Grocery Outlet - Clean shopping list

I have to admit, it's been years since I've been to Grocery Outlet. But my cousin showed me some of her organic food finds so I thought I'd check out the local store at 1800 Prescott Road, Modesto. I was quite surprised to find that our local store had an entire section devoted to organics called "NOSH" for "Natural", "Organic", "Specialty", "Healthy". Something to remember about Grocery Outlet though, is most of the items are closeout lots that managers request so not all stores stock the same items. And not all of the same items will always be there. 

But for clean eating, there was quite a bit that was beneficial to find there like:

avocado mayonnaise
coconut flour
coconut oilavocado spray oil
organic apple juice

I now shop there about once a month to replenish my supply of many of the aforementioned items.

 Photos taken June 6, 2017

My decision to go Paleo

On the 31st day after our last Whole30, I realized I sucked at Whole30. Why? Because I made Paleo Bread on the 30th day of our Whole30 not realizing that Paleo Bread is a "no-no" on Whole30. It's in the book. I probably read it when I first read the book a year and a

Paleo Blender Bread
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFx_K4DlvTc

half ago, but had forgotten it. I stumbled across it on the 31st day while googling to find out if cassava flour is Whole30 compliant. One of the search hits was on what is mostly a banned foods list called "Sex With Your Pants On". I read it and what happened?

I got grumpy.

Why did I get grumpy? Couple of reasons - I was grumpy for blowing a big Whole30 rule on the last day, inadvertently or not. I was also grumpy over the rationale of why you shouldn't paleoify bread because it leads to "poor food choices". Here's the rub: why is it ok to slowly introduce regular foods back into my diet, but not paleo versions of these when paleo is clearly much healthier?  Pandora's Box was opened long ago. I know what bread tastes like and along with billions of other people in the world, we love to eat good-tasting bread. I don't have any gluten-related medical conditions, so that isn't an impetus for me to limit my bread intake. What is impetus is that most store-bought breads are processed so they are unhealthy. And according to Whole30 and others, grain is bad for you. So for the life of me, I can't understand why I should not eat paleo bread in place of regular bread? Because I would be even grumpier if I adopted a life of eating hamburgers wrapped in a lettuce leaf, or a sweet potato pancake, or between eggplant slices, or worse one yet, between Portabella mushroom caps - yuck! No, no, no, and HELL NO!

I also do not jive with Whole30's food swap judgement. Why is it ok to make "rice" out of cauliflower but not "bread" out of non-grain ingredients? Seems a bit hypocritical if you ask me. 

So for me and my sanity, as well as my husband's sanity for he who would not appreciate any more food-imposed grumpiness out of me, I made the decision to go Paleo. 

But I do owe some gratitude and thanks to Whole30 even if I never do another Whole30 cleanse again: thank you for helping us to eat better and why we should. And even if it's not supposed to be about weight loss, thank you for helping my husband break his plateau. Thanks for the regimen too, we wouldn't have lost the weight without it - paleo bread or not.

Clean Food Find: Hot Sauce

Our family went out to lunch on Mother's Day to a Mexican restaurant. We were six days in to our Whole30 so we tried to choose as Whole30 compliant foods as possible. My husband chose fajitas which came with a side salad. We didn't have the forethought to bring our own Whole30 compliant dressing with us at this point, so my husband reached for a bottle of hot sauce. (He really likes spicy hot food!) Before he can open the bottle, I ask, "Is it clean?" He reads the back label out loud and when he gets to the words that are hard to pronounce, I shake my head. He puts the bottle back and scowls at me. "But what am I supposed to put on this salad? It's not much, just a little bit."  I replied, "Well if we're not going to follow the Whole30 rules, then I'm having a beer." One further scowl and then he put salt and pepper on the salad. I think he tried to make an honest effort not to scowl at me further because it was Mother's Day after all.

While putting hot sauce on a salad is not something I would ever do, I do have sympathy for his plight. So it made my day when I found a bottle of Whole30 compliant hot sauce at O'Brien's Market on Dale and Pelandale in Modesto. Made by Arizona Pepper's Organic Harvest Foods, the ingredients are: organic red ripened jalapeno peppers, organic ripened habenero peppers, organic vinegar, sea salt, organic apple cider vinegar. 

I hope this makes his day too!

Calling all chicken nugget fans! Try this healthy version from Unbound Wellness

Need a fairly quick Whole30 compliant recipe for dinner? Sweet Potato Chicken Poppers were a hit in my household! Quick to make and with just a few ingredients. My son says they're a 10 out of 10!

Served it up with Whole30 approved Ranch Dressing (Primal Kitchen's Ranch & Hilary's Ranch Chia). Oh and the Whole30 Tangy bar-b-cue sauce pg 322 of the Whole30 Book.

Everything purchased for this meal was obtained at Sprouts in Modesto. Enjoy!

My Memory Shakes

A few years ago, I saw a TV show about people who compete in memory contests. To prep for the contest, a participant drank blueberry extract and claimed this improved his memory. I found blueberry extract in a local health food store, but to be honest, it was pretty blah. I don't think I drank more than two bottles.

But I never forgot (haha!) that young man on the TV show with the amazing memory. I wanted to learn more about how blueberries help memory and in just googling the simple term "blueberries memory" the first hit was on a scientific study which is free access (some you have to pay to access) "Blueberry Supplementation Improves Memory in Older Adults". The median age in the study was 76 and not only did the study subjects experience an improvement in their memory, but the blueberries also seemed to lessen depression. 

I decided to improve a way to ingest this blah-tasting juice and keep it clean. I came up with what I call "Memory Shakes". I buy organic blueberries at either Food Maxx, or when it's open and has blueberries, at the Modesto Certified Farmer's Market. I wash the blueberries and then freeze them. The juice is $4.99 at Sprouts and is R.W. Knudsen's brand "Just Blueberry". The banana provides the sweetness for the shake, but if you need it sweeter, I'd recommend adding a little agave nectar. (But agave is not considered "clean eating" so perhaps try adding a really ripe banana before you try agave.)

Memory Shake
Fill 1/8 of a blender with crushed ice
Add one peeled banana
Add a handful of frozen blueberries
Add about 1 cup of "Just Blueberry" juice
Pour in unsweetened almond milk to desired consistency
(If you wish the shake to be thicker, add more ice)
And if you'd like to satiate your appetite add a tsp or 2 of pectin 

Great grapes!

One of my favorite clean snacks are frozen grapes. I purchased these beauties at the

Modesto Certified Farmer's Market for $2 per pound at J&J Ramos Farms stand. Wash them in a colander, dry them individually (so they won't stick together when frozen), place in ziplock bag and freeze. A delicious and filling snack, especially on a hot summer day. Very similar to eating a popsicle.

Some tips:

- Use only the seedless variety. I've tried the ones with seeds and it's a hassle to pick the seeds out.

- Never share grapes with your dog - grapes are toxic to dogs.

- See this website for more info on frozen grapes.

About those smoothies...

When it comes to smoothies, Whole 30 says, "We'd rather you didn't". While smoothies are technically Whole 30 compliant, they detail several reasons why they discourage smoothies (page 72).

The first reason given is that when we drink food, it sends a different signal to the brain than when we chew our food. When we drink our meal, our body may not realize we've eaten and hunger is not satiated. To counter this effect, I add two teaspoons of pectin to my smoothies. (If the smoothie is only for me, I add only one teaspoon). Why pectin? Pectin is used in canning fruits and is derived from citrus so it's all natural. The U.S. Army conducted a study and found that adding pectin to orange juice helped to satiate soldier's appetites. It didn't make a difference on how much pectin was added; one teaspoon per adult worked. NOTE: Do NOT add pectin to plain water to drink. Straight pectin is nasty! But I still use pectin when I'm not on Whole 30 too. I've even added it to margaritas and found I graze less when I do! I buy Ball's powdered pectin at Food Maxx for $4.84.

Additionally, I don't overdo it when I make smoothies on Whole 30. I usually make small ones that I use as a "dessert" so am drinking them with food; not as a meal replacement. Here are the three very easy smoothies I make and all you have to do is throw these items in a blender:

Traditional Smoothie

Banana, handful of frozen strawberries, and almond milk.

Razzmatazz Smoothie

This one tastes like Jamba Juice's drink "Razzmatazz" - banana, handful of strawberries, crushed ice, and pure 100% orange juice (pictured left).

Memory Smoothie

I once watched a documentary about people who enter memory competitions and they drink blueberry extract concentrate to enhance their memory. Scientific studies have found that blueberries can inhibit neurodegeneration to forestall Alzheimer's, etc. - banana, organic blueberries (Food Maxx or at farmer's market), crushed ice, blueberry concentrate (at Sprouts) almond milk.

So when eating clean, just don't overdo it on the smoothies. Try not to use them as a meal replacement and don't drink them all the time.