Monday, November 12, 2007

Food food glorious food

I totally ate nothing but crap all weekend. Ughhh, seriously I didn't make good food decisions.
Yesterday I started the day with chocolate chip cookies then moved on to eggs with toast. Lunch was (gads...) Taco Bell and then more cookies with a cup of tea for dinner. Bad bad bad. I usually do not eat like that.
When I decided to cut meat out of my diet more than a decade ago the first flesh to go was chicken. Not only did the taste make me ill, but my body had been rejecting it for years. After chicken went pork. I still crave bacon and the occasional hot dog (with the works) but haven't missed eating bird. About 10 years ago, I cut out all red meat and in the years since I have rarely been ill and my intestinal health has been great. I do eat fish and eggs and in the last week have cut out milk and other dairy products. I am a cheese addict and am trying alternatives to soft cheese and those made with cow's milk.
So after my binge of crap this weekend, I am thinking of detoxing. I have done so in the past and highly recommend it but am researching a healthier detox regime of juicing. I will blog about my success or failure in the next few weeks.
In my quest to eat organic, I am spending a small fortune at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's trying new products. I like Trader Joe's for their selection of nuts, cheeses and ethnic foods, but absolutely do not buy my produce at their stores (never fresh, always spoils quickly). Other products I avoid from Trader Joe's are the soups (outrageous sodium content) and most of the packaged frozen foods (lots of preservatives and again high sodium). I enjoy browsing through Whole Foods and appreciate the effort that goes into the selection of organic products. Like I have learned at Trader Joe's, you have to read the labels, the food may be certified "organic" but that doesn't mean the food is healthy.
I have a cheat sheet I take with me when shopping for fruits and vegetables that reminds me of which foods should be bought organic due to the pesticides used on produce. I will list them below:

The Dirty Dozen (buy this organic only)
peaches
apples
sweet bell peppers
celery
nectarines
strawberries
cherries
lettuce
grapes
pears
spinach
potatoes

Cleanest 12 (lowest in pesticides)
onions
avocado
frozen sweet corn
pineapples
mango
frozen sweet peas
asparagus
kiwi
bananas
cabbage
broccoli
eggplant

Another rule I follow, if you can't fit what is on your plate in the palm of your hand, your stomach can't fit it either. Now if I can just remember to follow my own rules on the weekends......

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