New Grocery Shopping Guide Helps Families Navigate Supermarket and Make Smarter Choices

AUSTIN, Minn., – It’s official – eating more natural, nutritious food is in; spending too much money on food is out. In fact, a recent survey* by the makers of Hormel® Natural Choice® meats reveals nearly two in five (39 percent) Americans say their main focus is on buying healthy, well-balanced meals for themselves and their families. However, nearly three in four (74 percent) Americans feel the need to cut back on purchasing certain food items, such as all-natural foods and fresh produce, in order to save money. Families are faced with keeping an eye on their spending while still staying true to the values they have come to expect in the food they buy, such as simplicity, wholesomeness and healthfulness.

To help families balance their desire to eat well while watching their wallet, the makers of the Hormel® Natural Choice® line of 100 percent natural meats have teamed up with Registered Dietitian Patricia M. Bannan to create the “Shop Smart, Live Well: Value Without Compromise” guide to help shoppers navigate the often confusing supermarket to find healthful and high-quality foods that don’t break the bank.

“Grocery shopping can be a real challenge when you’re trying to buy wholesome foods for a good value,” said Registered Dietitian Patricia M. Bannan. “But it’s easy to find nutritious, great tasting and, above all, affordable products once you know where to look and how to save. Our new Hormel® Natural Choice® “Shop Smart, Live Well” guide helps families do just that by teaching them how to sharpen and smarten their grocery shopping game.”

The “Shop Smart, Live Well” guide offers tips on how to:

• Decipher various product claims;

• Identify natural products in the supermarket;

• Make simple, smart shopping choices;

• Trade costly, unhealthy snacks for healthier, more affordable options;

• Live the “Shop Smart, Live Well” philosophy both in and out of the supermarket; and

• Create delicious, all-natural recipes the whole family can enjoy.

The survey also found that nearly nine in ten (88 percent) Americans feel it’s important for the ingredient list on food they buy to be easy to understand. To help shoppers find products with simple, easy to understand ingredient lists, the guide also provides a tutorial on how to read nutrition labels and find products that embrace simplicity and wholesomeness. In addition, the guide includes fun ways parents can involve their kids in the grocery shopping process so they can learn the importance of healthy eating at a young age.

When seeking out products with the most value – nutritious, budget friendly, flavorful and convenient – Hormel® Natural Choice® meats allow parents to have it all without sacrifice. Great tasting Hormel® Natural Choice® meats have zero preservatives and are 100 percent natural, with no artificial colors or flavors and no added nitrites or nitrates, and they cost about the same as their non-natural counterparts. The meats are also gluten free with no MSG added and are low in fat and trans fat free. Varieties include premium deli sandwich meats, Applewood smoked dinner ham, carved chicken breast, bacon, Canadian bacon, pepperoni, pork loin filet and new in 2009, rotisserie style chicken breast deli meat.

Shoppers can find the “Shop Smart, Live Well” guide on the Hormel® Natural Choice® Web site at http://www.hormelnatural.com. While on the site, families can also find more flavorful and nutritious recipes and additional healthy-living tips.