Smart Grocery Store Shopping

Everyone knows it's best to shop organic, and unprocessed foods are much better then their shiny-packaged, over-processed alternatives. But soaring grocery prices and junk food cravings make it hard to stick to your guns when making your way through the grocery store. Follow the tips below to eat a healthy diet that benefits your body and the planet.

1. Buy organic fruits and vegetables. They might cost a little more, but your body and the planet will thank you for saying no to foods that are slathered in chemicals and pesticides. If organic groceries are putting too much of a dent in your wallet, it's worth noting that some foods maintain much higher levels of pesticide residue then others after washing. Fruits and vegetables with thin skin--like bell peppers, strawberries and leafy green--are more likely to soak up chemicals then those with thicker skin--like asparagus and bananas. A list of must-buy organic foods, known as the dirty dozen is a great resource.

2. Buy organic beef and dairy if you can. On average organic beef costs twice as much as regular meat, but when you buy organic beef and dairy, you say goodbye to all of the hormones and antibiotics that are pumped into your average cow. Not to mention that animals raised on organic farms are generally treated more humanely. In addition, the risk of developing illnesses like mad cow disease pretty much disappears when you buy organic beef--due to the higher quality of diet that organic cows are fed.

3. Buy organic poultry and organic, cage free, certified humane eggs. Free range means that chickens have the option to leave their cage because the door was briefly opened, but it doesn't guarantee that they actually got a chance to roam. A certified humane label guarantees a higher level of treatment. An organic label means that chickens were fed a diet free of pesticides, sewage, animal by-products, and genetically modified feed. U.S. poultry is prohibited from containing hormones so never pay more for a product simply because it boosts a label that says hormone-free.

4. Stick to the parameters of the grocery store. Sugary, starchy, refined goodies are usually found in the center of the grocery story, whereas fruits vegetables and dairy can be found around the edges. If you buy the bulk of your groceries on the outer edges of the store, you are probably maintaining a diet that consists largely of whole foods.