Happy New Year!!!! Last year totally rocked – Thank you for letting me be part of your lives! I love you all very much and wish you a year filled with lots of adventure, happiness and ultimate wellness!
I hope you are already following Habit #1, Habit #2, Habit #3, and Habit #4 - I am!
I woke up and had hot water with lemon and cayenne this morning, fasted for 12 hours, and fueled up after with a green smoothie… It’s been a great day following habits that are simple to take forth year after year…not just part of one year’s resolution.
I have one more habit left to share… And it’s another easy one.
Habit #5 – Change your Grocery Store
If I could give one piece of health advice to everyone I love I’d ask them to shop in a place where they can get the best quality groceries and produce available. Changing my grocery store has been fundamental in changing my health for the better. Typical huge whole sale box stores and conventional supermarkets are stocked with so many bad chemicals and ingredients it makes my head spin. The top BIG FOOD companies have created so many foods that are full of anything but whole ingredients – It’s cheaper for them to make these chemically made up fake foods than to use real whole and nutritious ingredients.
Alternative health stores have been around forever, but in the recent past they have become more mainstream allowing someone to make a easy transition to healthier organic whole, packaged and convenience foods.
I understand that some big name conventional grocery stores are making an effort to include more organic produce and organic convenience foods – but, they still carry all the chemical laden foods too. This makes shopping there 10 times harder because unless you know the brand and trust it – it means reading lots of labels and deciphering chemical names of ingredients. People are busy and what looks like good wholesome food can turn out to be a mistake – This has happened to me! It’s easier for everyone and safer to go to a store or market that has guaranteed quality ingredients.
This is probably one of the worst aisles in a typical grocery store…
There are stores that make a commitment to ban certain ingredients from ever hitting their shelves – Really serious ingredients like growth hormone they put in dairy products that is known to cause cancer, partially hydrogenated fats that cause heart disease and high fructose corn syrup that is linked to diabetes and obesity.
Earth Fare has a list of all banned ingredients and why they ban them in their Food Philosophy. For instance, they don’t allow growth hormone, trans fats, or high fructose corn syrup in any of the products they have on their shelves. Whole Foods does the same thing and Trader Joe’s too. You won’t find Coca Cola or Doritos there. One of my favorite stores (Healthy Home Market) doesn’t have a list sadly, but still does a good job at keeping a lot of bad chemicals out of their store. It’s definitely a better alternative to the chemical filled aisles of a conventional supermarket.
You don’t even need to go into a grocery store at all on a regular basis – you can go to the farmer’s market to get local and organic produce (Atherton Market and 7th Street Public Market are my favorite) or grow your own food… like my Mom does right in her back yard…
And sometimes, you don’t even need to leave your house. Buying organic staples on the internet is a terrific way to save money and time! I can buy organic coconut palm sugar for about half the price I can get it in most natural food stores. This can add up to big savings overtime and worth the click, don’t you think? I also buy coconut oil, Ezekiel pasta, nuts, dried fruit and snacks on the internet too. Have you been to the Food Babe Shop yet?
Remember always…. “The greatest wealth is health.” Support establishments that want you to be well! Vote with your dollars. And shop smart.
Hope you enjoyed this healthy habit series and found some valuable insights to take with you into the new year and beyond!…
I’d love to hear from you either here or on my Facebook Fan Page.
Reader Questions: Where do you shop for groceries? Do you see an opportunity for change? Did you come up with any new year’s resolutions of your own?
Happy Shopping!
Food Babe
The places I shop have changed drastically since I started following a Primal lifestyle this past Sept. I buy most of my meat, dairy and eggs from 2 local farms. I shop for most of my produce at local farmers markets. I WISH we had a Whole Foods or Trader Joes locally, as it is I have to drive over an hour to get to either of those, which I do about every other month to stock up on some pantry items. There are a few foods I still buy from the grocery store, but I have to admit I almost HATE going in regular grocery stores anymore!
Hi Diane! I feel your sentiment when it comes to regular grocery stores. I can’t believe some of the stuff on the shelves that is called food!
I know, and it makes me very sad really. I know how “duped” I was by the mainstream world of food before I discovered primal. When I see folks filling their carts with CRAP I want to run up to them and say “STOP, you’re destroying your health with this stuff!!” As it is, I share my story with anyone who wants to hear it. Just wish there was more I could do to spread the word
Diane – You can do something! You could start a blog, perhaps? That’s what I did. I never imagined my family and friends being so receptive to new ideas – You’ll never guess how many of them have started juicing for instance and eating Kale on a regular basis
If you’d like to share your story with me – I’d be happy to do a guest post on Food Babe!
I’ve had a craft blog for several years now, and I’ve debated starting a food blog. I did a post about my new way of eating for my readers (3 posts actually). Here are the links:
http://dianejaquay.blogspot.com/2011/12/my-new-life.html
http://dianejaquay.blogspot.com/2011/12/tips-and-resources-for-primal-eating.html
http://dianejaquay.blogspot.com/2012/01/meal-plan-for-primal-living.html
I just read your story – WOW! Thanks for sharing the links!
I get some organics online. I can also find some things at Costco as well. Hy-Vee, which is a grocery store in my area, sells lots of organics. Depending on the location, they have the organics and gluten free in a special “health market” section. I also get my eggs from a farm and I grow a huge garden.
Hi Ruth – Wow! A huge garden, eh? My mom is always egging me on to participate more in her organic gardening and food growing efforts – I don’t have much of a green thumb and it takes so much time!!! Maybe one day when I am retired like her!
Vani, look into Square Foot Gardening. It’s been around since the 70′s, but was recently updated. It’s incredibly simple and can be done on a patio or porch if you are don’t have a yard. It’s also designed to plant as you eat, rather than harvest a large crop of something that you can’t use up. We tried it last year, with just tomatos, peppers & carrots (all very hard to kill) and after the initial construction & planting (maybe half a Saturday) I rarely spent more than 5 minutes a day watering, weeding & harvesting. We’re expanding this year to three seasons – adding peas, lettuce, cabbage, cucumbers & radishes to the mix.
Thank you Amanda – I’ll have to check it out. I need to tell my husband about it too! He bought an hydroponic garden kit last year and we grew tomatoes in our laundry room
Since then, not sure where the grower went… hmmmmm….Need to break that thing out again 
Yay – Thank you Food Babe for the 5 habits postings
I received a juicer for Christmas (a saavy e-bay find from my father!!) and I’ve made 2 of your juice recipes already — using organics from my local food co-op, of course! My priority is to consume more antioxidant-rich foods, and despite eating a vegetarian diet for many years, I have ironically not had a vegetable-rich diet. That’s why your suggestions and explanations and ideas are so valuable and helpful! Happy 2012 to you!
Cara – Congratulations on your juicer! It will be life changing
I love your pictures!!!
Where were you in the last picture? Japan? I notice there were chinese tag and japanese tag in that store:)
Hi Jiajia – We were in Japan
This is so true, unfortunately in a small town we have little choice, but our local supermarket is at least independent. I hate to see mothers with trolleys full of junk food and I picture the damage they are causing the kids (not to mention when I see a young child sucking on a sugary drink, their poor teeth!). Our solution has been to grow as much of our own food as possible, meat, eggs and veges, so then at least we know where they come from and we have easy access (although it does take up most of our free time!). For the things that we can’t grow, I would like to find suitable sources on the internet for organic grains etc. I just watched a youtube vid on the danger of Roundup residue on our food and I’m really convinced that we should be looking for organic alternatives as it is sucking the nutrients out of our food (I linked to it on my blog).
Yes – I hear ya Liz! The carts full of junk scare me the most. It freaks me out when I see kids eat “Fruity Pebbles” for breakfast – the top three ingredients are white starch, sugar and transfat in the list…There are so many great alternatives that kids will enjoy – their parents just need to have access to them and buy them.
I need to check out that video on your blog – I have a hunch that I’ve seen it before… Have you seen the documentary “Health Junkies?” It’s free on You Tube but it’s broken up in parts…It’s about raw foodists in England. The kids in the video are my favorite – They’ve never had cereal in their life
This just reeks of convenience: high fructose corn syrup that is linked to diabetes and obesity – sugar? linked to obesity? Nowai. In general I agree with a lot of your sentiments, we might just go about different ways to discussing them. Knowing how to navigate ANY grocery store is a wonderful skill set. Luckily I don’t have to often, as I’m a member of a local food coop which is also a great option for people who want local organic produce.
Yes – Coop is totally an option I forgot to mention! Thank you Katherina!
I also really enjoy the 7th Street Public Market, in fact I blogged about it recently. I can’t wait to see how it evolves in the spring.
http://www.charlottelocavore.com/2011/12/31/a-visit-to-7th-street-public-market/
Another reader mentioned square foot gardening, I also think you should definitely look into it! I started a 4 x 4 square foot garden when I had just enough space at a townhouse. In 4 square feet I was able to grow a few tomato plants, zucchini, chili peppers, lettuce, basil, parsley, shallots, and banana peppers! I by no means have a green thumb, and it worked out well. In the spring, I plan on doing an article on my website about it, but there is already some wonderful websites dedicated to the topic!
I live in Greenville, NC and health food stores and The Fresh Market do not accept EBT(which I use). I sent them an email and they said that it had to do with the cost to train staff and update their systems, etc. So all we have is Walmart, Food Lion, Harris teeter, Piggly Wiggly, various drug stores. I wish we had an Earth Fare. It would make my shopping a whole lot easier….Nevertheless, this Summer I am planning on joining a co-op. I can get fresh fruits and veggies, eggs, meat, cheese, flowers-Just about everything we need and everything is in season and from trusted farms! Lookin’ forward to it!
It’s so frustrating that we have NONE of those types of stores closer than an hour to us. I’ve written to Whole Foods and Trader Joes to beg them to build a store in our area to no avail. We have a tiny little healthy grocery store, but because it’s the only one in the area, the prices are outrageous and they have such a small selection. Wegmans is the closest to a healthy full grocery store I can access.
I feel like the healthy grocery stores should be the norm and not the exception as they seem to be.
I would LOVE to switch grocery stores. Unfortunately, where we live, we have a Walmart, two discount grocery warehouses and a very small family owned grocer. Nothing else for 35 to 50 miles away. When I do drive the 50 miles (every couple months or so), we go to a Wegman’s and I just noticed a Trader Joe’s is being built – to open soon. That will be exciting. I do have to stick to basic staples as we are on a tight budget though. Organics and specialty items really bust the budget.
Love your site. It is extremely interesting and informative. I’m always doing a search looking for something I should or shouldn’t be eating. Thanks for the articles.
Hi! So I noticed that Earth Fare is selling coca cola now. I guess it’s probably the kind without high fructose corn syrup…. But still! What are your thoughts? Thanks!!!!
Hi Courtney,
Unfortunately, you still have to really watch what you buy, even in the health food stores. They still sell a lot of unhealthy food in there…
I was just curious about how much your weekly budget is for food? How much does eating this way cost? I always want to buy organic but I feel like I can only get half as much food if I buy the organic options. Am I doing something wrong? And I’ve seen people mention co-ops- what is that exactly?