Supermarket Tour

Shopping for groceries should be a simple task, but it has become surprisingly difficult. The stores and food manufacturers are marketing geniuses placing unhealthy products at eye level with health claims and confusing language on the label. You might be left wondering if the product is really healthful.

Below are some simple tips that will help you to wisely navigate the grocery store aisles. Prepare a shopping list, so you buy only what you need and always have a well-stocked pantry. Read and compare food labels and accurately interpret product health claims, so you can feel confident that you are choosing the healthiest foods for your family and are choosing the best foods to support your health-related goals.

Supplemental blog posts that have relevant information:

  • Prepare for your trip to the supermarket (How to Grocery Shop Successfully)

  • Reading nutrition labels (Nutrition Labels Guide)

  • Preparing a list (Shopping List)

The Tour

Produce Section

  • Healthy eating guidelines: 2 cups/3 servings of fruit and 3 cups/5 servings of vegetables per day

  • How to select produce

  • Buy local when possible

  • Organic vs. conventional

    • PLU codes

      • Begins with 9 – organic

      • Begins with 3 or 4 – conventional

      • Begins with 8 - GMO

    • Dirty dozen/clean 15 (Dirty Dozen/Clean 15)

  • Look at color and texture for variety

    • Pick a rainbow of color (Eat the Rainbow) – each color has a place in your nutritional needs

    • Cruciferous vegetables—high in vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid and fiber. Fights cancer, inflammation and is an anti-oxidant

    • Choose darker greens for salad because they have more phytonutrients

    • Portion control with starchy vegetables—they are denser in calories

  • Eat with the seasons—more cost effective and more nutritious

    • Spring/Summer – cooling foods like cucumber and melon

    • Fall – heavier veggies like squash, spinach, chard, apples

    • Winter – heartier veggies like mushrooms, turnips, potatoes and onions

  • Herbs

  • Other

    • Sweet veggies help with sweet cravings

    • Ginger, garlic and onions add a zing of flavor

    • Root vegetables are ground and will help you stay on track (energetics of food)

Refrigerated Section

  • Meat substitutes – protein is important because it helps to rebuild cells. If you aren’t used to substitutes, incorporate slowly

    • Tofu—protein source for many Asian cultures

    • Tempeh—fermented soybeans

    • Seitan—made of wheat gluten

  • Cheese substitutes

  • Miso—keeps for a long time and is versatile. Fermented so it aids in digestion. Comes in a variety of flavors. Brown rice miso is the strongest tasting and darkest in color while chickpea is the mildest tasting and the lightest in color

  • Fermented foods—sauerkraut, pickled vegetables—helps with digestion

Bulk Section

  • Be sure to write what you are buying on the label along with the PLU. Reuse bags and store in mason jars at home. Bulk is great if you need a small quantity and is less costly than pre-packaged foods.

  • Grains—whole grains have fiber and B vitamins

  • Beans—contain fiber, protein and fat

  • Nuts/seeds—good source of fiber and fat

  • Spices

    • Turmeric is anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant

    • Green leafy spices lighten up beans and heavy sauces

    • Spices make things more digestible

  • Salt—look for naturally harvested with no additives. Sea salt and Himalayan are best

Flours/Pasta

  • With gluten

  • Gluten free – options are millet, brown rice, oat, quinoa, spelt. When using in baking, be sure to use tested recipes

Seaweeds

  • Contain calcium, B vitamins and iodine

  • Kombu—add to soups, grains, beans and stews. It makes food more digestible. You can’t taste it and it can be removed before eating

  • Soaking seaweed will increase digestibility. Save the water to make soups, water plants, or give the water to your pets.

  • Nori can be used as a sandwich wrap. Also helps wounds heal faster

  • Wakame is used for intestines and purification

Sweeteners

  • Processed sugar is denatured and refined and draws minerals out of the body. It is also highly addictive. Choose natural options.

  • Natural choices: brown rice syrup (distinctive flavor), agave nectar (made from cactus and 25% sweeter than sugar), honey, molasses, coconut sugar (good substitute for brown sugar), maple syrup (high in minerals). Some are better choices than others.

Ethnic foods

  • New spices, sauces, vinegars—way to personalize a meal and they keep for a long time.

  • Try tamari (salty), apple cider vinegar (sour), balsamic (sweet), hot sauce, tahini

Oils

  • Essential to our diets but pay attention to the quality

  • Ensure it is not denatured

  • Cold pressed is best

  • Different flavor, taste, texture, smoke point (low temperature use sesame and olive, high temperature use grapeseed or coconut)

  • Buy in a dark bottle and store in the cupboard as light and heat speeds up rancidity

Tea

  • Made from roots, flowers, herbs or plants

  • Create a mood—relaxed, energized (yerba mate)

  • Use it like a medicine cabinet to improve digestion/reduce nausea (ginger)

Coffee

  • Buy organic and fair trade

  • Herbal coffee contains no caffeine—brewed in the same way

Nutritional bars

  • Should not replace a meal

  • Look for pure ingredients (Lara Bar is great)

  • Look for hidden sugar

Non-dairy milk

  • Different options depending on what you like

  • Read the ingredients and look for no added sugar.

  • Buy organic and milks with the fewest ingredients

  • Ice cream!

Herbs, supplements, homeopathy

  • Super green food – aloe, spirulina, cholera

  • Probiotics

Candy

  • Dark organic fair trade chocolate that is at least 70% cacao

Cleaning products

  • Recycled, biodegradable, nontoxic, no animal testing

Body care

  • Use natural deodorant—no antiperspirants. They contain harmful aluminum

  • Natural toothpaste—gentle on the gums with no chemicals or sweeteners

  • Feminine products—always organic, menstrual cup

  • Organic shampoo, lotion—chemicals can enter the body through the skin