Healthy Shopping and Eating Tips
for 2007
Sally Barclay, MS RD LD
Nutrition Clinic for Employee
Wellness
Grocery Shopping
• Do you dread it?
• Can be daunting and time consuming!
• Average suppemarket-40,000 items with 43 new
items added daily!
• Eating healthy begins with bringing healthy
selections and ingredients home
• Buying groceries and cooking at home gives you
more control over your eating!
General Shopping Tips
• Eat first! Shopping while hungry leads to
impulse purchases
• Make a list-check it twice! Plan menus to save
trips to the store! Organize list by layout of
store. Keep master list of food you use regularly.
• Shop alone-you spend 10-40% more with kids
along and most of that is not healthy food!
General Shopping Tips
• Shop the “perimeter” -outer aisles of store as
these contain less processed foods-produce,
seafood, lean meat, low fat dairy
• Frozen foods are cheaper than fresh and won’t
wind up in the trash before you can eat them!
• Pause and read labels and compare choices!
• Beware of deceptive marketing—ways to entice
and fool the consumer!
General Shopping Tips
• Scout for foods with color-produce, marinara
sauce, frozen veggies
• Be kind to your wallet-buy store brands, foods in
season, frozen seafood
• Buy condiments to add flavor and health-herbs
and spices, flavorful oils, mustard, vinegar
• Make wise snack choices-don’t bring trigger
foods into your home!
Label Lingo
Focus on important information on Nutrition
Facts label:
• Serving size- in common household
measurements and by weight--compare this to
the amount you actually eat!
• Servings per container-note carefully!
Sometimes even small packages contain more
than one serving!
Label Lingo
• Calories-how much energy you get from one
serving-eating excess calories over what is
needed for body’s activity is linked to weight
gain
• % Daily Value-a quick way to size up the
nutritional value of a food-shows how this food
fits into overall daily intake
% Daily Value
What nutrients will one serving of this food
contribute?
What percentage will it contribute to daily
recommended amount?
• Based on 2000 calories
• High if 20% or higher
• Low if 5% or less
• No % DV for sugars, protein, some types of fat
Nutrients to Limit
Limit total daily intake to no more than 100%
• Total fat-eating too much increases risk for
heart disease, cancer, obesity
Also get Saturated Fat (% DV) and Trans Fat (no
% DV) content- these are most linked to poor
health outcomes
Sometimes get polyunsaturated and
monounsaturated fat (no %DV)-add sense of
fullness but also calories
Other Nutrients to Limit
• Cholesterol- linked to cardiovascular disease
(less than 300 mg/day)
• Sodium-linked to hypertension and heart
disease (less than 2400 mg per day)
For all of these nutrients-limit intake to no more
than 100% for daily intake
Nutrients to Encourage
You want to get 100% or more of these each day to
improve your health and reduce the risk of disease:
• Potassium-BP control, muscle conduction (3500
mg/day)
• Dietary Fiber - helps with blood sugar control, bowel
regularity, may lower cholesterol, helps you feel satisfied
(aim for at least 25 grams/day)
• Vitamins A and C- antioxidants, health benefits
• Calcium- prevention of osteoporosis, BP control
• Iron- proper oxygenation of tissue, prevent anemia
Ingredient List
• Listed in descending order from highest to
lowest amount by weight
• Main ingredient is listed first, ingredient present
in least amount is last
• See if fats used are healthful or harmful?
• Is product truly made with whole grains?
• Sources of sugar used?
Health Claims
• FDA has strict guidelines on how these food
label terms can be used
Low calorie-less than 40 calories per serving
Low cholesterol-less than 20 mg of cholesterol
and 2 gm or less of saturated fat per serving
High fiber-5 or more grams of fiber per serving
Health Claims
Light- 1/3 fewer calories or ½ the fat of the usual
food
Reduced- 25% less than usual product
Lean (protein)-10 grams of fat or less, 4.5 grams
of saturated fat and less than 95 mg of
cholesterol per 3 ounce serving
Healthy-decreased fat, sat fat, sodium and
cholesterol and at least 10% DV of vitamins A,
C, iron, protein, calcium and fiber
Look at products
• What is serving size?
How many servings are in this package?
• How much total fat is in one serving? Does this
product contain any harmful fats?
• How much fiber is one serving?
• Does this item contain good sources of any
other nutrients? (%DV of 20% or more)
Nutrient Rich Shopping List
• Whole grain breads, cereal, pasta, tortillas, rice, crackers,
quinoa, barley, couscous
• Deep, rich colored fruits and vegetables—go for
variety!
• Fat-free or low-fat dairy: cheeses, milk, yogurt, cottage
cheese
• Plant proteins: tofu and soy products, legumes, nuts,
seeds
• Lean proteins: fish, beef, pork, poultry
• Healthy Fats: canola, olive
• Healthy Beverages: water, coffee, tea
Dairy
• Skim or 1% percent milk, buttermilk
• Nonfat or low fat yogurt
• Lower fat cheeses (ideally less than 5 grams of
fat per ounce-remember this is sat fat)
• Low-fat cottage cheese, ricotta cheese
• Trans fat –free tub margarines
Beware of products with hydrogenated fat listed as
one of first three ingredients
Protein Foods
• Lean cuts of beef and pork (loin and round)
• Skinless chicken and turkey
• Fish and shellfish-fresh, frozen or canned in
water
• Eggs
• Dried or canned beans, lentils, peas (legumes)
• Nuts of all kinds
• Soy products
Whole grains
• Oatmeal, whole grain cereals
• Whole rye-breads and crackers
• Whole wheat, cracked wheat-cereals, breads
crackers, pasta
• Whole grain corn-tortillas, cornmeal, popcorn
• Brown Rice, Wild rice
• Barley, including pearled
• Quinoa
Fruits and Vegetables
• Fresh- the deeper the color the more nutrition
• Frozen- without sugar or added cream or cheese
sauce
• Canned-packed in juice, no salt added
• Dried- without added sugar
• Juices-100% juice--without added sugar
Fats and Oil
• Peanut butter and other nut butters
• Tub margarine with no trans fats
• Olive, Canola and Peanut oil (higher in
monounsaturated fats)
• Corn, sunflower, safflower, soybean oils- higher
in polyunsaturated fats
• Non-stick cooking spray
• Reduced fat mayo, salad dressings
Condiments
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Herbs and spices
Fresh garlic, ginger
Mustard
Vinegars
Lemon, lime juice
Salsa
Chutneys
Beverages
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Water is still the best!
Fat free or 1% milk
Soy milk
Tea
Coffee-watch additives
Things to Limit in your Cart!
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Refined sugars
White flour
Hydrogenated or Partially hydrogenated oils
“Empty calories”—food with low nutrient
density that provide mainly just calories without
any nutritional value