Cooking 101 (Week 4) Quick and Easy Menus, Recipes and Tips for Singles and Couples: Grocery Shopping Made Easy

1. True or False? Going to the grocery store while hungry can lead to impulse purchases.

2. “Fat free” on a food product means how much fat is in that product?

a. Zero
b. Less than 0.5 gram
c. 1 gram or less
d. 5 grams or less

3. True or False? The serving size on a product’s nutrition label indicates how much food is in the entire package.

4. How are the ingredients listed on a food product’s nutrition label?

a. Alphabetical order
b. Least amount to greatest amount by weight
c. Greatest amount to least amount by weight
d. Longest word to the shortest

Answers: 1. True 2. b 3. False 4. c

Select firm, crisp, bright-colored vegetables that are heavy for their size. Look for firm, bright/appropriately colored fruits. Avoid fruits and vegetables with bruises, cuts or other blemishes.

When fresh foods aren’t available, try frozen, canned or dried fruits and vegetables. Choose canned fruits in water or juice, not heavy syrup. Compare the sodium content in canned vegetables, and pick the lowest per serving.

Some foods are labeled “fat-free” or “low-sodium.” However, fat-free doesn’t necessarily mean the product contains no fat. The “fat-free” label designation means the food has 0.5 gram of fat or less per serving. A low-sodium food has 140 milligrams or less of sodium per serving.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) strictly defines the claims that manufacturers use, but these claims can be misleading to consumers when they do not know the full definitions. To learn more about nutrient content claims, visit www.fda.gov or use the following general guidelines to help you when shopping:

• “Free” means a food has a trivial amount of the specified nutrient.
• “Very Low” and “Low” means the food has a little more of that component than what is found in foods labeled “Free.”
• “Reduced” or “Less” means the food has 25% less of a specific nutrient than the regular version of the food (based on a 100-gram portion).

Nutrition facts panels are found on food packaging and tell us what nutrients are in a food product. They are great tools to help us make more healthful choices.

1. Look at the serving size and number of servings in the package. Tip: Ask yourself, “How many servings am I eating?”

2. Look at the number of calories in one serving. The rest of the information on the label is based on one serving.

3. Compare the amount of fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium to the total amount recommended (see information at the bottom of label or % Daily Value). Try to minimize trans fat in your diet. Eating too much of these may increase your risk of developing chronic diseases. Eating too much saturated fat and/or trans fat, for example, may increase your risk of heart disease.

4. Check the amounts of dietary fiber, potassium, vitamin D, calcium and iron. Getting enough of these nutrients in your diet may lower your chances of developing some diseases/conditions. For instance, getting enough calcium may help lower your risk of developing osteoporosis, a condition of weakened, fragile bones.

5. Check out the % Daily Value. Food labels list percentages of the recommended daily intakes of several nutrients. The numbers are based on a 2,000-calorie diet and are used for adults who are age 18 or older. If you consume more or less than 2,000 calories per day, you still can use % Daily Values as a reference.

Use this reference guide for evaluating a product’s % Daily Value:

“Low” = 5% or less of the daily value

“High” = 20% or more of the daily value

Grains

• 1 package whole-wheat tortillas
• 16 ounces dried penne pasta or any other type pasta
• 1 loaf whole-wheat bread
• 1 bag of 6 whole-wheat English muffins
• 1 box whole-wheat crackers
• 6 whole-wheat buns
• 1 small bag granola
• Reduced-calorie microwave popcorn
• 1 small bag plain brown rice
• Small container quick oatmeal
• 1 box cold cereal of choice

Vegetables (fresh or frozen)

• 1 large onion
• 16 ounces grape tomatoes
• 2 Roma tomatoes
• 1 sweet yellow pepper
• 1 package mixed salad greens
• 1 package spinach
• 1 bunch celery
• 1 bag baby carrots
• 1 Russet potato
• 1 sweet potato
• 2 bags frozen mixed vegetables (corn, peas, carrots or your choice)

Fruit

• 3 bananas
• 3 oranges
• 3 peaches or other seasonal fruit
• 3 apples
• 1 pound grapes
• 1 pint fresh strawberries (or use frozen)

Dairy

• 1 gallon (or more) fat-free milk
• 2 6-ounce containers nonfat yogurt
• Low-fat shredded cheese
• Low-fat cheese slices

Meat/Other Protein Foods

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 dozen eggs
• 8 ounces deli ham
• 8 ounces deli turkey
• 1 jar peanut butter
• 1 small bag almonds

Canned goods, etc.

• 1 (15-ounce) can three-bean salad
• 1 (6-ounce) bottle chili sauce
• Dried dill weed (spice)
• Small bottle Catalina or French salad dressing
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can reduced-sodium soup of choice
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can chili beans
• 1 (5-ounce) can tuna (packed in water)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Bag of pretzels

 Read through the recipes and check your supplies to see what and how much you need. Adjust the list based on your supplies and preferences.

 To save money, compare unit prices (price per ounce) on the store shelving.