For many people who want to start eating healthy, the grocery store can be a bewildering nightmare of lurking ice cream, salty snacks and conflicting label information.However Government healthy schools coordinator Marie Beach has promised that with a little education you and your family can eat anything, in moderation.The Royal Gazette Lifestyle reporter Jessie Moniz recently went on a grocery shopping tour with Ms Beach to find out what are the healthier and less healthy options at the grocery store. Thanks to deceptive marketing, it isn't always easy to tell the difference.The produce section is often the first aisle that most customers roll through when grocery shopping, and most young people would prefer that their parents just keep on rolling right past it.Unfortunately, Ms Beach didn't have a ready answer for kids who panicked at the sight of a leafy, green vegetable.“It's a tough one,” she said. “I grew up always liking leafy greens. I am not a big broccoli eater. Maybe if parents would lightly steam them or sautee them in a light sauce that is tastier [kids would enjoy them more]. Some children prefer plain leafy greens. It is often texture which a lot of young children object to. The leafy greens are easier for a lot of children to chew. Again, parents could try blending them with other things. They could also try putting vegetables or fruit in a smoothie.”A weekly meal plan written by the average child would probably include no vegetables at all pizza for six days of the week with maybe chicken nuggets thrown in for variety on the seventh day.“For those types of children, they can have pizza but it would be moderated with trying out different vegetables as toppings, or mixing them in with the tomato sauce,” said Ms Beach.Many people like spinach, pineapple and even broccoli on their pizza. Ms Beach suggested you could always put some vegetables in the blender and add them to the pizza sauce.“Hiding vegetables in sauces works with a lot of children who are turned off by the visual,” said Ms Beach. “Some kids just balk when they see vegetables.”She said to avoid making the sauce lumpy. If the finicky child catches you in the act, just explain what you are doing and talk about the health benefits of eating fruits and vegetables. Work with them to find a sauce consistency that they like.Some people have argued that eating healthy can be on the expensive side, and that cash-strapped families have no choice but to choose the less healthy option.“I think some of the grocery store vendors do end up adding quite a bit to fresher foods,” Ms Beach said. “I don't know what the tariffs are. Maybe they are just trying to break even in some cases. If you can get fresh vegetables when they are in season, that would give you a better price.”But she said one option for those on a tight budget is to buy their vegetables in the frozen food department.“In a lot of cases, frozen foods have more nutrients because they are frozen just after the product was harvested,” said Ms Beach. “There are also canned options, but you have to check the sodium content carefully.”For assistance in knowing just how much sodium is bad for you, the Department of Health has put together a food label guide which organises the amount of fat, salt and other tasty health nuisances into a green, yellow and red light zones. Foods with 140 grams of salt are in the green light zone for example, and are okay to eat. Higher amounts of sodium and fat are labelled “yellow”. They should be approached with more caution and eaten only now and then. Amounts in the red zone are to be avoided.“If the amount is in the red zone it means your health will probably be better overall if you avoid this product,” said Ms Beach. “If you have a health issue however, and you have been told not to eat a particular food, you do still have to be mindful of the salt content, even if it is in the green zone for most people.”Ice cream is a weakness for many people who are struggling to improve their diets and overall personal health. She said it was all right to have ice cream once in a while, but the trouble is that many brands are high in fat and sugar and it is hard to just eat a little bit.“We don't allow ice cream in schools,” said Ms Beach. “It is a source of high fat and who can eat one scoop? We recommend that if people want a sweet treat, 100 percent fruit frozen bars, maybe. You can make your own frozen treats at home. Or even you could do a smoothie and freeze it. That could be a treat as well. Some sherberts and sorbets are okay in moderation.”A lunchbox would not be complete without something to drink, but Ms Beach cautioned that the liquid part of our diet is important also. The juice and soda aisle can be one of the most confusing places in the store. Some juices are drinks and some are just juices. Some have 100 percent juice on the box or not from concentrate, or 100 percent vitamin C. The good news is that students in all Bermuda schools are heavily encouraged to drink water.“There are several hundred children on the Island that only drink water during school time,” said Ms Beach. “It's school policy for many public and private schools. The main beverage we recommend is water. After that, we recommend juices that say 100 percent juice.“We recommend 8 oz or less juice a day for school-age children. Stay away from the imposters that say 100 percent vitamin C only. All fruits have vitamin C in them. Marketers have found a way to rope in the gullible. It is just about using your eyes and using your label.”In the 1970s eating colourful cereals loaded with sugar was almost a rite of passage. You could reach into any cereal box and pull out, in a shower of coloured sugar, a purple decoder, or an action figure. Nowadays there are lots more healthy cereal options to choose from, some of them actually edible.“When it comes to cereal, the plainer the better,” said Ms Beach. “One clue is, can you actually see the sugar on the food? If you can, you know it's loaded with sugar. We would recommend the wholewheat and wholegrain choices. I just started adding wheat germ to my oatmeal. Also, try to lean more to the higher fibre choices, that would be better. You can add fruit, slivers of almond, cinnamon, nutmeg, or a bit of honey.”Turning toward the meat section, one popular product that Ms Beach really didn't have much patience for was a particular brand of ready-packaged lunches that included meats, crackers and cheeses, or sometimes little pizzas.“We have basically made an evaluation that pretty much all of this brand are unhealthy,” said Ms Beach. “They are a high source of sugar, fat and salt. Some have up to five teaspoons of salt. Would most of us normally put five teaspoons of salt on our food? Healthy alternatives would be sandwiches.“You could also send leftovers for lunch the next day, putting it in an insulated thermos. We discourage microwave use in school. You could even try to make your own version of these prepackaged lunches using crackers and cheese.“Cut healthier cheese into cubes or shapes or whatever the child likes. Sometimes, parents send pasta from the night before. It is mostly the meat in the prepackaged lunches. In some cases it is also the cheese. Some of the cheeses are less than healthy. In schools, we discourage even pepperoni coming in on pizzas, because of the high saturated fat and cholesterol content. It is the plainer the better.”There are many products in any grocery store, that fall into the red zone in terms of salt, fat and cholesterol, but shelves are stocked by consumer demand. If you want to see a healthier product made available, ask your grocer about it.Here are some cost-saving shopping ideas offered by Karla Lacey a local chef and culinary instructor.l Develop a menu first. It should cover five days.l Create a shopping list that corresponds to the menu. This keeps you from impulse purchases.l Build a well-stocked pantry that includes plenty of dry goods such as flour, sugar, salt and pepper and basic dry seasonings such as basil, thyme and oregano.l Focus on seasonal and fresh purchases. They will be less expensive than items not in season.l Buy frozen or canned food if not in season and keep your cupboards well stocked with staple items such as canned beans.l Look out for shop specials, especially for snacks.l Utilise discounts. Shop on Wednesdays when many stores offer discounts. Also, take reusable bags. If they offer a further discount, pack your own bags.l Purchase tough cuts of meats and braise and stew them to create great one-dish meals that go a long way.l Eggs are always a good bet for at least one evening's meal.l Focus on colour and centre the meal around vegetables, beans, and grains.The website realsimple.com has online grocery lists, cost-cutting shopping tips and other ideas for simple living.