Shop Like a Pro:

6 Ways to Streamline Your Shopping

What you put in your cart - whether at the grocery store, farmers market, or online, matters. The food you bring into your home is one of the most important decisions you will make for your self, your health and your family.

We are inspired by a recent piece and the words of one of our healthy living guru’s Frank Lipman: “take your time and approach food shopping as a kind of mindfulness exercise rather than a chore.” Here’s how we get the job done - quickly, efficiently and in good spirits.

Early Bird Gets the worm:

Go early, beat the crowds and mask up. The staff is rested and ready, and don’t hesitate to ask for support and advice in the produce section as they unload the freshies for the day.

We like to live by this rule, from on of our favorites, Michael Pollan: if it’s made of plants - eat it. If it’s made in a plant, don’t. Steer clear of processed and packaged and home in on fresh vibrant living foods. Filling your cart with fresh will keep your bill down, your mood up and your body thriving with life force.

Bask in the boundaries (the outer isles are where its at):

Spend the bulk of your time shopping the fresh food that lives on the outer aisles. Forge inward only for necessities, think eco friendly cleaning and paper products, oats, herbs… and not much else! Get in and out of the interior and don’t be mesmerized by manufactured marketing!

Meat, poultry and more - perhaps look outside of the store.…

If you’re a carnivore, pescatarian or lacto-ovo dairy loving queen - source your animal products as close to home and from the healthiest sources possible – happy, well-cared-for animals produce the best meats - avoid factory farmed meat at all costs.

Do your homework, get to know your local sources better, and only purchase the cleanest protein possible. Keep portions small and remember that reducing meat consumption is a gift to the planet - fill your plate with plants and supplement with meat.

Check out some of our favorite local sources for high quality animal proteins: Rock Bottom Ranch to pick up farm fresh eggs. Mountain Primal Meat for will call pick up in Emma, Colorado. Check out Cure Organic Farm in Boulder (online ordering coming soon) . And for shippables try: butcherbox.com for grass-fed meat and sea2table.com for fish.

Up-level Convenience Foods:

Frozen, organic, veggies, canned beans, pasta (we love brown rice ramen) and nuts and seeds are quick meal boosters and great to have on hand. Other personal faves: nutritional yeast, hot sauce or sriracha, shredded coconut and frozen fruit.

If the ingredients list is too long for you to read or contains any words you do not recognize or cannot pronounce. Simple skip it.

For oils and vinegars: we love organic, unrefined olive and coconut oils. Toasted sesame oil is a go-to for dressings and rice wine and balsamic vinegars are a staple too.

A few more convenient staples: Dark chocolate (choose 75% cacao or higher) Coconut Yogurt (we love GT’s CocoYo), olives, tahini and assorted seeds – we love pumpkin, chia, sesame, flax, hemp

Pick an inspired + colorful recipe:

It helps to go into the store with a plan. And if you are feeling low on inspiration - grab a favorite cook book, or hop onto a beloved blog and choose a recipe to follow. We love Cookie + Kate, Minimalist Baker and Love and Lemons for approachable, plant forward inspiration.

Consider super-charging these meals with some added nutrition - its so simple. Toss in an extra fistful of fresh or frozen spinach. Top your meal with extra broccoli, vibrant herbs or some zesty arugula. Never miss the chance to sneak in some extra greens. Get creative and make it fun!

In a pinch on time? Simply hop online:

When you can’t physically make it to the store, consider online grocery delivery services for pantry items (or Good Clean Food delivered for fresh! ; ) Our favorite is Thrive Market (excellent for pantry items: honey, beans, grains etc and products are 100 percent GMO-free!). You can also check out instacart.com or AmazonFresh for front door delivery.

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