Smart shopping helps you drop those extra pounds

Guy’s Grocery Games (Food Network) is a high-intensity, search-the-grocery-store-aisles-and- create-an-instant-dish-or-meal contest.

And while chef Guy Fieri may be determined to make contestants’ supermarket experiences a little more manic than usual, just an ordinary shopping trip can be very challenging if you’re trying to figure out what to buy that’s super-tasty and super-healthy.

Well, there are intriguing new studies that could revolutionize your grocery shopping, putting you on the road to a healthier diet and helping you shed extra pounds.

Tasty trick No. 1: Eat a healthy snack before you hit the aisles:

The Cornell University Food and Brand Lab recently found that folks who ate an apple before shopping bought 28 per cent more fruits and vegetables than those who ate a cookie; apple eaters also opted for a healthy food choice (when presented with one healthy and one unhealthy option) 66 per cent of the time, and made similar healthy selections after drinking a “healthy” beverage.

Having an apple first to get you to opt for other healthy food choices is called “priming.” You can prime yourself by snacking on an apple, some fresh berries or 12 walnut halves before you head to the grocery store.

Tasty Trick No. 2: Make a shopping list before you go:

A recent study from RAND Health found that folks who shopped from a grocery list weighed less than “free range” shoppers, who are more likely to go for unhealthy impulse purchases like desserts or fatty snacks. So get primed, write your list and shop ’til you drop — those extra pounds.