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Health & Fitness

Strong4Life: Smarter Carts are Coming!

Strong4Life is riding shotgun at the grocery store. Look for our ad in your grocery cart—and take Strong4Life along for the ride while you shop.

The ads are a gentle reminder that healthy eating starts with the responsible choices parents make in the grocery store.

Think about it: we parents—not our kids—are in charge of grocery shopping. So if we load up our cart with junk food and sugary drinks, our kids have no choice but to eat unhealthy food at home.

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Now, flip that around: if we stock up on fruits, veggies, lean meats and healthy snacks, we give our kids plenty of choices at home—all of them healthy.

But believe me, I know the grocery reality…three always-hungry boys in tow, lots of temptations (made worse by “cool” ads on TV)…everyone is ready to leave (me especially)…and it’s easy to cave.

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So I have three secrets that help me bring home healthy food, plus save time and money along the way:

1.       Plan ahead. I take a few minutes to plan healthy meals for the week ahead, then stick to my shopping list.

2.       Eat a healthy snack before you shop. If we shop hungry, we’re more likely to buy food we want but don’t need.

3.       Just say no. I’ve been saying no to junk food for so long that my boys have (almost!) stopped begging. Plus, saying no in the store saves me from having to say no at home because the unhealthy food stays in the store.

For even more smart shopping tips, click here.

And when you see our ads at the grocery store, I hope you’ll take a minute to digest the message: your family’s healthy eating habits don’t start at home. They starts with what you put in the cart. For more shopping ideas, explore Strong4Life’s tips on how to Outsmart the Grocery.

 

I’d love to hear your tips for smart shopping, so leave a comment below or post them on our Facebook page (don’t forget to tag us at @Strong4Life). Also, go to Facebookand Twitter and take our #GroceryChallenge. Find out how you can get a Strong4Life shopping bag for your next trip to the supermarket!

 

Strong4Life is a movement created by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to address the childhood obesity medical crisis that is threatening nearly one million kids in Georgia. For information about Strong4Life visit our websiteFacebookTwitterYouTube, and Strong4Life Blog.

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