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Have
some fun making over your grocery cart
Oct 15, 08
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
Have you ever glanced into another
person’s grocery cart at the check-out and evaluated
what you saw?
Dietitians do it. We can’t help but give nearby grocery
carts mental makeovers.
It isn’t hard to size up a person’s eating habits
by spying on what they buy. In fact, it’s also possible
to do complete menu makeovers, much the way fashion magazines
comment on wardrobe dos and don’ts.
But as a method of improving your own diet, it’s more
helpful to assess food choices before they make it to your
plate.
The next time you shop, stop to think about what’s in
your cart. See if you can identify simple changes to improve
the overall quality of the foods you bring into your home.
A few examples will show you what I mean.
* Cart One. It contains two fresh, ready-made pizzas from
the deli – one cheese, one pepperoni – and three
2-liter bottles of cola. The problem: The pizzas are low in
fiber and loaded with artery-clogging saturated fat from the
cheese and pepperoni.
The soft drinks are devoid of beneficial nutrients and high
in calories from sugar.
The fix: Pick up ready-made, whole-wheat pizza crusts from
the refrigerator case. Add your own pasta sauce.
If convenience is your goal, top the pizza with pre-washed
and cut vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and carrots
or frozen, chopped onions and bell peppers. Add part-skim
mozzarella cheese, and use it sparingly. Bake and serve.
It takes five minutes longer than buying a ready-made pizza.
Buy diet soft drinks or, better yet, drink seltzer water with
a splash of fruit juice instead.
* Cart Two. It holds bananas, grapes, plain bagels, regular
yogurt, one-pound of margarine, one half gallon of orange
juice, a quart of 2 percent milk and a small container of
4 percent cottage cheese.
The fresh fruit is great. Buy more of it, in season and locally
grown, if possible. Improve this cart by choosing nonfat yogurt
and cottage cheese in lieu of full-fat varieties. Two percent
milk contains too much saturated fat. Replace it with skim.
Be sure the margarine is trans fat-free, and look for whole-wheat
bagels instead of white. Dilute orange juice with water to
reduce the calories.
* Cart Three. It features two pork chops, one can of green
peas, a package of fresh shrimp and one bag of frozen hash
browns.
If this is all for one meal, it’s too much saturated
fat and protein and too little fiber. Skip the pork and enjoy
the shrimp instead. Cook potatoes in olive oil, and add a
salad to the mix.
* Cart Four. In it is a loaf of French bread, eggplant, mushrooms,
scallions, sweet potatoes, a frozen spaghetti dinner with
meat sauce and a box of corn flakes.
Refined-flour bread instead of whole grain is OK for a change
of pace, but dip it in olive oil instead of using butter.
Trade the corn flakes for a fiber-rich cereal such as raisin
bran or shredded wheat. If you buy frozen entrees, shop for
those lowest in sodium and saturated fat. Look for meatless
choices, and round out the meal with extra vegetables and
a salad.
Other tips for shoppers:
* Don’t kid yourself by rationalizing that you’re
buying for your kids. If it’s in the house, you’ll
be likely to eat it, too.
* Make a list and stick to it. Shopping with a list –
after a meal, rather than when you’re hungry –
helps prevent impulsive buying.
* Collect cash register receipts and analyze them periodically.
Like keeping a food diary, it helps you maintain an objective
accounting of what you eat.
Bringing better-for-you foods into your house is an important
step to improving your meals.
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