Shop smart

GEETA KHURANA offers tips on how to make sure your supermarket trolley is full of good, healthy and sensible food options

The weekly grocery activity is a very important part of our life as what we add to our trolley every week is what we eat, and therefore affects our nutritional status and health. Is our trolley full of veggies and fruits or does it have loads of fizzy drinks and frozen snacks or chips? Most of the time we are fascinated by attractive food packaging and misleading claims which are mainly marketing hype. Sometimes even if we want to shop healthy, the time it takes to read food labels and claims on various products which may or may not be true confuse us so much, that we end up buying the regular stuff. There is an ever-increasing range of foods available, making shopping all the more confusing especially if you have to haggle with your kids besides you and their unlimited demands. Discounts, specials - cost affects our grocery shopping, but there are still a few factors that can be kept in mind to help keep a nutritious diet.

Plan a menu Planning a weekly menu helps to shop better. Look for weekly specials and try to plan your menu for the week which saves time and also helps avoid a lot of useless and extra shopping. Also, having a planned healthy menu and the required ingredients at home helps avoid eating unplanned last minute unhealthy meals and dining out.

Try to plan your meal according to the ‘Food Pyramid’ to ensure healthy meals. Make a list:After a long days’ work, if

Healthy shopping cart

Your healthy shopping cart should include: l Low fat dairy food such as lite milk, fat free yoghurts, and lite cheese. Have 2-3 serves of low fat dairy every day. l Go in for wholegrain breads, pastas, cereals, and biscuits instead of the processed ones. These are important sources of fiber and are low GI foods, and therefore healthier. l At least half of your trolley should be full of fruit and vegetables. These are full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and therefore, are an integral part of our diet. Have at least 2 fruits and 5 serves of veggies every day. Buy a variety of fruits and vegetables, as no single fruit or vegetable is perfect for all our nutritional needs. l Eggs, nuts, legumes, fish and lean meat and poultry are good protein foods. Try to have fish twice a week. Go in for the low fat portions. Avoid deep fried pre-cooked foods. l Choose low fat mayonnaise and salad dressings. l Look for low sodium soups and sauces. Avoid high fat gravies. you go grocery shopping tired and hungry without a list or a menu for the week, you tend to wander around and buy whatever looks good. So you reach home with a trolley full of unhealthy snack foods or whatever was on ‘special’. Making a list helps us buy healthy stuff and all the ingredients needed for nutritionally balanced meals for the week. It also saves money and time. And try as far as possible to stick to the list, and not be influenced by flashy advertisements and discounts.

Read food labels This is a great way to compare different products and shop smart. This is especially important for anyone with diet-related conditions like diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity or a food allergy. Ingredient lists and nutrition information tables on food packages hold the key to understanding what’s actually in the products/packets we buy. Try to study the ingredient list as well as the nutrition list, such as the amount of calories, protein, carbohydrates, fats (especially saturated fats), sodium and fiber. For example, if you compare two products for total or saturated fats, pick the one with the lesser amount of fat; or if you compare fiber, the foods with higher levels of fiber should be the first priority.

Look for the blue seal of GI which helps in choosing low GI foods. This symbol indicates that a food has had its GI measured using the Australian Standard to ensure its accuracy and that it meets with the strict nutrient criteria, consistent with Australia’s Dietary Guidelines. This means that the food must contain at least 10 grams of carbohydrate per serve, be low in saturated fat, moderate in sodium and where appropriate, should be a source of dietary fiber. Many products available in the supermarket have this symbol. Also the red tick by the Heart Foundation should be kept in mind while picking up foods, especially frozen non-vegetarian products and margarines.

Frozen foods Frozen foods and vegetables are very convenient and stand less of a chance of spoiling.

But make sure you choose product without any added sauces, salt, or additives. When buying canned fruit, buy the ones canned in natural juice and not in sugar syrup.

Ready-to-cook meals are handy, though a bit expensive.

But keeping some healthy options at home again helps to avoid cooking junk food.

Party foods Keep some room for treats and special occasions, but strive for moderation.

Some foods labelled ‘lite’ or ‘light’ may be confusing as ‘light olive oil’ may actually be light in color or texture. and not necessarily light in fat.

Fancy Packaging Try not to be overwhelmed by fancy, colorful, and attractive packaging and try to buy stuff after reading and understanding the food labels and ingredient list. Try to use discounts only on products that you usually buy, instead of just piling up unnecessary calories for the sake of saving cents.