So, with that said, let us begin. It all started with a few articles read from the magazine Nutrition Action, given to us by a family member. I began to discover the true world of food- what's added, why, and what potentially could be wrong with that. It led me on a ten year journey to where I am now- an avid selective eater, a quality hunter, and "that person who always reads the labels." As a result, over the years I have learned a lot about prepackaged food, including a few markers that usually distinguish the good from the ok from the definitely don't eat. The choices I make here, however, do not always directly translate to what I actually eat, which brings me to the point of moderation, what my blog is named after.
The main reason I am very selective at the store is because in real life, real budgets, and real situations, I will not be able to get "the best" or the things I think are the best. In real life, those around you will invite you to try something, or to eat somewhere, or there's free food at work from someone's retirement party, and you come to find yourself in a dilemma. You know you want to eat "right," but there is that cake, ever tempting. For me, that cake is an invitation. It says, "Enjoy life as it is now. Buy right, eat right when you can, but for now, savor the flavor of the moment before you." Celebrate with those who are celebrating, and dine with those who invite you to their functions. This is part of being human, and part of our social lives. To transgress these moments for reasons other than medical necessity, to me, is to cast aside the intentions of the greater picture. Said another way, it is similar to the old saying "don't lose the forest for the trees." I think we must be able to balance both health and relationships in a way that is respectful to all, yet promotes greater changes over time. In that way, I believe the dollar means the most. When the food has already been bought and paid for, I tend to overlook the preferences I have for myself. When I'm in the store, there are very few things I still buy that don't adhere to the food industry standards I'd like for them to achieve. If some of today's related health epidemics are any indication, such as obesity and high blood pressure, food and food perceptions are one of the many things that must be changed if we are to maintain overall health and happiness, as well as protect our environment from the ravages of our current agricultural practices.
And this concludes a small overview of how I think about food. If you'd like more information, contact me through a comment below! This is the only post where I will allow comments, so as to cut down on spam, so please reference other articles here if you have questions about them. Thanks again for reading!
The chart below is a list of brands, favorite products, and food ingredients I try to avoid the most often, so as to give a picture of what I generally reference when evaluating a new product. The first two columns are related; each product corresponds to the brand to its left. The "Most avoided" column is not related to others.
Brand Products Most avoided
| Food For Life | Ezekiel Bread | High fructose corn syrup |
| Humboldt Creamery | Vanilla ice cream | F&DC Red #40 |
| REBBL | Mango Spice drink | Corn (non organic) |
| Redwood Hill Farms | Plain goat yogurt | Enriched white wheat |
| Vital Farms | Organic pasture raised eggs | Soy lecithin/MSG |
| One Degree | Brown rice cacao crisps cereal | Natural flavors |
| Theo | Chocolate peanut butter cups | Guar gum |
| Alter Eco | Quinoa crunch chocolate bar | Non fair trade chocolate |
| Nature's Path | Heritage Flakes cereal | Beef/pork (excludes wild boar) |
| Back to the Roots | Cocoa flakes cereal | Regular milk |
This list may change at any time, particularly when a company is bought or sold, or if product ingredients change for the worse. In addition, I do not live in an area known for its health, so many other brands I may love are simply unavailable as they will not sell enough here.
More info will follow soon, as well as in detail in my blog posts. I look forward to seeing any comments you may have!
