Supermarket Shopping 101: Michelle Obama’s cheat sheet

Michelle Obama has launched yet another incentive to try to slim down the U.S. as part of her Let’s Move campaign.

Tips from the First Lady and healthy living fanatic include to “steer clear of the cookie, snack and soda aisle” in a “supermarket shopping 101” cheat sheet on the letsmove.gov website.

Michelle Obama offers suggestions on the best times to shop, how to work your way around a store and a five-night meal plan with downloadable recipes.

“By always heading to the essential areas of the store first, you’ll train yourself to form a shopping pattern that’s healthier, and, in time, will get you in and out of the store faster,” Michelle Obama writes.

She warns: “Whenever you decide to shop, just don’t do it on an empty stomach, hunger pangs will tempt you to stray from your shopping list.”

But if you can’t resist a snack, the First Lady has a few options for healthy treats to satisfy the craving, giving the green light to plain popcorn, frozen edamame, nuts, dried fruit, low-fat yogurt, hummus and raw veggies or salsa and baked tortilla chips.

Michelle Obama recommends buying in bulk, taking advantage of sales and keeping an eye on what’s in season.

Shoppers are also advised to opt for packaged food with short ingredient lists, paying close attention to exactly what is in it.

Michelle Obama’s shopping guidance appeared among a series of articles published on ivillage.com when she was guest editor.

She shared her personal experiences of being the primary shopper in her family before they moved to the White House, crediting a “flexible work schedule” for allowing her to seek out the best stores for healthy bargains.

“I am an absolute list person,” she said.

“And I actually enjoy the efficiency of the list because it also keeps me from buying stuff that we didn’t need. I had my path through the grocery store and I would make my list based on the path that I took.”

Michelle Obama continued: “I would start in the frozen -no, I would go over to the far right aisle in Dominick’s and work my way up.

“And the last thing I would do was the produce section and get all the vegetables and fruits and all that, and then get right into the line. And I stayed on the outer aisle.”

“And if you stay at the outer aisles you try to avoid going in and getting the processed, packaged foods.”