Healthy Eating & Food Care

 

Healthy Eating & Food Care: Your Ultimate Guide to Safe Shopping and Storage

The path to sound health and balanced nutrition begins with careful food choices and diversifying your dietary sources. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) encouraged moderation in eating, saying: "The son of Adam needs only a few mouthfuls to keep his back straight. If he must eat more, then one-third for his food, one-third for his drink, and one-third for his breath."

The journey to good health and balanced nutrition starts at the grocery store. Smart shopping doesn't require a drastic change in everything you buy, but rather replacing some choices with better alternatives. Involve your family in the selection process and clarify the benefits of health-conscious shopping for everyone.

Here are essential steps and guidelines for smart grocery shopping and proper food care:

🛒 Part I: Smart Grocery Shopping Guide

A. Before You Shop

• Plan Your Meals: Plan your meals for a week. Write a list that includes main meals and healthy snacks. Ensure your meals are diverse, cover all nutritional elements, and specify approximate quantities.

• Allocate Your Budget: Distribute your budget, dedicating the largest portion to fresh produce.

• Never Shop Hungry: Eat before you go shopping. This prevents you from impulse buying large quantities of unnecessary, high-calorie, high-sugar, and high-fat foods.

B. While You Shop

• Organize Your Shopping Flow: Start with vegetables and fruits, then bread, then dairy, then canned goods, and finally, meats and frozen items. This prevents frozen foods from thawing.

• Focus on Essentials: Start with essential items like fresh produce and meats, which are usually displayed on the perimeter (sides) of the store. Avoid getting preoccupied with non-essential consumer goods often placed in the center to attract impulse buying.

• Be Wary of Discounts: Don't be fooled by promotions, sales, or discounts, as they are often for low-quality items or those nearing their expiration date.

• Stick to Your List: Adhere strictly to your written list. If an item is unavailable, look for a substitute from the same food group.

• Separate Chemicals: Isolate detergents, pesticides, and other chemical materials from food items in your shopping cart. Ensure they are tightly sealed.

• Choose Fresh and Minimal Processing:

  • Select the freshest options from all categories.

  • Reduce your intake of sweets, pickles, canned goods, ready-made, processed, or colored foods that are low in fiber.

  • Save the sweets, ready-made meals, and biscuit aisle for the very end of your shopping trip.

• Selecting Produce: Choose small-sized fruits and vegetables with bright, fresh colors, free of dark or yellow spots, insects, or mold.

• Beverages: Buy fresh fruit juice and avoid fruit drinks, fruit concentrates, and powdered juices, as they contain high amounts of added sugar and artificial colors.

• Meats, Fish, and Poultry: Choose lean, red-colored, non-slimy, and firm cuts. Ensure they are fresh (ideally refrigerated for only one day). Remove visible fat and skin before cooking.

• Dairy: Choose low-fat milk and dairy products, fresh and non-creamy cheeses that are low in salt. Avoid types with added sugar, artificial colors, or flavors.

• Grains: Choose whole wheat (brown) bread instead of white bread to get fiber, vitamins, and minerals that are largely lost in the process of whitening flour.

• Fats: Buy vegetable oils like olive oil. Avoid butter, ghee, mayonnaise, and ready-made salad dressings, as they contain high levels of fats, salt, and artificial preservatives/flavors. This helps reduce saturated fats in your diet.

• Read the Label: Always read the nutritional facts label on canned products.

• Check Expiration Dates: Verify the manufacturing and expiration dates for every product.

• Check Refrigeration: Do not buy items from a display fridge if its cooling temperature is inadequate, if it is unclean, or if the items are exposed.

• Inspect Cans: Do not buy canned goods that are bloated, rusty, damaged, dented, leaking, or improperly sealed.

Part II: Safe Handling and Food Storage Techniques (Food Safety)

A. After You Shop

• Keep Cold Items Cold: Place frozen foods and meats next to the car's AC vent or in an insulated bag. Keep them tightly sealed.

• Wash Your Hands: Wash your hands thoroughly upon returning home, as shopping cart handles harbor a large number of bacteria that can cause infections and diseases.

• Refrigerate Promptly: Begin by placing frozen foods in the freezer and other perishable items in the refrigerator, ensuring they are well-wrapped and dated, within 30 minutes of purchase.

B. Food Storage Methods

Fruits and vegetables are perishable and have a very short lifespan. They lose freshness and flavor even in grocery stores after some time. To avoid significant food waste, here are tips on how to preserve them for longer.

Important Note: Not all foods can be stored in the same way due to variations in components (pigments sensitive to light, high fluid content, tough or thin peels).

• Separate Ethylene Producers: It is vital to store each type of fruit or vegetable in a separate bag to increase its shelf life. Fruits and vegetables emit ethylene gas—an odorless gas that accelerates the ripening process in surrounding produce, potentially leading to premature spoilage.

1. Produce That Doesn't Need Refrigeration

Some fruits and vegetables do not need to be refrigerated for the first few days. They can be stored at room temperature in a dark place away from direct sunlight or heat.

• Onions and Potatoes: Do not require refrigeration. Store them in a dry, dark place.

• Bananas: Keep in a fruit bowl outside the fridge for the first three days, then store in a paper bag and refrigerate.

• Apples: Store in a fruit bowl for the first five days, then refrigerate.

• Grapefruit: Can be stored outside the refrigerator for up to seven days.

2. Produce That Needs Refrigeration

• Beets, Carrots, and Radishes: Cut off the green tops and store in a paper bag.

• Cucumbers and Zucchini: Should be dry and stored in a plastic bag.

• Peaches, Blackberries, and other Stone Fruits: If unripe, store them outside the fridge in a brown paper bag. Once ripe, they should be refrigerated.

• Leafy Greens (Special Care): Clean the leaves and allow them to dry completely on a paper towel. Then, store them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

• Corn: Keep the husks on to prevent dryness.

• Mushrooms: Store dry (without washing) in a brown paper bag.

• Green Beans: Store separately in a plastic bag without cutting the ends.

• Spinach: Can spoil other vegetables quickly; therefore, it should be stored in a separate plastic container.

3. Storage Techniques for Other Foods

• Meat and Poultry: Must be stored in a separate drawer and in their original packaging. Use them within two days if refrigerated. For long-term storage, wrap them well in a plastic bag and place them in the freezer.

• Fish: Fish has a strong odor and should not be placed with other foods, as other items can highly absorb the fish smell.

• Eggs: Leave them in their original carton or on the designated egg shelf in the refrigerator.

• Milk: Milk tends to absorb any flavor easily, so it should be kept away from fruits, vegetables, and other strong-flavored foods. Store it in its original container.

• Cheese: Cheese dries out quickly and should be carefully wrapped in wax paper or a plastic cover before storing.

• Spices: To preserve the aroma of spices for longer, they should always be stored in a glass jar (better than plastic), and most importantly, it must be airtight and kept in a separate drawer.

• Grains (e.g., Rice, Lentils): Store in a dry, dark place in airtight containers.