Grocery Shopping II: The Need for Speed

Do you feel as “time-starved” as the rest of us? With our hectic lifestyles, even going to the grocery store seems to be just one more task on a to-do list that is already too long! There’s no question our lives are busier and more involved now than they were 20 years ago. Consider these facts about American life:

• People on a salary work about 47 hours a week.
• We spend nearly 14 percent more time commuting to work than we did a decade ago.
• 80 percent of adults report having moderate to high stress levels at work; 60 percent report similar levels of stress at home.

When we’re hungry and short on time, most of us grab foods that are available and fast — usually something high in fat and calories. Not a habit conducive to healthy eating or helping you to control your diabetes.

Is it possible to eat healthy foods and control your diabetes with a crazy schedule? Sure! With a little knowledge, planning, and practice, you can make healthy choices without spending hours in the grocery store. And you can have delicious, quick meals that take just moments to prepare — much less time than waiting for a table in a restaurant or behind a string of cars at the drive-through.

This Healthy Eating article offers some great tips for staying on track, even with your busy schedule:

• It explains how to be a savvy grocery shopper. You can be quick, efficient, and still make good food choices.
• It describes how to whip together good, nutritious meals in your own kitchen — even when time is tight.

Glucerna SR™ products can also help. They’re delicious, convenient, nutritious, and great to have on hand when you’re on the run.

The Need for Speed 1: The Supermarket

It starts at the supermarket.

Be Efficient! Here’s how to make the most of a grocery store trip in the least amount of time.

• Plan your meals and snacks. Planning makes it easier for you to decide what and how much to buy. Planning will save you time. And it will help you avoid those trips back to the store because you forgot to buy a few items.
• Make a list. Make your list quickly and easily by keeping a notepad on the refrigerator door and writing things down as you run out. Making a list not only helps cut down on impulse buying, but it also helps you remember to buy all of the ingredients you need for new recipes. Save even more time by making your list in the order of how you shop.
• Skip the samples. They slow you down and distract you from your mission, and you end up eating extra calories.
• Shop during non-peak hours, usually weeknights after 7 p.m.
• Start portion control at the store. If your plan calls for 110 g of fish, only buy that amount. Then, when it’s time to prepare the meal, you can just use what’s available without extra weighing and measuring. (You’ll lose roughly 25 percent in cooking, leaving approximately 85 g of cooked meat.)
• Stock up on staples. Consider buying a few extra items that you eat regularly and that keep well. Dried pastas, canned or frozen soups, and vegetables are great to have on hand for quick meals.
• Plan to shop after you’ve had a healthy meal or snack. You’re less likely to be tempted to buy foods that are not on your list when you are not hungry! If your sweet tooth does start to ache, satisfy it with Glucerna SR instead of a candy bar.
• Get to know the grocery store. Become familiar with the layout of the grocery store to simplify your visit. Using your list, you can skip the aisles you don’t need to visit. Also, browse the outside aisles. Supermarkets typically stock fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh meats, and dairy products along the perimeter of the store.
• Shop sales and clip coupons to save money. But be careful not to buy things that don’t support your healthy lifestyle just because you can save a little money. A purchase isn’t really a value if it undermines your healthy meal plans.

Caution: Supermarket shelves are filled with foods that promise “a meal in minutes.” Not only are most of these foods loaded with sodium, they can also be high in fat and calories. Not all these products will fit into your healthy nutrition plan.

We’re going to redefine “fast food” to mean foods that you can prepare in less than 10 minutes. Here are several food options you can find in your local grocery store that are not only quick and easy, but good for you.

Produce

• Vegetables: Fresh vegetables are a quick choice. Eat them raw, or steam them in your microwave. Salads in a bag and ready-to-eat baby carrots are additional time-savers.
• Fruits: Like vegetables, fresh fruits are fast foods.

Dairy

• Milk: Buy skim or 1/2 percent milk
• Cheese: Select cheeses containing less than 5 grams of fat per 28 grams
• Yogurt: nonfat or low-fat, plain or flavored (sweetened with artificial sweetener)

Frozen Foods

• Produce: Choose frozen vegetables prepared with no sauce. Frozen fruits are great blended into a Glucerna SR Shake or in yogurt as a snack. Select unsweetened frozen fruit to save on calories.
• Entrées: Look for products that have, per serving …
  • Less than 300 calories
  • At least 15 grams of protein
  • Less than 3 grams of saturated fat
  • No more than 500 milligrams of sodium
• Dessert: Choose 100 percent juice bars or sugar-free fudge bars
• Seafood: Select the fresh varieties of seafood and imitation crab, not the breaded fish fillets or shrimp because of the amount of fat and calories they have.

Cereals, Bread, and Other Grains

• Bread and bread products: Go for the grain! Whole grain should be the first ingredient, like “whole wheat” or “cracked wheat.” Choose breads with less than 3 grams of fat and at least 2 grams of fiber per slice.
• Crackers: Select crackers made with whole grains or those with less than 3 grams of fat per serving.
• Cereals: Go for high-fiber cereals such as old-fashioned oatmeal or shredded wheat.

Canned Goods

• Chicken or Fish: Buying them packed in water will save you about 50 calories a serving. Tossing them with your “salad-in-a-bag” and a drizzle of low-fat salad dressing makes for a quick and healthy meal.
• Soups: Select those that are reduced in sodium and made with a broth base, such as vegetable or chicken soups. Cream soups can be high in fat.
• Fruit: Choose canned fruit packed in light syrup or, even better, in its own juice.
• Vegetables: Select canned vegetables with “no salt added.” Tossing some canned vegetables into leftover soup is a great way to eat your vegetables.
• Fruit and vegetable juices: For vegetable juices, such as tomato juice, choose those with no salt added to them. Fruit juices in small, convenient packages and labeled as containing “100 percent real fruit juice” are quick snacks.

Deli

• Lunch meats: Choose those with less than 2 grams of fat per 28 g. You can add a slice or two to a ready-made tossed vegetable salad.
• Hot dogs: These are available in fat-free versions, but they can be high in sodium.

Meat Counter

• Buy the leanest pieces. Meat that is preportioned makes quick cooking that much quicker. Don’t hesitate to ask the butcher to trim the visible fat.
• Buy skinless chicken pieces to save yourself some time and calories. Sauté chicken strips and some fresh or frozen broccoli, carrots, and green pepper (from the produce department) in a small amount of cooking oil. Season with one or two drops of sesame oil and a dash of low sodium (lite) soy sauce for a fantastic stir-fry.

The Need for Speed 2: The Kitchen

Healthy convenience foods can be combined in many ways to create quick and healthy meals. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Use frozen entrées as a base: Add a tossed salad or cooked frozen vegetables. Use a few little extras — and your imagination — to create a good-tasting and nutritious meal.

Have breakfast at any time: A lot of breakfast foods are quick and easy any time of the day.

Better than sliced bread? Try tortillas, pitas, and bagels as alternatives to sandwich bread: Whole-grain tortillas, pita bread, and bagels offer a wide variety of sandwich options to add variety at lunch or any time of the day.

More Time-Saving Tips to Keep You on Track

• Plan: Planning meals takes a little time, but you’ll be rewarded with healthy meals in minutes the rest of the week. With a little practice, you’ll be planning meals in minutes and saving hours and hundreds of calories.
• Be prepared: Be prepared to throw in the towel every now and then and order pizza. A slice of thin-crust vegetable pizza with half the cheese tastes great and offers a low-guilt way to satisfy your pizza craving. Pair it with a vegetable salad (from a bag, of course!) and fresh fruit. Snack on raw vegetables while you wait for the pizza to be delivered to take the edge off your hunger!
• Stay a step ahead: While tonight’s pasta and sauce are simmering, prepare the ingredients for tomorrow’s tuna casserole. Cover the ingredients tightly and place in the refrigerator. Assemble and bake the casserole the next day. While it’s baking, prepare the ingredients for the following night’s meal.
• Freeze it: Use the freezer to avoid “leftover burnout.” Cook an extra batch and pack in single-serving containers for yourself or larger containers for the whole family. In a week or two, defrost and reheat, serve with fresh vegetables and fruit, and enjoy. Casseroles, such as low-fat lasagna, can be prepared in several small pans instead of one large pan and frozen after baking. You only need to thaw and reheat.
• Brown-bag it: Whether you use a traditional brown bag or an insulated lunch bag, carrying your lunch and snacks saves you time and money. And you have a wider variety of nutritious foods to choose from at home than at a workplace vending machine. Carry fresh fruits and vegetables to complement your Glucerna SR products. Be sure to refrigerate or use freezer packs for cold foods.

Making a List (and Checking It Twice?)

1. Using the examples above, create one quick, healthy meal. Start with a healthy frozen entrée. Make sure it’s something that you would really like to eat.
   
   

   Start with these …	Put them together …	Make it a meal!

2. Now make a grocery list of ingredients for this meal.
   
3. Now try putting it all together: Take the list to the supermarket, buy the ingredients, and prepare your quick, nutritious meal.

Summary

• You can find healthy “fast foods” throughout your supermarket: produce (such as baby carrots), dairy foods (such as nonfat yogurt), frozen foods (such as low-calorie entrées), bakery (such as whole-grain bread), canned goods (such as water-packed tuna), deli (such as low-fat lunch meat), and meat department (such as skinless chicken breasts).
• You can combine healthy convenience foods in many ways to create quick and healthy meals.
• Plan and be prepared so you can stay in control of your eating plan, even when time is tight.