Sure you’ve heard the advice, shop the perimeter. But I have say that while sure, there are loads of important foods to include in the perimeter of the store, there are some gems in the aisles as well that are worth including routinely in your grocery cart. Captured here are a few of my favorites that deliver omega-3 fats!
Note: This isn’t an add, rather just highlighting products I love!
Barlean’s Omega-3 Oil
This omega-3 oil is a product from Barlean’s that is made from fish oil but let me tell you, there is no fishy taste (or after taste). It is a perfect way to get a boost of omega-3’s into your eating routine.
How much to add-in? 1 tablespoon per day for adults or children over the age of 4. This will deliver 1500 milligrams (1.5 grams) of omega-3 fats, in comparison a 3.5 oz piece of salmon has about 1.8 grams.
How to add it in? It is seriously so delicious just have a spoonful or it. Or it tastes really delicious added into smoothies or drizzle on yogurt.
Where to find it? You can find it in the “natural food” section of some grocery stores in a refrigerator or some vitamin shops (e.g. Vitamin Shoppe) have it as well. Or you can order it direct from Barleans.com. Also it may seem a little pricey yet, one bottle has 29 servings so it really goes a long way.
Note: If you are adding this product in, you don’t necessarily also need to have other sources of omega-3 within the same day - for example, skip the fish oil capsule, chia seeds, or instead of salmon have a different type of fish.
Chia Seeds
Tiny little chia seeds are worth every penny! Plus there are tons of ways to work them into your eating routine. For example, you could make up a batch of Reese’s Bites - click here for the recipe! There are two big nutrition benefits of chia seeds: the omega-3 fats and fiber. Each tablespoon serving of chia seeds adds about 2 grams of omega-3 fats and about 5 grams of fiber.
How much to add-in? Add in a tablespoon of chia seeds as a source of omega-3 fats for the day. Keep in mind, as mentioned above, if you are adding in other sources of omega-3 fats like salmon, walnuts, omega-3 oil, etc. you can alternate the sources because you don’t need them all every day.
How to add them in? A very cool property of chia seeds is they are hydrophyllic, which means they absorb water - in fact, about 10 times their weight in water! This makes chia seeds really great for thickening sauces, smoothies, chia pudding, or energy bites. Click here for a delicious chia pudding recipe from my Fuel2Win sports nutrition project.
Another use for chia seeds is to use them as an egg replacement in baking. For each egg: In a small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon of chia seeds with 3 tablespoons of water, let sit for 10 - 15 minutes. Then use in place of eggs in your recipe. This works really well for quick breads and muffins.
Where to buy them? Look for chia seeds in the baking aisle of the grocery store. You may also find them in a “health food” aisle or section or you can buy them on-line from brands like Bob’s Red Mill.
