Making wise food choices at the grocery store requires thought and time.
Sadly, many of the foods that are in the grocery store aisles today are not the best choices. In general, if you shop the perimeter of the store, you will find more of the healthy food choices that you desire.
Foods found in the deli are an exception to this rule. They tend to be full of salt, fat and/or sugar.
The key to selecting the best foods is to look at the “nutrition facts” label when it is available. Most people look at the calories and fat, but you can find other important nutrients as well.
The key is to compare similar products and to make sure the serving size is the amount you really eat.
Many people do not understand the “Percent Daily Value” listed on the label for many of the nutrients. This is a value that tells you what percentage of a nutrient that product contains versus a recommended amount for a person who eats 2,000 calories a day.
All you need to remember is that for healthy nutrients such as calcium or vitamin C, you want to get a least 100 percent of the daily value each day, and for less healthy nutrients such as cholesterol or saturated fat, you want to get less than 100 percent of the daily value per day. Of course, you will not probably get this entire amount from one food. Normally you get your daily quota from a variety of foods that contain different amounts of that nutrient.
A food is high in a nutrient if the daily value is 20 percent or more. It is low in a nutrient if it has 5 percent of the daily value or less. If you require a different amount of calories, you will need to do some math to figure out your exact needs, but for product comparisons, just looking at the data on the label is enough.
To improve your food choices, begin at home. Look at the nutrition facts labels on foods you already buy. Focus on the key nutrients that concern you. If you try to consider too many nutrients at once, you will get confused.
Decide on one food you want to replace before going to the store. By selecting only a single food to change, you will spend less time in the store as you scan labels.
Look at foods similar to the one you have decided to replace. If you find a similar product with a better nutrient content and the price is right, buy it.
Keep in mind that many products that are called low-fat or low in sugar may not be that different in calories than the original product. You have to decide if the change is worth it. And of course the final decision will depend on whether it tastes good.
Once you have changed this initial food, move on to other products you want to replace.
Not all foods will have acceptable substitutes, but new products are always appearing, so don’t give up.
You will probably find replacements for at least half of the foods that you decide don’t meet your nutrition goals.
This process may sound time consuming, but if you change one food a week, you will be eating a healthier diet in just a few months.
These suggestions may help you in making healthier changes:
— Select crackers made with whole grains with less than 5 grams of fat per serving and less than 250 milligrams of sodium.
— Whole wheat should be the first ingredient on a bread label.
— Reduced fat cheese should have 6 grams of fat or less.
— Choose pasta sauces with the lowest amount of sodium and fat.
— Choose low-sodium canned vegetables or rinse salted canned vegetables in water and cook in fresh water.
— Buy frozen vegetables without added salt or sauce.
— Select reduced-sodium and reduced-fat canned soups.
— Choose reduced-fat or fat-free margarine in a tub or bottle.
— Good vegetable oils are olive and canola oils.
— Most frozen and boxed dinners are high in sodium and fat.
— The fat content of frozen dinners will vary a great deal.
— Low-cost frozen dinners often are higher in fat and calories.
— Try sugar-free gelatin and pudding.
— Select light or fat-free salad dressings and mayonnaise.
— Try low- or reduced-sodium soy sauce, ketchup and pickles.
Jan Baggarly is Bibb County Extension Coordinator with the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension working in the field of family and consumer sciences.
source: macon
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