Grocery cart makeover Aisle by aisle, learn how to shave dollars and calories off your next grocery list By Beth Kujawski CTW Features Have you seen the price of oatmeal lately? Even those who shop frequently aren't immune to the occasional bout of sticker shock in the grocery store.What's more, at a time when many of us need to tighten our belts, our waistlines are expanding. But with a bit of preparation and planning, with a single trip to the grocery store you can save money, trim calories and even pare back the amount of packaging that ends up in the weekly trash. Ideally,we'd all have the time to shop every day, buy whatever appeals to us and return home to whip up inspired dishes of nothing but the freshest ingredients. Reality, however, requires most of us to shop once a week.That's where our grocery-cart makeover begins. If you're prone to tossing your store's weekly sale paper in the recycle bin the moment it arrives, the next time one shows up on your doorstep or in your mailbox, take a few moments to leaf through it. Start thinking about your weekly menus in terms of what's on sale. Organize your grocery list based on the layout of the store — produce, staples and snacks, meat, dairy, frozen foods.An organized list will enable you to move through the store efficiently, eliminating those trips from the dairy section back to produce when you realize you missed an item on the list. (Although the extra bit of walking is never a bad thing.) When it comes to shopping for wellness, buy the bulk of your groceries from the perimeter of the store where the fresh ingredients reside. "Buy fresh ingredients rather than processed foods that just need to be reheated," says dietitian Joanne Larsen, from dietitian.com."You decide which fat and how much fat as well as how much sugar and salt are in the foods you eat." The produce section is the first stop. Many stores stock a selection of local produce; check those offerings first. Buying whatever is in season in your part of the world supports local farming efforts as well as cuts down on the toll that transportation takes on the environment. It's also likely to contain more nutrients and taste better, which will make you more inclined to eat more healthy foods. Unfortunately, produce comprises those items that you're most likely to chuck into the trash when they start to turn, so be practical with your purchases and realistic about what your family will eat. If they aren't in the habit of consuming a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, don't overbuy.You don't want your hard-earned money and good intentions to end up in the garbage. Do, however, pick one new item every so often and introduce it into your family's diet. If you only eat sweet potatoes that have come out of a can on Thanksgiving, only to be smothered in maple syrup and marshmallows, buy a few sweet spuds in their natural state.At home, scrub them with a vegetable brush, and slice them into wedges (leave the skins on; you'll save the time it takes to peel them and ingest more nutrients, too), toss them on a baking tray with a bit of oil, salt and pepper, and bake them, turning once or twice, until they're browned and cooked through. (The baking time will vary depending on how thick or thin you cut the wedges.) A light sprinkling of raspberry vinegar is a flavorful (and nearly calorie-free) complement to sweet-potato fries. If you're a family of fry dippers, try a bit of low-fat honey-mustard salad dressing instead of ketchup. Ketchup and sweet potatoes do not play well together. As a rule,when venturing into the aisles, it's best to stick to a list.Condiments, though, are an exception to that rule, the keys to a kingdom of flavors. Dispel the notion that "healthy" food can't taste great and experiment with condiments.Wary? Try a variation of something that's familiar to you: in addition to yellow mustard, try Dijon or brown or horseradish mustard. Dietary changes take time to really take hold. Our quit-cold-turkey intentions toward snacks are admirable but fallible. Marketers, masters of eye-catching packaging, are well aware of our weaknesses.To wit, the proliferation of 100-calorie packs, which seem like a good idea, right? That depends of your definition of a good idea."The 100-calorie snack packs are good because they pre-portion the size for you," says Gretchen Peyton, a registered dietitian at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital Wellness Institute in Chicago, Ill., and spokesperson for the Illinois Dietetic Association."However, they're much more expensive than buying the larger container." Usually more than double the price. The tags on grocery store shelves don't just display the price of an item.They also display the cost per ounce.The next time you're in the store, compare the cost of the"healthy" version of a snack with the real deal. Then there's the extra packaging.All those little pouches end up in the trash, which is one more reason to avoid buying them.Vow to make your own snack packs and invest in reusable containers. There's no point in exchanging the manufacturer's excessive packaging for a flurry of zip-top plastic bags. And remember that all calories count."There is nothing magical about 100 calories of any food especially if it pushes you over your caloric needs for the day," Larsen says."People need to limit themselves to one package to help control portion sizes." Out of the labyrinth of aisles, the next stop in the store is the meat case. "Most people spend the majority of their grocery bill on meat and protein," Peyton says."But generally, people buy more protein than they need. Portion size is the size of a deck of cards. Most families allot two times that amount." Keep in mind that some packages of meat are priced higher because the butcher has taken a few moments to prepare what's inside. If you need stew meat, buy a chuck roast and cut it into pieces. Boneless pork chops are simply slices of pork roast; buy a whole roast and slice it into chops yourself. Beware the juice and sports-drink aisle. Save money and calories by diluting juice."Buy store-brand soda water and add a splash of juice to save 100 calories," Peyton suggests. But consider eliminating bottled juices and sports drinks."You get more nutrient value from skim or low-fat milk," Peyton says."One eight-ounce glass from a gallon is about 25 cents, much cheaper than a sports drink, and it has calcium and Vitamin D." Also in the dairy section, look for larger quantities that you can divide yourself. For instance, those mini-containers of yogurt are cute and come in a staggering array of flavors, but they're also loaded with sugar and artificial flavors.Yogurt does not naturally taste like strawberry cheesecake. Instead of so many individual yogurts, buy a stash of reusable plastic containers, and"buy low-fat or fat-free plain yogurt by the quart and flavor it yourself with some berries or some honey,"Peyton says. Or stir in a spoonful low-sugar fruit preserves. (Check local food service suppliers for plastic take-out containers such as you get at the deli counter.Typically sold in sleeves of 50 — make sure to buy a sleeve of lids, too — they're affordable and can be washed over and over again.And recycled eventually.) If you're minding your cholesterol, skip the pricey egg substitutes and buy a carton of eggs instead. Egg substitute is 99 percent egg whites. It's easy to separate an egg: crack it into your hand; let the white slide through your fingers into a bowl, and discard the yolk. Last in the grocery store layout is the frozen-food section. Frozen veggies are flash-frozen very soon after being harvested, so they retain a lot of flavor and nutrients.And they're often on sale."Go for frozen veggies that don't have additives such as cream sauce or cheese," Peyton says."Look on the label.As long as it says 'spinach' or 'broccoli,' it's just as healthy as buying fresh." © CTW Features