Noel hits the grocery store — the right way

This week I met up with Tanya Zuckerbrot, founder of SkinnyandtheCity.com and author of the The F-Factor Diet to do some food shopping. Usually when I grocery shop, I feel like I’m always buying the same things — then I get food bored and eat the wrong things. But now I have a whole new shopping list.

Produce
We started out with the fruits and veggies aisle. First myth busted: Apples are too sugary. That’s what I’d always thought, so I avoided them, even though I like them. Tanya said to load up — they’re only about 60 calories and have 5 grams of fiber. Moving onto the veggies, here’s a big problem I have: I often pass on buying produce because it goes bad in my fridge before I can finish it all. The solution? Keep plenty frozen veggies on hand. Turns out, they’re just as good for you as fresh veggies because they’re frozen at their peak. Now when I come home late, I can whip up an omelet and add some for a quick and healthy dinner. Another must-have produce item: pre-packaged salads. All the chopping often kept me from making a salad; now all the work is done for me. For me, that’s worth the slightly higher price tag.

Dairy
I love cheese! But there are so many different varieties, it can get confusing. Tanya’s suggestion: Look for cheeses that are 3 grams of fat per ounce or less. Good thing I learned this — turns out, the string cheeses I’d been eating were 6 grams of fat per ounce. As for yogurt, I’ve recently made the switch to Greek, which is delicious. And, as Tanya pointed out, the ones with fruit on the bottom have added sugar, which means extra calories. Something else to keep in mind for the dairy aisle? Studies have shown that dairy can aid in weight loss in women. Carton of Over the Moon fat-free milk? Check!

Meats
Since I’m trying to lose weight, I thought red meat was a no-no. Happily, I was wrong. Tanya said that not only can red meat be healthy if I stick to the lean cuts like beef round and sirloin (about 40 calories per ounce), the lean cuts are actually cheaper than the fattier ones! Other items to keep on hand? Chicken, ground turkey, and eggs. All are easy to cook up quickly and add to dinners or salads, and you can even freeze the chicken and turkey. The trick to making meat part of a healthy diet? Make sure you stick to approximately 4 ounces per meal, Tanya told me. More than that and you’ll take in too many calories.

Snacks
I eat a lot of nuts, which are healthy in moderation, but I have a hard time figuring out the right serving size — and sticking to it. Tanya told me the serving size for most kinds of nuts is about 16. But one kind proves an exception — pistachios. There are 49 pistachios per serving! Plus, the act of cracking the shells will slow your pace, and the sight of those empty shells can remind you of how much you’ve eaten, and help trigger your mind to stop. Tanya shared that Wonderful Pistachios are in most grocery stores and are Skinny approved!

Dessert
The best part! I often have a late-night craving for ice cream. Two good ways to sate it: sugar-free ice pops or Tofutti Cuties sandwiches. The ice pops have only 40 calories each and I like them. I haven’t tried the Tofutti yet but since it’s a 130-calorie ice cream-like treat, what’s not to look forward to! As for a non-frozen chocolate treat, Tanya suggested I try dark chocolate with a high cocoa content. This type of chocolate has less sugar and is higher in fiber, plus it has antioxidants.

And a couple other good tips I picked up from Tanya? Always go to the store with a list and never go hungry! Now I feel much better prepared to shop.