Ever wondered what nutritionists eat? Well, guess no more! On this part of my website I'm going to share with you my favorite foods---a look inside my grocery cart. I'm a very picky consumer--I want taste, convenience, nutrition, and at the right price. The foods listed below all meet this criteria, and are regulars on my shopping list. For each food listed, I've included either the manufacturer's website or address, so you can explore their other products and specially-developed recipes and menu ideas. Do check back on this page periodically, as I add new foods all the time. Bon apetit!

The Dairy Case

- All-Whites: 100% Egg Whites
- Eggland's Best
- Breakstone's Smooth & Creamy Cottage Cheese
- Lact-Aid Milk

Fresh Produce
- Dole Salads

Packaged Meats
- Thomas E. Wilson Meats

Grocery
- All Fruit Jellies and Preserves
- Progresso Sauces
- De Cecco Pastas
- Quaker Oats
- Crispbreads

Frozen Foods
- Edy's Grand Ice Cream

All-Whites: 100% Egg Whites
$2.19 for two-8 oz cartons
Papetti Foods
Trumbull Street
Elizabeth, New Jersey 07206
1-877-PAPETTI (727-3884) 8A-4P, EST

Egg whites contain the highest quality protein you can eat, but until now using them raw in recipes carried a risk for Salmonella food poisoning. All-White: 100% Egg Whites have solved that problem because they are pasteurized. Packaged as two-½ pints, each containing the equivalent of five egg whites and providing 25 grams of the highest-quality protein. My favorite ways to use All-Whites: 100% Egg Whites are in white omelets (½ container plus muenster cheese) and for protein drinks (½ container plus ½ cup lowfat yogurt, fresh fruit, and ice in a blender--voila!). More recipes are included inside the outer packaging.

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Eggland's Best
$2.59 for dozen fresh shell eggs
www.eggland.com/egglandsbest

The hens at Eggland's Best are fed a special vegetarian diet containing canola oil as the principal source of fat. As a result, their eggs contain three times the amount of omega-3 fatty acids and seven times the amount of vitamin E as regular eggs. In addition, Eggland's Best eggs contain less cholesterol and saturated fat than regular eggs. As one of the best sources of high quality protein (6 grams/egg), these nutritionally-enhanced eggs fit right in with today's diet. Look for the fresh eggs with the distinctive "EB" stamp on the shell.

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Breakstone's Smooth & Creamy Cottage Cheese

Snack Size
$2.49 for 4-4 oz containers
1-800-538-1998
Kraft Foods, Inc.
Glenview, Illinois 60025
www.kraftfoods.com

Cottage cheese has always been a great nutritional buy--high in protein and calcium, low in fat--but now packaged in portable half-pints, they are better than ever. A nice break from yogurt, these little containers fit the bill for mid-morning or mid-afternoon snacks; combine with fresh fruit, salad, and crispbread crackers, you've got a healthy lunch.

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Lact-Aid Milk

$3.99/ half gallon
www.lactaid.com
1-800-LACTAID 9-5, Mon-Fri, EST
(!-800-522-8243)
McNeil Consumer Healthcare
Ft. Washington, Pa.

For the majority of adults, drinking milk causes an upset stomach or other more severe gastrointestinal symptoms--the culprit is the unique type of carbohydrate found only in milk and milk products--the double sugar lactose. Lact-Aid milk has broken down lactose during processing, resulting in a sweeter, more easily digested fresh milk. Available as whole milk (green carton), 2% fat (dark blue carton), 1% fat (light blue carton), fat-free (red carton), and fat-free calcium fortified (purple carton). This last type is my favorite, Lact-Aid 100 Calcium-Fortified Milk (fat-free version in the purple carton), which contains 500 mg of calcium per 8 ounces--20% more than unfortified milk. Lactaid also makes drops which can be added to any carton of fresh milk, which results in a breakdown to lactose over a 24-hour period. In addition, they also make caplets and chewable versions of the enzyme lactase, which breaks down lactose in any dairy product. Just take one caplet (available in a range of strengths from Ultra to Original) with the first bite of dairy food. Just what the doctor ordered!

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Dole Salads

$2.99 per package
www.dole.com
Classic Cole Slaw
Spring Mix
Romaine Hearts & Radicchio
European Salad Blend
Italian Salad Blend

Dole Foods is the largest producer and marketer of fresh fruits and vegetables in the world. Their products which I like best are their packaged fresh salads. No waste, double rinsed for cleanliness, and always fresh--look for the open dating in the right-hand corner. Try making your own cole slaw, and include it with bag lunches. A favorite summer lunch for me is sliced cold chicken, chopped walnuts, and sesame-ginger dressing, with a quart-sized container filled with European Salad Blend. Add fruit for dessert, and you're all set!

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Thomas E. Wilson Meats

Beef Pot Roast
Beef in Barbeque Sauce
Seasoned Beef Meatloaf
$7.99 for 16-26oz
Thomas E. Wilson Foods
Dakota Dunes, SD 57049

The next best thing to home cooking. The Thomas E. Wilson meats are wonderfully seasoned, providing 3-5 servings per package. Delicious, ready-to-eat, fully-cooked meats, from the refrigerator to the table in 5-7 minutes. Open-dated, these products can also be frozen--they're regulars in my shopping cart.

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All Fruit Jellies and Preserves

Polaner
Seedless Raspberry
All Fruit
Seedless Blackberry
Spreadable Fruit
Black Cherry
Strawberry
Apricot

$2.39 for 10 oz jar
B & G Foods, Inc.
PO Box K
Roseland, NJ 07068
www.allfruit.com

Smucker's
Strawberry
Simply 100% Fruit
Blueberry
Apricot
Red Raspberry
Orange Marmalade
Black Cherry

$2.25 for 10 oz jar
JM Smucker Company
Orrville, Ohio 44667
www.smucker.com
1-800-550-9555

The best thing since sliced bread--jellies and preserves made with pure fruit and fruit juices! Sweet, delicious, and wholesome--they can even be part of a diabetic diet. Also great for recipes (topping cookies and small tarts), and my favorite--the secret surprise at the bottom of a bowl of hot oatmeal.

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Progresso Sauces

$2.99/ 8 oz. jar
Marinara Sauce
White Clam Sauce
Alfredo Sauce

Everyone has their own favorite marinara sauce--mine is Progresso. Made with only natural ingredients, and no starches or thickeners, if you had an Italian grandmother, her sauce would taste like this. The Marianara and White Clam Sauces are regulars at my table, and although I love the Alfredo Sauce, because it is twice the calories per serving as the Marinara Sauce, I serve it half as often! Try their canned sauces too--Creamy Clam, Red Clam, and White Clam--Buon Appetito!

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De Cecco Pastas

$2.19/16 oz box

Fettucine   Penne   Zita Cut
Capellin   Penne Rigate   Fusilli
Linguine   Rigatoni   Elbows
Spaghetti   Conchiglie Rigate   Cavatappi

Like sauces, everyone seems to have their favorite pasta--and mine ic De Cecco. Made from semolina wheat, specially cut and dried to absorb more of the sauce and still hold their shape and consistency, De Cecco pastas are always delicious. Fortified with iron and the B-vitamins niacin, riboflavin, and folic acid, they are a regular part of a healthy diet, and regulars in my shopping cart.

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Quaker Oats

$3.09/12-packet box
The Quaker Oats Company
PO Box 049003
Chicago, IL 60604-9003
1-800-367-6287 7:30AM-5PM, M-F, CST
www.quakeroatmeal.com

An American tradition, if ever there was one--the oatmeal many of us grew up with, whether served steamy hot on cold winter mornings, or in fresh-baked oatmeal cookies with a cold glass a milk. Available in many forms, including convenince packs (add water and microwave), and the traditional quick oats. A healthy part of everyone's diet, as a hearty breakfast, mid-morning snack, in cookies, or in cooking (check out their website for wonderful recipes)--Quaker oatmeal has always been one of my favorites.

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Crispbreads

Kavli
$1.69/5.29 oz box
5 Grain
Crispy Garlic
Crispy Onion
Crispy Thin
Hearty Thick
O. Kavli, A/S
Bergen, Norway

RyVita
$2.09/8.8 oz box
Dark Rye Whole Grain
Sesame Rye Whole Grain
Flavorful Fiber Whole Grain
Light Rye

RyVita Co., Ltd
Poole, England
www.ryvita.com

Wasa Original Crispbread
$2.39/7 oz. box
Whole Grain Oats
Sourdough Rye
Hearty Rye
Light Rye
Multi Grain
Fiber Rye
Organic Whole Grain
Sesame Toasted Wheat
Gluten & Lactose Free
Cinnamon Toast

Wasa GmbH, Germany
Imported by Liberty Richter
Saddle Brook, NJ

National dietary guidelines recommend we get 25-30 grams of fiber a day, but most individuals fall short of that goal. One of the healthiest ways to boost your fiber count is to substitute crispbreads for regular breads and crackers. Each slice contains between 1-3 grams of fiber, and with enough flavors to meet everyone's palate. Keep a box in your desk at work along with a jar of peanut butter (1 gram of fiber/tablesppon) for a healthy snack, or top with low-fat cream cheese and lox for a breakfast treat. My favorite is Sesame Toasted Wheat with Tabbouleh Salad or Hoummos (chick pea spread) and a side salad for a quick and healthy dinner.

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Edy's Grand Ice Cream

Home Office
5929 College Avenue
Oakland, California 94618
www.edys.com

Edy's Frozen Whole Fruits
$3.49 for 6 bars

Edy's Whole Fruit Sorbet
$2.69-$3.59 per 1½ pint container

Edy's Frozen Yogurt
$5.39/ half gallon

Vanilla
Cookies 'N Cream
Vanilla Chocolate Swirl
Black Cherry Vanilla Swirl
Heath Toffee Crunch
Caramel Praline Crunch
Ultimate Tin Roof Sundae

Hands down--Edy's wins my vote for the healthiest--and most delicious--frozen desserts and snacks. Their Whole Fruit Bars and Whole Fruit Sorbet are made with only fruit and fruit juices--making them a healthy part of everyone's diet--including individuals on diabetic diets. And their flavors are wonderful--including old standbys like Strawberry and Lemon, and refreshing surprises like Tangerine, Boysenberry, and Mango. Edy's Frozen Yogurt has only 90 calories per ½ cup and no fat, plus it comes in seven delicious flavors--one for each day of the week! Heaven in the Freezer Section!

Do you have a favorite food product that's not in this list? Tell me about it and I'll give it a try, and perhaps you'll see it added to Dr. Luke's Grocery Cart in the near future.

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Have a suggestion? Drop me a line!