Taking your health a bit more seriously these days? Then there's something you should know...
All food was not created equal.
And that's a good thing.
Especially if you believe food is as powerful as medicine and choices you make at the supermarket counter are as important as any prescription.
But knowing which foods are quality foods isn't always so easy. Sometimes it requires a bit of sorting & detective skill.
Labels say one thing. Science says another. Next week it's a different story. How are you to know?
Well friend, today is your lucky day. Here's how you can walk through the maze of our modern food market and come out shining!
#1. Shop the perimeter
In the grocery market, real food is found at the outer edges of the store. And it’s here you’ll get the biggest nutritional bang for your buck. Take a spin through the outer banks of most markets and you’ll find fresh produce, fruits, nuts & berries. It’s also where the fresh meat counter is located, and the cold cases with fresh eggs, cheese & milk products. Heads Up! This is where most of the real food in your market is located.
#2. Check labels
Enter the maze of food isles and you’ll benefit from this valuable skill set. If you’re not in the habit of checking the ingredient list before you toss that food choice into the cart, you might give it a second thought.
A good rule of thumb is the item of choice shouldn’t have more than 3 ingredients. The more ingredients, the higher the chance it contains chemicals & preservatives. Remember your goal is to keep it real and any more than 3 is far from that!
#3. Read between the lines
Checking the label is just the first step. It also helps to know what those ingredients mean. What? A soy bean isn’t a soy bean? Not necessarily. It will benefit you and your family to do a little reading about food crops. Know what crops are often genetically modified or heavily sprayed with pesticides. Take it a step further and learn what those chemicals do to your body and health. Yikes!
#4. Choose organic
If reading between the lines isn’t for you, simplify your world by choosing organic products. While these foods cost more, you can be fairly certain they contain few harmful ingredients. And as you purchase more organic products, you affect the world around you. More farmers will plant their fields with these foods. This leads to less pesticide use and a healthier environment for all.
#5. Grow your own groceries
If you decide to take matters into your own hands, you’ll still need to go to the store to get food. Only now the grocery store is your backyard and the food is better than any you can buy. Learning to grow some or most of your groceries is a worthwhile experience. And once you start, you just might find there’s more in the garden than food!
Want to learn more about eating better more often? Join my FREE Facebook group Savvy Spoonfuls. It's a great place to learn more about how you can add more real food to your real life.
There's never a better time than now!