3.13.2013

Healthy Families BC Shopping Sense Online Resource + a Giveaway!




I've never been one to obsess about what type of food I eat, or what the fat content is, or how many calories each serving has.  You could call me a lover of all foods {except beansprouts and mushrooms - don't ask!} or someone that loves to explore different food palates, as long as it's prepared by someone else.  That might explain why I love to eat out so much!

However, since I've had my kids, I have been more aware about nutrition labels and I'm definitely more choosy about what I put in my kids' bodies which, in turn, has made me more aware about what I'm putting in my own body.  But don't get me wrong!  I haven't resorted to counting calories - I'm just simply being careful about my family and our lifestyle choices.

Enter Shopping Sense, an interactive resource created by Healthy Families BC, together with Global TV's Registered Dietitian Melodie Yong and major grocery retailers.  Shopping Sense is a guide to help primary grocery shoppers get the most out of their time spent in the grocery store and assist them in choosing healthy alternatives for their families.

Did you know that you should have at least 7-10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, including at least one dark green vegetable and one bright orange fruit or vegetable?  Are you aware of how to pick your loaf of bread?  Did you know that you should look for low milk fat when buying cheese?  You can find these facts and many others during Melodie's virtual tour by using the Shopping Sense online tool.

I, along with a number of other mommy bloggers, were recently treated to a one-on-one tour at a local grocery store to get the inside scoop from Melodie herself.  It was interesting to find out just how many grams of sugar lurk in the loaves of bread I usually buy, or that homogenized milk is not recommended for children over two years of age {as the fat content in it is not the healthy fat that kids need}.  A lot of what we learned from Melodie will help me choose my food products more carefully in the future.  I also plan to meal plan, especially when I go back to work after my maternity leave ends.


Shopping with Global TV's Melodie Yong




{Win It!}

To help celebrate the launch of the Shopping Sense tool and with March being Nutition Month, we are giving away a $100 gift certificate to Thrifty Foods!  To enter, please use the Rafflecopter entry form below.  This giveaway is open to British Columbia residents only and ends at 9pm PST on Thursday, March 21, 2013.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure:  The views expressed in this review are my own and do not represent the opinions or views of Healthy Families BC.  We received a form of compensation from Healthy Families BC in order to conduct this review.  Winner will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to respond, otherwise, a new winner will be chosen at random.


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30 comments:

  1. I learned that there is alot of hidden sodium in our foods!

    RAFFLECOPTER NAME
    is
    Anne Taylor

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  2. What I learned:"Always store eggs in their original container in the middle shelf of the refrigerator rather than on the door. The carton helps protect the eggs from damage and from absorbing other food odours. Eggs should not be stored on the refrigerator door because the temperature fluctuates"

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  3. I learnt 75% of our sodium intake is from processed foods :/

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  4. The meal planner was such a great idea!

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  5. I learned what is truly a serving of baked goods. I didn't know that 1/2 a bagel is a serving already.

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  6. Get organized, plan ahead, make a shopping list.



    Bonnie

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  7. planning, I need all the help I can get. I am getting better and it is saving money and our family is eating better

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  8. Planning meals helps with the grocery list. Need to pre-plan our meals for the weekdays now.

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  9. In the virtual tour, I learned that leftovers that have been unrefridgerated for more than 2 hours must be discarded. Thanks for the giveaway!

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  10. Lots of 'serving' sizes are smaller than you think they are.

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  11. The Virtual Tour is cool. I learned that using a digital thermometer inside the fridge to make sure it is at 4 degrees Celsius can help keep foods safe and fresh longer.

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  12. I learned that you can download helpful tools from the web site like the Pantry Planner and Weekly Meal Planner.

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  13. Shop at the perimeter of the store first, starting with the produce section.

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  14. They have good weekly meal planning and grocery list templates.

    sgudlaug on Twitter.

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  15. I learned that kids and adults don't get enough fruits and vegetables.

    billiondollarprincesss@hotmail.com

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  16. I learned just how disturbingly unhealthy and high in sodium processed foods are :(

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  17. i learned Deli meats (salami or corned beef) are higher in fat and sodium
    rafflecopter - Yan Deng

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  18. Learnt that shopping when you're hungry or tired can lead to impulse purchases.

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  19. I learned that fats are important in moderation!

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  20. Shopping the periphery of the store!

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  21. I learned that there is way more sodium in processed foods than I originally thought.

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  22. I like the meal planning ideas. Saves time and money!

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  23. I learned that most children in BC don't get enough fruits and veggies!

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  24. I liked their three step approach: Get Organized, Plan Ahead, and Make a List. It's simple and easy to remember!

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  25. I learned that it is important to shop the periphery of the store first because it has more healthy foods to choose from.

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  26. Save time with meal planning & making shopping lists.

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  27. To plan meals ahead and shop with a list.

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  28. meal planning can save a lot of time and money

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  29. Meal planning can help you to keep you fit and healthy. I ever use dietkart.com to read diets and plans. thanks

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