In this episode, we sit down with Toby Smithson, M.S., RDN, LD, CDCES, FAND — a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who has personally lived with type 1 diabetes for over five decades.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Three, two, one. Well, Toby, it’s great to meet you. Thanks for coming on the program this morning.
Toby Smithson, M.S., RDN, LD, CDCES, FAND, American Diabetes Association
Yeah, I’m glad to be here. I’m very excited because this is a hot topic.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
It is a hot topic. And, you know, just to kind of reset for you and the audience, we have been talking about food prices for quite some time. Obviously, there are some real challenges with affordability going out to the grocery store, going out to eat.
And the reason why I reached out to you, and I saw your great blog post, I wanted to put this into context, maybe someone who has diabetes or some other chronic disease. So I guess my first question to you, Toby, is to put my phone on mute. Well, my first question to you is, outside of putting my phone on mute, is, is it possible in today’s environment, price environment, to shop well for if you have one of these diseases, especially diabetes?
Toby Smithson, M.S., RDN, LD, CDCES, FAND, American Diabetes Association
Yes, I’m saying a resounding yes. With a few meal planning strategies and smart shopping, and we’re going to touch on the three little strategies that I have, which is plan, shop, and store, as in storage. Just those three key things can help you with your grocery budget while still enjoying nutritious foods and following whatever kind of eating pattern that you need to follow for your conditions.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
So to that end, I mean, I think a lot of people, myself included, I mean, they’re really struggling to make ends meet. These are higher prices. And the tendency is, Toby, that they want to go where the food is cheapest, and that might be to their local fast food restaurant.
That’s probably not the best choice, especially if you have one of these chronic conditions like diabetes. Mm-hmm.
Toby Smithson, M.S., RDN, LD, CDCES, FAND, American Diabetes Association
Right. And you know what? I agree it’s not the best choice both for nutrition-wise but also for food budgeting-wise because going out to eat is also rising actually quicker than the grocery store prices.
And the grocery store prices are just right there in your face. And the key is really about planning. So that’s where I would love for everybody to start.
I’m an avid planner, but that’s my big strategy. I, too, actually have diabetes myself, so I’m speaking from a personal perspective as well. And planning is just key.
And starting when you have diabetes, we have a diabetes plate. And that’s what I use as my go-to for all of this. I have that visual in my head.
It’s a very nice visual, easy visual that the diabetes plate, half of it is non-starchy vegetables. Okay. So that’s like your broccoli and your carrots and your tomatoes and your greens and all that.
And then one quarter of the plate is a lean protein, and the other quarter is a quality carbohydrate. And in the quality carbohydrates, that’s where starchy vegetables and beans and lentils, fruit, whole grains, milk, and yogurt. That’s the quality carbohydrate section.
So I constantly have that visual in my head when I start with my planning for my grocery store outing. I start there, and then when I’m at the grocery store, I’m also thinking, check, check, check. Do I have these three parts of the plate filled?
Do I have foods to fill those three parts? And so that’s my foundation, and that’s for balanced, healthy eating.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
I like that you plan, and I know you said you’re a planner, so maybe it’s a natural, you’re naturally inclined to do that. But is it difficult? So someone is out there, and I would think that, candidly, someone that has diabetes probably is already in the planning mode because they have to account for this challenging disease.
But is it a lengthy amount of time that you have to do your planning, or can you do it like one, two, three, maybe 15 minutes to a half an hour before you actually go to the store?
Toby Smithson, M.S., RDN, LD, CDCES, FAND, American Diabetes Association
Yeah. It may be because I’m an avid planner, but I say yes. And I want you to use also the tools and resources free, low-cost tools and resources that we have.
We have our own kitchen, so first check what you have in stock. You know, what’s in your food pantry, your own pantry, what’s in your refrigerator or your freezer, because you don’t want to double up on things if you don’t need it. Like, what do you have in stock?
That’s one thing. Another way to help with your planning is checking the grocery store ads. And now I get them on my phone, so I don’t even have to go any further about looking them up.
So I’m trying to make it as easy as possible. But if you don’t have the paper ad in front of you, look it up. What’s on sale, because that’s going to help with putting my plan together.
And then also what foods are in season, because those are going to be the lower-cost foods. And then when you’re at the store, make sure that you use those – I don’t know what the proper name is – those cards that each of the stores have that you get discounts, or when there’s buy one, get one, you get those extra sales, actual deals. And so those are all free ways to start.
And in my planning, I plan my menu for the week so that I have everything. So I’m shopping once, and I have foods for the whole week. And that’s my strategy for planning.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
So I like to use – I think these – whether it’s Whole Foods, Aldi, Harris Theater, I want to make sure I cover them all. I probably am not under more brands than Kroger’s, Costco. There probably are apps that people can download that if they shop there, they can probably see all the sales.
You know, it’s interesting. We had a good conversation last weekend with the Crazy Coupon Lady. It’s a couponing periodical, and we had the senior editor on.
Apparently, couponing is really making a way back. And if it is, it’s a good way to save on these types of foods that you’re talking about.
Toby Smithson, M.S., RDN, LD, CDCES, FAND, American Diabetes Association
Yeah, yeah. And with those apps, it’s not that you have to literally clip out, cut out a coupon because it’s already in your – when you go to checkout, you get it automatically. So those are just some quick strategies, planning ahead so that you know and you don’t overbuy and have food waste from the overbuying.
So that’s the first strategy.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Go ahead. Finish your thought. Take us into the next strategy, and then I do have a question for you, but I don’t want to get – I don’t want to interrupt your rhythm.
Toby Smithson, M.S., RDN, LD, CDCES, FAND, American Diabetes Association
That’s okay. I was going to say the next strategy was shopping, and there’s some keys there too because a lot of people just look at cost. You know, just what’s this cost?
But what’s really important is looking at the little tag that you see. It’s a shelf tag, and it’s cost per unit. And that’s my go-to is doing the quick comparison because it does the math for you already.
How much does this cost per ounce or per pound? And I think that that’s a great tool to use that’s right there for you at the store.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Okay. So to that end, I want to go back to – you mentioned having, you know, green leafy vegetables. You mentioned broccoli.
If I can’t get – or maybe let’s just say that the actual vegetable itself, the natural vegetable in the vegetable aisle is too expensive for whatever reason. Maybe it doesn’t fit someone’s budget. Is frozen, going to the frozen food section, is that a suitable alternative?
Because I know my wife’s actually gotten me frozen broccoli for smoothies. So is that an acceptable option? Can I shop there as well?
Toby Smithson, M.S., RDN, LD, CDCES, FAND, American Diabetes Association
Yes, absolutely. And I can give you a third option too. So it’s either fresh, it’s frozen, or can, no added salt.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Can, no added salt. Okay. That’s a good suggestion.
So all those are – if you’re kind of perusing the aisles, and I guess you’re still supposed to shop on the perimeter, right? Is that the best place to really shop?
Toby Smithson, M.S., RDN, LD, CDCES, FAND, American Diabetes Association
Not necessarily.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Okay, good.
Toby Smithson, M.S., RDN, LD, CDCES, FAND, American Diabetes Association
Because there’s a lot of important things down those other aisles, like the canned fruits and vegetables are in the middle aisles. So not necessarily just shop the whole store. Go in the aisles that you need.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Okay, go in the aisles that you need. That makes a lot of sense. And, you know, you pointed out something, can, no salt.
That’s really important. I didn’t know that, and presumably maybe other people in the audience didn’t as well. Let’s talk about the third strategy.
So you mentioned there’s, you know, shopping, planning ahead. There’s the cost per unit. That’s really important.
What else should we be thinking about when we hit the grocery store?
Toby Smithson, M.S., RDN, LD, CDCES, FAND, American Diabetes Association
Also looking at your protein selections, I think protein is probably the highest cost item on our grocery ticket. And I did do the math ahead of the show just to give you what my top – actually, there’s top 15. But I could go through the top – Do the top five.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Why don’t you do the top five? If we have time, we can go top ten. We can do like David Letterman.
For those that don’t know, Letterman used to do the top ten. You and I both remember that. So do the top ten.
How about that?
Toby Smithson, M.S., RDN, LD, CDCES, FAND, American Diabetes Association
Okay. For price, I’m looking at price and also per gram of protein. So I’m looking like for a three-ounce portion of protein, what they’re equal to.
So dry beans and lentils is number one is the least expensive. Canned tuna. Whole chicken or chicken breasts that are boneless and skinless so we don’t have to pay for the waste.
It’s already taken off. Peanut butter. Firm tofu.
Those are the top five.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
I mean, that’s not a bad list. How about preparing these things? So you mentioned these are the top five in terms of per gram of protein.
Some of them are actually, well, I mean, the tofu and the lentils are more on the beany side. I’m not a nutritionist like you are. But how do you go about preparing those types of things?
I mean, do you fry them? Do you bake them? Do you saute them?
What’s the best method for someone who might have diabetes?
Toby Smithson, M.S., RDN, LD, CDCES, FAND, American Diabetes Association
Yeah, for beans and tofu? Sure. So you can prepare them like the beans and lentils.
You can make soups. You can make stews. You could cook them up and make them as the base of a bowl.
You know how a lot of people like the bowls. Or put it with your salad too. So that’s one way.
And those are a good source of protein. And then with tofu, you can steam it. You could grill it.
You can put seasonings on it. I make a tofu jerky. So you put a lot of seasonings on it.
And then you put it in the air fryer. And it’s crispy. And it’s a good source of protein.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
That sounds delicious. I wish you were a little bit closer. Because my wife and I might come over to your house.
Last question for you. And we can bring you back. Because I think this is an ongoing conversation.
This isn’t a one-and-done type of thing. Because people with diabetes or pre-diabetes, they’re facing these issues every day. When you shop, do you shop at multiple food stores?
So do you look and say, well, over here at food store A, I can get these 10 things. And food store B, I can get these 10 things. Because they’re better priced.
How detailed are you with your planning? And do you have to be?
Toby Smithson, M.S., RDN, LD, CDCES, FAND, American Diabetes Association
Yeah. So we want to make it as easy as possible. So for some people, if that fits into your schedule and you have the time, you know, it could be a hobby.
You know, that you’re going to buy the best at each of the stores. But you try to go, you know, it’s kind of like an overall cost. Like which store gives you the best for your money?
And go there. The other idea, because I was thinking about this just this weekend, because I was at the store. I was thinking that, you know, you also could lean on friends.
Which store do you shop at? Hey, can you pick me up this? That’s another option.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
That’s smart. Let me, I lied. Because I don’t want to finish on that question.
I want to finish on maybe a broader question, which is, are the grocery stores really focused? I know that they have their layouts and whatnot, but are they focused? Do they have dedicated sections for people that might have diabetes?
Like, for example, if I’m a neophyte and I haven’t checked the diabetes.org website, I haven’t looked at your blog. If I go to my local grocery store, will they, are they focused on these types of things?
Toby Smithson, M.S., RDN, LD, CDCES, FAND, American Diabetes Association
Not in particular, but where, so I hope if nobody’s checked our website out, diabetes.org or diabetesfoodhub.org. That’s where a lot of the nutrition and our recipes are. You’ll see the plate, that diabetes plate.
So I hope that people take away from this, that diabetes plate visual, because that’s the tool that you need for shopping. All the stores have the food that fits in each of those healthy food sections.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Really well said. Well, Toby, it’s great to meet you, but it’s a great piece. We thank you so much for joining us.
And look, we look forward to having you back on the program again very soon.
Toby Smithson, M.S., RDN, LD, CDCES, FAND, American Diabetes Association
Sure. Nice to see you guys.
