5 rules for smart supermarket shopping

Have you ever felt like there's nothing to eat at home even though you've made countless trips to the supermarket? Maybe you're not shopping the right way. Follow these tips to know how to shop for healthier, more nutritious food.

• With the following basic ingredients, you have the foundations for tasty sauces, low-fat marinades and low-salt flavourings.
• Plus, you can stay away from the less-healthy ingredients such as mayonnaise, butter, margarine, creamy salad dressings and so on.
• Choose: flavoured ketchups, relishes, chutneys and barbecue sauces (look for sugar-free varieties), horseradish, mustards, flavoured vinegars, extra-virgin olive oil and pesto sauces (delicious spooned on top of salmon and baked), capers, jars of olives, sun-dried tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, anchovies, roasted red peppers, Worcestershire sauce, chili sauce, hot pepper sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, walnut oil, teriyaki sauce and jars of salsa.

• Today's stores offer delicious whole-grain pastas and couscous, instant brown rice that cooks in a mere 10 minutes instead of the long 50 minutes it once took, even tasty whole-grain cookies.
• While you're at it, pick up a bag of whole-wheat flour to replace the white flour in your cupboard.

• Whenever you find yourself reaching for a package of ground meat, go to the poultry section instead and choose ground turkey or chicken, or try ground soy.
• These work just as well as ground beef in, for example, meatballs and chili.
• This substitution alone can cut nearly a third of the calories and at least half of the fat and saturated fat in an 85 grams serving.
• When it's covered in a zesty tomato sauce or flavoured with seasonings, you won't be able to tell the difference.

• These include raisins, fresh berries, dried berries, pumpkin seeds and bananas. Buy unsweetened cereals, then add your favourite flavours.
• That helps you to bypass all the empty sugary calories – and lets you enjoy the cereal more. For ease, keep a wide-brimmed, well-sealed jar of ingredients on your kitchen counter for quick mixing.
• Have a scoop and some sealable bags handy, and you've got a handy, nutritious meal or snack to eat at home or when you're on the go.

• Orange juice, though healthy, often has 20 grams of sugar in the average one cup (250 millilitre) glass.
• Instead, try guava juice. It has three times more vitamin C and is full of potassium and beta carotene.
• If you have kidney disease or are on a blood pressure-lowering medication, avoid potassium-rich foods as extra potassium may be harmful.