You can purchase 

• Chicken 
• Seafood like salmon, trout, etc.
• Turkey

When purchasing meat or seafood, buy the leanest cuts possible. These lean cuts contain low amounts of fat when compared to other cuts. Also, reduce the consumption of beef as they have a high level of fat. While purchasing meat, make sure that the product is not expired. Also, in the case of frozen meat, check the storage condition of the meat before purchasing. Meat and seafood are enriched with protein. Proteins are essential for building the muscle of the body. The seafood is also abundant in omega-3 fatty acids, which is good for health. 

3. Cereals and breakfast foods

You can purchase

• Multigrain cereals
• Oatmeal
• Whole grain cereals
• Cornflakes

According to a research article, breakfast makes an essential part of the daily meal. Cereals mixed with milk and honey can make a good and healthy breakfast for your diet. You can also add other dried fruits, bananas, and fresh berries in the milk to make it more robust. The same can be done for oatmeal too. The whole grain cereals and oatmeal has abundant fibers that will assist your bowel movement and induce easy digestion.  

4. Canned foods and juices

You can purchase 

• Canned soups
• Stored vegetables
• Canned tuna
• Juice packets

If you are into fresh juices and soups, you purchase fresh vegetables and soups. But for working people, cooking food might not be an option all the time. If you are one of them, you can choose healthy canned foods that have a low level of sodium and preservatives. While purchasing juice buys the cartridges with fresh fruits and not the ones with artificial sweetener and flavors. 

5. Fruits and vegetables

You can purchase

• Fresh seasonal fruits
• Fresh vegetables

While purchasing fruits and vegetables, buy only organic produce. The commonly cultivated vegetable produce is exposed to pesticides and other soil-enriching chemicals. Also, try to avoid buying fruits that do not belong to that particular season. These fruits might have been old and preserved for a more extended period. According to a recent study, it has been found that organically grown fruits and vegetables have more antioxidants when compared to inorganic produce. 

6. Dairy, cheese, and yogurt

You can purchase 

• Skimmed milk
• Soy milk
• String cheese/cottage cheese
• Egg
• Tofu
• Pure butter
• Plain yogurt

Milk is a common product is most people’s basic grocery list. Milk products contain nearly 16 nutrients that are essential for improving health. Some of them include Calcium, Vitamin D, and protein. The calcium and vitamin D enrich and ensures bone strength, while proteins are responsible for the muscle development of the body. Nearly 40 percent of the children in Nigeria are affected by Rickets due to Vitamin D deficiency. Rickets is a common disease occurring commonly in the underdeveloped countries of the world. Check the expiry date and storage conditions of these dairy products before purchasing them. 

7. Healthy snacks 

• Vegetable sticks
• Dried nuts ( Almonds, cashews, peanuts, walnuts, pistachios, etc…)
• Seeds ( Flaxseeds, Sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds) 
• Dark chocolate

A person needs to eat at least five courses a day. It includes 3-course meals and two snack course. For snacks, take at least one fruit regularly combined with some regular snacks. Nuts are filled with fibers and vitamins and are known to reduce the cholesterol in the body. A recent study found that consuming 30 grams of nuts daily reduces metabolic syndrome considerably. Recent researches revealed that Dark chocolate has a high level of anti-oxidants, and suitable for the cardiac activity.

8. Drinks 

You can purchase

• Green tea
• Orange juice with calcium
• Health mix drinks

Due to exposure to pollution and toxins through food and air, the human body is filled with unwanted materials. Green tea acts as an anti-oxidizing agent that purifies the blood and reduces fat. Consuming green tea also helps in boosting up your immunity. Orange juice enriched with calcium is a source of Vitamin C that can protect your body. The world is undergoing a significant crisis these days with an illness like COVID-19. So increasing your immunity is the only way to fight this illness. 

Health mix drinks made up of cereals, and other green vegetables remove the toxins from the blood and the body. You can also prepare your personal health drink every day, using fresh fruits and vegetables. 

9. Oil and Fat 

You can purchase 

• Vegetable oil
• Olive oil
• Butter

Cooking oil is essential for all types of food, from salad to fried items. Choosing healthy oils like olive oil will increase the good fat present in your body. The human body is made up of good and bad fat. While good fats can be quickly burned with exercise, it is tough to digest or burn lousy fat. 

Products like olive oil and butter are good fat, while refined oil and animal oil contribute to the bad fat. Fat is a source of energy that is essential to the proper functioning of the body. The body typically uses good fats for burning energy, and they are continuously replenished. 

10. Condiments

You can purchase 

• Salt
• Spices like pepper, cumin, turmeric, etc….
• Herbs
• Honey
• Sugar

Salt – Any food is incomplete without it. Salt is rich in sodium and used for destroying microbes. 

Herbs and spices – Herbs and spices do not just add taste to the food we consume, but they are also responsible for boosting our immunity. 

Honey – Always buy natural honey. Honey can be easily replaced with jaggery, which is just plain sugar. So always purchase a sealed honey bottle that is not adulterated. Honey is a natural antibiotic and can be used as a sugar replacement. 

Sugar – Purchase non-adulterated sugar and consume at a correct level as overconsumption of white sugar may lead to diabetes. Brown sugar can serve as a better replacement for white sugar. 

11. Flavor foods

You can purchase 

• Ginger
• Garlic
• Rosemary 
• Cinnamon

Ginger – Ginger has high levels of anti-oxidant properties that purify the blood and also reduces inflammation. Even though ginger is added only in small portions to the food, they play a significant role in the health of the body. Ginger tea is also suitable for health. It can remove toxins from the body. 

Garlic – Garlic is also a powerful anti-oxidant that is known for purifying blood. Garlic is used for reducing calories. Garlic is the best medicine for the common cold and maintains cholesterol. They play a significant role in atherosclerosis, otherwise known as the hardening of arteries. 

 Rosemary – Rosemary is a common ingredient in American and Italian cuisine. It adds extra flavors to the food. This small piece of leaf acts as an anti-inflammatory agent and protects the brain from aging. It also prevents cancer. 

Cinnamon – A spice that produces more flavor, and it’s more reliable than any of the above. This pure tree bark is highly anti-diabetic and also reduces the inflammation of the wound. 

All these high food materials have many properties. It is not possible to consume all these at once. But one can always try to include as many items as possible in a single meal. If you like cereal for breakfast, you can always add fruits, nuts, and berries in the cereal for flavor. Honey will provide sweetness to the milk. Add as much as garlic and ginger into your food and avoid picking them. 

What and what not to do while purchasing your groceries  

Even though the list is vast, all the groceries mentioned above are essential for a healthy lifestyle. When you purchase your grocery, 

• Check their date of manufacturing and date of expiry. Expired food packets may lead to food poisoning. A recent news article stated that only a low amount of Nigerians check the expiry date of the food products while rest do not. Consuming expired food products may lead to food poisoning and other health issues in the future.

• Check the storage condition of the food. Some of the frozen food and other food items that need to be placed under a refrigerated temperature would not be maintained correctly, leading to the decayed condition of the food products. 

• Always purchase organically grown fruits and vegetables. Though they are a bit costly, they are natural. Non – organic food items are bad for health and cause some severe diseases like food poisoning and cancer. The pesticides added to these non-organic food items result in nearly 1,00,000 deaths every year. 

• Do not buy foods that have artificial sweeteners and MSG. MSG’s are added to increase the flavor of the food and are bad for the health. They cause cancer and other side effects when consumed for a more extended period.

• After purchasing your groceries, store them adequately based upon their requirements. Do not store fruits and vegetables for more than a week. Check for molds in bread and other food items before consuming them. 

• If you purchase frozen produce, defrost them entirely before heating them or using them for cooking. Also, make sure that your refrigerator has 24 hours of power supply so that the food doesn’t go bad. Always wash this frozen food before cooking. It’s not just frozen foods, wash all your grocery before cooking. 

• And more important of all, do not waste food. The whole you live under the luxury of getting as much food as possible, there is another group of people around the world who does not have the liberty of eating three-course meals a day. 

Send food to your loved ones.

Currently, the world is facing a difficult situation. With the spread of the virus, everyone is locked down within their own home. Along with this, there are other instances like shortage of rain, low production of crops, etc. Most of the people living in developed and developing countries do not face these situations. But people living in underdeveloped countries like Nigeria are susceptible to food shortage and less or no water. 

To help your loved ones living in Nigeria, you can order the basic grocery list from the US and Canada to be delivered to them through online portals. Now Now Express is one such online portal that allows you to order food for your family living in Nigeria. Check into the website sendgrocerynigeria.com and order some fresh groceries for your friends and family. Purchase the groceries for an entire month by using the grocery list given above.