Supermarket Savvy

Here are three basic tips on being more supermarket savvy: 

Read labels!  You can find out a lot about the food you eat just by reading the package.  It takes a little extra time at first, but here are some quick things to look for:

Nutrition Facts Label Look for the items that you want to avoid too much of like saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium.  Then look for nutrients that you DO want like fiber, calcium, and protein. 

Ingredients list:  Don’t forget to read the ingredients list, which lists the ingredients of a food in order of the amount that they appear in that food.  Two red flags to watch out for are partially   hydrogenated oils (aka trans fats) and high-fructose corn syrup.    

Use your peripheral vision.  You’ll notice that the periphery of the store is usually where you will find all of the least processed food items like produce, meat, fish, and dairy.  The middle aisles do hold some things that you’ll need, like breakfast cereal, canned items like beans and tomatoes, and bread. 

Have a plan.  It’s important to experiment with new foods to bring variety and excitement into your food experiences.  But, doing so without a plan can result un spoiled food and/or  frustration.  Make sure to have a general idea of what you will do with the foods that you buy.

Throughout the week, most of us need to be flexible with different meal options – depending on our social and work schedules.  But having the basics stocked in your house can help you avoid a last minute fast food stop or considering chips and salsa a well balanced dinner.  Our basic shopping list allows you to have items on hand that will help you put together quick meals and snacks throughout the week.  With a little bit of planning on the weekend, eating healthfully throughout the week can be pretty effortless.

Shopping list: (20 foods to have in your house at all times)

  1. Nonfat or 1% milk (or plain or light calcium-fortified soy milk)

  2. Lowfat or nonfat plain yogurt

  3. 2% mozzarella string cheese

  4. Shredded reduced fat cheese (could be any kind, Mexican blend, mozzarella, etc.)

  5. Thomas’s whole grain English muffins (Try the Light version if  you are watching calories)

  6. Whole grain tortillas (8-10 inch size)

  7. WASA crackers

  8. Whole grain cereal * (Fiber One, Kashi cereals, Cascadian Farms Great Measure, Wheat Chex)

  9. Frozen vegetables (look for no additional ingredients besides the vegetables.)

 10. Frozen fruit (no sugar added—just fruit!)

 11. Quick cooking brown rice or quinoa (also found in rice aisle)

 12. Fresh fruit (about 3-5 pieces per person)

 13. Baby carrots, grape tomatoes, celery, (anything that you will enjoy munching on.)

 14. Hummus

 15. Natural peanut butter (crunchy or smoot; look for peanuts as the only ingredient.

 16. Salsa

 17. Canned beans (any kind: black, kidney, chickpeas, white, etc.)

 18. Lean protein like chicken breast, lean ground turkey, tofu

 19. Fish: Canned tuna (Starkist and Bumble Bee make a very low sodium version that tastes great too!), wild salmon, frozen shrimp 

  20. Frozen veggie burgers: We like Morning Star Farms tomato basil pizza burger, black bean, and mushroom lovers.  Amy's organicTexas burgers are great too!

You can find many more shopping tips and meal ideas by subscribing to Nutrition Stew, the C&J Nutrition monthly newsletter.  Sign up here! (link)

C&J Nutrition can help you be a better shopper with a personalized grocery store tour showing you how to read labels, choose the best produce, and put together healthy meals and snacks with the food you buy.   Link to grocery store tour pdf. 

For specifics on how to choose the best breakfast cereal, see our article for thedietchannel.com by clicking here.