Bronx Foodie: Tasty (and Healthy) Supermarket Finds, Plus 5 Healthy Cooking Tips

The Food Education Project at Montefiore Medical Center held its second workshop-type session this past Wednesday about choosing healthy products at the supermarket. Guest speaker and seasoned chef, Allison Fishman (pictured), author of "Cook Yourself Thin" and former co-host of TLC’s "Home Made Simple," led the hour-long session on buying healthy and tasty foods.

Fishman shared a list of relatively healthy products found in most supermarkets that she and other Cooking Light staff members personally taste-tested for a recent issue.

Here are some of Fishman’s picks:
• Rudi’s Organic Bakery, 100% Whole Wheat Bread
• Uncle Ben’s Boil-in-Bag Brown Rice
• Progresso Reduced Sodium Chicken Noodle Soup
• Fage Plain, nonfat Greek Yogurt
• Tribe Classic Hummus
• Turkey Hill Vanilla Bean Light Ice Cream
• Del Monte No-Salt Diced Tomatoes
• Hellman’s Canola Mayonnaise

Audience members received samples of many of the products. Fishman also made a “1-Minute Salad” with arugula, parmesan cheese, sunflower seeds, and truffle oil for the audience to taste as well. She ended the session by providing her top 5 cooking tips. Check them out below.

Fishman’s 5 Tips for Healthy Cooking
1. Use low calorie, high flavor ingredients, like herbs, lemon juice, yogurt, and balsamic vinegar.
2. Use high calorie ingredients sparingly. For example, nuts, seeds, and cheese.
3. Eat mostly plants and foods that your grandmother would recognize. (Borrowed from Michael Pollan)
4. Give hearty foods a healthy makeover. Try using chicken sausage instead of pork.
5. Fill half of your plate with vegetables.

The next workshop will be held Wednesday, Nov. 3, and will feature a presentation about the Norwood Food Co-op by Greg Lobo-Jost.

The Food Education Project is sponsored by Montefiore's Office of Community Health in conjunction with the medical center's departments of Food and Nutrition and Clinical Nutrition. Sessions are held every other Wednesdays from 1-2 p.m. in the Food Pavilion at Montefiore's Moses Division. For more information, call (718) 920-4692.

Ed. Note: Ivonne Salazar is a contributing writer for the Bronx News Network and a healthy eating enthusiast. As the "Bronx Foody," she will be writing regularly about healthy eating and other food-related issues.