Shopping With Food Sensitivities
- Get educated. Find out as much as you can about your food sensitivites and allergies. Find out what your limitations are (i.e. what foods to avoid). Better yet, find out what foods you CAN have!
- Read food labels. You need to understand what you are eating and the best way is to read the food labels. It may take some time at first, but it will become second nature pretty soon. You will need to read labels of ALL foods…from meats, to cheeses, to grains, to spices, to condiments and more!
- Find some new stores. You might find it helpful to have a main store (i.e. Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Target, Wal-Mart) and a secondary/specialty store (i.e. Whole Foods, Earth Fare, Healthy Home Market). You should be able to divide your shopping list and buy about 75% of what you need at the main store and the other 25% at the specialty store. This will also help you save money, as the specialty store is a bit more expensive.
- Shop the perimeter of the store. When you go grocery shopping, shop the outside/perimeter of the store and avoid shopping much in the grocery aisles. This will force you to visit the produce section, meat department, dairy (alternative dairy) and possibly the frozen department.
- Find food replacements. There are lots of ways to replace forbidden foods. For example, coconut flour is a great resource for baking and it’s gluten and dairy free. Read more about finding food replacements for all kinds of food on our blog.
- Make an effort to try new foods. It can be hard to give up your favorite foods…instead, find new ones that you will enjoy that may replace some forbidden foods. Try new vegetables … like roasted brussels sprouts or quinoa.
- Find new recipes. Choose recipes that you and your family will love. We have tons of great recipes on our Pinterest page. Be sure to check it out!