I highly recommend reading this book. It was very eye-opening in terms of the "food" we purchase. It's basic, common-sense and easy to read.
We often hear that we should avoid processed foods and eat more whole foods. So what do they mean by processed? I found this article and thought it was informative and worth sharing. What are processed foods? Another site, FitNut explained whole food as, "Whole foods are foods that are unprocessed and unrefined, or processed and refined as little as possible before being consumed. Whole foods typically do not contain added ingredients, such as sugar, salt, or fat." So, these are the foods we keep hearing about. And essentially, the foods are the best for us are nutrient dense foods that are found in their most natural state. Read the rest of THIS article for a really great description of whole foods.
Of course, we live in a very busy, "convenience" based society and thus we find ourselves faced with the dilemma of wanting to eat well, but not always having the time to prepare everything from scratch every. single. day. As this is the case, I suppose the best advice is to shop informed wherever it is that you can afford to shop. Look for items that have the fewest ingredients AND make sure those ingredients are recognizable and pronounceable. I think that making any small changes to include more whole foods and less processed foods will be beneficial. It can certainly be overwhelming trying to make BIG adjustments all at once, but a few tweaks here and there can really make a difference and lead to lifetime of good habits.
Dianne (originally posted 6/20/12)