What usually determines our menu for upcoming days?
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That’s right, it’s the weekly runs to the supermarket, and it’s not rare that we end up buying things we shouldn’t really buy since we’re trying so hard to stick to a healthy regime.
However, staying healthy is tricky when you have all that food on the inner aisle, where supermarkets so strategically place tempting items that we know they’re bad for us, but we can’t help buying. So our determination for smart choices is often very quickly outrun by temptations the moment we walk into the store.
Now, what are our best options? We can try resisting temptations in the supermarkets or alternatively, and possibly smarter, we can choose to shop at healthier grocery stores.
Nowadays, most supermarkets and even smaller grocery stores stock natural and organic foods in response to consumers’ eating habits, but some retailers have truly dedicated themselves to offering healthier alternatives to the usual, mostly heavy-loaded with chemicals and pesticides food products. Who are they? You know them as Kroger, Whole Foods and Sprouts.
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- Whole Foods
For decades now, Whole Foods has delivered some of the best options on the market in terms of convenient, chemicals-free food products, from an array of fruits and vegetables to a good selection of pre-cooked meals.
Whole Foods was just a small store in Austin, Texas in 1980 when the company was founded. Today, they are leaders in natural and organic foods retailing, selling food with no added preservatives, no artificial colors, no sweeteners, and nothing that is chemically derived.
They also stock body care items and cleaning products that are free from some of the most harsh chemicals and toxins, so that makes them the perfect one stop shop if you’re keen on purchasing anything from produce to household items more naturally derived.
- Sprouts
Although Sprouts Farmers Market doesn’t carry everything natural or organic, this is a good place to be shopping for fruits and vegetables, the supermarket sourcing most of the produce from local or regional farms.
They have organic meat options too ranging from Grass-Fed Beef to Rosie’s Organic Chicken, and all Sprouts meat suppliers must pass considerable natural standards before making it to their shelves, so that is a big plus.
Their price range is quite OK, and according to Sprouts, they are able to maintain low prices due to the high sales volume, but as well because they get good deals from farmers and brokers.
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- Kroger
What puts Kroger on the list of healthier supermarket options is really nothing but their natural foods department, which has been a real competition even for Whole Foods that is about all natural whereas Kroger’s organics is just another range of options.
Nevertheless, Kroger’s Simple Truth, which is their organic brand, delivers affordable prices for organic food, so they’re well worth a visit.
Kroger says their private label carries organic foods and products that are free from 101 additives, but they are still to work on better labeling some of their Simple Truth items. They carry dairies that are, for example, unlabeled as to whether or not milk is derived from GMOs fed cows.
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If there’s no Kroger, no Sprouts or no Whole Foods in your area, chances are you’ll find other options maybe not as varied, but possibly better than conventional options.