Healthy shopping list: what to put in your trolley, aisle by aisle

How do you prepare a shopping list?

You write your shopping list at home, based on the week’s menu. If you know what you’ll have for lunch and dinner, shopping is simply a matter of adding up the ingredients. If you don’t, you improvise in front of the shelves. And improvising often ends with frozen pizza and three packets of biscuits.

The menu doesn’t have to be perfect or cover all seven days. Lunches and dinners for four or five days are enough to give you the basis for your list. Our guide to the weekly menu for planning healthy lunches and dinners explains how to put one together.

You can’t cook what you haven’t bought, and you usually end up eating whatever you have to hand.

What to put in your basket, aisle by aisle

The portions we use as a reference are those of the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN), which updated them for the Spanish population in 2022 [1]. Here they are, organised by aisle.

Fruit and vegetables. This is the section that takes up the most space in your basket. At least three portions of vegetables and two to three portions of fruit a day are recommended [1]. The WHO sets a minimum of 400 g a day between the two [2].

Buy a variety of colours. Combine fruit that keeps for the week, such as apples, oranges or pears, with fruit that should be eaten soon, such as bananas, strawberries or peaches.

Pulses. At least four portions a week, with the aim of gradually increasing this to one portion a day [1]. Choose dried lentils, chickpeas and beans if you cook at home, or ready-cooked pulses in jars if you’re short on time. Both are good choices, and our guide to healthy canned foods explains how to choose jarred options.

Fish, eggs and meat. Fish at least three times a week, especially oily fish, and up to four eggs a week [1]. One egg a day can also fit into a healthy eating pattern. Frozen fish can be part of your shop too.

Have no more than three portions of meat a week. Choose chicken, turkey or rabbit more often, and keep red and processed meat to a minimum [1].

Dairy. Up to three portions a day, preferably plain, with no added sugars and not too much salt [1]. Milk, plain yoghurt, fresh cheese or cottage cheese are options. If you prefer a plant-based drink, choose soya or another one with at least 3 g of protein per 100 ml, no added sugar and added calcium. Check the label, and bear in mind that soya is an allergen.

Pantry staples. AESAN suggests three to six daily portions of cereals, depending on each person’s needs. If energy intake needs to be reduced, it advises having no more than four and choosing wholegrain options [1]. These might include wholemeal bread, rice, pasta, oats or couscous.

Choose plain or unsalted roasted nuts: at least three portions a week and up to one a day [1]. Add extra virgin olive oil, spices, vinegar and lemon for flavour.

Frozen foods. Plain frozen vegetables such as green beans, spinach or broccoli, as well as fish and chopped fruit. This is the section that saves your Wednesday. When the fresh food has run out, frozen food is already washed and cut.

How much should you buy for a week?

Using the reference portions we use in consultations, these portions work out to the following weekly shop for one adult [1]:

• 14 to 21 pieces of fruit, around 2 to 3 kg.
• Around 3 kg of vegetables, including frozen vegetables.
• Around 200 g of dried pulses, or two or three jars of cooked pulses.
• Around 450 g of fish, in three 150 g portions.
• Up to 300 g of meat, in 100 g portions.
• Up to four eggs.
• For example, a litre and a half of milk and seven plain yoghurts.
• Wholemeal bread, rice or pasta, depending on the meals you’ve planned; adjust the amount to what you’re going to prepare.
• 60 to 140 g of nuts, in 20 g handfuls on three to seven days of the week.

These are reference amounts for the general population. If you want to lose weight, portions are adjusted to you and your goal. The criteria we use are set out in our weight-loss diet guide.

What should you look for on the label?

There’s a lot of information on a label, but three details are enough to help you decide. EU food information regulations require all three to be included [3].

1. The ingredients list. Ingredients are listed by weight, from most to least [3], so the first one is present in the largest amount. If the first ingredient in bread sold as wholemeal is refined flour, wholemeal flour isn’t the main ingredient. If sugar is second or third on a biscuit ingredients list, the biscuits are a sweet treat.
2. Sugars per 100 g. The nutrition table compares products per 100 g or 100 ml [3]. This lets you compare products in the same aisle. A solid food can only be labelled “low in sugars” if it contains 5 g or less per 100 g [4]. The figure on the label includes sugars naturally present in the food [3]; check the ingredients to find out whether sugar has been added. The WHO recommends that free sugars, including those in honey and fruit juice, provide less than 10% of daily energy intake [2]. 5% is a desirable target.
3. Salt per 100 g. “Low in salt” means 0.3 g or less per 100 g [4]. For context, an adult should have less than 5 g of salt a day, around 2 g of sodium [2]. Much of it is already found in bread, cured meats, mature cheeses, sauces and ready meals.

For bread and cereals, “source of fibre” requires at least 3 g per 100 g or 1.5 g per 100 kcal [4].

To avoid throwing food away, distinguish between the two dates on the packaging [3]. The use-by date tells you how long it’s safe to eat a highly perishable product. The best-before date tells you how long it keeps its best quality.

How can you shop healthily on a budget?

Planning your menu and shopping list can help you follow an eating plan to manage your weight. Leeds Community Healthcare recommends doing this to reduce impulse buys [5]. Check your pantry first and write down only what you need for the meals you’re going to prepare.

Compare the price per kilo of supermarket own-brand products with other brands. Dried pulses can be good value if you cook several portions and freeze some. If you’re short on time, compare the prices of jarred pulses too. Choose seasonal fruit and vegetables, and use plain frozen options when they help you avoid waste.

The NHS budget guide from Cumbria, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear lists these options and recommends planning your shop to avoid throwing food away [6].

Which products should you buy only occasionally?

If some products go into your basket every week, they can end up taking the place of other foods. Think pastries, biscuits, soft drinks, salty snacks, fatty cured meats and fried ready meals. Distinguish lean sliced meats, such as cooked ham or turkey, from fatty cured meats. Both are processed meats.

AESAN advises keeping red and processed meat to a minimum. It also recommends reducing, as far as possible, ultra-processed foods that are high in fat and sugar [1].

Leave these out of your regular shop and have them from time to time. If you fancy an ice cream on a Sunday, buy one that day in an individual portion. Having a box of twelve at home makes it much easier to have ice cream every day than buying one occasionally.

What mistakes do we see in consultations?

It’s almost always the same three stumbling blocks, and none of them has anything to do with willpower.

• Shopping for an ideal week. Seven dinners with fresh vegetables when you know you’ll eat out twice. By Friday, half of it ends up in the bin, and the following week you buy fewer vegetables.
• Trusting the front of the pack. “Wholegrain”, “natural” or “homemade” in big letters, without checking the ingredients list. The information you need to decide is on the back.
• A list that covers only lunch and dinner. Breakfast and an afternoon snack are left off, so you end up getting something from a vending machine or bakery on the way.

Is it better to shop at a market, a supermarket or online?

Markets, supermarkets and online shops can all help you complete your list. If you like choosing fruit, vegetables or fish in person, get those from a shop or market.

You can order pulses, rice, pasta, canned foods and oil online when you’re short on time. Place your order using your list by section, and check the unit price there too. Website suggestions may add products you don’t need.