Healthy Grocery Shopping

Healthy Grocery Shopping—by Kathy Smith

 
If you don't consider yourself a cook, or if you've been having a hard time making good food choices, going to the grocery store can feel intimidating. It may even make you nervous. But with these tips, shopping for food can be easy and fun.

• Plan your meals at home.
  When you head to the store without preplanning your meals, you may end up buying products or ingredients that you already own or that don't pair nicely with those that you do have. Instead, begin your grocery experience at home by planning out a week's worth of healthy meals. To stretch your dollar further, try to use the same fresh ingredient at least twice in a week. If you're using lettuce on Monday, try to use it again in a different way on Wednesday and Friday. This way, what you don't use the first time doesn't go to waste.
   
• Stick to the perimeters.
  By avoiding the middle aisles, you mostly avoid the prepackaged, processed foods that contain added sugars, preservatives, and other nasty ingredients. What's left? Plenty! Fresh vegetables and fruits, meats, dairy products, and more. Fresh food has color! Zest! Personality!
   
• Don't miss the frozen aisle.
  One exception to the perimeter rule is the frozen section. Here, as long as you can dodge the temptations of pizza and ice cream, you can find vegetables that have been flash-frozen to retain their nutritional values. If you're looking for veggies to add to stir-fries or other dishes, and you don't want to spend time chopping, don't miss this aisle.

 

• Load up on veggies A popular misconception is that prepackaged foods are quicker and easier to prepare. Not so! Most vegetables take only a few minutes to cook, and a proper portion of protein takes only minutes as well. (Even if you're marinating, the actual cooking time is really quite short!) Chop up some fresh veggies and toss them into a salad with a little tuna, and you've got a super-healthy meal in minutes! Or put a little water in a pan, slice up some vegetables, and steam them for a tasty side.
   
• The meat of the matter.
  For non-vegetarian proteins, head to the butcher or seafood section of the store, and select a fresh cut of a lean protein like chicken or fish. You'll find a little salt and pepper, some of that garlic you have in your cart, and a shake or two of some herbs will transform your chicken. For fish, just brush some heart-healthy olive oil onto a filet and lay it in your skillet. If you find raw proteins intimidating, most markets have a deli where you can find poached fish, roasted chickens, and more. Or you can opt for canned proteins like tuna.
   
• What about starch?
  I'm sure you're familiar with the concept of the low-carb diet, where most (if not all) starches are avoided. Instead of avoiding starches altogether, I prefer the concept that you group them into 2 categories: those that you should "Eat Often" and those that you should "Eat Rarely." Starches that fall into the "Eat Often" category are less refined, contain more nutrients, and keep your blood sugar levels stable because they take longer to digest. These include complex carbs like whole grain bread, whole oats, brown rice, and quinoa. Starches that fall into the "Eat Rarely" category are converted into sugar quickly and spike your blood levels. They contain little to no fiber, burn off quickly, leaving you hungry, and can trigger cravings for more sugar and simple carbohydrates. These include such products as regular pasta, white bread, and white rice.

• Serving size and calories
  Often, food is not packaged as a single serving. A package may contain 4 servings, 8 servings, or more, depending on the product. An easy way to accidentally pile on the calories is to eat more than one serving. For example, a small package of nuts may contain 3 servings of nuts at 170 calories per serving. If you ate all 3 servings, you'd have inhaled 510 calories! Also, keep in mind that a single serving may contain more calories than you wish to consume, so you may need to cut a serving in half or into thirds.

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  Carbohydrate content
  If you're watching your carbohydrates, you'll want to pay attention to this number. Each carbohydrate is equal to 4 calories. Multiply the number of grams by 4, and you'll be able to get the total number of calories from carbs that are in the item. Then divide that number by the total number of calories in the product, and you'll know what percentage of calories are from carbs. Even if you're not counting carbs, you'll want to keep "Sugars," which are listed under carbs, as low as possible.
  
     
• Protein content
  Protein helps to keep you satisfied, so try to choose foods that are low in fat but high in protein like Greek yogurt and tuna fish.
  
     
• Ingredients
  On the nutrition label, ingredients are listed in order from highest to lowest content. For instance, if sugar is the first ingredient, this means that the most prevalent item in the product is sugar. Also, try to avoid foods that contain more than 10 ingredients and those that contain ingredients that sound man-made.