How to Be a Supermarket Sleuth: Picking Produce

Let's face it: We all need to buy food, but sometimes it feels like an overwhelming task to go and get it. Apps and delivery services are booming because we rely on them to bring the food to us when we can't or won't make the time to bring ourselves to the food.

I happen to love going food shopping. Parents who filled their pantry and fridge with "you never know" foods raised me. Those were the extra foods they kept around just in case an army of people stopped by. But if you have limited time and space, you might have to streamline your trip to the store and trim down your shopping list.

Supermarket shopping doesn't have to be an activity to dread, nor should it take so much time that it would require putting two dollars worth of quarters in the parking meter. This is the first of a series of stories that will take you on a virtual walk down some of my favorite aisles of the store to help show you how to make shopping a breeze.

The Produce Aisle

There is no aisle more colorful in the supermarket than the vivid display of Mother Nature's artwork in the produce department. During the thirty-something years I've been in the nutrition business, I've never had a patient come to me overweight because her or she was eating too many fruits and vegetables. These foods should be at the top of your list to help you prevent heart disease, thwart cancer, aid digestion, ease inflammation and promote weight loss. These are feel-good foods -- they make you feel good physically because of the wealth of rich nutrients they supply, and they make you feel good emotionally because they help fuel the peace of mind of knowing you are feeding yourself and your loved ones foods that are clean and healthy. Let's take a look at how to pick produce:

-- Fresh fruits and veggies are some of the only foods in the store that don't have to wear ingredient labels. You can tell what's in them by just looking at them. They come in different shapes, sizes and colors in their natural states sans processing. Although fresh fruits and veggies have a shorter shelf life than canned, frozen or dried types, some people prefer the texture of fresh foods to the other forms.

-- Frozen fruits and vegetables are blanched before they're frozen. This process involves quickly dipping the fresh produce into boiling water and then immediately freezing it. In most cases, produce that's frozen in this method retains its nutritional value and can often be offered to you at a lower price point. Remember to check the nutrient label to see what else might be included in your bag or box. Be on the lookout for sugar and sodium, and pay attention to calories. Items packed with a salty butter sauce will cover up some of the health benefits of the produce it's nestled between.

-- Canned produce is easy to store, is often less expensive than other forms of fruits and veggies, and has a long shelf life. You can stock up when you see sales or special deals on canned goods. There's often a misconception about canned food, but basically, canned food is cooked food. Some studies have shown that the fiber in canned fruits and veggies may be easier to digest than fresh. Proceed with caution, though, and be sure to check the sodium and sugar contents of those cans. Rinsing canned produce can reduce sodium content by 20 to 40 percent or, if you're watching your salt intake, you can opt for "low sodium" (140 milligrams or less per serving) or "sodium-free" types. Check the kind of liquid your canned fruit is packed in -- syrups can add more sugar than you bargained for. Our new food labels will make up for the deficiencies in our present system that doesn't differentiate between natural and added sugars. Look for those types that say "no added sugar," "packed in its own juice" or "water-packed."

-- Dried fruits are chewy, high in fiber and, in some cases, higher in iron than their fresh counterparts. Dried food is created through the removal of the product's water content. While dried fruit may be more concentrated in nutrients, it may also contain some extra calories. Check ingredient lists to see whether your product contains added sugar beyond the natural amount supplied by the fruit. Dried veggies are less common than dried fruit, and no -- veggie chips are not the same as eating other sources of vegetables.

Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA, RD, CDN, has been owner of BTD Nutrition Consultants, LLC, for more than three decades and she is the author of Read It Before You Eat It. As a renowned motivational speaker, author, media personality, and award-winning dietitian, Taub-Dix has found a way to communicate how to make sense of science. Her website is BetterThanDieting.com.