Smart Food Shopping

We're going to take an aisle-by-aisle tour of the grocery store to help you the next time you do your shopping. First, when shopping, keep in mind these general shopping tips:

• Your best bet is to concentrate your shopping time around the periphery of the store — the produce, meat, dairy and bakery sections. But don't stop there. You'll find nutritious foods like beans, whole grains and cereal in the middle aisles.
• Read labels carefully and look for foods that are minimally processed. Choose 100% fruit juice over a fruit juice blend; plain frozen vegetables over those with butter sauces; fresh poultry or meat over those already seasoned; whole fresh potatoes over prepared French fries or scalloped potatoes.
• Dairy products are an exception to the minimally processed rule. It's better to buy versions where naturally occurring fat has been removed, such as fat-free milk or low-fat cheese.

Let's take a virtual tour of a typical store and find some tips for shopping wisely.

In the Produce Aisle

• Color counts — bring home an entire rainbow of colorful fruits and vegetables.
• Save time by purchasing refrigerated jars of mango citrus salad, grapefruit, tropical salad, pears and other fruit. Or select pre-cut fruit like pineapple, watermelons or honeydew melons.
• Other time-savers include freshly cut vegetables like baby carrots, celery and bagged salads.
• Buy small. Smaller sized fruits are often sweeter and more tender than larger, more mature pieces.
• Choose dark green salad items like romaine lettuce, leaf lettuce, spinach, curly endive or radicchio. A little iceberg's OK for crunch.
  
  In the Cereal Aisle
  
• Think whole grains! You can find whole grain in hot as well as cold cereal. Examples of whole-grain hot cereal include Wheatena, oatmeal and oat bran. Some whole-grain cold cereals include Wheaties, shredded wheat, Frosted Mini-Wheats and Grape Nuts. Read Nutrition Facts labels to find cereals that contain at least 5 grams of fiber per serving. Check front labels for claims such as "whole grain" or "rich in whole grain."
• Cereals such as grits, cream of wheat and cream of rice are highly refined and offer little fiber.
  
  Bread, Waffles, Crackers, Tortillas
  
• Look for the word "whole" as the first ingredient on the ingredient list.
• Don't count on terms like "multigrain," "12-" and "cracked wheat" — they can be deceiving. They're mostly refined flour with a touch of whole-grain flour.
• Some examples of whole-grain crackers include Rye Krisp and Triscuits.
  
  Pasta, Rice and Other Grains
  
• Regular or quick-cooking brown rice makes a delicious side dish. The quick-cooking type retains all the health benefits of regular.
• Whole-wheat pasta takes some getting used to with its nutty texture. Try to substitute it for plain every other time or make your pasta half and half.
• Whole-wheat couscous is available in health-conscious stores. Use it (or regular) in salads and as a rice substitute.
• Barley can be used in soups and stews and also works in hearty salads, pilafs and casseroles. It's considered a whole grain.
• Most rice and pasta mixes are too high in fat and sodium to be considered healthful. You may be able to experiment with the preparation to reduce the amount of either or both.