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Supermarket savvy: Shop smarter, be healthier, live better in the New Year

The next time you find yourself diving into a tub of high-fat ice cream — and devouring a large portion of it — ask yourself how it even found its way into your freezer.

No matter how much you spend on books, exercise machines and diet plans you are your own best friend and mortal enemy when it comes to stocking your fridge and cupboards.

If your New Year’s resolutions involve improving your diet in some way — and most resolutions do! — then one of the savviest moves you can make is to ensure the so-called bad stuff never makes it home.

Here are four smart supermarket-shopping strategies that will help you live your best life in 2008:

Eat first. Never shop hungry. Fuel up pre-trip with a lean protein snack, such as turkey slices, fat-free cheese or…an ORGANIC FOOD BAR!
Don’t cut corners. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store (organic fruits and vegetables, lean, healthful meats, etc.) and try to minimize time spent on the middle aisles filled with tempting processed foods. Choose apples over apple chips and deli-fresh wild fish or free-range poultry rather than the frozen variety.
Read labels. Spend a little extra time comparing product labels. There will always be nutrition trade-offs. For example, nuts are high in fat, but tree nuts such as almonds, Brazil nuts and walnuts contain mostly unsaturated fat (the kind that actually decreases low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad” cholesterol) levels. They are loaded with protein, fiber, folic acid, niacin, vitamins E and B6, and minerals like magnesium, zinc, selenium and potassium. On the flipside, just because something is labeled “low-fat” or “fat-free” certainly doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Such products are often loaded with high-calorie sweeteners and fillers like high-fructose corn syrup.
Choose readymade right. For those of you who don’t have time to cook and plan meals and snacks, consider stocking up on healthful ready-to-eat or heat-and-eat options like pre-sliced vegetables and hummus (rather than chips and dip), canned tuna (rather than fish sticks or patties), frozen vegetables (rather than high-sodium canned) and — not to shamelessly plug here — but ORGANIC FOOD BARS are just about perfect “on the go” health food.

Keep in mind: what lands in your cart lands on your shelves and in your refrigerator — and makes it into your body. When you come home exhausted, if you don't have healthy, convenient foods on hand, you will be more tempted to go for the cookies or order a pizza!

Lifestyle

ORGANIC FOOD BAR is more than a bar, it’s a lifestyle.

Eating ORGANIC FOOD BARS will enhance your health and help redefine your relationship with food. Understanding how food affects our health and making smarter, more instinctual food choices for yourself and your family each day are two essential steps to living your best life.

We founded ORGANIC FOOD BAR to help you look, feel and live healthier. It’s that simple. It’s why we’ve created the world’s healthiest food bar. It’s why we form partnerships with worthy health organizations here and aboard. It’s why we provide “official energy support” at events each year. It’s why we present the RAISE THE BAR podcast to you each week. And, it’s why we’ve created this “Live the lifestyle” section of the website.

Each week, we will post a new column here with one goal: to help you live your best life. If you have a topic you’d like us to cover, just let us know!