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Convenience Store Smarts: Healthy Picks on the Go · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  So today we're going to talk about a place that many of us visit regularly, the convenience store.
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  So whether it's a gas station stop or a neighborhood corner store,
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  these quick stops can offer more than just chips and candy.
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  You're listening to Talking FACS, where we share information you can use to
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  strengthen your family, your community, and our state.
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  I'm your host, Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support
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  with Family and Consumer Sciences Extension at the University of Kentucky.
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  Joining me today is Dr. Heather Norman-Burgdolf, who is our Extension Specialist
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  for Food and Nutrition. Welcome, Heather.
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  Thank you for having me. This is going to be a fun little topic.
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  Yeah, I am excited to talk about these convenience trips because if your family is
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  like my family, a little trip to the convenience store can really turn into big bucks.
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  Yes, yes. The snacks at the convenience store are not cheap, are they?
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  And usually it's while we're on a trip that we find that, you know,
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  that bottle of tea that you can buy a whole gallon of when you're at the grocery
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  store costs, you know, a pint.
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  The same as a pint costs when you're at the convenience store, right?
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  You're right. So let's start with the basics. Why are we focusing on convenience stores today?
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  So, they're everywhere. And in some communities, they're one of the few accessible
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  food sources that community members might have access to.
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  I think there's relevance if we think about our day-to-day lives.
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  I think there's also, like you mentioned, trips.
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  There's a lot of relevance if you're on a road trip or you're traveling,
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  trying to keep some of these ideas and concepts in mind.
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  A lot of the foods that convenience stores offer or have stocked on their shelves are their shelf stable.
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  So they're going to last. They travel well. But we're also seeing that a lot
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  of our convenience stores and gas station stores, they have refrigerated food
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  sections and they even offer hot foods or a hot bar.
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  And so we can think about nutrition here.
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  And if the foods that we're choosing, no matter what section of the store we're
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  in, actually fit into your lifestyle and meet your nutrition needs.
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  When we walk into a convenience store, what should we watch out for?
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  What should we be looking for?
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  I like to keep it simple. So, you know, going kind of back to the basics and
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  starting with the food groups, you might, you know, we think about MyPlate and
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  how we have our five food groups, fruits, vegetables, proteins, grains, and dairy.
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  And you're like, oh, you walk into a convenience store and you're like,
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  do they actually have food from all of those food groups? And they do, they do.
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  And so there are certain foods in there that we can kind of prioritize and fit
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  into our snack, or maybe you're trying to put together a whole meal,
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  you run into lunch break to grab something.
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  But, you know, we want to keep fiber in mind and high quality carbohydrates.
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  So it could be a whole grain snack, some whole grain crackers.
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  Popcorn is a great source of fiber. Dried fruit, a lot of granola bars that
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  are available or energy bars are made with whole grains.
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  Unsaturated fats can be found in nuts and seeds. Even some have tuna packets.
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  Hard cooked eggs could be found in a refrigerated section.
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  Protein, protein is going to help you feel full longer and kind of bridge you to that next meal.
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  So there might be a cold case that has yogurt or string cheese.
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  Jerky, low sodium jerky is another high protein option. And there's several
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  protein bars that are available that are lower in added sugar.
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  So if you're trying to piece together a snack or a meal, you know,
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  aim for at least three food groups in that meal or snack to help you feel full and satisfied.
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  If you were to walk into a convenience store, one of the first places I would
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  look and even look when I'm, you know, on the road with my kids is for a refrigerated section.
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  They might have, you know, yogurt or string cheese, those types of things that
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  have more nutritional bang for not only your nutrition buck,
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  but also for your monetary, your dollar.
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  So that's one good place to look right away. What are some examples of balanced
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  convenience store meals or snacks?
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  I have a couple examples, you know, depending on what you're craving or what
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  you're looking for. If you really need kind of a balanced meal and they do have
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  a refrigerated section, you might be fortunate to find, like I mentioned, hard-cooked eggs.
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  Maybe pair that with some cut-up fruit and a granola bar and some baby carrots.
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  Right there, you've had four food groups right in your snack or your meal.
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  You know shelf stable you could look for peanut butter and crackers.
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  Maybe they have applesauce pouches And some places might even have hummus with
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  pretzels with them Again,
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  you've got several food groups there that and there's quite a bit of protein
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  that's packed into the peanut butter The crackers and the hummus And then maybe
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  you just like salty and crunchy.
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  I don't know, you know, you could do jerky you could do granola bars There's
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  popcorn or veggie chips, and maybe in the refrigerated drink section,
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  they have a yogurt-based drink.
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  That is a pretty balanced snack or meal. So again, looking around the entire
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  store, piecing things together, looking for multiple food groups,
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  there's a lot of different creative ways you could pull together a balanced
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  meal or snack in a convenience store.
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  So what should we be mindful of when picking up a snack or meal at a convenience store?
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  I've hinted at a couple of these already, but many of these items found in a
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  convenience store are higher in sodium. And that's because it's used as a preservative.
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  Not only it helps foods last longer and it also helps food taste good, right?
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  So we just want to be mindful of sodium that's found in processed meats.
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  So maybe looking for that low sodium jerky, chips and crackers and hot foods like taquitos.
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  Like hot bar type foods, tend to be higher in sodium.
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  Saturated fat is something else to be mindful of. This is typically found in baked goods.
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  So pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and fried items, and then added sugar.
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  So this is what candy, sodas, energy drinks, sweetened teas.
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  You can use the Nutrition Facts label to check for these because they are directly
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  listed on the Nutrition Facts label. And if you do grab something higher in
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  these, maybe pair it with something with fiber or protein to help you balance it out.
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  So, you know, if you really are craving something high in added sugar,
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  maybe pairing that with something with fiber would help you feel fuller longer
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  and your energy levels to last longer.
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  So are there some easy swaps or pairs that we can make that will maybe soften that? Yeah, yeah.
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  So I just got to mention one. So swapping maybe gummy candy for dried fruit.
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  And then pair it with some popcorn, which is going to be higher in fiber.
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  Swapping a candy bar for chocolate-covered almonds.
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  And you can pair that with some jerky. That's actually a pretty filling,
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  balanced snack right there.
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  And if you grab a soda, and that's one reason many people run into the convenience
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  store while they're putting gas in their car,
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  maybe pair it with trail mix or string cheese where you've got some protein
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  and some extra fiber with trail mix that can help with maybe not having that
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  sharp of a blood sugar spike when you're enjoying your soda.
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  And again, it's not about perfection. You can see we're just trying to balance.
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  It's about balance over time. We're
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  not getting a five-star meal at the convenience store. And that's okay.
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  That might not be what you can get that day. That's what you have accessible to you, right? Exactly.
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  So let's talk about our drinks. There are more options that we can count on
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  our fingers, right, at the convenience store.
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  So what are we going to do with this wall of options that can really be overwhelming?
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  Yes, there are so many drink options. You have the door with all the water,
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  you've got all the sodas, the energy drinks.
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  I mean, it goes on and on. It seems like a new type of beverage is coming out every week. Sure.
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  So one thing just to keep in mind is that here in the U.S., drinks are often
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  the biggest source of added sugar and caffeine in our diets.
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  So there are a few things that we could look for, You know, water,
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  obviously, or sparkling water.
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  That's a growing space where there's lots of options for sparkling flavored waters.
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  100% fruit or vegetable juice, milk or yogurt-based drinks.
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  There might be some bottled like yogurt smoothie type drinks that are available.
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  And then unsweetened tea or coffee. And again, if you do grab a sugary drink,
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  try to think about maybe you grab a bottled water with it that you drink alongside
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  it or a fiber-rich snack.
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  So, yeah, it can be very overwhelming with all the options that are on the shelves.
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  Do you have any final tips for navigating the convenience store before we wrap up?
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  Yes. So just a few, you know, try to prioritize produce.
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  Even if it's canned or dried, they might be, you know, they may have a basket
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  of bananas by the checkout. Give it a look.
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  Maybe grab one for later, even if you don't eat that snack right then.
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  Look for that cold case or that refrigerated section. Again,
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  you're going to find yogurt, eggs, potentially salad or chopped fruit.
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  Choose protein and whole grain. So it's going to help you feel more satisfied
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  with your snack or meal until the next time that you eat.
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  Use that label, especially for looking at added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat.
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  Be mindful of serving sizes too, because just because you have a packaged snack
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  item, being mindful of how many servings are actually in there.
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  So it could be that you grab this package, you think it's a single serving,
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  but there might actually be two or three servings. So just being mindful of that.
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  Grabbing a water, water's always the way to go. And then just think balance, right?
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  Aiming for multiple food groups so that you feel nourished and well-fed and
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  that you actually enjoy the snack that you've had.
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  I love all of these tips and we'll make sure that we listen to this podcast
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  together as a family so that we make good choices on our next road trip.
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  So, Heather, thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us today.
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  Thank you for having me back, Mindy. It's always great. If you are just tuning
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  in, you're listening to Talking FACs, and you can find us wherever you listen
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  to your favorite podcast.
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