Whole30 wrap up + a plot twist

Tomorrow is the last day of Whole30 for this household. Man, was that a long month! ;) Deric still has about a week of reintroduction to do, but the hardest part is over. Looking back, I'm proud of myself and of Deric for disciplining ourselves enough to stick to it. It was quite the experiment but I am honest to goodness so glad that its complete.

Overall, unfortunately it was not a good experience for me. Deric didn't really enjoy it either, for some of the same reasons as me (I'll get to that in a sec). He's pretty sure he lost around ten pounds and I can tell. I actually noticed before he did so the other day at one of my doctor appointments, he snuck on the scale after I did to confirm my suspicions. Ha! 

As for my experience, I didn't reap any of the benefits that originally motivated me to try Whole30 in the first place: increased energy and relief from chronic constipation (I know that's TMI, but if you've been pregnant you know how it goes..). (I'll also refer to it as 'digestion' from here on out so as not to be totally gross.) To be fair to Whole30 however, I only completed the first six days without dairy. On day six I talked to my doctor and she asked me to keep some dairy in my diet for the calcium. So I added milk and cheese back in, as those two are the only dairy items without added sugar. For the next two weeks, my digestion actually got much worse. Dairy and bread are the two main culprits for slow digestion so I assumed that the one week without dairy allowed my system to heal at least a little and then adding dairy back in sent it a little crazy again. It was a miserable few weeks, whatever the reasoning. I stuck to Whole30's guidelines in every other way during this time and did experience more stable energy levels throughout the day, most noticeably during the afternoon. More often than not, I would nap while Jake napped but I went a week or so without needing to nap at this point. 

Twelve days into Whole30, I had to take the glucose tolerance test because I was 28 weeks along. There was no way around it and so I did the test, experienced a sugar headache the next day and erratic sleep for two nights, and was back to normal a day or so later. And then the doctor called and told me I failed the test, so on day 15 I had to take the three hour glucose test. I just hoped that the major influxes of sugar wouldn't totally set back my hard-earned progress, as halfway through the program is when the 'tiger blood' phase begins: when your energy is up, your system is functioning at its highest capability, and you're feeling great. I never really felt like I could take on the world at this point (and neither did Deric), but I'll blame it on pregnancy for myself. 

Around the third week of Whole30, my previously stable energy levels totally dropped off. I'd sit on the couch and feel like I couldn't even lift my arms. I woke up in the morning feeling like I'd been run over, even after going to bed earlier than normal. I figured it must be a growth spurt for the baby or something, but then the doctor called and said I'd failed the three hour glucose test. I was therefore diagnosed with gestational diabetes and this past Wednesday, we went to the doctor for a crash course in treating diabetes. Turns out, that was definitely the cause of my low, low energy. Maintaining a consistent amount of carbohydrates in your system is crucial for stabilizing blood sugar and on Whole30, I ate very little carbs: only those in potatoes (which I had maybe 4-5 times each week) and in fruit. I also realized around this time that eggs and meat can also contribute to slow digestion (yep, still dealing with that at this point) and because of Whole30, I'd had eggs and meat every single morning for breakfast--something I had maybe once a week for breakfast prior to this. So the upswing in iron from eggs and meat weren't helping my digestion, and the lack of carbs was killing my blood sugar. 

At this point, I quit Whole30. With gestational diabetes, it was no longer safe to eliminate so many carbs. I didn't reintroduce dairy, grains or gluten according to the Whole30 guidelines (which are structured so that you can really pay attention to how each food group affects your system), but rather I watched my portions and ate what I needed to to maintain blood sugar. And so far, I've been fine on that front. My digestion has actually improved in the last few days as well. I attribute that improvement to the reintroduction of oatmeal (good source of fiber) and Greek yogurt (good for probiotics) and elimination of eggs for breakfast, at least for a week or so. Since my appointment on Wednesday, I've been keeping a food journal and testing blood sugar four times a day and am well within the parameters set for gestational diabetes. Things are looking up.

All of my wonderful pregnancy issues aside: towards the third week of Whole30 (before we knew about the diabetes) Deric and I both were so mentally exhausted from Whole30. While we appreciated the discipline of the program, it had become too obsessive for us. Whole30 is supposed to help eliminate cravings for junk food, but Deric and I both started to obsess over the foods we couldn't wait to have when we were finished. (Salty snacks and Reese's for him; anything bread related for me). Whole30 definitely got in the way of our social life for two reasons: 1) we had to be pretty picky about restaurants (as mentioned in my last post about all this) and 2) we were spending so much on groceries that it wasn't worth it to spend money on eating out when all we could eat at restaurants was grilled chicken on salad. (I realize there are plenty of other things to do with friends but in our area, eating out is the most popular option. It is what it is.) While we felt like we were becoming obsessive about the foods we couldn't have, we were also becoming obsessive about food in general. I was at the grocery store probably every other day, plus I spent so much more time in the kitchen for meal prep that these major time sucks started to really interfere with our daily routine. And the cherry on top: I just tallied up our grocery bill for the last thirty days. An average monthly grocery bill (which includes household items like toilet paper, etc.) for us is just under $400, but this month we spent $656. Ouchhhhhhh. That's an expensive experiment. 

So in closing of a very lengthy post, Deric is still finishing out the reintroduction phase right now so he can see how his system handles each food group. I'm now eating a diabetic diet in an attempt to control blood sugar without insulin. Maybe the best part of all of this is that while the diabetic diet is pretty strict, its nowhere near Whole30! So I actually feel like I've got a good amount of freedom even as I watch my carbs closely. 

Even though our experience with Whole30 wasn't overwhelmingly positive, I do still respect the program and support the creators' vision to help people detox their systems and understand their bodies better. We can all use more fruits, veggies and protein!

whole 30: almost halfway

We've just wrapped up twelve days of Whole30 and I'm pretty excited that we're almost halfway done. I'm surprised to hear myself saying that it actually hasn't been that bad...but at the same time, I think this has been the longest two weeks of my life. ;) Let's start with the bad and end with the good.

A favorite lunch of mine: chicken, apple, blueberry salad with raspberry vinaigrette. Usually strawberries are in there somewhere too.

Cons:
I'd say the biggest pain so far is the inconvenience of not being able to grab food from a restaurant or even the grocery store when we're short on time. (Granted, I haven't explored our local Earth Fare or Costco yet, and they may have more convenience options than our regular grocery store.) For instance, last Tuesday I went to vote around 4:00 and surprise! It took a lot longer than expected. Thankfully Deric was home with Jake so I just texted him and asked him to get dinner started because its not like I could stop and pick up a pizza or something. We're trying not to let Whole30 get in the way of invitations from friends, etc. but we have noticed that its made it harder to get together with people over a meal. We're lucky to have a lot of restaurants nearby so when the invitation is for a meal out, we ask if we can pick the place and choose somewhere that's got a lot of salad options. At the restaurant, we just ask them to grill the chicken only in salt and pepper and then we bring our own salad dressing. Not impossible, but definitely hard when they also have pizza on the menu. ;)

Another two big inconveniences: the ridiculous amount of dirty dishes in the kitchen every.stinking.day. I cook dinner at home basically every night but add in cooking breakfast and sometimes even lunch and oh my gosh, I don't want to do any more dishes. Sometimes it's nice just to pull out some cereal or a sandwich and leave the pans in the cabinet. Second thing: our grocery bill is gonna be sky high. I've kept the receipts for this month but haven't glanced at them in summary yet and I  almost don't want to. Instead of my weekly Monday morning trip, we're getting groceries probably twice a week and its much more expensive when your cart is mostly fresh produce and meat. It'd be even more pricy if I bought compliant deli meat and bacon but that stuff is close to $6 per half a pound so its not happening (at least until the last week when we're about to scream if we have to eat any more chicken or eggs.)

I think Deric and I would both agree that we feel hungry all the time unfortunately. I'd heard that protein fills you up faster and lasts longer than carbs but I'm pretty sure I eat about double what I was before and still feel hungry. I could be wrong though, because if I've learned anything about pregnancy its that you can no longer trust your stomach to send you clear signals. I could be hungry/full/constipated/baby could be sitting on an organ...who knows.

Mixing up salad has become a necessity. This was salmon, hardboiled eggs, avocado and cucumber with Italian vinaigrette.

Pros:
As far as how we're feeling, I've noticed a mild improvement so far. We're not yet at the stage of "Tiger Blood" (when all the energy kicks in) but my energy levels seem to be more stable than before. That can pretty obviously be attributed to the lack of sugar highs (and then lows) I usually have throughout the day. No more afternoon handfuls of chocolate over here. I actually slept terribly the entire first week, which was unusual for me. I can only assume it was a result of diet change but that wasn't a side effect I'd read about so I'm a little unsure. Thankfully though that's over and when I wake up in the morning, I don't exactly jump out of bed but I don't feel like I need half an hour just to open my eyes completely.

About a week in, I added dairy back into my diet after talking with my doctor. I had mixed feelings about it at first: I was a little upset because I felt like I was cheating the program (but doctor's orders, so you know). But then I got pretty excited thinking I could have all these foods again but because we're still not doing refined sugar, the dairy is actually limited to only milk and cheese, unless I want to suffer through plain yogurt. No thanks. This does make omelets an option though, which I appreciate. (And TMI: thanks to the addition of dairy after a week off, I now know what slows my digestion down, if you know what I mean. Glad to identify the culprit.) My cravings for anything sweet or breaded subsided for about a week but for some reason they're back with a vengeance right now...although more than likely, this could be attributed to breaking the habit of snacking and eating dessert.

Whole30 has pushed us to try new foods--or at least try foods prepared different ways--and I've learned to make mayonnaise and marinara sauce. We've tried salmon cakes from the Whole30 book and even cooked an entire turkey over the weekend. It was perfect--about a month ago, turkeys were on sale for less than a buck a pound. I bought one even though we've never roasted a turkey before. We used the turkey recipe from the Whole30 book, made mashed potatoes and green beans and enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner in March. Deric's been eating leftover turkey every day since and I think he's grateful to mix up the sheer amount of chicken we were consuming.

Turkey and mashed potatoes with homemade gravy (yum!) and sautéed green beans.

Even if we come out of the thirty days with no major improvements in health (which is unlikely), its been a big eye-opener to how much I use food as entertainment and to cure boredom. I'm no stranger to baking chocolate chip cookies after Jake is in bed just to have something to look forward to at the end of the day. Unfortunately eating out is one of only a few options for things to do in the winter months around here so Deric and I have struggled to find something to do on a date or just on the weekends as a family. Whole30 would be much easier in the summer for two reasons: more activities to do outside that don't revolve around food (swimming, hiking, parks, etc.), plus growing veggies in our garden and cheaper produce at the store would definitely lighten the grocery bill.

Moral of the story so far: I needed to push myself to do something very inconvenient and I'm glad I'm doing it...but I can't wait until its over. ;)

my 28th birthday + the start of Whole30

Over the weekend, we celebrated my birthday on Saturday...and started Whole30 on Friday. Poor timing, to say the least. Before I get into that, the brightest spots of the day were sleeping in until 10:00am--especially after hearing Jake wake up at 6:45 with "Mommy, my nap is over!"--and then having this card delivered to me by Jake, who told me that he's the tall guy and Daddy is the one holding the balloon. ;)


.......................................
If you've never heard of Whole30, check out the website for tons of information. But the general idea is to cut out anything that messes with digestion, inflammation and hormones. So: no grains (not even quinoa!), no recreated baked goods or sweets, no refined sugar (not even as an ingredient in mustard, salad dressing, etc.), no dairy. If I'm missing anything, just think of any food that you actually look forward to eating and add that to the list of forbidden food. Sigh.

Whole30 will be the hardest thing I've ever put myself through, guaranteed. I honestly don't want to do it, but it caught my attention a few weeks ago when I read a few testimonies from pregnant women who experienced major improvements in digestion and an increase in energy, my two biggest issues with this pregnancy. There are numerous other benefits but those two were biggies for me. I explained it to Deric, bought the book and read through it, and we decided to start on Friday in order to finish by Easter.

^A small fraction of our grocery haul on Friday. Our grocery budget is gonna be through.the.roof this month and there's just no helping that when all we can eat is produce and meat!

..................................................


Thanks to our perfect timing, I spent my birthday feeling like I'd been hit by a train thanks to the lack of sugar (after just one day! ridiculous). Headache, fatigue, overall anger at myself for doing something so stupid. Deric and I went to a steak house for dinner and had to be those people asking a million questions about ingredients and cooking process, yada yada. But we got steaks with sides of steamed veggies and once we tore our eyes away from the steaming bread on everyone else's tables, we did alright. But suffice to say, birthday numero 28 will not go down in the books as a favorite memory. ;) I will say that it was sorta fun to whine and complain together at dinner about all the things we couldn't have (like the brownie topped with ice cream that was carried past our table) and laugh about how pathetic we were. Weird, but even in this inconvenient and uncomfortable process, its more fun to do it together.

Yesterday was a little more of the same hangover feeling, but the headache was thankfully not so strong. Deric actually didn't have one at all, so he must have eaten less sugar than I have recently. Still experienced a strong sense of frustration and annoyance at myself. But then for dinner I made almond flour encrusted chicken parmesan (minus the parm) with zucchini noodles and homemade marinara, and suddenly I could smile again. I can't tell you how much that meal boosted my outlook. I didn't feel like I was missing out on good food, plus there was no bloated, uncomfortably full feeling after consuming pasta. (I told Deric we *may* be having chicken parmesan twice a week if thats what will keep me going for the next 27 days.)

And today, its a good day. I know it won't be smooth sailing for the next four weeks, but today I'm feeling good. No headaches, no fatigue, and all three of us have experienced improved digestion already. Plus it doesn't hurt that its 60 outside and we played at the park this morning plus ate lunch (leftover chicken parm!) in the backyard.

^Breakfast this morning definitely didn't suck. Hash brown and sausage casserole minus the cheese, and really I didn't even notice the cheese missing.

More recaps will follow--not every day, promise--if only to remind myself later of how this process helped me out. After the thirty days is over, we'll follow the guidelines to reintroduce food in a way that will hopefully help us pinpoint what food groups cause what issues for us. I think this will be a major benefit for all of us long term, even once we're back to eating normally. Three days down, twenty-seven to go!

Maple Roasted Chicken & Sweet Potatoes

Yet again, I found a great recipe through Pinterest. Originally from Real Simple, this recipe was posted on Handle the Heat. It was an easy meal to make: throw in some bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, chop up two sweet potatoes and a yellow onion, add spices and let it cook for an hour or so. [Well, basically. That's not the actual recipe.]

 via Handle the Heat

Deric and Chad both loved it, but then again, that doesn't tell you much. They'll eat anything they don't have to prepare. And poor Chad only eats frozen meals (or fast food) when he doesn't eat with us.

ready to go in the oven

My verdict? Very good-- the chicken was sweet and flavorful; the sweet potatoes and onions were really soft. An added bonus is the very short preparation time-- maybe fifteen minutes to chop everything, flavor it and throw it together. Next time, I'll probably add an extra sweet potato because I thought the potatoes and onions were a little too soft from absorbing the chicken juice. An extra potato would probably fix that problem. (Side note: be sure to stir the dish once while cooking! I forgot, hence the burned edges of anything touching the side of the dish.)

Overall, the recipe was a success. I'm always happy when I find a recipe I can add to my not-so-limited-anymore-thanks-to-Pinterest rotation of meals. And Deric and Chad are happy, too.

What to Do with a Bushel of Apples

This post is really, really late, but I had forgotten about it until I saw the pictures in iPhoto. My Grandad brought us a huge bag of apples when he came down for Thanksgiving (told you- late!). They're from his orchard and I don't remember what types of apples they were, but they were delicious. The only problem was that there was no way Deric and I could get through all the apples before they went bad if we only ate a few a day.

So, I figured this would be a good time to try making applesauce in the crockpot. When I googled 'crockpot applesauce', so many results came up that it was hard to narrow it down and pick someone's recipe. I ended up choosing Megan's recipe over at What Megan's Making. Her website is full of recipes and mouthwatering pictures (which I have not yet mastered, sorry).

Making applesauce in the crockpot is so easy. A ton of apples (literally) + water/apple juice + sugar + cinnamon + a pinch of salt = applesauce. The only drawback is peeling and slicing all the apples. I don't have one of those fancy peeler/slicer gadgets, so this was a little labor-intensive.

But after all the peeling and slicing, all I had to do was throw it together in the crockpot and let it cook on low for four hours. At the end of the four hours, I mashed the apples and added a bit more cinnamon. Done!

We had so much applesauce that we ate it for days. It was a good, healthy go-to snack---beats the tortilla chips I usually reach for. Next fall, I'll certainly be making more applesauce. And I'll be freezing plenty of it to have on hand through the winter. I need more healthy food after all the holiday sweets. Anyone else going through candy withdrawal?

Our Only Organic Meal

I'd buy everything organic if I had the money, but that would mean spending our life savings on groceries and I'd rather not. Outside of the information I've learned from Food, Inc. (go watch the documentary!), I can't understand why organic food has to be usually triple the cost of regular food. (I also can't understand why there are so many chemicals in our food, but that's not the point.) I'd just like to be able to eat food with ingredients I can pronounce and know that what's going into our bodies will benefit them, not harm them. 

We do manage to have one organic meal per week thanks to Earth Fare, an organic supermarket equivalent to Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, etc. Every Thursday night is their family meal night, so for one $5 purchase at their deli or hot bar, you can get up to six kids' meals for free. Don't judge us-- that's SIX meals for FREE! And because I get their emails, I always get a coupon for a free item with a $5 purchase. Last week, we got a coupon for a ready-made salad, a $7 value. This week, we got one pound of Braeburn apples for free (which is only three apples, but you take what you can get).

Its become our tradition to hit up Earth Fare for dinner on Thursdays. Deric and I pick a sandwich to split from the deli (about $6) and then each get three meals of what we want. Here's a typical kids' meal for me: chicken salad wrap, veggies, fruit, milk carton, and gummy rabbits. Deric's choice: turkey provolone wrap, veggies, fruit, juice box, and 'cheddar bunnies'. What we don't eat that night becomes grab-and-go snack food for the weekend. Plus, as we open our juice boxes and cheddar bunnies, we're reminded of our childhoods and all those lunches in the school cafeteria...;)

Total value from last night's grocery run/dinner: $32.61 for one sandwich, six kids' meals, and one pound of apples. We paid $7.21 for the sandwich and got everything else free. I'd say that's a pretty good deal for an entirely organic meal, wouldn't you?

Thank you, Earth Fare! Now if you'll just have deals like this every night of the week, we'll become your most loyal customers.

Read It Before You Eat It: Milk

I haven't kept up with posts from the Read It Before You Eat It book (or any posts, for that matter), and that's because Deric and I have been going nonstop for the past few weeks. We've visited three churches/camps in the last 2 1/2 weeks, all in different states. I'll post more about that over the weekend once I've had some time to breathe.

This book is almost due at the library, so I wanted to post about at least one more food before I returned it. I chose milk because I've heard that milk really isn't good for us because of the way its processed and the way cows are treated, so I was interested to see if conventional milk really is that bad.

The author's tip: Always try to buy the milk with the lowest fat. Fat percentages in milk don't refer to the calories, they refer to the weight of the fat within the milk. So for example, 2% represents 35% of the milk's calories. 1% milk refers to 20%, whole milk (or 4%) is 46% of the calories. And nonfat/skim is of course, 0%.

Here's are the most common options for milk:
Whole milk: Whole milk has about 3.25% (but can be up to 4%) fat. Most of the fat in whole milk is saturated, which should be avoided (or at least limited) in our diets. However, whole milk is beneficial for toddlers because it helps provide the high amount of calories toddlers need while they're growing quickly.
2% milk: More than half of the fat in 2% is saturated. One cup of 2% milk has 120 calories, 45 of which are derived from the fat.
1% milk: The difference in calories between 1% and whole milk is about 50 calories per cup. So, if you drink the recommended amount of three cups of milk (or dairy) each day, you'll save yourself 150 calories.
Skim: Skim milk has no fat. (Unfortunately, it has no taste either. But that's just me.) Skim milk is just as nutritious as whole milk but without the saturated fats that whole milk contains.
Skim milk--protein fortified: Has the same amount of calories as 1% (100 per cup). Protein and calcium are added, but sugar is as well. Protein fortified milk has 4 more grams of sugar per cup than regular milk.

Hormones are present in milk because all cows have hormones naturally that help them produce milk. Some dairy farmers enhance their cows' natural hormones to boost the milk production. The FDA says the hormone enhancement is safe for humans, but some privately-owned groups believe it can have a negative effect on humans and cows. No negative effects have actually been proven.

Organic milk usually makes you think its hormone-free, pesticide-free, and antibiotic-free. However, organic milk is not hormone-free, but it has no added hormones. Both organic and conventional milk are low in pesticides, and antibiotics are never allowed in any milk. Bottom line, choose either skim or low-fat milk, or organic if you worry about possible pesticides or hormones.

Hopefully that was easy enough to understand. I'm not great with numbers and percents and such, but my conclusion from all that is that skim milk is best for you because it has no saturated fat. I'm glad to find out there's no major difference between conventional and organic milk because organic is usually double the price and I just don't want to pay that much. Deric and I usually get 1% milk and we'll probably continue to drink it. I just don't like the taste of skim enough to switch. I'm okay with a few extra grams of fat if it tastes good :)

You'd probably be interested to know that when I was growing up, I wanted to be Ashley Olsen. Nowadays, not so much. I remember asking my mom once if I could choose my last name when I got married because I'd change it to Olsen. Oh, and Courtney wanted to marry someone with the last name Cox. Bet she's glad that never happened ;)

Read It Before You Eat It: Fresh Vegetables

Thankfully, shopping for vegetables is a lot simpler than shopping for eggs. Mostly because vegetables are always good for you, even if they've been exposed to pesticides. With vegetables, making a good choice mostly involves determining if its seasonal and if its local.

First, a few quick reasons vegetables (and fruit) are always good for you:
-Naturally high in fiber
-Fresh vegetables are either sodium-free or low in sodium
-Plants don't produce cholesterol
-More vitamins, minerals, etc. than any other food group

But you probably already knew that, so on to the more important stuff.

Seasonal: Most produce that's out of season has traveled between 1,500 and 2,500 miles to get to us, plus it was picked before it ripened. Vegetables picked before they're ripe don't taste as good and haven't had a chance to develop all the vitamins and minerals. (Side note: 'long-distance' produce uses resources such as oil, which isn't good for the environment.)
Local: Local, seasonal produce is fresher, tastes better, and doesn't need as many preservatives. Plus, you support your local farmers. Epicurious.com has a interactive seasonal ingredient map that helps you find vegetables growing in your area.
Color: The more color you eat, the bigger range of nutrients you're getting. Eat as many bright, deeply colored vegetables as you can. Try to eat red, orange, green, yellow and white.
Organic: With vegetables, organic refers more to how it was produced. Some vegetables are more pesticide-laden than others, even after they've been washed. **The Environmental Working Group says consumers can reduce their exposure to pesticides by 80% by avoiding the most contaminated fruits and vegetables.

"Dirty" Vegetables:                               "Clean" Vegetables:
apples                                                      asparagus
bell peppers                                            avocados
carrots                                                     bananas
cherries                                                   broccoli
celery                                                       cabbage
grapes                                                     cauliflower
greens (lettuce, kale, spinach)         corn
nectarines                                              eggplant
peaches                                                   garlic
pears                                                        kiwis
potatoes                                                   mangoes
raspberries                                             onions
strawberries                                           pineapple
                                                                  sweet potatoes
                                                                  tomatoes
                                                                  watermelon

Now remember: we're supposed to be eating five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. That's 2 1/2 cups of vegetables, 2 1/2 cups of fruit. I'm not even close, unfortunately. Hopefully ya'll are better at eating your vegetables than I am!

Read It Before You Eat It: Eggs

Now that I have a 6'6 husband who likes to eat more than just cereal and whatever I bake, I find myself at the grocery store more often than I ever have. Now that I grocery shop more often, I've realized how hard it is to decipher food labels and actually pick the healthiest food. I end up reading every label to compare types of lunch meat in hopes that I'll (blindly) pick the healthiest choice. And then as I put vegetables in the cart, I wonder how many chemicals have been sprayed on them, how far they've traveled, and if they'll even be nutritious after all that spraying and traveling.

So, imagine my excitement when I wandered through the library aisles and found this:

The author has a bachelor's in Clinical & Community Dietetics and a master's in Nutrition, so I feel she knows what she's talking about. The book has so much information on literally every type of food and all the packaging lingo that I've barely made my way through it. I wish I wasn't a cheapskate and could buy a copy so I can highlight and dog-ear everything. But instead, I thought I'd write a series of posts that focus on a single item of food so that once I return the book to the library, I still have the information I want (and now so do you!). (P.S. I'll do my best to summarize; if I use quotes, it's a direct quote of the book. Don't wanna be sued for plagiarism!) So without further ado, the first item of interest is: eggs.

EGGS: What to Look for on the Label


Grade: The USDA has a grading system for quality: AA, A, or B. AA is superior, but most eggs are Grade A.

Antiobiotic-free: Suggests that the hens weren't given antibiotics. Antibiotics may cause illness in humans because they encourage the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The term is unregulated and can't really be verified.
Brown eggs: No difference between brown and white eggs. Hens with brown feathers lay brown eggs; hens with white feathers lay white eggs. Easy enough.
Cage-free, free-range/ free-roaming: The hens aren't caged; however, there may be thousands crowded into a barn or warehouse. They probably don't have access to the outdoors or may not take advantage of that access. There's no verification of this practice unless the eggs are also certified organic. This term doesn't guarantee they're organic.
Fertile: The hens are regularly exposed to a rooster and are probably not caged. Fertile eggs are no different from non-fertile, except that they don't last as long and are more expensive to produce (and therefore more expensive to buy..).
Hormone-free: Hormones are banned in all poultry by the FDA, so companies can't put "hormone-free" on their label to advertise unless its followed up with "Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones."
Natural: The term isn't regulated and doesn't mean the food is healthy in any way. However, the USDA's definition of "natural" is "being free of artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, preservatives, and ingredients that do not occur naturally in the food". For eggs, this means that unless they've been pasteurized, they're natural. "Natural" has nothing to do with how the animals are treated.
Omega-3-enriched: Omega-3s are heart-healthy and brain boosting. Enriched eggs come from hens who were fed more algae, fish oil, or ground flaxseeds than other hens.
Organic/certified organic: These eggs are certified by the USDA. The hens are never given antibiotics, they're cage-free and have access to the outdoors. Plus, they're fed organic chicken feed, which is free of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, commercial fertilizers, and animal by-products.
Pastured/pasture raised: These hens have free range outdoors and eat organically, plus they're usually raised without antibiotics. These hens are able to eat a more natural diet including grass, fruit, nuts, bugs, and worms in pasture. The eggs may have slightly more nutrients such as vitamins and omega-3s.
United Egg Producers Certified: Most egg producers comply with this program, but all it ensures is that the hens are fed food and water. The hens are also supposed to be given enough space, proper lighting and fresh air every day. However, the UEP doesn't regulate farm practices or caging, so these hens can be subjected to inhumane treatment and restrictive caging.

Vegetarian/vegetarian diet: This refers to the hens' diet. If its a vegetarian diet, there are no animal by-products. However, chickens are omnivores so they may eat insects and worms alongside the vegetarian diet provided by the farmers.

As you can tell from the pictures above, I didn't pick my eggs so well. Those eggs are as standard as you can get and are probably from chemically-enhanced, abused chickens somewhere in South America.

The healthiest choice? Certified organic: no chemicals, no antibiotics, no cages & a natural lifestyle. You probably already knew that, but hopefully now you know what all the other terms mean as well. I didn't, so I hope you learned as much as I did!