Is it just me, or has grocery shopping become one of the most complicated – and stressful – chores in our lives? It’s insane the amount of choices we have. I mean, seriously, how many kinds of cereal do we need?!
Do you ever find yourself standing in the aisle, staring blankly at the bewildering array of food choices when all you need is a loaf of bread?
Yeah, me too. Sheesh!
But I’ve learned a few things from helping clients navigate the grocery shopping experience. (Grocery store “field trips” are one of my favorite things to do with my one-on-one clients!)
This week’s post should help you cut through the clutter and get to the healthier choices a little faster.
First things first: If you don’t read food labels, get on that…ASAP!
In an ideal world, we wouldn’t eat food with labels (and that’s a good thing to work towards); but we don’t live in an ideal world. So, read the label…do it for me if nothing else. 🙂 Being a label reader is one of the best ways to take control of what goes in that beautiful body of yours.
Now that you’re reading labels…
Yucky things to avoid.
- Sugar. Sugar isn’t necessarily the devil; but, when it comes to sugar, the devil is most definitely in the details. Once you start looking, you’ll find added sugar (as opposed to naturally occurring sugar, like in fruit) hidden in some odd places. Bread, cereal, pasta sauce, peanut butter, energy bars, canned veggies, and baby food are often spiked with extra sweet stuff. If you see one of these listed in the first 3 or 4 ingredients, you might want to reconsider: evaporated cane juice, natural/organic cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup, glucose, brown rice syrup, agave, dextrose, maltodextrin, brown sugar, invert sugar, raw sugar, honey, and a million other iterations of, well, sugar. (In packaged food, ingredients are listed in order of predominance, so the first few ingredients make up the bulk of the product.) I’m not saying that all sugar is “bad;” but if it shows up in any form early in the ingredient list, there’s probably quite a lot of it.
- Partially hydrogenated oils. On a chemical level, these sound pretty harmless: they’re just oils with hydrogen molecules added. Food manufacturers turn cheap, unsaturated oils – like soybean and cottonseed oils – into partially hydrogenated oils to add texture to food and increase its shelf life. So what’s the big deal? Partially hydrogenated oils are trans fats…and trans fats are associated with increases in LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, triglycerides, and inflammation. Not pretty. Just don’t eat them.
- Low-fat and non-fat products. “Non-fat” sounds like a better option, right? But without fat, the texture of food changes pretty dramatically; so food manufacturers add sugar, hydrogenated oils, and other nasties to make up for its absence. What sounds like a healthy choice actually becomes an uber-processed “fake food” with questionable nutritional value. You’re better off eating small amounts of the real deal. My one exception to this is low-fat (not non-fat) dairy. It generally doesn’t have a bunch of additives because there’s just enough fat left to maintain that creamy texture.
- Salt. Like sugar, salt isn’t always evil; but insane amounts of it are hidden in interesting places, like canned veggies and soups and frozen meals. If one serving of whatever you’re considering gives you more than about 5-10% of your daily sodium allowance, opt for a less-processed version of the same food and just add your own salt. (FYI: Sea salt has beneficial nutrients missing from table salt; but you’ll need to get your iodine – an essential nutrient important to thyroid function – elsewhere if you use sea salt exclusively, since iodine is only added to “iodized” table salt.)
- Cereal. Cereal boxes that claim to have “whole grains” make me a little crazy. Cereal, by definition, is processed; so it’s pretty unlikely that the grains are left entirely whole (although I’m sure there are some exceptions). Processed grains are essentially “empty” calories. I used to eat a lot of cereal…I love cereal…until it dawned on me that I could make my own out of whole grain rolled oats soaked in milk or yogurt overnight (or even for just a few minutes) and mixed with nuts, cinnamon, and fresh fruit. It takes all of 5 minutes to make and gives me all the nutrients those “whole grain” cereals promise. (Not to mention that I can control the amount of sugar.)
- BPA. Bisphenol-A is an industrial chemical used to make plastics. “BPA” shows up in canned food linings – to prevent spoilage – and in plastic food storage containers, not to mention baby bottles and water bottles. Research is inconclusive, but BPA may disrupt hormonal systems (it has estrogenic properties) as well as put us at higher risk for obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. The way I see it, avoiding #7 plastic containers and lots of canned goods is a small price to pay for decreasing the amount of industrial chemicals floating around in my blood stream. For more info on BPA, check out this recent article.
Yummy things to look for.
- Organic fruits and veggies. The relative merits of organic produce have been much debated in the press recently due to the results of a study at Stanford. My bottom line? Organic produce tastes better (seriously); and I just don’t see any reason to add more industrial chemicals to my body (see “BPA” above). So I buy organic foods whenever I can, keeping in mind that some fruits and veggies absorb more pesticide than others. (To save money, I use this list of the “dirty dozen” from the Environmental Working Group to decide what to buy organic.) If you’re not sure if a particular piece of produce is organic, check those little stickers: the “PLU” number for organic produce always begins with a 9. If you see any other number, it’s not organic.
- Organic eggs, dairy, and meat. Are you seeing a theme here? I don’t like extra chemicals in my food. 🙂 While I realize that there’s no definitive research showing that they’re harmful, extra growth hormones and antibiotics used in factory farming just gross me out. And if I’m going to eat animal foods, I’d prefer that those animals be treated well during their lifetime; so I buy organic eggs, dairy, and meat (when I buy them at all). Here’s a decent – if a little old – overview of some of the facts. (Oddly, I couldn’t find a more recent article that I thought was from an unbiased source.)
- Whole grains. I’m all about getting the most nutritional bang for my buck; so I don’t remember the last time I bought white rice or pasta. Whole grains fuel you longer on less. Read my recent post on carbohydrates for all the reasons why.
- “Upgraded” frozen meals + veggies. I’m a big fan of frozen vegetables for the busy person’s kitchen. I keep them as back up for times when I run out of fresh veggies and don’t have time to go to the market. Buy organic when you can and avoid anything with a sauce added. You want plain, unadulterated veggies – you can add your own flavor later if you like. And if you buy frozen meals on occasion, try “upgrading” to brands like Amy’s Organics or Dr. Praeger.
- Snack bars with no more than 5 ingredients. Snack bars and energy bars are notorious for being loaded with 20 million ingredients and tons of added sugar. (That’s right, Luna Bar…I’m talking about you.) You’ll also find protein “isolates” instead of actual whole foods protein in many bars, which just seems like a waste when there are perfectly good, protein-packed nuts and seeds on the planet. If you want to avoid most of the junk, choose bars with only a few ingredients – like Larabars, Kit’s Organic Bars, or Two Degrees Bars – and eat them sparingly. They really shouldn’t replace a whole foods meal unless you have no other option (which does happen…I always have at least two of these in my bag at all times).
- “Better” canned goods. If you buy canned goods, look for two things: no salt added and a brand called Eden Organics. I mentioned above that canned veggies are typically loaded with salt, but many manufacturers offer a no salt added option. Buy it, especially if your doctor recommends you eat a low-sodium diet. Eden Organics is the only brand that I’m aware of that does NOT use BPA in their can linings. I buy a lot of canned beans (’cause I’m usually too lazy to pre-soak dried beans), so I’m willing to spend the extra buck on Eden Organics to avoid BPA exposure.
This list is most certainly not comprehensive. What do you avoid or look for at the store to make sure you get the healthiest food possible? Tell me in the comments!
P.S. If you’re an entrepreneur – or an aspiring one – and are feeling frustrated about getting your message out in the world, check out my review of Marie Forleo’s B-School (Marie is my #1 business mentor). It just might change your business…and your life. (If you’re interested in joining B-School, hurry…registration closes on March 4! Read about my bonuses for those who register using my affiliate link.)
xoxo,
