I’ve had lots of people ask me via e-mail, comments, and personal conversations what I actually buy to eat.

I originally started listing out ALL the items I buy and where I buy them, but then I decided that was kind of silly! Why? Because what I consider “okay” may not actually be “real food” approved and you may have an entirely different threshold of what’s okay and what’s not.

Instead of listing off every single item I buy, I thought I’d tell you the staples I like to keep in stock at my house. Each category will list a few of my favorite brands.

Fruits/Vegetables/Nuts

• Fresh Produce {Check back soon for a glimpse at how I decide whether to buy organic or conventional produce.}
• Frozen Vegetables {everything except corn}
• Organic Frozen Corn {I’ll explain why soon.}
• Organic Raisins
• Musselman’s Unsweetened Applesauce 
• Go Go Squeeze Applesauce Pouches 
• Peanuts, Almonds, Walnuts

Dairy/Eggs

• Whole Foods 365 Brand Whole Milk {I’ve heard a rumor that their milk is actually organic but doesn’t say so. I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but they do pledge to use milk from cows not treated with rBGH.}
• Whole Foods 365 Brand 8 oz cheddar cheese blocks- {same with the cheese-  not organic, but they do pledge not to treat cows with hormones. I am currently boycotting Kraft, so I no longer buy cheese blocks from the regular grocery store. As far as my price comparison goes, the price seems pretty close.}
• Whole Foods 365 Brand Unsalted Butter- {same reasons as above, but I also like the taste of this butter better than some of the other brands I’ve tried. I’m not a huge butter person, but I do use it in place of vegetable oil and margarine now.}
• Eggs {occasionally store bought, though I prefer to buy local, farm fresh eggs instead. Thank goodness for all those Farmer’s Markets starting back up!}
• Seven Stars Brand Organic Yogurt {This is definitely more expensive than Dannon or Yoplait, but the yogurt is organic, the cows it came from are allowed to graze in a nice, open field, and are fed a healthy diet. I buy this at Whole Foods. Kroger has this brand, but for double the cost, so watch out for that!}

Drinks

• Store Brand Orange Juice {Look for the kind in a carafe that says its only ingredient is orange juice. Thanks to my sister for that tip!}
• Trader Joe’s McIntosh Apple Juice {Ingredients: Juice from McIntosh Apples}
• Unsweetened Iced Tea 

Pasta/Beans/Rice

• DeLallo 100% Organic Whole Wheat Pasta
• Whole Foods (Imported from Italy) Pasta {This is not whole wheat, but only has one ingredient.}
• Annie’s Brand Macaroni and Cheese {This is technically not “real food” and does have more ingredients than I care for, but mama needs a break every now and then! At least there are no artificial colors!}
• Store Brand Dry Beans {pinto, great northern, and kidney, navy, black}
• Uncle Ben’s Parboiled Brown Rice {not exactly “real food,” but only one ingredient!}
• Store Brand White Rice {again- not technically “real food,” but only one ingredient}

Cereal/Oatmeal

• Instant & Old Fashioned Oats {We buy plain oatmeal and sweeten it with maple syrup or brown sugar at home most mornings for breakfast.}
• Barbara’s Brand 100% Whole Shredded Wheat Cereal {The good news? That’s the only ingredient! No preservatives whatsoever. The bad news? That’s the only ingredient! It definitely takes some getting used to taste-wise. I sweeten it with a spoonful (or two) of sugar, which is certainly a “real food” no-no, but I think definitely better than eating a cereal with additives.
• Nature’s Path Organic Whole O’s {Healthier alternative to Cheerios. It still has a few questionable ingredients, but is much better than actual Cheerios. Caroline can’t tell the difference and she gobbles them up for breakfast and snacks!}
• Arrowhead Organic 100% Puffed Wheat Cereal {Kind of the same story as Barbara’s Shredded Wheat. My kids eat it without the spoonful of sugar, though, and I sneak mine in when they aren’t looking! Ha!}

Sauces/Seasonings/Vinegars/Oils

• Canned Muir Glen Organic Tomato Sauce and Tomato Paste {Did you know that all canned goods are lined with a plastic coating? Most often the plastic contains BPA, which likely seeps into the food inside the can. Muir Glen products do not contain BPA. I’ve found them at Kroger, Meijer, and even Target at lower prices.}
• Pompeian Balsamic, Red Wine, and White Wine Vinegar {I use these for cooking and for salads in place of dressing.}
• Kosher Salt & Sea Salt {I stopped buying iodized salt after reading the ingredients in it. Apparently, Kosher and Sea salt aren’t that great of alternatives, but I haven’t made the leap to Real Salt, yet.}
• Pacific Organic Broths (Chicken, Vegetable, and Beef) {Broth is something you have to be on guard for MSG in. If it says “no added MSG,” that means there already is MSG in it! This particular brand has the least ingredients of all the other broth brands I’ve researched. I know broth is easy to make at home, but the one time I tried, I failed miserably and I haven’t gotten the courage to try again!}
• Trader Joe’s Brand Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Meat/Poultry

• Store Brand Ground Beef, Chicken, Pork, and Bacon {all in serious moderation- see below for why I prefer to buy “local” meat instead. However, our budget doesn’t always allow for the “local” meat and I have to make do.}
• Whole Foods “Local” Ground Beef {This is a personal choice and a pricey one at that. I am in the process of finding a local farm to buy ground beef from. Until then, I like knowing that the beef I’m buying (and eating!) came from 70 miles away, was fed a better diet than the grocery store variety, and was treated humanely. However, this is a pretty hefty price hike!}
• Whole Foods Chicken {same story as above}
• Whole Foods Fresh Fields Deli Turkey {This is about $1-2 more a pound than Boar’s Head (which has lots of ingredients and is already expensive), but the only ingredients are turkey, water, honey, and a small amount of potato starch and sea salt. I typically buy half a pound and eat it sparingly over the course of the week.}

Crackers/Bread

• ak-mak Brand Crackers {These take a little getting used to, but they’ve become a favorite in our house. We eat them with peanut butter or cheese cubes. Trader Joe’s has them the cheapest.}
• Whole Foods 365 Brand Organic Whole Wheat Tortillas
• Whole Foods 365 Brand Organic Corn Tortillas
• Breadworks (local bakery) Honey Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread {Ingredients: organic whole wheat flour, organic all purpose flour, salt, water, honey, yeast}

Spreads/Jams/Syrup

• Jif All Natural Peanut Butter {It does have palm oil, which I think is questionable, but I personally can’t stand the one or two ingredient “natural” peanut butter. Yuck!}
• Strawberry Jam- {Look for ones with only a few ingredients. I hate that most have sugar and pectin, but it is what it is at this point as I won’t be making my own anytime soon!}
• 100% Pure Maple Syrup

Snacks/Treats (Most of these are not “real food” snacks. They have questionable ingredients varying from non-organic corn to natural flavors to vegetable oils. However, I have to be practical and LIVE a little, so I allow these in my home and I eat them as often as my kids do (a couple of times per week or less).

• Organic Corn Tortilla Chips
• Trader Joe’s Rocket Ship Cheddar Crackers {I think these are new. They have even less ingredients than Goldfish (and kind of taste like it, too, but my kids don’t mind). I buy them for an occasional snack for the kids- much better than Goldfish and even Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies as far as ingredients go.}
• Turkey Hill All Natural Ice Cream {Only ice cream I could find without a bunch of junk in it. I think it tastes fine and Mike hasn’t complained. My sister DID make fun of me for it at Caroline’s birthday dinner. But no one complained there, either.}
• Whole Foods 365 Brand Sea Salt Pita Chips
• Pirate Booty
• Erewhon Cinnamon Graham Crackers
• Chocolate chips
• Unreal Candy Bars {It’s still candy, so it has lots of sugar and all that, but this brand doesn’t contain any artificial colors and they focus on better ingredients. There’s M&Ms style, Snickers style, and Peanut Butter Cup style packages. The M&Ms lack some flavor (in my opinion), but I like the other kinds.}

Of special note: We used to eat out at least once a week (sometimes twice) for dinner. I used to go out to lunch at least once or twice a week, as well. Since getting serious with this, I don’t eat out for lunch at all except for very special and rare occasions. We eat out for dinner maybe once every other week. That means mama does a LOT of cooking, but it also means we SAVE money. That’s how I am able to purchase some of the more expensive (but better for you) items like local meat, more organic, and such. 

On nights when I don’t feel like cooking, I stop in to Earth Fare and pick up a Rotisserie Chicken. The chicken is small and it costs $7.99. For bigger families, I get that it’s not a great deal. However, most other store’s rotisserie chickens are filled to the brim with MSG, way too much added sugar, and lots of other ingredients. I usually make homemade mashed potatoes and/or Annie’s Brand Mac & Cheese to go with it. Even with the high price of the chicken, the total comes to about $10-$13, which is still cheaper than if we’d ran through a drive thru or gone to a restaurant.

I’ve certainly given you a lot to chew on this week! Pun absolutely intended! As you digest it all (ha!), let me know if I can help in any way!

Life happens when we eat real food!