What is your favorite part of the house?

Some might answer the bedroom as it serves as a safe space for complicated emotions. However, many would probably go for the kitchen. It provides direction, strengthens family bonds, and sustains life. For well-to-do people, numerous healthy refrigerated foods might be present once they open their kitchen cupboards and refrigerator. 

You can glance at one’s lifestyle through the foods they  consume. Similarly, if you plan to switch to a healthier way of life, your kitchen is one of the best places to start. If you live on your own, it will be easier for you to modify your kitchen storage. You can align your grocery list based on the diet you plan to follow. Additionally, you may also anchor it to your current situation, such that if you spend less time at home, there are ready-made foods you can include. These foods are not only time-saving but ultimately nutritious for your overall health. But if you have plenty of time to cook and prepare meals, there are also must-have healthy refrigerator foods you can start with.

Are Refrigerated Foods Good Or Bad For You?

Apart from keeping foods from spoiling, refrigeration also saves time and money from spoiled food. For the record, there are 1.3 billion tonnes of food wasted each year globally. Foods are perishable goods, but refrigeration slows the growth of bacteria which causes foods to deteriorate. 

Sure, refrigerators are essential technological advancements, but there is an ongoing debate about the benefits and harmful effects of eating refrigerated foods. Some believe that eating too many refrigerated leftover foods can harm your health. According to nutritionists, foods lose their initial textures, flavors, and nutritional value during refrigeration. However, there is no other convenient way to prolong food life but through this process, thus it is advisable to eat leftover foods in the fridge within three to four days. Time longer than that duration may lead to food poisoning or indigestion. 

As you start to adjust your fridge content and stockpile on healthy refrigerated foods, below are tips to guide you through your next grocery shopping, including the things to keep in mind the next time you store your staple foods. 

Tips For Healthy Grocery Shopping 

With a wide variety of foods available on grocery shelves, it gets easier to be swayed once in a while with colorful packaging. To avoid confusion and unnecessary add ons, here are grocery shopping tips you may apply. 

Plan Ahead And Stick To It 

Choosing the right type of healthy refrigerated foods is the first step to good nutrition. If you prefer to cook more at home, having the right ingredients is vital too. Planning will save you more time going back and forth to grocery stores when you forget something. Although human brains have unlimited storage for knowledge, research has shown that people forget 70% of the information they have set their mind to for the past 24 hours. 

Making a weekly meal plan at least can help you avoid impulse buying. Additionally, you need to avoid shopping when you are hungry. Science believes that hunger affects the number of items people buy. 

Avoid Spending More Hours In The Grocery Stores

If you want to find healthy refrigerated foods, you must consider spending your initial time looking for areas where superfoods are available. You can usually find most fresh, whole food items in the outside aisles of the grocery store. Putting your focus here can save you from buying unhealthy foods, such as junk food placed at the center of the store. This placement is one of the food industry’s sneaky strategies. Studies have shown that it tricks human psychology and basic biology, making them vulnerable to purchase foods high in calories, sugar, salt, and saturated fats that can put their health at risk. 

Similarly, you should choose whole and real foods, such as 100% fruit beverages without additives.You may also avoid foods with more than 5-ingredients, artificial additives, and hard to pronounce ingredients.

Bank On Budget-Friendly But Highly Nutritious Foods 

You can kick start shopping healthy refrigerated foods by clustering them. You may use this order: superfoods, meat-fish-poultry, dairy, least processed foods, and canned goods. 

First, you can collate rainbow-colored fruits and vegetables. The varying and striking colours reflect their countless nutritional values. You can also add easy to blend smoothies or frozen fruits that contain a wide array of superfoods. Second, make sure to choose lean cuts of meat and skinless poultry if you consume meat. Otherwise, look for nuts and seeds, beans and legumes, and tofu for lean protein options.

For fish, nutritionists highly recommend salmon because it is accessible and a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. Third, include foods that are good for the bones. There are low-fat options, such as yogurt, cottage cheese, and plant-based milks you can get. Fourth, you may opt to include whole-grain cereals, bread, and pasta. These are low-processed foods that can offer you ample fiber. Lastly, you may add canned and dried foods, especially if you love cooking. You can toss them as additional ingredients to your recipes. Besides, they are also good alternatives during emergencies. 

Refrigerating Foods The Right Way 

Since you have completed your list of healthy refrigerated foods, you need to understand how to store them properly. 

First, clean all the green leafy vegetables and fruits before putting them in the fridge. Dairies such as milk, cheese, and eggs contain high protein, which makes them spoil faster. It is advisable to put them on top of the fridge. Third, it is fitting to stockpile healthy refrigerated foods such as fish, meat, and poultry at a 5-degree Celsius temperature. Lastly, make sure that you put cooked foods in the fridge right away after it cools down. 

Knowing all these tips and measures, you can help ensure the health and safety of your kitchen, not just for you but your loved ones too.