The mystery of foods

Meeting with the integrative health coach opened my eyes to the mystery of foods. I had basically accepted what was mass marketed as "right" and even used to tell myself that "everything was natural in some way shape or form." I now have a very, very, different point of view.

Step one was to pay attention to the ingredients. If you have never taken a good hard look at what's in packaged foods now is the time. It's shocking to see how many ingredients are not words that regular people know (TBHQ? Does that grow in the ground?). This shock alone modified my diet significantly. I pay attention (most of the time) to what I buy and what I eat. Certain well loved foods are now a rarity but I've found replacements in the healthy food stores that, dare I say, are better in taste as well as nutrition.

For some reason I never fully equated the food I ate with how I felt until taking this class. I still have my days where I'm feeling crappy and just want chocolate. And I still eat chocolate. But I have a better understanding that the chocolate is only a temporary mood shifter.

One can not talk about natural foods, green foods, without talking organics. I have learned about the pesticides used on our fruits and vegetables, and the growth hormones and antibiotics used on our beef and cattle. I don't think these chemicals are healthy for the plants or animals, and therefore certainly not healthy for us. But I don't buy 100% organics. I follow the dirty dozen list. Simply put if it's a dirty item I try my best to buy organic. If it's clean I buy conventional. If it's in the middle I'll go back and forth. This saves me money while still allowing me to eat more organics.

One organic item that I always buy is milk. For some reason I'm still lagging behind in cheese and butter though, a bit of a contradiction. For both cheese and butter I do buy items that have few identifiable ingredients. The organic counterparts are harder to find and at a much higher cost so I haven't made the switch 100% yet.

Speaking of cheese: I got a chance to meet with a Cabot representative at Whole Foods this past weekend. I inquired about them not being organic. I learned that Cabot went organic before it was popular, and their farmers got burned when people weren't buying. Now they don't use growth hormones and the farmers know each cow by name. Nice information to know! I'm thinking that the next block of cheese I buy may have Cabot's name on it.

Eggs is another item I buy organic. It's been a slower change, but one where I can't remember the last time I bought non organic (or at least hormone free) for my family. My favorite eggs are from a local farmer's market: they feed their chickens flax seed. The eggs were good and had the extra nutritional content. Makes me happy that farmer's market season is just around the corner!

Going green with foods is a lot about paying attention to what you are eating. Check out the labels when you purchase, do research, become more aware. I still buy doritos every now and then, but I know what I'm getting into when I make that purchase. I also find myself in the potato chip debacle: we are big snackers. I am addicted to reading ingredients before purchasing. I will read ingredients for different munchies and end up with potato chips. Unless it's a sweet potato there are not a whole lot of nutrition in them. And I can't find any organic. But I'm usually able to be found with a bag of potato chips in my house.

One of the flaws I have found in going green is my obsession with the ingredients list. So many foods have such a long list of ingredients that I don't buy them. So I buy a lot of natural (i.e. only three ingredients) potato chips. Although the potatoes are on the dirty dozen list I can't find any organic. I should be munching on fruits and veggies but I love me some carbs, and usually don't feel full on fruits and veggies alone.