Nutritionist Susie Burrell reveals the foods she NEVER eats

A top nutritionist has revealed the foods she never adds to her shopping trolley – including white bread, margarine, vegetable oil and pastries.

Dietitian Susie Burrell, from Sydney, listed the grocery items nutritionists never eat and the go-to ingredients they can’t live without.

VEGETABLE OIL

The health expert said she’ll never cook with vegetable oil because it usually contains a mix of different types of oils, most often palm oil.

‘Palm oil is 50 per cent saturated, and offers no positive nutritional attributes, while processed vegetable oil in general adds unnecessary omega-6 fat into the diet of Australians, which are closely associated with promoting inflammation in the body over time,’ she wrote in Good Food.

Consumers are less likely to know exactly what’s in the vegetable oil so they won’t have as much control over the types of fats they’re eating.

What her shopping trolley looks like: Susie typically eats Corn Thins, cheese, lower carb bread, black rice, tinned salmon, salad mix, vegetables and brown and black rice

SOFT DRINKS 

As many people occasionally treat themselves to the foods they love, Susie said soft drink is one of those things she’d never touch. 

‘Of all the high-fat and high-sugar foods humans love to indulge in, soft drink repeatedly ranks the worst for its close association with weight gain, type 2 diabetes and childhood obesity,’ she explained.

Susie said while a single 375mL can contains at least nine teaspoons of sugar, ‘diet’ soft drinks are no better for your health than the sugary varieties.

WHITE BREAD

Another staple she avoids eating is ‘super soft, highly processed’ white bread, which can cause blood sugar levels to increase rapidly when consumed.

MARGARINE

When it comes to fat, Susie said eating margarine instead of butter is actually not good for you because it’s a ‘highly processed, extra fat we do not need in our diet’.

Despite brands claiming it’s ‘healthy’, she claimed a majority of varieties are made using a blend of vegetable oils.

PASTRIES

While party pies and sausage rolls are always a crowd pleaser, Susie suggested avoiding the mass-produced supermarket varieties because they are packed with saturated fat and are likely to contain trans fat.

‘Trans fat is produced during the manufacturing process used to make baked goods heated at high temperatures commercially and are best avoided completely in the diet as they are extremely damaging to the arteries,’ she said.

Surprisingly, Australian manufacturers do not need to include trans fats on food labels, unless they make a nutrition claim about cholesterol, saturated or unsaturated fat, or trans fatty acids.

However, Susie said it’s important to be aware of the foods that may contain trans fat by looking out for the words ‘hydrogenated vegetable oil’ on the ingredient list.

What are Susie’s top tips to cut down your grocery bill to just $50? 

* Buy long-life milk as it lasts longer and is often cheaper.

Susie shared her secrets for cutting your grocery bill to $50 (her trolley pictured)

* Bulk up mince with tinned legumes for an extra protein hit.

* Freeze bread to keep it to last longer.

* Start with your protein as meat will always be the most expensive part of your shop and go from there.

* Never shop per recipe as this is where your bill adds up; instead go for budget staples that can be used in a multitude of ways.

* Set four go-to recipes per week: ideally a meat dish, a mince dish, a fish dish and a plant-based meal.

* Cook once and eat twice, particularly with protein to get more bang for your buck.

* Don’t avoid packaged food because it’s unhealthy, but rather shop the packaged aisles carefully. Tinned salmon and tinned tuna are healthy.

* Buy in-season vegetables where possible as these will save you valuable cash