Jan 3, 2018 5 min read

It’s the same old New Year’s resolution we make year after year: Lose weight, eat healthier. But how do we accomplish that goal? Eating healthy is also a health goal for those who don’t have to lose weight, but who may be dealing high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes or cardiac issues.

We asked Melisa Fabyonic, registered dietitian and clinical dietitian with AHN at Canonsburg Hospital, to help us stock our pantries and fridges with healthy choices in the New Year. Her tips include:

• Avoid high sodium, high fat and high sugar items.

• Increase high fiber products.

• Avoid instant and already prepared items that may be higher in salt, fat and sugar.

• Remember the ingredients are listed in descending order. If high fructose corn syrup is listed as one of the first ingredients, the product may not be so healthy.

• Have healthy snacks on hand, such as unsalted nuts.

• Have canned/dried fruit without added sugar.

• Look at best by or sell by dates.

“Remember, it’s all a balancing act,” Fabyonic says. “Just because it’s healthy, doesn’t mean you can eat all you want of it. It still may have calories, and too many calories will cause weight gain.”

Low Sodium

If your New Year’s health resolutions include cutting the salt, Fabyonic recommends you look for foods with under 300 mg of sodium per serving and less than 140 mg per serving if you have cardiac issues. “Avoid instant and already prepared products, especially if seasoned or flavored,” she advises. “Plain microwaveable rice is probably fine, but cheddar broccoli rice may be more likely to have increased sodium. Plain bread crumbs will be low sodium, but Italian or herb seasoned bread crumbs may have more sodium. If a label says “low sodium,” it should have less than 140mg/serving. She also recommends trying low sodium canned vegetable and soups and avoiding prepared mixes for things like biscuits or cornbread.

“Be careful with condiments, salad dressings and seasonings,” Fabyonic warns. “Your best option for salad dressing is plain old oil and vinegar.”

• Look for unsalted crackers and pretzels.

• American and processed cheeses will have more sodium than natural cheeses such as cheddar or mozzarella.

• Processed meats (hams, bacons, sausages) and lunch meats are going to be higher in sodium. Many lunch meats are available as low sodium.

• Frozen meals can be bought with less fat/calories, but harder to find low sodium (Healthy Choice products are low fat/low sodium).

Cutting The Fat

If you want to avoid too much fat or consume healthier fats, look for look for amount of fat per serving, usually less than 5g/serving. Total fat for most people should be 50-75g per day. Fabyonic says total fat for a product should equal 25 percent or less of the total calories. She also stresses it’s important to look for types of fat. Avoid saturated fat (beef, pork, butter) and trans-fat (partially hydrogenated fats) and keep them to less than 3g per serving.

• Look for unsaturated fats such as olive, peanut, soy, sunflower or canola oil.

• Include Omega 3 fats in the pantry, such as walnuts, olive oil, canola oil, soybean oil or flaxseed.

• Have skim or 1% milk in the fridge. Margarine (if without trans-fat) is somewhat healthier than butter. Liquid/spray margarine and tub margarine may be healthier than stick margarine. Have lower fat natural cheeses in the fridge.

Avoiding Sugar

Keeping our sugar intake in check or cutting it back is a smart New Year’s health goal. Fabyonic says items should have less than 30g carbohydrates with less than 15g of that from sugar. Easy shopping list changes include swapping high sugar cereals for whole grain cereals, checking that canned or dried fruit does not contain added sugar and limiting intake of them and fruit juices (fresh whole fruit provide more vitamins and fiber). Cut out the packaged cookies, cakes and pies, nix the soft drinks, lemonades, fruit punch and other high sugar drinks. “Remember sports and energy drinks provide sugar calories,” she warns. “These may not always be needed unless exercising in hot temperatures for a prolonged amount of time.”

• Look for low sugar granola bars, protein bars or cereal bars. Plain bars not covered in chocolate or icing would probably be better.

Adding Fiber

Adding fiber is a healthy and easy New Year’s diet resolution. Aim for 25g (women) to 35g (men) of fiber per day.

• Products should have 5g fiber per serving or more.

• Add in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads, cereals, pastas (made of oats, barley, wheat/bran), brown rice, dried beans, nuts and seeds.

Fabyonic adds a few last tips by recommending we check best by or sell by dates on all products. “These dates are not expiration dates and don’t necessarily mean the product is unsafe,” she explains. “These dates are more related to peak flavor quality of the product.”

Finally, she adds the start of a new year is a good time to go through your spice rack. Dry spices don’t usually go bad, but their quality can decrease. “Good quality spices have a nice aroma,” she says. “If you don’t smell much, you probably won’t get much flavor from the spice. Rule of thumb for dry spices: Whole spices for 4 years, ground spices for 3-4 years and dried leafy herbs for 1-3 years.”