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By: Erin O'Flaherty, Nutrition and Dietetics Graduate Student Time management can be difficult for the layperson, but for a student-athlete, it can be extra challenging. Finding time to shop, cook, and prepare healthy meals is challenging with a busy schedule of classes, homework, training, and competition. There are many tips and tricks for collegiate athletes to help manage their busy lives and ensure proper fueling and hydration. Try these time management tips to help you stay nourished and hydrated:
Life can be stressful with all the demands of being a student athlete but remembering to eat like a pro doesn’t have to be a burden. Use these simple tips to help you meet all your nutrient needs so you can be ready for training and competition in and out of the classroom. Additional Resources: crockpot-jamaican-jerk-chicken.html crock-pot-breakfast-casserole.html grocery-shopping-101.html how-your-fridge-and-freezer-could-save-you-hundreds-on-groceries.html Sources
By: Emma Brown, Nutrition Graduate Student Finding food and creating meals at SIUE just became a little harder. Due to COVID-19, and with fewer students residing and attending classes on campus, the university food and dining had to cut back services. Not to worry, the student athletes on campus can still find plenty of healthy food options at the Morris University Center (MUC) and around campus. You already know the athletic department provides student athletes with healthy snacks in the Vadalabene Nutrition Center, so let’s get started on your campus food exploration. You will learn how to navigate university dining services, create healthy meals at home or in residence halls, and find additional food assistance resources across campus.
You may have already noticed that dining services in the MUC has taken on a new landscape due to COVID-19. There are fewer tables for dine-in seating, as well as social distancing regulations to help reduce meal time gatherings. However, the real change that might impact you is unfortunately fewer available food options. So, when you are looking for food, the Grab n’ Go sections is where you can find fruit and vegetable cups, sandwiches, premade salads, muffins and other options. Chick-fil-a has re-opened and offers grilled chicken options, salads, and a fruit cups for healthy fueling. Entrees offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. This part of the MUC is always open and the menu changes to keep a variety of choices available. Eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy are always offered at breakfast time. The Garden Patch offers fresh salads with a variety of different salad base options, like spinach or spring mix. The salad toppings range from bacon bits, ham, sunflower seeds, tomatoes and more fresh choices. Low fat dressings are also offered at this station. A gluten free station is available right next to Entrees. This section is not very large, but it does cater to the individuals that are sensitive to, or cannot have gluten. Boss Burgers offers breakfast as well as lunch and dinner. Customizable omelets are made fresh upon request during breakfast time. On the other side of campus, Freshens, which is located over in the Vadalabene Fitness Center, offers customizable smoothies, wraps, sandwiches, paninis, and many other fast, healthy options. The hours of operation are all subject to change depending on the status of COVID-19. This can make it hard to plan and be consistent with meals, however, remembering what food is always offered can alleviate some stress caused by food availability. Cooking in the residence hall is a challenge on its own, but once you learn a few tips it will come naturally. The website EatingWell, full website provided in references, provides some simple and healthy meal ideas and recipes that can be made in a dorm or at home. Overnight oats, English muffins with peanut butter and bananas, salads, Greek yogurt bark, and many other delicious options are available on this website. Creativity is always a helpful asset when it comes to making healthy meals and snacks. Even without COVID-19, 34%-59% of college students in the U.S. experience food insecurity. Student athletes are no exception to this saddening statistic. While most student athletes may have more access to food than other students, they still may not be have sufficient enough food to meet the high demand and volume of food needed for optimal sports performance. There is also the possibility that student athletes may have other friends on campus who are in dire need of food. Here at SIUE, the Cougar Cupboard Food Pantry is available to help support any, and all students in need. Please visit the Cougar Cupboard on the SIUE website for more information. I have listed multiple food sources as well as the food that they provide. I hope this information is helpful and makes finding, or even making, meals much easier on and off campus. References
By Janessia Slaughter, Graduate Nutrition and Dietetics Student Nutrition sometimes takes a backseat when you have priorities and commitments with practices, training, competition, classes, homework, and other team obligations. For athletes, nutrition plays a key role in helping you reach peak performance goals. But, for student athletes, finding time and ways to cook healthy food in the dorm can be challenging. With a little creativity, flexibility, and planning, you can prepare quick and healthy meals in your dorm without missing out on nutrition. Read on to learn how to you can enjoy dorm life and still eat well to fuel your body! Tip 1: Skip the Ramen! For college students, particularly athletes, processed and packaged ramen lacks nutritional value, and is much too high in sodium. If you have to rely on ramen, use less of the seasoning packet, add high quality protein foods, such as cooked chicken or tofu, and add veggies- canned, frozen, or fresh- to turn your boring ramen into a well-balanced meal. For athletes, plain ramen won’t help you meet your calorie needs either, but by adding protein and vegetables, you’re better able to add calories and key nutrients to help support your training and recovery. Better yet, skip the packaged ramen completely, and find a quick microwavable pasta that you can add sauce, protein, and vegetables to and make a meal bursting with nutrition. Of course, if you have access to a stove, cooking dry pasta in boiling water is more affordable; and you can find whole grain, plant based, and/or protein added varieties of dry pasta that are great sources of complex carbohydrates that athletes need. Tip 2: Add color to your dorm room! Keep fruit and vegetables on hand. If you have access to refrigeration and freezers, keeping fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables available helps you eat a diet filled with color, vitamins and minerals. The colorful foods are nutrient dense. That means these foods provide needed calories and are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals, all of which help you meet your nutritional needs for peak training and optimal recovery. At a minimum, athletes need to eat at least 5 servings of fruit and vegetables each day. For example, a single serving of vegetable is ½ cup carrots, broccoli, and/or cauliflower, and a serving of fruit is a medium apple, pear, orange, half grapefruit, or ½ C fruit juice. Try your vegetables with salsa, guacamole, hummus, ranch, dill, baba ganoush, bean, Greek yogurt, other vegetable dips to make a hearty snack. Frozen vegetables, packaged for steaming in the microwave, are a quick, simple, and easy way to add color, vitamins, minerals, and fiber to your meals or have on hand for a snack. Not all fresh produce needs to be refrigerated. You can stock up on fresh apples, pears, oranges/tangerines/grapefruit, bananas, tomatoes, and avocados that can stay at room temperature for a few days until ready to eat. Tip 3: Start Smart. Sleeping those few extra minutes in the mornings and then trying to get to practice or class might mean you skip breakfast. Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, and the key to your success in the field, on the court, and in the classroom! Breakfast provides the necessary carbohydrates needed to get your day started, and fuels your body to complete daily activities such as studying and sports practices. Breakfast also “jump starts” your metabolism after an overnight “fast”, fueling your body for the day’s activities. Planning ahead or having healthy, ready to grab and go options can help you eat breakfast even if you’re on the move. For example, overnight oats are a simple, dorm- friendly breakfast, loaded with essential nutrients and needed calories to fuel your morning. You can even build in more nutrition by dressing up your oats with some fresh fruit, dried cranberries, raisins, apples, banana, or chopped pecans/nuts. If you have a little more time and don’t need to eat in transit, yogurt parfaits are another simple, dorm- friendly breakfast packed with high quality protein, calcium, and needed calories to start your day. A protein bar, fruit smoothie, and nutrient dense cereal with milk are other examples of quick and easy breakfasts to start your day. Tip 4: Snack Attack. Athletes need sufficient calories and nutrients throughout the day to train, recover, and perform at peak. Your schedules are demanding, your class times may conflict with mealtimes, and/or you just may not be hungry when you do have time for meals, so snacks are an extra important part of your diet. Even when you do eat well balanced and nutritious meals regularly, snacks can still help you meet all your nutrition needs throughout the day. A few examples of portable snacks that you can take with you between classes and won’t require refrigeration include sliced fresh fruit and veggies, trail mix, granola, nutrition bars, packaged cheese and crackers, roasted peas/chickpeas and pumpkin seeds, popcorn, edamame, and dry cereal. And, REMEMBER, the Student-Athlete Nutrition Center in the Lukas Annex of the VC provides healthy snacks weekdays from 7:15-10 a.m. and again 2:30 to 4:15 p.m. Bottom Line: Dorm food doesn’t have to be tasteless or unhealthy, and cooking on campus doesn’t have to be complicated. Use these tips and recipes to build new skills and help you meet all your nutrition needs so you can eat like a pro! Go Cougars! Looking for more helpful nutrition tips and recipe ideas, check out these links:
References
By: Aubrey Kamp, MS Nutrition and Dietetics Student Maintaining nutrition on the road can be a real challenge for athletes. Planning for meals and snacks can prevent negative impact on athletic performance. While traveling, it is important to remember that what you eat and how much you eat impacts performance for competition. There are steps you can take before, during, and even while away to make sure you are maintaining your nutritional needs. Learning tips for choosing healthy meals and snacks while traveling will give you confidence to perform at your peak. Finally, special consideration for athletes with food allergies or restrictions will be addressed, as well. Paying attention to food choices when traveling is important because you want to try as much as possible to maintain your usual eating habits regarding meal choices and timing. You should eat similar and familiar foods during travel as you would while training at home. Introducing new foods or changing your usual diet when traveling is not recommended. New foods may cause gastrointestinal (GI) discomfort or distress before competition, resulting in compromised or poor performance. GI issues can include symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Therefore, it is important to be aware of the type of food you’re choosing, as well as where and how the food is prepared. For example, if you do not eat fast food on a normal basis, then you should not eat fast food during travel or before a competition. If you are traveling by road and if you can find out ahead of time where and when you’ll be eating, you may be able to plan for food selections and options. When you are unable to control where you eat or how the food is prepared, it maybe helpful to bring your own food. It’s always worthwhile to talk to your coach or athletic trainer about managing meals and food choices while traveling. Before leaving for travel, if possible, map out available foods and snacks to guide you through the trip making sure to fuel your body for competition. When you can learn about local grocery stores and restaurants, you’ll feel more confident about food choices that are available. If you are able to shop for your own food at locations you’ll be staying, it can reduce stress around food and eating, and reduces the amount of food you have to pack from home. The more you can learn about the schedule, travel, and meal arrangements the more prepared you can be to make healthy choices or know to plan to bring your own food. This is particularly important for athletes who have food allergies and restrictions to ensure safety. Here are some helpful tips: 1) If you have to stop at fast food restaurants, don’t let this become a barrier to healthy eating. make the best choices you can from what is available. Most fast-food establishments offer some healthy options, try to selection food that you would choose at home or you feel will provide the best nutrition. For example, if you have to select a breakfast meal from a fast food restaurant, a breakfast burrito or egg sandwich on English muffin or bagel can provide quality proteins and healthy complex carbohydrates. You may be able to customize the order as well, so you might try a plain or whole grain bagel and add peanut butter. Most fast food restaurants offer fruit and milk, which can easily fit into a healthy meal. If possible, try to encourage the coach/team to stop at a sandwich shop, where you can select your own items, such as whole grain breads, lean meats, and added vegetables. Look for healthier options, such as grilled chicken and baked potatoes for high quality protein and complex carbohydrate. 2) If packing your own food sounds like a hassle, remember to be the best athlete means putting in the extra effort. Get yourself a small cooler or insulated travel container and several icepacks. Fill the cooler with foods you enjoy eating and provide optimal nutrition. You won’t have to depend on where or when the team stops for meals, and you’ll have plenty of your own healthy snacks and fluids throughout the day, as well. 3) Meal timing before competition is important, know your competition schedule. If you will be arriving at your destination just prior to competition, you’ll want to eat your pre-game/event meal while traveling. During travel remember to be mindful about food safety. Travelers diarrhea is a common occurrence for athletes when taking long or extended trips. Diarrhea of any sort while traveling can quickly lead to dehydration and poor nutrition, both will have negative consequences on your performance. Often, it’s helpful for athletes to pack their own food. When packing your own food, remember food safety and use storage containers that can keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot. If you are staying at a hotel, often the rooms are equipped with a mini-fridge, which is ideal for storing perishable foods, take- out orders and/or leftovers after dining out. Wash fresh produce before packing and keep fresh produce separated from any cross contamination. Pack hand sanitizer, so that you can ensure safe food handling at times when handwashing is not accessible. AND…remember to bring your own re-usable utensils. Keep these clean and stored in a small plastic bag along with your food to be readily accessible. In addition, avoidance of street food is strongly recommended, both because of unknown ingredients and unknown food safety preparation practices. While enjoying local cuisine or street food is appealing and a really fun way to explore your destination, the risk for illness and interference with performance is too high. Save your food explorations until after your competition. Athletes who are on restricted diets due to religious, medical, or personal practices will likely benefit from planning ahead and packing their own food. Ensuring proper nutrition and safe food falls on the athlete; it is an additional challenge and burden for these athletes to plan all their meals and snacks, while also training and preparing for travel, it’s often the safest option to avoid dangerous food allergies or health risks. As above, when the athlete can learn about where to purchase appropriate and available safe foods during their travel, it can reduce the burden of planning and packing extra food. So, let’s look at how to put this into practice and choose healthy food when traveling. The best fuel for competition is healthy complex carbohydrates and high-quality proteins. Traveling usually requires more portable foods, which often means packaged foods. Choose familiar foods that you’ve tasted and tried at home, and that will hold up well with travel. After a long day of travel, no one enjoys a smashed or crumpled nutrition bar or leaky water bottle. However, if you are bored eating nutrition and granola bars, trail mix, and fruit, pack a hot meal. Many convenience stores have microwaves you can use to heat up your own food (just be sure to avoid the roller food in the convenience store!), and most hotels will have a microwave you can use, as well. Use the chart below as your own Go-To Travel Pantry or check list for choosing healthy foods for your next competition out of town. More tips and tricks for the traveling athlete:
1) If your hotel only offers a continental breakfast, go for the bagels, whole grain toast or English muffin and add peanut or other nut butter. Try to limit the simple sugar and high fat items, such as danishes and donuts. Cereal or oatmeal with milk and a piece of fruit can provide healthy complex carbohydrates and protein. If hard cooked eggs or yogurt are available, these are easy and quick high-quality proteins to choose, as well. 2) When a grocery store is accessible, buy healthy snacks or meal items, such as fruit, nuts, nutrition bars, deli items (pre-made sandwiches) or even a salad bar can offer nourishing selections. If you prefer a hot meal, try a frozen entrée or soup that you can heat in the hotel microwave. 3) Last but not least, remember that while you are traveling you are not as active and it’s easy to overeat while traveling. You certainly want to eat enough food to recover from your last training session, and perform at your peak, but you don’t want to feel sluggish or uncomfortable from overeating while sitting on the bus or waiting for the plane. And for athletes who need to make weight for competition, hydration and careful attention to food while traveling will have a big impact on your success. Traveling is a rewarding and exciting part of sports competition. Enjoying the experience does not have to be sidelined by poor or unsafe food choices. Planning healthy meals and food for travel allows you to meet all your nutrition needs and reach your performance goals! BY SOPHIA RACETTE, Nutrition & Dietetics Graduate Student Fad diets are everywhere. A fad diet is nothing more than a trendy, popular diet that promises fast, drastic results. You can recognize a fad diet by their messaging touting “quick fix” weight loss, instant health improvement, cleanses, or big muscle gains. Fad diets almost always involve eliminating a key food group or nutrient from your diet and/or taking supplements, and that means fad diets won’t meet your nutrition needs. Fad diets present a bigger risk for athletes, who have high needs for calories, carbohydrates, and protein. Fad diets can negatively affect training and athletic performance, as well as lead to severe health consequences. Use the guide below to help you sort through the facts from myths about common fad diets. The bottom line: be cautious. Fad diets are dangerous traps for athletes and can lead to injury and burnout, not long-term success. Eating a variety of foods from a nutrient-dense, well-balanced diet is the best way to fuel your body for optimal recovery and peak performance. Nourish to flourish! References:
By Taylor Hoeg, Graduate Nutrition Student Bone Density or Bone Mineral Density (BMD) is a measure of how much bone mineral is in bone tissue. Bone is in a constant state of remodeling or breaking down. Low BMD is happening when more bone is breaking down than building. BMD is especially important for athletes because of its effects on short- and long-term performance. In the short-term, athletes with low BMD are at higher risk for stress and general bone fractures. Low BMD is a condition that weakens bone and with lower structural matrix of the bone, bone is frail and easier to fracture from repetitive use or impact from usual sports training. The long-term consequence of low BMD for athletes is the much higher risk of developing osteopenia or osteoporosis. These conditions, most often thought of with elderly, can also occur in young athletes with chronic low BMD. These conditions are characterized by greater bone fragility and increased risk of fracture (Kerr & Enette, 2015), again painting the picture that weak, frail, and thin bones increase risk of injury that can derail optimal training, competition, and athletic performance. The advantage for athletes is that exercise is known to increase bone health and density, in other words, exercise builds stronger bones (Goolsby & Boniquit, 2017). However, exercise alone cannot fully protect bone health. Poor nutrition increases an athlete’s risk for low bone density, putting the athlete at risk for compromised performance, injury and delayed recovery. Sport, gender, and diet all affect BMD in athletes. Activities and sports that involve impact and weight-bearing promote bone mineralization, which leads to stronger and denser bones. Weight-bearing exercise and sports that build bone include strength training and conditioning, baseball, softball, soccer, wrestling, tennis, and volleyball. Non-impact sports, although important for overall health and wellness have less effect on bone building, such as swimming, water polo, and cycling (Tenforde & Fredericson, 2011). Physiologically, women tend to have smaller and thinner bones than men, thus simply, women have increased risk of developing low BMD. Complicating the issue for women, is that low estrogen levels which commonly occurs in female athletes leads to amenorrhea which then contributes to bone breakdown, low BMD, and very high risk for fracture. Diet plays a critical and essential role in healthy BMD. Athletes need optimal nutrition. Eating a diet with enough calories and choosing a variety of foods can provide the essential bone building nutrients, such as protein, calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium. When diet is inadequate, both male and female athletes can experience Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports (RED-S). RED-S develops when athletes do not consume enough calories to meet their needs for exercise and health. Low calorie intake, also referred to as low energy intake, may or may not be a purposeful restriction of calories, but more so a consequence of extensive exercise training and not eating enough to match the athletes refueling needs. For example, a busy student athlete whose schedule involves attending classes and multiple training and practice sessions may simply not eat enough during the day to meet all his/her calorie needs. Student athletes may not have time for meals if they are rushing from practice to class across campus (and vice versa), class times overlap meal times, they don’t have time to go to dining services or home for meals, don’t bring food with them to eat throughout the day, or don’t have the financial means to purchase enough food. However, low calorie intake is also, unfortunately, very commonly a result of a true eating disorder among athletes, and should not be overlooked by athletes, coaches, or trainers. Adequate caloric/energy intake ensures athletes maintain lean body mass, fat mass, and female athletes have a regular menstrual cycle, all of which contribute to building strong bones and a high BMD (Kerr & Enette, 2015). Calorie needs are determined for each individual athletes based on a number of factors including: age, gender, height, weight, and level of physical activity (Estimated Calorie Needs per Day, by Age, Sex, and Physical Activity Level, 2015). Below, is a link to a calorie calculator, which is a good starting point for determining your calorie needs. BUT, a word of caution, this is a really basic calculation and not at all individualized to YOU. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/calorie-calculator/itt-20402304 Protein makes up 50% of the bone, and bone is constantly remodeling, therefore, an adequate daily supply of protein is required for bone health (Wallace, 2019). Athletes need more protein due to training and competition. Protein recommendations for most athletes is 1.2-1.7g/kg/d. The goal is to choose high quality protein foods, from a variety of animal and/or plant sources, that also provide needed calories, vitamins, and minerals. See Table 1 below for protein suggestions. Calcium is the main mineral stored in bones and teeth and is vital for muscle contraction (Calcium, 2019). Adequate levels of calcium are essential for building strong bones and maintaining high BMD. Current evidence suggests 1,500 mg per day of calcium is protective against stress fracture and supports healthy bone density in athletes (Kerr & Enette, 2015). It is always recommended to find ways to boost calcium in your diet from food sources. Dietary food sources of calcium are often better absorbed, and provide other essential nutrients and calories, as well. It is important to note, calcium cannot be absorbed in larger doses than 500 mg at a time, therefore choosing calcium foods throughout the day is the best approach to meeting your calcium needs. Calcium supplementation may be warranted in some cases, however, consultation with a physician and/or Registered Dietitian Nutritionist are often helpful in determining whether supplementation is needed. When supplementation is needed, it is always in conjunction with improving dietary intake of calcium, as well. Should a supplement be needed, distributing 3 separate doses across the day would be needed to reach the 1500 mg/d recommendation. It’s also important to consider the type of calcium used in the supplement, as calcium is better absorbed in an acidic environment. For example, calcium citrate is better absorbed than calcium carbonate. A word of caution when it comes to supplements, over-supplementation of calcium can cause hypercalcemia, which can cause fatigue, nausea, vomiting, constipation, back pain, and forgetfulness (Kerr & Enette, 2015). More is not usually better when it comes to supplements, always try FOOD FIRST! See Table 1 below for a list of high calcium foods. Vitamin D aids in the absorption and regulation of calcium. Adequate levels of Vitamin D are essential for maintaining high BMD and preventing bone injury. It is the combination of Vit D and calcium that strongly influence bone mineralization. Inadequate Vit D and/or calcium lead to poor bone status and increased risk for injury and poor performance. The primary source of Vitamin D is from sun exposure and absorption through the skin. As compared to calcium, fewer Vit D food sources are available. Since meeting recommendations for Vit D primarily involves exposure to sun, all athletes whose sport involves most of their time indoors are at risk for poor Vit D status. Which includes many student athletes, who also spend a significant amount of time indoors while in class. Athletes with darker skin are also at risk for poor Vit D status because the darker skin pigment interferes with Vit D absorption. Thus, a large proportion of the athlete population is at risk for poor Vit D status and would greatly benefit from sun exposure and increasing Vit D from foods. Recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for Vitamin D is 600 IU for adults. For athletes who train exclusively indoors and do not get sufficient daily sun exposure, the Endocrine society of USA recommends 1,500-2,000 IU (Kerr & Enette, 2015). This recommendation is more than double the recommendation for average adults and reinforces the message that athletes have much higher Vit D needs to support healthy bones for optimal training and peak performance. See Table 1 below for dietary sources of Vitamin D. Last, magnesium plays a critical role in the structural development of bone. Insufficient dietary magnesium contributes to osteopenia or osteoporosis by weakening bone cells, decrease activity of the parathyroid hormone and increased inflammation (Castiglioni, Cazzaniga, Albisetti, & Maier, 2013). The recommended intake of magnesium for athletes is 500 to 800 mg daily (Seelig, 1980) and magnesium can be found in a wide variety of different foods. See Table 1 below. Here’s the bottom line: athletes need to nourish to flourish! To prevent injury, reach your peak performance and have a successful sports career, you need to eat enough food and a variety of foods with protein, calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium to build and maintain strong bones. Go COUGARS References
By: Kennedy Profaizer, Nutrition and Dietetics Graduate Student
Need tips on how to maximize your grocery shopping? Well then, you have come to the right place! In this article, you’ll get all the answer to all your shopping questions. You’ll learn the ins and outs of grocery shopping so you’re saving money and spending your time purposefully. You’ll learn all the tricks for navigating a grocery store like a pro, while avoiding the marketing gimmicks used to entice you to purchase certain food products! You’ll learn all the tips for picking the freshest fruits and vegetables, and choosing the best cost saving coupons. Welcome to Grocery Shopping 101! Start with these 5 basic tips when grocery shopping: 1) Shop the perimeter, 2) Plan ahead, 3) Don’t shop hungry, 4) Read labels, and 5) Stock up on “convenience” health foods. What does shopping the perimeter mean? Shopping the perimeter means you avoid the inside aisles where the packaged foods are shelved; it means shopping for the freshest food, such as produce, seafood, meat, poultry and dairy. These are the foods that make up a healthy diet for every athlete. A healthy and energized brain and body from whole foods will boost your performance, improve your recovery time when training, and keep you sharp for academic success. Be a super shopped by looking for these healthy foods around the perimeter: fresh produce with lots of color and healthy antioxidants and fiber such as, spinach, kale, bell peppers, avocados, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, berries, bananas, apples and pears, and grapes. Try fish and seafood for variety in your diet. Choose heart-healthy fish with omega-3’ fatty acids, such as salmon, tuna, cod, halibut and trout. You may bake any of these fish or sauté them in a pan on the stove. When you walk to the meat section, look for high quality, lean proteins such as, skinless chicken and turkey, or 90% lean ground beef. Have you ever noticed that no matter what grocery store you go into the necessities and staples such as milk, cheese, and eggs are always in the back of the store? That’s because grocery stores want you to walk through the entire store to get those “essentials” hoping you’ll spot something else along the way and be swayed to put it in your cart, and that’s called an impulse buy. Pretty sneaky huh? Well, now you know, the stores are purposefully designed and placement of the food is strategic to encourage you to purchase more food. Don’t be fooled, write down and plan your shopping list to avoid these grocery store tricks. Take the time to plan ahead. Again, shopping with a list will help keep you on a budget, prevent over-spending or unnecessary spending, and help you stick with healthy food to fuel your body. The goal is still to purchase affordable food that tastes good and you enjoy. Making a list also, allows you to pre-plan your meals, which makes shopping easier, and frees up time during your busy week, as well. Shopping with a list and menu ideas for the week, allows you to be more mindful of your time and reduces stress about meals and meal preparation, you will already have all the ingredients you need! Don’t. Shop. Hungry. This seems self-explanatory, but if you go into a grocery store super hungry it’s similar to going into a restaurant super hungry, both situations result in over eating. When it comes to over-shopping or over-eating, one of my favorite sayings, “my eyes were bigger than my stomach!” Give yourself To ease the hunger and be less influenced by impulse buying have a snack before you go to the store. Fuel yourself with energy to shop and stay alert to the grocery store marketing tricks all around you. Read food labels. Here’s the 101 lowdown on reading a label: 1) Serving sizes, the number of calories you see are not the number of calories in the entire container of food, rather it’s the calories in a serving size of that food. Be sure to look right above the calorie information to see the serving size listed for the product. All the other nutrient information relates to the serving size, as well. 2) Ingredient lists, try and buy foods with 7 ingredients or less (and ingredients you can pronounce!) Guess what that means, all those fresh foods in the perimeter are less than 7 ingredients! A food with a long list of ton of ingredients generally indicates the food is heavily processed, and may contain more. A good rule of thumb for selecting healthy, nourishing food is: the fewer the ingredients the better! Have no fear, you can still eat like a champ with these “convenience” health foods! Fresh fruits, bagged salad greens, frozen fish fillets or skinless chicken strips (tip: not breaded), whole grains (tip: oatmeal, minute microwave brown rice), yogurt, frozen vegetables, canned vegetables (tip: choose low-sodium or no sodium added, or drain and rinse the vegetables before heating), canned/pouch tuna, nuts/nut butters and seeds. Nutritious and delicious on a budget! So, now that you are shopping experts, let’s talk about the run down on choosing high quality fresh fruits and vegetables to maximize their life with you at home! · Apples and pears; inspect the surface for bruising and dents, these spots lead to quicker rotting. · Bananas; ripe ones are yellow, green ones are fine to purchase, just know you’ll have to wait a few days for them to ripen at home. This all depends on how soon you plan to eat your bananas. · Berries; most of these are in a plastic container so inspect the container for leakage or mold. · Melons (watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew); should feel slightly heavier than they appear, meaning they’re nice and juicy! Unlike apples and pears, scarring on melons are completely fine. · Citrus fruits (lemons, oranges, limes, grapefruits); should also feel heavier than they look, give them a nice squeeze to assess. · Pineapple; my favorite trick is flipping them over and smelling the bottom! If it smells flavorful, purchase! · Cherries; they should be plump and bright with no dents. If most of them are missing stems, you’ll need to eat immediately. · Peppers; should be firm without any soft spots. · Cauliflower and Broccoli; should be bright in color, without any yellowing or browning as a good indicator that they’re fresh and okay to purchase. · Root vegetables (carrots, beets, potatoes, onions); should be hard to the touch and free of soft spots. · Leafy greens (kale, lettuce, spinach, cabbage); should be crisp. That’s it, just make sure they’re crisp. No one ever said they enjoy a soggy or mushy salad! See the blog article by Kailen McGuire all about how to store fresh food safely and maximize your food dollars. And now for the last big shopping tip: coupons! Gone are the days of looking through the newspaper and ads to save money like our grandparents or parents did; instead let’s go digital! Top coupon apps for college athletes eating on a budget: Ibotta and Checkout 51, both give you money back on your groceries rather than a coupon to save upfront, all you have to do is upload a picture of your receipt; SnipSnap and Coupons.com are places where you can find coupons to download straight to your phone. Ah, technology…with these apps you’ll be one smart and thrifty shopper! You’ve passed Grocery Shopping 101! Enjoy being efficient, savvy, and healthy the next time you head to the store. References: 1.https://www.cooperaerobics.com/Health-Tips/Nutrition-Bites/Navigating-the-Grocery-Store-Expert-Tips-from-Diet.aspx 2.https://www.foodtown.com/articles/select-fresh-fruits-vegetables#:~:text=When%20shopping%20for%20vegetables%2C%20key,is%20likely%20passed%20its%20prime. 3.https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/saving-and-budgeting/articles/coupon-apps-for-groceries |
Contributing AuthorsSIUE Nutrition and Dietetics Graduate Students See More Helpful Nutrition Tips Here
April 2023
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