Here are the 5 most common mistakes made when shopping for packaged foods in the grocery store. It is easy to make these mistakes because food manufacturers want you to buy their products and what you see or think you see is not always what you are buying.

It is easy to choose packages and bottles that look like one serving but are 2-3 servings, buy items that contain too much sodium, or imagine that sugar-free is calorie-free.

Here are the five biggest shopping mistakes:

1. Ignore the label. Just grab all your food off the shelf without regard to a food label or nutrition facts.

2. Think that one package or bottle is one serving. Chocolate bars, cookie snack packages, and bottles of tea can often look like one serving but be many more. So a quick glance at the calories in these foods and beverages can steer you wrong if you fail to see the number of servings at the top of the label.

3. Ignore the sodium content on the label. Some foods contain a whole day's supply of sodium while supplying very few calories. Frozen foods, canned foods, and packaged foods are a greater source of sodium than a salt shaker.

4. Sugar-free or fat-free is not calorie-free. Some desserts look so delicious, and they tempt us with sugar-free claims. But if you compare their calories, they are not often that much different from their regular counterparts, and most are not "diet" foods.

5. Package sounds healthier than the real nutrition facts. The fried frozen fish that says trans-fat-free can be very high in saturated fat. Many claims only talk about one nutrient, but you must read the whole label to see the whole story.

These mistakes are based on our food reviews plus a survey of hundreds of food professionals.

Examine the Facts

Examine the Facts teaches 3 basic steps to evaluate a product quickly based on its nutrient analysis. Label reading is as easy as 1-2-3. AND an example is given that shows why it is better to compare a label - you save a lot of fat by choosing skim milk. PLUS, handy reminders show the total nutrients needed for a day.

1. Calories - what is this package's total number of calories? What is a serving size? How many servings are in this package?

2. Heart healthy - how much saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, and sodium does this package contain?

3. Nutritional value - how much fiber? How many other nutrients?

Here is a fun handout to download or take a look at the resources in our store