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Top Five with Mallary Whipple, MS ’09

Nutritionist, Buffalo division, Wegmans Food Markets

illustration of a grocery shopper.

Illustration by Penelope Dullaghan

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Portrait of Mallary Whipple.

Mallary Whipple

At 28, Mallary Whipple already has her dream job. An outdoors enthusiast and self-proclaimed vegeholic, she gets to spend her workdays spreading the gospel of healthy food to others as the Buffalo-division nutritionist for Wegmans Food Markets. Among her responsibilities: making sure that Western New York’s iconic supermarket offers its customers healthy and convenient alternatives to the, well, not-so-healthy offerings just a few aisles away.

We asked Whipple to share her top tips on how to avoid the siren call of soda and snacks when shopping at your neighborhood supermarket.

Top 5 ways to beat grocery store gluttony:

1. Plan a week’s worth of menus
There’s enough to think about in your day without worrying about what you’re going to do for dinner. You know what your family likes, so why not plan ahead and give yourself one less thing to stress over during your week?

2. Make a list
A plan of attack is important to any operation, and shopping is no different. When you’re staring down an aisle of chips, “that’s not on my list” is your first line of defense against temptation.

3. Don’t betray the list
You’ve got your list and a healthy menu planned out; now stick to your guns. If it’s important, add it to the list, but don’t let a sugar craving get the best of you.

4. Stay fresh
An empty cart seems like an invitation to temptation. Start in the produce section and take up space with apples, baby carrots and other produce instead of those crinkle cuts you love so much. Your waistline will thank you and your wallet will too.

5. Eat around the edges
Fresh meat and produce are usually located around the edges of the store. From there you can head to dairy and finish strong in the frozen section without having a standoff with the bulk candy.