Start by making a list and making sure you’re not hungry
before you go. Shop the perimeter of the
store searching for Choose mostly foods (bread, cereal, produce, dairy) vs food
products (fruit snacks, diet soda, cheese spread), with a short ingredient
list. Keep the 3-3-300 Rule: 3g Saturated fat, 3 g fiber or more, less than 300
mg Sodium (140mg or less is even better). Avoid aisles you don’t need to go
down.
When you reach the produce aisle make sure to include
something from each color group and remember you need 5-9 servings per
day. Fill in the gaps with canned and
frozen produce to keep costs down. Just
remember to look for low sodium vegetables and fruits packed in water or its
own juice. In the meat aisle be sure to include fish twice a week- this can be
canned. Otherwise choose lean meat:
Beef: flank steak, sirloin tip, eye
of round, top round, tenderloin, top loin, rump roast, extra lean ground beef.
Poultry- white meat without
skin.
Pork: tenderloin, center loin,
Canadian bacon.
Keep in mind you lose about
25% with cooking so to get a 3 oz portion buy 4 oz.
In
the cereal aisle look for the first ingredient to be a whole grain. Check the nutrition facts for at least 3 g
fiber, less than 5% sodium, and 10g or less sugar. Similar rules apply to the bread
aisle. Look for whole
grain as first ingredient, as much as possible buy breads with 3-5g fiber per
slice and 5% or less sodium. Fruits vegetables make the best snacks try them
with hummus or nonfat yogurt (by itself or plain yogurt mixed with low sodium
seasonings for vegetables). Choose whole grain, low fat snacks. Use caution
with protein bars-check sugar. Always check serving sizes.
In the dairy aisle choose nonfat of 1% for family members
over 2 years old or unsweetened dairy alternatives if you prefer. Check the sugar content of your yogurt. Look for added sugars. Yogurt will have
naturally occurring sugars from lactose (milk sugar).
Regular:
15-16g
Greek:
6-9g
Icelandic:
6g
Subtract these numbers from the sugars listed in the
nutrition to get the grams of added sugar.
Remember that a good diet is about overall diet quality; make
sure as you reach check out that the the majority of your cart is healthy real
foods. Avoid last minute temptations of
breads, candy, and sweetened beverages while standing in the checkout line.
