The picture to the left? Yep that's me...getting raw cheese from a vending machine near Letchworth State Park because its hard to find the same quality cheese at a grocery store. I'm definitely not driving an hour weekly to buy high quality vending machine cheese but our lifestyle has changed quite a bit when it comes to where we get our groceries - it's no longer a one stop shop at the store. So what are we not buying from the grocery store as of late? Let me tell you: produce (in the summer and fall), meat, eggs, and milk!
When we are consuming food there's levels of nutrition beyond the distinction of "organic or not" that you might be used to encountering. Local is ALWAYS better - especially if it is in season. Our bodies crave the energy stored in those foods and a lot of that energy comes directly from sunlight. If you are buying out of season produce from the grocery store (we do it too - it's convenient and I like avocados) it is often picked unripe and ripened by artificial light. This alternate ripening process results in a food item that has way fewer micronutrients than one ripened by the sun. If you can find produce that is local AND organic - even better. For us this looks like going to farmers markets or pulling over and grabbing some fresh produce from farm stands on the side of the road. Typically this is what we are doing from June-October. Outside of those months we are prioritizing organic produce from the store. Organic foods are beneficial because they use less chemicals and this results in your body being less stressed; it won't have the added work of needing to detox the chemicals that don't belong.
When it comes to meat on the other hand - there is a much better standard to seek than organic. The best way to describe meat that will have the MOST nutritional benefit for you is by thinking about how the animal would be raised in nature. Chickens? They would roam a pasture eating bugs and grass (so when you see organic chicken at the store that is vegetarian fed...that's not natural). Cattle? They would also roam pastures chewing grass all day being herded around by whatever predators are nearby. Unfortunately the meat system in America is VERY broken. Animals are raised in tight quarters, often forcefed to fatten them quickly and then killed with inhumane butchering proccesses. Not only is this a sucky life for the animal but often a miserable work environment for the people involved day to day and has terrible environmental impact. It doesn't help that food distribution in our country is wacky too. We ended up here because people were trying their best...but maybe they became a little greedy too. I used to think the solution to this sad system was to go vegetarian, but now I know that has potential to be worse for the planet AND the individual (more on that in a future blog). The best option for ethical wages, nutritious food, happy animals, and a well off planet is regenerative agriculture. This approach looks to work with nature, enhance the soil, promote diversity, and soooo much more. I digress. Products with this approach are really uncommon in stores. If they are present it's usually somewhere like WholeFoods where the prices are steeeeeep. And while the convenience is lovely - the cost is not. This is where the tables turn and why we love LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS! Building relationship is everything. Go to a local market, look for the products you want, ask questions. Be wary of people reselling grocery store items. This is where we buy all of our meat. We have become buddies with a handful of farmers and we know how they raise their animals. While the cost is sometimes higher - so is the benefit. We get more nutrient dense food and my money goes to family farms rather than big corporations that take advantage of their employees!
We usually go to a market once or twice a month and stock up on meat to put in the freezer. So this leaves eggs and milk. Not gonna lie, our egg situation is a hoot. We knew we wanted eggs locally and John went on Craigslist and found a guy selling chicken eggs. He lives a few minutes from us and we buy eggs from him every week. He's a mechanic so we even paid him to put new tires on John's car once. The more ya know!
Milk is also a weekly staple, although it didn't used to be. John and I got married in 2021 and at the time he was lactose intolerant...big time...you sneak some milk into a dish and he will be in the bathroom for a WHILE. TMI? sorry...but let's be honest you probably know someone in a similar situation. We were an oatmilk house...until we discovered A2 milk from grassfed, pasture raised cows. This stuff was game changer. So creamy, so delicious...upped our homemade latte game by 112% (math friends - I know that's not how it works, you get the point). Okay, so at this point John was trying to incorporate it but it still wasn't agreeing with him. Then I learned about raw milk. You definitely don't find raw milk in stores. Isn't it dangerous? At least that's what I was wondering. But you start to do the research and a few weeks later we went scouring upstate New York to access some of this government condemned superfood. Since then we joined a farm distribution site that does raw milk (from grassfed and pasture raised cows) pre-order and pickups each week! John started slowly (and I mean really slowly) incorporating this raw milk into his diet and now he can literally drink a milkshake and feel great. We attribute it to the easier digestibility of A2 milk, the high quality (because the animals are healthy - spoiler alert...most cows that produce the milk on the shelves are not and that is why it has to be pasteurized), and the live probiotics and digestive enzymes!
I will say a diet emphasizing real whole food sources is the first priority. If your meals involve eating out constantly or lots of processed foods (for many of us this is the case!), try incorporating some whole foods first. Make a chicken dish, roast some veggies. But if you are looking for the next step in fueling a healthier and happier body then these tips are definitely for you!! So go on, take the challenge. Get out of your comfort zone and go chat with a farmer. I promise the community and food quality are SO worth it. Aaaaand if you're in the Rochester NY area and you want recommendations on where to start, let us know :) Here's to the pursuit of a nourishing, healthy, and thriving lifestyle - cheers!
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