the real threat of antibiotic resistance

It's been awhile since I wrote about the kinds of food issues that get me hot under the collar, for lack of a better phrase. My time for reading up on current issues is severely limited in the summer, for a lot of reasons, but primarily the amount of time spent dealing with vegetables and also running like it's a part time job in marathon training.

But at the end of July, the federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals
overturned two rulings in cases which had directed the FDA to stop the routine use of certain antibiotics in healthy animals unless drug manufacturers proved the safety of such use. (Source, Majority Opinion, Dissenting Opinion)  

This means that even though the FDA admits that the use of antibiotics in healthy animals to promote growth and weight gain contributes to antibiotic resistance in humans, they can't do anything to stop producers and commercial livestock companies from using subtherapeutic drugs for healthy animals. They issue voluntary guidelines, which are about as effective as me calling Cargill's customer service department and asking them to stop using antibiotics in healthy animals.

Here's the facts.  

• 2 million people in the U.S. alone are infected by antibiotic resistant bacteria each year
• 23,000 people in the U.S. DIE from these infections each year, in addition to the many who die from illnesses complicated by antibiotic resistant infections
• Leading health organizations from across the nation and the world - leading organizations and not just wacky health food hippies - have spoken out against the use of antibiotics in livestock. To name a few - the World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Medical Association, American Society for Microbiology, American Academy of Pediatrics. 
• The Director General of the WHO: “Things as common as strep throat or a child’s scratched knee could once again kill. A post-antibiotic era means, in effect, an end to modern medicine as we know it. The problem arises when drugs used for food production are medically important for human health, as evidence shows that pathogens that have developed resistance to drugs in animals can be transmitted to humans.”

This isn't fringe science. There's no real debate in the scientific community that this is a major public health problem. We are running out of antibiotics that are effective in treating many serious infections, and it will change the face of modern medicine if we can no longer stop common infections.   

But our own government organizations - the ones that are tasked with protecting the health of Americans - won't stand up to industry and force them to reduce and eventually eliminate their reliance on subtherapeutic antibiotics. None of us want to revisit the world of our ancestors, where a scratch could easily kill you.

So what do you do? Beyond making public comments when they are open and supporting legislation that would push for stricter regulations?

Stop eating meat that comes from animals raised with antibiotics. 

I realize that I'm blessed to be able to buy meat from local farmers who do not use subtherapeutic antibiotics in their feed. But I can tell you right now that if tomorrow, my sources were no longer there, I'd give up meat altogether.

More and more suppliers are producing meat that's antibiotic free, and prices are coming down as demand begins to grow. If you do one thing to change your diet to support health as well as a better food supply - do this. Save antibiotics for when you have a real infection - and not just when you're having dinner.    


 

Real Life CSA: week 6

In this week's share, we have the appearance of one of my favorite obscure vegetables, plus the return of one of my favorite items of all time (that I almost ate in the car on the way home).

We always eat up potatoes as a side dish at some point in the week. Last week, I roasted them with oregano, thyme, paprika, garlic powder and salt and they were quite delicious. The romaine lettuce will go in salads, and most likely so will the green onions. It's hard to tell since I didn't remove the bags on the items this week, but these green onions are really vibrant and long. I might make some spicy kale chips this week too - it's been awhile since I made them.

I have a slight addiction to this honey puffed corn from Clarion River. It typically doesn't last long in the house, so it's likely gone by the time you're reading this. 

Fiddleheads are fern tips - a delicious treat that you don't find everywhere. I've had them at restaurants a few time, but have never cooked them myself. Another benefit to sourcing produce from a CSA? They tell you when there are particular things you should know about a vegetable - like the fact that fiddleheads need to be fully cooked so as to avoid stomach distress. I recall seeing fiddleheads a few times in the grocery store for sale, and nowhere did they mention this fact in the display. 

We're soaking up the rhubarb while it lasts. Mark took last week's batch and made homemade frozen yogurt with it. Not sure what we'll do this week, but perhaps my dream of a tart will come true.

I also have to mention that after last week's debacle with ruining the ramps, I was able to redeem myself with my second batch. At the suggestion of an Instagram follower (yes, Instagram is good for more than just showing photos of your cats or your plate), I found a recipe for ramp pesto. And it was amazing. (I used this recipe from Food 52.)

First, you clean the ramps. The recipe suggests you can blanch the leaves, but I didn't bother.

I toasted the walnuts on the stove, and combined them in the food processor with the ramps.

Add a good deal of Parmigiano-Reggiano to the mix.

Blend the living crap out of it in the food processor, adding olive oil slowly through the feed tube. And then you get this loveliness, which we spread on top of garlic bread and ate as a side to our vegetarian bolognese pasta dinner.

I usually eat pestos pretty sparingly because I'm not a huge fan of basil - I only like it in moderation. But I think I need to be open to more pestos, because this was fantastic. And I could breathe a sigh of relief because I didn't ruin our last ramps. Hooray!

What are you enjoying from your CSA this week?

fat freak out: why fat isn't always bad and fat free usually is

One of the interesting parts of the rationale for the proposed nutrition labels is that "calories from fat" will be eliminated as a category, since the type of fat is more important than the amount. This is actually a huge departure from the mentality that our country has had for years - that fat is bad. We've been fat-phobic for generations, with a myriad of "fat free" and "low-fat" labels slapped on every food product for miles.

So why have we not been any healthier as a population as a result? That's obviously a larger question than I can answer here, but there are several reasons why "fat free" and "low-fat" options are not always the way to go.

First, taste. I mean, have you ever tried to eat fat free "cheese"? I can't even write cheese without the quotes there because it's obviously some laboratory science experiment when cheese doesn't melt and tastes like silly putty. Blech.

More important, though, is nutrition and health. When items need a label to tell you their healthy qualities, they usually aren't that healthy. This is why they don't put a "fat free" label on apples. You typically see the label on dairy products and packaged foods of one kind or another. Products that need to be "health washed," like fat free cookies or chips are ones you should stay away from in general, so there's no point in eating the fat free variety. A fat free Cheez-It is still a Cheez-It. There is also research that shows that a hormone produced by fat cells can help send satiety signals to your brain. So when you binge on a whole bag of fat free cookies and justify it by saying "they were fat free!" that could be part of the problem.

Your body needs fat to function. It helps to absorb vitamins - fat soluble A,D,E and K, specifically. It contains things like omega-3s and omega-6s, essential fatty acids that help with brain function and mood (and which you can only get from food). Low-fat or fat free diets also lower your HDL (referred to as "good cholesterol"), which your body needs to be high to help fight heart disease. 

There's a gentle balance to a healthy diet between carbs, fat and protein. Usually if you drastically reduce one, you jack up another. (Hence the crazy popular diets like Atkins or South Beach.) Most fat-free snacks are insanely high in carbs, which have their share of issues as well. Sometimes when you cut out fat in dairy and meat, you are also reducing your protein, especially if you don't make up for it in other sources.


As a side note, I find it interesting that people freak out when I say I drink whole milk. But that's so fattening!, they say. They then go on to tell me they drink 2% milk. Well, whole milk is 3% fat. Not 100% fat. And more studies are showing a correlation between whole dairy products and reduction of body fat. Not that you should go nuts with the whole fat dairy. Or some red meats, which can be high in saturated fat.

Choosing good fats, like poly and mono unsaturated fats and limiting saturated fats (and not eating any trans fats, which you usually find in processed foods) is the key. I use real butter, not margarine. (Really the only thing margarine is good for is a lubricant to help you remove a tight ring from your finger or grease up the bottom of a sled.) I just don't use it all the time. You don't get high cholesterol by eating a tablespoon of butter or having a serving of whole milk or three ounces of steak. The key, like many things in life, is balance and moderation.

nutrition labels get a makeover

Recently, the FDA announced proposed changes to the nutrition labels that appear on food packaging. It was announced as part of the Let's Move campaign and billed as a public health initiative. These changes are the first since the labels were introduced in the 1990s.

I've always thought the most ineffective/deceptive part of the nutrition facts label was the number of servings, and by the same token, the calorie count. Did you know in a pint of Ben & Jerry's there are 4 servings? I mean, who measures out a half cup of ice cream? Not many people. And in a 20-ounce bottle of soda, 2 servings? Often the bags of chips you get at sandwich shops to accompany your meals are two servings. 

So the new labels aim to address this issue, among others - the primary goal being to allow consumers to more quickly choose what's healthy. (Ironically, the nutrition facts label is a separate thing from ingredient lists, which the FDA also regulates. For someone to truly quickly choose what's healthy, they need to know a little something about the ingredients too, but that's a separate issue.)

The proposed new labels will do a few things, but the first big change is the layout. Calories are much more prominent, as are the servings per container. Companies will be required to make serving sizes more realistic instead of artificially making them smaller so that calories per serving appear smaller. Ice cream servings will be one cup, and 20-ounce sodas will be one serving. If a package is truly two servings but is assumed that it could be eaten in one serving (possibly like snack bags), it will require a dual label. Basically the labels will reflect what someone does eat instead of what he/she should eat.

The proposed labels will also require a new line under the carb category that says "Added Sugars." This is really important, since we know for sure that Americans, and children in particular, consume way too much added sugar. (Watch Jamie Oliver's TEDTalk where he shows you with an actual mound of sugar what kids consume in a year. Crazy.)

Potassium and Vitamin D will also be added, as public health officials find both to be deficient in the typical American diet. Potassium contributes to lowered blood pressure and Vitamin D contributes to bone health. Vitamins A and C will be voluntary listings.

Calories from fat will be removed, since science has shown that the type of fat is more important than the amount. 

A 90-day comment period will be held, and if no changes are made, it will take a few years to implement the changes. Industry will push back and want to make revisions - that's almost inevitable.

But regardless of what happens, the general consumer needs to be more educated about what these items even mean, and how to combine that knowledge with facts about the ingredient list to determine what is a "healthy" product. Honestly, the more you have to do math and detective work to figure out if something is healthy, the less likely that it is. The proposed new label will not fix all of America's dietary problems, but it's a great start!

yoga mat sandwiches: real threat or hype?

You might have heard the phrase "yoga mat sandwich" tossed around lately. After a prominent food blogger/activist started a petition to get Subway to remove a chemical called azodicarbonamide from its breads, the issue went viral.

Azodicarbonamide is a chemical foaming agent, used in yoga mats and other plastic items to make the item spongy, light and strong. And apparently, bread at Subway. It supposedly "makes bread rise higher, stay soft and form an attractive crust."

But it's not just Subway making "yoga mat sandwiches" - according to a follow up study by the Environmental Working Group, azodicarbonamide actually appears in at least 500 processed food products made by a large number of companies. The World Health Organization has found that there are health risks to workers who are exposed to azodicarbonamide, but no one has done studies on its health effects in humans who ingest it.

So here's the problem. It's fine for these bloggers and activists to try to get the word out about what's in our food. I agree with that wholeheartedly, and to some degree, talk about that in this space. But ok, Subway is now removing that chemical from its bread. But what will they put in its place? Bread that's just made up of flour, yeast, salt and water? Doubtful. 

It's not an effective overall strategy to get one company at a time to remove one ingredient at a time from one product at a time. What we need are comprehensive regulations and overhauls of the food industry in general, so that the FDA does not approve additives for food use in the first place with no scientific evidence as to whether or not they can threaten human health. We need a policy that considers chemicals to be dangerous for food until proven safe, with effective, third-party science.

So go ahead and stay away from processed foods with "yoga mats" in them - but don't believe that the removal of that one chemical from a food makes it healthy and/or clean. Processed foods are processed foods. Don't buy into the hype that industrial food companies are prioritizing public health by removing singular additives - even in the face of increased public awareness, they are still prioritizing profit.

Grocery Cart Compare: Whole Foods v. Giant Eagle, week 2

Week 2 of my data gathering experiment was similar to last week, again with a few pleasant surprises. (For some background on this project, check out week 1 here.)

This week was also a bit odd for us with the contents, since we were having people over Saturday night and thus bought some extra things that we wouldn't usually have around the house. 

Item	Whole Foods	Giant Eagle
Manchester Farms whole milk	3.99	4.70
Fresh onion dip	2.99*	1.50	*Made fresh in-house/no preservatives
Organic Beef Broth	3.69	2.99
Jambon (deli)	11.99/lb*	11.99/lb	*No hormones or antibiotics
Roasted turkey breast (deli)	12.99/lb*	10.49/lb	*No hormones or antibiotics
Catfish filets	7.99/lb	N/A
Nature's Rancher bacon	5.99	4.99
Organic carrots (2 lb bag)	1.79	2.58
Organic green leaf lettuce	2.69	3.49
Organic romaine lettuce	2.69	3.49
Conventional cucumber	0.89	1.49
Organic diced tomatoes	1.49	1.69
Organic tomato sauce (8 oz jar)	0.99	2/3.00*	*Muir Glen on sale, 15 oz jar
Organic tartar sauce	2.99	N/A*	*Conventional only, 2.19
Conventional butternut squash	1.29/lb	1.79/lb
Organic fresh sage (1/4 oz)	1.29	2.99*	*2/3 oz, price per oz cheaper
Organic baby spinach	1.99	N/A*	*Conventional only, 2/$6
Yogurt pretzels (bulk)	5.99/lb	6.99/lb
Organic paprika (bulk)	12.99/lb	N/A*	*Conventional only, bulk 15.96/lb
Organic barley (bulk)	1.49/lb	1.79/lb
Trail mix (bulk)	5.99/lb	5.99/lb
Organic garlic	5.99/lb	9.96/lb
Organic yellow onions	1.19/lb	3.99*	*3 lb bag
Conventional lemons	0.79	0.79
Conventional blood oranges	5/$4	5/$4
Organic tortilla chips (12 oz bag)	3.99	2.99*	*8 oz bag
Cape Cod kettle chips	3.19	3.79
Bakery sourdough	4.49	4.99*	*small loaves 3.99, large loaf 5.99 - avg
Conventional cherry tomatoes (US greenhouse)	4.49	3.99*	*Mexican, artificially ripened

I was happily surprised to see Giant Eagle beat Whole Foods when it came to bacon and that Giant Eagle carries a brand that is hormone and antibiotic free. Also Giant Eagle was having a good sale on Muir Glen organic tomatoes, which beat out Whole Foods' generic ones. The fresh herbs were also cheaper at Giant Eagle, which was strange since the produce is generally entirely cheaper at Whole Foods (which the produce person at Giant Eagle told me flat out). 

The milk is from a local farm that supplies stores regionally, and I was surprised to see such a price difference - likely because of volume. 

Probably the biggest impact this comparison had this week is to remind me that we have a pork belly to cure to make our own bacon, and we have soup bones in the freezer from which to make beef broth. I need to plan better to be able to make some of these things at home, which makes them even more affordable than either store can carry them. At least we'll be making a stewing chicken this week, and can make stock from the bones. (Look for a how-to post about making your own chicken stock using the crock pot, coming up soon!)

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Congrats to Donna C, who wins the copy of Omnivore's Dilemma and Food, Inc. from the Next Gen House anniversary giveaway. Thanks to the few and the proud who entered!

Grocery Cart Compare: Whole Foods v. Giant Eagle, week 1

When it comes to grocery shopping, there's an experiment I've been wanting to do for a long time. I wanted to take the time to price match an entire week's worth of groceries to determine if Whole Foods is really so outrageously priced as people like to say that it is. So this week, I wrote down the exact items I purchased at Whole Foods and took my list to Giant Eagle Market District, which is the most comparable store that is "conventional." We have other health food stores in the area, but they are smaller and wouldn't likely be able to get the price comparisons that Giant Eagle and Whole Foods would. (For those of you not from western PA, Giant Eagle is our region's version of Kroger or Publix. Market District stores are special stores with expanded selections of food, and in my opinion are designed to be competition for the dollars of consumers that are looking for more than just the basics.)

I did this with a completely open mind, as a data gathering experiment. So I wasn't out looking for ways to make my own preference of stores "win." And ultimately there are many factors to consider when it comes to where you shop - price isn't the only factor. I also didn't evaluate the quality of the items on taste or on the freshness of the produce, etc.

In some instances, one store did not carry some items that I found at another store, so I did the closest comparison. (For example, Whole Foods had some organic products I purchased and Giant Eagle only had conventional and vice versa.) I noted these differences as best I could.

Also, I should note that I realize that a two-adult, two-income home with no kids to feed has a different grocery budget than many other family configurations. This isn't meant to be a judgment on what you buy or to present what I buy as the "best" groceries. It's merely a price check experiment for one household - not a moral judgment. On to the data.

Item	Whole Foods	Giant Eagle
Organic heavy cream - 8 oz	1.99	N/A*	* Conventional heavy cream, $6.29 for 32 ounces
Pepper jack slices (deli)	7.99/lb*	8.99/lb	*rBGH free cheese
Black forest ham (deli)	11.99/lb*	8.99/lb	*hormone and antibiotic free
In-house roasted turkey (deli)	12.99/lb*	10.49/lb	*hormone and antibiotic free
Noosa yogurt	2.49	2.49
Organic fresh sauerkraut	2.99	2/$4*	*conventional and canned, not fresh
Organic green onions	0.99	1.79
Organic green bell pepper	2.99/lb	3.99/lb
Organic red leaf lettuce	2.69	3.49
Conventional cucumber	0.89	1.49
Organic Granny Smith apple	2.69/lb	1.83/lb*	*3 lb bags, not loose
Conventional Macintosh apple	1.69/lb	1.99/lb
Cherry tomatoes (US greenhouse)	4.49	3.99*	*Mexican, artificially ripened
Conventional blood oranges	5/$4	5/$4
Conventional bananas	.69/lb*	.54/lb	*Whole Trade
Organic peanut butter	4.99	5.99
Organic brown sugar	3.49*	3.99	*24 oz pkg v. 16 oz pkg at GE
KIND bar	1.49	2/$3
Organic NuGo protein bar	1.59	4/$5
Organic honey	5.49	6.29
Organic almonds	6.49	N/A*	*Conventional only - 6.99
Sourdough boule (bakery)	3.99	4.99*	*small loaves 3.99, large loaf 5.99 - avg
Organic English muffins	2.69	N/A*	*Convention only 3.99
Organic raisins (bulk)	3.99	3.99
Conventional cranberries (bulk)	7.99	3.99

For this week, Whole Foods was the better choice overall. You'll note that for dairy products and deli meat, even though the prices were more expensive at Whole Foods, I chose them as the better option for me, since I don't eat meat with antibiotics or growth hormones, and the same goes for dairy. So if you eat conventional deli meat, you'd want to go with Giant Eagle. Ironically, the better quality cheese was even cheaper at Whole Foods. 

I also made some choices on produce at Whole Foods because of other factors (whole trade, location and method of growth), but some of the exact comparisons were cheaper at Whole Foods and others at Giant Eagle. From week to week, it will likely vary, as different shipments come in and growing seasons across the world change.

I was pleasantly surprised to see some of the prices the same at both places, or very comparable. Also pleased to see that Giant Eagle's bulk section is so large and also gives Whole Foods a run for their money ($4 cheaper per pound for cranberries? whoa!).

This also makes me note - if I had more time, many of the things on my list I could make at home (fresh raw sauerkraut, sourdough boule, English muffins, yogurt). It would be interesting to do a price breakdown of what it costs to buy a loaf of sourdough boule at the bakery v. making one at home, also including the time/labor factor.

I am intrigued enough by the results of my findings that I am hoping to continue this series regularly (as long as I am able to get to the two stores to do it!), since we buy different grocery items most weeks. Plus, this also gives me an idea if it would be better for me to shop around. Typically, I only shop once and at one store, because frankly running errands in crowds drives me insane. But to save significant money, I would probably make the effort. 

setting priorities for healthy living

The food world was buzzing last week with the announcement from General Mills that Original Cheerios are going GMO free. This is the only variety going GMO free, since original Cheerios are primarily made of oats, which are not genetically modified. The sugar and corn starches will be going GMO free.

The way that the media exploded with the announcement shows me that people are starting to demand GMO free foods, or at the very least, more transparency about what's IN their foods. This is positive progress.

But I can't help but feel that the hype can also distract from the most important parts of a healthy lifestyle. GMOs in food or parabens and other chemicals in soaps or household cleaners are important to understand and good to avoid when possible. But limiting your exposure to these is a secondary priority. It doesn't matter if you eat GMOs in your breakfast cereal, if you're also addicted to soda and fast food and processed junk. 

Sometimes it can be easy to grab on to the media's soundbites and think that those are the most important indicators of health, since it's what people are talking about. But the most important information is the most boring - that a healthy diet of clean foods, stress management and an active lifestyle are the largest contributing factors to your overall health and wellness. It's a lot easier to just start buying hand soap without parabens than it is to give up soda. (I know. I've been there.)

As you're thinking about setting priorities for your new year, focus on specific tasks that can help you hit those main priorities. Maybe it's avoiding fast food, cooking more often at home, drinking more water, or getting exercise 2 or 3 days a week. Choose small things to tackle, so they aren't so overwhelming. Take one step toward one goal, not 12 steps toward 10 goals. For example, if you want to cook at home more often, check out this post on where I get a lot of my clean recipes. 

movie review: hungry for change

Hungry for Change is a film made by the same people that made Food Matters, which I previously reviewed. Like the first one, I think this is a compelling documentary with a lot of salient points. Plus, I think it touches on a lot of great points about the diet industry - which is something a lot of food studies/clean eating resources forget about.

Diet and weight loss is an industry that brings in $60 billion a year. At the same time, 2/3 of all dieters regain more than they lose. So why do we keep pumping money into diet foods and weight loss programs when they clearly don't work, and we're sicker and more malnourished as a nation than ever before? 

This film delves into the chemical processes in your body that make you crave and retain fat (and sugar and salt). Which goes to explain why when the "no-fat" crazy gripped the nation, tons of people didn't lose weight - they just started eating carbs like crazy and then got addicted to sugar. We become habituated to the effects of things like sugar and caffeine over time - which isn't surprising, because they are drugs. The film notes that more people die from food related chronic disease (like cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes) than illegal drugs each year.

Hungry for Change spends a lot of time on the harm that we do ourselves when we make ourselves miserable dieting and don't give our body and minds what they need to be healthy. Dieting can trigger feelings of deprivation and desperation that aren't a part of a generally healthy lifestyle change. This film makes the compelling case that you're much better served by looking at your diet as a way to achieve health and balance and not as an enemy.

It did delve into JUICING IS AMAZING territory, as well as DETOXING IS AWESOME-ville, which induced my usual eye rolls. But if juicing gets people to stop eating Doritos and drinking Pepsi, I'm down.

All in all, this film was a good reminder of the most basic principles of healthy living - and that the benefits of eating clean are myriad, from whatever perspective you hold.

movie review: Forks Over Knives

Forks Over Knives surprised me, in that it's the same message that many other documentaries have covered, but it somehow felt different. The film makes the argument that a whole foods, plant-based diet is vital for long term health and well being. At the same time, a diet that includes animal products, such as meat, dairy and eggs, and highly processed, refined foods, contributes to long-term health issues.

We've heard that message a lot - it's one of the ideas that has made veganism so popular. And I think it's true that a diet heavy in plants, low in animal products and without processed foods can have dramatic impacts on your health. It has on mine. 

But where this film differed from others, including Food Matters, is that it was focused on science and clinical studies. It seemed much more solid on clinical evidence and research. At the same time they interviewed many people who also had their own anecdotal evidence to contribute (including a champion MMA fighter who is a vegan athlete!). The narrator also decided to pursue a plant-based diet after getting some troubling blood work that showed that he was at high risk for heart disease. Just 13 weeks of a diet change completely reversed his risk factors.

This film was a good reminder that we have more power over our own health than we think. Perhaps my favorite line was when someone mentioned that if you think your health and wellness is based solely on your genes (and that you're doomed to taking pills because of them), you are a victim. Yes, you might have to take some pills for some conditions. But we don't have to be victims of the drug companies pushing blood pressure and blood sugar pills. 

This is a good film to watch if you aren't really convinced that there's scientific evidence that supports clean eating or are still on the fence about its benefits. It's less hippie, more science. Which is right up my alley. You know, wanting to farm in space and all.

eating clean on a budget: aldi

My second stop on the discount grocery store tour was Aldi. Owned by a German family company, Albrecht Discounts, Aldi is one of the no-frills discount grocers who eschews fancy displays and wide product selection for low prices. Perhaps most interestingly, Aldi is owned by the same company as Trader Joe's, its higher-end counterpart. While Trader Joe's carries more organic selections and higher quality meats, when it comes down to the come down, they have similar products on the shelf. It's heavy on the private label items, which means that the organic honey at Aldi might be the exact same thing as the organic honey at Trader Joes, only with less markup (because the cashiers at Aldi don't ring bells or wear Hawaiian shirts?). I have issues with Trader Joes for other reasons, but if you're going to buy private label stuff there, you're going to pay extra for the fun stores and fancy graphic design.

But on to the bargains. I was really happy to see that Aldi had a significantly higher percentage of organic products than Bottom Dollar (more than milk!). The first one I happened across was honey, at $3.19. It was also sourced from U.S. producers, which is good. Definitely cheaper than I've seen it elsewhere. 

I also saw a few items like organic salad dressings, but they are still processed foods and wouldn't be the greatest choice. Stick to salad dressings that have to be refrigerated, since they are usually made with real ingredients, or go with lemon juice or olive oil/vinegar. Remember that just because something says organic doesn't mean it's a whole food or healthy.

Just inside the door were bags of nuts at really reasonable prices. While they were all conventionally produced, nuts are among the products that are more protected from pesticides because of their shells. Organic nuts are another hard to find product, so these are a great alternative. And if you can bother to chop your own walnuts, you can really save on the price per pound by getting the bigger bag. 

Many stores carry generic K-cup single serve coffee pods now. While I think it's better from a waste perspective (and a quality coffee perspective) to use a refillable cup, these K-cups were relatively cheap, but still fair trade. Wouldn't be a bad thing to have on hand for guests, etc.

The produce section left a lot to be desired, since most of it was thrown all over the place. That could have been a product of the fact that we were there toward the end of a major shopping day and it might have been picked over by ravenous shoppers. It was mostly conventional, but the prices weren't nearly as good as Bottom Dollar for the same items. 












I did find organic salad greens in the refrigerator case, but they were small containers and for $2.49, not any better than the prices at Whole Foods!

There were two decent options for milk, including Organic Valley 2%, which is a great buy at $3.48 for a half gallon. Organic Valley sources all of its milk from family farmers, and at Aldi it was a great choice. If that's still too expensive, they also had an off-brand gallon of milk for $3.77 that at least was from cows that were not given rBGH, even if their diet wasn't organic.

Aldi had good prices on staples, just like Bottom Dollar. Rice and oats were the primary ones I found, but Aldi has a more limited selection than Bottom Dollar in general.

The non-milk dairy and meat were not any different from Bottom Dollar and there wasn't anything to recommend there. But Aldi had two options for sandwich bread - both 12 grain and whole wheat - that didn't have high fructose corn syrup and were minimally processed.

Probably the best buy I found at Aldi was the organic canned tomatoes. A 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes was only $1.49, which is a terrific price. They also had organic marinara sauce for $1.99. I like to make my own sauces from regular tomatoes, but in a pinch, this would be a good, affordable choice.

It's also important to choose organic tomatoes, not just because of the lack of pesticides, but because most organic tomatoes are grown in California, which is better than Florida, where the humid climate and poor, sandy soil make for poor growing conditions, which lead to the use of more chemicals. (If you want to know more about this, Barry Estabrook's Tomatoland is a great read.)

At the end of the store, Aldi also had a good selection of frozen fruit and vegetables at decent prices. It would be worth doing a real cost comparison on the frozen fruits and veggies at different stores to see where the best deals are, since they are essentially the same thing.

It's also worth noting that Aldi starts their workers at well above minimum wage. We saw a sign for $11.75/hour starting out. I like to support stores that don't hoard profits while condemning their workers to never make ends meet.

I'll definitely be checking out Aldi for particular items on my grocery list. Plus, the more shoppers purchase their organic products, the more likely they are to start to carry more and expand their selection. It's worth a trip!

eating clean on a budget: bottom dollar

While I truly believe you can shop at health food stores on a restricted budget (and that "Whole Foods, Whole Paycheck" is not really grounded in fact), it's true that discount grocery stores offer some major bargains. So what if you're trying to eat clean, but you want to reduce your grocery bills? I've been checking out some local stores to see what they offer, and this weekend I went to Bottom Dollar. These stores are popping up all over the Pittsburgh area and boast that they offer the lowest prices around. But what about quality?

My first surprise was the large selection of produce. While they didn't carry any organic produce, they had a wide selection of fruits and vegetables. Even Whole Foods doesn't carry organic produce for every item all of the time, so if you're going to go conventional, it's definitely worth going to a discount store. While I advocate for organic produce, some items are less likely to carry pesticide residue. For example, these onions were only $1.98 for three pounds, and you're going to peel the skins off anyway before you use them. They also carried larger bulk bags of onions and some other items like potatoes, which lowers the price per pound.


After the produce was the meat and seafood area. I didn't find anything in the meat section I'd recommend, since it was all completely conventionally raised. But I was surprised to find frozen fish filets and seafood with a sustainability label. Some of it was sold at a very affordable price per pound - even under $2. While sustainable labels are tricky when it comes to fish, as I learned in this book, this is a good step in the right direction and for a really good price. 

In the dairy section, they offered organic milk, which is a good step forward since organic milk cannot come from cows given rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone). (They were stocking it at the time so I couldn't snap a pic.) I also found unsweetened iced tea in the same refrigerated section. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find pre-made unsweetened tea in stores, since most options are full sugar or "diet" with nasty artificial sweeteners. For only $1.98 this Gold Peak tea was a bargain.

The majority of the products in this store were conventional and hyper-processed. The entire section of inner aisles had row after row of chips, cookies, pop, and junk masquerading as good food - canned soups with insane amounts of sodium, breakfast cereals jacked up on sugar. 


But I did find a few snack items that would qualify as 'clean' under my definition. They carried several options for unsweetened/no sugar or sweetener added applesauce - even one for kids on the go. 

One of the best finds was the low price of staple pantry ingredients. It's not always easy to find organic oats, lentils and rice, even at health food stores. Bottom Dollar had brown rice with no additives for 78 cents/pound and you could also get lentils for less than $1/pound. Oats are typically not GMOs, so that's another one that is passable not organic, especially for these prices when you're trying to stretch a budget.

Spices were also relatively affordable there. I prefer to buy spices in bulk so I can buy small amounts at a time and not have them go stale, but their prices were great on small containers here. 

One more positive was the variety of fruits and vegetables available frozen. I prefer frozen vegetables to canned if the cans aren't BPA free (BPA is an endocrine disruptor). While all conventional, the vegetables were incredibly affordable (less than $1 a bag for many types) and the fruits were as well. Frozen fruits like berries can be very expensive, if they are even available at all. 

In addition to the food, I also happened across an isle with a small seasonal section with grilling items and you'll never believe it - canning jars. The display had a note saying it was set to go away this week, but I liked to see the store even carrying the products. Who knows if it would put the thought in someone's head to take up canning!

I found Bottom Dollar to have some good choices for basic pantry staples. If you avoid the processed food in the main aisles and stick to produce, seafood and dry, whole foods, you can get some good, clean products for cheap. Enough that it's definitely worth dividing your grocery list for different stores, even though it might mean more work.

I also checked out Aldi this weekend, and will be trying Save-a-lot and Good Cents over the next few weeks. Look for posts on those coming up!

We also decided to switch our warehouse membership to Costco from Sam's Club. Costco carries a lot of organic staples, like extra virgin olive oil and tomato paste, at bulk/warehouse prices. We'll save money getting some organic staples there. Plus, they carry the natural shampoo/body wash I use now. Win win!


***
October simplified update: Finished the dining room organization this weekend and now have only two remaining rooms and the dreaded basement. Trying not to let my momentum fade because I'd love this house to be cleaned out by the holidays. Listed my first pair of running shoes on eBay (they were the wrong shoe for my foot) and have continued to sell more books on Amazon.

want to eat clean? 4 tips to get started

People often tell me that they are interested in eating clean for lots of reasons, but that they are having trouble actually starting or taking the first step. Sometimes they don’t even know what that first step is. To think about making a complete 180 degree change in the way you eat is overwhelming and the process can be intimidating, especially when you feel like you have a lifetime of “bad” habits to overcome and a demanding schedule. Also, there are many definitions floating out there about what constitutes “clean eating.” In my own lifestyle, I define clean eating as choosing minimally processed, whole foods (heavy on the plants), organic when possible, and staying away from heavily processed restaurant food.

Here are some simple tips if you’re interested in transitioning to clean eating, but have found yourself blocked by the idea of getting started.

1. Start small.  
While it might feel cliché to say that the journey of a thousand miles starts with one step, it’s 100% truth. Look at what you are eating now. Do you have a soda addiction? Are you constantly going through the drive-thru for dinner? Do you rely on microwaveable, TV-dinner type meals? Choose just one of those areas to focus on. Reducing your consumption even by a small amount is a great first step to eliminating it all together. For most people, going cold turkey is unrealistic for long-term success. In the case of being hooked on soda, try reducing your consumption during the first week by 20%. Or stop ordering soda when you’re at a restaurant and choose water or plain tea instead. When you are comfortable at that level, keep going.

2. Have an arsenal of recipes.
You won’t be able to sustain any kind of lifestyle change if you aren’t eating things you like. Think about the foods you really enjoy and look for recipes that fit in that category. Find some go-to websites or cookbooks where you can easily locate a recipe, especially when a craving strikes. When I have a craving for Chinese takeout, I know where to look for a homemade knock-off recipe that satisfies the craving without all of the extra chemicals and added salt, sugar and fat. I print out recipes that interest me and put them in a three-ring binder that serves as my own homemade cookbook – that way I don’t have to dig around online when I really need something. We’ve also invested in some physical cookbooks that I consider our workhorses. For some clean eating resources, check out this post.

3. Stock your pantry, including your freezer.
We’ve all had nights where your best laid plans for dinner fall through. Maybe you get home from work late or you sat in traffic for an hour and can’t deal with the idea of cooking. If you keep your pantry stocked with basic items, you can throw together an incredibly quick meal. When you make a great chili or soup in the crock pot, freeze half of it for those nights when your plans just don’t work out. It will take you less time to reheat frozen chili than it will to swing through a drive-thru or call for takeout. (Your stomach AND wallet will thank you.)

4. Don’t beat yourself up. 
You can’t go from a diet heavy in processed foods and junk to a clean, wholesome diet overnight. Your body almost has to detox from the things it comes to rely on and that it craves. Even when you’re committed, you’re going to have areas that aren’t perfect or that are harder to give up than you thought. Just accept that there will be bumps in the road from the get-go and let them just be bumps – not off-ramps.

If you’re eating clean, what got you motivated to start? How have you kept with it?