About a year ago, my husband and I decided to be proactive about choosing healthy foods at the grocery store. To be honest, we really prefer to shop at natural grocery stores but it isn’t always feasible. Supermarkets (hence the word “super”) carry an overwhelming assortment of items. Thus the challenge we face is identifying the “healthy” items, since the brands often vary.
If you live on the east coast, then you’re most likely familiar with the grocery store chain Stop & Shop. They have recently launched Healthy Ideas, an on-shelf symbol that helps you, the consumer, identify foods that fit into a healthy lifestyle. This is pretty ingenious because healthy food choices begin at the grocery store (unless you eat out regularly and that’s just another issue entirely!).
I am a label reader but I also took several units of Nutrition courses while I was in nursing school, so I’m not intimidated. Many of us moms, however, don’t have the time or the desire to go through the products on the shelves reading nutrition labels. These days, I’m lucky to get into and out of the grocery store without my toddler having a meltdown. Stop & Shop has placed the Healthy Ideas symbol on over 3,000 items and shelf tags throughout their stores to help you identify those foods that have less fat, saturated fat, and sodium. You’ll also readily identify those foods with an appropriate amount of at least one nutrient including fiber, whole grains, calcium and minerals.
The criteria for the Healthy Ideas campaign was developed by a team of registered dietitians and reviewed by an adivsory panel of physicians and nutrition experts including Dr. George Blackburn, associate director of the Division of Nutrition at Harvard Medical School. Research played a crucial role in the development of the symbol, which uses the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the USDA Food Pyramid (Mypyramid.gov) and the USDA/FDA’s definition of healthy as a basis for its foundation.
As a mom who is concerned about the foods my family eats, I think that all supermarkets should adopt this “idea.” I wonder what would happen to all of the packaged, processed, trans-fat laden foods, if every grocery store followed suit? : )
To find a Stop & Shop near you, just visit their website!
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