A Learning Curve

There is a dizzying amount of information on nutrition, food, herbs and supplements. It all makes my head swim a little bit and pains me to realize that however much I know/learn about nutrition, I will likely fall short of accessing the best diet possible.

I have to tell myself that "perfection" isn't the goal, but making better informed and healthier food choices IS what I am seeking.

This past weekend, I went to the Walmart grocery for the first time in about six months. (While I was doing Medifast, Jeff did all the grocery shopping. It was simple... chicken, fish, some fresh veggies each week. Now, though, I wanted to go and see what options were readily available... wondering, for example, if Walmart carried flax seed, greek yogurt,tofu,fresh salmon, etc.)

It was amazing to see that MOST of the *food* in the store was highly processed and heavily laden with additives. I would guess that 20% of the food was in its natural state (ie a potato and not potato chips). Would you believe that there was a 3 gallon container of orange cheese puffs? Seriously! Who would put that in their body, especially in such massive amounts? I walked through the store as though on a treasure hunt, with the treasure being healthy food in the midst of the sea of Little Debbie cakes, powdered donuts, pizza, candy, hamburger helper, etc.

It took some work to find food that was reasonably healthy, and most of my cart was filled from the produce aisle. Next week, I'll be shopping at Kroger to see if better options exist there. Otherwise, it will probably be worth the extra expense to travel to Knoxville to seek the whole foods that I want to eat.

So far today, I've eaten:
Breakfast: multigrain cheerios, skim milk
Snack: Banana
Lunch: Spinach, garlic, mushrooms, 1 T ground flax seed stir fried in 1 T olive oil with 3 oz mozzarella (Sooooo delicious!)
Snack: Orange

I LOVE eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and making them the cornerstone of my diet. And after 9 months on Medifast, a sweet potato or a banana is like eating chocolate cake. And I love the quest to learn all I can about nutrition and to maximize the potential for eating a healthy diet. (Within reason and within the limits of my pocketbook. It IS cheaper to eat boxed macaroni/cheese and raman noodles than salmon and blueberries. It's no wonder that people on limited incomes have difficulties with obesity and poor nutrition.) Hmmm. My next Google search: Nutritious Inexpensive Food