Can you relate to this scene? After a long day at work, you're tired and hungry and you need to make a plan for supper. You don't know what to make, you aren't quite sure what you already have at home. Solution? A quick stop at the shops on your way home where you fly through the aisles and choose foods that look tasty and quick to prepare. When you get home, you realise that you still don't have all the ingredients you need for a balanced meal... but you did buy plenty of less-than-healthy foods.

Not only is food shopping inevitable but it's where healthy eating begins. What we buy affects the quality of our diets and nutritious meals can't happen without a ready supply of nutritious foods. It's all about shopping strategically.

Plan ahead

Start by planning what you will eat over the next week or two, depending on how often you shop for food. For optimal health, plan meals based on a variety of foods from each food group to build a balanced diet. See our plan for healthy eating.

As a quick rule of thumb, base your plan on the plate model:

• Half your plate should be vegetables.
• One quarter should be a carbohydrate-rich food, such as baby potatoes, dairy or fruit.
• One quarter should be a lean protein, such as grilled fish, skinless chicken or boiled egg.
• Add a small amount of healthy fat when cooking (e.g. olive oil) or as additional fat (e.g. low fat margarine) and you have a balanced plate.

Take stock

Then audit what you already have at home and make a list of what you still need. Putting together a master shopping list that you can use every time you shop is a great way to save time and to ensure you never forget anything.

Remember, a balanced, varied diet that incorporates foods from all the different food groups is the key to healthy eating.

Here are some ideas of nutritious basics you can use to create your master shopping list:

Dairy products

These foods are rich in bone-building calcium and muscle-building protein.

Fruit

Boost your immune system with these nutrient power-houses for plenty of vitamin, minerals, phytochemicals and fibre.

Fresh fruit: A variety of different coloured seasonal e.g. apples, bananas, peaches, apricots, grapes, kiwi fruit and strawberries.

Canned fruit: In fruit juice (not syrup) e.g. pears, peaches and apple.

Bottled fruit: e.g. apple sauce.

Dried fruit: e.g. apricots, peaches, prunes, pears, raisins, cranberries and figs.

Vegetables

Choose different coloured vegetables for a wide range of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fibre.

A variety of fresh vegetables e.g. onions, gem squash, brinjals, baby potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, cucumber, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, spinach, spring onions and peppers.

Canned: e.g. tomatoes, tomato and onion mix, corn, mushrooms, asparagus, artichokes and peas.

Bottled: e.g. asparagus, beetroot, baby sweet peppers, gherkins.

Frozen vegetables: plain or mixed.

Carbohydrate-rich foods

These foods provide essential fuel and energy for optimal function and performance.

Bread: e.g. whole grain, low GI bread and whole-wheat, low fat crackers/crisp bread.

Rice: e.g. white, basmati, brown, wild, mixed brown rice with lentils/wild rice.

Whole grains: e.g. barley, stampkoring (wheat rice), millet, quinoa.

Cereals: e.g. oats, high-fibre cereals, oat bran and porridge.

Pasta: All types (preferably wholewheat), such as spaghetti, penne, linguini and lasagne noodles.

Pasta sauces: e.g. low fat tomato and vegetable-based sauces

Couscous: (wholewheat if possible).

Legumes

Beans, peas and lentils are a valuable addition to any healthy eating plan. They are very low in fat but concentrated sources of plant protein, minerals and fibre. They are also very economical and can easily be added to other dishes to enhance the nutritional value!

For example, baked beans, butter beans, sugar beans, kidney beans, green beans, mixed beans, chick peas, lentils, split lentils and split peas.

Protein-rich foods

These foods provide amino acids — the building blocks of protein essential for growth, maintenance and repair.

Fresh or frozen white fish: e.g. hake, sole, haddock and kingklip.

Fresh, frozen or canned oily fish: e.g. salmon, mackerel, sardines, pilchards and tuna.

Chicken: e.g. skinless thighs, skinless breasts, whole chicken, skinless kebabs.

Meat: e.g. extra lean beef mince, ostrich mince, ostrich steaks, pork fillet Cheese: low fat cheese wedges (e.g. Laughing Cow Light), fat free and low fat cottage cheese, parmesan, ricotta, mozzarella, reduced fat cheddar, reduced fat gouda, reduced fat feta.

Eggs

Fats and oils: Although fats are concentrated sources of kilojoules, some healthy fat is essential for absorbing fat-soluble vitamins, protecting your cells and organs and increasing satiety.

Oils: Cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil; canola oil, avocado oil, low fat cooking spray.

Spreads: Soft, tub 'low fat' margarine, olive oil margarine.

Nuts and nut butters: Almonds, cashews, walnuts, peanuts, macadamia, hazel and peanut butter.

Seeds: sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc.

Olives

Avocado

Condiments and flavourings: Mustard, chutney, balsamic vinegar, low-sodium soya sauce, low-salt stock cubes.

Herbs and spices: Pepper, rosemary, mixed herbs, oregano, thyme, basil, coriander, mint, ginger, curry, garlic and cinnamon. Crushed garlic, fresh ginger, chillies, lemons.

Drinks:

Tomato cocktail, lemon, low-kilojoule cordial, 100 percent fruit juice (always dilute with water or soda), green tea, ceylon tea, herbal tea and decaffeinated coffee.

Before you go

Don't shop when you're hungry. We tend to buy on impulse and items that could compromise your nutrition goals seem more appealing when you are hungry. Have a healthy snack before you go. Arrange your lists according to aisles if you can — this will reduce zigzagging through the shop and save you time.

At the shops

Stick to your list.

Carry a basket where possible as this will limit space available for items not on your list.

Processed foods tend to mainly be displayed towards in the centre aisles of the shop so try to stay on the perimeter of the shops where the less processed items are usually found.

Buy perishable products last to avoid drastic temperature changes between the shops and home.

Check your list again before you get to the till.

When you get home

Get your perishable foods into the fridge and freezer first.

Pack items away in clean cupboards and containers at the appropriate temperatures.

Place items with the oldest shelf life in front to be used first.

Making it a habit

Investing some effort into optimising your nutrition empowers you to complement a lifestyle of healthy eating that saves you time, money and frustration. Try it — the benefits will speak for themselves!

Information supplied by Marieke Loubser, in-house dietitian at Discovery Vitality. The Discovery Vitality HealthyFood benefit aims to make healthy eating simpler and more affordable for South African consumers. The HealthyFood Benefit offers Vitality members up to 25 percent cash back on their purchases of over 6000 products at Pick n Pay, South Africa's leading food retailer.