Navigating the grocery store: A dietitian’s guide to smart shopping

We all know how important it is to be eating healthy foods, but what does that look like and how can you apply it to your own trips to the grocery store? As a dietitian, I'm here to be your personal guide through the aisles, helping you navigate the maze of choices and emerge with a cart full of nutritious, budget-friendly foods.

Let’s discuss how I prepare for a grocery shop, what I look at while I’m deciding what to get, and how I stay on budget while focusing on eating a healthy diet.

Pre-shopping preparation

This is arguably the most important step aside from getting the actual groceries because without planning, you are planning to fail! I like to first start with getting some inspiration for what meals I want to make that week.

Some weeks, I have a lighter work load and am able to cook more time-consuming recipes. Other weeks, I’m heavily relying on convenience foods. Based off of what my work load/schedule looks like for that week, I’ll pick a few different recipes I want to make or ingredients I would like to have prepped. Not having to think of what to cook for dinner every night saves me an ample amount of time and brain power (after making meal plans for clients all day long, the last thing I wanna think about is what I’M eating! Lol).

From there, I create a list of ingredients I’ll need. Getting it all on paper helps organize my thoughts and gives you something to check off while you’re shopping also! Once my list is made, I’ll go through my fridge/pantry to see what I already have and if I need to get a refill of any products. This saves me from overbuying, overspending, and actually using the ingredients I have.

Side note: Looking to see what you already have in your fridge/pantry can be another way to create some meals for the coming week!

Some suggestions I have for creating a well-rounded, nutritious grocery list is to make sure your ingredients provide whole grains, colorful vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats. I tend to have a similar grocery list of my weekly staples.

Understanding food labels

When it comes to reading food labels, there are a few different things I look at to see how nutrient-dense a product is. Those things include, but are not limited to:

1. Total calories per serving & servings per container (both very important!!)

2. Carbohydrates: This line is broken down into 3 parts, dietary fiber, total sugar, and added sugar. I recommend you get carbohydrates from whole food sources when you can. It is advised that individuals with pre diabetes and diabetes watch the amount of carbohydrates they’re eating to manage blood sugars.

3. Protein: Aiming for high protein items can be extremely beneficial towards eating enough protein throughout the day. I recommend eating about 20-30g of protein per meal to keep you feeling full and satisfied.

4. Total fat, more specifically looking for a low amount of saturated & trans fats. High intake of saturated & trans fats has been linked to developing heart disease. It’s recommend to keep saturated fat under 20g total per day.

5. Fiber: Even though this falls under the carbs category, this one deserves it’s own bullet point. Fiber has been shown to slow down digestion, meaning that it will keep you fuller for longer and help to regulate blood sugars. It’s recommended that we eat 25-35g per day, although many Americans only eat about 10-15g per day.

A couple other things I look at are sodium, added sugars, and the ingredient list. The Recommended Daily Amount (RDA) of sodium is 2,300mg per day. I try to make sure I’m mostly buying products that have around 600mg per serving or less to stay within that DV.

I try to buy products that have minimal added sugars. Although it’s okay to eat some added sugars, it’s recommended to keep under 50g per day based off a 2,000 calorie diet.

Now let’s talk about serving size and servings per container. This is often overlooked when glancing at a nutrition label and this is where the numbers can often get thrown off.

1. Serving size refers to the amount that is normally eaten of that particular food at one time. It’s important to look at this amount to get a better understanding of what a portion size should look like.

2. Servings per container is exactly what it means, the amount of servings within the container you bought. They key takeaways from this is that the numbers you see on each line are available PER SERVING, not for the entire container.

For example…

When looking at this particular label, each serving is 2/3 cup, and there are 8 servings per container. Meaning that eating the whole container would be equal to 1,840 calories.

Lastly in this section, we’ll cover Percent Daily Value (% DV) and things to be cautious about with ingredients. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind when looking at Percent Daily Value is that a food under 5% of DV is considered “low daily value” and anything 20% and higher is considered “high daily value”.

For vitamins, nutrients, and fiber you would want that percentage to be higher, whereas for things like added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat, you would want those to be lower.

When looking through ingredient lists, it’s important to leave what you heard on social media at home and do your own research. Ingredients like various artificial sweeteners and preservatives are all the rage on social media, but there is research to show that they can be part of a healthy diet in moderate amounts. It’s always best to minimize intake of processed food and incorporate more whole food sources into your diet to reduce the risk of developing chronic disease.

Shopping strategies

Here are my sure-fire ways to buying nutritious foods that won’t break the bank:

• Stick to the perimeter. I’m sure you’ve heard this before but shopping primarily in the perimeter is a great way to buy more fresh produce, meat, and dairy. This will help minimize time spent in the aisles where you tend to find more processed, packaged foods.

• Choose whole foods. I typically opt for whole grains rather than refined grains for the additional dietary fiber and nutrients. Fresh and frozen fruits/vegetables tend to be better for you compared to canned due to a higher amount of sodium. Although if canned is a convenient option for you, I recommend you get the “no salt added” or “low sodium” options to cut down on sodium.

• Shop seasonally & locally. Buying produce that’s in season not only tastes better because it’s at peak ripeness, but did you know it’s also cheaper at this time?! This is a great way to decide what vegetables to eat that month and save some money on your grocery bill. I 100% recommend to shop locally as well to support local farmers & ranchers in your area. They have the BEST quality meat and produce and it typically has the least amount of additives/preservatives. I could write an entire article on this but I’ll save that for another time!

Here’s what’s in season for April!

Thanks natalieshealth.com for this graphic!

Weekly grocery list staples

Produce:

• Berries (I bounce between strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries)

• Leafy greens

• Herbs

• Veggies I need for recipes that week

• Fruit for the week (I buy this seasonally for the best taste & discount!)

Meat:

• Chicken

• Ground turkey (love interchanging ground beef & ground bison too!)

• Turkey bacon

• Salmon

Pantry:

• Rice

• Old fashioned oats

• Whole grain crackers

• English muffins or bread

• Tortillas

• Beans/legumes

• Pasta

Dairy:

• 2% Organic milk (only because organic stays better for longer)

• Non-fat greek yogurt

• Eggs

• Cottage cheese

• Coffee creamer

Budget-friendly tips

With how expensive groceries have been over the past year, we all need these tips on how to save a little money on your grocery bills! But how exactly do you ensure you’re buying quality, nutritious items without paying a crazy price?! Let me share some quick tips with you:

• Plan around sales & weekly specials at your grocery store. Stores will always label what’s on sale and post their weekly sales in the newspaper or on a website/app. This has been a lifesaver for me with the HEB app (iykyk!).

• Buying certain foods in bulk. This can be extremely helpful when buying things like beans, grains, nuts, seeds, etc.. I love going to the bulk section at HEB or Costco/Sams for bulk items (Costco haul live on my Instagram!).

• Utilize rewards groups & coupons. If you shop at the same grocery store each week, it’s probably worth it to be a rewards member & start taking advantage of special members-only coupons. Also, pay attention to coupons you get at checkout, they can be a lifesaver!

Key takeaways

Let’s recap —

1. Doing some “pre-shop prep” is a MUST when it comes to maintaining a healthy diet and not overspending.

2. Knowing what you’re looking for on a nutrition label can help you to better understand what exactly you’re buying.

3. Primarily shopping the perimeter of the store can help you mainly get whole, unprocessed foods.

4. Shopping seasonally and locally can ensure you get the best quality produce and meat (while also supporting local businesses, who wouldn’t want to do that?!).

5. Planning meals around sales and buying certain items in bulk can help to lower your grocery bill.

It’s so important, as a consumer, to make informed decisions when you’re grocery shopping so that you’re able to fully understand what you’re buying, but also taking advantage of weekly sales.

I highly encourage you to use these tips you’ve learned and use them at your next grocery shop! As a Registered Dietitian, it’s my commitment to my readers to provide guidance and support on your health journey.

Nutrition tips

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