Do you ever walk into the grocery store and feel totally overwhelmed with all of the choices? How do you choose healthier foods for your family, without reading every food label and spending three hours at the store?

The good news is, just as there are strategies for shopping on a budget (don't shop hungry, use a list) a few rules of thumb can get you well on your way to making healthier food choices with less time poring over ingredient labels.

1. Stick to the edges. Every grocery store is laid out in a similar fashion. Fresh foods (fruits, vegetables, breads, meats) are always on the outer perimeter of the store, and canned or packaged foods are always kept in the center aisles. Fresh foods spoil within a couple days, so they must be easily accessible for quick replacement. But how often do you think the grocery store replaces canned goods and potato chips in the middle of the store? If these foods are not purchased by consumers, they may stay on the shelves for months, even years! So they are kept in the middle of the store, only to be accessed when absolutely necessary. Most often, these foods stay fresh because they contain a high number of preservatives, additives and trans-fatty acids to extend their shelf life. Aim to buy at least 75% of your groceries on the perimeter of the store.


2. Look for foods with fewer ingredients.This is the easiest rule of thumb to follow. The more ingredients a food contains, the more likely it is that food has been stuffed full of unhealthy and unnatural chemicals and preservatives. (If you can't pronounce the ingredients, this same rule usually applies.) For example, compare a bag of Boulder Canyon Totally Natural kettle chips (3 ingredients) to Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream potato chips (23 ingredients). And I could only pronounce a few of those 23 ingredients!


3. Choose fresh, frozen or canned fruits and vegetables, preferably in that order. Fresh produce is always best, but less well-known is the fact that frozen fruits and veggies run a very close second. Frozen veggies can hold their nutritional value for a long time, and you can avoid the high sodium content in canned goods.


4. Choose 100% whole grain or whole wheat for breads, cereals and crackers. This will usually be displayed on the front of the package, so it can be an easy way to sort through 25 overwhelming choices of bread at the store.

Good luck, and I hope you spend less time and have more fun on your next trip to the grocery store!