Shopping list
A shopping list makes the weekly shop quicker, prevents impulse buys and is the easiest way to start eating healthily at home.
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What isn't in the house doesn't get eaten – which is why healthy eating starts not at the cooker but with the shopping. A shopping list is more than a scrap of paper: it's the plan that steers you past the sweets aisle and makes sure there's actually something to cook on Wednesday evening.
Here's how to put together a good list in five minutes: first roughly plan the week (which evenings will you cook, when will there be leftovers?), then check the fridge and cupboards, and only write down what's missing. Sort the list by your route through the shop: fruit and veg, bread, chilled section, store cupboard, frozen food. That way you go round once instead of trailing back and forth three times.
Two rules help especially when you're trying to lose weight: never shop hungry – studies show that hungry people put more energy-dense foods in their trolley – and treat the list as a limit. If it's not on the list, it doesn't go in the trolley. The exception: fresh fruit and vegetables that are in season can always be added.
A trick for families: the list hangs on the fridge or lives as a shared note on everyone's phone, and everyone adds whatever is running low. Children get to choose a vegetable and a fruit of the week – if you have a say, you're more likely to enjoy eating it later.
A healthy basic stock that always belongs on the list: oats, wholegrain bread or pasta, rice, lentils or chickpeas, plain yoghurt, eggs, frozen vegetables, seasonal fruit, nuts, rapeseed oil and a few spices. With these, you can cook something good any evening, even if the plan falls through.