Supermarkets offer a wide variety of food choices, but navigating the aisles can sometimes feel overwhelming. With so many similar products, nutrition claims and colourful packaging, it isn’t always easy to know which choices are right for you and your family.
The good news is that healthy shopping doesn’t have to be complicated! By learning and applying a few simple tips, you can build the knowledge, skills and confidence to make informed food choices that support a balanced and varied diet.
In this blog, we’ll show you how to:
- Build a balanced trolley using the Five Food Groups
- Make simple supermarket swaps to support healthier eating habits
- Use practical healthy shopping tips to shop with confidence
Be sure to stay tuned until the end of this blog, where you can download our FREE Printable Healthy Shopping PDF Guide packed with practical tips to make your next supermarket shop easier!
1. Australian Guide to Healthy Eating – The Five Food Groups:
The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend a balanced diet that includes a wide variety of foods from the Five Food Groups (Figure 1) (1). The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating provides a visual guide of the Five Food Groups and encourages Australians of all ages to enjoy a diverse range of nutritious foods each day (2).
The Five Food Groups include:
- Grain (cereal) foods, mostly wholegrain and/or high-fibre varieties
- Vegetables and legumes/beans
- Fruit
- Milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or alternatives, mostly reduced fat
- Lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds and legumes/beans
Figure 1: The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (1)
Filling your shopping trolley with a wide and colourful variety of foods from each of the Five Food Groups helps provide the energy and the essential nutrients our bodies need to support growth, repair, digestion, immune function and overall health (2,3).
Figure 2. The Five Food Groups Guide (2,3,4,5)
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2. Simple Supermarket Swap Ideas (2,3,4,5):
Grains and cereals:
- White bread/sandwich rolls → Wholegrain and high-fibre bread/rolls
- Refined, low-fibre breakfast cereal → Rolled oats or high-fibre cereal
- Refined pasta → Wholemeal, chickpea or lentil pasta
Vegetables:
- Out of season vegetables → Seasonal Australian vegetables or frozen vegetables
- Potato gems → Oven-baked potato wedges
- Simple salad → Mixed salad with colourful vegetables and legumes/beans
Fruit:
- Canned fruit in syrup → Canned fruit in natural juice
- Fruit-flavoured confectionery → Whole fruit
- Sweetened fruit juice → Water or whole fruit
Milk, yoghurt, cheese and alternatives:
- Sweetened yoghurt → Plain Greek yoghurt with fresh fruit
- Sour cream → Reduced-fat Greek yoghurt
- Cream cheese → Cottage or ricotta cheese
Lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds and legumes/beans:
- Processed deli meats (e.g. ham, bacon, salami) → Lean chicken breast or turkey
- Salted mixed nuts → Unsalted mixed nuts
- Crumbed fish → Grilled or oven-baked fish (e.g. salmon)
Figure 3. Simple Supermarket Swaps Guide (2,3,4,5)
Want to keep this guide? Scroll to the end of this blog to download the full PDF for FREE
3. Healthy Shopping Tips:
Making informed food choices starts with a well-planned shopping trip. Planning ahead and following a few simple habits can help you shop with confidence, save time and build a balanced shopping trolley filled with a variety of nutritious foods.
Top Tips (4,5):
- Plan ahead by writing down a shopping list and planning quick, nutritious meals for busy days
- Aim for variety by choosing foods from all Five Food Groups
- Try and enjoy new foods and recipes
- Aim for colour by choosing a variety of colourful fruit and vegetables (e.g. green, orange, red, yellow, purple and white)
- Include some meat-free meals each week (e.g. eggs, legumes, beans, tofu, nuts and seeds)
- Choose wholegrain and higher-fibre varieties of breads, cereals, rice and pasta where possible
- Cook more meals at home using a variety of whole foods and healthier cooking methods such as grilling, baking or steaming
- Choose more often foods such as whole fruit, lean proteins, reduced-fat dairy (where possible) and water
Bonus Tip:
Including fermented foods and drinks, such as Yakult, can be part of a balanced and varied diet. Yakult is a fermented milk drink containing at least 6.5 billion live Lacticaseibacillus paracasei Shirota (LcS) strain in every bottle. Yakult is the only product in the world containing this unique probiotic strain (6).
Research has shown that the LcS strain can (6):
- Survive through the digestive system to reach the intestines alive
- Positively alter and increase the number of beneficial bacteria in the intestines
- Inhibit the growth of potentially harmful bacteria, thereby supporting a balanced gut
- Encourage regular bowel movementsby improving stool consistency
Figure 4. Healthy Shopping Tips Guide (4,5)
Want to keep this guide? Scroll to the end of this blog to download the full PDF for FREE
Healthy shopping is all about balance, variety and making informed food choices that suit your lifestyle. By planning ahead, choosing a variety of nutritious foods and making simple swaps where appropriate, you can build healthy eating habits that are enjoyable, practical and sustainable. Remember, every shopping trip is an opportunity to make positive choices for you and your family, and over time, those small changes can make a big difference!
Download Your FREE Printable Healthy Shopping Guide PDF
Putting healthy shopping into practice is easier when you have the right tools on hand. Download our FREE Guide to take with you on your next supermarket shop.
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References:
- National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian guide to healthy eating [Internet]. Canberra: Australian Government; 2013 [cited 2026 Jul 19]. Available from: https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/guidelines/australian-guide-healthy-eating
- Healthdirect Australia. Vitamins and minerals explained [Internet]. Sydney: Healthdirect Australia; 2024 [cited 2026 Aug 11]. Available from: https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/vitamins-and-minerals-explained
- Better Health Channel. Vitamins and minerals [Internet]. Melbourne: State Government of Victoria; 2024 [cited 2026 Aug 11]. Available from: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/Vitamins-and-minerals
- National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian dietary guidelines summary [Internet]. Canberra: Australian Government; 2013 [cited 2026 Jul 19]. Available from: https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-09/n55a_australian_dietary_guidelines_summary_131014_1.pdf
- National Health and Medical Research Council. Eat for health educator guide [Internet]. Canberra: Australian Government; 2013 [cited 2026 Jul 20]. Available from: https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/the_guidelines/n55b_eat_for_health_educators_guide.pdf
- Yakult Australia. Benefits of probiotics [Internet]. Victoria: Yakult Australia; 2024 [cited 2026 Jul 31]. Available from: https://www.yakult.com.au/benefits/