Small Change #6: Skip the packaging
About a year ago, after I’d cut out the high fructose corn syrup, the msg, the soda, and the white breads, I realized how much more I was spending on groceries. I was feeling so much better, but my wallet definitely was not since most of what I started to buy was either organic or considered a “health food”.
So taking matters into my own hands, I started making more from home and buying less of those easy made items.
After the occasional (or not so occasional!) flop I found that baking/cooking from scratch was actually pretty easy and normally tasted quite a bit better! Plus, not only did I know exactly what I was putting into my food, it was fresher when we ate it.
So next time you head to the store, try to buy less packaged foods.
- Stick to basic whole foods like meat, fruits and veggies, and dairy.
- Skip as many aisles as you can because this is where the convenience foods are.
- Check the sizes of packaging. Like yogurt for instance. The healthier stuff is normally in a larger container, whereas the sugar filled junk has nice small one serving containers.
- Above all, don’t buy frozen meals! They are full of more junk than you realize!
As always, it’s not mandatory that you start making everything yourself all at once. Try just one thing. I started making my own bread (granted I have a bread maker that makes it just a little bit easier on me!) but after I finally got a handle on that, I moved on to something else. And it wasn’t until just recently that I’ve been trying my hand at making my own sauces.
So it is a process, something that won’t happen overnight. But if you notice everything in your cart is in a box or a bag, you may need to start overhauling your grocery list!
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About donielle
Donielle is an amateur herbalist and natural momma to two littles (with another babe in heaven) after dealing with infertility. She has a passion for nourishing nutrition, natural living, and spreading the word on how food truly affects our health. Her blog Naturally Knocked Up focuses on fertility and reproductive health and her book on natural fertility will be available in June 2012. She also runs a local blog (Grand Rapids Natural Living) and is active the local community in order to provide the area with resources and information for natural families.
LOVE YOUR BLOG! Do you have a receipe for your own ketchup?
Rachelle – Kansas
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Not yet! But it’s definitely on my to-tackle list.
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We have gone this way as well but it was late one night and I’m like lets just get some hotpockets I am tired!
Oh my I had no idea that your body is so opposed to such a thing after feeding it real food! I couldn’t finish it and was ill. No more of that junk for me,I can’t believe I used to like that stuff and eat it all the time.
Leticia
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Bravo! High fructose corn syrup is evil. Even my “better living through chemistry” husband who is a chemist thinks so.
To Rachelle in Kansas, there is a homemade ketchup recipe in the new issue of Saveur that looks yummy.
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Ticia, I know what you mean! I still have cravings for certain foods, but when I finally get them, they don’t satisfy and worst of all, they taste much worse than I remember. And I usually get sick or a headache from it too.
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