By Lynn Haraldson-Bering
A few days ago I went grocery shopping. It was an ordinary shopping trip. Bought the usual – veggies, fruit, beans, yogurt, and a (fabulously priced ginormous) pack of fresh chicken breasts for my husband. When the cashier rang up my order, she said, “That’s the healthiest cart of groceries I’ve checked out in a long time.” Immediately I thought, Cool! Someone noticed! A few seconds later, however, I thought, Oh, how sad. Someone noticed.
What was in my cart should be in everyone’s cart.
I’ve been called judgmental by RTR readers when I say things like that, but I assure you my attitude is not holier than thou. I truly and sincerely feel bad when I see carts loaded with pop, frozen pizzas and ice cream, and pushed (or in many cases, driven) by someone 50 or 100+ pounds overweight and often with an overweight child riding in the seat. This is a typical scenario here in western Pennsylvania. Money plays a huge role in what groceries people buy, but so, too, does convenience and lack of real nutritional education.
We can talk all day about “personal responsibility.” I mean, most people should just “know” that a quarter pounder with cheese and a super-sized fries isn’t as healthy as a grilled chicken sandwich and an apple, right? But in observing the food buying habits of the general population, it’s clear that the bombastic nature of food advertising and the convenience of fast food and packaged meals that raw fruits and vegetables, bags of beans, and cartons of yogurt really don’t stand a chance. Especially when foods like yogurt get dressed up as “healthy.” When manufacturers add crushed Oreos, M&Ms and Gummy Bears to the carton, is it any wonder people would say “I had yogurt for breakfast!” and really think they ate something good for them when in fact, they ingested a ton of sugar and very little protein or calcium?
Hmmm….
How can someone embrace personal responsibility for their food intake and the repercussions of its consumption on their health when advertising and simplicity (zap it in the microwave!) trump solid nutritional information sources? Nutrition labels are confusing and quickie news reports (let’s face it, we’re a nation of “news in a minute”) of fats and carbs and the newest food trends are confusing.
So how do we get more fruits and vegetables and lean proteins into the carts of Americans?
I know we’ve discussed elements of this topic before, but I’m curious how you decided to get educated and how you know now what foods are best for you? What sources do you rely on for solid nutritional information? Are articles like this one from Yahoo helpful (8 Foods That Fight Fat) or do you find them simplistic and condescending?
My own nutritional education started years ago and is ongoing. I don’t jump on the latest trends or believe everything I read, but I am often as confused as the next person as to what foods or components of food are “good” or “bad.” However, when the cashier at the grocery store calls my cart of food “healthy,” it bolsters my enthusiasm for nutritional knowledge and staying the course. So, too, do moments like today when I was at Sage Meadow, our local health food store, buying low-sodium vegetable broth. Pat, the owner, only had two boxes on hand and another customer showed me the vegetable broth cubes. While I like the cubes, I told her, I use them sparingly because they have substantial fat in the form of palm oil. I didn’t say it in a snotty way, but I still felt like I was being judgmental and so I said to Pat, “But you know me, I’m always watching that kind of thing.” Pat said, “Well, that’s why you’ve kept your weight off.”
Bingo. She was absolutely right. I have to look out for myself because no one else will. It takes a lot of reading and planning and education to keep 170 pounds off. But being realistic, I know most people don’t have the time or energy to invest in nutritional education as I have. So how can it be more accessible? How do we make veggies, fruits and proteins "normal" in the American grocery cart?
