Lost in the Supermarket

I’m all lost in the supermarket
I can no longer shop happily
I came in here for that special offer
A guaranteed personality 

The Clash, 1979

Have you ever felt lost in the supermarket, pushing an empty cart up and down each aisle without a clue on what you want to buy? You’re not the only one, we’ve all been there. Staring at the thousands of choices all around you as you wander in a sea of splashy logos and glossy images of whats inside the package. You’ve been disappointed before, the photo never lives up to the reality and the taste never really satisfies. An hour after eating most processed food products, you find yourself rifling through your refrigerator and kitchen cabinets in search of satisfaction.

If you’re in that supermarket looking for food that supports your health, you may have already gotten wise to the fancy packages that are devoid of freshness and nutrients. You’ve cut out those middle aisles and you’re sticking to perimeter of the store where the real food hides out. Hopefully, you’ve worked to build your skills to cook food from scratch.  Cooking from scratch takes time, but is well worth the effort.

If you have a family member with a food allergy or sensitivity, that trip to the supermarket has an extra level of stress. Scanning food labels for offending ingredients becomes a full time task. In the case of a deadly nut allergy or celiac disease, you’ve got to look even further for assurance that the food product was produced in a nut free facility or one with no wheat contamination. 

The food industry has responded to the big uptick in food allergies with single serving packaged processed food products that are nut free, wheat free or pretty much free of any allergen you might have to deal with. Allergen free food products have become big big business.

In case you are fortunate not to have a family member dealing with food allergies, here are the top food allergens: 

Eggs, soybeans, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, shellfish and fish.

As a parent and food educator I’ve witnessed the explosion of these food allergies and sensitivities in the past 10-20 years. Back when my oldest daughter was in elementary school, a peanut allergy was an extremely rare event. No one in her school had one,  I taught many cooking classes for kids in school back then. We made peanut butter and almond butter from nuts in a food processor.

According to Food Allergy Research, one in every 13 kids has a food allergy. That boils down to roughly 2 in every classroom.  Snack Safely has a guide  listing hundreds of “safe” snacks for schools and sporting events. They do plainly state that “due to flaws in US labeling rules, it is impossible to tell if a product is safe from the label alone”  Snack Safely works directly with manufacturers.  The one thing you won’t find any where on their safe snack list: Fresh fruits and vegetables.

Unprocessed foods like fresh fruits and vegetables have one ingredient and no food label.  Also, there are no fruits or vegetables on the top list of food allergens.  Fresh fruits and veggies make for snacks that are not just safe, they are also good for you.

As an eater and food educator for many years, I can speak from direct experience when I say that real food affects our bodies differently than processed packages food products. Real food satisfies in a different way.

Mother Nature knows what she’s doing, combining the right ratios of fiber, sugar and nutrients. Food companies remove fiber, and create a very enticing combination of sugar and fat and flavorings that leave you wanting more. There might not be dangerous allergens on the food products on the Safe Snack list, but are these snacks real forms of nourishment or just glorified junk food?

It seems to me that schools should be A-ok with fresh fruits and vegetables. In their rush to protect students from adverse food reactions and their own liability, they may have lost some common sense along the way by insisting on just this safe snack list. Let’s work to build our trust in real food, not packaged processed food products.  

Let’s hear it for Apples, Bananas, Carrots, Celery, Green Beans, Kumquats, Oranges, Red Peppers, Sugar Snap peas and even Watermelon slices. Let’s find our way back to real food, that creates a win win for all.