I am out of the kitchen and off to do some supermarket shopping in today’s video.
This should be fun!
How much do you buy at the enormous supermarkets where the vast majority of people buy most of their food today?
In this video, I will navigate you through the aisles of backside bulging processed foods to find the things that you can purchase that will enhance rather that harm your health.
I hope this video gets you thinking about where you can reduce your spending at the supermarket and better use that money elsewhere with small, local businesses and farms.
Healthy Supermarket Shopping (Is this even possible?)
More Information
My Asian Supermarket Adventure
Whole Foods: The Wal-Mart of Healthfood
I am with you, Sarah. The grocery store holds little attraction for me. It has taken about a year to reduce my dependence on what they sell there. I am even a one shopping basket customer at Whole Foods- organic processed food is still processed! The point I want to make is that this transition is so worthwhile in creating local food communities. If this is a priority for you, it won’t seem like a chore – I was shocked at how many nutrient dense foods I could find living 30 miles outside of New York City! However, THE most liberating thing is knowing that I really NEED so few things to provide a healthy life for me and my family. Thanks for the post!
That is a great point, Yvonne .. we really don’t “need” all those choices at the supermarket in reality anyway, do we? All those colorful boxes and packages are all so alluring, but they are empty on the inside. It is mostly just endless repackaging of sugary/high grain carb foods with an endless probability of taste variation so that we feel compelled to buy a ton of it to line our walk in pantry at home (that’s another blog .. the bigger the pantry, the bigger the backside!) The real food that makes us feel fantastic and brimming with energy is the plain stuff that is boring to look at or hidden away on the top or bottom shelves (the middle shelves hold the most high profit items typically).
Just curious about the bananas. I live in banana country up in the tropics of Aus…and it is a very sprayed crop; also, they are gassed to ripen. So, I was just wondering where yours are grown that they don’t have to spray.
Cheers!
Sarah, I understand your point, but I have been unable to find local farms or health food stores that sell raw, unpasteurized dairy, grass-fed beef, and pastured chicken. I shop at Publix for my cage-free eggs, organic dairy, yogurt cheese, quinoa, and some produce. Then I go to Whole Foods for my meat, nuts, seeds, etc. If I could find better sources of food, I would use them. But sometimes you have to do the best you can with what’s available in your area.
Argh! Where do I even begin? I am VERY new to all of this….just started reading your blog a couple of weeks ago. And I love all the new things I’m learning, but I’m sooooo overwhelmed! I am a stay-at-home mom just trying to survive most days with two active boys, ages 1 and 3. I want to improve our family’s health and don’t know where to start. I do shop at Publix, but I get so confused reading the ingredients of things and usually just end up buying “organic” labeled stuff, but that’s just really expensive, and from what I’ve read so far on your blog, not really nutritious anyways. So, where do I begin? Help!
Hi Jennifer, start by getting the fats right and the boxes out of your pantry.
https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/five-fats-you-must-have-in-your-kitchen/
Those 2 things right there will have a huge impact on your family’s health. Start going through my video archives and learn about traditional cooking. It doesn’t have to happen overnight. Take it a day at a time.
I used to shop at Publix. By necessity I switched to Whole Foods when I went gluten-free. I still buy a few things at Publix – mainly junk for my husband – but I like their Dairy sour cream and some of the things you mentioned in the video. I know WF is far from ideal but they do have local grassfed beef, local produce (much more than before), etc. I do get meats, eggs, cheese and milk locally as well as raw honey. Since I work outside the home CSA is just not possible for me. I also use a local farmer’s market for produce in spring – fall. Great video by the way!!
Eh, I admit that I need to quit buying so much at grocery stores. Kroger has a nice organic section and along with the healthfood store its the only place remotely close to me. When the weathers warm I do go to local farmers to buy produce.
Something else I would like to add, I agree with what you said about “organic junkfood”. I started out my real health journey by eating organic junkfood without ever realizing that its not really good for me. My mom is still convinced that by eating organic junkfood that she’s doing herself a favor.
If you read the label on a box of organic cookies they do put far less artificial chemicals and preservatives in them, however their still full of sugar and bad fats. Though I’ll definitely take a cookie from Whole Foods bakery anyday over my brother’s chemical sludge Little Debbies.
Oh definitely. The organic junk food is a far better choice, I totally agree. It will still cause problems though and should only be eaten on occasion and shouldn’t be a regular in anyone’s pantry. I must admit that I’ve grabbed my box of organic cookies before on my way to a party! ;0
Yeah, its nice to have the option of organic chemical-free junkfood because I still like to eat cookies sometimes.
What is Kerrygold butter? How does it stand out from the other butters sold at the store? Sometimes Publix will have their organic unsalted butter on sale and I will buy that, but is Kerrygold butter worth looking into?
KerryGold comes from Ireland and is quite yellow as the cows are on pasture. The taste is out of this world.
I can also vouch for KerryGold butter! It is by far the most delicous butter you can buy, besides local raw butter, of course. I have actually been guilty of eating a piece, plain, and of course a slice of salted KerryGold butter is one of my 4-year-old sister’s favorite treats!
That was great! It is very helpful to see exactly what you buy. Hopefully the health food covert operation will work. I am very curious however where you get your cheese from. I am in the same area is you and I am having a very hard time finding a good local source. I found one online in orlando that does mostly blue cheese but am wondering if you have a good local source or if you order it by mail.
Thank you!
Fabulous video, Sarah!
For readers looking for local sources, in addition to contacting WAPF chapter leaders in your area, you could try http://www.localharvest.org and http://www.eatwild.com (other ideas, too?).
Also, some farmers’ markets that didn’t used to have winter hours are starting to have them. The main ones in the Twin Cities, for example, now have winter hours every other Saturday that feature local meats, dairy and eggs. Still not finding what you want? How about forming a buying club?
Hi Sarah, love your blog!! I have learned so much. Thank you! I am wondering if you have any advice on how, what & where to eat when traveling. During the spring & summer we travel for business and sometimes are on the road for one-two weeks at a time. This year I want to eat healthy. Any ideas or suggestions?
Hi Linda, I did a blog about this last summer.
https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/eat-healthy-while-traveling-this-summer/
Hope that helps!