By Team Best Life – TheBestLife.com
Isn’t it nice to know that the healthiest choices in the supermarket often happen to be the greenest, too? You can reduce your ecological impact and the impact on your waistline at the same time by adopting a few eco-friendly shopping tips.
For instance, opting for locally grown, seasonal foods is a good way to protect the environment. These foods don’t have to be shipped long distances, so you eliminate some of that fossil fuel use. Another option: Go organic. Organic foods don’t use as many harmful chemicals in their production—the fewer pesticides and antibiotics used, the less impact those foods have on the planet. If eating exclusively organic is too expensive, consider buying only those fruits and vegetables that offer the biggest pesticide savings (click here for the list).
Mother Earth isn’t the only one benefiting from these savvy shopping strategies. These foods usually taste better and are better for you than processed or otherwise environmentally damaging foods. Here are a few more easy shopping tips to keep your body and the earth healthy.
Try to avoid excessive packaging. Get fresh fruit instead of fruit cups, or invest in a juicer and make your own fresh snacks, like this Chocolate Banana Smoothie. Buy a block of non-processed cheese rather than pre-sliced American. Whenever you can, buy bulk items like rice, granola or nuts.
Make one or more of your dinners every week vegetarian. Plant-based proteins are better for the environment. When you reduce your meat intake, you also help reduce greenhouse gas production of large-scale livestock. Plus, they can help you lower your cholesterol and shed pounds. (Just make sure the dish isn’t fried or drowning in cheese.)
Buy reusable shopping bags to reduce the amount of plastic or paper bags you need. If you still end up with a few plastic bags, you can recycle them at most grocery stores.
Walk or bike to your neighborhood store or farmers market instead of driving. You’ll save money on gas, reduce your emissions and get some exercise!
These tips will not only keep you healthy, but they’ll also help protect the planet. Talk about a shopper’s high!
Also Read:
Start the Week with Meatless Monday
Eating Healthy on a $12 per Day Food Stamp Budget is Impossible