Today is Tip Tuesday and I offer a few tips on how to incorporate more whole, real food into your “diet”. (The word “diet” makes me twitchy. I am not on a “diet” as in cutting calories. My use of the word “diet”  is a way of eating for optimal physical and mental health and feeling the best I can feel when my feet hit the floor in the morning.)

Let’s face the facts, I’m working under two assumptions: 1.You want to eat whole, real food and 2. Whole, real foods are better for you and for me. I believe they are. I know I feel better when I eat whole, real food. Research in fact supports the consumption of whole grains, fresh fruits, vegetables, lean poultry and meat,  and monounsaturated fats (olive oil, avocado, almonds, walnuts). And red wine. (But that’s a topic for another Tip Tuesday.) My personal dietary goal is to cook with as much real food and real ingredients as possible. I’ll be honest, I have room for improvement. Eating more whole, real food boils down to purging as many heavily processed foods from the pantry and replacing the processed with whole, real alternatives. So let’s get started.

1. Visit the ingredient list of every box, bag, or can of food in your pantry, refrigerator, or freezer. Separate the food into two locations.

2. In location #1 put every food (or ingredient) which includes one or more of the following:

  • High fructose corn syrup
  • Partially-hydrogenated or hydrogenated vegetable oil
  • Sodium content of over 300 mg per serving
  • Artificial coloring
  • Artificial sweetener such as saccharin, aspartame, Splenda, or Equal
  • Greater than 7 ingredients on the ingredient list, including a few ingredients you can’t pronounce (note: wheat flour usually contain B-vitamins and I’m OK with this. That’s called enrichment and the topic of yet another tip Tuesday.)

3. In location #2 place the food without any of the above ingredients. Examples of this type of food from my kitchen are All-Bran cereal, brown rice, no-salt-added canned diced tomatoes, and a quart of plain yogurt.  Why do I ask you to do this?  Because whole, real food does not contain any of the above ingredients. Mother nature didn’t make food with these ingredients, food manufacturers do. We are led to believe we can’t live without fish crackers and boxed rice pilafs. (For me it’s Cheez-its.) The truth is we can live without fish crackers and boxed rice pilafs (and Cheez-its). If you want to eat whole, real food the first step is believing you can find, and yes sometimes cook (gasp!), a suitable, more healthy alternative.

4. Make a list of all the foods in location #1 and return the food to its storage location. I don’t want anything to spoil or go bad. Don’t throw anything away. That’s a waste too. Just eat the food as usual pretending none of this ever happened.

5. Next select 2 of the foods on your list from location #1 – that’s right any 2 foods. Let’s say you pick a boxed breakfast cereal and artificially-sweetened, and colored, whipped yogurt.

6. The next time you go grocery shopping buy whole real food instead of the 2 foods you selected from location #1. For example, if you have a breakfast cereal with high fructose corn syrup and artificial coloring on your “2 foods from location #1 list” select another breakfast cereal to replace it. The most whole, real choice is oatmeal either quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats. For pennies a bowl you can cook oatmeal and add chopped walnuts, raisins, and a splash of milk for a real, whole breakfast. For artificially-sweetened and colored, whipped yogurt, substitute plain yogurt with fresh blueberries or sliced strawberries stirred in. You get the picture. Send me a comment if you need help making a different choice. I’m happy to walk through this with you.

7. Each month try at least 2 replacements for foods in location #1. For everything you have in location #1, there is more than likely a better whole, real choice. Here are some more examples:

  • Sweetened bottled tea: substitute home-brewed tea with a squeeze of lemon.
  • Seasoned rice mixes: substitute cooked, plain brown rice and reduce the sodium content by making your own pilaf and using jarred spices such as turmeric for yellow coloring and diced onion for seasoning.
  • Seasoned pasta mixes or frozen pasta: Buy a pound of pasta, cook and season it with fresh, chopped tomatoes, black olives, and a handful of fresh chopped parsley or garlic. Not only is this more whole and real, it’s much less expensive per serving. Or make some Quick White Clam Sauce and toss with linguine.
  • Salad dressings: unless the ingredient list is very short  many bottled salad dressings are filled with ingredients I can’t buy at a supermarket such as mono- and di-glycerides and soybean oil.  Whole, real vinaigrettes are only a shake away with 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1 crushed clove garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper placed in a jar or bottle with a tight fitting lid and, well, shook.  Toss with fresh mixed greens, a few slices of garden-ripe tomato, and grated carrot and you’ve got a whole, real salad.
  • Store-bought cookies: Homemade oatmeal cookies
  • Jarred pasta sauce: Quick Italian Meat Sauce

8. Good luck incorporating more whole, real food into your “diet”. I’ll be back next week with another Tip Tuesday. And I’m serious, my offer stands to help you with alternative ideas for the food on your list of foods in location #1.