We're not here to tell you what to eat, you are an adult and can decide for yourself. What we're here to tell you are some fact about the things we do eat and base your choices on some more information which you may or may not have already known. Because we live in a "civilized" society, our concerns are now less on what we eat but more of what we do when we don't. Our ancestors had it the other way around because their livelihood depended on good sources of food - we now just trust it to others to make that decision for us leaving us more time for other things.

Like many things we value and are concerned with (proper education for our kids, the safest car, etc.) we also value our health. We know this because the vitamin-supplement industry is making a LOT of money! Over $7 billion per year and in 70% of American households as a 2005 study suggests! Also, obesity in America has gained an "epidemic" status and health-care costs don't seem to be coming down. Many things contribute to these phenomena that are heavily debated which we won't get into, but all start with our health - which nobody can debate. So, how do we get "healthy" and not get into the "epidemic" status of things while not spending billions on little pills?

Sure, exercise - that's a no brainer. But we're here to talk about food - which we cannot escape from! What we're here to do is give you a few more tools in making simple decisions while you're at the store. Remember, your hand reaching for that produce or meat has everything to do with this - we're just helping you guide your hand. The rest is up to you.

First, a few things stores do to "reel you in." Stores want to make you shop longer because the longer you are there the more you will buy. They place things in "strategic" places so you will not leave the store without it. Here are some tactics; and remember, this isn't because they hate you, this is simply business and psychology:

  1. Shuffling - The stores oftentimes re-arrange the items on the shelves to keep you guessing and making you go through all the isles and hopefully picking up a few extra things off the shelves.
  2. Smell that fresh cooked chicken? - They make sure you do, right as you walk in. They're just using a very powerful sense to make us get a few hot things.
  3. Oh the comforts of home - But we're not at home - we're at the store! They make comfortable areas to make it that much more tempting to spend longer in here.
  4. In the end! - The things at the end of the isles are not on sale - but it's an automatic assumption and chances are good that it'll be very tempting to put it in the basket.
  5. Eye Candy - This is probably obvious to most but still works like a charm. Candy at the registers while you wait - many also shove the cereals by this temptation and wham, hook line and sinker.
  6. More for Less? - "Buy one get one free," "Three for $9.99," etc. This has not as much to do with food in as much as the quantity you're buying. With food or with anything else, these are easy ways the shop-owner makes you think you have to buy more to get the "deal" when in fact you can always buy only what you need or would use (you have to do the math to calculate individual cost). You're not buying a bulk-package, you're buying multiples of them at the price they say on the sticker. We mention this because food spoils or we eat more so - it's more expensive for you, huge amounts of waste happens, and is definitely not a way to live with only what we need.

Now that you know, we as shoppers need to be "on our guard" and we'll give you some other store layout generalities which will also help. Oh, and a couple more things before you leave the house to go grocery shopping, eat if you're hungry and bring a grocery list of only the things you need. If you're there while hungry - those fresh-prepared food smells are going to work!

Now for the shopping. We mentioned healthy above so a good rule of thumb is to try and stay on the perimeter of the large big-box grocery stores where most of the fresh and "healthy stuff" is. The processed and sugary snacks tend to be in the center-isles.

If you're just starting out in the healthy experience, you will find yourself reading the labels for a while to make sure you're getting the ingredients what you want need. If sugar or corn starch is listed as one of the first two on the ingredients list, you may want to put that back. We won't get into the technical-terms in ingredients - that's your homework using online search-techniques (plenty information out there!). Of course, we recommend as much food as possible with as little preservatives as possible (takes the guesswork out of the ingredient lists). Means you'll be shopping more often but also means you're getting the best of the best. Fresh markets will be a best bet for this lifestyle as most shopping centers are a major drive-away and cater to infrequent-shoppers in their selections.

CNN has an article about a nation's eating habits where it describes that although we eat at home for the most part, we eat large and we eat fast to save time. Whether we're at work or need to get food on the table, it becomes an exercise of speed and efficiency. Speed and efficiency takes shortcuts for most of us so we'll take all possible to make time. What you use with that saved time becomes the question of worth and value. We don't care how you use your time, it's yours to use, but we do advise to reflect here and there to re-assess our priorities. For example, eating healthy shouldn't be compromised by reality-tv shows - your health has but one chance, reality tv-shows have re-runs.

Now for something profound as it relates to what we eat; if we care about who we are, we need to respect what we put inside of us. What this means is that as much thought and care we put into the world we see (cars, house, celebrities, etc), we need to be as vigilant (if not more) about what we eat. The food producers and manufacturer's are also a business. As we know, business is competitive and to stay competitive you have to be creative. The FDA, the Food and Drug Administration that we hold accountable to test everything is a federal entity made up of appointed officials. Appointed by you and me? no. This all seems extremely complicated so we'll stop here. Yes, there's a tangled web of decision making for one reason or another to determine what is safe and what is not for us to eat. If you trust it, than it's just a matter of your nutrition and taste. If you are more concerned, add a level of skepticism and you've got reasons to be more scrutinizing. Whatever your level of involvement, the fact that you are means you care about what you eat and in turn, only want the best (healthiest) for you and your family.

Look, we all love our occasional Ramen soup. We're on the go, it's fast, it works. Do we live off it? Probably not. The point is to do what is good for us when we can and the bad stuff won't be as bad considering all the good we're doing. That's all - nothing extreme.

We've covered shopping, let's cover eating out. Over the years, portion sizes have increased! For example, in 1950 the average hamburger was just 1.5 ounces, compare that with today's average of 8 or more ounces and you've got a clear indication of "supersized!" "Doggy-bags" shouldn't be a common request at the end of the meal but in this case, it may have to be. What we highly suggest is sharing your meal! You'll save money, save your stomach, and if you're hungry later you can easily snack on something healthy. Eating large meals will expand your stomach making it seem less full the next time - making you eat more to compensate. Eating smaller meals more often spreads out your nutrition, energy level, and proportions.

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