Your Heart-Healthy Grocery Shopping List

Healthy eating starts with having the right heart-healthy foods in your kitchen. They help lower cholesterol and keep your blood pressure in check. If you aren't sure which foods to buy, print this list to take to the supermarket.

Refrigerator Essentials

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables: Loaded with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, fruits and veggies also have fiber, which lowers cholesterol and improves heart health. Pull them out first when you want something to eat. Remember, you need 5 cups of fruits and vegetables a day.

• Apples
• Berries
• Bell peppers
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Dark leafy greens
• Eggplant
• Grapes
• Kale
• Oranges
• Pears
• Squash
• Tomatoes
• Zucchini

Dairy and Dairy Alternatives: One recent study showed that people who ate low-fat dairy foods had a 12% lower risk of certain types of stroke compared with people who ate whole-fat dairy. So skip the cream and choose low-fat.

• Buttermilk, low-fat or nonfat buttermilk
• Cheese, nonfat or reduced-fat
• Cottage cheese or ricotta cheese, nonfat or 1%
• Cream cheese, nonfat or light cream cheese
• Creamers, nonfat
• Milk, skim or 1% milk
• Sour cream, nonfat
• Soy-based cheeses (bricks, slices, or shredded)
• Soy-based yogurts
• Soymilk (unsweetened to avoid extra sugar)
• Yogurt, nonfat or 1%

Meat, Poultry, Fish, and Meat Substitutes: Swap out fatty red meat for fish -- it's associated with a lower risk of heart disease. The American Heart Association suggests 2 servings of fish a week. Eat more heart-healthy tofu and other soy protein too. Limit red meat.

• Beef, lean cuts and lean ground round or sirloin
• Chicken or turkey breasts and tenders, skinless, boneless
• Chicken or turkey, ground
• Fish, high in omega-3s, such as herring, mackerel, salmon, trout, tuna
• Pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat
• Seitan
• Tempeh
• Tofu

Frozen Foods: When your favorite fruits and veggies are out of season, choose frozen ones for nutritious  desserts, side dishes, and snacks.

• Fruits without added sugar (for example, frozen blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries, or raspberries)
• Soybeans (edamame)
• Vegetables and vegetable blends without added sauce, gravy, or sodium

Pantry Essentials

Beans, Grains, Soups, and Sauces: Beans and whole grains offer fiber to help lower your cholesterol.

• Barley
• Beans, canned, reduced sodium: Assorted cans of beans such as black, garbanzo, kidney, lentils, navy, and pinto
• Beans, dried: Choose your favorite beans
• Broth, reduced-sodium chicken, beef, or vegetable
• Cereals, whole-grain (Note: Choose cereals that contain 5 or more grams of dietary fiber and fewer than 8 grams of sugar per serving)
• Cornmeal
• Flaxseed, ground or whole
• Flour, whole-wheat flour
• Grains such as wheat berries, couscous, polenta, millet, bulgur, or quinoa
• Oat bran
• Oats, rolled, steel cut, or Irish
• Pasta sauce, low-fat or fat-free
• Pasta, whole-wheat, spelt, or kamut (Note: These whole-grain pastas come in bowtie, fettuccini, lasagna, spaghetti, fusilli, spiral, elbow macaroni, and ravioli varieties)
• Rice: brown, wild, and brown basmati
• Soup, 98% fat-free cream of mushroom and low-sodium soups
• Soy flour
• Tomato paste
• Tomatoes, whole or diced, reduced-sodium
• Vegetarian or nonfat refried beans

Condiments: Watch out for high amounts of salt in condiments and sauces -- even small amounts add up fast.

• Barbecue sauce
• Ketchup, reduced-sodium
• Mayonnaise, reduced-fat or nonfat
• Mustards: whole grain, honey, Dijon, yellow
• Soy sauce, reduced-sodium
• Vinegars: rice, red wine, balsamic, apple cider, raspberry. These make delicious salad dressings.

Fats, Cooking Oils: Cut down on butter in your cooking. Instead, use healthy oils -- like olive and canola oil.

• Margarine, trans-fat-free
• Nonfat cooking sprays 
• Nonhydrogenated shortening  
• Oils, olive and canola
• Replacements for fat when baking, such as applesauce, fruit puree, or yogurt 
• Salad dressings, reduced-fat or nonfat

Snacks: Stock your pantry with nuts, dried fruit, and whole wheat products for snacks and meals.

• Nuts and seeds, assorted raw (almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds)
• Breads, tortillas, pitas, whole-grain
• Crackers, whole-grain, trans-fat-free
• Dried fruits
• Popcorn cakes or brown rice cakes
• Popcorn, plain or light microwave
• Pretzels, whole-grain
• Tortilla chips, baked, trans-fat-free

Spices vs. Salt: Throw away your salt shaker -- salt drives up your blood pressure. Instead, add flavor with zesty spices and herbs.

Allspice	Basil	Bay Leaves	Black pepper
Caraway seeds	Cayenne	Chili powder	Chinese five-spice
Cinnamon	Cloves	Coriander	Cumin
Curry powder	Dill	Garlic powder	Ginger, ground
Italian seasoning	Marjoram	Mint	Nutmeg
Onion powder	Oregano	Paprika	Parsley
Red pepper flakes	Rosemary	Thyme
Assorted sodium-free Mrs. Dash seasonings

Sweeteners: Cut down on sugar. It's full of calories that will pack on pounds. Instead, satisfy your sweet tooth with healthier options -- although the less you use of any sweeteners, the better.

• Brown rice syrup for a sweetening alternative in baking
• Honey (in moderation)
• Sugar-free or "light" maple syrups

SOURCE: WebMD