Grocery Shopping

Since what we eat at home depends on what we buy at the grocery store, how we choose food at the store is very important. How do you decide which food you will buy? Do you go by the picture on the box? Do you go by price? Taste? Do you look at the nutrition facts panel? Most people buy according to taste or cost although there are always some items that most people prefer one brand other another.

How do you shop if you are trying to eat healthy? The most common suggestion dietitians say is "shop the perimeter of the store". The perimeter is where the fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy, fresh meat and bread is typically located. Any and all fresh fruits and vegetables are healthy (it is what we put on them such as cheese and salad dressing that adds calories). The greater the variety, the brighter the colors, the better. Personally, I do not care which ones people chose, just so they eat them.

For dairy, opt for the low-fat or non-fat varieties. Taking out the fat changes the taste of the item and can also change the consistency of a finished product if using the item in a recipe. I try to take into account what I will be using the dairy product for. For example, if I am going to make a sour cream dip which also includes several other ingredients, I will probably pick the non-fat sour cream because the other ingredients will help give the recipe flavor. If I am going to put sour cream on a baked potato, I might choose the low-fat version because I will be able to taste the sour cream more directly. For milk, I always choose the non-fat or 1% version due to the lower saturated fat and calorie content of it versus the higher fat options.

White meat chicken and turkey and fish are all great protein sources. For beef and pork, choose lower fat options. Don't know which ones they are? Look for cuts of meat without fat on the outside and limited marbling throughout the meat. Leaner ground beef tends to be more expensive. If you need to buy the higher fat ground beef for financial reasons, simply drain the oil off of the meat after frying. Rinsing the meat quickly under hot running water is another option. You can also look at what you plan to do with it. Use the higher fat ground meat for items where you fry it and can drain the fat and save the more expensive leaner beef for dishes such as meat loaf where the meat will not have to sit in so much grease.

Bread can be tricky. "Wheat" bread is the same as "white" bread. Look for "whole grain bread". If the front label does not say "whole grain", look at the ingredient list. The first item should be a "whole grain" flour of some kind. The commissary has at least 5 different kinds of whole grain bread (be sure to check the frozen section also).

The commissary was nice when they redesigned the layout to move all soda and snack foods to one area. Since these are not healthy foods, we can skip a full 1/3 of the store.

Processed foods take a bit more work than the food I mentioned earlier because these are not single foods and are not in their original form. Right from the start, if a food item comes in a box, it probably has added sugar, fat and/or salt. Canned goods may or may not have added fat and sugar but typically have added salt.

The first thing I ask myself is "does this look healthy?" Are there vegetables or fruit in it? If it contains grains, is it whole grains or refined grains? Is there meat in it? If so, is it a lean meat like chicken or a fatty meat like sausage? For example, if I see a box of macaroni and cheese, I see no vegetables, fruit, protein and whole grains. I do see white pasta and the cheese adds saturated fat. Not a very healthy item. I would be more willing to get a macaroni and cheese with whole grain noodles.

Reading the food label becomes very important. I have been surprised many times when an item that sounds healthy is also high in calories and/or fat. The first thing I look at on the food label is the calories per serving and the number of servings in the box or can. Boxes and cans of food usually contain more than 1 serving and if you plan on eating the whole thing, you need to multiply the calories by the number of servings. Because the item we are talking about could be anything, I can not tell you "if calories are over 500, don't eat it".

The next thing I look at is total fat, saturated fat, and trans fat. Saturated and trans fat can increase blood cholesterol levels and may lead to heart disease later in life. Try to keep these numbers as low as possible.

The ingredient list is very important. About a week ago, I realized that I read the label on every item in my basket. I never buy a new or unknown-to-me item without first reading the label. If the ingredient list covers half of the label, the food item probably contains a bunch of additives, including that added fat, sugar and salt mentioned earlier, that I do not want eat. Being a dietitian for so long, I know what a lot of the impossibly long words are in the ingredient list. If I do not know what it is, I do not want to eat it. So, long lists and long words - the item stays on the shelf.

I follow the same guidelines for frozen foods. Does it look healthy? How are the calories and fat? Anything unexpected in the ingredient list? Frozen stir-fry meals that have vegetables, noodles and meat (sometimes) are great quick and easy meals. Watch the sauces though as some are high in fat and calories. Frozen veggies are great to have on hand and have no added salt. Again watch for added sauces like cheese.

All this label checking may sound like it takes a long time. We tend to buy the same foods over and over. Once you have found the best choice in a particular category (for example, spaghetti sauce), you do not need to check the label every time. After a while, you will see which foods have more calories and/or fat just be looking at the picture on the front of the package.

Happy shopping!