Real-food can be somewhat confusing and at times people might be talking about the same thing, but using different words. Real-food can also be considered "traditional food" or a "traditional diet". Real-food is sometimes referred to as "food our ancestors ate" or "food from ancient cultures." No matter how you phrase it the principles are roughly the same. I wanted to offer a Real-food guide, a quick reference to help navigate your grocery store and food purchases.
The guide I have come up with is what I follow for my family, but there are many others in books and on the internet ranging from very strict to very lax. Two of my favorites is taken from Eat Fat, Lose Fat a great easy to read book with lots of information on "Traditional Diets" and Nourishing Traditions, a fabulous cookbook on all things traditionally cooked (meaning a long time ago). My one disclaimer is that while this book abounds in wonderful information it is a "diet" book and unless you LOVE coconut the actual diet is a bit extreme. Nevertheless, you should read it for the information on Real-foods.
Now to the guide I promised:
-Eat Whole foods, unprocessed (or minimally processed-I added this to be realistic!)
-Eat plenty of beef, fish, chicken, shellfish and eggs. Look for pastured-animals who eat grass and roam around-when possible and check out the Seafood watch site for how to eat seafood responsibly.
-Eat full-fat dairy from pastured cows, including raw milk, raw cheese, kefir (fermented dairy drink) and grass-fed butter.
-Use animal fats, butter and traditional oils (olive, sesame, flax, coconut and palm & get rid of any others!)
-Eat plenty of fresh fruits, veggies-go ahead and put butter on those veggies. :)
-Eat Whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes prepared by soaking or sprouting to enhance nutrition and digestion.
-Eat lacto-fermented foods, including beverages regularly to aid digestion and keep a happy gut.
-Use plenty of meat, fish and poultry stock-homemade when possible.
-Use unrefined Sea salt or Himalayan Sea salt.
-Make your own salad dressings-it's really simple and take a few minutes for dressing the whole week.
-Use natural sweeteners- my favorite is honey, maple syrup, whole sugar and coconut sugar. Be careful it is actually natural and traditional, unrefined and whole. Use is moderation as even natural sweeteners are still added sugar your body does not need.
-Unless, you are severely deficient, get your vitamins and supplements from food sources, not synthetically made-your body will thank you!
Ok so that is the guide I try to follow when buying food for my family. At first glance it might seem overwhelming, but baby steps eventually lead to walking and walking to running and who knows maybe even a marathon! So lets raise a glass of fermented something (mine today is Kombucha) and cheers to your health!
