The grocery store can be a very confusing place. All the fancy packaging touting the latest health foods. Wait, is this really healthy? The siren song of the snack aisle is calling you. It can become too much! This is a paraphrase of a message I received recently:
"I get so overwhelmed at the grocery store. Trying to figure out what to buy that addresses my specific nutritional needs, my family will eat, and won't cost me a ton of time and money. So I get paralyzed, buy some clementines and frozen broccoli, then take everyone to Chik-Fil-A for lunch."
Have you ever been there before? I think most of us have. Maybe not that specific situation, but one where you got some overwhelmed you just throw your hands up and walk away. Paralysis by Analysis some great poet once called it.
I read a great article called "How To Overcome The 'Analysis Paralysis' Of Decision-Making" by Jeff Boss that can help us here. You can read the article here --->Paralysis
The article covers 5 steps for overcoming this situation that we will adapt to our purposes. They are:
1. Set a "drop dead" rate
2. Get a sanity check
3. Curb your curiosity
4. Recognize the moons will never align
5. Stair step your decisions
Let's break down each one...
Set a "drop dead" rateA drop dead rate is the last possible date something must be finished. Start setting a date each week when the grocery list and meal plan ideas must be complete. This will take a lot of work up front and will never be perfect.
But imagine how much easier your life would be if you had 2-3 dinners already planned for the week? And actually had the ingredients to make them with! Game changer right there. The grocery stores that do online pickups keep track of the items you buys, so you can easily start building a database of things you eat all the time. Saves so much time.
Get a sanity check
This just means getting outside input. Involve your family in the grocery shopping/cooking process. Ok, what vegetables will you people eat around here??? You can also institute the Martin family policy of "If you wain't cooking, you ain't complaining."
This is not a democracy, you are still running the show but your loyal subjects can help you. Chop vegetables, boil water, or whatever you need help with. Put the, to work! Cooking is so much less painful when done with others. Disclaimer- most of the time it is anyway.
Curb your curiosity
Now it would be nice if we knew every little detail about our food like the fish they sell at Whole Foods. This salmon as caught by Pierre off the south of France on Boat #321 on a sunny day on April 8th. But we don't have to know all of that.
Set some hard and fast rules about what you care about (sugar content, gluten free, low carb, etc...) and stick to those, Or maybe your big thing is to look at the first 3 ingredients on the package.
It's awesome to be informed and make educated decisions on what you put into your body. But if it becomes too much for you, pick a few rules that you will follow and stick with them. There are a few simple rules boiled down on a link I will share in Monday's e-mail about building healthy meals.
For now, start experimenting with the first 3 steps and see what they look like for your individual situation. It doesn't have to happen overnight, but take action on getting there as soon as possible.