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Your shopping habits at your neighbourhood mall dictate your and your family's health. Nutritionist Malavika Athavale suggests the right corners to roll your trolley to
Agreed, you've been enjoying accumulating debit card points by shopping in that hyper market. However, a tiny part of your brain reminds you that the waistlines of your spouse and/or little one have been on their way out ever since.
The reason? Take your last mall trip for instance: you went to stock up on lentils/rice, but your mind got so preoccupied with chips, colas and ready-to-fry samosas, the lentils were forgotten.
While it's easy to fall for the bombardment of promotions and the seduction of indulgent foods while swirling your trolley, it's not impossible to make informed choices. We took nutritionist Malavika Athavale on a mall crawl in the hope of rectifying your shopping habits. Here are her 10 lessons.
If you know your spouse is a sucker for those cheesy dips or motichoor laddoos, avoid going with him/her! We know he comes handy carrying the loads or she's the one who'll drive, but the price of this company would be some weeks of unhealthy foods you could do without. If you can't stay away, be conscious of each others' triggers.
And although your 12-year-old would bully you into buying chips and colas, you can't totally shun them. After all, him/her watching you go to the veggie/fruits areas would also inculcate a habit.
Don't go Empty Stomach
Recall the last time you shopped until you required another trolley for overflowing items? You might've done it just before lunch/dinner. Don't! Always be full before you shop, your mind won't be as greedy.
Don't Fall for Deals
Smart marketers place the hottest deals on the unhealthiest food right upfront. And nobody likes letting go of two litres of cola for Rs 50 or that free-chips-with-cheese deal. Get real; even if they were for free, your sugar and BP levels are still paying the price! Look closely, why don't you fall for that bargain on sprouts or multigrain biscuits?
Get the Essentials First
For your trolley to not be full of stuff you could've 'done without but bought anyway' by the time you reach the healthy sections, start with the latter first. So in case you have to offload something while billing, it's the junk on top and not the necessities. Also, those shelves at the check-out counters are fat traps don't fall for them!
Brown Rice over Basmati
Rice forms a major part of your everyday diet; and fancy packets of 'brown basmati' rice take front seats in most supermarkets today. If you want to go brown, why would you want basmati which means polishing off its nutrients? Look over in the counter behind, a pack of simple brown rice would give your family much-needed fibre.
Mix your Oils
The oil section too is majorly advertised and you've often bought expensive 'extra virgin olive oil' or that 'heart-friendly' one, right? While olive oil isn't harmful, it can only be used in Western dishes such as salads and stir fries; you can't deep fry a bhajia in it. Instead, go for the classic sunflower and groundnut and change every three months or so. Both will give you doses of poly and mono unsaturated fatty acids.
Tact and Your Tot
You can't fool your kid into buying boring biscuits calling them 'tasty' or incite him/her to ban the cola. Use some tact, have a 'cheat' day. Or buy cola after a promise that they'd eat the multigrain biscuits too. Or that a reverse favour would be expected if you buy cheesy chips.
The Routine Triggers
If you are the 'express checkout' type who only buys survival items, here's your gyaan: cow milk's good, buy skimmed only if you're grossly overweight. Brown breads may be caramelised, multigrain's better. Fresh fruits score over packed juices. And all that hype about green tea is true.
Stock up for the Month
Keeping certain items visible in your kitchen would stock up health in your loved ones each time they munch mechanically. Such as peanuts and gram, unbuttered pop corn, cereal bars and sookha bhel.
Frozen Delights Might Harm
Fine, those frozen alu parathas taste pretty much like the real thing. But do check the sodium content behind all frozen foods… it will be dangerously high for your BP levels.
(Malavika Athavale consults many corporates and runs her nutrition clinic, Eatrite, in Andheri)
Written by: Malay Desai
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