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The Best Guide To Healthy Grocery Shopping In Naples

Eating healthy can be so dang hard!

There’s so much information out there that makes it really confusing as to what you should or shouldn’t be eating, which sources to eat food in, and where to get your food.

After hearing this over and over from a lot of my clients I realized that I needed to make a guide for how to shop for groceries and where to get certain things.

It would be great if you could get all of your stuff from one spot (which you kinda can) but we’ve found that certain things are better from certain places. Time of year is a big one too, not just for what produce is in season but more importantly in Naples…are the seasonal people here or not?! I’ve found when we are in season that some things can be really difficult to find!

I don’t want to drag this on so let’s get into it! We are going to cover what to look for when buying food, where to go, and some simple cooking tips!

What To Look For

First thing I want to mention is to try and buy organic food whenever possible. From your milk, meat, eggs, butter, produce, bread, coffee, even spices! The reason Is due to all of the chemicals that are consumed from commercial farm raised animals. All of that is transferred to the meat, and then to you. A quick search will show that commercial farmed meats are high In Omega-6 and low In Omega-3 which is the opposite of organic, grass fed meats, & opposite of what we need as humans. This can be said the same in regards to produce as well. Commercial farming can strip away a lot of the nutritional value from fruits and vegetables. Also organic, grass fed butter (kerry gold) is sooooo good! Some whole, organic foods may be high in saturated fats but don’t let that scare you, these are naturally occurring and nothing to worry about.

If the food you buy Is something that can last on a shelf for years, It’s packed with preservatives, we want to avoid this! More and more research is coming out about the dangers of preservatives to our health & well-being. I know a lot of sauces have preservatives, yes some you have to buy but there are others that are really easy to make from scratch.

Here are some effects from preservatives: Induced breathing problems like asthma, hyperactive behavior in children, weakened heart tissue, contain cancer-causing food additives such as BHA and BHT, increase the chances of obesity, loss of important nutritional value, headaches, decreased energy levels.

Yes, preservatives are used to slow down the growth of microorganisms but they pose a greater threat to our health In the long term than the short term benefit.

There are a lot of organic products but not all are healthy for you. You need to read the Ingredient label. If there Is something along the lines of “natural flavor” and/or Ingredients that aren’t whole foods don’t buy It. If it has a bunch of Ingredients that you’ve never heard of then It’s probably a good Idea to avoid that food.

THE BEST ADVICE I CAN GIVE HERE IS IF THE FOOD ISN’T FROM MOTHER NATURE…..DON’T BUY IT!

Where To Go

Costco – If you don’t have a membership get one…they have some really great organic options for snacks, deals on Kerrygold Butter, & awesome bags of frozen fruit for smoothies!
Food & Thought/Seed to Table Food & Thought – Is the co-op version of Seed to Table (there’s a mini food & thought Inside seed to table) They have a ton of great organic options, I’ve found the produce to be limited at times The big plus Is that they have RAW MILK! Delivery day Is Monday for now (that might change)
Farmer Mike’s U-Pick – Farmer Mike’s In Bonita has some great produce In which a lot of locally grown on their farm with the use of little to no pesticides.
Circle C Farm – Also In Bonita Circle C Farm Is a great source for organic eggs and organic grass fed meats
Trader Joe’s – Some of the best value around for healthy options can be found at Trader Joe’s!
Dilly’s Fish Co – Every Friday from Noon-5 Dilly’s Fish Co Is at Mike’s Bait House In Naples. So far It’s the only place I’ve found that Is a sure source of fish directly from the boat (here In Naples) to your plate (cash only)!
3rd Street Farmer’s Market Naples – This Farmer’s Market Is the place to be during season, when It’s out of season It still goes on but Is much smaller & held In the parking lot behind some of the restaurants but still worth checking out. There are always some great vendors there!
Honorable Mentions – La Costa – great Indian & Mexican food options & spices Fresh Market – It’s pretty hit & miss for me but sometimes they have good stuff. Whole Foods and Sprouts – obvious for healthy foods but always a little pricey.

Cooking

This may seem like a silly tip but how you cook your food makes a big Impact in the nutrients in your food. Avoid Microwaves. Yeah yeah…they’re quick & easy but they can strip some of the food’s nutrients. Don’t use too much heat. This goes In conjunction with microwaves, when using too much heat you can strip nutrients from the food. Also If you use olive oil, too much heat can cause it to smoke which degrades the beneficial compounds. It contains & potentially causes it to form health-harming compounds.

I hope this has been helpful and that you feel confident the next time you go grocery shopping. There are plenty of other things that we could dive into but this will give you a great start as to what you should be looking at when grocery shopping and make it easier the next time you’re at the store…depending on what you need and where you are! If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me!

I made a one page pdf that will give you the main places to go and what to get!