Healthy Life: What to look for in the grocery store

Label reading seems like it should be one of the easiest things to do. The only thing on the label is the name of the product, the nutrition facts label, ingredients, and sometimes fun facts like low-sodium or heart healthy " making this easy, right? Wrong!

Ronald Pierre fills buckets of water from a broken city pipe near a sewer in Port-Au-Prince. Methodists in Springdale are raising money during Lent to provide clean water for Haitians.
Ronald Pierre fills buckets of water from a broken city pipe near a sewer in Port-Au-Prince. Methodists in Springdale are raising money during Lent to provide clean water for Haitians.

The food label is made up of so much information that it can make it hard for consumers to make healthy choices. Not only are you choosing from thousands of products, but you also have to decipher terms used by food companies, many of which sound very similar but mean something completely different. A few examples of these include: a difference in terms for low-sodium items; zero doesnt always mean zero with fats; made with whole wheat doesnt mean 100 percent whole wheat; and splitting sugars to make food appear healthier.

Using different terms for showing an item has less sodium can make choosing a truly low-sodium item hard to determine. There is a difference between the terms low, lower and reduced sodium. The only term listed that has significant meaning is the term low sodium. This means there is 140 milligrams or less of sodium per serving. Lower and reduced sodium mean that the product contains 25 percent less sodium than the original version. While lower and reduced can be good alternatives, looking for foods with low sodium on the label is the best.

When choosing lower-fat options we tend to look for items with 0 grams of fat, especially with fats like trans and saturated. While this is a great thought process, labeling laws allow products to have as much as 0.5 grams per serving. That doesnt sound like a lot, but the American Heart Association recommends no more than 2 grams of trans fat per day. That is only four servings of foods we thought had 0 grams of trans fat.

Skipping to the ingredients can help us decipher between foods that are actually better options and tricky labeling. Two tricks to look for in the ingredients are made with whole grains and splitting sugars into different forms. Breads may say made with whole grain but unless the first ingredient is whole grain, it is a refined white bread product. Many will say made with whole grains but have enriched wheat flour as the first ingredient.

The same goes for sugar. Look for different names for sugar. By splitting the sugar into sugar, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, cane sugar, honey or glucose, the sugars listed may appear further down the ingredient list, making the food appear healthier. Look for options with sugar coming from natural sources such as fruit, known as fructose, or milk in the form of lactose.

Some of the best ways to avoid tricky food labels is to shop the parameter of the store and stick to fresh foods that are not processed or processed very little. This allows you to control the amount of fat, sugar and salt that is added.

Lindsey Koelling is the registered and licensed dietitian for the Jefferson City Hy-Vee. She is passionate about health and helping others incorporate healthy eating as part of their everyday lives.

CURRIED SHRIMP AND POTATO KABOB

Makes: 4 servings

12 new or baby potatoes

3 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon curry powder

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

20 peeled and deveined raw shrimp, tails left on (20-25 per pound)

1/2 cup non-fat, plain yogurt

1 teaspoon lime juice

Preheat grill to medium.

Place potatoes in a microwave- safe container. Cover and microwave on high until just tender when pierced with a fork, three to three and a half minutes. Meanwhile, combine oil, cilantro, curry powder, garlic and salt in a large bowl.

Reserve 2 tablespoons of the mixture in a small bowl. Add shrimp and the potatoes to the large bowl; toss to coat. Thread the shrimp and potatoes onto four 12-inch skewers. Grill the kebabs, turning once, until the shrimp are pink and the potatoes are browned, two to three minutes per side.

Stir yogurt and lime juice into the small bowl of reserved sauce.

Serve each kebab with 2 tablespoons sauce.