Patients always tell me that they’re
lost when it comes to shopping in the supermarket. They want a list of what to buy. I started a pantry in my office of products
to have a discussion with patients about what to buy and what to look for when shopping
(I have yet to make a handout). It can
seem overwhelming at first, but I tell my patients, “start with replacing one
item at a time” – this way the changes can happen slowly. The
truth is, good nutrition starts with smart choices in the supermarket, just remember,
NEVER go to the store hungry – that should just be obvious. Here are a few general rules to get you going:
The process starts even before
you head to the grocery store. Have a
PLAN! Plan your meals for the week – which meals will you make at home, what’s
for lunch – and plan your list to shop from.
This may seem obvious, but the truth is planning helps to avoid the
pitfalls of stopping on the way home from work for take-out (because there’s nothing
at the house to cook.) It’s easy to fall into this trap, believe me. So first a few rules of navigating the
supermarket and then some products that are my go to staple items to have in
the house.
Spend most of your time in the
produce section. This many times can be one
of the first areas that you encounter when you enter the supermarket. Choose a rainbow of colorful fruits and
vegetables. The color reflects the
different vitamin, mineral, and phytonutrient content of each fruit or
vegetable. Fresh is best! Aim to have 5 to 9 servings of fruits and/or
vegetables a day.
Breads, Cereals, and Pasta –
choose the least processed foods that are made from whole grains. Regular oatmeal is preferable to instant
oatmeal (not to mention preferable to all the flavored instant oatmeals out
there as well.) Any patient in my office
knows that I think cereal is one of THE worst foods out there. It’s a high load of carbohydrate with
virtually little protein. I truly don’t
have one boxed, cold cereal to recommend – and patients try to get me to tell
them one. Oatmeal is a cereal and that would be the only
one I would recommend (but even then you need to add protein to it via nuts or
nut butters to help keep you fuller longer).
Bread, pasta, rice, and grains
offer more opportunities to work whole grains into your diet. Choose a whole-wheat bread or pasta, brown
rice, farro, quinoa, barley, freekeh – there are so many grains to choose
from. The goal is to make at least half
your grains whole. Experiment and see
which ones your family likes and remember that there are many ways in which to
prepare them. This is my favorite way to
eat quinoa, Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes.
Meat, Fish, and Poultry. The American Heart Association recommends two
servings of fish a week. Salmon is one
that many people like (if you’ve found the way to cook it just right – Honey-Glazed Salmon) and it’s a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. Be sure to choose lean cuts of meat (like
round, top sirloin, and tenderloin), opt for skinless poultry, and watch your
portion sizes!
Dairy/Non-Dairy Milk Substitutes –
Make sure to choose plain yogurts as much as possible. This is an area that in the next year when
nutrition labels are updated, we’ll be able to see how much added sugar is
really in the yogurt. My recommendation,
buy plain as much as possible and add your own fruit in, along with cinnamon,
and vanilla. In regards to the milk
substitutes, i.e. almond milk, etc, make sure to choose unsweetened. These too will have a lot of added sugar and
the goal is to keep our added sugars to a minimum.
Frozen Foods. Frozen fruits and vegetables (without any
added sauces) are a convenient way to help fill in the produce gap, especially
in the winter. Whole-grain waffles,
frozen vegetables (picked right after harvesting), frozen fruits, and even
pre-cut vegetables (think onions, green peppers) that can help out with
minimizing steps for cooking!
Canned and Dried Foods – Keep a
variety of canned vegetables, fruits, and beans on hand to toss into soups,
salads, pasta, or other grain dishes.
When possible, choose vegetables without added salt, and fruit that’s
been packed in its own natural fruit juice.
Here in Florida we’re in the midst of hurricane season, so it’s always a
good thing to have a few of these canned food items on reserve, just in
case. A few other items to have on hand
as they are just staples to have in your pantry, canned tuna, nut butters (the
natural kind – think one ingredient, peanuts!), olive and coconut oil, and
assorted vinegars.
Remember, it’s been said many
times before, but the truth is, shop the perimeter of the store. This is where the fresh fruit, vegetables,
dairy, meat, and fish are usually located.
Avoid the center aisles as that’s where most of the processed/junk food
lurks.
Choose “real” foods, 100%
whole-grain items, with as little processing and as few additives as
possible. This can be a goal that you
are working towards. Yes, they do make “whole-grain
goldfish” crackers, but remember we’re trying to limit as much as possible some
of the additives and preservatives. So
while they might be trying to make these crackers a little healthier the truth
is they still shouldn’t be a staple item to have around.
Stay clear of foods that have
cartoons on the labels that are targeted to children (think of that cereal
aisle – cartoon characters everywhere, not to mention all the sugary type
cereals are right at the kids’ vantage point from the grocery cart!) If the junk food is available kids will eat
it, so if you don’t want your kids eating junk food, don’t have it in the
house. Sounds simple, but it is one of
the biggest complaints I hear from parents to which I respond, “who buys the
food for the house?” This is definitely
a discussion to have with the whole family.
Avoid foods that contain more
than five ingredients. This is getting
hard to do at times, but it’s a good rule to try and follow. This year as I’ve been trying to make
everything homemade there are a few items that I do still buy (bread, crackers)
and I try to use this rule – So if it does have more than 5 ingredients I at
least try to buy something that I can pronounce all the ingredients! Center for Science in the Public Interest
(CSPI) has a good list to double check if it’s an item that is safe – Chemical Cuisine.
So now we’ve come to the part
where I’ll recommend a few items for you all to have as staple products to have
in your pantry. I by no means am endorsed
by these companies, I’m just helping to guide you as you make your way through
the supermarket.
The first item is beans. I am a vegetarian and these are my go to for
protein (and complex carbohydrates).
Whole Foods sells these both in the can and in the box (I didn’t have
any in the box – need to pick up!) and they have just one ingredient: garbanzo
beans. No additives or preservatives and
no added salt! Not to mention that in
the can they run $.99 and in the box they’re $1.69 – cheaper than I’ve seen anywhere
else (when you take into consideration the health benefits of no salt and no
additives – not to mention I didn’t have to cook them!) I have these on hand ALL the time.
Next item – some of the breads I
have on hand: I’ve been buying the
Ezekiel bread (or the Trader Joe’s version of Ezekiel bread) otherwise known as
sprouted bread. Sprouted bread contains
the whole grain (or kernel, or berry) of various seeds after they have been
sprouted. I’ll then rotate back and
forth between the English muffins from Trader Joe’s or the Eureka brand bread –
they have a few versions of flavors varying the nuts/seeds. My goal is to make my own bread but until
this point I haven’t had much success – I might just have to break down and buy
a bread maker. Until then, these are a
few breads I rotate through.
Canned items – Salt (sodium)
lurks in most canned/boxed items. I
always opt for the unsalted version. My
palate has adjusted and I season with other spices/herbs that I have on
hand. People often tell me that I must
like bland food. I often challenge myself
to make a dish have flavor with all the spices – believe me when I tell you,
you won’t even know it’s missing once you start cutting back. The recommendation for sodium is just 2,300
mg (roughly 1 teaspoon) and Americans are far exceeding that
recommendation. Here are a few items
that I use, canned/boxed, that are unsalted if I can’t make it homemade or find
fresh. This brand of
vegetable/chicken/beef stock comes unsalted.
Normal brands carry 2,400 mg of sodium in a box. This brand only has 600 mg for the whole
box! It’s still loaded with flavor. This spaghetti sauce is my go to sauce (don’t
tell my mom I don’t make it homemade!)
Brands can range for a ½ cup to have anywhere from 250 mg – 850 mg of
sodium. Gia Russa’s brand has just 15 mg
of sodium per ½ cup. It may lack sodium
but it does not lack flavor! Last I
always have some canned or boxed tomatoes around – while it’s summer now and
the tomatoes are in season, it’s always good have to some extra tomatoes on
stand by (to throw in a soup or dish with real tomatoes).
Grains – I’ll admit it. I’m a snob when it comes to brown rice. Regular brands in the grocery store just don’t
cut it for me. I’ve had the real deal
and that comes from the Chinese supermarket.
Once you’ve had the real stuff you won’t go back – not to mention when
people tell me they don’t “like brown rice” I explain that they probably haven’t
had a good experience with it and that makes sense. I rotate through my grains when I make grain
bowls and I always have a few around – whole wheat couscous, farro, barley, and
quinoa. And with my pasta I have all
whole wheat versions – be it the orzo in the picture, rice noodles, or just
regular pasta.
In the summer I’ve been having a
homemade muesli that I throw together.
It allows me to have the rolled oats but not cooked – it’s too hot for
oatmeal in the summer in Miami. So for
breakfast I rotate and have the muesli or my whole grain bread (with nuts
butters) – what can I say, I’m a creature of habit. I save the eggs for the weekend! Akmak is my go to cracker. Super flavorful and perfect for cheese and crackers,
hummus and crackers, or whatever you fancy.
I’ve even had it with a little ricotta cheese, tomato, basil, and a drizzle
of vinaigrette – delish!
So there you have it. A round up of sorts of how to navigate the
supermarket. I know it can seem
overwhelming. Part of the reason is that
there are so many new products being introduced yearly. I definitely can’t keep up with all the new
items. Manufacturers are producing what
they think you the consumer want. See
the above rules to help you solve that problem – stay away from the center
aisles, otherwise known as packaged and processed junk food. Problem solved.
