Are you Supermarket Savvy?

Last week a few Ready Steady Mums hit the supermarket with dietitian Laura Clark to myth bust their way through the aisles. In this blog, Laura shares the highlights from the tour.

To meet Laura in person and ask her questions about diet please do join us for our free brunch at the Wandle in Earlsfield (Wandworth, London, UK).

After today's Healthy Eating Campaign we're all excited about sharing our pledges and eating some yummy food with fellow mums on 26th April 11am.
RSVP brunch@readysteadymums.com. We look forward to welcoming you there!

Laura: Supermarkets bombard you with a variety of messages from the minute you walk in. The choice can sometimes feel over-whelming especially when you have a baby in tow and you might be feeling a little sleep deprived.

Give yourself the best chance of making it out the other side with the right foods for your family with these simple tips:

Fruit and vegetables aisles

Variety is the key here and aiming for the magic 5 a day. A portion is generally what you can fit into your cupped hand.

Carbohydrate aisles


Bread/ bread products

• Choose wholegrain/ wholemeal.
• Don’t worry about calories – any unadulterated carbohydrate food should take up a 1/3 plate as a portion. Carbs should form part of every meal and there’s no need to stop eating them at a certain time of day.
• Try a variety of ‘breaded’ products e.g. wholemeal pitta, tortilla wrap, crispbreads e.g. ryvita, bagels.
• Breaded products with lots of seeds will have a higher calorie content – not a problem unless you’re trying to lose weight.
• Remember bread isn’t evil but adding salted butter to it doesn’t make it quite so saintly ☺

Cereals

...Can be very confusing. The best advice is to not let the label trick you!

General guide – always compare products per 100g as manufacturer’s portion size will differ:
Per 100g:
Total fat - high >20g; low <3g
Saturated fat - high >5g; low <1.5g
Sugars - high >15g; low <5g
Salt - high >1.5g (0.6g sodium); low <0.3g (0.1g sodium)

• Look for the words wholegrain.
• Be aware toasted cereals and those with a high quantity of nuts are going to be high in fat.
• Some cereals have a surprisingly high amount of sugar but as long as they aren’t coated in sugar or containing a lot of dried fruit, then this isn’t a bad thing unless you’re conscious about calories in an effort to lose a few pounds.
• Making your own muesli is a good idea – oats, handful of dried fruit, handful of seeds.

Dairy aisle

Dairy is a really important food group for women to maintain peak bone mass. Dairy is high in fat but is an excellent source of calcium and vitamins. Women need 3 serves of dairy a day to meet their calcium needs. A serve is 200mls milk, 1 pot yoghurt or a matchbox of cheese.

Yoghurts

• Choose low fat or fat free yoghurts for you as these have a lower overall sugar content.
• Choose full fat dairy foods for baby but still aim for saturated fat to be under 5g per 100g.

Cheese

• A matchbox size of cheese is a portion – the highest fat ones are the hard cheeses e.g. Cheddar, Babybel, Stilton and Emmental.  
• Healthier cheeses include Edam, feta, Haloumi, half fat cheddar, ricotta, mozzarella, cottage cheese and soft cheese. 
• Cheese is very nutritious and part of a balanced diet but you do need to be a little careful of how much you have.

Protein aisles

Eggs 

A nutritious protein food – no need to limit amount over the course of a week.

Pulses 

An excellent source of protein and fibre which can be added to soups and main meals for extra nutrition.

Meat/ fish

Variety is key – palm of hand is a portion for you and it’s good to have oily fish at least once a week. Do not avoid red meat but choose lean cuts.

Treats!

A few high fat, high sugar foods are part of a balanced diet. Don’t rely on them for energy – ensure you have regular balanced meals instead. But indulge guilt free once in a while and as a general guide aim for no more than 150kcals worth in one go! ☺