(Source: http://www.thedailysheeple.com/the-good-the-bad-and-the-deadly-ewg-releases-2014-dirty-dozen-and-clean-fifteen-lists_042014)
We have thousands of excuses as to why we’re
not eating healthy. “I can’t cook”, “There’s no healthy food at work” and “I
haven’t got the time to prepare all the meals” are the most common ones.
The excuse “I haven’t got enough money to
eat healthy” seems valid at first glance. A 250-gram bag of chia seeds from Whole Foods will be more expensive than
a 500-gram bag of peanut M&Ms.
A grass-fed steak with sweet potatoes and
broccoli will be more expensive then a dinner at McDonalds.
Bulking technique:
If you shop wisely, a free-range egg
omelette with a side of butter-drenched spinach will be cheaper than a lunch at
Subways. Why?
The answer is simple: buy in bulk.
I always have dozens of free-range eggs in
my house, large bags of frozen veggies and berries and kilograms of oats. In
order to cut the price off of your food, you need to shop at larger
supermarkets that offer these items in abundant amounts.
As for wild game, try to find a hunter in
your area who’ll sell you large amounts of wild game. This will reduce the
price off of your meat consumption immensely. I haven’t found a hunter yet, so
until then I’ll be eating free-range eggs, quality meat and fish caught in a
sustainable manner.
Remember, eating high quality animal
products is not only about being good to ourselves; it’s about supporting
farmers who treat their animals humanely. But that’s a topic for another day.
Organic versus Conventional,
The “Dirty Dozen Plus” and “The Clean Fifteen” – Buy Wisely
Now that you know the importance of buying
(some of your) foods in bulk, let’s move on to the organic versus non-organic
dispute.
This is a topic of great controversy, so I
figured the best way to go about it was to read studies done on this and report
back.
Let’s start with meat. Numerous studies
have shown, that grass-fed meat has a lower omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acid
profile compared to conventionally raised meat. The average person eats a diet
high in omega 6’s and low in omega 3’s – this leads to severe inflammation.
Grass-fed meat has often times an omega 6
to omega 3 ratio of 1.5:1, which is ideal for our body. Thus, grass-fed meat
helps you set your omega 6:3 ratio back to normal.
Furthermore, grass-fed meat and dairy have
significantly higher levels of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) compared to
grain-fed dairy and meat. CLA has numerous benefits in the human body, one of
them being its cancer fighting properties.
When examined for vitamin and mineral
levels, grass-fed meat ruled over grain-fed meat once more: substantially
higher levels of a variety of nutrients, including vitamin E and beta-carotene were
found.
How does organic produce differ to
non-organic produce? To quote the USDA: “Organic
is a labeling term that indicates that the food or other agricultural product
has been produced through approved methods. These methods integrate cultural, biological,
and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological
balance, and conserve biodiversity. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge,
irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used.”
In addition to the above stated organic
criteria, studies have shown that organic produce contains more nutrients than
non-organic produce, although this may be debatable.
That being said, organic produce tends to
be more expensive than it’s respective conventional counterpart. If you were on
a budget, I’d strongly recommend you follow the “Clean Fifteen” and “Dirty
Dozen Plus” lists.
(Source: http://www.thedailysheeple.com/the-good-the-bad-and-the-deadly-ewg-releases-2014-dirty-dozen-and-clean-fifteen-lists_042014)
Every year two lists are released. The
“Clean Fifteen” contains the 15 most pesticide free fruit and vegetables,
whereas the “Dirty Dozen Plus” informs us about the 14 most pesticide
contaminated fruit and vegetables.
So, if you can’t or don’t want to buy
exclusively organic produce, focus on buying the fruits and vegetables
mentioned in the “Dirty Dozen Plus” organic.
As for food in the “Clean Fifteen”, you’ll
be safe buying them conventionally as well.
(INSERT PICTURE HERE)
Buy seasonally
Buy your produce
seasonally. Not only does this save you money, it’s also better for your health
and the environment.
Depending on
where you live, some foods won’t be local as they’re grown in a different
climate to yours (you won’t find German bananas). These foods can also be eaten,
yet keep in mind where they came from and how long it took for them to arrive in
the supermarket. All these factors can have profound effects on the level of
pesticide contamination as well as the nutrient density.
Be adaptable: if
you live in a cooler climate, eat copious amounts of fresh berries in summer
and eat oranges in winter. If you’re in South East Asia, tropical fruit and vegetables
will be available to you for the entire year.
But remember, you
can also buy frozen produce throughout the year, this will drop the price and
raise the nutrient level (flash frozen produce contain more nutrients
oftentimes).
Aim
For The Bits Of Meat Most People Don’t Want
Unfortunately, due
to our spoilt modern attitude, we throw away perfectly edible pieces of meat
because they’re harder to eat or aren’t as aesthetically pleasing as others.
Typically, these
cuts contain more bone and cartilage and require more time to eat than a
perfectly cut chicken breast.
Due to the low
demand for these cuts, they’re usually cheaper than the popular ones. Buying
them can therefore be a relief for your wallet and the bones and cartilage give
you soup material.
Choose your food wisely
The health and fitness industry has
skyrocketed in the past few years. You’ve probably noticed countless aisles in
your supermarket filled with gluten-free items, “superfoods” such as Goji
berries, and all natural food bars, to name a few.
Some of these foods are a scam (magic diet
pills for example), whilst others really are good for you (e.g. chia seeds).
If you were on a budget however, I would
recommend you avoid these health foods, as they’re usually very expensive.
Stick with the basics: spinach, oats, eggs,
bell peppers, frozen berries, butter, olive oil etc., these foods are healthy
and they don’t burn a whole in your wallet.
When it comes to costly food bars, you’ll
notice that most of them consist of dates and nuts. Thus, buy copious amounts
of raw nuts instead and eat them as a snack.
The Three Price Categories
Of Food
1.
Cheap food:
This category contains
healthy food at a very low price. Keep in mind that some of the foods mentioned
here are not really healthy.
Protein: Eggs, plain yogurt, lean conventional meat (I’d
stay away from it if at all possible) and beans
Fats: Butter, olive oil, nuts, peanut butter,
cream and dark chocolate.
Carbohydrate: Oats, fruit (as listed in fruit
category), beans, wholegrain pasta, potatoes, rice and honey
Vegetables: Spinach, bell peppers, tomatoes
etc. Look for nutrient dense vegetables (in other
words, don’t stock
up on cucumbers.) As mentioned earlier, go for frozen options as much as
you can.
Fruits: Frozen berries, apples, bananas, grapes etc.
Follow the generic principles listed in the non-starchy vegetables category
Supplements: Whey protein powder, multivitamins
2.
Economical food:
Protein: Free-range eggs, grass-fed beef, chicken and pork, plain
yogurt/ Greek yogurt, lamb, sustainably caught fish, and beans.
Fat: Coconut
oil, grass-fed butter, olive oil, nuts, nut-butters, avocados, oily fish such
as salmon, dark chocolate, chia seeds, flax seeds, and cream.
Carbohydrate: Sweet potatoes,
quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, oats, parsnips, pumpkins, fruit, rice variations, beans
and honey
Vegetables: Spinach, kale, bell peppers, tomatoes,
onions etc. Go crazy here :).
Fruit: Focus on berries, apples,
oranges, pears, lemons etc.
Supplements: Fish oil, whey
and hemp protein and multivitamins
3.
Premium food:
Add the
following foods to the Economical category if you wish.
Protein: Wild-caught meat and fish
Fat: Bacon from grass-fed pigs
Supplements:
powdered greens, grass-fed whey, high quality vitamin and mineral supplements, Onnit products etc.
Is their something you disagreed on or
would like to add? Did you like this blog post? Comments are more than WELCOME
:D
