Arsenic in your rice, fake foods, pink slime, the addition of carrageenan, some weird "thing" moving in your chicken nugget, bleach in your garlic....on an on the list goes. Frankly, it's intimidating. How does a normal Mom go about feeding her family foods that aren't going to poison them?
Ugh.
It's SO overwhelming that at times you simply want to throw up your hands and scream, "I GIVE UP!" But we all know that you can't give up because food is life and you want your family to live a long and healthy life. Since we've been on our food journey for awhile now (almost 7 years actually!) I've learned a few things. And you just know that I want to share with all of you!
Below are a few tips on how I personally go about buying food for my family. Since I do 99% of the food shopping, I don't have to worry about anything "toxic" coming in to my house. So let's go- here's my tips for a busy Mama looking to feed her family only the very best!
Shop the outer isle's.
I know, I know...we've all heard this one. But it's SO true! In every single grocery store, the inner isles contain the crap. Sorry but it's true. In fact, almost all the "good" stuff will be found on one side of the grocery store and you guessed it- it's on the farthest outer isle. Stay away from those inside isle's Mama's! They hold the chips, sodas, canned soups, packaged cookies, crackers, frozen meals, boxed dinners and other toxic junk. The exception to this is a very few organic canned and boxed items. Things like dry pasta, canned tomatoes, lentils etc.
Above is a simplified version of a typical grocery store layout- of course your individual store's floor plan may be just a bit different. This is pretty similar to how my own store looks and for the most part, I keep to the outer perimeter. I also tend to stay mainly on the right and back side of the store and only go near the bakery because that's where they keep the liquor!
If you do find yourself wandering down those center isle's...because, hey! that's where all the ice cream is...please make sure you are doing due diligence and reading those labels!
The rule of 5.
When it comes time to read those labels, keep in mind the rule of 5. It's really very simple- you want to try to limit your processed foods to only five ingredients. If you can't keep it to five, then take a close look at the first couple of ingredients.
Here's a PERFECT example of when reading those labels really makes a huge difference. The first photo below is of the label for Ore Ida's Golden Fries. Notice the ingredients list, the first two aren't so bad but then it goes all sorts of wrong.
| Serving Size: | 84g | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Amount Per Serving | |||
| Calories | 130 | Calories From Fat | 30 |
| % Daily Value * | |||
| Total Fat | 3 1/2g | 5% | |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% | |
| Trans Fat | 0g | ||
| Cholesterol | 0mg | 0% | |
| Sodium | 290mg | 13% | |
| Potassium | 390mg | 10% | |
| Carbs | 21g | 7% | |
| Dietary Fiber | 2g | 8% | |
| Sugars | 1g | ||
| Protein | 2g | ||
| Vitamin A | 0% | ||
| Vitamin C | 6% | ||
| Calcium | 0% | ||
| Iron | 2% | ||
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |||
INGREDIENTS:POTATOES, VEGETABLE OIL (SUNFLOWER, COTTONSEED, SOYBEAN, AND/OR CANOLA), SALT, DEXTROSE, DISODIUM DIHYDROGEN PYROPHOSPHATE, ANNATTO (VEGETABLE COLOR). | |||
Let's compare that to Alexia's House Cut Fries in the image below. Five ingredients- all of which you can not only pronounce but you can recognize. These two products are almost identical in appearance and price wise they are very comparable. So tell me- why wouldn't you buy the 2nd option?
House Cut Fries with Sea Salt
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 84 g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 130
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 3.5g5%
Saturated Fat 0g0%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 200mg8%
Potassium 410mg12%
Total Carbohydrates 23g8%
Dietary Fiber 2g8%
Sugars Less Than 1g
Protein 2g
Vitamin A0%
Vitamin C6%
Calcium0%
Iron2%
Ingredients: POTATOES, CANOLA OIL, SEA SALT, APPLE JUICE CONCENTRATE (TO PROMOTE BROWNING), CITRIC ACID (TO PROMOTE COLOR RETENTION).
Only buy what you know.
That brings me to the next thing on the list. Only buy what you know, what you recognize as food.
My advice here is to change the way you read labels. Become very decisive and allow NO room for anything you don't immediately recognize. Here's how it goes down in my house-
Kiddo- Mom, can I get this?
Me- Read me the ingredients.
Kiddo- Aww....Mom.
Many a times you'll see me consulting the Google while standing in the middle of the grocery store. As a busy Mom, I have to decide if allowing my child to consume citric acid and canola oil in the convenient bag of frozen Alexia fries is worth the time saved. Or would I rather he not eat these products and so I'll simply take the added time and them myself. When in doubt, opt out.
Shop your community.
Along the same lines as buying what you know and recognize, it's also very important to buy from people you know. That means local farmers! Not only will you be supporting a local family but you'll be putting that money back into your community. And you will know exactly what you're buying. It truly doesn't get any better than this!
Whenever possible, I encourage you to shop with local farmers instead of shopping at the grocery store. Yes, for many of us- this will be more difficult and most likely more time consuming. I get it.
Throughout the years, I've found some super simple ways to do this. A CSA is a great option, as are co-ops and farmer's markets. I also encourage you to look into local, organic delivery services and consider purchasing your meat from a local farmer. Check out this website to see what's in your area.
A few staples that I always buy locally are honey, meat and eggs. I am also buying more of our dairy locally and we shop quite a bit in season and are able to purchase local fruits and veggies at a small stand near our home and the summer farmer's markets. It will take time as you figure out a way to incorporate this into your lifestyle. However the minute you hear of a massive, national recall on bagged spinach- you'll understand exactly why you do this. Knowing where your food comes from, how it's been grown, who has handled it- there's a wonderful piece of mind and sense of community that comes from this.
Go organic!
If you have a choice- always go organic. Yes, it costs more but food without chemicals and toxins is totally worth it in my opinion. Don't forget that you're also making many more things at home from scratch- so there will be some cost savings with this. For many of us, the added expense of organic food is balanced by the savings of cooking primarily at home.
Here's a few things I always buy organic:
Potatoes
Berries
Apples
Bananas
Salad/Lettuce Mix
Dairy- this includes yogurt, milk, cream, ice cream, cheese, cream cheese and sour cream
Meat
Orange Juice
Rice
Condiments- ketchup, mustard, mayo & salad dressing
And to help you get started, consult the Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15. This will help you in deciding where to spend your grocery budget. Psst....I bet you didn't know that potatoes and strawberries were some of the WORST pesticide laden foods! I sure was shocked when I heard this! Knowledge is power and the more you know, the better and easier it will be to feed your family.
Eat food that dies.
Your first priority should always be to try to eat foods from the earth whenever possible. Meaning- real food that comes from dirt ie. the earth. If it was made in a factory or processing plant- stay far, far away.
You want to eat food that will rot and spoil. Seriously- just stop a moment and think about it. When you reach for that bag of Doritos or nuke a Hot Pocket- what happens to it inside your body? How does this differ when you snack on some almonds or slice up an apple?
Your body is a tool, a vessel if you will and you need to give it the right fuel in order for it to run as it should. When you weigh it down with chemicals and artificial ingredients, it has a hard time starting up and will inevitably shut down. It just will.
So when you're shopping- try to fill your cart with items that were once in the dirt. It's really that simple. If you're following the very first rule, shopping the outer isle's, this really won't be too hard.
Buy ingredients.
For the love of all that's holy- when did we STOP cooking?!? There's absolutely no reason you need to give up your favorite foods. We love pizza and cheeseburgers at my house mmkay...and macaroni and cheese- yes please! But I don't buy this stuff anymore- I buy the ingredients to make it myself. And this will simply make all the difference.
Even if you're buying organic convenience foods- they are still going to contain additives. Organic does NOT equal healthy. So simply learn how to make your favorite dishes yourself, at home, in your own kitchen. This way you know exactly what it is that dish and you can tailor it to fit your family's tastes and health.
So WOW. That's a lot of information. My advice to you is simple- give yourself plenty of time to figure this out and then do what works best for you. Everyone will be different. We all have different budgets and ideas on what it "healthy" and what is not and there's nothing wrong with that. There is really no "right" way to do this- just a strong desire to eat better and feed your children a diet that will sustain them for a nice long life.
With that being said, I'm sure you might be just a bit curious on where exactly I shop.
Here's what I am currently doing-
- We get an organic, local delivery from Full Circle about every 3 weeks. While the bulk of this is local produce, I can also add on grocery items made by those in my region. This is where I find my local milk, yogurt and cream. If you don't live in the country, it can be rough trying to get your hands on local dairy and animal products. I can also add on meat, pantry items, specialty items and so on.
- Our meat comes from a local farm. I was ordering online and arranging for a free pickup but now I'm able to find this same meat in a local specialty grocery store. I can also add it to my CSA delivery when needed. If you're having trouble finding a local farmer, check out a farmer's markets or try looking online.
- Every week or two weeks I shop at the local produce stand. Here I buy in season fruits and vegetables that were grown within a 5 mile radius. I also purchase local honey and eggs from them and the best part- they are open year round!!! Psst....they also gave me a special card to save 10% every time I shop. So while you can't use coupons or grocery store savings at little stands like this, many times they will have some sort of savings/incentive for repeat customers, just ask!
- Approximately every 2 months I shop at Costco to stock up on baking and canned goods. I buy organic sugar, organic flour, organic coffee, organic canned beans and organic canned tomatoes here. And if they have it- I will also purchase some organic fruits because the price is so darn cheap! Oh- and vitamins. Wait...and liquor too!
- Each week finds me at our neighborhood Safeway grocery store. I buy everything else here- produce that wasn't available through our CSA or at the local stand, orange juice, cheese (I haven't found a good local cheese yet!), ice cream, occasionally some Applegate products like hot dogs or lunch meat, oatmeal, dry pasta etc.
This is what's working for me right now. It took me a LONG time to get to this point. So please don't feel overwhelmed, just start with one area that you know you can improve and set about doing it. For me, this was animal products. It's my desire for all our meat and dairy to be local and for the most part- it is. But please know that it took me almost 5 years to get here. So give yourself grace and know that it's very much a work in progress! You can do this, I know you can!
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