Fed Up Challenge! Shopping list.

I watched a documentary on Netflix not long ago called Fed Up. This film discusses the issue of childhood obesity and its causes. Namely processed foods and SUGAR. I watch plenty of documentaries on Netflix. My queue is full of them, and everyone thinks I am super weird. But let me say, if you only watch one documentary in your life, watch this one. Especially those of you who have kids! I thought that I was really doing things right, and buying good foods for my kids, making better choices than just chips and candy, and that I was a step ahead of the game. Nope.

Apparently there is so much sugar in ALL of the foods we generally buy that you wouldn't really even think about. Like bread, for instance. I think of carbs, yes. But not added sugar! I let my kids eat oatmeal quite a bit for breakfast..loaded with sugar! And wow, salad dressings and condiments are probably the most mind boggling. You know how everyone got obsessed with "Low fat/Low calorie" foods? Well, guess what they added to those things when they took out the fat? SUGAR. So, in reality these products are worse for you than full fat options because of the way our bodies process them. Oh! Milk also has about 6g of sugar per 8oz! And, this probably goes without saying, but soda is a HUGE no-no. Even (and almost especially) the diet ones. This film discourages any artificial sugars. Say goodbye to Splenda, and the like! Wahhhhh! How will I live without my coffee, sweetener, and creamer?!?

Apparently we are only supposed to consume 4g of sugar a day to be healthy! This is starting to get tricky, right? At the end of the film they encourage you to take the Fed Up Challenge, which means no processed foods, added sugars, or fast food. It's a 10 day clean-eating challenge, and basically you can only eat vegetables, very few whole grains, fruit, nuts, and lean meats and proteins. All of these need to be organic and with no added sugar or flavors. And you can only drink water. Seems okay. Until you get to the store and start to check labels!! Nuts can have added sugar, deli meat has added sugar, peanut butter has added sugar...forget about yogurt, cereal, oatmeal, and most bread. After reading A LOT of labels and spending about an hour and a half in the grocery store, this is the list that I came up with for good/acceptable foods:

Produce:
Apples
Watermelon
Cantaloupe
Strawberries
Blackberries
Blueberries
Grapes
Lemon
Spinach
Salad mix
Avocado
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Peppers
Cucumbers
Celery
Zucchini
Squash
Bag of baby carrots (for dipping)
(Basically, almost anything in this category goes)

Meats:
Salmon
Scallops
Shrimp
Chicken breasts
Chicken tenders
Ground turkey and chicken
 LEAN, SUGAR FREE deli meat (Boar's Head seemed to be the best)

Dairy:
Cottage cheese
Eggs (lots of eggs)
Most cheeses are fine. I went with fresh mozzarella because I can generally eat it on anything.
Block of Monterrey jack (to cut up for snack)
Hummus (check labels!!) or make your own!

Miscellaneous:
Dry roasted all natural almonds
Olive oil/Vinegar (to make your own dressing, add lemon if you like)
Seeds
Ezekiel Bread 4:9 (they also have a few pasta and wrap options if you need those!)
Bags of frozen veggies (for quick dinner sides)


This was just my list that I used on my shopping trip. I'm sure if you put more time and effort into it, there are plenty more options! So, here goes nothing!! Next post will be about my Day 1 meals and how I'm feeling after cutting out the sugars and processed things. I'm excited! Let me know if you're following the challenge along with me!!

All my love,
Paige xo