With every new year comes an opportunity for a fresh start. After 2020, that’s what many of us are craving. The coronavirus pandemic shifted a lot of our daily routines, including the ways we eat. Did you eat out less and cook at home more last year? Many of us did. Perhaps you ordered more takeout and delivery than ever before. It was truly a year unlike any other. Now that the holiday season has passed, many of us feel the urge to establish more healthy routines. If you’re looking for an easy way to eat more healthy, we’re here to help. Guiding Stars identifies foods that offer more nutrition per bite.
These foods are considered nutrient dense.
Nutrient-dense foods like fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish, lean meat, skinless poultry, peas and beans, and nuts and seeds offer plenty of beneficial nutrients per calorie. They are rich in rich in vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients important for health. They don’t contain too much saturated fat, added sugars, and sodium. Not all nutrient-dense foods are as obviously healthy, though. Guiding Stars simplifies the process of finding nutrient-dense options for shoppers.
The program is as simple as 1, 2, 3.
You choose foods that earn stars to improve your nutrition. The more stars a food earns, the more nutritional value it contains. To determine star ratings, we read nutrition labels and evaluate nutrition density in a 100-calorie serving using evidence-based nutrition science. Our patented algorithms look for more of the nutrients we should generally be eating more of and less of the nutrients that are best to limit in our diets. The nutrients we consider are based on key recommendations of a healthy eating pattern, which can apply to many different eating styles.
Guiding Stars recognizes that nutrition is personal.
There are many factors that influence what you and your family purchase for groceries. For good health, look to maximize nutritional value no matter what’s on your list. As you shop for groceries, choose Guiding Stars earning options to fill your cart. The program can be especially helpful in the center of the supermarket where it’s more difficult to find nutrient dense options among packaged foods that provide a lot of calories without much nutritional value. As you consider things like taste preferences, cost and your family’s lifestyle, opt for higher star rating options when possible. Even small shifts in food choices can make a big difference over time.