Shop the Perimeter For A Healthy Lifestyle

When it comes to buying groceries in your local supermarket, walking the middle ground may not be your best choice. The path to healthy eating may lie in shopping the perimeter.

The perimeter is where you will find dairy, bread, refrigerated items and produce, all items against the walls; the aisles in the middle of the store is where most of your packaged and processed foods are located.

In the Rocky Point Waldbaum's and the Stop and Shop in Miller Place, you have two points on the perimeter you can begin: the produce section or the dairy and frozen foods sections. I would suggest starting with the dairy/frozen foods and winding your way around, ending in the produce section, so your produce is on top and less likely to get bruised.

In the past it was believed that shoppers perused the aisles, forgoing the outskirts of the store. However, in a published paper "An Exploratory Look at Supermarket Shopping Paths," Peter S. Fader, Wharton marketing professor Eric T. Bradlow and doctoral candidate Jeffrey S. Larson analyzed RFID( radio frequency identification (RFID) tags) placed on consumers carts and collected data on shoppers travel patterns and purchasing choices.

 "The perimeter of the store — often called the 'racetrack' — is actually the shopper's home base, not just the space covered between aisles," the paper read, "Whereas previous folklore perpetuated the myth that the perimeter of the store was visited incidental to successive aisle traverses, we now know that it often serves as the main thoroughfare, effectively a home base from which shoppers take quick trips into the aisles."

So, when on the fast track of your perimeter shopping, don't dismiss the frozen vegetables. They are convenient, most are flash frozen, so they retain their nutritional integrity and can translate to savings in your overall budget.

When buying bread our supermarkets have "fresh baked" as opposed to home made which means they are made elsewhere, but baked on the premise and deliver a great taste. Just remember to look for "whole grain" on the label.

If you do venture into the center aisles, choose foods that have short ingredient lists, so read the labels. Remember this is where most of the convenience and prepared foods reside. Steer clear of the candy and chip aisles, that is the best way to cut back on sugar and sodium.

Once you have shopped the perimeter and skirted the center, do not pass go, do not head down the soda aisle. Head straight to the check out and out the door.