10 Tips on Healthy Grocery Shopping and Cooking

In our weight management plans, the phrase "healthy eating" just doesn't involve what to consume, but also how to shop for the right kinds of foods and then how to fix them once we get home.

• Study labels on packages. Manufacturers will list sugar in different ways, such as "dextrose" and "honey," so they don't appear high up on the nutrition label. In addition, "xylitol" and "mannitol" are pseudonyms for sugar.

• Study the labels carefully for "partially hydrogenated oils." These are the oils that lead to "trans fatty acids," what nutritionists and dietitians curse as the worse kind of fat. Health experts say trans fat will clog your arteries, boost cholesterol, and increase your risk for heart attacks and strokes. You'll likely find "trans fat" in fast foods, snacks, regular potato chips, cookies and other products.

• Stick to the outer aisles, never venture to the inside aisles. On the outer aisles is where you'll find produce and other healthy goods. Notice how candy, chips, cookies and soda are taking up the middle aisles.

• Keep your eye out for added sugars in yogurt. Not all yogurt is healthy. Some contain 30 grams of sugar, more than your typical candy bar. Whole-milk yogurts are high in fat. The best buy? Non-fat yogurt with fresh fruit.

Now, you've gotten home, brought in the groceries, stored them away. Now, it's time to fix the food in healthy ways. Here's how:

• Steam vegetables. Boiling them breaks down the vitamins, which then leach into the water.

• Bake, broil or grill fish and lean meats - and cut your levels of fat and cholesterol tremendously.

• Substitute applesauce for oil in baked goods to save fat and calories. Swap 1 tablespoon applesauce for 1tablespoon vegetable oil - and slash 96 calories and 14 grams of fat.

• Top a baked potato with nonfat yogurt instead of sour cream - and slash your calories, total fat and saturated fat tremendously. Some people blow their weight-management programs by piling their baked potatoes with all kinds of unhealthy stuff. So keep in mind that just because you eat a baked potato, doesn't mean it's healthy; it all depends on what you put on top of the potato.

• Cook with wasabi, pomegranate molasses or tandoori paste to add exotic flavor to your dishes, but little or no fat.

• Keep the peels off citrus. Peels are rich in vitamins and disease-fighting phytochemicals. So what do you do with the peels? Spread grated orange and lemon peels on baked or grilled fish. Add them to muffins and cookies.

Source: Shape; Tuesday, 20 June 2006; Website: www.shape.com

Cheers,

Eve:-)