Navigating the Grocery Store - USTA
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Fruits & Vegetables Come in different forms: fresh, frozen, and canned. There is no best form and each has their pros and cons. § Purchase fresh fruits and vegetables when they are in season to keep the price down. Choose a variety of colors to obtain different nutrients and flavors! § Frozen produce is often picked and frozen at its peak ripeness. It can also make out-of-season produce less expensive. Frozen produce requires very little preparation and is great steamed, blended into smoothies, or mixed into batters. Avoid frozen produce with sauces, as they add extra fat and sodium. § Canned produce, like frozen, is canned at peak ripeness and costs less when buying out-of-season. It is great for quick preparation and is a pantry staple. During the canning process, preservatives like salt, sugar, or fat are often added, which can alter the texture of the fruit or vegetable. Check the ingredients label and choose low sodium vegetables or fruits canned in juice to keep additives low. General Tips § Avoid overstocking or choosing unhealthy foods by planning ahead and writing a detailed shopping list. § Choose whole, rather than processed, foods. Whole foods allow you to reap the benefits of the food’s full nutritious potential. Whereas processed foods usually contain additives, such as oils and sugars. If buying processed food, make sure to read the ingredients label. Short ingredients lists that contain names you recognize are generally less processed! § Buy the majority of your food from the perimeter of the store—this is where fresh, whole foods (i.e., produce, meats, and dairy) are generally kept. 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, or item, and will help you choose the cheapest product. If no unit price is shown use this simple equation: § Avoid name brands! Many off-brand products contain the same ingredients as their name brand counterparts, but cost less. Read ingredient labels and compare unit prices before making purchases. Unit Price = = = $0.13 per ounce $1.99 15 oz. retail price number of units Navigating the Grocery Store Tara Gidus Collingwood, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN Trish Kellogg, MS, RDN, LDN [email protected] | [email protected]
Transcript of Navigating the Grocery Store - USTA
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
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
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
