One of the key elements of a balanced approach to eating is mindfully eating foods that nourish your body. Today, there are endless food options, many of which are far from nutritious. All these options make it somewhat difficult to weed out the nutritious from the not-so-nutritious. The key is to stop getting caught up in the trivial details and focus on what’s most important.

When trying to identify whether a food is “nutritious,” ask yourself these three questions:

1. Is it a whole food (a food close to its most natural form)?
2. Is the food minimally processed?
3. Is the food packed with nutrients or full of “empty” calories?

Eat foods packed with nutrients that will help your body function at its best. Foods that have been shown to help your body function at its best are in their most natural form, or those that have been minimally processed. Below is some detailed information on this topic.

Minimally Processed Foods

The reason I say “minimally” processed foods is because today, most foods you buy at the store have been processed in some way. Yes, even whole foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and whole grains have likely been cleaned, trimmed, shelled, husked, ground, or wrapped before making their way into your cart.

Certainly, growing your own garden or getting foods from the local farmer’s market is ideal. But this type of food sourcing takes time, effort, and planning: all things most of us lack at one point or another. This is where the convenience of minimally processed foods comes into play. The bags of spinach, jars of salsa, or cans of beans you buy regularly are all examples of minimally processed foods. The key is to make sure the ingredients are whole (or some may say ‘real’) foods and that the ingredients haven’t been so heavily processed that they’ve lost nutritional value.

Minimally processed foods in their whole form, like fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and grains, are definitely easier to identify. Other foods like canned beans, tomatoes, and frozen fruits and veggies—processed to help preserve nutrients and enhance freshness—are other more obvious healthy choices. Most of us get tripped up on the many other packaged foods.

Here is a list of some of the better packaged foods:

• Canned beans
• Frozen fruits and vegetables
• Whole grain pasta
• Nut butters and packaged nuts
• Yogurt
• Bagged popcorn
• Hummus
• Jarred marinara and salsa
• Whole grain breads and crackers
• Naturally flavored (unsweetened) seltzers and waters

Here are some tips to keep in mind when deciding whether to buy packaged foods:

1. Pay attention to the sugar and sodium content

Sugar and sodium can be used as flavor enhancers, or they can act as preservatives that help extend the shelf life of packaged products (good for the seller, but not great for your health). To identify if there is added sugar (more than what’s naturally found in each of the product’s ingredients), look first under the Total Carbohydrate section of the nutrition label for “added sugars.” If you don’t see that, look at the ingredients list.

Common names for sugar include: anhydrous dextrose, cane crystals, cane sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, honey, malt syrup, fructose, fruit juice concentrates, high-fructose corn syrup, maple syrup, maltodextrin, or rice malt.

To identify if there is added sodium, look at the ingredients list.

Common names for sodium include: any ingredient with “sodium” or “Na” (the chemical name for sodium) in its name, baking soda, baking powder, monosodium glutamate (MSG), disodium phosphate, or salt.

2. Look at the different types of fat

There are three types of fats (see below). You want mostly unsaturated fats, smaller amounts of saturated fats, and minimal to no trans fats.

• Unsaturated fats – are considered a healthier source of fat as they have been linked to a decreased risk of heart disease. These include mono and polyunsaturated fats.
• Saturated fats – are needed in smaller amounts than unsaturated fats and have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease when consumed in large amounts.
• Trans fats – are made from oils through a processing method called partial hydrogenation which makes foods easier to cook with and less likely to spoil. These have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set a deadline of 2018 to rid foods of trans fats, so you shouldn’t see any type of hydrogenated oils in the ingredients list.

3. Count the number of ingredients

Though there is no specific number you should look for, the smaller the number, the better. More ingredients typically means a food is more heavily processed (or less “whole”).

4. Check for unfamiliar ingredients

When looking through the ingredients list, check for ingredient names that are hard to identify and likely hard to pronounce. Though these ingredients are not necessarily bad or harmful, they are often added to preserve freshness or modify the look and taste of the product in some way. Typically, these ingredients are flavors, colors, or preservatives. If the product contains a handful of unfamiliar ingredients, it’s considered a more heavily processed food, and you should probably put it back on the shelf.

Here are a few tips on how to cut back on highly processed foods:

• Supplement with fresh foods – Add fresh fruits and veggies to each of your meals and snacks.
• Drink more water and fewer sugar-sweetened beverages – Drink mostly water. If you get tired of water, other healthy options include tea, coffee, carbonated water, or fruit-infused water.
• Choose whole grains over processed grains – Choose brown rice over white rice, whole wheat pasta over white pasta, and whole grain bread over white bread. Whole grains are less processed and contain more nutrients (specifically fiber).
• Limit or avoid processed meats – Meats like bacon, ham, hot dogs, and sausage have been linked to increased risk of colorectal cancer.
• Plan ahead – If you know what you are going to snack on ahead of time, it’s easier to turn down the candy bar or bag of chips. Healthy snacks include hummus and veggies, nut mix, crackers and cheese, plant-based yogurt, and fruit with nut butter.
• Use substitutes for highly processed snacks and foods – If you like salty, crunchy snacks, try a healthier popcorn instead of potato chips. If you are craving something sweet, go for some Greek yogurt with fruit instead of a bag of licorice.
• Make your own versions of traditionally processed foods – Consider making your own granola or salad dressing. You can even try making your own chips out of sweet potatoes using your oven or a dehydrator.
• Make healthier frozen meals – If you are willing to do a little cooking, make some extra and then freeze the leftovers in single serving portions.

To minimize your intake of “empty” calories, look for added sugars on nutrition labels. Added sugars mean extra calories without any essential nutrients. Added sugars are often hidden in foods, and, if consumed in large amounts, they may make it challenging for you to reach your health and fitness goals.

As noted earlier, to identify if there is added sugar (more than what’s naturally found in each of the product’s ingredients), look first under the Total Carbohydrate section of the nutrition label for “added sugars.” If you don’t see that, look at the ingredients list to check for sources of sugar.