Food must be carefully chosen and diversified into food sources; The Holy Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, urged us to be moderate in food, and he said: “According to Ibn Adam, there are qiyamat that resurrect his crucifixion.
The road to good health and balanced nutrition starts on the market; Shopping properly does not require you to radically change everything you buy, but to replace some options with better ones. Include family members in the selection, and demonstrate the benefits of shopping on a healthy basis for everyone.
Here are some steps that guide you to proper shopping
First: Before shopping:
Plan your meals for a week, write a list of main meals and healthy snacks, make your meals varied and include all nutrients and determine their approximate quantities. Distribute your budget and allocate the bulk of fresh food.
Eat your food, do not shop while you are hungry; So do not buy large quantities of foods that you do not need and are full of calories, sugars and high fats.
A. While shopping:
Organize your shopping: start with vegetables and fruits, then bake, milk, canned food, and finally meat and freezers; So as not to melt snow.
Start with basic commodities such as vegetables, fruits, and meat that are labeled on the fringes, and don't be preoccupied with the consumer goods that malls offer in the middle to get you to buy them.
Don't be fooled by discounts, promotions, or offers, as they are often on items of poor quality or expire soon.
Stick to the list you wrote down, and if one of the items is not available, find a replacement from the same set.
Isolate detergents, pesticides, and other chemicals from foods while you place them in the shopping cart and make sure they are tightly closed.
Choose fresh from all varieties. And reduce sweets, pickles, canned, ready-made, finished or colorful meals and low-fiber, and put the department of sweets, ready-made foods and biscuits at the end of the shopping trip.
Choose fruits of small size and succulent fruits and vegetables without black or yellow spots, insects or mold.
Buy fresh fruit juice and stay away from fruit syrups, fruit concentrates and powdered juice; Because it contains a large amount of sugar and added colors.
Meat, fish and poultry: Choose non greasy, red, non-sticky, and fresh portions, refrigerated for one day. Remove the visible grease and skin.
Make sure to buy low-fat milk and dairy products, fresh and creamy cheeses, and low salt foods, and stay away from the types added to them with sugar, colors or artificial flavors.
Choose bread (whole wheat) instead of white bread; You get fiber, vitamins, and minerals, most of which is lost in the whitening process.
Buy vegetable oil as olive oil, and stay away from butter, margarine, mayonnaise, sauces and ready-mixed mixes added to the salads; Because it contains fat and salt in high quantities and preservatives and industrial to add flavor; To reduce saturated fats in your food.
Read the food label on the cans.
Check the date and shelf life of each product.
Do not purchase materials from the refrigerator if they are not cool, dirty, or exposed.
Do not buy bulbs that are bulging, rusty, defective, dentating, leaky, or loose-fitting.
Second: After shopping:
Place frozen foods and meats by car next to the air conditioner, and keep them in tight bags.
Wash your hands thoroughly after returning home; Eddy shopping carts contain a large number of bacteria that cause infection and diseases.
Start by putting the frozen food in the refrigerator after it's well wrapped, and put the expiration date on it within 30 minutes of your purchase.
B. Ways to save food:
Fruits and vegetables are all perishable, and their life cycle is very short. Even in grocery stores, they lose their freshness and flavor after some time.
In order not to waste large quantities of foods, here are some tips on how to conserve them for a longer period, but keep in mind that not all foods can be stored in the same way; Due to the difference in components from each other, some of them contain pigments that are affected by light, others contain a higher percentage of fluids, and some are surrounded by a hard shell, and other varieties contain a thin shell.
It is important to store each type of fruit or vegetable in a separate bag in order to increase its shelf life. Fruits and vegetables emit ethylene gas, which is an odorless gas, speeds up the ripening process in the other fruits and vegetables around it, and can lead to their damage early.
Some fruits and vegetables that you do not need to put in the refrigerator:
It is not necessary to store all fruits or vegetables in the refrigerator for a few days. Rather, it can be stored outside the refrigerator at room temperature, in a dark place away from direct sunlight or heat.
Onions and potatoes: do not need to be refrigerated, and can be stored in a dark dry place.
Banana: Bananas are kept in a fruit bowl for the first three days outside the refrigerator, then kept in a paper bag and cooled in the refrigerator.
Apples: Store in the fruit bowl for the first five days, then cool in the refrigerator.
Grapefruit: can be stored outside the refrigerator for seven days.
Fruits and vegetables that need refrigeration inside the refrigerator:
Beetroot, Carrot, and Radish: Cape Verde is cut and stored in a paper bag.
Cucumbers and zucchini: should be dry, and stored in a plastic bag.
Peaches, black berries, and other stone-based fruits: if they are immature, you can store them outside the refrigerator in a brown paper bag. Then, once they are done, they should be placed in the refrigerator.
Leafy vegetables: need special attention. Sheets are cleaned and left on paper to dry completely, and kept in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.
Corn: Corn is kept in its peel to avoid dehydration.
Mushrooms: Store mushrooms dry without washing in a brown paper bag.
Green Beans: Keep separately in a plastic bag without cutting the ends.
Spinach: The vegetables stored with it can spoil quickly; Therefore it should be stored in a single plastic package.
Other food storage techniques:
Meat and poultry: They must be stored in a separate drawer and in their original packaging, and the refrigerator must be used within two days. And placed in the freezer for long-term storage, to be well wrapped with a plastic bag.
Fish: Fish have a strong smell, it is not correct to put them with other foods, as the possibility of other foods to drink the smell of fish is very high.
Eggs: Leave in a special carton or on the egg rack in the refrigerator.
Milk: Milk has a tendency to absorb any flavor easily, and therefore should be kept away from fruits, vegetables and other foods with a strong flavor. It can be stored in its original container.
Cheese: The cheese dries quickly, and should be carefully wrapped in a sheet of wax or a plastic cap before storing it.
Spices: In order to secure the smell of spices for a longer period, it should always be stored in a glass container, it is better than plastic, and most importantly, it should be tightly covered and in a separate tray.
Grains: Store in a dark, dry place and in tight containers.
Author: Kea Heng