Shop like you mean it--how to shop for health and beauty

It is impossible to prepare healthy meals if you don't have the ingredients. When you go to the grocery store, the best things to buy are lean proteins, whole grains, fruits and veggies. Chips, sodas, crackers, cookies, and so on are not only fattening, they also are a colossal waste of money. Make a commitment that all your food dollars and food prep time will go into making the best healthiest meals you can, for yourself and/or your family.

There is a lot to know about nutrition, and it can be as complicated as you want to make it. "Diet Gurus" complicate the subject needlessly so they can sell us books. What they all tell you is to eat fruit, vegetables, lean protein, grain, healthy fats, and a small amount of "discretionary calories" which is the stuff you wish you could eat all the time.

Here are the basics. This is what you absolutely, positively need to know when you are standing in Safeway and need to make a decision about what to buy.

Lean proteins: Lean cuts of beef, skinless chicken and turkey (if you eat meat), fish, tofu, tempeh, soy or veggie burgers, low-fat cheese or soy cheese, eggs, beans, whey or soy protein powder. When you buy these things, look carefully at them. You want your meat to look like meat--healthy and red, not a lot of fat on it. Avoid ground meat, sausage, cold cuts or anything else that disguises the texture of the meat. These are frequently an excuse for manufactures to hide fatty organ meats and other high-fat parts, and sell them to you. Ground turkey can have more fat than lean roast beef!

When you buy Veggie burgers or other meat-substitutes, you want them to have less than bout 30% or 1/3 of their calories from fat. Look at the nutrition label on the package. Compare the total calories to the amount of calories from fat. You want the calories from fat to be abut 1/3 of the total, or less. Here is a link to a picture of a label, if you want to see one.



When you buy cheese, make sure it is reduced-fat or part-skim. You want the calories to be about 70-80 calories per ounce, as opposed to 100 or more calories per ounce for regular cheese. Make sure to get real cheese, shredded or in blocks, and not "processed cheese food" in the single serving wrapped slices. The ingredients should say "Milk (of some kind) rennet, culture, and salt," and not much more. I prefer not to eat cheese that contains any sort of hormone or which is produced from milk of cows who have been fed antibiotics. However, the FDA insists that these products are safe. Follow your gut on this one.

Beans are a fun and easy way to substitute a low-fat protein for a fattier one. You can make vegetarian chili, for example, or a stir-fry with edamame (soy) beans. If you have never cooked with beans before, start with canned beans. Kidney and black beans are particularly easy to use. Also check out vegetarian or low-fat refried beans and baked beans. I'll be posting a lot of my favorite recipes in the future. In the meantime, you can Google "bean recipes" and "beans substitute for meat" and see what you get.

Eggs are an easy way to make a meal. They are reasonably low in calories and extremely versatile. I like the cage-free, non-hormone, vegetarian-fed versions myself. They really do taste better.

If you know how to cook with tofu, go for it. Remember not to use a lot of oil in the process. If you don't know, I'll teach you later. It is really really easy, and the beauty of tofu is, it jsut takes up the taste of wherever is around it.

The last thing I will mention is protein powder. These are great when used in moderation. You can add them to a smoothie or even just a glass of milk if you are in a rush. When you buy them, make sure to get one that is mostly lean protein, not a lot of fat and sugar.

Whole Grains: This is one of the easiest things to substitute. Buy 100% whole grain bread (not wheat bread or whole wheat, make sure it says 100% whole grain), muffins, bagels, cereal, etc. Buy brown rice instead of white. Stove Top makes an instant one that takes only 10 minutes. Buy whole-wheat or whole-wheat blend pasta. Avoid anything that says "enriched flour, unbleached flour, or wheat flour in the ingredient list." Lots of cookies, cereals, even pop-tarts come in whole-grain versions now. Even if they are not 100% whole grain, they are a significant improvement over the original versions. Cereals and breads can vary a lot in calorie counts ans serving sizes. Look for cereals that have about 100 calories a cup. Watch out for servings sizes. Some cereal labels will tell you an absurdly small serving size so that it will look like they have fewer calories. Breads should have less than 75 calories per ounce.

Fruits and vegetables: A debate continues about whether fresh or frozen produce is actually better for you. On the fresh side, it's well, fresh, as in crispy, flavorful, and firm. On the frozen side, they pick the fruit and veggies when they are at their very best, and then freeze the produce almost as soon as it is picked. This avoids any possible nutrient loss during shipping and storing. Personally, I buy a lot of fresh veggies because they are pretty and yummy, and I also but a lot of frozen veggies because they are already cleaned and chopped up, and so extremely easy to toss in a recipe when I am in a hurry. They also last for months, so I can always have some on hand.

Canning really does reduce the nutrients in vegetables because of the high heat they use to sterilize the cans. It also gives you veggies that are weird and mushy, and contain a ton of salt. I recommend canned beans and tomatoes for convenience, but that's about all.

As far as fruit juices go, avoid them. They are mostly just the sugar from the fruit, without the fiber and other healthy parts. For my money, I would rather eat my calories than drink them.

The FDA and other government agencies recommend a diet rich in fruits and veggies. They say you should get at least 5 servings a day. A serving is usually a whole piece of fruit or a vegetable, (like a carrot or apple) half a cup of cut-up fruit or berries, or a whole cup of vegetables. There are some exceptions, but for now, that is a good rule of thumb. For dieting purposes, consider potatoes, squash, corn, and root vegetables such as rutabagas and turnips as a bread, not a vegetable.

Fats and oils: You will need to use some. Extra-virgin, cold-pressed olive oil is generally considered the best to have, but it is a tad bit expensive. Go ahead and spring for it, because you can also use it in various beauty treatments. For cooking, you need cooking spray. If you get the olive oil kind, it will be handy in making roasted vegetables. Substitute butter or margarine with a butter spray like "I can't believe it's not butter." Avoid trans fats and their parent, hydrogenated oils, at all costs, and use unsaturated fats (like olive oil, generally from a vegetable source) instead of saturated fats (from animal sources) whenever you can.

Nuts and nut butters, used in moderation, are a nice blend of protein and healthy fats.

Dairy Products: Always get the low-fat versions. You may want to try some that are completely fat-free, but be sure to read the labels. Frequently, manufactures replace the fat with sugar, which is no better for you, but helps sell product. I prefer that my dairy not come from cows that were treated with antibiotics or hormones, but that's just me.

At first, it may seem like it is somewhat expensive to eat this way. But if you also eliminate all the pop, cookies, snacks, and empty-calorie junk you you have been blowing your money on, it should all work out.