Tackling the Weekly Grocery Store Trip

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“Have you ran out to the grocery store for bread, milk, and eggs, and come back with bread, milk, chips, cupcakes, soda, and forgot the eggs?”

You are not alone. Grocery shopping is a never ending battle between intention and temptation. Unfortunately for most of us, temptation usually wins out.  The following tips are designed to help you track down the most nutritious foods, and avoid the most tempting distractions and impulse buying traps.

Let’s Take a Tour!

1.     Timing is Everything – try to establish a routine for grocery shopping same time and day of the week. Try not to shop when hungry or stressed. If possible, leave the kids at home.

2.     Come Prepared – start by taking inventory at home. Include spices, cooking oils, and condiments. Make a list and stick to it. Only deviate if it is a healthy choice. The list should include fresh fruits and veggies, as well as fresh frozen or slightly processed fruits and veggies that will keep longer than the fresh ones. The next week, “rotate” your fresh fruits and vegetables to include different choices. Include some whole grains, lean proteins, and low fat dairy items. For every item you choose, try to think of at least 3 different ways you can incorporate that item.

3.     Hit the Walls Running – Shop the perimeter first to get to the whole food action. Beware of the bakery which is usually located right near the fruits and veggies.  Most grocery stores get more deliveries on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning, so you will get a larger selection if you shop the 1^st part of the weekend, and avoid the after church crowds.

4.     Rethink the Fresh Fish – fish labeled fresh does not mean off the boat, it just means it was not frozen. Most grocery stores get their fish delivered at the beginning of the week, but do check your grocery store for their schedule. Frozen fish does not go bad, and commercial freezing techniques minimize textural damage.

5.     Counter Attack the Deli Counter - when buying deli meat choose fresh over the processed versions for lower fat, sugar, and sodium. Choose the hummus or bean dip instead.

6.     Be a Cheese Whiz – most grocery stores have 2 cheese sections. In the domestic section, shop the lowest fat possible. If cheese is a “gateway” food for you, better to shop the imported section. The choices there will be higher in fat, however, studies have shown that people usually serve smaller portions of the more expensive, full-fat variety, therefore consuming less.

7.     Don’t get Butchered by the Meat Department – Choose select cuts, which are the leanest, most healthful, and most affordable meats you can find.  Prime cuts are often marbled, which means more fat. Most meat is packaged in family sized cuts. Ask the butcher to package the exact amount you need. Beware of the sale items and the 2 for 1 deals. While cost effective, they can sometimes be at the end of their life. Check the expiration date.

8.     Attack the Interior – this is not the place to browse! Know ahead of time what you want and where it is.

9.     Look high and Low for the Healthier Choices – all of those high sugar cereals are lined up right at our waist level, which corresponds to a child’s eye level. In any store, some products are placed at an adult’s eye level because the manufacturer paid a “placement fee”.  Heavily promoted items are more likely to be unhealthy. Watch out for “Healthy” items that really are not – keep in mind, “Organic” does not always mean low fat, sugar, or sodium.

10.  Check Yourself Out – this does not necessarily mean the self check-out. This means beware yet again of the temptations lined up at the checkout line.

Halloween Candy Survival

It's one of the candy companies favorite holidays while it's our stomach and hips least favorite day. You guessed it....HALLOWEEN is quickly approaching. Costumes have been purchased, cute decor is all around, and candy dishes are filled. You look at the candy and the candy looks back at you, you want a piece and the candy taunts you. Well before you give into the temptation. Here are a few ideas to prevent overdoing it.

1) Buy candy that you don’t like. Then you won’t be tempted to eat it. Also,
buy it a day or two before Halloween so it is not sitting around waiting to
be eaten.
2) If you are giving out candy, try to give it all out by the end of the night.
3) The day after Halloween, get rid of all that candy! Take it to work, give it
away or just throw it away. Remember don’t keep it around the house.
4) If your children come home from trick-or-treating with a stash, have them
go through and pick out their favorites. Throw the rest away.
5) Don’t buy a “jumbo” bag of candy if your neighborhood only gets a few
trick-or-treaters.
6) Consider non-candy goodies like mini-containers of play-doh, stickers,
temporary tattoos or $1 gift certificates instead of candy.
7) Consider healthier treats like 100-calorie packs instead of candy.

***The key is to have the least amount of extra calories sitting around the house for you to eat.***

Here are just some of the more popular Halloween Candies:

* Twizzlers 1 treat size pkg.= 45 calories

* Almond Joy 1 snack size bar = 90 calories

* Milk Duds 1 treat size box = 40 calories

* Junior Mints mini box= 50 cal

* Milky Way = 75 calories

* 1 Tootsie Pop/Blow pop 1 pop = 60 calories

* 1 Tootsie Roll 1 small roll = 13 calories

* Twix (fun size) bar = 80 calories

*Reese’s cup (regular) = 80 cals

*Reese’s cup mini = 40 calories

* Butterfinger 1 snack size bar = 100 cals

* Snickers fun size = 80 calories


Note: Calorie content is based on 1 serving of Halloween ‘snack’ or ‘fun’ size
packages, not full size servings found in the candy aisle. Having only a few
pieces of Halloween candy won’t crash your healthy eating routine, it’s the
temptation to keep having ‘just one more’ that will pack on the pounds. It only
takes nine small fun-size candy bars to put on a quarter-pound of fat.

Let's Go 5-2-1-0

Let’s Go, a program of the Kids CO-OP at the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center is working to end childhood obesity. The program main goal is to promote healthy living and smarter eating habits from birth to age 18. The program focuses on six sectors –early childhood, schools, communities, healthcare, after school and workplace.
 

The premise of the program is simple:

• 5 or more fruits/vegetables each day
• 2 hours or less of recreational screen time
• 1 hour or more of physical activity each day
• 0 sugary drinks

Summer was a time children looked forward to attending summer camp, hanging at the pool, and meeting friends outside to play. Today, there are fewer reasons to go out and play these days for children. They have iPads, video games, television, and computers all that take up their leisure time today. The convenience of fast food and the abundance of high calorie and sugary snacks have caused fruits and vegetables to lose their appeal and increase the prevalence of childhood obesity.

This is an excellent program that can be implemented in all households. It is summer break and you can make the decision today that your household will also follow the 5-2-1-0 guidelines. Your children may be resentful at first, but they will thank you later.

We must start building a healthy foundation for our children of how to eat properly and stress the importance of being physically active. Throw out the sugary snacks and drinks; have the children try new fruits and vegetables. Turn the television, computers, and video games off, grab your children and tell them Let’s Go.