Whole Foods First

Part 3 in the series 5 Keys to Creating Peace with Food

When you think Whole Foods, consider the Quality of the food you are purchasing.  Perhaps the words “organic” or “all-natural” come to mind.  Now take that visual one step further. Move your eyes away from the labeled packages advertising these trendy phrases and picture the real food behind the product.  Is that easy for you to do?

Try this example. Can you visualize all the places where this product came from?

 

Ingredients: Organic Unbleached Flour, Powdered Sugar, Organic Palm Oil, Organic Molasses, Organic Sugar, Sodium Bicarbonate (leavening), Ground Ginger, Soy Lecithin (an emulsifier), Salt, Monocalcium Phosphate (leavening), Nutmeg.

Now visualize all the places where this product came from?

 

Ingredients: dates, almonds, unsweetened apples, walnuts, raisins, cinnamon

Whole Foods First =
* aiming for 80% or more of your diet to come from whole food sources
* dining out < 3 times per week (includes breakfast and snacks
* easy to identify the original source of the food (i.e. chicken breast versus chicken nuggets)
* Choosing honey, sugar, molasses, and brown rice syrup as preferred sweeteners over artificial  
   sweeteners and high fructose corn syrup in the products you buy
* Choose 100% whole grains (brown rice, whole wheat pasta, steel-cut oats, non-husked couscous,  
   quinoa, millet, spelt, amaranth)
* Go for whole fruit and dairy products at snack time instead of processed fruit bars or protein bars
* Buy as much organic, all-natural, grass-fed meat and produce that you can afford

Our society has gotten to the point where REAL food, is no longer a priority.  In some cities, this trend is turning around as consumer awareness and education about our food systems become more clear and vocalized.  Cast your vote at the grocery store for making quality, wholesome food choices a priority in your life and your family’s lives.  From the words of Eric Schlosser in the documentary, Food, Inc. “each of us has the ability to vote on this issue every day - at breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

For more information on benefits to you, click here!