How to Think and Things to Know when grocery shopping
Just
remembering a few things can drastically change how you and your family eat, and by putting these simple things into practice, the nutritional value of the food you eat will dramatically increase.
A Few Quick Basics:
Ingredients: if the label contains a bunch of words that you can't pronounce or probably couldn't spell if you were given a test, then it's not real food and you should run, run, run. Don't buy it, it won't benefit you, and over a period of time can be very harmful. So remember, if the ingredients read like words from your high school chemistry class, that's just what they are, chemistry, not food!
High Fructose Corn Syrup: If this is on the label, picture your kids jumping around the house, not paying attention in school, not paying attention at home, having very little energy, and very little regard for what you say sometimes. Is high fructose corn syrup the only cause for the things above, no. Is it terrible for them (and for you) and to be avoided whenever possible, absolutely!
Organic: Just what does that mean anyway? Well, organic means that it is not contaminated by any of the following - pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms or radiation. So, for crops that are grown, the concern how they're treated and what's in the soil. For animals, the concern is what they're fed or if they are injected with things like hormones or antibiotics.
Eggs, Glorious Eggs!
I think eggs are simply glorious, especially if purchased from your local farmer. Here are a few things to think about.
Best = Pasture-Raised. The chickens are allowed to roam free in the grass and woods, though they do have hen houses for protection. Rich in omega 3 fatty acids because of their diet, grass and bugs, with maybe a little flax seed from the farmer. You can tell the chicken has eaten healthily if the yoke is bright
orange and sits up high on the egg white.If the label says “vegetarian
fed or natural” you know that the chicken was fed a whole grain diet
consisting of whole ground corn, soybean meal, more omega 6s, and no
preservatives or animal fat / bi-products were added to the feed.
Ideally the feed was soy-free, but not a deal breaker.
OK = Free Range. Better than being cages and are allowed to run around in the chicken house.
Buy Local.
Proteins and Meats
Best Meats = are from the local farmer’s markets.
Grass fed, pasture raised, grain finished = good.
Processed Meats – If you have to buy from local grocery store, make sure there are no nitrates or nitrites. These are preservatives for cured meats and help the meat maintain color and gives food a certain tangyness. Research shows that the presence of nitrates and nitrites increases risk of diabetes types 1 and 2, as well as increased risk of cancer. At the grocery, the best brands would be Welshire Farms products, Applegate Farms products, Hormel Natural Choice, Woodstown All Natural Beef Hotdogs, Niman Ranch products, Oscar Mayer Natural smoked uncured bacon beef franks.
Buy Local
Buy Online
Nuts and Seeds
Nuts and seeds are extremely nutritious and variety is good. Don’t just give your kids peanut butter because it contains sugar and hydrogenated fats. Real Peanut butter is simply peanuts and salt.
Do not: Do not eat nuts and seeds that have been roasted with oils because they are polyunsaturated and really bad for our health.
Do: buy raw nuts, soak them and toast. Or buy dry roasted with just salt. If buying natural peanut butter it absolutely needs to be organic because families are typically eating so much of it.
Peanut Butter: That is ok to buy: JIF Natural and Skippy Natural (though both have some sugar). If you’re buying Planter’s nuts as a snack, make sure the label says “100% Natural Harvest”, as these are dry roasted with salt.
Almond Butter: A great substitute for peanut butter because almonds have more nutritional benefits…better fat. Peanuts in general have a lot of mold, like pistachios, so people with sinus issues and asthma should generally find another nut to eat.
Fruits & Veggies
You can feel great about buying fruits and veggies at your local farmer’s market primarily because the local farmer isn’t about to expose his own family who works the farm, to harmful pesticides and toxic fertilizers. The Environmental Working Group’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides is a great resource for shopping for produce.
Clean 15 (Lowest in pesticides from best to worst; you don't have to buy organic)
- Onion
- Avocado
- Sweet corn
- Pineapple
- Mangos
- Sweet Peas
- Asparagus
- Kiwi
- Cabbage
- Eggplant
- Cantaloupe
- Watermelon
- Grapefruit
- Sweet Potato
- Honeydew Melon
“Dirty Dozen” (from worst to best; buy these organic)
- Celery
- Peaches
- Strawberries
- Apples
- Blueberries
- Nectarines
- Bell Peppers
- Spinach
- Kale
- Cherries
- Potatoes
- Grapes (Imported)
Seafood
Focus on eating wild seafood and keep consumption of farm-raised seafood to a minimum, though it’s ok to eat farm-raised shell fish due to the manner in which they are fed and the living environment is filtered. But I prefer the taste of wild shrimp any day!
Eat the smaller fish like canned sardines or canned mackerel, making sure you always look for ingredients on the can that have names you can’t pronounce. Larger fish like mahi tuna are higher in mercury and toxins because they’ve been eating the entire food chain.
Alaskan wild salmon is great and the best for you! Black Cod, called the “chocolate” of fish is even higher in omega 3s than salmon. Shell fish is fabulous! Oysters contain the most zinc of any food!
If buying from the local seafood expert, make sure you ask where it was caught or raised. Stick to American waters where possible because regulations in international waters are few.
Buy online
Sweeteners
Pure Maple Syrup: a fabulous substitute for sugar. There are two types, Grade A, which is taken early in the season and has a lighter color and flavor, and Grade B, which is taken at the end of the season and is more mineral rich and best for baking. When baking with Grade B maple syrup, use ½ the amount of sugar called for and reduce other liquids in the recipe by a quarter cup. Organic pure maple syrup is absolutely the best.
Brown Rice Syrup: better as a topping and not as good for baking; contains maltose which is slower to absorb into the bloodstream than sucrose. Can be found at health food stores and some groceries.
Sucanat: (a contraction of sugar cane natural). Sucanat is non-refined cane sugar, pressed, dehydrated and then granulated. Use it as a 1 to 1 ration when substituting for white sugar. Sucant is not as sweet (because it’s about 85% sucrose as opposed to white sugar which is 99% sucrose). Sucanat is a whole food, where white sugar contains no nutritional value at all.
Rapadura: another natural sweetener made from pure cane juice.
Unsulfured Molasses: comes from sugar cane. The blackstrap syrup is the dark, thick type of molasses and contains good amounts of iron, calcium and potassium and is primarily used in richer tasting desserts. Buy the organic versions for sure.
Date Sugar: irregular sized dates and processed into liquid, dehydrated and then granulated. Date sugar is mostly used as a topping, but you can also melt it in hot water to create a syrup. Found primarily in health food stores.
Raw Unpasteurized Honey: This is honey that is unfiltered and never been headed. Contains great enzymes. Use sparingly however, because it registers 50% sweeter than sugar in your blood stream. Most farmer’s markets have a bee keeper who sells raw, unpasteurized honey.
Organic Refined Sugar: If the label reads “100% Organic” you can trust it. If the label reads “Organic” this means that it is as least 95% organic. If the label reads “Made With Organic Ingredients” this means that the product is only 70% organic and this can only be listed in the ingredients and not on the front of the package.
Good for your Gut
Don't you just love the word "gut." I do. Maybe I'll blog on that one day. Ok, here are some good-for-the-gut items to add to your shopping list.
Kefir is a cultured, enzyme-rich food filled with friendly micro-organisms that help balance your "inner ecosystem." More nutritious and therapeutic than yogurt, it supplies complete protein, essential minerals, and valuable B vitamins.
Kimchi: a spicy Japanese condiment that contains good bacteria to help break down food.
Miso: fermented soybeans; very easy for your body to break down; don't cook at high temps or it loses its effectiveness.
Broths
Bone broths: This stuff is all about your general health and well being. There are plenty of nutrients in the marrow of the bones. This is age old wisdom folks, and buying it is ok, but there's nothing like making this at home. You can store it up in the freezer to use it in cooking grains, braising meats and veggies. Eat a cup hot when you start feeling sick!
Fish broth: Fish broth takes a lot shorter time to cook than chicken and beef broth and is great for you! Clam juice is a good substitute.