The woman I saw who I never want to be!

I think it is all about education. I made a face about white bread just this summer, and my husband was surprised. He does not think there is anything wrong with white bread. All these years I have been buying whole grains, and he still does not get it. White bread was what he grew up on, and was not considered junk. I mean, it is fortified with vitamins and all that, right? So that is the battle in today's world.

I wonder what kind of looks he gets when he goes to the store to get the things I won't buy? He is not overweight, but he certainly is undefit(by his own admissions).
 
How do people even find junk food anymore? I haven't seen anything like that in years. All I see is more organic, more gourmet, more whole grain and more expensive. If I actually wanted junk food, I'm not even sure where I would look anymore. Even McDonalds is all about salad these days, right? Doesn't Wal-mart have a big organic section now? We don't have a Wal-mart here, but I wish we did. Do they really have cheap organic food there? That is SOOO cool.

That woman sounds like she was transplanted from the 70s into that Wal-mart store. I'm amazed that those people still exist! She must be living in a time warp.
 
>Call me judgmental (won't hurt my feelings a bit) but just
>hearing about the shopper painted a visual of a woman I never
>want to be either!

I have to agree here...I was once overweight(lost 80 pounds 11.5 years ago) and I know what it's like to be that woman with a cart full of frozen dinners, deserts, cookies, etc. I would never outwardly say anything to hurt anyone but in my own mind, that visual brings me back to when I was eating all of that awful food, breathing heavy from every day tasks and never exercising. There wasn't a mystery as to why. It was that cart full of crappy food, that lack of exercise, etc. I was just so terribly unhealthy & I will never be in that spot again.


>I don't think it is being judgemental but a "spark" to keep us >motivated. Not that I occassionaly don't eat junk food, especially >during that time of the month. I think after awhile one becomes not >only compassionate but passionate about health and fitness.

Agreed.

I don't think anyone meant any harm in this post. Sure, there is a possibility that a gal with a cart of junk is buying produce and healthy foods elsewhere. But I think the point is well made here that it's a good reminder of what we strive for (or what we strive to stay away from) and how to get there. Frankly, even if the gal behind that cart was skinny and/or fit, I'd still curl my nose at a cart full of junk. The fact that (in the original post) she wasn't, just enhances the junk in the cart and gives a double reminder of it all.
 
>How do people even find junk food anymore? I haven't seen
>anything like that in years.

Are you kidding? If not, I'd like to know where you shop! LOL!

The first thing I see when I go into a grocery store is displays of junk food (or shall I say 'edible non-food'?) It takes up more than half the shelf space in most stores, especially in the center aisles. But I also count things like regular 'chidren's cereals,' which are just junk food in disguise.

And while there may be more organics and whole grains, many of those foods are pretty junky : cookies made with organic white flour and sugar aren't any more nutritious than those made with non-organic ingredients; and crappy cereals that now use whole grain wheat flour instead of white flour aren't much better.
 
Really? You must be a good shopper and close your eyes.

My grocery store:

Walk in and there is the deal aisle, usually something like chips, candy, cereal full of sugar that is on sale. Then produce, yay. The next aisle has canned fruits on the right, dried puddings, and jello pies, and candy on the left, then into the salad dressings, catsups, olives, and peanut butter and jelly.

Next aisle soups and diet foods on one side, all the cookies, and crackers on the other.

So, we have made it through 3 aisles, and already the non-junky food was minimal.
 
I want to shop where Nancy shops!!! That place sounds like heaven...except for the prices.

Yeah, as soon as you walk in, there is usually an aisle that has cookies, crackers, sugary drinks, donuts. At our Kroger, you always pass by a huge table of baked desserts from the bakery like cupcakes, brownies, cookies...just to get to the produce section. Then there is the full bakery at the end of the bread aisle. Throughout the entire store are tables in the center of the main aisles dripping with bags of bulk candy.

I have to agree that the education issue is a big problem! You really do need to make an effort to learn about what is healthy and what is not! You'd think that with so many women watching Oprah, they'd catch Bob Greene at some point!:7
 
> You'd think that with so many women
>watching Oprah, they'd catch Bob Greene at some point!:7

Or Dr.OZ. He seems to be on a lot (at least the 2 times I've caught a bit of Oprah lately.
 
>Life can be hard and full of suffering and loss. Naturally,
>people take shelter in all kinds of substances and activities
>that are no good for them. It is nothing more than human
>weakness really, of which I too have my share. Hell, even
>exercise or working too much can become an unhealthy
>habit/obsession, albeit more culturally acceptable. As far as
>food goes, we live in a culture of plenty where addictive,
>high-carb, low cost foods are constantly being offered to us,
>so it's understandable how people might cave in again and
>again to this, particularly if they're feeling "the slings and
>arrows of outrageous fortune" or experiencing "the thousand
>natural shocks that flesh is heir to." As for me, I am just
>trying to be grateful that I have developed strength in this
>one little, insignficant, and fleeting area of my life. My
>higher goal in life is to learn to forgive people for their
>human weaknesses (still a long way to go), which is why I
>cringe when I feel that judgmental spirit rising up in myself
>in the checkout line.
>

I agree with above....I used to judge these people. Now, more than judge, I wonder what has happened in these peoples' lives to make them this way, what hardships have they endured that were so difficult for them that they turned to food for comfort? What has made them feel powerless to change? I wonder how much they really suffer in private over how they look/how they feel/how they eat. THAT is why I don't want to be one of them. Because of what that lifestyle does to you physically AND EMOTIONALLY. It is every bit as bad as drugs or alcohol.

And if you are 'just lazy', what a hard habit to break!!! :eek:
 
It's pretty much a catch 22 because it's what the majority wants to buy.
I've noticed the same with our workplace cafe. It's a meat and potatoes operation because that's what the majority will buy. However, I am encouraged that health foods are taking a more prominent role, at least at my grocery store. It means change is occurring, albeit slow, but it is happening.
 
> I just feel great when I get home from the grocery store,
>unpack all my fruits and vegetables and start washing and
>cutting them.

you shouldn't wash or cut you veggies or fruits until right before you use them.... the minute you start cutting them they start losing nutrients (look at the apple as an example... the minute you cut it... it starts to turn brown... and is losing nutrients!)

and of course.... never peel! just scrub (you didn't say you peeled.. but i'm just throwing that in).... the majority of nutrients are in the skins!

-------------
cute work out clothes are good for AT LEAST an additional 10-15 calories burned!

http://www.picturetrail.com/desertbriez
 
Brooklyn is the place to be. Nancy, I looked at your profile and noticed you're from there. I stay in Brooklyn for at least a month or two every summer, either in the Heights or in the Park Slope area (I love New York City--I'd move there if I could afford it). New York City always impresses me in terms of how progressive the food scene is--much more so than anywhere else in the Western world, including London. The first thing one can't help but notice is that the people there are much thinner than the people in Kansas where I live now. In Kansas, parking is not a problem and there is plenty of room for cars, so people drive everywhere. That's problem number one. (Nietzsche once said that the vice most common to humans across cultures is the desire for the path of least resistance). Whenever I'm in New York, I'm amazed at how much walking I do to get around. I love it. Also, Kansas has one of the highest per capita rates of fast food restaurants in the nation. I never go out to eat here because the word "vegetarian" (let alone "healthy food") hasn't even entered the vocabulary yet. But in Brooklyn, my husband and I can walk down to corner and eat every night at a lovely Asian vegan restaurant. Wow!

I am impressed that in the parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan that I frequent, every corner shop is filled with produce, healthy beverages, and a line of products typcially carried in health food stores (although as Kathryn points out, there are a lot of starchy, sugary "health junk" out there, so be careful). I never saw the crap there that I see lining the aisles (sometimes 10 feet high) at my local Dillon's, Kroger's, and Walmart stores. I suspect people in Brooklyn and Manhattan are acclimated by now to better, healthier, tastier food. Also, what I love about Brooklyn and Manhattan is you rarely see the corporate presence, and you never see the epitome of junk food: corporate convenience stores like 7-11, White Hen, or corporate gas stations. True that the gourmet stores in your parts are pricey, but they are wonderful. I wouldn't lament the lack of a Walmart if I were you. I have lived in places where the Walmart presence is huge, and I never shop at their food store because 90% of it (possibly more) is junk. Sometimes, they don't even print ingredients on their name labels, but ask people to call a 1-800 number instead. They have recently tried to get into the organics market, but they and Kraft are precisely the two forces that have been successfully lobbying the FDA for years to weaken and corrupt organice standards because big producers can't make a profit with such stringent standards in place. Anyways,I don't want this thread to digress into Walmart bashing.

I agree with other posters that if we can provide cities, marketplaces, restaurants, and examples for people, they might go for it. (I'm not sure that the buggy of a health conscious shopper is enough to do it--most people look at that and think it would be impossible for them). I think marketeers would be surprised by how many people would choose the healthier option. But the vision is lacking still in many places. The other day, I went to see a movie and forgot to put in my purse the snack I prepared. I went to the counter hoping to find something to munch on but was disappointed--white sugar, corn syrup, transfats, nothing I could eat. I suggested to the counter person that he suggest to his superiors that maybe some healthier snacks would be a good idea. He looked at me like I was insane and said, "But, lady, this is a movie theater." Anyhow, the conditioning runs deep, but if more good examples could be provided--healthy stores, restaurants, vending machines etc--people might get it. Most people really do think there is no other option than the Standard American Diet (SAD). My husband and I have taught vegetarian cooking classes, and people often express to us that eating nothing but vegetables and grains seems like deprivation. I agree with their fears in the sense that I don't relish or invite deprivation either. But then when they see that vegetarian cuisine is a whole new world with tasty and delicious options, they start saying, "Wow, I could live like this." So I think the alternatives need to be there at a deep structural and cultural level. And Nancy, I think from what I've experienced of Brooklyn every summer, it is a good example of where we might all head.

Not many people want to be upstream swimmers because it's a ton of work and effort (and it's also self-marginalizing). That is why healthy foods, eating, and choices need to become part of the mainstream. It needs to be just as easy and accessible for people as this ridiculous diet that has now become standard in our culture. My husband and I have to work hard in Kansas and drive miles to find good food, but in Brooklyn, it's a snap. I wish all places were like this.
Manmohini
 
I never buy junk junk for my daughter while grocery shopping. She's a very picky eater, so it's difficult to feed her. So she'll get Tyson chicken breast nuggets, whole grain spaghetti, peanut butter and jelly, eggs. Woo-hoo! But never, ever, ever snack cakes, donuts, nutty butty.

For treats, she'll get 100 Calorie bags of cookies for her lunch. Edy's fruit juice popsicles as her "ice cream". I might get her some Skittles when we go shopping - but never more than once a week. It's more likely that I will buy one of those little Ghiradelli caramel bars with the 4 squares. She gets 2 squares, I get 2.

I confess I'll take her to McDonald's every couple of weeks. She'll eat a burger and a few fries, but almost never all the fries. She does like Moe's.
 
Manmohoni:

I lived in Manhattan/Brooklyn for several years. It is true that there is an abundance of healthy/vegetarian/vegan/organic options. It is def something I miss about NYC. Where I live now, I am fortunate enough to knowf just 1 place to get wheat grass shots ... but in NYC, there were several places I could get them, including my fitness club!

Considering how you spend summers in Park Slope, surely you know of the Co-op? It's on Union Street just east of 7th Ave. They have AMAZING organic produce, for OUTRAGEOUSLY cheap prices (because it's a co-op). But since it is a co-op, it is not open to the public, so you need to join.

Also, do you know of Jubbs in Alphabet City? It serves gourmet raw food. One of my favorite restaurants in Manhattan was Village Naturals on Greenwich Ave. You could even get all sort of non-sugar foods in addition to their organic, vegetarian selections. Also, there was DoJo, which had a few locations, including one on E. 3rd right in the middle of NYU. I LOVED their hijiki burgers! But I heard they may have since gone out of business.

Sadly, Whole Foods has recently taken over Manhattan, with new locations popping up rapidly. But, there is still the tried and true Fairway on the Upper West Side .. though it is always a mob scene! And though it is expensive, you have the farmer's market in Union Sq each week where you get local produce from Upstate New York farms. And I never did check out Chelsea Market, so I can imagine the selections they had.

Anyway, just wanted to agree with you about the quantity of healthy food choices available in NYC ... but not to discount the plethora of unhealthy choices (i.e., Gray's Papaya!!!)
 
"I have sympathy for the busy Mom who caves to the less healthy alternatives."

I personally do not think that time is an excuse for allowing your children to eat unhealthy foods and pollute their bodies with toxins, chemicals, and poisons that are in manufactured food. But that's surely what corporations are banking on ... that parents will cave due to "lack of time" to prepare healthy foods. I am willing at all costs to trade 10 minutes of my time (which is a relatively short amount of time) to prepare healty foods for my kids, than to just be able to grab junk in 1 second. Maybe if the "average american" spent less time in front of the television and/or on the internet, they would have that 10 min to spare to fix healthy foods.

In terms of the higher cost of healty food, I find that it evens out, because you need to eat less of the healthy food to be full/satisfied/provided for nutritionally. i.e., the ezekial bread might cost $3.00 vs. the 99 cent Wonder Bread ... but I might have to eat 3x more of the Wonder Bread to feel full or get nutrients ... and even then, I doubt I got any where near the nutrition I got from the 1 slice of ezekial.
 
This might give us hope:

I am an elementary school teacher. In the town I work in, they have passed rules about food in school. No longer are we allowed to serve any junk food at school events, kids b-day parties, etc. For example, usually there would be cupcakes on a student's birthday, or chips/ice cream, etc., for a Halloween party....or kids would get a pizza or ice cream party for reading books, etc. Now, the in school events feature healthy foods! It's great!

On the other hand, I worked in another town previously who had not passed such rules, and this school had a VENDING MACHINE in the cafeteria .. for elementary kids! It was loaded with soda and junk food!

But, it seems the trend is going toward all schools converting to junk-food bans. The kids can bring whatever they want for their own personal lunch, but anything school-wide must be healthy. They are also doing things in phys ed class to teach kids about fitness and exercise.
 
B&G, my brother MOVED to Park Slope just to join the co-op. He loved that place. (I always thought it was a bit too much work, myself). I know Dojo too. I must admit I've never been inside a Gray's Papaya, as they always look uninviting. But, yes, there is so much health food here it's amazing. I live right near a big health food store that keeps expanding. I think Kathryn would LOVE it here. :D

Compared to my neighbors in my building, I swear I don't eat well and hardly exercise, but compared to the rest of the country, I'm a model of physical fitness. Weird.
 
Yes, Beauty and Grace, I have been to the co-op in Park Slope. In fact, my husband used to work there in his earlier days when the co-op was starting out. My mother-in-law, before she moved to Florida, was fiercely loyal to the co-op and wouldn't shop anywhere else. She lived in Brooklyn all of her life, and it is the co-op she misses most.

BAck in his early days, my husband used to work at Perlandra (still there on Remsen) and Jay Street Natural Foods (no longer there).

As for restaurants, Candle rocks. I love the purely vegetarian cuisine on Lexington Avenue, places like Madras Mahal. I could go on.

Needless to say, Kansas has been a tremendous austerity for us in terms of its food and medical backwardness. One has to scrape and peck here. Before moving here, we were spoiled, having belonged to one of the country's finer co-ops--the Ozark Natural Food Co-op in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I have heard since that they've moved away from the co-op model and toward the profit model.

It's too bad about Whole Foods taking over Manhattan. I recently visited an enormous one at Columbus Circle and could barely afford to look. Anyways, my point still stands. Certain cities are models for how the rest of us should be. For a New Yorker like Nancy who is used to good food, shoppers with carts full of junkfood strike her as "time warps," throwbacks to the 70's. But between the two coasts (with little relief), unhealthy food is the norm in supermarkets.
Manmohini
 
Manmohini,
Next time you're in town, you've got to try this restaurant called Vatan. Dinner is $22.95 and you don't have to order. You just sit down in this lovely, peaceful setting and they keep bringing out one yummy vegetarian Indian dish after another. :9 :9 It's in Curry Hill on 29th Street. YUM.

ETA: Thanks for understanding where I'm coming from. I remember people buying Hostess cupcakes, Entenmanns, Oreos and that stuff, literally, back in the sixties and seventies. I honestly just don't see people buying much of that totally empty calorie stuff anymore around here. I understand that NY is not typical, though.
 
I wish that all schools would have these rules. In our school system, students are bombarded with treats/junk food for everything. Teachers use them as rewards and motivators - even at the high school level. Even the school nurse gives her helpers candy to thank them! It's ridiculous. My kids get junk at school almost on a daily basis. I've complained every year to the teachers at conferences. Besides being bad for their health, it's also terrible for the kids' teeth. It drives me crazy.x(

Erica
 
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