Grocery Shopping: 10 Tips to Make it Healthy (cont.)
Bread, pasta, rice, and grains offer more opportunities
to work whole grains into your diet. Choose whole-wheat bread and pastas,
brown rice, grain mixes, quinoa, bulgur, and barley. To help your family get
used to whole grains, you can start out with whole-wheat blends and slowly
transition to 100% whole-wheat pasta and breads.
Meat, Fish, and Poultry. The American Heart Association
recommends two servings of fish a week. Ward recommends salmon because
people often like it, and it's widely available, affordable, not too fishy,
and a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. Be sure to choose lean cuts of
meat (like round, top sirloin, and tenderloin), opt for skinless poultry,
and watch your portion sizes.
Dairy. Dairy foods are an excellent source of
bone-building calcium and vitamin D. There are plenty of low-fat and nonfat
options to help you get three servings a day, including drinkable and
single-serve tube yogurts, and pre-portioned cheeses. If you enjoy
higher-fat cheeses, no problem -- just keep your portions small.
Frozen Foods. Frozen fruits and vegetables (without
sauce) are a convenient way to help fill in the produce gap, especially in
winter. Some of Ward's frozen favorites include whole-grain waffles for
snacks or meals, portion-controlled bagels, 100% juices for marinades and
beverages, and plain cheese pizza that she jazzes up with an extra dose of
skim mozzarella cheese and a variety of veggies.
Canned and Dried Foods. Keep a variety of canned
vegetables, fruits, and beans on hand to toss into soups, salads, pasta, or
rice dishes. Whenever possible, choose vegetables without added salt, and
fruit packed in juice. Tuna packed in water, low-fat soups, nut butters,
olive and canola oils, and assorted vinegars should be in every healthy
pantry.
4 Simple Shopping Rules
Nestle offers these simple solutions to savvy shopping without spending hours
in the grocery store:
- Shop the perimeter of the grocery store, where fresh
foods like fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat, and fish are usually located.
Avoid the center aisles where junk foods lurk.
- Choose "real" foods, such as 100% fruit juice or 100%
whole-grain items with as little processing and as few additives as possible.
If you want more salt or sugar, add it yourself.
- Stay clear of foods with cartoons on the label that
are targeted to children. If you don't want your kids eating junk foods, don't
have them in the house.
- Avoiding foods that contain more than five ingredients, artificial
ingredients, or ingredients you can't pronounce.
Published May 26, 2006.
SOURCES: Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH, professor of nutrition, New
York University; author, What to Eat: An Aisle-by-Aisle Guide to Savvy Food
Choices and Good Eating. Elizabeth Ward, RD, author, The Pocket Idiot's
Guide to the New Food Pyramids.
©2006 WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.
