Recipe for Processed Food

What do big food companies and Clark W. Griswold have in common?

Clark encouraged his family to look elsewhere while en route to buy their enormous tree so he could pull a fast one. Big processed food companies are doing the same thing when it comes to food labeling. They focus on two types of labels: the colorful front label with all the marketing messages and the government mandated nutrition label which highlights mostly useless metrics such as serving size, calories, fat grams, etc. Ever notice that the labels for these metrics keep getting bigger while the third label -- ingredients, is damned near impossible to read?  And if you do happen to have a magnifying glass handy, you won't understand most of what's there anyway.

Clark doesn't want his kids to see him giving the universal displeasure salute; processed food companies don't want you to focus on the INGREDIENTS which are the most important aspects of the packaging.

What matters MOST to me as a health coach are those obscured ingredients because they tell the REAL STORY.  They're downright difficult to read and more often than not they're featuring a familiar recipe of "foods" which are harmful to our health because they disrupt metabolic function and are addictive substances. 

The majority of packaged foods use a simple formula to make impressive profits: 1) employ cheap ingredients; 2) dress 'em up with marketing slogans and deals; 3) and blanket the aisles with strong distribution networks. I'll make it real simple by sharing this "recipe" below.

What do avocados, broccoli, butter, beef, milk, eggs, olive oil and other simple foods have in common? They don't need ingredient labels because they are REAL, WHOLE foods. Avocado is made with avocado; an egg carton contains eggs; butter is comprised of butter; etc. Focusing on these single ingredient, real whole foods is the absolute best thing you can do for your health in terms of nourishment.

Next time you're in the supermarket or ordering online, give the universal displeasure salute to the producers of these franken foods and support the farmers who grow and raise the real deal.