I wish I could walk into a regular grocery or convenience store and find only "real" food. By "real" food I mean foods made with whole grains, proper fats, no additives or artificial colorings, and with healthy levels of sodium and sugar. I wish for aisles full of food that's actually good for us that we could just pluck off the shelf with confidence and peace of mind--without the specialty food price tags! When I go shopping these days I feel as if I'm picking around, over, and under the selections thrust at me to find the "real" food. Or I'm spending a fortune at the organic market for food that should be the norm and readily available.
Ever look at the ingredients in a jar of mass-marketed peanut butter? Touted as a healthy spread, most of the regular brands like Skippy, Jiff, et al are loaded with hydrogenated oils. Those oils are, um, not good for you to say the least. Sure, the Teddie Natural peanut butter takes a little stirring, but there's nothing but peanuts and a little salt in the jar. Take a look at the amount of sugar in your mass-marketed yogurt. It's up there, making most yogurts high in calories for the amount of real nutrition you actually get.
Today I had to go into a gas station convenience store, which I rarely do. I took a moment to look around at what was for sale, and I thought, "most of this isn't even food." Save for some milk and cheese, the "food" choices were just fat-, salt-, sugar-and additive-laden processed junk. I could not find one loaf of 100% whole wheat bread, but there was plenty of Wonder.
Sometimes I am stunned at how many of us don't even know what "real" food is anymore. Don't even get me started about our kids. It's so sad, and so bad for us as individuals, our community, and our planet.
