Grocery shopping is probably not your favourite activity. In fact, shopping for food every week or fortnight is something you perhaps would happily do without. However, if you want to start (or continue) looking after yourself, the supermarket, green grocer and butcher is a great place to start.
All packaged foods (with a few exceptions) must display a nutrition information panel on the pack. This helps us to see just how much energy, fat and sugar is in the foods we eat. Taking an interest in the nutritional value of your food can help you achieve better eating habits. So next time you go shopping, keep these handy tips in mind:
- 5g fat is equal to one teaspoon of fat (picture a teaspoon of butter). If a food has 30g fat per serve, that’s equivalent to eating six teaspoons of butter. That’s a lot of fat in one serve, so look for a lower fat version.
- 5g sugar is equal to one teaspoon of sugar. If a can of soft drink has 40g sugar, that’s like eating eight teaspoons of sugar. Consider another type of drink or a diet soft drink.
- It is recommended that we have around 30g dietary fibre a day. With this in mind, look for ‘high fibre’ breakfast cereals, breads and biscuits when you go shopping. Foods with a ‘high fibre’ claim contain at least 3g fibre per recommended serving size. Foods with a ‘very high fibre’ claim contain at least 6g of fibre per serve.
- Pile up the trolley with lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes (e.g. baked beans, red kidney beans, four bean mix), rice, pasta, cous cous and noodles.
- Choose trim or lean meats and skinless chicken. If there is fat around the steak that you normally buy, cut it off before you cook it.
- Buy reduced fat or low fat dairy products like milk, cheese, yogurt, custard and ice cream.