Inside My Pantry: Real Food

Clean Eating.  Real Food.  Whole Food.  Processed Food.

What do those things even mean?  If you're just starting your health journey, I'm sure you are probably a little confused.  I know I was!  I couldn't understand all the differences, and it took a lot of my own researching to figure it all out!

Let's take a little closer look at what that means and what it can mean for you!  What is real food? What is whole food? Well, those terms can be interchangeable.  All it means is food in its purest form.  Some examples include:  fresh fruits, fresh veggies, lean meats, even dairy can be a whole food.

When we are aiming for a healthier lifestyle, we want to eat as many whole foods as we can.  These are the foods that are going to have actual nutrients in them that our body needs.  You want to eat more of these types of foods than processed foods.

What are processed foods?  These are going to be the packaged foods.  They will be found in the aisles of the grocery stores.  So things like crackers, cookies, canned items, soups, noodles, and other items in the middle aisles are processed.  They generally are full of preservatives and things our bodies don't recognize.

A key to navigating the grocery store is to stay around the perimeter.  The freshest foods will be found in the perimeter of the store.  If you need to head down an aisle, that's fine, especially if you're slowly making over your pantry.  But make sure to read your labels.  Know what is in each product that you pick up.  If one brand has less ingredients than other, choose that one.  Try to find products that don't have added sugar.

If you don't know what an ingredient is use your phone to google it!  I do this all the time!  If I find that it's not something I'm comfortable with putting in my body, then I'll try to find a different brand that doesn't have that ingredient.  This may take you a bit of time the first several times you go to the store, but you'll soon be able to recognize brands and specific products that you deem as "safe."

The more you know and learn, the more empowered you will be to make good decisions for your family!

Check out my video below.  I give you some more examples of the kinds of things to look for in the grocery store!