Healthy Shopping and Healthy Cooking
The supermarket is the perfect place to begin making healthy decisions. Before you
shop, remember:
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Always prepare your list in advance, and stick to the items listed. This will keep “impulse
buying” to a minimum, and invest a few minutes in meal planning.
Head for the produce section first. Stocking up fresh fruits and vegetables is always a
good policy.
Try not to shop when you are hungry. Your willpower is lowest at this time.
Buy only the amount of food you need and can store properly.
Get into the habit of reading the nutrition information on food labels, and look for the fat
content in particular, when it’s available in addition to paying attention to the serving
size. When available, compare saturated fat levels as well.
Build your “shopping awareness,” and make smart substitutions.
Dairy Products
When shopping, purchase:
 Skimmed milk or 1% low-fat milk or milk powders.
 Skimmed or low-fat evaporated milk.
 Skimmed or low-fat buttermilk (laben) and sour cream.
 Instead of buying cheese spreads and full cream cheeses (such as Cheddar, American,
Swiss) buy low-fat cottage cheese or part-skimmed cheeses (such as part-skimmed
mozzarella).
 Low-fat or skimmed yoghurt, instead of whole-fat.
When preparing and cooking:
 Use skimmed or low-fat dairy products in soups, puddings, baked products, or sauces
for casseroles.
 Use cheeses lower in salt (sodium) and fat. When cooking with cheese, you can usually
reduce or omit salt in recipes.
 Substitute, low fat or skimmed yoghurt for salad dressing or mayonnaise in some
recipes.
Meat
When shopping, purchase:
 Lean cuts of meat. Cuts of beef from the rib area contain a lot of fat and calories. Extra
lean ground meat or choose your lean meat and have the butcher grind it for you.
 Limit sausages and salamis, which are usually high in fat and salt.
 Limit tinned meats, which are usually high in salt.
When preparing and cooking:
 Trim all excess fat before and after cooking.
 Reduce the number and portion size of red meat meals you serve. A good serving size
for an adult is three ounces of cooked, boneless meat, which is about the size that fits in
the palm of a hand.
 Cook with little or no added fat. If fat is necessary, use vegetable oil, instead of butter,
ghee, solid fat, palm oil, or coconut oil.
 Baste with broth or tomato juice, instead of fatty drippings.
 Place meat on a rack when roasting, broiling, or braising, so that fat can drain away from
the meat.
 Brown the meat without added fat, and drain off the fat before adding other ingredients.
 If you are using fattier meat in stews, cook it the day before, refrigerate, and then skim
off the fat layer.
 Season meat with herbs and spices, rather than with commercially prepared sauces,
such as barbecue sauce, etc., as these are often high in sugar and salt (sodium).
 Limit frying meats, especially battered and breaded.
Chicken
When shopping, purchase:
 All types, fresh or frozen, especially chicken breast and chicken without skin.
When preparing and cooking:
 Defrost poultry in the refrigerator, in a bowl of cold water, or in the microwave. Do not
defrost at room temperature, since harmful bacteria may multiply. Never refreeze raw
chicken after thawing.
 Remove the skin before cooking.
 When preparing chicken broth, it is preferred to cook the chicken first, refrigerate the
broth, and then skim off the fat layer.
 Avoid breading and deep-frying.
 If cooking a whole chicken, use a rack so the fat drips away and isn’t reabsorbed into the
chicken.
Sea food
When shopping, purchase:
 Fresh or frozen fish when fresh, it should have a bright color, a firm texture, and a sweet
smell. Whole fish should look plump and have shiny, clear, protruding eyes.
 Canned fish in water (not oil).
 Limit smoked fish, which is a high in salt.
 Limit fish fingers and cakes, which are higher in fat and salt.
When preparing and cooking:
 Store fish in the coldest part of the refrigerator.
 Wrap frozen fish very tightly, so that no air can penetrate. Avoid fish with ice crystals or
discoloration, as these are signs of freezer burn and result in dry fish.
 Defrost fish in the refrigerator on a plate, pouring off excess liquid as necessary, or in the
microwave, following the microwave manufacturer’s instructions.
 Avoid deep-frying. Use an alternative method, such as stir-frying, baking, grilling,
steaming or using a microwave oven.
Fruits and Vegetables
When shopping, purchase:
 A variety of different colored fruits and vegetables, each color signifies a different
nutrient.
 Fresh fruit and vegetables, which have no or minimal bruising, because the chemical
reactions that occurs in bruised fruit and vegetables mass lead to the loss of some
nutrients and allow the entry of bacteria.
 Fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables are equivalently healthy. Low-salt canned
vegetables when needed.
 Canned fruits in juice (not syrup), when needed.
 Fruit juice and not fruit drink, which usually contains about 10% fruit juice with water,
sugar and artificial flavors.
When preparing and cooking:
 Always keep vegetables and fruit in the designated section of the refrigerator.
 Wash and dry vegetables carefully before adding to salad.
 For more fiber, where possible, do not remove the peel from fruit and vegetables.
 Steam in a minimum amount of water, just to the “tender-crisp” stage. They look and
taste best and retain more nutrients.
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When stir-frying vegetables, use only one or two tablespoons of vegetable oil.
Sprinkle lemon juice flavored vinegar and herbs on steamed vegetables. They add taste
without extra calories.
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Calories mount up quickly when vegetables are fried or when fatty sauces are added.
Use leftover vegetables for soup and leftover fruit for juices.
Use pureed, cooked vegetables, such as carrots, potatoes, or cauliflower, to thicken
soups and sauces, instead of cream, egg yolks, or butter.
Stir chopped, dried fruit into your cookies, muffins, and breads before baking.
Serve cut-up fruit immediately after preparing to minimize vitamin loss.
Grains
When shopping, purchase:
 Choose whole-grain products, such as brown rice, whole-wheat flour, and whole-grain
oat, barley and lye breads, cereals and crackers.
 Be sure to check labels for the term “whole-wheat” to ensure you are getting a wholegrain product. The term “wheat” by itself is no guarantee that you are getting a wholegrain product.
 Buy cereals with a minimum of 5 grams of fiber per serving. When purchasing “non-fat”
or “low-fat” baked goods, be aware that it doesn’t always mean fewer calories. Read the
label and pay attention to the serving size, sugar and calorie content. In addition “Sugar
free” doesn’t necessary mean low calorie. Check the label for serving size, fat content
and calorie content.
When preparing and cooking:
 Use whole-wheat flour whenever possible in your cooking and baking.
 Sprinkle wheat germ or bran on your favorite hot cereal.
 Salt and oil are not necessary when cooking pasta, rice, and hot cereals. Try cooking
pasta and rice in unsalted broth or unsalted tomato juice.
 To prevent bread from going stall, you can freeze it in an airtight bag.
Dried Legumes
When shopping, purchase:
 All varieties – dried, or fresh.
 Canned with low salt content.
When preparing and cooking:
 Limit adding regular cheese and sour cream to bean dishes. Use small amounts of low
fat or skimmed sour cream, yogurt or cheese instead.
Fats and Oils
When shopping:
 Choose from the monounsaturated oils like canola, Olive and peanut oils.
 Choose from the polyunsaturated oils like corn, safflower, sunflower, soybean and grape
seed.
 Limit saturated and trans fatty acids: animal fat, margarine, butter, coconut oil, milk and
cream, palm oil, shortening, cocoa butter, chocolate and cream
When cooking:
 Use monounsaturated fats when cooking as a first choice. Poly unsaturated fats are also
acceptable.
 Avoid frying with olive oil.
 In some occasions you may need to limit the amount of fat in your diet. Speak to your
dietitian if there is a concern.
Other Shopping Tips
 Limit pickled relish, olives and vegetables due to their high salt content.
 Limit regular soft drinks. If desired, purchase diet soft drinks instead.
 Limit purchasing ready-made meals that contain a high salt and fat content. Read the
food label and make your decision wisely.
 Choose nuts without added salt or savory coatings, or you can have raw nuts, oven
baked at home. But be aware that although nuts have healthy monounsaturated and
polyunsaturated fats, they are high in calories.
 When purchasing salad dressings, choose low fat and low calorie options.
Other Cooking Tips
Soups can be very healthy. Limit instant or tinned high salt soups. Purchase low fat, low salt
products, or prepare homemade soups while avoiding heavy cream and regular cheese.
Reading labels
Pay attention to:
 “Cholesterol Free” – Products labeled with this may still have a high fat content, so read
the nutrition facts label carefully.
 “Lite or light” – Some products may have this on their packaging meaning its light in
color or flavor, not in fat content.
 “Brown Bread” or “Wheat Bread” – These products may contain no or little wheat. The
brown color is usually from caramel color. Purchase products that state “whole wheat.”
Tips for Home Baking
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Sugar and fat affect the tenderness and volume of baked products. Sugars also
contribute to the flavor. A balance of ingredients is important. However, less sugar and
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fat can often be used and still result in an excellent result! The following are some
suggestions:
Replace solid fats with fruit puree, such as applesauce or mashed ripe bananas or
mashed cooked pumpkin or sweet potato. This will add flavor, fiber and nutritious
vitamins and minerals.
You may also reduce the fat by replacing a third of the oil with equal parts of a liquid,
such as non-fat buttermilk, non-fat yogurt or fruit juice.
When using fruit puree or fruits in recipes in place of fat, you may reduce the amount of
sugar to about one-third.
Substitute heavy cream with evaporated skim milk.
Use two egg whites or 2 tablespoons of egg substitute in place of one whole egg. If the
recipe calls for more than one egg, we recommend keeping one whole egg for better
taste and texture.
Instead of using a creamy frosting for your cakes, try dusting with cocoa or
confectioner’s sugar.
Use vegetable spray and/or flour instead of oil or butter for greasing a baking sheet.
Instead of buttery pie crusts, you may use cookie crumbs held together with water and a
very small amount of canola (or vegetable) oil.
For recipes requesting nuts as a crunchy topping, use quick-cooking oats or a crunchy
cereal like Grape-Nuts instead. Nuts are healthy, but contain a lot of calories. You may
also just reduce the amount of nuts in some recipes.
Replace each ounce of solid unsweetened chocolate the recipes requires with 3
tablespoons of cocoa powder plus 1 tablespoon of canola oil.
Use sugar substitutes in place of sugar. Pay attention to the sugar substitute label for
those suitable for baking.
Keep in mind:
To keep your end product tender, don’t over mix.
You may need to reduce the cooking temperature to maintain product moisture.
Cooking Methods
Choose any of the following methods for healthy and tasty food:
STEAM: Steaming is a good method of cooking without using fat. Try this method for frozen and
fresh vegetables. Place a steamer in a pot with a little boiling water and cover. Cook until the
vegetables are just tender to preserve color and vitamins.
BRAISE: Braising is mainly for meats that need longer cooking times to become tender. This is
also a good method for cooking root vegetables.
BARBECUE: Roasting foods on a rack or a spit over coals is fun. Trim the visible fat from the
meat to reduce its caloric content and to prevent a flare-up of burning fat which may become
carcinogenic. If seasoning food with a sauce, try one with less salt, sugar, and fat.
BROIL: Broiling is a quick way of cooking foods under direct heat without added fat. It is an
excellent method of cooking poultry, fish, and tender cuts of meat .Use a broiling pan or a rack
set in a shallow pan to allow fat to drain away.
STIR-FRY: Quick and easy, stir-frying requires relatively little fat and preserves the crispy
texture and bright color of vegetables. Add just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan lightly,
add food, and stir constantly while cooking.
ROAST OR BAKE: Roasting takes somewhat longer than other methods but requires little work
on your part. Poultry and tender cuts of meat may be roasted. Some vegetables may also be
baked.
BOIL OR STEW: Foods are cooked in hot liquids in these low fat, low salt methods.
The liquid left after cooking can become a tasty broth or the base of a sauce.
MICROWAVE: Microwaving is a faster method of cooking food than most others. It is not
necessary to add fat to meat, poultry, or fish, and little water is required for vegetables. Follow
the microwave manufacturer’s directions for best results.
Healthy eating does not have to be a time-consuming task.
It takes just a little thought and planning.
It’s important to plan your menus. Try to think about what foods to eat together for a
meal, a day, or a week.