Food Desert Series: A few tips

Here are a few more tips to eating healthier in a food desert:

1. No two corner stores/convenience stores/gas stations are alike. I have seen everything from literally just having pop and cigarettes to little corner stores packed to the ceiling with all kinds of food, including some surprisingly healthy choices. Shopping in more than one place has benefits, and getting to know your local options helps you organize what to buy from where.
   
2. Label reading is really the trick that makes choosing healthier options happen. Finding packaged foods with the shortest list of ingredients is crucial. Foods with the less than 600 milligrams of sodium and less than 12 grams of sugar per serving.
   
3. Buy ingredients instead of meals. Pretty much any premade meal is going to be less healthy than buying ingredients to make a meal. A box of mac and cheese is not going to be as healthy as some pasta and real cheese.
4. Be flexible with your idea of what constitutes a meal. A lot of people think of meals as a meat, a vegetable and a side. Being flexible about how your protein, carbs and fruit and veg gets into your body can take the stress off a little bit. A cheese stick, granola bar and raisens are still a protein, carb and fruit option.
5. If you have to choose something highly processed, try to round out the meal with some real food.