Healthy Eating Tips for Shopping and Food Prep

Today we’re sharing Healthy Eating Tips for shopping and food prep thanks to our sponsor, BJ’s Wholesale Club.

How often do you buy fresh produce at the supermarket and how often do you toss away what you forgot to use?

I’m guilty of forgetting about stuff in the past, but I have learned that if I don’t prep it, I risk forgetting it. It’s a waste of food and money!

When you’re purchasing produce we highly recommend purchasing in bulk and prepping it all right away. This means washing most, if not all of it, and prepping it for the week ahead. Want to be able to have fresh fruit ready for snacking? How about salads ready for the week?

My husband and I make a great food prep team. I’ll wash all of the fruits and vegetables and then he’ll cut it up. Once he’s done cutting it all up I place it all into reusable storage containers and have it ready for the week.

If you’re not into prepping and cutting you can even purchase frozen – it’s a great way to reduce spoilage and there are so many frozen produce options.

Our top 6 Healthy Eating Tips for shopping and food prep:

1. Prep it when you get it – don’t let your food or money go to waste.
2. Buy reusable containers for storing in the refrigerator and freezer.
3. Purchase Frozen Fruits and Vegetables to avoid spoilage – these are picked at their peak freshness and flash frozen.
4. Get the kids involved – they’ll be more eager to try food that they’re involved prepping.
5. Buy in bulk and save – you can save money by portioning it yourself at home.
6. Buy the store brand! Most times the store brand will be more affordable. BJ’s Wholesale Club even has organic in their line!

While he’s prepping I like to set out some of the food to show our daughter what we’ll be having for dinner too. We wash the table really well and she’ll put all the food onto the table with me.

Here the spinach, cucumbers, and lemon are for salad. The lemon and asparagus is going on a sheet pan with salmon.

Our little snacker loves the red peppers and carrots! The potatoes go right into the air fryer to make some delicious air fryer garlic parsley baked potatoes.

Now when dessert time rolls around we’re ready! I love arranging a bunch of freshly prepped fruit onto a cutting board so we can just pick what we like. I take it right out of the prepped containers and we can enjoy as much or as little as we want. We LOVE our fresh berries and cherries.

TIP: Keep apples from browning by using a little bit of fresh lemon juice

We love buying in bulk at our local BJ’s Wholesale Club! And we’re also thrilled that they’re teaming up with celebrity chef Ellie Krieger, host and executive producer of the Public Television cooking series “Ellie’s Real Good Food” and leading go-to nutritionist for a series this summer on healthy recipes and food shopping tips. You can find original recipes which they are sharing on social media.

Here are 3 healthy eating tips from Ellie!

1. Shop what’s in season. Fresh fruits and vegetables are most economical – and most delicious! – when they are at the height of their season. Eating seasonally also helps you build a healthy variety of foods into your life.
2. Buy more and store. Many healthy fresh foods last for weeks in the refrigerator, like eggs, yogurt, carrots, beets and cabbage, so you can comfortably buy more at a discount, and save.
3. Make the most of your freezer. Having a stocked freezer means you always have the ingredients you need on hand for healthy meals, and you can take advantage of bulk pricing and sales. Many fresh foods freeze well, like bread, meats, poultry and seafood and berries. So stock up!