Healthy Tips: Navigating the Grocery Store

If you’ve started a new fitness routine or are making lifestyle changes, your familiar local grocery store can suddenly seem intimidating. You may think you need to buy “all new foods,” completely overhauling your current eating plan.
Kimberly Edwards, a registered dietitian with Beaufort Memorial LifeFit Wellness Services, warns that fitting all new foods into your day-to-day routine can be overwhelming, and you may end up throwing away items that spoil before you can use them.
But help is here! Follow her tips to navigate the grocery store like a pro.

Plan ahead
Always shop with a grocery list and have a plan for each food listed. Planning meals for the week can be helpful.
It helps to know the layout of your grocery store, which aisles contain the healthy necessities and which ones you might want to avoid.
Never go shopping when you’re hungry. Your blood sugar is probably running low and your decision-making skills are not at their best, causing you to add unhealthy items to your cart. Keep chips, cookies and other “trigger foods” out of the cart if you think portion control will be a problem.

Start in produce, shop the perimeter
The perimeter of the store is usually where fruits, vegetables, healthy proteins and dairy are found. Start your shopping in the produce section and continue around the perimeter of the store before heading down the interior aisles.
Most of your foods should come from the produce section. For breakfast, fruits can be added to whole-grain cereals or smoothies and sautéed vegetables to eggs. For lunch and dinner, think salads and roasted vegetables. Stock up on raw fruits and vegetables (like carrots, grape tomatoes, broccoli) for snacks.
Produce in season will not only make for more affordable choices but will also maximize the variety of fruits and vegetables you eat over the course of the year.

Meat and fish
Focus on lean cuts of meats and fish, and work toward replacing meat with fish at some meals. Lean cuts include beef and pork labeled “loin,” “tenderloin” and “round.” Ground beef should be at least 97 percent lean.
When selecting chicken and turkey, look for skinless and for leaner parts like the breast. If buying ground poultry as an alternative to ground beef, make sure it’s labeled “ground turkey or chicken breast” and not just “ground turkey” or “ground chicken.” Opt for fish like salmon, tuna and whitefish (and canned fish should be packed in water, not oil).

Milk/Dairy/Cheese
Select lower-fat dairy options, like skim or 1 percent milk. If choosing milk alternatives such as almond or soy, make sure no sugars are added. With little saturated fat, eggs are a great low-calorie protein choice. Egg substitutes and egg whites are good if you’re looking to reduce your cholesterol consumption.
For protein snacks, consider lower-fat and packaged-by-portion cheeses. And it’s OK to enjoy the full-fat cheeses occasionally but keep portions small.
Most yogurts in the grocery store are loaded with sugars, so try to keep the sugar content to fewer than 10 grams. Better yet, choose plain low-fat Greek yogurt and add your own unsweetened fruits.

Breads/Grains
Pick whole-grain breads and pastas (with the first ingredient listed as “whole wheat” or “whole grain”). All-Bran, 100% bran and shredded wheat cereals are good choices (with at least 5 grams of fiber and no sugars added). Choose rolled oats instead of the instant variety with added flavors and sugars.

Interior Aisles
When you do enter the interior aisles, stock up on healthful essentials such olive oil, all-natural nut butters, nuts (no salt added), popcorn (plain), canned (no salt added) and dried beans, and quinoa, wild rice, barley, and other bulk grains.

Need help?
A personalized nutrition plan can help get your eating on the right track. For more information on nutrition counseling, or any of the services available at Beaufort Memorial LifeFit Wellness Center, call 843-522-5635 or visit BeaufortMemorial.org/LifeFit