Shopping Clean

Rules of shopping Clean

1. Shop the perimeter

2.  Be weary of food item that have more than 5 ingredients. 

3. If you can't state the name of a particular ingredient in the food you're about to dine on, then consider passing. 

4.  Avoid items that say bleached or enriched.

5.  Make a list and stick to it.

6.  Eat before you go grocery shopping.  


Shop the Perimeter of the Grocery Store. Every store is different, but as a general rule, the outside edge is the natural habitat of the fresh vegetable, meat market, whole-grain baked goods, and the nuts and dried fruits in the bulk bin. Get comfortable here; it is now your territory.  The produce is the one place that I allow myself to deviate from my grocery list.  I buy what I will need for recipes, but I also buy the specials.  My kids love it when I come home with a bag of grapes or a carton of strawberries, they eat them up even faster than a donut.  

You'll probably have to venture into the interior for some staples like olive oil, but keep your blinders on. You're entering a museum of extravagant packaging and manipulative slogans. Few of the items you see in the store's interior promote good health; it's a stretch to call most of it "food." 
More than likely foods that contain more than 5 ingredients are not a "clean" food. Apples, bananas, oats, nuts, eggs, honey are all 1 ingredient foods. Pretty cool, right. There's no guess work there.  Twinkies and cheetos, not so much.  Of course there are exceptions, but this is a pretty good general rule.  

Don't Eat Foods with Ingredients You Can't Pronounce. Look at the label of a box of cookies, a children's lunch pack, or even a bottle of "natural" juice. You'd need a chemistry degree to read it, and even then, you couldn't say what those substances are doing to you in the long run. I have even noticed that different brands of the same canned good will have different ingredients, so be weary.  Compare labels and get the most nutritious one possible.  First, I look at the ingredients and then I compare the sugar and salt content and choose the one with the least amount of additives. 


Avoid any flours that are “enriched” or bleached these grains have been stripped and are filled will additive replace nutrients lost in the manufacturing process.  Even bread products that say "whole wheat" may have enriched or bleached flours, so check the ingredient list first, then look at fiber content.  I have been buying Harper's Homemade bread.  It is made locally and has all natural ingredients.  Of course, homemade is always best! So if you have the time, make your own bread.