Grocery Makeover: Small Changes for Big Results

by Julie Feldman

Are your grocery shopping trips less than inspiring? Do you write the same list of items, week after week, and trudge through the store on autopilot? Have you been stocking the same ingredients in your pantry for decades? As you stare at the endless varieties of food on the shelves, do you know how to determine the options that are the most beneficial to your health?

Sounds like you could use a Grocery Makeover !

Let nutritionist Julie Feldman, RD, MPH, guide you through each isle of your local store and help you make new selections that can lead to better overall health and wellness. Demystify nutritional information and learn how to decipher unclear and even misleading labels. Learn great ways to indulge without adding to your waistline. Above all else, discover foods that are both better for you and more delicious . Win-win!

After your Grocery Makeover , you may experience uncontrollable fits of happiness as you shop. With your newfound knowledge and this book in hand, your market will no longer be a place of frustration, boredom, confusion, or doubt. Start your Grocery Makeover today and see how smart shopping can lead to better health.

Genres: Nonfiction, Food, Health, Reference

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 2, 2013

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very impressed with Grocery Makeover. I really like the conversational style Feldman uses in her writing. While I thought I was well informed about making healthy choices in the grocery store, I did learn several things from this book. Feldman stresses the importance of fiber in our diets and encourages choosing fiber-full as opposed to fiber-less carbohydrates. She cleverly compares fiber to a security guard that allows only one molecule of sugar to be absorbed at a time, helping to give us a slow and steady supply of energy as opposed to a sudden spike followed by a rapid drop in energy that follows a fiber-less food choice.
Many times in the book she reinforces the seemingly magic number of 3 grams of fiber. She recommends that we try as often as possible to find food choices that have at least this much fiber. Throughout the book she has provided very helpful charts that list the fiber content and sometimes fat, calorie and sugar content as well. Before reading this book, I had no idea that 1 cup of blackberries, boysenberries or raspberries provide 7.6 grams of fiber! I know what I want to have for an afternoon snack from now on!
Included in the book is a handy pull out Grocery Makeover shopping companion which contains, among the other helpful information, a chart with some healthy/high fiber food choices and the fiber grams they contain.
Another thing I enjoyed about this book is the helpful tips Feldman gives for preparing foods in a healthier way. One dish she recommends which I definitely want to try is what she calls one of her easiest dinners: boneless, skinless chicken breasts, a bottle of low-fat French dressing, a bag of baby carrots and a package of mushrooms. Mix and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 1.5 hours. Sounds yummy!
I see this book as a helpful guide to making healthier food choices and one that can be referenced and referred back to when I need inspiration for healthier alternatives!

[Allison Junkans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. I wasn't sure if I would learn much because I have a decent amount of knowledge about nutrition and healthy eating. I loved the way this book was organized by grocery store aisles. It was quick read and easy for anyone to understand. I loved that the book focused on small changes anyone could make, such as aiming to get a certain number of grams of fiber in a snack and limiting sugar and sodium in foods. The author also gives a sample week long menu and grocery list. One of my favorite things about the book was that it came with a pull-out resource guide that you can put in your purse for when you go to the grocery store. So, when you are shopping for cereals, you can quickly look in the guide for what to look for in cereal as opposed to trying to remember from the book. I would recommend this book to anyone because everyone can make small changes even if you already eat pretty healthy.

[Didon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a little bit worried when I recieved this book. Most of the time it end up with saying that you need to pay a lot for no reason. This book really helped my family. We started a little bit at the time and now we can really see the difference!! We loved the little booklet at the end, it makes it so much easier while shopping: no need to check if you remember anything or to take out the entire book!! The reciepes were quite fun to do in family and SO delicious!! I really loved this book and passed it to my friends!!

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gave me lots of tips on what to look for in each area of the supermarket to eat healthier and save calories and fat. I took copious notes to help me purchase better products, less processed foods, and get fiber in every meal and what to skip when watching our weight and cholestrol. I think this is a really good read for healthier eating.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good advice and easy to read. I didn't agree with everything the author espoused though.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how the author divided the book by category and I also like how she talked about Everyday Eats vs. Occasional Eats. I wish she would've gone into more depth on several topics.