Did you catch a glimpse of our visit to the Vancouver Home + Design Show last weekend on Facebook or Instagram? We had lots of fun, but wow, was it ever busy! We wandered up and down the aisles checking out the booths, collecting samples, entering all the draws, and basically trying not to lose the kids in the crowd. When we spotted giant cookies and the big Play & Win! sign at the Nutrition Facts Education Campaign (NFEC) booth, we all went over to check it out.
I was really happy to see this booth at the Home + Design Show because my family’s well being comes first in every decision I make. I take that responsibility seriously, and I believe that one of the most important things I can do for them is to provide them with healthy food choices. I do that by prioritizing fresh, unprocessed foods and home cooked meals, and when I use packaged foods, by using the Nutrition Facts table to make informed, healthy food choices.
I think it’s so important to teach kids early on how to make wise food decisions, which is why I brought Tee with me to an NFEC event last spring. That’s where she was first introduced to reading the Nutrition Facts table. Since then, she’s kept in practice when we go shopping so she was eager to try her hand at reading sample tables for the Nutrition FACT-O game last weekend.
Trevor was one of the friendly folks manning the booth that day. He showed us some sample foods and asked Tee to compare them. Which crackers had more iron? Which canned peaches had the least sugar? Which burger patties had the least sodium? She needed a little help comparing the serving sizes, but did well enough to earn herself some Focus on the Facts tokens.
Tee took her tokens over to the giant Focus on the Facts PLINKO board and dropped them in for chances to win a grocery card and other swag. Tee was nice enough to share her tokens with her little sister who thought this part of the game was very cool. We didn’t win the grocery card, but each of the girls did score a cloth bag to carry all their samples around in.
3 Steps to Making Informed Food Choices
Now Tee knows that all the information we need to make informed food choices is right there on the label. When we’re grocery shopping, we can compare the Nutrition Facts tables on two or more products to pick the item with the best nutritional profile.
Follow these three easy steps to pick the foods that best suit your family’s needs:
- Step 1: Start with the serving size to make sure you’re comparing equal amounts.
- Step 2: Use the % Daily Value to determine how much of a nutrient is in each serving. A simple rule of thumb is that less than 5% DV is considered a little, more than 15% DV is a lot.
- Step 3: Compare the nutrients to find your best choice. Look for foods high in protein, fiber, vitamin A, calcium, and iron, and foods low in sugar, sodium, and trans fats.
Win a $100 Grocery Card!
I’ve got a fun giveaway for a $100 grocery card for my Canadian readers. Here’s your chance to practice reading the Nutrition Facts table with some free groceries! Enter in the giveaway widget below. This giveaway is open to residents of Canada only, 18+. All entries will be verified.
And here’s one more chance. Learn more about reading Nutrition Facts, then visit Focus on the Facts for a chance to win a $300 grocery card!
Click here to check out my other open giveaways and be sure to follow me on Facebook!
Disclosure: This conversation was sponsored by Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC), Health Canada, Retail Council of Canada (RCC), and the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (CFIG). Nevertheless, all opinions expressed are completely honest and my own, based on my personal experience. Your experience may differ.
I look for sugar, fat, artificial flavor when buying food. Thank you for the awesomeness, the contest, and generosity. 🙂
I always check the sugar and salt content.
We look at sugars and trans fats most.
I always look at the amount of sugar in a product first.
I always look at the sugar content and the calories!
I watch for artificial sweeteners.
My cholesterol is too high so I mainly check out the fats, then salt & sugar content.
It would be great to win a $100 Grocery Gift Card.
In response to your question of
Which ingredients or nutrients on the Nutrition Facts Table
do you pay the most attention to when you’re buying food for your family?
I always check the Fat , Sugar, Sodium and Cholesterol Content.
Thank you for having this giveaway.
Most of the time I usually pay the most attention to fibre, sodium, sugars and calories when I look at nutrition labels.
The ingredients I pay the most attention to on the labels are the saturated/trans fats.
I always check the sugar and vitamin content
I mostly look for ingredients I don’t recognize or can’t pronounce, and sugar and sodium content.
Sodium. There’s way too much sodium in most processed foods and most of use don’t need more of it.
I always check the sodium content and also the amount of carbohydrates.
I CHECK THE AMOUNT OF FAT, SODIUM AND SGAR
I always check the calorie count.
I look for the fibre amount on nutrition labels.
I always look for the amount of fat, sodium, and sugars and fiber on the label.
It depends on the product, but sugar and fat and fibre.
When comparing nutrition labels, I mainly look at sugar. Not for myself (because it’s too late for me!) but for my daughter.
I look at the percentage of fat and sugar contained in per serving.
I look at calories, sugar and carbs.
I always check for the sugar content of food because it is the one ingredient that I know for sure that it triggers craving for more sugar for me.
I pay most attention to whether there are any nuts or nut products since my oldest is allergic to nuts.
I pay the most attention to the sugar content when buying food.
I look at the salt, sugar, protein and iron. My family and I like to eat healthyish my motto is everything in moderator. Thanks for the chance.
I think the most important is to Read the % DV (Daily Value)
I pay the most attention to sugars as there is a diabetic in the household, also to sodium and will choose the product with less. I also pay attention to fiber on appropriate items.
I don;t honestly pay any attention to the labels …there’s so few stuff that we’d use …canned veggies or frozen …everything else is either fresh fruits, fresh veggies , pasta or meat. Oh and we use a ton of spices, although the other day when making chili I had to comment to my daughter about the ridiculous amount of garlic power we have (I had two and when she moved back home she brought two with)
I never look at just one I always look at the fat content, sugar, sodium that is in it and how much
I always look for the amount of fat, sodium, and sugars in the product I buy.
I pay most attention to calories per serving and sugar
I check out the Cholesterol levels!
I pay close attention to the fat and sugar content on the products.
I typically check the sodium, sugar, and fiber. Thanks!
Sodium and sugars I REALLy try to avoid a lot of..
I pay the most attention to the sugar and the sodium levels.
I look at the fats and calories.
I look at Trans fat and sodium level the most.
Sugar is the most important substance I look for
I check to see what a serving size is because I usually find that I eat 2x or 3x the serving size in order to feel full. Sometimes I wonder who actually eats the serving size as stated on a package.
The protein and carbohydrate numbers are always of interest as well as iron and any other mineral content.
It is important to me to note the Sodium content on food we choose at home. High blood pressure runs in the family thus it is always on my mind to keep it low no matter what age I am serving for.
I pay the most attention to salt and transfats.
I look at the sugar, dietary fiber and saturated fats. I also check out the vitamins they are getting.
I have to be honest I only look at the calories, if it is few I think it is ok for me, but that is not true, there could be large amounts of fat, sugar, sodium etc.
I have to learn how to better understand the labels
I pay the most attention to sugars, trans fat, additives/artificial ingredients and sodium when looking at food labels.
I look mostly at the sugar amount in grams since I try to avoid much added sugar.
For me it’s gotta be the amount of sugar and salt
I look for the sugar & salt content on the nutrition facts table
I look to see how pure the food is, if it has a lot of chemical additives I don’t buy it.