There’s a lot more to it than only choosing home-made or store-bought foods. There are a few things worth considering when debating if you want to take the time and effort to make something or simply go to a store and buy.
What are your priorities?
Convenience is a huge if not the only factor for some people. But looking beyond convenience, your health should be the biggest motivator when it comes to the investments you make, of time, money, and effort, in my humble opinion. I suggest you take the time to revaluate your priorities and make a list of them.
Quality is underrated.
I feel like generally, people and businesses, don’t care very much about quality. It’s usually profit over quality, and when it comes to the quality of what you eat, the highest the better.
I understand that quality might implicate higher costs as well, and the FINANCIAL STRUGGLE IS REAL, but how about starting small and slow?
I suggest taking a look at the Clean 15 and Dirty 12 list, by the WHO. Every year there’s an updated list you can use to know what’s best to buy organic or not. Check it out here.
Perhaps you start with eggs, or milk, if that’s what you eat the most, for example. Choose buying the best quality ones. In this case, go for PASTURE RAISED. All other terms such as organic, no antibiotics, and farm-fresh are marketing terms. Yeah, the food industry is pretty good at marketing.
Lastly, quality ingredients will make a meal more flavorful and nutritious!!!
Eating out.
Store-bought foods, such as fast food and frozen foods might TASTE delicious, but what if you know the ingredients used are not great at all? Home-made meals are usually the best choice. Restaurants and processed foods (not all) tend to lower expenses by purchasing cheaper ingredients, which often translates to lower quality.
Secondly, the use of flavor enhancers, salt, sugar, gums, and other “tricks” to improve appearance and taste may not be the healthiest ingredients added to your food, they are ultra-processed empty calories. Meaning they have no nutritional benefit and don’t benefit your performance. Think about the salad dressings, sauces, fried foods, and all unbalanced meals high in fats and sugar.
While ultra-processed might be harmless when consumed occasionally, the excess will surely compromise your health long term. (Have you heard of the Blue Zones?…) When you cook at home, you’re in charge… In charge of what you buy and eat. Make smart choices, or I can help you to make them. Let’s talk!
It takes effort but it can be done.
When it comes to your health, the amount of effort you make is relative to the benefits you will see. You gotta put effort into eating healthy, exercising, decompressing, saying no to what’s not on your priority list, and recognizing and saying yes to what’s good for your mind and body. IT IS HARD WORK, so take it easy, ok?
I know, home-made meals at home sounds like a lot to ask. Because it is! But it can be done and as with everything else in life, you get better with practice. So don’t give up!
You don’t need to be a master chef or eat gourmet meals every day. You need good and clean food. The foundation of a healthy diet is whole foods.
What can you do?
Choose to support businesses that sell homemade foods, free of additives. Some grocery stores carry them. Get to know the restaurants you like and the ingredients they use.
Say no more often to ready-to-eat meals. Go for your homemade meals over store-bought items.
Find the brands that are committed to using good ingredients. Here’s a list of a few:
HU, Purely Elizabeth, Kettle & Fire, Nativas Organics, Forager, Food For Life, Bob’s Red Mill, Siete, Simple Mill’s, My Functional Foods
