Can i buy packaged foods that don't have harmful chemicals in them? Or healthier foods in general???...?

Hello Love :)

I hardly buy anything packaged anymore (I buy mostly organic fruits and vegetables), but when I do I make sure to read the ingredient list even before the nutrition facts. You are right that it is just the bare minimum that is included on the label. The ingredient list tells me more about what is in the product. MSG can be called sneaky things so the first time you are thinking about buying a product and an ingredient looks shady, for instance, hydrolyzed vegetable protein...just watch out for company's trying to trick customers.

Here is a good website to start with, there is tons of good information on it: http://www.organicconsumers.org/

Look for the Fair Trade symbol if you want to support fair wages for farmers. You are awesome btw! LOL

Packaged stuff I love: Ezekial sprouted grain tortillas, whole foods brand unsweetened almond milk, Chia Goodness Cereal, Ezekial Sprouted Grain Cereal with almonds, Coconut Secret Coconut Vinegar, I forget the brand name of it...but Cedar something Tahini, Maranatha "Raw" Almond Butter (not really raw cuz of Cali's almond pasteurization law), I make a lot of dips like guacamole, hummus and salsa at home. I eat tons of sunflower seeds and flax seeds. I put them on my cereal and anything else I can find...I like to experiment :)) I also eat tons of bananas, strawberries and apples because they are so convenient. Strawberries are a little more time consuming, but they are worth it. Plus where I live it is a treat to have local berries so I'm livin' it up this summer hahaha...buying 3 pints at a timeand freezing.

Have you ever thought about sprouting? You can sprout almost any seed or bean (or even nuts--but I haven't tried to yet) as long as it is raw. It is super easy and there are videos all over youtube how to do it...here is a favorite of mine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoaIpZZfcFc&NR=1

Hmm...what else can I share...a really nutritious and healthy snack I love:

about 2 tbsp of almond butter on an ezekial wrap, 1 banana sliced and spread out along with the almond butter, shake some cinnamon...and voila! Quick lunch!

Not to make this too long, but I also love green smoothies...3-4 handfuls of baby spinach, 1 or 2 oranges and a banana. That is my favorite. Dandelion green smoothies are really good for liver and kidney health. They take an acquired taste though...took me a week or so, but now I love them!

You said you want to support local farmers...and leave the smallest carbon footprint...that just reminds me...I suppose I am not fully vegan because I eat honey. I don't know where you are from, but where I live there are all kinds of local bee keepers...I would rather buy from them than a corporation. That is the same with all food though. Look around and see what farmer's markets are in your area: http://www.localharvest.org/

Love and blessings :)

Well there are chemicals on just about everything so try and buy organic if you can afford it and if you can find it of course. Cook from scratch. Don't get your pasta sauce out of a jar for example. Make pasta sauce with fresh ingredients and a saucepan on the stove. If you are buying pre-packaged foods, look for ones labelled no artificial colours, flavours and additives. Though that's not always going to work either... The stuff they use to make candy red is a by product of petroleum manufacting and it's carcinogenic - though totally natural, it can kill you :-(

The ones with chemicals added will have lots of numbers on the list of ingredients so I'd say avoid those ones.

Your idea of the growers market is excellent. See if there are any restaurants in your area that are concerned about the same things that you are (ie organic food and being carbon neutral) and find out where they get their produce from! I'm sure that you're not alone in your concerns and that there are lots of options available to you.

Best of luck :D

First of all you must realize that a majority of Washington politicians are wealthy and have investments in hundreds if not thousands of companies in nearly every industry. This is true of both Democrats and Republicans. The FDA is supposed to be an independent authority overseeing both our foods and our medicines and is supposed to be influence free (we both know that probably isn't true), but whoever is in control of the Presidency or Congress shouldn't influence their decisions. It's not the chemicals that make the mass produced foods less expensive than organic foods, its the volume and automation that makes it less expensive per unit to produce their product. If the FDA suddenly told Stokely that their green beans had to be grown without fertilizers or insecticides and that no chemical preservatives or flavor enhancers could be added in packaging they could still make a less expensive product than most local or regional organic growers. The chemicals increase the yields and decrease the loss due to spoilage and therefor help profits, but could still grow organically and beat out the "little guys".

I agree with the other two answers. There really should only be a couple of ingredients listed or it's too processed. Frozen vegetables are always a good choice because you can get a good mix and frozen vegetables are known for retaining their nutritional value.

Everything in this area is a tradeoff. If you want organic and socially conscious, you usually pay more for it. Also, you could really research this and find that you need to get nuts from one place, tomatoes from another, bread from another, etc., and then you're driving all over increasing your carbon footprint. One of our local markets (QFC) works with local growers and local farms, so the cost of shipping is reduced.

But in the age of the internet, you can google any market or any brand name and find out what they carry and sometimes what they believe, and other info - http://recipes.ralphs.com/faqs/browse.aspx?ctlg=FA...

And not to shamelessly plug my company, but Costco does try to be somewhat ethical and give good deals. You'd do pretty well if you did nothing but go to Trader Joe's and Costco!!!

Buy whole foods - fruits and vegetables, meats, dairy, and as many one-ingredient foods as you can and make your own food at home. Sure, canned soup is convenient but nothing tastes better than homemade soup made from leftovers or beans or whatever you like.

If you can't make it yourself (and you don't have to make everything!), start reading labels. Some quick rules that'll help you figure out if maybe you should leave it behind:

- contains more than just a few ingredients

- contains ingredients you can't pronounce

- contains ingredients you wouldn't normally cook with at home (most people don't cook with MSG, for example)

- if you're not sure what food group it belongs to

- if it doesn't go bad (with the exception of dried foods like pasta and beans).

If you worry about cutting out a lot of of the additives in packaged foods, you'll be miles ahead. Buying local, organic produce will also help, but the difference between canned soup and homemade soup is a lot bigger than the difference between organic and regular carrots.

Michael Pollan wrote a great book called "food rules" which seems to be in line with how you're thinking, and I found it to be a great help in trying to figure out what to eat (both to lose weight and to just generally be healthier)