Day 12: Finding Quality Food
Alright, alright, winding down on week 2. After two weeks of no caffeine, no alcohol, no wheat, no dairy, and focusing on sleep, I’m feeling awesome. Got back in the gym for some shoulder rehab and light workouts this week and gearing up for next weekend’s season-opening track meet (indoor unfortunately, but better than nothing). How’s it going for you all?
Today, we’re going to talk about a little issue that should be important to all of us: Food Quality.
You Are What You Eat
Okay, so we’ve all heard the old saying “you are what you eat.” That is, of course, true. If you eat a bunch of processed garbage, your body will respond accordingly. You’ll feel bad, you’ll look bad, you’ll struggle to lose weight…it’s basically what most people do, right before they chalk it all up to “aging”.
On the other hand, if you eat good, unprocessed foods, you won’t have nearly as many health issues. Sticking primarily to free-range meat, poultry, eggs, and wild seafood, along with plenty of fruits, vegetables, squashes, and sweet potatoes, I have no problem being athletic, lean, and staying away from whatever illnesses are going around. It’s a simple equation: Garbage in = garbage out.
Well, if you are what you eat, then so are the plants and animals that you eat. Therefore,
You are what what you eat eats!
Really, it can’t be any other way. If food affects how our body responds, food has to affect how other organisms’ bodies respond. And that means, you should eat the highest quality food you can find and afford. And, especially with meat, you won’t find that food in the local grocery store and probably not even at Whole Foods, though Whole Foods has a pretty good seafood selection.
In particular, the best meat is going to come from your local farmers, raising their animals on grass where they get to eat the diet they have evolved to eat. The freshest vegetables will also tend to be grown locally, because they don’t have to be shipped across country and artificially ripened. Organic is better than non-organic. It’s really that simple.
Higher Quality Is Higher Nutrition
Check out a few of the benefits of eating grass-fed/pastured meats, wild seafood, and organic vegetables.
- Better omega-3/omega-6 ratio – Helps control inflammation.
- Higher levels of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) in meat and dairy – Has anti-cancer properties, among others.
- All around healthier eggs – See my post on the differences in pastured eggs vs. conventional eggs.
- Fewer chemicals from pesticides – Check out the 12 most and least contaminated fruits and vegetables on page 3 of the Shopping List.
- Healthier animals not loaded with antibiotics and growth hormones – Animals are allowed to grow at a natural rate and aren’t loaded with antibiotics to counteract unsanitary, overly crowded living conditions.
I also encourage you to check out “unconventional” meats, like bison and lamb, more. Aside from being more flavorful, they are also more likely to be grass-fed, rather than raised in confinement operations. You still have to do your homework, but the homework is easier.
How To Find Higher Quality Food
Finding high quality food really isn’t all that hard. You just have to change your mindset from finding the cheapest food to finding the best food. I spend a lot of money on food, but the way I see it, I can spend it now on food or later on medicine. One way or another, that money will be spent on my health, so I might as well spend it eating delicious, health-supporting food and not being sick.
Farmer’s Markets
Unfortunately, unless you live in a warm area like Florida or Southern Cal or probably Texas, farmer’s markets are likely down for the year. Here in Louisville, we still have a winter market, but there aren’t really any vegetables, just a few meat producers. However, once spring rolls around, this is probably the most accessible source of good food.
I go to probably the second biggest market in the city and there are about 30 booths of fresh, seasonal herbs, vegetables, and fruits, along with pastured eggs, pork, lamb, chicken, beef, and even less conventional meats like goose and duck. There are also a couple of raw cheese producers. It’s basically one-stop shopping. The food is as fresh as you’ll find and most of the farmers can dance around the word “organic,” whether they actually pay for USDA-certification or not. It’s usually cheaper than the grocery store too.
Local Buying Clubs
I’m a member of a fairly big buying club here. We harness the buying power of about 150 families to get wholesale pricing on items from Lodge, Tropical Traditions, and Blue Ice, as well as local farmers for beef, goat, lamb, chickens, eggs, and raw milk. We do bulk beef buys a few times a year that usually amounts to about 3 head per buy. Between the weekly farmer’s market trip and the buying club, I only need to go to the grocery about once per month to pick up some olives, sardines, almond butter, etc.
Try to find buying clubs in your area. Ask around at the farmer’s market.
Eat Wild and Local Harvest
Two websites that were helpful when I was trying to find better food are Eat Wild and Local Harvest. On Eat Wild, you can directly find farmers in your state, while Local Harvest has information on farmer’s markets, Community Supported Agriculture (or CSA, another avenue of getting high-quality food), and even restaurants that serve local food.
Task For The Day: Make A Food Plan
I don’t expect you to just flip it overnight and throw out everything in your fridge and freezer. It takes time to shift your food suppliers. This weekend, you should spend some time considering the sources of your food and how you can improve them and work to do so over the next few months.
Spring is around the corner, so this is a good time to figure out a) where you’re going to get your food and b) how you’re going to pay for it. Good meat is more expensive, but you’re better off eating less really good meat than more hormone and antibiotic-laden meat.
I recommend several steps here:
- Figure out which farmer’s markets are convenient to you.
- Look for CSAs that you can buy into. You’ll probably see these advertised at the farmer’s market as well.
- Contact farmers directly through Eat Wild and Local Harvest. They can help you with finding CSAs and buying clubs, and probably also with farmer-direct purchasing.
- Ask around for buying clubs. They usually buy beef and other meats in bulk, along with other essentials like coconut and olive oils. This helps keep the cost down.
- Figure out what fits into your budget and where the budget can be shifted to focus on higher quality, health-supporting foods grown and raised properly.
Of course, if you’re already buying locally, grass-fed/pastured, etc., there’s not much for you to do here. Take the weekend off.
Table of contents for 30-Day Challenge
- Day 1: Elimination and Detox Phase Starts Now
- Day 2: Planning Your Daily Meals
- Day 3: Managing Time for What is Important
- Day 4: Spicing It Up And Healthy Snacking
- Day 5: Bodyweight Exercises Workout Challenge
- Day 8: Get More Sleep
- Day 10: The Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
- Day 12: Finding Quality Food
- Day 15 – Phase II – Reintroduce, Rotate and Reflect
- Day 17: Healthy Eating Out
- Day 19: How to Set Up the Simple Home Gym Fitness Program
- Day 22: Healthy Dessert Recipes
- Day 24: Reduce Stress and Simplify Your Life
- Day 26: Personal Goal Setting
- Day 30: Phase III – Adjust and Maintain
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It’s amazing how much food quality affects the way you feel.
I switched from the big supermarket white eggs to some good organic, free-range eggs from Whole Foods, and not only do they taste better, I found that I had more energy in the mornings as well.
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skustes Reply:
Taste! Wow, the taste is definitely better, to go with better nutrition.
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Great post, as always! Buying local produce and pastured meat is definitely a passion of ours. We’re very lucky to have good farmer’s markets 7 months of the year, and we have a produce CSA that covers most of our needs for 6 months/year. But even in the heart of winter, there are good eat local choices in Chicago – we’ve got a couple of good all-local markets where I’m still buying local storage vegetables.
My favorite eat/local/sustainable choice has been joining a pastured/organic meat CSA – which I found through Local Harvest. We’ve been with our meat CSA for three years, and the difference in the quality and flavor of the meat and eggs is incredible. I really can’t tolerate mega-mart meat anymore – I don’t feel as good after eating it. I love supporting local farmers who are producing healthy foods, using methods that feel “right” for our home.
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skustes Reply:
Hey Jenn, we have a few meat CSAs here too, but I don’t do those. With my bulk buys (usually split a 1/4 cow with a friend or get a 1/2 lamb to myself, plus 5 whole chickens per month from about May to Sept), I don’t have much need for even more meat.
Cheers
Scott
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I already go to farmer’s markets (when they are open) and the only meat in my freezer right now is about 15 pounds of grass-fed beef. (As a single woman, it takes _forever_ to work through 25 pounds, which is the minimum purchase!) I get to take the weekend off – yay!
I did my IFing yesterday. Really, it was more that I left breakfast by the stove (my freshly cooked basily eggs), so I decided to just wait until lunch to eat. Given that I’ve done this on and off for a few months, it wasn’t that hard. I think it’s made a difference in my blood sugar stability. I used to always get nauseated if I skipped a meal or two.
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skustes Reply:
I hear you on how long it can take to go through meat. As a single guy, I go through it faster than you do (to the tune of a lb, give or take, per day), but when you get 75lbs at a time, that takes awhile. Wait, you cooked basily eggs and didn’t eat them?
Enjoy your weekend!
Scott
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Five years ago I wouldn’t have dreamed of spending more for organic produce, grass fed or pastured meat/poultry and eggs. Now I can’t believe I ever used to buy those things in a grocery store. I find with cleaner eating I eat fewer calories than I used to. To make it work financially I just buy the cheaper cuts of meat such as stew meat or ground beef which I prefer over a huge steak or roast most of the time anyway. I also buy in bulk and fill the freezer when the opportunities arise.
I typically eat two meals daily, one around noon and the other at 5pm. If I am hungry I might eat earlier. Once or twice a week I make it a full 24 hour fast. It got easier the longer I followed the routine and now I rarely am very hungry after a 24 hour fast. That never could have happened with my former eating habits!
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skustes Reply:
Rodney, there are some theories, to which I really have no opinion one way or the other, that the body really cares about vitamins and minerals, more than calories. Which makes sense on the surface…those vitamins and minerals are the keys to so many basic reactions in the body. Since organic produce and grass-fed/pastured eggs and meat have more nutrition, they could end up being more “filling”. Not sure though if this is all bunk.
Cheers
Scott
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Damn dude…
So no wheat? Yeah I don’t eat much. No dairy? I do that already. No caffeine… that’s tough but I can barrel through. But no alcohol? That’s where I draw the line. I need my weekly pint of glory with wings man… but my hats off to you for going through that for twelve days straight. Good stuff.
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skustes Reply:
Yeah, I go through phases of drinking more and drinking less. And let’s just say that from just before Thanksgiving through Jan 1 was a phase of drinking more, what with Thanksgiving, family parties, friend’s parties, work parties (I work for a liquor company), 3 different celebrations of my 30th, and New Year’s. I decided January is a good time to give the body a break. Doesn’t really bother me actually.
I’m missing the coffee more. The taste more than the caffeine as I’ve been sleeping awesomely.
Cheers
Scott
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FJ - No BS Fitness Blog Reply:
Hell yeah, I love the smell/taste of coffee as well. There’s always the decaf option. And you work for a liquor company eh… heh yeah that probably doesn’t help the situation as much. Looks like you’re kicking ass though, keep it up.
“you are what you eat, eats”. Nicely put. We always knew this, but simple quotations are so much sexier.
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Jenn Reply:
Scott – Had to go check FB to see which company (I did an accounting internship there many moons ago)…my husband works for the “other” liquor company in town – in the R&D department – needless to say if our house ever goes up in flames, neighbors and friends are just going to sit out in the cul-de-sac and watch it burn…
Jenn Reply:
oh…and forgot to mention…I also graduated from UL with degrees in CIS (2000) and Accounting (1999)
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skustes Reply:
Wow Jenn! Small world for sure! Liquor isn’t a horrible industry to work in…lots of fun people.
This is a bit of problem cause we dont have farmers market here in Spain. In the north there is good grass fed beef and lamb, so in summer holidays I eat freely red meat. but I live on the coast in Valencia and like other mediterranean places , no good red meat, but plenty of fresh fish and sea food. Basicaly we eat fish, free range eggs, chicken ( but are 50% suplemented on ecological corn !!), I buy fresh vegetables from local shops , some even recolected on the same day , but they do use pesticides,…
I have found a place that have grass fed meat in Valencia, need to investigate more, maybe I do that tomorrow.
Day 11:
B-coffee
L-Roast chicken + eggplant and zucchini stew
D- More chicken + salad
Work out:
1 hr walk
20 min crossfit
Cherishing my shrinking waist and finding each morning that my clothes are bigger or just as loose as the day before, Yey..
Have a nice weekend all.
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You have done so well! I too stay away from coffee and sweets and I am not much of a meat eater. Not totally vegan, but I try to keep my diet as healthy as possible. Hat’s off to all of your progress.
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I can’t believe we are getting toward the end of two weeks. I even more can’t
believe I went cold turkey off my coffee & sweeteners. I have to say I feel absolutely great. As far as changing over what is in our cupboards I have been
doing that since day #1 of the challenge after I read a link on Fake Foods V Real
Foods. It made me sick to my stomach with what it said. I don’t ever plan to
put anything in my mouth that has ingredients that I can’t read on the lable. In
the summer the Farmer’s markets and such are plentiful here in Maine but
good luck come winter. We have to buy what we can find. I have often thought
about doing my own garden again. We have a dairy market about 15 minutes
from my house that has it’s own meat and eggs and vegetables. Its great!!!
I also tend to enjoy my venison that it in my freezer. He taste pretty good:)
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Wendy Ann Reply:
I used to live up North, so I can definitely relate to your dilemma. In the winter months, fruits and vegetables are so expensive and it’s hard to find good ones. I am lucky enough to live in Florida now and I have a great produce market just a mile down the road. I went yesterday and got 4 bags full of vegetables for $11.00. I was able to get tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, carrots, celery, scallions, fresh dill, cucumbers and bananas. It’s unbelievable how much cheaper it is than the grocery store.
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Cathy Reply:
Not only Cheaper, but much better tasting too. I hate paying the price I
have to here in Maine and then get home open the bag of apples to
find them already going bad on me. Makes me so angry.
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Wendy Ann Reply:
I can totally relate. I have had that happen several times with different fruits and vegetables up there. I wish I could ship all of stuff out of here, but you never know what will happen to it. We do have a great market down here called Sun Harvest Citrus at: http://www.sunharvestcitrus.com/ and they ship whatever fruit is in season down here. They are pretty reasonable and I find that it’s a great way to give gifts, as it’s shipped right to the persons home. Their fruit is delicious and I use them all the time to send to family and friends at Christmas time.
I never tire of reading the message in posts like this. The information just makes plain sense. I like to be reminded that eating better quality foods is important for better health.
I have reduced my intake of garbage foods for the past two years now. It certainly has made a positive difference.
Peter
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Food really does affect how you feel. From what you eat, to how much, to how you eat it, it’s all important if you want to feel your best. I definitely feel my best when I limit sugar and dairy, but sometimes this is hard for me because I have such a sweet tooth! Nice site.
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