Grocery Shopping For a Healthy Heart
Just being in the grocery store can be overwhelming, but to make a list of all the certain types of food to buy from this massive food warehouse can feel down-right impossible. So to help you out, we’ve put together a few tips from heart.org for the heart healthy shopper to keep in mind when looking to buy the right foods.
Fruits and Veggies:
Be sure to buy and eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables that are deeply colored throughout tend to be higher in vitamins and minerals than others. When fresh foods aren’t available, choose frozen or canned vegetables and fruits in water without added sugars, saturated and Trans fat, or salt.
Stock up on raw vegetables for snacks such as carrot and celery sticks, broccoli, cherry tomatoes and cauliflower. It’s also a good idea fruits and vegetables that are good sources of fiber, including beans, peas, oranges, bananas, strawberries and apples.
Instead of buying more traditional desserts, try fresh or canned fruits without added sugars, dried fruit without added sugars, and gelatin that contains fruit, instead of baked goods and sweets. While delicious and very good for you, fruit juice is no substitute for the real thing. It doesn’t provide the fiber whole fruit does and it’s not as good at satisfying hunger.
Dairy:
Select fat-free (skim) or low-fat (1%) milk and try to avoid milk that contains added flavorings such as vanilla, chocolate or strawberry, as they usually have added sugars and calories.
Buy fat-free, low-fat or reduced-fat cheeses and use egg whites or egg substitutes instead of egg yolks. Watch out for the saturated and/or partially hydrogenated fats hidden in casseroles, bakery goods, desserts and other foods. Read the Nutrition Facts label to determine the saturated fat, Trans fat and cholesterol content of foods you’re considering.
Meats:
Buy and prepare more fish. You should eat one serving of grilled or baked fish at least twice a week. (A serving is roughly the size of a checkbook.) Good examples of fish to buy include salmon, trout and herring. Choose lemon juice and spices to eat with fish; don’t add cream sauces and stay away from fried fish—it can be high in fat — often Trans fat.
Select more meat substitutes such as dried beans, peas, lentils or tofu (soybean curd) and use them as entrees or in salads and soups. A one-cup serving of cooked beans, peas, lentils or tofu can replace a two-ounce serving of meat, poultry or fish.
Pick up nuts and seeds, which are good sources of protein and polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats – but remember, they tend to be high in calories, so eat them in moderation.
Hopefully this information will make your grocery shopping experience a little easier and a lot healthier!
What other heart healthy grocery shopping tips do you have?
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