Yesterday I went to the grocery store near my house, and it took hours. Hours and hours and hours. I knew what I needed for the most part; however, between quitting meat, avoiding high fructose corn syrup, trans fat, trying more organics, etc., it takes so long to evaluate any new item I might want to try. Each product needs it's own deliberation. Either I can buy only things I've already bought and evaluated in the past, or I need to block off my entire Sunday afternoon for food shopping.
Neither of these plans seem exciting. I want to try new foods, but I want to get out of the store in a reasonable period of time. So I need a good checklist that I can take with me and go over quickly with each new food I encounter. I'm not talking about a grocery list of foods to buy. I usually go with one in hand. I'm talking about a list of questions to ask myself before I plop something new (or something old that I haven't had in a while) in my shopping cart.
Drop150's Smart Shopping Checklist:
1. Does it contain high fructose corn syrup? If yes, don't buy it.
2. Does it have trans fat or list "partially hydrogenated," "hydrogenated vegetable oil," or "shortening" on the ingredients list? If yes, don't buy it.
3. Is there a reasonable organic alternative?
4. Is it pescetarian? (Does it have meat, gelatin, animal fats, cochineal, rennet, or Carmine (Cochineal, E120, Natural Red 4, or C.I. 75470)? If yes, don't buy it.
5. Does the cheese contain enzymes are microbial or vegetable-based? Other cheeses might not be pescetarian.
5. Are the eggs from cage free chickens?
6. For dairy, is there a soy alternative?
7. Is there a whole grain version?
What are the questions you ask yourself when you shop? What other foods or ingredients do you avoid? Please share so I can refine this list before I try it out in a few weeks.
