A good way to blow your good eating habits and your pocket book is shopping for food when you’re hungry.

It’s just a bad idea folks, too much temptation while your tummy is rumbling saying, “Feed me.”

It’s something I tend to do far too often. I start off with the best intentions of getting healthy items but hunger has its own plan.

“Let’s see I need chicken for dinner tonight … oh wait this pizza will take only 15 minutes and has pepperoni and BACON. I should get the chicken to make ahead for tomorrow’s dinner, and get the pizza for tonight. YES. In the meantime let me snag this bag of chips and start on these now while shopping.”

Crunch, crunch, crunch crunch…YAY CHEETOS!

Of course then I need a soda to wash down the chips.

There were a few times where I grabbed a ready-made sandwich at the deli to go along with the chips and soda. And if the hunger lingers I may start going aisle by aisle, searching for the next quick grab and chew option.

OMG pickles, I need some for the house (I didn’t). Chocolate chip cookies. I haven’t had these in years (and should still stay away from them but too late I opened the box). It’s summer and it’s hot, so yes we have room for ice cream. (I don’t care what diet you’re on there is ALWAYS room for ice cream).

PEANUTS and DOUGHNUTS and CHEESEBALLS OH MY.

I blame it on the grocery stores. It’s their fault for not providing healthier on-the-go options.

You can grab a bag of chips or cookies or bag of candy and eat while you shop because you can still scan the EMPTY bag or container when you check out and pay for the goods.

Try doing that with fruit!

I’d love to see the look on a store manager’s face when you eat a banana or two and then try to weigh the peel to pay for it. Or grab a bag of grapes and start eating some so by the time you go to pay, it weighs half of what it used to.

Tempting but don’t do it, you might end up meeting security. Not that I tried or that I speak from experience. Okay I did it ONCE.

Yeah the store manager isn’t going to let you weigh just the banana peel or mango pit. So instead you find yourself grubbing through the chips, candy and quick snack aisles in an attempt to hush the roar emanating from your belly, which at this point, is so LOUD it’s scaring little children.

Grocery stores should have a special scale next to their fruits.

This would allow you to weigh your bananas or grapes or mangoes and produce a ticket with the price and weight on a barcode. You can then eat them to your heart’s content and pay for the full price at checkout.

SEE PROBLEM SOLVED…get with the program Wal-Mart, Kroger and Food Lion. This should be implemented ASAP so we the hungry can still eat and shop and NOT destroy our good eating habits. (Well, I guess allowing myself to get that hungry to begin with is a habit I may need to address).

All this talk about food is making me hungry. Time to make my list and head to the store.