As I wrap up my Computers in Nutrition Education course, I wanted to display some of the interesting things I learned from Professor Hobby. Below is an infographic of a nutrition & fitness workshop I’m developing. Going forward, I may not stay active on this blog, but it was great inspiration for starting PrimalPlatoon.com. Classmates and friends, please follow me at https://twitter.com/PrimalPlatoon
Hey Parents! Do you know what your kids ate in school today?
Well, you should start caring. Did you know that a child’s nutrition affects their ability to learn in school? A healthy, balanced meal improves a child’s ability to focus and their ability to academically outperform kids that aren’t eating so healthy.
Where do you start? Well, the first thing you can do is start taking control of what your child eats. No…not like a tyrant type of control, more like a loving parent type of control. Give your kids healthy food choices to choose from. Fresh fruits and vegetables come in all flavors, shapes, and sizes. You’ll probably be surprised at what healthy foods your child actually likes. Another important step is working with educators in school to see how you can make a difference.
Since my blog is mostly about eating mostly primal-in other words, real foods- you can find current & interesting information on my dear friend, Rebecca’s blog: Kids and School Nutrition. It features recipes, ideas for parents and educators alike, and the ability to follow her on Twitter for the latest school nutrition updates. So long for now.
Mark’s Daily Apple is a blog site where you can learn about the Primal lifestyle and stay current with a whole host of topics related to primal eating. Mark Sisson, author of the best-selling book, Primal Blueprint, is very active on this blog and it’s a great place to start if you want to learn more about primal eating. If you’re always on the go, Mark’s got you covered.
MotherApp, developer of apps, created a mobile app for Mark’s site. The app includes links to Mark’s tweets, youtube videos, and even includes information on primal lifestyle events being held across the country. The app is available on Android and yes, it’s free. If you want to stay current with the Primal or Paleo movement and you’re always on the go, you’ll probably want to download this app as soon as you get a chance. Here’s the link to download this free app: Mark’s Daily Apple app
So, you want to make healthy choices in the grocery store. Where do you start? It’s really overwhelming in the grocery store sometimes. But wait, a lot of the grocery stores have made recent additions with “healthy/organic” sections. Is this where you should go? Probably not.
If you want to buy the healthiest foods, stay away from anything that says “diet” or “sugar-free”. Your best bet is staying in the outer aisles. The outer aisles is usually where most grocery stores stock the fresh produce and meats. These are the bulk of the foods you should opt for. Make sure the fruits and vegetables you buy are fresh, whole, and preferably organic. One more thing, never buy fruits that come in a can or a box. These are the types of fruit and veggie products you’ll normally find within the grocery aisles. Just stay away! If you follow these simple guidelines, buying fruits and vegetables can’t get any easier.
To learn more, click here for healthy guidelines from the experts.
Script:
At the grocery store, the Mostly Primal way. Hi, I’m Juan. So you’ve decided you want to try the whole primal thing. Well, I’m going to show you exactly how to do groceries the Mostly Primal way. Consider it, healthy choices in the grocery store.
Now, grocery shopping probably seems as easy as riding a bicycle for most people. But, if you want to do it the healthy way, I’m going to show you how in about 3 minutes.
Now, when you walk into a grocery store, you’re normally greeted by fruits and vegetables. Now the outer aisles of grocery stores are normally where they stock the freshest foods. This is where you want to buy your fruits and vegetables. Make sure they’re fresh. Makes sure they’re wholesome and preferably organic. As long as you’re buying your fruits and vegetables from the fresh produce section, you should be good. Now with that said, you want to stay away from the inner aisles that stock all the boxed fruits and vegetables. You don’t want to buy fruits and vegetables that have plenty of additives or preservatives added to them or added sugars. Stay away from those. As long as it’s not boxed up or in a can you should be good.
Now, you’re done with the fruits and vegetables. Now moving on to the outer perimeter of the store, this is probably where you’re going to find your meats. These are the meats you want to buy; the frozen meats. Now, make sure the meats are as minimally processed as possible. Now what does this mean? Look at the ingredients. Look at the labels ladies and gentlemen. You want to make sure that they’re grass fed or pasture raised. You want to eat animals that were fed with a diet that they were intended to eat naturally. As far as the chicken, read the label. You want to make sure the chicken is minimally processed. You want to make sure that it has no added steroids, hormones, anti-biotics, so on and so forth. Read the labels and that will make you a smart shopper.
Now, you got your fruits and vegetables, you got your meats. What are we missing? Of course, something to drink. Water, believe it or not, is a super-food. You should stick with water. If you want something with flavor, well eat a fruit, eat an orange. Now, stay away from the soda aisle. The soda aisle is just full of beverages all colors of the rainbow which have a bunch of sugar. You don’t need all these empty calories. This is how you gain weight. The weight you don’t want. So, as long as you stick with water, you should be good. And if you want milk, milk has the vitamin D, the calcium, and the other vitamins and minerals you may want. This is fine. Stick with fat-free milk if you don’t want the fat. Now, if you’re lactose intolerant, try one of the replacements, the substitutes drinks. Like the almond and the soy milks. These are fortified with calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin E as well.
Now, to sum it all up, vegetables, like I said from the beginning, stay in the outer aisles. Stay in the outer aisle, this is where you’ll find the fresh foods. You want to make sure they’re fresh, organic, and whole.
Fruits, same rules apply. You want to make sure the fruits are fresh, organic, whole, and this is where you’ll find them, the outer aisles. Stay away from the canned fruits. Or the fruits that are transformed into things you can’t even pronounce. And stay away from the fruits that have a bunch of sugar and preservatives.
And then, here are the meats [summarized].
Alright, this is Juan and this was a quick tip on how to do groceries the Mostly Primal way.
Are you new to Primal Eating? Well, you’re not alone. Luckily, there are many resources available online and in the bookstore that will help you get started. Assuming you, the busy adult, don’t have time to spend the next few months studying the literature, here’s some basic guidelines to start with:
The following foods are primal and are fair game:
Meats, poultry, fish, eggs
Fruits
Vegetables
Nuts
Berries
Remember, the meats must be grass-fed/pasture raised. The poultry must be organic and free of any steroids and antibiotics. If you’re asking yourself, ‘Why’, then that’s a pretty good question. There’s a lot of scientifically-based theories and opinions for why Primal Eating is among the healthiest ways to eat. For now, all you need to keep in mind is that nature intended animals to eat a certain way and this is the way we should eat our foods.
This might seem like a lot of information right now but, trust me, it’s very easy to look for in the grocery store. One rule of thumb to remember is that grocery stores normally place all the fresh, organic foods and produce on the outer, perimeter aisles. Most of the processed foods you should try to avoid are normally stocked in the inner aisles. For now, start off with these simple guidelines and educate yourself on primal eating if you have a spare minute during the day.
What does a balanced diet really look like? Well, it depends on who you ask. Plus, who has the time to count calories?…..You, probably don’t! My name is Juan and my goal is to provide you, the busy adult, with practical eating solutions. Mostly Primal eating is Primal/Paleo eating at its core, but it doesn’t restrict you from enjoying other nutritious foods, like brown rice, black beans, etc.
Eating healthy can be a tough thing to do. Relax…I’m here to help you. Please read more about me in the About page. But first, check out the graphic below to learn more about Mostly Primal eating. (If you’re a book worm and want to learn more about the Primal movement, click here.)
Mostly Primal Eating 