Years of reading labels and learning about nutrition and natural health, i've come to realize that the easiest ways to avoid all the junk ingredients in food are:
1 • Read every label and refuse to buy a product that contains even one toxic/unhealthy ingredient
2 • Learn to make cooking from scratch enjoyable
3 • Shop the perimeter of the grocery store (which also makes shopping faster). The less aisles you travel down, the less you will be tempted to make unhealthy impulse buys.
Reading every label ensures that i do not put anything unhealthy in my body and that i do not support the food companies that make the food. Remember, supply meets demand, so if you want to see healthier options, don't spend your money on unhealthy options.
i've always enjoyed cooking, but i've also ran into my fair share of challenges when i wasn't able to rely on a box mix that required adding water, an egg, and maybe some oil. i had to learn a lot of new things and go back to the basics of cooking, i had many kitchen failures, lol, but i learned to enjoy the process. And once i learned the basics, cooking homemade meals got to be a lot easier and faster. It just takes a little patience, perseverance, practice, and a desire to give your body the food it needs to be healthy.
It didn't take long to realize how much my shopping trips changed after changing to a healthy lifestyle. i used to go up and down almost every aisle in the grocery store. Now, i visit the organic produce section, the natural foods frozen section, and sometimes a few aisles on the natural foods section. My trips are much faster and by not going down all the other aisles, i avoid the temptation of buying unhealthy food. A good part of my food, especially during the spring, summer, and fall, comes from local farmers. i don't by pasteurized milk because it has no nutritional value once it's pasteurized. and i don't buy grocery store eggs either, for that same reason — i get them from a local farmer.
Even if a product label says "natural" or "organic" it doesn't necessarily mean all the ingredients are healthy. Be proactive and know what is in your food. You can't trust companies who know little to nothing about health and nutrition to have your best interest in mind.
Here's a list of ingredients to avoid in foods. Print it out and take it with you to the store. Research the ingredients you are not sure about because, ultimately, you are what you eat.
God, thank you for opening my eyes this week to what is in my food. i wish i could trust that food put on shelves is made in my best interest, but sadly it's not. Lord you have put such amazing food on this earth for your children to enjoy. Help us get back to basics and find the time to enjoy cooking healthy meals so that we can be wholly healthy.
Didn't know that about eggs! I might have to quit buying egg beaters and look into getting something locally! :)
Posted by: Katie | Friday, February 01, 2013 at 08:04 AM