THE
POWER OF FOOD: What is REAL FOOD?
Adopting a healthier eating-routine is often
looked at as daunting, overwhelming, or unattainable due to higher costs and/or
excessive time requirements. The days of “low-fat,” and “low-carb,” have been
replaced with new and even more confusing labels like “vegan,” “paleo” or
“keto.” Conflicting messages from social media, nightly newscasts, and even
health-minded friends and loved ones, have made modern-day nutrition much more
confusing then it has to be. Skipping over the latest fads and diet trends, instead
focusing on core nutritional
principles that have stood the test of time will not only take much of the
guess-work out of modern day healthy eating, but make it much more sustainable
for long-term use.
BACK TO BASICS:
The
term “clean eating” can have a multitude of definitions dependent upon whom you
ask. At its most basic, clean eating simply means eating REAL FOOD. Now, you
may ask, “what exactly is real food?”
REAL FOOD is food that is a close to nature as possible, unrefined, minimally
processed, whole-food. From brightly colored fruits and vegetables from the
produce department or farm stand, to raw nuts and seeds, dried beans, whole grains,
and pasture-raised/grass fed meats or wild-caught seafood.
REAL FOOD…
◼ HAS AN EXPIRATION DATE: With short and
simple ingredient lists, real-food maintains no added chemical preservatives to
make it shelf-stable for months and or years.
◼ IS
CHEMICAL/PESTICIDE FREE: Whenever possible, opting for ORGANIC foods means that
you can reap the nutritional benefits of said food item without worrying about
adding on an additional toxic-load thanks to harmful pesticides and
fertilizers.
◼ IS LOCAL AND/OR SEASONAL WHEN POSSIBLE:
After organic certification, local and seasonal foods are best. Often times
traveling less than 100 miles from their farm of origin, and picked at the peak
of ripeness, local foods tend to loose fewer nutrients due to short transit
times and exposures, AND often taste
especially delicious as they are grown during the time of the year they are
meant to be grown!
◼ HAS INGREDIENTS YOU CAN READ: The coveted
“dead-zone” of the super-market is loaded with brightly packaged (red flag #1)
and chemical-laden “food-stuffs” that are designed to keep consumers reaching
back for more. From artificial flavors, colors, and sugars, to traces of heavy
metals, and genetically-modified ingredients, paying attention to the
ingredient lists and buying items with short and simple ones is high priority.
◼ REQUIRES NO “HEALTH CLAIMS:” A bag of brown
rice is rarely stamped with a “Contains Whole Grains,” seal, nor is a filet of
wild-caught salmon stickered with a “High Protein” label. Real food has stood
the test of time and needs no false-marketing to promote its sales.
◼ ATE REAL FOOD: Well-known author, Michael
Pollan, wrote in his book “In
Defense of Food,” “You are what you eat, ate.” If the cows that provided
the hamburger patties you are grilling up tonight were fed chemically-sprayed grains
and growth hormones or the vibrant veggies making up your salad were grown in
pesticide laden-soil, the chemicals “fed” to our food before we eat it, becomes
us as we ingest it.
SLOW & STEADY WINS THE RACE:
In a perfect world, eating REAL FOOD
would come easily for all of us- grocery stores full of organic, unrefined
products, pantry’s filled with whole grains, organic spices, and better-for-you
snack foods, restaurants that offer delicious and nutritious food at every
corner. Wouldn’t it be so nice? Sounds like a dream, and although within the
past ten years the food-world has seen a boom in healthier-options, when it
comes down to the nitty-gritty, we all know that when time is limited, money is
tight, or emotions are in the drivers-seat, opting for real food over quick and
easy processed “stuff,” often wins out.
This
is why today’s post will focus on the “core principles” that you can begin
incorporating into your daily/weekly routines so as not to completely overhaul
everything you have come to know. Simplifying REAL FOOD and making it
accessible and approachable for everyone is my goal, and if you continue to
join me each week, you will build up your nutrition “tool-belt,” so that what
was once deemed as “overwhelming,” will soon become second nature.
CLEAN EATING CORE:
1. DINE ON DENSITY: When it comes to selecting
snacks and meals, choose foods that give you the most “nutritional bang for
your food-buck.” This means that, ounce-for-ounce, the food you put into your
cart or on your plate will provide you with more nutrients (vitamins, minerals,
protein, etc.) compared to processed and packaged items.
2. COLOR YOUR WORLD: Discovering the amazing
power of plants is a simple step everyone can do. Whether or not you have
access to fresh organic produce or have a bag of frozen organic berries in your
freezer, adding several doses of color to each meal will add to your
health-fund. * Remember to aim for ORGANIC, and/or LOCAL/SEASONAL whenever
possible.
3. PLAN, PREP, and POWER FORWARD: Planning
meals or writing a grocery list might seem monotonous and boring, but it
doesn’t have to be! Through writing down needs and ideas on a piece of paper or
post-it, we support our minds in producing healthier-habits that are more
likely to stick ( and you may even cut food costs!)
4. PERUSE THE PERIMETER: When shopping,
sticking to the outer “edges” of the store (aside from the bakery department!)
will be in your best interest when it comes to picking up REAL FOOD that has
less of a likelihood to have long ingredient lists and scary shelf-lives.
Inner-store aisles (ie: the “grocery dead-zone”) are good to pick up pantry
staples, and meal-finishers, however, focus on obtaining the bulk of your
ingredients/meals on the out-skirts.
5. FIND COMFORT IN THE KITCHEN: Fear not! While the kitchen may be filled with sharp
utensils and bulky pots and pans, taking control of what you put into your body
is easiest when YOU prepare some of the meals yourself.
CONFUSED? LOST? OVERWHELMED?
Don’t fret, I am
here to help! From one-on-one nutritional consults, dietary meal plans, group
and personalized cooking classes, pantry clean-outs, and grocery tours, True
Wellness Nutrition has got you covered! Please don’t hesitate to sign-up to dig
a bit deeper into the core clean-eating principles and show you ways in which
you can start implementing them you’re your life!
Don’t hesitate to
reach out, I am here to help, and I look forward to assisting you on your
journey towards #truewellness
AUGUST CULINARY NUTRITION EVENTS
AUGUST CULINARY NUTRITION EVENTS
Genevieve – “G”
Certified Plant Based Nutritionist | CHHC|
Culinary Nutritionist
True Wellness Biological Health
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