Reduce Grocery Store Anxiety: How to Make Grocery Shopping Easier

Have you ever felt anxiety creep up when you think about grocery shopping? Do you get to the store and not know what to buy? 

It can feel like such a chore to go food shopping that you rush through it, throwing whatever in the cart just to get the heck out of there. 

And we repeat this weekly, sometimes more. No wonder it’s become so dreadful!

But there are ways to simplify things and make your trip to the grocery store less stressful. 

If you find yourself asking, “why do i hate grocery shopping?”, here are three ways you can stop hating it and make grocery shopping easier:

How to Grocery Shop Efficiently  

To make grocery shopping easier, make it more efficient. Having a plan of attack for your shopping trip helps to narrow your focus and make it simpler. 

If you’re anything like me, you immediately forget everything you wanted to buy the moment you step foot inside a grocery store. So I always make a list of what I want to buy before I head out. 

Making a grocery list ahead of time means you’ll know exactly what you need when you get to the store, and you can go right to where those items are. No more wandering around aimlessly throwing item after item you didn’t intend to buy into the cart. 

Start your list by deciding on a few meals you want to make so you know what ingredients you’ll need. Select well-rounded meals that you’re comfortable making - meaning don’t try something gourmet that you’ve never made before, and be realistic about the amount of cooking you’re willing to do. 

And remember to plan for snacks! Snacking when you’re legitimately hungry is perfectly ok, but what you’re snacking on matters. Use a combination of lean protein, healthy fats, and carbohydrates to keep yourself satiated for longer.

Healthy Food to Get at the Grocery Store

The next step is knowing what a “healthy” food is. With all the fad diets (low fat, no fat, low carb, zero sugar…I could keep going), knowing what the best food options are isn’t always easy. 

If you’re looking for healthy food to get at the grocery store, here’s a list of some foods you can include on your list:

• Fruits 

• Vegetables

• Eggs

• Fish

• Chicken

• Beans

• Nuts

• Oats

• Whole Wheat Bread

• Whole Grain Products

This is not a comprehensive list, and you can remove foods that don’t fit your dietary preference or needs, but it’s a great place to start! 

Once you have your nutrient dense food shopping list, then what?

Healthiest Foods at the Grocery Store 

Now that you know what you want, you know where to look. And if you’ve created a list of whole, minimally processed foods, you’ll likely be spending most of your time around the perimeter of the store, because that’s where the healthiest foods at the grocery store tend to be.

Venturing into the aisles is usually necessary (that’s where the dried beans and whole wheat/whole grain products live), but try not to buy too much from that section of the store. This is where the more processed, less nutrient dense items typically are. 

Healthy Grocery Shopping Tips

Here are a few more healthy grocery shopping tips to help you navigate the grocery store and reduce grocery store anxiety:

• Eat something before heading out. Don’t go to the grocery store when you’re hungry. It’s a setup for impulsive and emotional buying that you might regret once you get home. (This is a great time for that lean protein/healthy fat/carbohydrate combo!)

• Stick to your list. Stay focused. Get in, get what you need, and get out! 

• Pay attention to the nutrient list of whatever you’re buying. A good rule of thumb is if you can’t pronounce most of the ingredients in a product, don’t buy it. Whenever possible, stick to items with a small ingredient list of foods your great-grandmother would recognize.

Next time grocery store anxiety starts to creep up, remember these healthy grocery shopping tips. You can make grocery shopping easier by taking simple actions repeatedly, and over time, you’ll become a grocery shopping pro.

Happy Shopping!  

If you have specific questions about how YOU can make grocery shopping easier, send me a message.