5 Supermarket tips for your diet

Fooducate:

Unless you are a hardcore organic or local foodie, chances are you do most of your grocery shopping in a supermarket. You may not know this, but a supermarket is a fascinating and intricate machine designed to get not only shoppers, but also food manufacturers, to part with as much money as possible.

1. The Supermarket flyer will steer you to products whose manufacturers have paid to be featured. Some products will be cheap, others will not. Some will be healthy, others will not. Don’t get tempted.

2. The “End Cap” – which is the end of each supermarket aisle, is the single hottest selling spot in the entire store. Again, products placed there may not always be the healthiest, so beware.

3. Product placement determines sales. The items on shelves that are at eye level tend to be the leading brands, but are not necessarily the healthiest.

4. Convenience is a major factor for shoppers. Triple washed, shredded lettuce will make it easier for you to add greens to your dinner plate, when compared to an unwashed lettuce head. The tradeoff here is the financial price.

5. While we’re in the produce section, here’s another tip – bagged produce is cheaper than loose produce. While there is always a fear of something rotten in a bag, the real issue is that bags include “ugly” items, but they are perfectly edible. Especially with veggies that go into soup, or fruit that goes into a shake, bagged makes more sense.