Tips for Smart Food Shopping

Shopping for food can be a hassle. How much to buy? What kind? What to do with it at home? Read on — you’ll find that there is a happy medium between not having enough for dinner and throwing away a drawer of produce that's gone bad.

The Basics

What to Buy and When

Produce: Stock enough fresh, canned or frozen varieties for 5 or more servings a day.

Seasonal Selections

Winter: oranges, grapefruit, rutabagas, sweet potatoes, cabbage, greens
Spring: asparagus, spinach, sweet peas, rhubarb
Summer: berries, peaches, melons, cherries, green beans, zucchini
Fall: apples, pears, acorn and butternut squash, cauliflower

Refrigerator Timeline

Short-term:

Green beans
Unshucked corn
Asparagus
Berries and cherries

Long-term:

Oranges
Pears
Plums
Peaches
Grapes
Apricots
Apples
Artichokes
Beets
Cabbage
Carrots
Celery
Kale
Peppers
Spinach

Whole Grains

Be sure to read labels carefully. If the first ingredient listed isn’t “100 percent whole wheat,” “whole grain” or “whole oats,” it doesn’t have all the beneficial fiber and nutrients.

Try:

Whole-wheat pastas and breads
Quinoa
Barley
Bulgur
Kasha
Bran cereal
Brown rice

Dried Beans

Just 1 cup of beans a day gives you half your recommended daily intake of fiber and about 15-20 grams of protein! Plus they’re packed with cancer-fighting folate.

Try:

Fava beans
Chickpeas
Kidney beans
Black beans

Soy: Still a bean, but comes in a ton of varieties

Try:

Tofu
Soy milk
Soy nuts
Edamame

Fish

Canned, frozen or fresh, fish are a great source of healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

There are important consumption limits for women and children due to mercury content:

Avoid eating shark, swordfish, king mackere, and tilefish.
May have up to 12 ounces (2-4 servings) per week of fish with low mercury content like trout, halibut, flounder and tuna.
Albacore tuna is higher in mercury; limit consumption to 6 ounces per week for women and 3 small servings for children.

Lean Meat and Poultry

These are a healthful alternative to harmful red and processed meats, limit serving sizes to 3 ounces to make room for fruits and veggies on your plate.