Video:Make a Healthy Grocery List

Transcript:Make a Healthy Grocery List

Hi, I'm Lynn Reynolds for About.com Food. Today I'd like to show you how to make a healthy grocery list. Knowing exactly what you plan to buy before you go to the store can really help in making healthy choices, and in avoiding all those temptations.

Categories to Use to Make a Healthy Grocery List

It's helpful to break your list into categories. For instance, you might start with

• Fruits
• Vegetables—red, green, yellow
• Vegetables--starches
• Dairy
• Breads and Grains
• Frozen food
• Sauces and dressings
• Protein
• Treats

I usually have a category for "treats" because it's nice to have a little reward now and then.

Creating the Healthy Grocery List

If you're the sort of person who cooks meals using recipes, at this point you'd go through the recipes you've planned for the week and fill in all the ingredients needed. Then you'd add any staples you need to stock up on. let's plan for six days since we'll probly eat out once.

In the fruits category, you might estimate around 1-2 pieces of fruit a day per person. Let's say for now you're shopping for just yourself. If you're shopping for more, just multiply the numbers.

So, Fruits—let's say 12 pieces. No need to go into more detail, you can just choose whatever looks good and has a good price.

For vegetables, it helps to thinks of color groups: greens, reds and yellows, others, and starches. You need some of all of these to get essential vitamins and nutrients.For leafy green vegetables a good amount is two servings a day.

So, colored veggies—lots of variety, enough for 12 servings. Let's get broccoli, chard, carrots, red bell peppers.

To round it out, add some cucumbers,, celery, and mushrooms, or anything else that looks yummy. These all work as good add-ins to any meal and are also great snacks cuz they're low fat quick and delicious.

For starches, potatoes are easy to make and healthy, and so are squash. Dairy: milk supplies calcium and vitamin D, essential to good health. Half and half for coffee, or non-dairy creamer? Write it down.

Yogurt and cheese are versatile and can be used in most meals. If you use butter, add that too. If you're lactose intolerant, you'd want to substitute non-dairy ingredients for these.

Breads and grains: try to buy whole wheat bread, as it has many more nutrients in it than bread made with white flour. Bread with seeds and nuts can add extra protein and yummy flavor.

Brown rice, white rice, and an assortment of pasta are always good to have on hand, and can form the base for many a meal. I find it helpful to have a package or two of frozen vegetables in the freezer. For those weeks that you just can't get to shopping, you'll still have a source of healthy veggies.

Sauces and dressings: a jar of pasta sauce is a good pantry item, and you can now get many types of “simmer sauces” which make cooking up a quick meal a breeze. Also, get any needed condiments.

Proteins: It's good to have protein in every meal, so plan for a variety. Chicken is low fat if you take the skin off. Fish is an excellent protein choice as it is very low in fat.

Beef and pork tend to be the fattiest of proteins, so try to purchase them more sparingly.

And last but not least, treats! If you like something sweet now and then, write down exactly what you're going to buy, and don't stray. If you commit to just buying what's on the list, you'll be less tempted to stray when you're in the store.


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