You know the moment. Two almost-identical products in your hands, an ingredient list full of numbers and unpronounceable words, a toddler mid-meltdown in the trolley – so you give up and grab whichever one has the nicest label.

Adelaide mum Nabula “Nabs” El Mourid has made a career out of taking the stress out of that moment. The founder of Supermarket Swap has built a loyal online following (almost half a million, in fact) by helping everyday shoppers make better choices in the aisle.

How it started

Six years ago, El Mourid was a time-poor mum juggling two little kids, cooking plenty from scratch but still leaning on the supermarket like the rest of us.

“I was shopping quite blindly,” she said. “Ingredient lists had become so overwhelming and confusing that I’d almost given up on reading them.”

When El Mourid started paying closer attention to what was in her family’s everyday food, she got a shock – finding artificial additives tucked into staples such as butter, tomato sauce, cereals and stock powders. So she began making small swaps to healthier alternatives and sharing them online, convinced no one would care.

“I thought nobody would be interested in groceries, because it wasn’t cool,” she said.

She was wrong. What started as a Facebook group of 10 friends is now Supermarket Swap – an online community, popular app and book that all help to pass on what El Mourid has learned.

It’s a story that’s even won over one of the country’s food icons. Maggie Beer was the first person to read El Mourid’s book, sending pages of notes back to the publisher before declaring the food “full of flavour and freshness”.

“She is the queen of food – there’s no one like Maggie,” El Mourid said. “I was in shock for a week.”

El Mourid says shopping local doesn’t have to be expensive. Photo: AAP

Convenience, health – and local – can go together

El Mourid’s tips mean you can eat better without shopping at farmers’ markets or making homemade sourdough.

“Convenience and health can work together,” she said. “It’s not either-or.”

The same goes for shopping local: You don’t have to trek to five different stores to do it.

“Before I had little kids, I’d go to the markets, the butcher, the grocer, and then the supermarket,” El Mourid said.

“Now there’s only time for the supermarket. So I’ve done the research so I know I can have a great food shop in one place – and there’s so much local produce and so many local brands right there in the aisle.”

And it doesn’t have to cost more: “We don’t want people thinking you have to be a particular socio-economic demographic to eat well,” she said.

While the cost of living continues to rise, El Mourid said it was still possible to shop at the supermarket and make nutritious meals on a budget, if you planned ahead and knew what to look for.

Plus, small swaps can make a big difference. Brand SA’s “Buy SA. For SA.” campaign has done the maths: It estimated that if South Australian shoppers each switched just $1 in every $20 of their grocery spend to local products, it would pump up to $2 billion a year back into the state – funding jobs and backing small businesses.

Tips for buying local on a budget

• Buy in bulk: Grab the big pack or a whole chicken when it’s on sale and freeze portion sizes. “The cost per kilo is often half.”
• Skip the pre-cut packs: “When it’s ready for a stir-fry or crumbed for schnitzel, you’re paying for that. The extra couple of minutes in the kitchen is worth the savings at the checkout.”
• Shop in season: Local produce that’s in season is fresher, cheaper, and tastes the way it should.
• Stick with your state, not just “Australian”: “When it says South Australian, [I know as an Adelaide resident] it’s come from somewhere two, three, four hours away – it’s so close.” You know exactly what you’re getting, and it hasn’t racked up the food miles.
• Be prepared: El Mourid says the most important part of a shop is the preparation – 15 minutes to plan meals, make a list and check the specials can make a big difference.

Republished from The Post SA