Food Items to Focus On

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Produce & Salad Bar

•  All fresh fruits

•  All fresh vegetables (go easy on avocados, they are high in fat)

•  Nuts and seeds, such as sunflower and pumpkin

•  All salad bar items that are fresh vegetables (lettuce, celery, carrots, green peppers, spinach, etc.).

•  Tofu (soy bean curd). This may be in dairy or meat sections of the store.

Strictly limit: coconut, croutons, salads made with mayonnaise, regular salad dressing. Use small amounts of low-calorie salad dressings. (Better yet, use fat-free and reduced-fat salad dressings.)

Meat, Poultry, Fish

Recommended Daily Calcium

Look for lean cuts of meat with fat trimmed, such as:

•  Beef: round, sirloin, tenderloin, ground round, ground sirloin, or extra lean ground beef

•  Pork: tenderloin, leg (fresh) shoulder (arm or picnic)

•  Lamb: leg, arm, loin, rib

•  Veal: all trimmed cuts, except commercially ground

•  Poultry: chicken, turkey, cornish hens, etc.

•  All fish, shellfish

Strictly limit: goose, domestic duck, salt pork, chitterlings

Delicatessen

•  Sliced lean meats, such as turkey, ham, chicken, lean beef

•  Ready-to-eat broiled or rotisserie chicken and turkey breast

•  Fresh fruit salads

Strictly limit: mayonnaise-dressed salads, sausage, frankfurters, high-fat luncheon meats, such as bologna, salami, and bacon

Freezer Section

•  Frozen fruits and vegetables. Buy these frozen loosely in bags so it is easy to make 1 portion.

•  Juice concentrates

•  Frozen dinners-preferably ones with less than 300 calories and 1000 mg. of sodium or less/serving

•  Frozen fish fillets – look for fresh-frozen ones that can be reapportioned when you take them home instead of solid packed ones that you would have to thaw out.

•  Sugar-free or low calorie frozen treats, such as sugar-free and regular popsicles and fudgesicles, frozen yogurt, lite tofutti, fruit ices, etc.

Dairy Section

•  Skim milk, 1/2% low fat milk, buttermilk

•  Soy milk (with added calcium)

•  Plain, nonfat yogurt

•  Low-fat, soft cheeses, like cottage and farmers

•  Reduced fat and other cheeses labeled no more than 2 to 6 grams fat per ounce

•  Margarine: soft tub (regular and diet), Benecol® and Take Control® margarines

•  Orange and other fresh juices (not fruit drinks)

•  English muffins

•  Whole wheat, corn, and flour tortillas

•  Eggs, egg substitute

Strictly limit: Biscuits, croissants, cream, sour cream, half and half, cheeses other than above, whole milk, 2% low-fat milk, butter

Breads, Cereals

•  Whole wheat bread, regular or lite (40 calories/slice)

•  Whole wheat and plain dinner rolls

•  Whole wheat and regular pita breads

•  English muffins

•  Bagels (also stocked in freezer section)

•  Breadsticks

•  Sandwich buns (“lite” are also available)

•  Rice cakes

•  Cereal mixes for cooked cereals: oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, etc.

•  Ready-to-eat cereals. Look for ones with at least 2 grams of fiber and less than 2 grams of fat per one ounce serving. Limit sugar-sweetened ones.

Staples

•  Canned entrees/main dishes (8 grams of fat or less, per 1 cup serving)

•  Canned fish, such as tuna in water, salmon

•  Rice, brown or white, barley, bulgar

•  Pastas, like plain noodles, macaroni, spaghetti

•  Dried or canned beans and peas like split peas, black-eyed peas, chick peas, kidney beans, lentils, soybeans

•  Canned fruits packed in water or their own juices

•  “Old-fashioned” style peanut butter (oil can be seen at the top of the jar)

•  Low-fat crackers, such as matzos, bread sticks, rye krisp, saltines (with unsalted tops), graham crackers, zwieback

•  Popcorn (regular or microwave-packaged, if less than 2 grams of fat per serving)

•  Spices, seasonings, herbs, butter flavor sprinkles, vanilla, other flavor extracts

•  Salad dressings – “Lite,” “reduced-calorie,” “no oil” or “fat free” varieties

•  Vinegar

•  Condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, worcestershire sauce, horseradish, etc. Use small amounts. These are high in sodium.

•  Reduced-sodium bouillon, unsweetened pickles, canned soups

•  Flour; whole wheat, all purpose, whole wheat and all purpose combination

•  Cornstarch

•  Vegetable cooking sprays

•  Liquid vegetable oils, such as olive and canola

•  Coffee, tea, cocoa mixes with nonfat dry milk

•  Sugar-free gelatin and drink mixes

•  Wine, dry for cooking

•  Nonfat dried milk

•  Canned evaporated skim milk

•  Bottled water

Strictly limit: Potato chips and other high fat, high salt snacks, regular canned vegetables (because they are high in salt), and seasonings and foods with monosodium glutamate (MSG).

This website is not meant to substitute for expert medical advice or treatment. Follow your doctor’s or health care provider’s advice if it differs from what is given in this guide.

 

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