Healthy Shopping Choices for Busy Parents
What Food to Put in the Trolley When You're in a Rush
May 8, 2009
You are a responsible parent, of course you are. You never go to fast food restaurants. You try to limit the amount of chippies and deep-fried chicken nuggets your children eat. You offer them variety and you always make sure there is some vegetable matter on the plate (even if you're too tired to fight the battle and you allow the vegetable matter back into the kitchen intact).
But you're a busy parent. Sometimes you simply don't have time to prepare a healthy snack or meal at home. And so you turn to the supermarket shelves for help. Naturally, you won't be buying crisps, you know better than that. Something healthy and wholesome, that's the idea.
Salt (Sodium)
How about bite-sized Rice Wheels in the wholesome-looking range? The packet says "baked, not fired", it says "no MSG", it says "no artificial flavours or colours". It all sounds very good and you would be forgiven for assuming this is a guilt-free snack. But if you read the small print (the ingredient list), you will see how much fat (10%) they contain. In addition, they contain enough salt to satisfy 30% of a child's recommended daily dose - and if you think that's all right, think again: most processed food (sausages, ham, smoked salmon, pizza, dips, some cheese, ready-made meals) have "hidden" salt added even if they are not salty, so it's very easy to eat much more than is healthy in a day.
(Eating too much salt can increase your risk of developing high blood pressure, which may lead to heart disease and strokes in future. By reducing the salt intake of your family it is possible to reduce their blood pressure and their risk of developing heart problems, so it's well worth doing.)
Sugar
So you move away from the Rice Wheels and your hand hovers over Fruit Torpedoes. Hey, it's Made With Real Fruit! The picture on the box looks good. Alas, a third of the snack is pure sugar, the small print informs you, and another third is starch. So there is not as much fruit there after all.
A health bar then? No way! Three-quarters carbs, of which half is pure sugar.
Fat
Those crisps are suddenly beginning to look acceptable. At least you know they taste great... and look, these ones are "Light"! Surely that's a good sign?
Not necessarily. Even if the packet says Light, they may still be 25% fat, as opposed to normal crisps which are 36% fat. If those figures don't mean much to you, think about this: dairy cream is 30% fat. Also, most of us are pretty religious about buying low fat (2%) for our children, while full cream milk is less than 5% fat. 5% suddenly doesn't seem so bad when compared to 36% found in crisps.
Healthy-looking muesli bars are often packed with fat too, so don't be seduced by clever marketing and read the fine print.
Partially-Hydrogenated Oils and Trans-Fats
While we're on the subject of snacks, it's a good idea to look at hydrogenated and partially-hydrogenated oils, which are usually present in shop-bought chips, crackers, muesli bars, biscuits and baked goods.
When vegetable oils are partially hydrogenated or 'hardened' for use in baking or as spreads such as margarine, trans fats are formed. There is compelling evidence that foods high in trans fats increase 'bad' cholesterol levels and lowers the levels of "good" cholesterol, which increases the risk of a heart attack and stroke. Trans fats are also being linked to obesity (particularly weight gain around the abdomen), diabetes, liver problems and cancer.
Breakfast Cereals
No matter, you think. Let's at least get some healthy breakfast. Unfortunately, most breakfast cereals for kids are loaded with sugar.
Even the good old-fashioned oat porridge can be a potential sugar- and salt- trap if it's already sold flavored (don't be deceived by the wholesome pictures of fruit, check the sugar contents per 100g).
The Frozen Section
Frozen vegetables are a great option for busy mums. No peeling, washing or cutting, they microwave to piping hot cooked in 2-3 minutes, you can steam-cook them from frozen, and they often contain more vitamins than the tired-looking specimens in the Fresh Produce section.
Avoid ready-to-roast frozen vegetables, vegetables 'au gratin' and scalloped potatoes - the fat is usually more than you would ever add at home.
Frozen berries, especially out of season, are a real treat served frozen as dessert: they are bite-size, they are crunchy and they feel deceptively like ice cream.
Frozen fish fillets and whole chickens are also a good buy, but do think about crumbed fish fillets and ready-made frozen Chicken Kievs. Yes, they are oh-so-convenient, but do check the fat content.
Side Bar - How to Read Labels
- Look at the ingredients, in particular the table that says "Nutrition values per 100g". The "per 100g" is useful to work out percentages.
- "Total Fat: 25g" in the "per 100g" table means that the food contains 25% fat. In other words, a quarter of what you eat is pure fat.
- "Saturated fat 10g" means that 10% of the snack is saturated fat.
- "Carbohydrate Sugars 20g" means that 20% of the snack is sugar.
- Look at the sodium. Sodium is what makes table salt. Healthy adults should eat up to 1.6g (1600mg) of sodium a day. The limit is lower for children, proportionally to their weight. An 18g packet of Healtheries rice wheels contains 130mg sodium.
- The longer the ingredient list, in general, the worse. Look out for numbered flavourants, numbered preservatives and anything that doesn't look like a natural foodstuff.
Sources:
- Sodium in the Diet by J. Anderson, L. Young, E. Long and S. Prior
- Revealing Trans Fats
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