Our list does not include exotic superfoods, expensive supplements and products that are difficult to find in central Russia. With this list, you can safely go to the store near your home and be sure that you have bought everything you need for your health!
1. Fruits, berries, vegetables and root crops.
It is the basis of any healthy diet. Vegetables and root crops should be chosen from those that are produced in your area or in neighboring regions. It can be:
· potato
· cucumbers
· tomatoes
· beetroot
· garlic
· pumpkin
· carrot
Lettuce leaves, herbs
· radish
· turnip etc.
Of course, it is best to choose those products whose season is in full bloom at the time of purchase. The same applies to fruits and berries – although they are mostly imported, be guided by the periods of their maximum and high-quality ripening. So, early and mid summer you can safely buy cherries, strawberries, apples, currants. In August – raspberries, grapes, peaches, apricots, melons and watermelons. Do not forget that seasonal fruits and berries can always be frozen – then in winter you can use them for juicy juices, smoothies, baked goods, and simply eat them raw.
An exception here can be made, perhaps, for citrus fruits – at any time of the year, lemons, oranges and grapefruits are rich in healthy substances.
2. Cereals and bread.
Even in a regular store, it is easy to find foods rich in protein and complex carbohydrates! These include:
· buckwheat
· lentils
beans
· beans
Hercules
uncooked rice
· bread
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t find the “right” types of these foods on the supermarket shelves – green buckwheat, brown rice, red lentils, whole grain bread. Even in their usual form, they are useful, you just need to use them in moderation!
3. Oils, nuts and dried fruits.
Vegetarians are very fond of oils of all kinds – from wheat germ, sesame, corn, olive, apricot kernel, etc. But do not forget that ordinary sunflower oil, which is presented in assortment even on the shelves of a small store, is no less beneficial for our health. Almost everywhere you can find olive oil, which is enough to buy in large containers several times a year, so as not to “ruin” your budget too much.
Be sure to supplement your grocery basket with nuts – even the cheap version of walnuts or raw peanuts will benefit the body. Remember that they should be soaked in water for several hours before use to awaken all the precious nutritional properties.
Dried fruits can also be added to the winter grocery basket – after thorough washing and soaking in water for at least 2 hours, they turn into the equivalent of super-popular energy bars!
4. Dairy products.
If you are a lacto-vegetarian, your weekly diet is likely to be rarely dairy-free. The best option, of course, would be to buy milk and cottage cheese from local producers, but you can also find goods of decent quality on store shelves. Remember that low-fat dairy products often contain a lot of unhealthy, if not harmful, additives that preserve taste, so it makes sense to choose products with a standard degree of fat – from 2,5 to 3,2%.
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In fact, products from any store can benefit vegetarians. Perhaps much more attention should be paid to how these products are prepared. For example, one of the leaders in terms of the number of microelements is buckwheat, and if you do not boil it, but pour it with water overnight and then eat it, then it will give the body everything that it is supposed to. Yes, and any other cereals that you find, you can safely buy, because they are rich in protein. Be sure to regularly purchase beets – it has an amazing effect on the liver and pancreas, does not lose its properties, both boiled and raw. And, of course, every person simply needs to consume a large amount of greens – parsley, dill, spinach. They can be added to dishes, salads, make fresh juices, smoothies with them.
Often even in a small supermarket you can see a shelf with products for diabetics, where vegetarians will find cheap and healthy products – fiber and bran. Fiber is the best food for our microflora, so it should be consumed during the daytime. And bran is unique in that the human body does not absorb them in any way, so they become a simple means of getting rid of congestion in the intestines, they are a kind of “brush”. They are best consumed in the evening in a dry form, or added to a liquid, for example, to kefir. The main thing is not to overdo it with the amount: eat no more than 40 grams of fiber and bran per day!