Published October 23, 2016

Grocery Shopping Snack Frenzy

by Helen M. Ryan

I sat in the car, looking at the grocery bag next to me on the passenger seat, and noticed that the loaf of fresh, warm French bread was half gone. "Holy crap!" I thought. "What have I done?"

What I'd done was gone to the grocery store hungry. Super hungry. And acted like a hungry polar bar.

As I left the store I grabbed a loaf of delicious, hot, sexy bread — after spending time just smelling its loveliness — for 'just a little bite' as I drove home to 'tide me over.' The bite was small...if I were a shark. I was just starving, and out of control. The bite was small...if I were a shark. But I am 5' tall and no shark. I was just starving, and out of control. Eeek.

We've all been there. Going to the grocery store hungry can really bring down a healthy diet. We grab a few impulse buys on the way out ('for the kids') and that is the end of that. Those not-so-healthy impulse snacks end up disappearing before we even leave the parking lot.

So what do you do?
Grab some healthier snacks while shopping to eat on the way home and keep your head on straight.

  • Reduced fat string cheese. One of my faves, because I can rip that sucker open in the car and take the edge off my hunger.
  • Yogurt. But only if you have some sort of plastic spoon (maybe leave a few plastic spoons in a car?)
  • Bananas.

Yeah, it's best not to go shopping when you're hungry, but it's not always possible. And if you do eat that loaf of bread (I'll look away), you can fix it. Don't keep eating.

Life is what happens while you're making other plans.