"Good nutrition is vital to good health, disease prevention, and essential for healthy growth and development of children and adolescents," notes the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To make sure you include all the essential items your body needs in your diet, create a food shopping list based on healthy dietary guidelines. Shopping from a list can help you avoid impulse purchases and make smart and healthy choices at the grocery store.
Step 1
Create a weekly meal plan, and include all the ingredients needed for your plan in your food shopping list. Consult the Dietary Guidelines for Americans published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, as well as the USDA Food Guide Pyramid to plan your meals for the week.
Step 2
Plan to eat at least 3 or 4 oz of whole grains with your meals per day, according to current governmental dietary guidelines. Add whole grains such as as brown rice, pasta, whole grain breads, oatmeal, crackers and cereals to your shopping list. Limit your consumption of refined grains such as white rice, white flour and white bread. (See ref 3, under "grains")
Step 3
Select a variety of fruits and vegetables for your food shopping list. For a normal 2,000-calorie diet, try to include five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day in your meal plan. Select fruits such as bananas, oranges, apples and peaches. Choose dark, leafy green vegetables like spinach, kale, collard greens and broccoli, and orange vegetables such as sweet potatoes and carrots. Plan your meals according to which fruits and vegetables are in season, and visit local farmers' markets for fresh, inexpensive fruits and vegetables.
Step 4
Choose fish or lean meat and poultry products that you can bake, broil or grill. Avoid processed meats such as sausage, ham and lunch meat. Vary your protein consumption by including eggs, nuts, peas and seeds, as well as legumes such as lentils, black beans, pinto beans and garbanzo beans. Plan to eat 5 to 6 ounces of meat and beans per day, according to dietary guidelines.
Step 5
Include low-fat or fat-free milk, yogurt and cheese products in your shopping list. Try to consume about three cups of milk products per day.
Step 6
Choose vegetable oil or olive oil low in saturated fats and high in polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats for cooking. Select low-fat mayonnaise and margarine.
Step 7
Pick out a few healthy snack items to have on hand, such as dried fruit, granola bars, nuts, yogurt and raw vegetables.
Tips and Warnings
- Read the nutrition labels on packaged foods to check the levels of fat, calories and sodium. Choose spices, herbs, garlic and other seasonings instead of gravy and sauces.
- Avoid food high in saturated fat, sodium, cholesterol and added sugars, as well as sugary soft drinks.
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