After lunch, do you feel like you don't have enough energy? Perhaps what you ate for lunch is weighing you down. Larger amounts of food and foods that contain more calories require more from your body for digestion. So instead of giving you energy to type up that quarterly report, all your body wants to do is rest and concentrate on the food you just ate.

To help with that post-lunch fatigue, here are a few ways to lighten up your lunch and say hello to a more productive afternoon.

Eat smaller portions

Instead of loading up on the value meals and the jumbo sizes, try the smaller lunch combos. Many places sell lunch specials that link together items that are smaller in size. Try the half a sandwich with a side salad or soup and salad combination. If you bring your own lunch from home, don't feel like you have a eat all of last nights leftovers. Break apart portions into a more manageable size.

Choose items that are lower in fat and calories

Fried foods, cream sauces, cheesy dishes, and rich pastries all have a lot of fat and calories. These types of food will take longer to digest and may contribute to the sluggish feeling. Choose leaner meats like turkey, chicken, and fish that are baked or broiled. Eat more fruits and vegetables. You can add these to soups, salads, sandwiches, or eat them raw. Choose breads and side dishes with more whole grains like whole wheat bread and brown rice. If you are a freezer meal type of person, look for items that are lower in sodium, fat, and calories.

Select healthier side dishes

For most of us a sandwich or small lunch entree is not enough. When turning to the side items, make your choices wisely. Choose lower calorie items like fruit or vegetables. Baked chips, a pasta salad with veggies, or a side salad are also better choices. If you must satisfy your sweet tooth, choose items that have fruit or whole grain, like an oatmeal raisin cookie.

Have you ever thought about how the produce makes it to the local farmers market near you? Often it is from a small farmer living on the edge of the suburbs who fights traffic, rising gas prices, and mother nature. Through the farmers dedication people in urban areas have had access to outstanding fresh produce. However the demand for local produce has risen so dramatically, that there are not enough farmers to supply the Chicago area.

However there are solutions to this growing problem. Read more in Medill Reports from Northwestern University.

After of week off from discussing food shopping, we are back for the third and final part of the food shopping series. This week I wanted to address whether a deal was really a deal.

Coupons

Coupons are a good deal if you already use that brand or if using the coupon gives you a lower price than the brand you usually buy. For example, say you have a coupon for $.50 off the brand name cheese, but you usually buy store brand cheese which is regularly priced $1.00 cheaper than the brand name. In this case, the store brand is still cheaper than using the coupon with the brand name. Overall, I have found that coupons are best for things you usually buy. Don't buy something you wouldn't normally buy just because you have a coupon.

Sales

Sales are usually great and I am so happy when I find one. However, here are a few things to remember about sales. First, if the sale is 10/$10, you don't have to buy 10 items to get the sale price unless it states you need to buy 10. Most of the time, this type of sale will allow you to buy one item and calculate the sale price based on one. However, 1/$1 does not make an appealing sign, so that is why they put 10/$10. On these sales, watch for the fine print.

For sales that are buy one get one free, make sure you can use the items. If the items end up spoiling, you did not really save any money. Watch the fine print on these sales too. Sometimes they place a limit on how many items you can buy.

Lastly, know the average prices of items you buy frequently. What is the regular price for an item, what is the best sale price you can get the item for, and what is the average sale price? For example, at an average grocery store, grapes are regularly priced $3.99/lb. The best price I have seen is $.99/lb. when they are in season. Throughout the rest of the year, they do go on sale between $1.99-2.99/lb. Armed with this information, you can decide when you want to buy grapes. To me, $2.99/lb is not a very good deal, even though it is technically on sale.

I hope you have enjoyed this mini series on shopping. Remember, the more information you have before you go shopping, the better experience you will have and hopefully the more money you will save.

With all the hearts and expressions of love on Valentine's Day, it is a good time to think about your own heart. Have you been doing what you can to keep your heart healthy?

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in both men and women. Do you know if you are at risk?

The more items you answer YES, the greater your risk.

• Do you smoke?
• Are you overweight?
• Do you have high cholesterol? (Total Cholesterol over 200)
• Do you have high blood pressure? (Greater than 120/80)
• Do you have poorly managed Diabetes?
• Do you get too little exercise?
• Do you have a high stress level?

If you find that you are saying yes to these items, the good news is that you can take steps lower your risk. You can take steps to stop smoking, be more physically active, and to lower your cholesterol, blood pressure, and weight. Don't be afraid to start today. The American Heart Association has a lot of information to help you get on track.

On this Valentine's Day, spread the heart health message with ones you love and keep sharing all month long as February is American Heart Month. For those of you with special women in your life, check out Go Red for Women.

This week we continue our conversation about saving at the grocery store by discussing the shopping list. Do you bring a shopping list when you go to the grocery store? One of the things to remember is that a shopping list is only as good as you make it. So, here are a few things to think about as you are making your list.

What is on sale?

As you are making a shopping list, it is a good idea to look at the sales paper. Perhaps there are non-perishable items that you use all the time that are on sale. It is a good idea to buy extra of those items so you can take advantage of the best price. Also you might want to plan meals that use items that are on sale.

What foods are you going to need for the week?

Once you know what is on sale, it might be a good idea to think about what meals you are going to serve for the week. What ingredients do those meals call for? Do you already have some of those foods in the refrigerator and pantry? What foods do you need to use up before they spoil and what foods do you need to buy to complete the meal? Taking a regular inventory of what you have and what you need could help reduce waste and save a lot of money.

One of the things that I have been guilty of when planning my week is forgetting about special occasions. Is there a party this weekend, do I need to bring snacks to the daycare, or are friends coming over? Make sure you think of everything that you may need so you don't have to go back to the grocery store again.

Did you run out of anything?

Often times when you run out of something you forget about it when you are making a list. Those things that you use almost everyday, but you buy so infrequently like salt, pepper, and seasonings are things that are often overlooked. A good idea is to keep a running list on the cabinet or refrigerator where you can write down things as you run out of them. That way when you are about to go to the store, you already have those things written down. If you don't remember to write it down when you run out of it, make sure you check for these items when you are making your list.

Lastly, once you have a well checked and well planned list, when you get to the grocery store, make sure you stick to it. One of the biggest ways to spend more money than planned is by buying things that were not on your list. If you know that you have a compulsive streak, make a deal with yourself and say you can only buy 2 to 3 items that are not on your list. At least you will be limiting yourself and not feel deprived.

Hope to hear from you on how your shopping has been successful.

As tax season nears, it may be a good time to look at your overall budget. Usually people find that a large part of their budget is spent on food. Do you know how much you really spend on food each month? If you find that you are spending more than you like or just want to find ways to spend less, follow my blog for the next few weeks as we talk about ways to save at the grocery store.

One way to start to save is by buying store brand or those products know as "generic". Often these products are exactly the same as the brand name, but usually cost less. However, I have had friends tell me that they think generic or the store brands have different ingredients or taste different. Over the years I have tried to investigate the generic versus brand name debate. On most occasions, I can't tell the difference. However I encourage you to try it for yourself. If you usually by the brand name, try doing a side-by-side comparison.

When making the comparison, here are a few things to look for:

Ingredients: Are the ingredients the same? Somewhere on the box all the ingredients in the product are listed. They are listed from most ingredients to least. Popular ingredients to look for are sugar, sodium, and fat. Sometimes a generic may use a different type of sugar or fat, but the results are probably minimal. Just as a reference, sugars usually end in –ose (like fructose or sucrose), fats have the word oil or gly in the name (like glyceride), and sodium is listed as salt or sodium.

Nutrition Facts: Does the product have the same nutrition? Again, look at the grams of fat, sodium, and sugar per serving. Are these numbers similar?

Appearance: Does the product look the same? This is the area that I find the most difference. Sometimes the generic or store brand may be a little smaller or it doesn't whip up the same way. In this case, you have to ask yourself, how much does it matter to me if the product looks slightly different? Most of the time, it probably won't matter.

Last week I was at the grocery store and had to decide between brand name or generic mandarin oranges. The generic were a lot cheaper, but I wanted to make sure the nutrition was the same. Turns out the brand name oranges had more sugar in it. It was a total win win by buying generic, less sugar and less cost!

I am always looking for a good buy, so email me with your generic and store brand successes.