The Mile and Bite Grocery Shopping Guide is finally published. A big thank you to a school friend who has inspired me and a couple of others who have helped reviewing and proofreading the content. This guide remains a work in progress so please let me hear your feedback and what else you would like to see.
Why I Wrote This Guide I was inspired by my friends and realised that lots of people (working mums, young professionals) were struggling to eat well and could use health coaching. There are many fitness programmes and meal plans that can help you lose weight fast, get into your skinny jeans and feel confident in your body. I am curious to know if these programmes show you how to buy organic vegetables, pastured eggs, grass-fed meats and how to choose the cleanest (least contaminated) fish or seafood in a restaurant. I hope this guide will help with a little in this respect because food is such an important and accessible piece of a healthy lifestyle.
I'd like to emphasis that food is only secondary to our health. There is so much more to health coaching that looks into our long term well-being such as sleep quality, relationships (with your work, spouse, family, friends), stress management, exercise and self-care. See what we can do together. Make Wholesome Food Choices Since making the right food choices remains important to our health. I want to make this guide easily available, so you can figure out the most nutrient dense choices for you and your family.
Single-Ingredient Food As a rule of thumb, single-ingredient foods grown from a plant, humanely raised, or caught from the sea are more nutritious than any manufactured food with a nutrition label. Any processing, refining and heating in a manufacturing plant tends to remove some nutrients from food in its natural form. Examples of single ingredient food: an apple, an avocado, an egg, a whole piece of fish and a whole chicken. These foods don't usually come with a nutrition label or expiry date.
Processed Foods I am not saying you should never eat food with a nutrition label. You can use your common sense and pay attention to avoid highly processed foods. A simple example is conventional breakfast cereals. It doesn't matter whether the label says it is low fat, heart healthy or fortified with calcium and vitamin D. Low-fat or fat-free usually means the fat-soluble vitamins are removed together with the fat and replaced with sugar. You can decide whether you want low fat (more original nutrients) or low sugar. Avoid packaged food with more than six (or maybe ten) ingredients, or anything that you cannot understand, artificial flavourings, colourings and additives. You can make a choice between food grown from a plant versus to food made in a plant.
Not Advertising Any Brand or Shop or Store I would like to clarify that this isn't a sponsored site. I am not advertising any particular brand of drinks or food or health supplement, just my own health coaching. Most recommendations I make here is just good old fashion food, with a slight tilt towards Paleo/ Primal/ Ancestral. The information I share is what I have learned from my health coach training, as well as the health journeys that I have experienced myself and with my clients. How to Use This Grocery Shopping Guide It's simple. Start with The Basics, or jump to any of the topics to learn how to choose high quality produce. At the bottom of each category, there is a section on where you are likely to find these sustainably sourced products.
Vegetables and Fruits
Healthy Fats and Cooking Oils
Sustainably Sourced Fish and Seafood
Plant-Based Protein
Printable downloads
I have also made some printer friendly files for easy reference. These include paleo friendly food items, a shopping list and a one page summary of how to shop for healthful foods here.
I hope you enjoy the guide, please let me know what you think. Or sign up for a free consultation, I would be happy to talk about the guide based on your personal circumstances and preferences.
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