COVID 19 Shopping. Ultimate guide to stay home, low budget , finger licking Nutrition

It’s been a very long time since I had blogged. I kind of got busy with other things, a lot of other things, In fact, I thought of giving up blogging altogether. Anyhow I realized that writing is my comfort zone and I communicate well when I write my thoughts out loud. So I am back hoping to do something great with my god-given skill! I have news! I am a full-time French student and I found that I can write in French a bit better than I can speak or understand French! It just confirms that writing is my comfort zone in communication. I guess one needs to understand one's comfort zones, strengths and weaknesses. It is a great point to start becoming a better you personally and professionally. However, blogging is not just writing your thoughts out but organizing your writing in a meaningful way and presenting them to your target audience and then your ability to hold their attention. Then comes all the tech stuff such as SEO etc. I can never get my head around mastering (not at least yet!)those things. I think I am in the zone of going beyond my fear! Fear of trying out new things, putting myself out there and expect a lot of rejections and criticism. Well, I hate to fail but If you want to scale Everest you have to practice climbing the smaller mountains for some time, get injured, and then smile in the face of death too! I am just a bit extreme here. 

Alright, let me tell you a petite story as a seg way to the important message I bring you today.

We shopped two weeks ago and then we did another trip two days ago. I was standing outside in long lines three times and I thought I would become sick as I was not dressed for the weather but I was dressed to the nines in my newly acquired spring wardrobe. Where else could I go dressed up in a long while other than to shop vegetables! Two weeks ago when I was shopping at the superstore I had a few people around me with their shopping carts filled to the brim. Those people were stockpiling on things that would just harm their immunity and leave them unprepared for any illness. The moment we were out of the supermarché me and my husband had the same expression "Did you see those shopping carts?" "I am sure those people will end up with lifestyle diseases by the time the COVID is over!" We both couldn’t help those thoughts because those shopping carts were full of processed food that is not at all good for health. Those people were panic buying and didn't know how to stock up in a pandemic. The health coach in me was so helpless because I wanted those people to have chosen health-promoting great stuff in their carts. Well, I may not be able to help those people but at least I can help someone somewhere If I wrote a proven process down and then tagged to be noticed! So here are the things that I do for my family based on the principals I teach as a health coach. If you are with me until now please carry on till the end because your immunity takes time to build and you need this information in your life right now.

  

We stay at home,  when we go out keep our two meters distance, wash our hands, wear masks but could we go an extra mile for ourselves, our families and the society? Yes, we can, it is true as your immunity is your best defence against any disease. All of us already know if your immunity is strong you can fight any illness. Your health and wellbeing and your family's needs to be protected more than ever. If you are managing any illness you have to manage it well and better than in normal times. Dr. Sears is a Harvard trained health guru, he is my mentor, stage 4 colon cancer survivor for decades, and his system of wellness works for anyone, anywhere. I have a few badges of credibility for my service as a health coach for several years now, the biggest is the wellness of my own family. Dr. Sear's LEAN is a great platform to address some of the things you could be doing while we wait this out. 

LEAN stands for  Lifestyle, Exercise, Attitude, and Nutrition. Don’t forget your immunity takes time to build so please start today itself. I invite you to share this information with friends and family so that they can benefit too! Yes,  that was not a typo I am attaching a video because some of us like to hear things out and look at videos more than reading. 

In this blog, I would like to talk about the Lifestyle aspect. There are so many aspects to a lifestyle. I chose Grocery shopping as it is the need of the hour. Where do you shop? How frequently do you shop? What to buy? How much are you planning to spend? These are some of the lifestyle choices that we make. I am not sharing this to impress you neither an expression of how well I manage my life but to show you what is possible. Your brain loves familiarity and it won’t let you open space to fire up some neurons. Do not give up because I believe in neuroplasticity which means you can modify your brain cells and create new connections so let’s  begin!

Shopping is the buzz word for most of us. I love to shop not much on the internet though, I love to go out and about especially in book stores. I love spending time in supermarkets reading labels, discovering new ingredients and products. I love to read labels like a detective and discover imposters who are dressed so well but are in fact thugs of the food world. Unfortunately, it's not the best time to hang around in stores. You want to minimize the time you go out, make a sensible purchase that is budget-friendly and put super nutritious dishes on the table without much of a hassle. So these are the elements I balance every time I shop. I want to walk you through the shopping process I follow, what’s best to look for and in the end, you did not reinvest the wheel but your immunity could give you a big round of applause.  

I shop every two weeks and I shop at couple of different places. It may sound bizarre but I need to round up the goodness that each store has to offer in my pantry. I am not looking for bargains but if the bargains are there if it suits my wellness strategy they would end up in my kitchen. I was waiting to shop in the farmers' markets but that ended up a dream at least for this year. I hope I can discover farmers markets around the province it would be such a delight to share the details with you! My shopping trip takes approximately two hours with driving, parking, loading, and unloading inclusive. Anyhow with the social distancing rules and supermarkets trying to maintain how many people are inside it may very well go beyond that. You could be shopping in your local grocery store or in some parts of the world there are grocery stores on wheels these days, that’s not the point here, where ever you do it whatever you are eating you want to ensure you fill up your shopping bag or cart with the green lights food list and some yellow lights for sure. 

Do you ever have a shopping list? I do ninety-nine percent of the time but there were instances I didn’t have one. Boy! that was such a drama time! I knew in my head what I needed but my heart kept on tugging me in several different directions! There was so much impulsive buying, going back and forth (putting things back on shelves) and sometimes go to the car ready to go home but I had to buy one more thing!!! With a pandemic on the loose, I would never imagine standing outside superstore for another 15 minutes because I forget that darn sea salt! 

The first step is to do my meal plan for two weeks that way I do not have to roam around unnecessarily in shops, it prevents impulsive purchases and there is absolutely zero waste in my kitchen which saves a lot of money for me. The shopping list is derived from that meal plan and it certainly is not just a vague list scribbled on a napkin or a tiny piece of paper. That was the case in my parent's house. My mom's shopping list was a tiny piece of paper which she could stuff in her purse. I have taken that practice to several notches up over the years and here I am doing it in the most sophisticated manner. 

Just before I draft these very important documents, I get down to a big investigation in my kitchen; cupboards, fridge, every crevice and nook to take stock of the brought forward stock of my kitchen enterprise. It doesn’t take long though because I am the boss around here and I know what I have left there besides there is a list on the fridge that gets filled out every time something goes out of stock. 

I reiterate, this is the time to buy things that can help protect your immunity so this is the time to buy mostly green light food. Immunity takes a while to build so please do not hesitate to start today. 

My breakfast is always a SuperMax smoothie which is pack full of great things and my family just loves it. I shop the frozen section for the coconuts, avocados, berries, and other fruits. When I buy fruits and veggies I buy the dirty dozen in organic. Frozen produce is a great way to add nutrition as the vitamins are locked in and they are garden fresh. There are other pantry staples that go in there and as I shop in only certain branches of the shops every time I know where everything is, sometimes better than a clueless supermarket employee. Have you ever met with supermarket employees who wouldn’t know where what you looked for was? If you are a supermarket employee reading this, no offense I can understand your work for a certain isle and you do not know about the rest of the playground! Here is a 😍 and a big hug just for you for being out there for us. In case if you like to know about dirty dozen and clean fifteen please come back as I will post the lists in a few days. When you follow that list you do not have to break the bank but you get to enjoy a celebrity lifestyle! 

We need to balance some elements here that are the key. Less time, less money, super nutritious, no hassle and people might lick the plate. The synergy is so great here as you save health,  wealth, and hearts. 

Fruits and veggies cover the bulk of my purchases. I buy various different colors as each of this colorful goodness is going to supply with you weapons of mass destruction of pathogens including glorified COVID-19 and your own cells going against you. Yes, your own-cells going out of control because you feed them junk and they need to be taught a lesson on patriotism and put back in their places doing their rightful jobs. 

The sad fact that all of us know fruits and veggies don’t stay a long time fresh and they lose their credibility on the shelves and in our fridges. Where do we tackle this problem? Buying ready meals and processed packaged food like the people I talked about earlier? Definitely no! It is in the first step, meal planning, yes that is the starting point to decide what you want to buy and then the meal plan gets translated into a shopping list. 

The trick is to buy sturdy fruits and veggies which have long shelf lives for the second week in mind. I make sure things like berries, bananas, cucumbers, tomatoes, grapes, green leaves, mushrooms, and soft veggies will be used in the first week itself. I keep veggies like sweet potatoes, potatoes, beets (not the tops), cabbage, butternut squash for the second week.  No food waste in my kitchen that way and I save money which I am sure we can all appreciate at this time. 

I make sure I always buy onions, ginger, garlic, carrots, and celery which are a good base for soups and broths. Then I stockpile on both Asian and western spices which are really very important to boost immunity and keep you from falling sick. Parsley, oregano, paprika, nutmeg, thyme are some of my favorites and then comes the curry powder, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and the list goes on. I love fusion cooking and to experiment and develop new recipes, old comfort food packaged with healthy ingredients. Moreover, I think it is important to use fresh local ingredients as much as possible as I live far away from my birthplace in an adopted home country. So I do not hesitate to develop a very international palette and a repertoire of recipe repository which is as diverse and vibrant as the loving Neighbourhoods around here. Coconut has been a big part of my life, I love coconut milk and I buy pure coconut cream packed in BPA free packaging. I want to make sure my love for coconut milk and Asian food is not going to backfire on me. I would love to make my own coconut milk just like I used to back home but I am still researching as to how to do so without breaking the bank.

I buy my pantry staples which are nuts, seeds, sweeteners such as raw honey and dates. I buy a lot of lentils, beans which are a great favorite in my house, brown rice, quinoa, finger millet or Ragi, gluten-free pasta, buckwheat flour (we love the pancakes ) and coconut flour (I love the bread). I just finished my big bag of Ragi flour. They are a great favorite in my house but I cannot cross the river to the other city to go to the Asian market. This sounds like a very ancient practice “cross the river and go to market” but COVID has managed to do that send us back in time.  If I miss one thing in my life right now that is the bread I make with Ragi. 

I buy organic eggs, organic greek yogurt, Organic cheese, Organic grass-fed butter, Organic chicken, Turkey, and Wild Alaskan Salmon from the chillers. Proteins are really very necessary to build a strong immune system. I make an online order for the protein powder I use for my smoothies. My kids need quality sources of protein to build and maintain their immunity.

There are things that I do not buy even if they are Organic, expensive, and nicely packaged with tempting words such as real fruits and vegetables, all-natural, etc. Most of these products are pack full of ingredients that are really bad for your immunity. Did I mention I love to roam around supermarkets doing detective work and uncover the thugs! Do not forget your immunity takes time to build so act now and uncover those bad guys. 

In my pantry, You cannot find things like sodas, chips, sweets, packaged processed food, cooked frozen meals, bread, flavored milk, energy bars, cakes, pastries, muffins, cookies, bottled fruit juice, and the list can go on. We have healthy, tasty, and highly addictive alternatives to all these "treats". 

I want to tell you about the two things that I want to stay away from at any cost. 

Wheat because of gluten, it makes my life really miserable and I am sure it does for a lot of people but they can’t make the connection. Wheat gives a bloating and it stays for two days and you think you got fat suddenly. They have a name for it and it's called the wheat belly. It makes me so irritable too! The last thing you want to be is irritable when you are stuck at home for an indefinite period of time. 

Next is Cows milk! You will be amazed how fast the runny noses dry up, the coughs go away and eczema disappears for good once you stop drinking cows milk. For my family cows, milk is an allergen but we are not alone because most of the population is allergic to cows milk and they don’t even know it. Do you know the only group of humans who are not allergic to cows milk?

I forgot their name but I will let you and it’s a promise.

I told you that you have the ability to change your brain and now I would like to tell you that you have the ability to change your taste buds and train yourself your kids and your stubborn husbands or wives (mostly husbands here) to train the brain and the guts to like the green light food group. 

Good gut feelings are a blessing and gut is where your immunity resides so please take care of your health and wellness by avoiding these allergens and introducing soothing alternatives.

Don’t forget your immunity takes time to build so please make today day one not one day I will....with ample experience that one day never came for a lot of people. 

I hope you will tune in to read and enjoy the next pieces on Exercise, Nutrition, and Attitude to learn easy ways to boost your immunity in these challenging times. There is no better opportunity than this for you to open your hearts to embrace a new better way of life. Hard times bring great opportunities and this is yours for taking!