What should be on a healthy food list?

Buying nutritious foods at the grocery store is essential to coming home and making healthy meals and following a well-balanced diet. What exactly are the best healthy diet foods? Which foods should always be a part of your grocery list? This article covers such features.

Fruits and vegetables

Overview Lots of fruits and vegetables are the core of weight loss diets, diets for heart health, anti-ageing eating and any food regimen for well-being. They are packed with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fibre. Be sure to include lots of green leafy vegetables, enough to have a green salad every day. Kale, dandelion greens, romaine, arugula and spinach are some of the most nutritious foods you can eat as they are rich in carotenes, vitamins C, E and B vitamins, iron, calcium and magnesium.
Choose two types of greens one week and then two others the following week to make sure you are getting a variety of greens. Other important vegetables that should be on your weekly healthy diet grocery list include at least two cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts. Include red peppers, sweet potatoes, purple eggplant, carrots, celery and radishes for a variety of nutrients found in these foods. Which fruits are important? Eating what is in season is a good rule of thumb for healthy eating. Nutritious staples include bananas, berries, some type of melon, apples, papaya and pineapple.

Grains and nuts

Other foods These foods are often underestimated and overlooked when buying groceries but they are an important part of the best healthy diet grocery list.
Instead of white bread and pasta, choose whole wheat products. Include either oatmeal, quinoa or cornmeal on your list for breakfast cereals. Add brown rice and two or three other nutrient-packed grains to use in meals such as barley, amaranth and wild rice. Buy at least one type of nut each week. Nuts are good sources of vitamin E, minerals, fibre and mono-unsaturated fatty acids. A handful of nuts is a filling snack and makes an excellent weight loss food.
Try almonds, walnuts and filberts. Eat them with pumpkin seeds or sesame seeds for extra nutrition.

Healthy protein

Final word The healthiest diet foods are those that provide nutrition but not a lot of saturated fat. This means that several servings of beef and pork each week are not good diet foods. Instead include tofu, a variety of beans and at least two servings of fish on your healthy grocery list.
Chicken and turkey breast are also low in fat and high in protein and important nutrients. Lean meats are fine, but try only eating meat once a week.