I went food shopping today with a dear friend to help her navigate the store as she starts her real food adventure. It can be very overwhelming in the beginning, so my advice to her was to start slow. Start by adding new things instead of taking anything away. Replace the not-so-real with the real. Eventually, there will only be room for the whole, the real and the good.

Here is what she bought:

• Bananas
• Organic Oranges
• Organic Lemons
• Organic Kale
• Organic Pears
• Organic Pickles
• Organic Roasted Red Peppers
• Organic Cayenne
• Raw Honey
• Organic Grade B Maple Syrup
• Coconut Oil
• Organic Vanilla Extract (without alcohol)
• Organic Stone Ground Mustard
• Kombucha
• Organic Almond Flour
• Organic Coconut Flour
• Tapioca Flour
• Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
• Organic Almond Butter
• Wild Planet Albacore Tuna
• Organic Ghee
• Caveman Cookies
• Organic Chia Seeds
• Almond Milk (Silk brand, we chose this brand because it does not contain carrageenan)
• Citrus Press
• Natures Path Gluten-Free Vanilla Sunrise Cereal
• Natures Path Gluten-Free Waffles

Nature’s Path is one of, if not the only, brand of breakfast cereal that is 100% non-GMO and 100% organic across their entire product line. If you buy breakfast cereal, and you don’t want to eat Monsanto’s GM corn, always choose cereals from Nature’s Path. Many “natural” brands that appear to be healthful and natural are actually not organic or GMO-free. For example, “Barbara’s Bakery” cereals are not organic. Although they are positioned in store shelves alongside other organic cereals, they are actually made with conventional crops grown with pesticides which may include Monsanto’s Roundup.

The lemons, cayenne and citrus press were purchased so she can drink her lemon and cayenne water every morning. The coconut oil and ghee will be used for baking and cooking.

She bought the ingredients for a Banana Orange Kale Smoothie and a Banana Almond Smoothie. Smoothies are a great way to start adding veggies and fruit into your diet, so you get the recommended amount per day. It is really hard to eat the amount of fruits and veggies we are supposed to each day, but the smoothie makes it doable. If made with the right combination of ingredients, you will never know you are drinking spinach, kale, etc.

We also bought ingredients for her to make some Grain-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins. She is going to make these and package them individually so she can grab-and-go in the morning. She is also going to make Egg Muffins and package those individually (bags of 2) to have for an easy breakfast in the morning.

She bought the gluten-free cereal and waffles for her 3 children. Ideally, she will start making grain-free cereal and pancakes/french toast sticks to freeze. But we are starting slow, and having things on-hand is a key for success so you don’t stress yourself out by not having conveninet food in the house. “Gluten-free” foods are often made with rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca starch, or potato starch. These powdered starches are among the few foods that increase blood sugar higher than even whole wheat. It means these foods trigger weight gain in the abdomen (“gluten-free belly”), increase blood sugars, insulin resistance and diabetes, cataracts, and arthritis. They are not healthy replacements for wheat.

She bought Kombucha to have another drink option other than water. Kombucha is a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) and it has the fizz you may miss when weaning off soda. It is known to improve joint function, digestion, immunity and help the body cleanse. We chose GT’s Organic Raw Kombucha, which is minimally processed and contains only the following: 100% gt organic raw kombucha, klamath valley blue-green algae, spirulina, chlorella. Many other brands of Kombucha contain a load more sugar than GT’s.  There is also citric acid in some Kombuchas, which is at risk of being genetically modified if the ingredient list does not indicate “organic citric acid.” 

She is super excited to get started and I have super excited for her!

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“When you know better, you do better.”