Get Your Food Smart On!
We need to get to the bottom of our food industry and become food smart so that we’re making better choices for our bodies, minds, and the planet!
We Need To Get Food Smart
By Danah Mor
The real food dilemma for our generation is how to become a real food wizard. We need to get to the bottom of our food industry and be more conscious of our food choices so that we’re making smarter choices for our bodies, minds, and the planet!
Supermarket
Shop at local farmers’ markets where there is less or no food seduction. Support your local farmers and ask them how they protect their crops from insects. Farmers are great to speak to, and supporting them is fun and better for the planet.
Monthly Deliveries
I avoid supermarkets altogether. Order your staples like grains, beans, nuts, oils, toilet paper, and detergents monthly and have them delivered to your home. It saves you time, money, and energy! If you go to the supermarket, avoid the aisles you now know are 100 percent pure seduction – with all that colorful packaging lighting up your brain chemistry. Head straight for the real food – the fresh vegetables and fruits. Fill your basket and then head to the grains. Now breathe and do not go near the bakery, confectionery, or cereal aisles. Buy dry grains and beans in bulk. This saves you time and money – bulk is always a better bargain. If possible, order them online and organic.
Food Smart – Food Choices
Remember that we send messages with every euro, dollar or pound we spend. When we buy real natural foods, we are voting for more of that. When we buy processed products with toxic effects on our body and the planet, we are sending out a message that we don’t care. Vote and be heard with what you choose to spend your energy and money on.
Kitchen Organization
Organize your fridge and pantry in a friendly manner so that it suits your new dietary choices. For example:
1. Create a grains cupboard with all your grains stored in airtight glass containers, so it’s easy for you to recognize them!
2. Create a snack drawer with trail mixes, almond butter, coconut oil, maple syrup, and wheat-free
3. Create a healthy snack section in the fridge with hummus, pesto, carrots, and other easy-to-grab
4. Organize the fridge so that veggies are prioritized and separated for salads and for cooking, so it’s easy to make a
5. Allow your healthier plant-based foods to be more natural to access in the fridge and in the kitchen in
6. Buy organic. Check out the organic produce guides “clean fifteen” and “dirty dozen” to prioritize when budgeting
Get Food Smarter
1. Take the super out of supermarket – go to the market.
2. Order your shopping staples online or have them delivered – this saves time, money, and energy!
3. Spend that time at home making delicious, nutritious meals! Get groovy cooking more
4. When you buy packaged foods, like jarred chickpeas, coconut yogurt, or granola – read your labels and question where your food comes
5. Check out the meal plan ideas to get a vision of what a week of loving real good food looks
Food Smart – Shopping Tips
Use the shopping list on the next three pages to discover a world of veggies, grains, beans, and legumes! Veggies and fruits are seasonal, so be sure to keep them local. Shopping at farmer’s markets will keep your supply local and safe!
Vegetables
Acorn squash
Artichokes
Asparagus
Beetroots/beets
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Butternut squash cabbages
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery chicory/endives
Collard greens
Coriander
Courgette/zucchini
Cucumber
Garlic
Lettuce
Leeks
Mushrooms (portobello, chestnut, shitake, etc.)
Okra/ladyfingers
Onions
Parsley
Parsnips
Peas (frozen)
Peppers
Radishes
Rocket/arugula
Romaine
Spinach
Sprouts and baby greens (if available, such as sunflower, green and pea greens)
Green beans (all varieties)
Sweet potatoes
Swiss chard
Kale
Kohlrabi
Turnips
Watercress
Fruits
The fruit has become less nutritious and sweeter with advanced technology and genetic engineering. They are also harvested earlier and stored longer. I save my tropical fruit feasts for when I’m in Brazil or Hawaii! In Portugal and European countries, I choose local berries, apples, and pears. Choose seasonal and local fruits.
Avocado
Apples
Bananas
Berries
Grapes
Kiwi fruits
Lemons
Tomatoes
Green
Fermented Foods
(Choose raw, naturally fermented and unpasteurized options) sauerkraut organic miso
Kimchi
Natural Sweeteners
Maple Syrup
Dates (Medjool)
Coconut Sugar
Raisins
Organic Raw Honey
Dried Cranberries
Stevia Leaf
Molasses
Nuts and Seeds
Buy raw and fresh and in bulk, and store in your fridge or freezer!
Almonds
Almond Butter
Chia Seeds
Flaxseeds
Hazelnuts
Hemp seeds
Pecans
Pine Nuts
Pumpkin Seeds
Sesame Seeds
Sunflower seeds
Tahini (Sesame seed paste)
Walnuts
Flour
I like to grind my own flour with a high-speed blender
Buckwheat flour
Millet Flour
Quinoa Flour
Oat Flour
Potato Flour
Beans and Legumes
For sprouting and cooking. If you’re just beginning all of this, feel free to buy a few glass-jarred beans and chickpeas to facilitate the process at first. However, buy the dried versions too so you can get sprouting!
Mung Black
Adzuki Pinto
Lentils (all colors)
Lima
Chickpeas
Fenugreek seeds for white sprouting!
Fresh Herbs and Dried Seasonings
Basil
Black Pepper
Chives
Coriander Seeds
Dill
Himalayan Salt or Fleur de paprika
Lemongrass
Lime Leaves
Mint
Mustard Seeds
Parsley
Coriander
Ginger
Sel dried Thyme
Tarragon
Thyme
Turmeric
Rosemary
In this excerpt from her book, Shine Brighter Every Day: Nourish Your Body, Feed Your Spirit, Balance Your Life (Watkins May 2020), Danah Mor explains how to get food smarter, especially when it comes to shopping…
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About the Author
Danah Mor is a certified Health Practitioner who discovered she was going blind at age 13. She trained in Ayurvedic Medicine at the Medical University of Manipal and is certified by Hippocrates Health Institute and The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. For more about Danah go to http://danahmor.com
