Fruits & Vegetables Comeindifferentforms:fresh,frozen,andcanned.Thereisnobestformandeachhastheirprosandcons.

§ Purchase fresh fruits and vegetableswhen they are in season to keep the price down. Choose a variety ofcolorstoobtaindifferentnutrientsandflavors!

§ Frozenproduce isoften picked and frozen at itspeak ripeness. It canalsomake out-of-season produce lessexpensive. Frozenproduce requires very little preparation and is great steamed,blended into smoothies, ormixedintobatters.Avoidfrozenproducewithsauces,astheyaddextrafatandsodium.

§ Cannedproduce,likefrozen,iscannedatpeakripenessandcostslesswhenbuyingout-of-season.Itisgreatforquickpreparationand is apantry staple.Duringthecanningprocess,preservatives likesalt, sugar,or fatareoftenadded,whichcanalterthetextureofthefruitorvegetable.Checktheingredientslabelandchooselowsodiumvegetablesorfruitscannedinjuicetokeepadditiveslow.

General Tips § Avoidoverstockingorchoosingunhealthyfoodsbyplanningaheadandwritingadetailedshoppinglist.

§ Choose whole, rather than processed, foods. Whole foods allow you to reap the benefits of the food’s fullnutritious potential. Whereas processed foods usually contain additives, such as oils and sugars. If buyingprocessedfood,makesuretoreadtheingredientslabel.Shortingredientsliststhatcontainnamesyourecognizearegenerallylessprocessed!

§ Buythemajorityofyourfoodfromtheperimeterofthestore—this iswherefresh,wholefoods(i.e.,produce,meats,anddairy)aregenerallykept.

Bang for Your Buck § Look for the unit price while shopping, which is listed separately

from the retail price. The unit price shows the cost per ounce,pound,oritem,andwillhelpyouchoosethecheapestproduct.Ifnounitpriceisshownusethissimpleequation:

§ Avoid name brands! Many off-brand products contain the sameingredients as their name brand counterparts, but cost less. Readingredientlabelsandcompareunitpricesbeforemakingpurchases.

UnitPrice= = =$0.13perounce$1.99

15oz.retailprice

numberofunits

Navigating the Grocery Store

Tara Gidus Collingwood, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN Trish Kellogg, MS, RDN, LDN

tara@dietdiva.net | trish@dietdiva.net

Frozen Meals Lookfornatural,organic,orlimited ingredientswhen buying frozenmeals. Choose those withlow fat, low sodium, and ingredients yourecognize.Amy’smealsaremade fromscratchand feature fresh ingredients from local farms.OtherbrandstotryareEvol,Luvo,Stouffer’sFitKitchen,CedarLane,andArtisanBistro.

Grains Any food made from wheat, rice, oats,cornmeal,barley,orothercerealisconsidereda grain product. Grains are divided into twosubgroups: whole grains and refined grains.Makeatleasthalfofyourgrainswholegrains.§ Oatmeal: Old-fashioned oats and steel

cut oats are the least processed of theoatmeal varieties and contain the mostfiber.

§ Cereal: When choosing cereal look forcereals that contain 10 grams or less ofsugar and at least 5 grams of fiber perserving.

§ Brown Rice and Quinoa: Both rice andquinoa can be purchased fresh or inconvenient90-secondpackets.

§ Other grain products include bread,tortillas, crackers, pasta, amaranth,popcorn,millet,andbuckwheat.

Proteins Meat:Buyleanmeatssuchaspoultry,fish,andbeef.Meatcanbepurchasedfreshorfrozen.Whenbuyingfrozenmeat,avoidpre-breadedorfriedoptions.§ Poultry:Chickenandturkeyarebothgreatoptionsthat canbetransformedeasilywithavarietyof flavors

thatarecustomizabletoanypreference.Boneless,skinlessoptionsarequickandeasy!§ Beef:Whenbuyingbeef,purchasecutswithlittlevisiblefatortrimtheexcessfatathome.Forgroundbeef,

aimfor90/10orleaner.BeefisagoodsourceofBvitamins,zinc,andiron!§ Fish: Fish is a low-fat option that is loaded with nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, vitamin D,

magnesium,andzinc.Aimforfattyfish(e.g.,salmon,mackerel,sardines,andalbacoretuna)togetthemostomega-3sperserving.

§ SlicedDeliMeat:Lunchmeatisaquickwaytoaddano-cookproteintoanymeal.Addittosalads,wraps,orsandwiches.Trytoavoidsweetenedmeats,suchashoneyham.

Eggs: Eggs are a quick and easy way to get protein. They can be purchased fresh or pre-cooked from the delisection.Don’tworryaboutshellcolor,thereisnodifferencebetweentheeggs!Vegetarian:Tofu,seitan,andlegumesarewaystoaddproteintovegetariandishes.Tofuandseitantakeonflavorwellandaregreatinstir-fry.Legumessuchasbeans,lentils,andpeasaregreatinsoups,ricebowls,orsaladsandareloadedwithfiber!

Dairy § Milk:Whenbuyingmilk,trytobuy2%orlessto

avoidextrafat intake. Ifwantingflavoredmilk,try adding chocolate, vanilla, or strawberryflavoringsathometocontrolsugarcontent.

§ GreekYogurt:Greekyogurthas twiceasmuchprotein and half the carbohydrates of regularyogurt.Greekyogurtcanbeusedasahealthiersubstitute for sour cream or mayo in recipes.Try plain Greek yogurt with honey and freshberriesforahighproteinsnack.

§ Cheese: Choose low-fat and reduced-fatvarieties to limit saturated fat intake. Cottagecheese is also a great choice for snacks andmeals;pair itwithpineappleortomatoesforaquickandnutritioussnack.

Non-Perishables In a time crunch? Keep your panty stocked withnutritious,non-perishables to create ahealthymealorsnackinminutes!§ Canned/Jarred: spaghetti sauce, soups, fruit,

vegetables,fish,andchicken.§ Dehydrated:fruits,vegetables,andbeefjerky.§ Nuts/Nut Butters: purchase all natural nut

butterswithnoaddedoilorsugar.§ Dressings:aimforvinaigrettesoryogurt-based

creamydressings.

Tara Gidus Collingwood, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN Trish Kellogg, MS, RDN, LDN

tara@dietdiva.net | trish@dietdiva.net

Grocery Shopping List

! Eggs ! SlicedDeliMeat! Poultry! Beef! GroundMeat! Fish! Shrimp! PorkTenderloin! Tofu/Tempeh/Seitan! ! !

! Milk! GreekYogurt! Kefir! CottageCheese! Cheese! ! !

! Hummus! Salsa! Guacamole! FrozenYogurt! FrozenMeals! FrozenSoyProducts! ! !

Proteins

Dairy

Miscellaneous

! Carrots! Potatoes! Squash! Corn! Onion! Lettuce! Spinach/Kale! Cucumber! Tomato! GreenBeans! Broccoli! Cauliflower! Asparagus! ! !

! CannedSoup! CannedTuna! CannedChicken! Beans! PastaSauce! SaladDressing! DriedFruit! Nuts! NutButters! Jelly! Granola/ProteinBars! OliveOil! ! !

Non-Perishables

Fruits & Vegetables ! Bananas! Apples! Pears! Berries! Melon! Honeydew! Pineapple! Grapes! Oranges! Peaches! Plums! KiwiFruit! Avocado! ! !

! WholeWheat/Grain! Bread! Tortillas! Pitas! Bagels! EnglishMuffins

! Cereal! Oats! Granola! Popcorn! Pasta! Rice! Quinoa! ! !

Grains

Tara Gidus Collingwood, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN Trish Kellogg, MS, RDN, LDN

tara@dietdiva.net | trish@dietdiva.net