The first step to eating healthy food is getting healthy food into your kitchen! Shopping for food is more and more overwhelming due to the huge variety of stores much less the variety within the store. So, my first series of blog posts is all about sourcing to try and break it down into manageable bites (so to speak).
Produce, produce, produce
This first post is all about produce. I'm a firm believer that eating more veggies is the #1 thing most people can easily incorporate into their lives for healthier living. And to not die. I shoot for 8 servings a day (this includes 1-3 servings of fruit) so when I go to the store my cart is mostly filled with fruits and veggies.
Where?
Believe it or not, I buy most of my produce at a "regular" store. I'm lucky enough to have a Whole Foods 365 (the more economical version of Whole Foods) in my neighborhood so buy most of my produce either there or at Costco. I do enjoy the local and seasonal selections at farmer's markets but frankly the additional time and expense of sourcing primarily from farmer's markets doesn't outweigh the benefits for me. And eating veggies is so critical that making sure you have a convenient and reliable way to obtain them is paramount!
In addition to my weekly 365 trip and bi-weekly Costco trip (I have a family of 5!), we get a produce box from Imperfect Produce (currently available in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange County, Portland, Oregon Metro, Seattle, Chicago, Indianapolis, and Milwaukee). They offer home delivery of semi-local, organic veggies with cosmetic flaws that make them unsellable to the supermarkets. I like that we are contributing to diminishing food waste and it also forces me to try new things. Imperfect Produce is cheaper than most CSA’s (which are wonderful too...find one near you here!), and I like that they make it easy to customize your box with a reminder email nearly a week ahead off delivery. Occasionally they’ve sent items that were imperfect in an inedible way but were very responsive when I emailed them and refunded the amount.
What?
The end game is to include a wide variety of vegetables into your diet so be flexible and choose items that are in season or look the best. This is perhaps the only section of the store where the sky's the limit! My shopping list rarely says "asparagus", it might say something like "green veggie to go with steak". If you are a meal planner, God bless you, and by all means go with your detailed list.
Take advantage of pre-cut vegetables if you find yourself crunched for prep time. And who among us is not?
If you're new to eating veggies, shopping on the fly like this might not work as well. Make sure to get 1-2 veggies you know you like then challenge yourself to make one new veggie preparation per week. Don't give up on a veggie if you don't like that preparation...for instance, I love roasted brussel sprouts with plenty of olive oil and salt or raw in a salad but can't stand them boiled.
Lastly, I try and buy mostly organic but don't always buy exclusively organic. Eating an adequate quantity of vegetables is in my opinion far more important than exclusively eating organic. When I do buy conventionally raised fruits and vegetables, I try and abide by the EWG "Dirty Dozen" list to prioritize.
From my produce box. In my house this is a one week supply of carrots!