5 grocery shopping tips for a healthier diet

Grocery shopping isn't rocket science, but making healthier choices isn't always easy. Avoid temptation at the grocery store and buy healthy food for your family with these easy tips.

• If you shop only on the periphery of the store—where the "real" foods are based—you're more likely to wind up with a healthier cart of groceries.
• Only venture down the internal aisles for staples such as spices, sugar, flour, canola oil, vinegar and such. You may save more money in the long run, too—especially if you stick to fruits and veggies that are in season and meats and poultry on sale.

• While it may cost a bit more, cleaned, bagged vegetables are the best thing to hit grocery stores since Starbucks counters. Numerous consumer studies find that we're more likely to buy bagged salads and other produce.
• These days, you get much more than just lettuce. How about peeled green beans, diced butternut squash, and washed kale? We're all for it!
• In fact, the introduction of bagged, pre-washed spinach in the late 1990s is touted as the main reason spinach consumption increased by 16.3 percent in North America between 1999 and 2001.

• Probably not something your supermarket manager is going to like (fresh usually costs more), but frozen veggies may actually be more nutritious (since they're often flash frozen just hours after picking). They're also a heck of a lot more appealing than the mushy, rotting mess that often fills our refrigerator vegetable drawer.
• Try microwaving an entire bag's worth of frozen broccoli or green beans (in a microwaveable container), drizzling a couple of spoonfuls of low-fat dressing over them, and sprinkling with low-fat Parmesan cheese for a quick lunch or dinner.

• Bread manufacturers aren't going to tell you this, but all too often the "wheat" bread they're marketing is nothing but regular white bread browned with molasses.
• To make sure you're getting the real thing, the first ingredient in any whole-grain product should have the word "whole" in it—as in "whole wheat" or "whole-grain." If it says multi-grain, seven-grain, nutria-grain, cracked wheat, stone-ground wheat, unbromated wheat or enriched wheat, it's not whole wheat. Therefore, it lacks some of the vitamins, minerals—and not to mention fibre—of whole grains.

• If you select the right condiments, you'll have the underpinnings for wonderful sauces, low-fat marinades and even low-salt flavourings that will greatly improve the taste of your meals. Some of these condiments have a high salt or sugar content, so the secret is to use them judiciously to add flavour, or to look for low-sodium or sugar-free versions.
• One great benefit of these tasty meal "flavour-adders" is that they'll help you stay away from less healthy fatty condiments, such as mayonnaise, butter, stick margarine and creamy salad dressings.

These delightful flavourings include:

• Flavoured ketchup and barbecue sauces, chili sauce and salsas (look for sugar-free varieties)
• Horseradish and various types of mustards
• Jarred spaghetti, bruschetta and pesto sauces (the latter is luscious spooned atop salmon and baked)
• Jarred olives, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, anchovies and roasted red peppers
• Worcestershire, hot pepper, soy and teriyaki sauces (look for low-sodium varieties)
• Extra-virgin olive, sesame and walnut oils (the healthy oils)
• Flavoured vinegars and various kinds of marmalades