Nutritional density is a health term that’s circulating a lot recently. Dietitians and health professionals are telling us to eat nutritionally dense foods or a nutritionally dense diet. However, this concept is often poorly understood.  Without understanding what nutritional density truly means, it is difficult for people to implement this change into their eating habits.  

What does nutritionally dense mean and how do we achieve it? 

Nutrient density is the amount of beneficial nutrients in food in proportion to its energy content, weight, or its unfavourable nutrient content. 

In other words, it’s a way to compare the number of favourable nutrients (what our bodies need) in food, to one of the following:

• the number of calories in it
• how much of it do we need to eat to get the volume of nutrients we want
• the number of unfavorable nutrients (what our bodies don’t want or don’t need)

Which nutrients contribute to high nutrition density in food?

Desirable nutrients include vitamins, minerals, complex carbs (ex: beans/ lentils, whole grains), lean protein and healthy fats (omega 3, 6, 9, unsaturated fatty acids). It is ideal to make most of your meals and snacks out of these foods.

Some examples of nutrient-dense foods include:

• Fruits and vegetables 
• Whole grains
• Low-fat dairy
• Seafood and lean meats 
• Eggs
• Beans and lentils 
• Nuts and seeds  

Which nutrients are considered “unfavourable”? 

These include added or refined sugar and starch, and high fat (especially trans and saturated fat). This is often highly processed food like cookies, chips, deep fried foods. These types of foods can also be referred to as “calorie dense”.  This implies the opposite of nutrient-dense; they are foods that are high in calories but low in nutrients. Ideally, eat these foods only occasionally.

With a stronger understanding of what it takes for food to be nutritionally dense, you can now start to incorporate more of these foods into your diet.  Remember, it’s not “all or nothing”, you may sometimes choose foods that aren’t nutritionally dense because they are delicious and make you happy… this is also part of a healthy diet!

We all know food prices have been going up. Here are some suggestions to try and maximize your dollars at the grocery store.

Before Going to the Store

Try planning your meals for the week ahead of time! This way you can buy food with an intended purpose which will save you from having food that’s going to waste if you don’t use it. It can also save you time at the store because you know exactly what you want to get.

Browse flyers and coupons, and see what’s on sale. Use these as a starting point for your meals for the week
Double-check your cupboards/fridge to see what you currently have and make sure you’re not buying doubles!

At the Store

Coupons – Check the isles and front bulletin boards for coupons. Generic Brand – Buy the generic store brand of items rather than the name brand. *little tip even using coupons brand name options are often still more expensive than the generic brand alternatives. Buy convenience foods less often – This could be anything from hot prepared foods at the store, pre-cut/pre-washed produce, pre-shredded cheese, pre-made meals in the frozen section. These foods are aptly named, they’re very convenient! They are more expensive which is something to be mindful of if you are looking to save.

Sales Items

Cheese/yogurt – There is almost always some brand of cheese or yogurt on sale at the store. Try something new and buy the sale brand!

Budget-Friendly Food Staples

Canned beans/lentils – if you eat a lot of animal protein incorporating more plant-based proteins is a great way to save some money. They’re also really nutritious and full of fibre!

Canned fish – fresh and frozen fish can be expensive! Canned varieties like tuna are great sources of protein and easy to use. “Sale” meats – some stores use a “special” sticker on them to indicate what might be on sale or as an indicator of something close to its sell by date. Those are great to buy and freezer to use later. Frozen fruit and vegetables – these are an alternative to fresh produce especially when they are out of season (think berries in the winter).

Imperfect produce – a lot of grocery stores are getting into the habit of selling produce with imperfections. They might not be as cute as their pretty counterparts but they’re just as nutritious!