First thing I learned was to shop the perimeter. Take a look at your local grocery store, you will find the majority of the healthy things are along the perimeter of the store. My local store has a few of these things within an isle or two but the perimeter foods are produce (most important), meat, dairy and bakery. You should rarely venture into the isles. Sure from time to time we may need some canned tomatoes or some baking soda but the majority of your shopping should be along the perimeter.
Secondly, I learned to read the label! (More important than reading the label of the beautiful dress you are about to purchase to find out if you'll have to take it to the dry cleaner weekly.) You'll have to read the label on all the packaged food you buy. Just because it says 'all natural' or 'whole wheat' doesn't mean that it is! This really saddened me about how dishonest the food suppliers have become. Clean eating rules will tell you if it has more than six ingredients it is not clean. Also if you can't pronounce any one of those six, it isn't clean. I think this is a bit harsh but they do have a point. Do you really want to be eating something you cannot pronounce? Honestly what is Maltodextrin (found in Doritos) anyway? Per Wikipedia Maltodextrin is an oligosaccharide that is used as a food additive. It is produced from starch by partial hydrolysis and is usually found as a white hygroscopic spray-dried powder.[1] Maltodextrin is easily digestible, being absorbed as rapidly as glucose, and might be either moderately sweet or almost flavorless. It is commonly used for the production of sodas and candy. It can also be found as an ingredient in a variety of other processed foods. Do you really want to be consuming that? Though living by the rules of clean eating can be somewhat tough to follow. I think we all can adapt a few of them. Try to be picky about the foods you consume. Read the labels. If whole wheat isn't the first ingredient listed on your bread, don't buy it. Try to buy organic when possible.
Speaking of organic: there is a lot of misinformation out there about organic. First, just because it says organic doesn't mean that it is. It has to be certified organic. Also, you don't have to buy all your produce in the organic section. Some fruits and vegetables have thick enough skins to prevent the pesticides and chemicals to penetrate through. For example, bananas and oranges; both of these have thick skins that can block the chemicals from making contact with the fruit. Now if you are zesting that orange for a delicious cake or marinade that may be a different story. Now your leafy greens or those fruits and veggies that have thin skins you'll want to buy organic as often as you can. An example of these would be: spinach, kale, grapes, apples, berries, etc. These fruits and veggies are considered to be the most contaminated. I could go on about this forever. For more information please visit the website below. It will give you the information regarding the 'dirty dozen' (the items we should purchase organic) as well as answering a lot of other questions you may have on buying organic.
http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214
Lastly, I just want to leave you with my shopping list to give you an idea of what my fridge is stocked with.
Fruit - Apples, Bananas, Oranges, Strawberries, Red and Green Grapes, Pears
Vegetables - Romaine Lettuce, Spinach, Cucumbers, Roma Tomatoes, Green Peppers, Garlic,
Carrots, Broccoli, Radishes, Mushrooms, Kale, Cabbage, Beets
Meats - Pork Tenderloin, Ground Turkey Breast, Sliced Deli Ham, Fresh SeaBass (we freeze a lot of
our meat so we don't buy much)
Grains - Ezekiel Bread, Kashi Cereal, Granola from bulk isle
Dairy - Greek yogurt, Milk
Other - Coffee (this girl can't live without it), Canned black beans
If you have any questions on the above, please let me know. I would love to share any recipes or cookbooks that you may be interested in.
Looks yummy! Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteLooks like our shopping trip too! We get a majority of fruits, veggies, nuts, beans, and other starches like rice, quinoa, and gluten-free bread. Even our meat consumption has gone down a ton. Love clean eating!! Xo.
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