Shopping For A Healthy Diet

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Why is shopping for a healthy diet important? Shopping for healthy foods is important because it makes it easier for you to follow a healthy diet. Keeping healthy foods on hand helps you limit foods that are high in fat, calories, sodium, and sugar. Eating healthy meals and snacks helps you to get more of the healthy nutrients that your body needs. Some of these nutrients include fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron. Following a healthy diet can help you control your weight, lower your blood cholesterol, and manage other health problems.

What are some healthy food choices? Eat a variety of healthy foods from each of the food groups every day. Ask your caregiver how many servings you should eat from the food groups each day. The following are some suggestions for making healthy food choices from each food group.

• Breads and starches: Include whole-grain cereals, breads, rice, or pasta in your diet every day because they are good sources of fiber. To find whole-grain products, look for words with "whole" or "whole grain" before the ingredient's name. The whole grain should also be listed first on the ingredient list.
  
  
  • Whole wheat, whole rye, and whole-grain barley bread.
    
    
  • Whole wheat pita bread and tortillas.
    
    
  • Brown and wild rice.
    
    
  • Whole oats, oatmeal, bran flakes, low-fat, low-sugar granolas, and shredded wheat.
  
  
• Dairy: Dairy products are good sources of calcium. Choose low-fat or fat-free dairy products.
  
  
  • Fat-free or low-fat (one percent) milk.
    
    
  • Fat-free or low-fat plain yogurt and low-fat frozen yogurt.
    
    
  • Fat-free or one percent fat cottage cheese.
    
    
  • Low-fat cheese.
  
  
• Fruits: Choose fresh, frozen, canned, or dried fruit instead of fruit juice as often as possible. Whole fruits are good sources of fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C and other nutrients.
  
  
  • Fresh fruits in season, like apples, oranges, peaches, pears, berries, and melons.
    
    
  • Frozen, dried or canned fruit. Choose fruit that is canned in juice instead of heavy syrup.
    
    
  • One-hundred percent fruit juice with no added sugars.
  
  
• Vegetables: Choose a variety of vegetables. Include dark green and orange vegetables because they are good sources of vitamin A and C.
  
  
  • Dark green vegetables: Broccoli, spinach, romaine lettuce, collard, turnip, and mustard greens.
    
    
  • Orange vegetables: Carrots, sweet potatoes, winter squash and pumpkin.
    
    
  • Other vegetables: Tomatoes, lettuce, green beans, and onions.
    
    
  • Starchy vegetables: White potatoes, corn, and green peas.
  
  
• Meat and other protein sources: Eat a variety of meats and other protein sources. They are good sources of iron and other nutrients. To limit fat in your diet, choose lean meats, and poultry. Bake, broil, and grill meat instead of frying.
  
  
  • Nuts or peanut butter.
    
    
  • Cooked dried beans, peas, or lentils.
    
    
  • Soy tofu or tempeh.
    
    
  • Eggs (limit eggs to three a week).
    
    
  • Lean meat, fish, or poultry. Lean cuts of beef have the words "round" or "loin" in the name. Lean cuts of pork or lamb have the words "loin" or "leg" in the name.
  
  
• Fats: Choose healthy fats such as polyunsaturated (pol-ee-un-SACH-er-ay-ted) and monounsaturated (mo-no-un-SACH-er-ay-ted) fats most of the time. Polyunsaturated fats include soybean, corn, and safflower oil. Monounsaturated fats include canola, olive, and sunflower oil. Limit unhealthy fats such as saturated (SACH-er-ay-ted) fats, trans fats, and cholesterol (koh-LES-ter-ol).

What steps do I take before going shopping?

• Plan your meals.
  
  
  • Plan your shopping around your favorite meals and recipes. Switch ingredients in recipes to lower the total fat and calorie content. For example, if a recipe calls for milk, you can add one percent milk instead of whole milk. In recipes that call for whole eggs, you can use egg substitutes.
    
    
  • Plan healthy meals that can be made quickly on days when you are extra busy. Another idea is to plan meals that you can make in large batches and freeze. You can thaw and eat these meals on days when you do not have time to cook. For example, lasagna and spaghetti can be made in several batches at once and frozen.
  
  
• Look through supermarket ads for sales. Choosing foods that are on sale can help you save money and make healthy choices ahead of time. Based on the prices in ads, you may choose to make changes to the meals that you have planned for the week. For example, fruits and vegetables are priced lower when they are in season. You may choose to use fruits and vegetables that are in season in your meals for the week.
  
  
• Make a list.
  
  
  • Write down the foods you will need for the meals that you have planned for the week.
    
    
  • Keep a list of other foods that you have run out of and need to replace.
    
    
  • Group the foods on your list according to their location in the supermarket. For example, milk and cheese would be placed under the dairy case group. Doing this may help you to save time while at the grocery store.
  
  
• Eat before you go shopping. Shopping on an empty stomach may cause you to buy extra foods because you are feeling hungry.

What are some tips for making healthy choices at the supermarket?

• Know where to find healthy foods. Shop the perimeter or outer walls of the store first. Healthy foods, such as fruits, vegetables, breads, dairy products, meat and fish are usually placed in this area. The inner aisles have other healthy foods such as canned and frozen fruits and vegetables, and cereals. However, there are also other less healthy foods in the inner aisles. Some of these foods include packaged foods, snack foods, and desserts. Shopping in the inner aisles last may help you buy fewer of these foods.
  
  
• Read food labels. The nutrition information on food labels is placed there to help you make healthier food choices while shopping. Below you will find some tips on how to use food labels to make healthy choices.
  
  
  • Serving size: The serving size is usually listed in cups or pieces and sometimes includes a weight (grams, ounces). The serving size refers to the cooked, ready-to-eat part of the food. Compare the amount that you will eat to the serving size listed. If you eat two times the serving size, you will be eating twice the calories and amounts of other nutrients.
    
    
  • Nutrients: The nutrients that are listed on the top section of the label are fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, and sodium. You should limit these nutrients because eating too much may increase your risk of certain diseases. Some of these diseases include heart disease, some cancers, and high blood pressure. The nutrients you should get more of are dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron. Getting enough of these nutrients may help you to reduce your risk of diseases such as osteoporosis and heart disease.
    
    
  • Percent daily value: The percent daily value listed on the food label next to the nutrients tells you whether a food is low or high in these nutrients. A percent daily value of five percent or less means that the food is low in a nutrient. A percent daily value of 20 percent or more means that the food is high in a nutrient.

CARE AGREEMENT:

You have the right to help plan your care. To help with this plan, you must learn about your diet. You can then discuss treatment options with your caregivers. Work with them to decide what care may be used to treat you. You always have the right to refuse treatment.

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