List Of Best Foods To Buy - Day One

While a myriad of articles and news segments tell everyone what the best foods to eat are, they usually concentrate on specific foods or food items, but they don't focus on the sorts of things that you can see or find on the shelves of your local supermarket.

Men's Health magazine creates a massive annual list of the best and most healthy items a shopper can purchase from the grocery store -- by brand name, which gives shoppers even more ammunition with which to create a more effective, flavorful and healthy shopping list on a weekly basis. This year's list totals 131 individual items.

Over the course of this week, we'll bring you a new section of that list each day and give you an idea as to where you can find those foods in Metro Atlanta. The list will be broken into sections so that you can more easily put together your personal preferences based on what is available.

Monday: Breakfast/Bakery and DairyTuesday: Beverages/Snacks Wednesday: Freezer Foods and Meats Thursday: Condiments Friday: Canned & Bottled Foods

Breakfast and Bakery Foods:

Bagel: Thomas' Hearty Grains Whole Wheat Bagel -- Has more fiber than most bagels. - available at local supermarkets - http://thomas.gwbakeries.com/

Bread Crumbs: Kikkomon Panko Bread Crumbs -- Panko is a Japanese bread that creates a very light bread crumb, and is easy to cook with. Many cooks will tell you that panko bread crumbs are well worth the search for them. - find them in the ethnic food aisle at your local supermarket or go to the DeKalb Farmers' Market - http://www.kikkoman.com/index.shtml

Breakfast Bar: SouthBeach LivingHigh Protein Peanut Butter Cereal Bar -- South Beach's bars provide solid nutrition, are low on calories taste good when you don't have time in the morning. - check in the cereal aisle at your local supermarket - http://www.kraftfoods.com/SouthBeachLiving/

Burger Bun: Arnold Select Wheat Sandwich Rolls -- Whole wheat buns with out tasting like cardboard. - at local supermarkets - http://arnold.gwbakeries.com/

Cereal: Post Shredded Wheat -- Only ingredient is wheat. You can't get more plain than that. - at local supermarkets - http://www.kraftfoods.com/postcereals

English Muffins: Thomas' Oatmeal and Honey English Muffins -- Incredibly tasty, and loaded with fiber - available at local supermarkets - http://thomas.gwbakeries.com/

Flour: King Arthur 100% Whole Wheat -- Whole wheat flour is more coarse than white flour, and some dishes cooked with it may require some minor modification to come out properly, but the extra steps are worth it - available in some local supermarkets and Whole Foods stores - http://www.kingarthurflour.com/

Grain: Bob's Red Mill Organic Quinoa -- Quinoa is a high protein grain that was cultivated originally in South America. It's nutritional value is exceptionally high, and its nutty taste and texture make it an excellent substitute for rice in many meals. - check at Whole Foods, Harry's Farmer's Market or the DeKalb Farmer's Market - http://www.bobsredmill.com/

Hot Cereal: Arrowhead Mills Steel-cut Oats -- Steel-cut oatmeal is of a coarser grind than most oatmeal that Americans are familiar with. The coarser cut requires a longer cooking time, but yields a more creamy and intensely flavorful bowl of oatmeal. The texture and flavor lend well to mixing with fruit, honey or fresh maple syrup. - check at your local supermarket (under several different brand names) - http://www.arrowheadmills.com/

Instant Oatmeal: Quaker Weight Control Banana Bread Oatmeal -- It's got great taste, it's in a packet that you can toss in your briefcase or go bag, it's inexpensive, and one packet is about 100 calories. 'Nuff said. - at local supermarkets - http://www.quakeroats.com/

Loaf Bread: Arnold Natural 100% Whole Wheat -- Whole wheat, and heavier than most breads, but the fiber level is significantly higher than other loaf breads on the market. It's on par with the legendary Brownberry bread, but not quite as expensive in most cases - at local supermarkets - http://arnold.gwbakeries.com/

Pancake Mix: Krusteaz Wheat & Honey Pancake Mix -- Light and fluffy pancakes and waffles (this IS Georgia after all), with 50 percent of the fat of Aunt Jemima pancake mix - at local supermarkets - http://www.krusteaz.com/

Pasta: Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Whole Wheat Blend Spaghetti -- Whole wheat pasta is, like many other whole grain foods, a little denser in its texture, but by boiling the pasta an extra five to seven minutes, the texture is similar to that of "regular" pasta. The flavor is more full, and works well with both tomato-based and cream-based sauces. - at local supermarkets - http://www.ronzoni.com/

Pita Bread: Thomas' Sahara Pita Pockets, 100% Whole Wheat -- For homemade pita chips, cut the pockets into smaller wedges, coat them with olive oil and bake at 400° until crispy. Sprinkle a little kosher salt on them as they come out of the oven, and enjoy 'em with your favorite salsa or other dipping pleasure. - at local supermarkets - http://thomas.gwbakeries.com/

Pizza Crust: Boboli 100% Whole Wheat -- I make homemade pizzas with Boboli's crusts. They just fit in side my cast iron skillet, so I can create a flavorful yet healthy pizza that the whole family enjoys. Just spray the bottom of the crust with Pam before you put it in the skillet to keep it from sticking. - at local supermarkets - http://boboli.gwbakeries.com/

Quick-Cooking Rice: Uncle Ben's Fast and Natural Whole-Grain Brown Rice -- Cooking brown rice from scratch takes longer than white rice, due to the extra bran and grain present. This recipe gives you fluffy, flavorful rice in ten minutes. - at local supermarkets - http://www.unclebens.com/

Syrup: Smucker's Sugar-free Syrup -- Flavorful and sugar-free (though there are some quarters that would argue that Mrs. Butterworth's Sugar Free tastes better) - at local supermarkets - http://www.smuckers.com/

Tortilla: MexAmerican 100% Whole Wheat Flour -- Whole wheat tortillas are better than regular flour tortillas or corn tortillas, and though MexAmerican brand is not widely found, there are a number of other brands that can be found in your local supermarkets.

Dairy:

All-Purpose Cheese: Cypress Grove Purple Haze -- Great crumbled on pasta or veggies, or munched with a cracker - check at Whole Foods or Harry's Farmer's Market - http://www.cypressgrovechevre.com

Butter: Lurpak -- Danish import that tastes as rich as its price tag. It's not bad as a once-in-a-while butter, and works well when making some of your more fancy compound butters. - at local supermarkets - http://www.lurpak.com

Chocolate Milk: Organic Valley Reduced Fat Chocolate Milk -- Organic Valley is also a very rich-tasting (and expensive) milk that is good for you. It's one of those things that you'll find an excuse to have as a treat once you've tried it once. - at local supermarkets - http://www.organicvalley.coop/

Cottage Cheese: Friendship Cottage Cheese -- Plenty of protein, and very little fat, it's got less carbs than other brands, and makes for a great midnight snack - at local supermarkets - http://friendshipdairies.com/

Cream Cheese: Kraft Philadelphia Light -- You can't go wrong with Philly, the original cream cheese, at least as far as most people are concerned. - at local supermarkets - http://www.kraftfoods.com/philly/

Eggs: Eggland's Best -- These eggs are fortified with 100 milligrams of Omega-3 fatty acids in each egg. Omega-3's are known to cut bad cholesterol in the bloodstream. - at local supermarkets - http://www.egglandsbest.com/

Flavored Yogurt: Fage with Honey -- The honey adds antioxidents to the yogurt. - Check at Fresh Market or Whole Foods - http://www.fageusa.com/

Kefir: Lifeway Lowfat Blueberry -- Kefir is a fermented milk drink that originated in the Caucasus region of eastern Europe, and is becoming increasingly popular in the West. The drink is said to have properties that include lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels. - at local supermarkets - http://www.lifeway.net/

Milk: Organic Valley Reduced Fat -- Organic Valley's milk is made from cows that are not fed antibiotics or synthetic hormones. As such, it is said that it is better for you. One caveat, as with many things that are "good for you," Organic Valley's milk is more expensive than other milk. - at local supermarkets - http://www.organicvalley.coop/

Plain Yogurt: Fage Total -- As with the flavored yogurt, this Greek import is high on protein. - Check at Fresh Market or Whole Foods - http://www.fageusa.com/

Secret Topping: Vermont Butter and Cheese Co. Crème Fraîche -- Crème fraîche is a more healthy alternative to sour cream, and is popular in Europe. - Check at Fresh Market, Whole Foods or Harry's Farmer's Market - http://butterandcheese.net/cremeFraiche.html

Shredded Cheese: Kraft 2% Mozzarella Cheese -- Low in fat, melts well, tastes great. What more can you ask for? - at local supermarkets - http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf

Sliced Cheese: Sargento Deli Style Swiss -- Same as the mozzarella, tastes great, low in fat, plus it's fantastic on sandwiches - at local supermarkets - http://www.sargentocheese.com/

Snacking Cheese: Laughing Cow Mini Babybel Original -- They taste wonderful, they are packed individually in small packages and they can be tossed in a lunch bag quickly. - at local supermarkets - http://www.thelaughingcow.com/

Sour Cream: Breakstone All Natural Sour Cream -- If you've just got to have sour cream on your potato, you can't go wrong with Breakstone's - at local supermarkets - http://www.kraftfoods.com/Breakstones/

Coming Tuesday: Beverages and snacks.