Navigating the grocery store when you’re suffering from food intolerance can be a tedious job at first. However, once you’re used to it, things start becoming easier, and soon, you’ll be swiftly shopping and picking all the right things for the shelves.
You need to walk throughout the entire store, see what’s available, decide what you can consume without experiencing symptoms, and then pick those. Sometimes, relying on specific brands can be problematic when they change their ingredients, adding ingredients you’re actively avoiding.
Most grocery stores have a way of displaying and categorizing different items to help you shop efficiently. Changing your entire diet overnight is a lot of you just got diagnosed with food intolerances. However, you can start navigating your shopping to shop effectively in many ways. We recommend intolerance testing if you’re still unsure of your food intolerances.
Get a registered dietitian.
If you have more than one food intolerance, getting help from a registered dietitian is necessary. This way, you can easily navigate your diet needs without deficiencies. A dietitian will significantly help, especially if you need help knowing where to start regarding your diet.
A dietitian can help you with meal prep ideas, especially when switching to a new diet. They can also help you choose foods wisely to cook and to look for in the store according to your food intolerances. You can even get recipes that go around your food intolerance but are still nutritional, giving you all the benefits you need from foods.
Learn how to read ingredient labels.
When shopping, check the items’ ingredients list for food triggers. That should be a thorough process that will enable you to find brands you can rely on. Sometimes, when in a hurry, you may not notice some fishy ingredients, so you can double-check these ingredients at home to ensure you’ve picked the right items.
Always remember that labels and products can change without notice, and you need to check the ingredients occasionally to ensure you’re not consuming a trigger food. Never assume that a specific product or brand is safe because it was your last purchase.
Put time aside for grocery shopping.
When you go to the grocery store and you’re in a rush, you may pick the wrong items. However, you will always make the right decisions if you go to the grocery store with time on your hands and a shopping list. You will have sufficient time to scan the ingredients and decide which product to pick.
It would be best if you also shopped when you’re not hungry. Hunger makes you impulsive, and you’ll be in a hurry to get snacks to eat and forget to carefully scan through the ingredients of each item you’re purchasing.
It would be best to inquire about times when the grocery store isn’t busy. When you go, when there aren’t too many people, you will have time to read through the ingredients list and discover new products that might be safe for you.
Get groceries delivered
Many grocery stores have the option for delivery. This is a good option if you feel better about shopping online or navigating online more easily than physical stores. Always shop at an online outlet with ingredient lists, so you know what you’re getting yourself into.
A website with nutritional ingredient labels is the perfect place to shop for your items. If they don’t have nutritional labels, try buying items you bought last time that are safe to consume. You can also check for item substitutes. Most websites allow you to select which items you won’t take substitutes for so you don’t end up with problematic foods.
Talk to your manufacturers.
Even though this may surprise you, it’s good to know that many manufacturers will talk to you and answer any questions. So, if you find a product and are unsure of its ingredients, you will always find the manufacturer’s number on the product. Call them and make your inquiries.
For example, if you have celiac disease, you may need to know a company’s manufacturing process, especially if you’re buying a grain containing trace amounts of gluten. Email or call them to inquire about their food intolerance and allergy protocols and how they manufacture them in their specific facility.
Give yourself room to mourn.
After your intolerance diagnosis, it may seem very hard to move on. Even though it’s just food you’re changing, switching up your diet suddenly and avoiding foods that are a significant part of your diet can be very hard. It’s okay to mourn the loss of these food items.
It will be okay, and that’s a promise. Adjusting might take a while, but you’ll eventually be fine. You can take some time to be sad about this fact but realize you’ll eventually be okay.
Unprocessed foods are your friend.
When grocery shopping, avoiding food intolerances is easier when picking up whole, unprocessed foods. Unlike processed foods, you know exactly what you get when picking unprocessed foods. You don’t need an ingredients list to check out what you must avoid.
For example, when you’re supposed to avoid eggs, it is easier to buy other foods when shopping, like whole vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, without being afraid that eggs may be an ingredient. Shopping for unprocessed foods is much easier when dealing with food intolerances, even though a food intolerance diagnosis may have many challenges.
Don’t stock up on foods you’re intolerant to
Once you’ve begun shopping for foods that support your health, give away the remnants of foods you can no longer consume. That way, even if someone else is cooking for you in your kitchen, they are unlikely to introduce food intolerances to your meals.
Also, having foods you’re not supposed to eat at home makes cooking easy when you’re out of groceries. Ensure you don’t set yourself up for failure by stoking up on them so you can go shopping if you need more food.
Final thoughts
While navigating grocery shopping may be hard, you’ll soon realize you can manage it. With patience and persistence, you can quickly run through the grocery store, get items you know are good for you, check the ingredients, and purchase what you need to. If you’re unaware of your food intolerances, intolerance testing should help you start your health journey.
