GOING TO MARKET – Dr. John

PLEASE DO NOT SHARE THESE DOCUMENTS WITH OTHER PARTIES. They are welcome to peruse our website and make a consultative Appointment with Dr John.

I am often the Market Assistant. That is, my wife generally heads the market assignment, and I am auxiliary in a helper role. I will do my best to navigate for you.

WHAT DO WE BUY AT THE STORE?

Produce Section- THE START 😊: The secret is right here in the Produce Section! This sparsely occupied area seems to go unnoticed in the market. It is so quiet here that you could almost do your morning meditation. Here you can take your time, and wander in amazement at the varied, and often unknown, varieties of plant life before you. We don’t buy, we provision! The basket gets filled up with fruit and vegetables!

Vibrant Greens including Spinach; Red Chard; Bok Choy; Kale; Arugula; Collard, Mustard, Turnip, and Beet Greens. Do not buy Iceberg (or ’Ball’) lettuce!
It is often economical to buy leafy greens sold in large recyclable plastic containers.
Other Vegetables: There are too many to name.Tomato (really a fruit), Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts; Asparagus; Red and Orange Peppers, Asparagus, Carrots, Onion, Artichoke, Egg Plant, Parsnips, and Butternut Squash. Sweet Potatoes are a staple tuber in our home. Try new vegitables. Choose ones with bright colors. These bright colors ARE the antioxidants in the plants.
Note on Frozen Vegetables: they retain most of their nutritional value in their frozen state. They are often a good buy; and they keep well.

Fruit:
Fresh: Apples, Oranges, Bananas, Pineapple, Guava, Mango, Peach, Pear, various Melons,…. and Avocado (Oh, It’s a fruit too😊). Fruit is very important as a source of fiber bound carbohydrate, antioxidants, and vital minerals.

Frozen Fruit: Berries and other frozen fruit are fast frozen and nutritionally intact. They are usually a bargain compared to fresh. Blackberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, and Mixed Berries are always in our freezer to put in smoothies, morning oatmeal, or on salads.

Bulk Items (in bins, boxes, or by the bag):

Whole Beans: Lentils, Chickpeas (Garbanzos), Kidney, Pinto, Black, Cannellini, Mung Beans, and Navy Beans. Eat some daily!
Brown Rice and other Whole Intact Grains: Black, Brown, Red, and ‘Wild’ Rice; Quinoa; Farro; Buckwheat Groats; Sorghum; Oat Groats (the whole oat grain), Wheatberries (the Whole Wheat Grain), and Teff. Try them all!! Note: You may have to find some of these at Organic Roots, Sprouts, or you may order them on-line. Note: Dr John strongly suggests that you buy and eat these Whole Intact Grains over the nutritionally depleted and highly caloric refined white rice, pasta, bread, and even flaked whole grain cereals and breads. Eat WHOLE grain!
Flower: Whole Wheat, Almond, Millet, Teff, Oat, Amaranth, Buckwheat, and Rye flowers. Note: It is preferable to eat grains as Intact Whole Grains [see note above]. Much of the Bran, Germ and Fiber are removed in making flower – Even Whole Wheat Flower is a somewhat refined grain, therefore higher in calories and with less nutrition.
Gluten Free (if necessary, only): Buckwheat, Sorghum, Amaranth, Corn, Millett, Quinoa, Rice, Teff, and Oats (Organic Oats to ensure Gluten Free status)
Note: Gluten is found only in: Wheat, Barley, and Rye (also in contaminated Oats).
Bread: Buy bread with at least 70% Whole grain. If the bread does not say 100% Whole Wheat or 100% Whole Grain then the “Whole Grain” Bread or Cereal usually only contains 50% Whole Grain. Alternatively buy Intact Whole Grains to eat instead of bread whenever possible. See Note in b above.
Spices: Cumin, Oregano, Cayenne Pepper, Thyme, Black Pepper, Turmeric, Curry Powder and Garam Masala (an Indian spice mixture), Chipotle Pepper, Paprika Powder. Put any of these spices in, or on ALL of your food! They all contain characteristic healing plant chemistry and antioxidants.
Sweet Flavoring: Maple Syrup, and Molasses ( Molasses has Ca, Fe, B6, Mg, and Selenium), Date Sugar (ground dates), Coconut Palm Sap Sugar, and whole Dates. All of these ‘flavorings’ are utilized as light sweeteners- not as primary foods sources or snacks.
Flaked Cereal: You may consider a small bowl of cereal (hot or cold) with the addition of fruits and nuts either before your morning Green Smoothie or as a mid-morning snack. They are all made from refined grain Flowers (see note under Flower above) therefore we eat Flaked Cereal sparingly. Consider eating whole grain cereal like oatmeal (or better, cook Oat Groats or cooked Farro as your hot cereal instead).
Tip: When selecting a cereal at the market please look at the ingredients table on the box. (Take your magnifying glass and reading glasses to market😊!)
Divide the Total Carbohydrate by the Fiber. If it is 5 or greater or less buy it. If greater than 5, be skeptical about buying. If it is 6 or greater, it is potentially a health risk to you and your family. Note: you may go up to 7 if it has raisins and/ or other real fruit mixed in.
OLD FASHIONED OATMEAL (or Steel Cut Oats): Buy the non-precooked variety. Have a big bowl of oatmeal (or cooked Farro, or cooked Oat Groats) in the AM with a few broken walnuts, berries, other fruit, and even a handful of chopped Kale thrown in as Dr. John does in his morning Power Bowl.
Note: You are going to discover that the Cereal Section is populated by “breakfast” Cereals which contain very little whole grain, and mostly sugar. This sugar has contributed profoundly to the epidemic of Childhood obesity, and adult Type 2 Diabetes.
Breads: Buy only Whole Grain bread (> 70% Whole Grain please). Utilize the 6:1 Carbohydrate to Fiber ratio noted above under Cereal. Bread is made from flower-as are bakery goods and flaked cereal). They are themselves refined with a significant loss to their original nutritive value. They are also high in calories (see Dr John’s chart on Caloric Density of Foods in Client Read Second folder) Oil is often an ingredient in store bought bread. Try to restrict it to 2 grams per serving. If it does not say ‘100% Whole Grain’ Bread at the store, it is only required to contain 50% Whole Grain flower by law. Remember Intact Whole Intact Grains are preferrable [see b above]
Nutritional Yeast [N.Y]: Many of us Plant Based people use nutritional yeast in dishes to add a ‘cheesy’ flavor. Buy it as dry flakes in box or bag. Try a dash on salad or as an ingredient in ‘Vegan Enchiladas ‘or on Whole Grain Pasta with no-added-oil marinara. N.Y. contains protein, B-vitamins, and Iron.

Navigating The Rest Of The Market:

It is easy to read labels in the market. Bring your reading glasses or magnifying glass with you😊. The ingredients on the back of cans and boxes are listed in order of most to least by weight. Avoid often hidden animal-based ingredients like casein and whey.

Sodium (Salt or NaCl):

Manufacturers add extra sodium to foods as a preservative to add shelf life to their products. It helps their bottom line while increasing your blood pressure and injuring your kidneys. If you buy cans of beans, find ‘low-sodium’; and rinse them before using. Canned soups are laden with salt. I would not purchase them unless they are labeled ‘no salt added’. If the content of Sodium is more than 200mg per serving it is too high!

Tip: Buy your favorite raw beans in bulk (think WinCo Market or buy on- line). On your ‘cooking day’ make a large caldron of low salt soup, or plant-based chili with beans with vegetables. You can use them all week for meals, side soup, or use these as salad topping.

Tip: Pick one day per week (Sunday is good for many) and make enough for a couple of weeks. Freeze extra food for future meals.

Sugar

Listed on labels as Sugars and Total Carbohydrate:

Corporations have discovered the American ‘sugar addiction’, and they now make it an obligatory addition to a myriad of prepared, boxed and canned items. You pay for this in obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

If the label indicates added sugars, especially if listed in the first 2 or 3 ingredients, think twice about buying it. Look for “no sugar added” on the label. Some unhealthy sugar names are purposely posted to confuse you. Here is a list of added sugars that you should avoid:

AVOID: Fructose; Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Sweetener, Corn Sweetener; Sucrose; Maltodextrin, Dextrin; Cane Sugar, Raw Sugar, Brown Sugar; White Sugar; Lactose; Maltose, Glycerides; Nectar; Sorbitol; and Xylitol.

Avoid buying sugar sweetened sodas, tea, and desserts. After a while the naturally sweet taste in the fruit, and in the complex carbohydrates in whole grains begin to taste sweet. You are going to love the taste of whole foods. You are going to feel sooooo good!

Oil/ FAT:

Buy or make “no-oil-added” alternative salad dressings [see Recipe folder]. Substitute blended raw cashews, flax seed, or unsweetened applesauce in recipes instead of bottled oil (see Oil Substitutes in the Food Preparation Help folder in the Recipe folder on the website ). Dr John uses pre-soaked raw cashews in the blender as an oil “substitute” in homemade dressings (see Salad Dressing folder in the Recipe folder).

Note: Butter is a highly caloric animal product with saturated fat. Margarine is even worse for your health as it contains trans- fat oils. We’re trying to “unclog your arteries” to prevent premature death.

General Fat Guidelines for packaged items:

Fat is not an evil. Everything you eat, including plants, contain some fat/oil. Beans deliver about 4 to 8 % of their calories as unsaturated fat- Soy Beans have a little more. Our bodies do not make needed (essential) Omega 3 (Alpha Linolenic and Linoleic) fatty acids. Plant foods- like Walnuts and Flax Seed- contain Omega 3s and are included in Dr Johns Daily Do list😊.

We are specifically avoiding the fats implicated in the epidemic of Obesity, Hypertension, Heart disease, and Diabetes in North America-> Cholesterol and Saturated fat (SF). These are found in Animal Meats, dairy, and eggs! We also wish to avoid excessive consumption of all oils, even plant derived oils, found in Avocado, Tahini, and Nuts. We do not add bottled oils to our food. These pressed Oils include: Olive, Canola, Rapeseed, Corn, and Sunflower oils.

Select packaged foods with no more than 3 grams of fat per serving and less than 10% of ingredients by weight.

Crackers and fat:

I tell my clients to avoid eating crackers and chips because they are very high in salt and are soaked in oil. Their highly caloric grease has little nutritive value. Do Not Buy.

Tip: Matzo Crackers are an exception: Matzo is a large flat cracker eaten for one week during the Jewish Passover Holiday; but, it is also eaten all year. It may be ordered regular white or as Whole Wheat Matzo. Plain Whole Wheat Matzo contains no added Salt, no Oil, and no Sugar. Dr John orders a 12-box case once every year on-line from Straits Matzo Company [New York] or from Yehuda Matzo Co. [Israel] on line

Seasoning:

Discover- I mean try- new and unfamiliar spices on your food! Let’s make our food taste exciting and different! Try Cumin, Thyme, Marjoram, Curry Powder Turmeric, and Coriander, or Garum Masala (Indian Spice Mix) to name a few. None of these spices contain Sodium. You will love them!!

In the spice section of your store there are salt free seasonings like Mrs. Dash. Plant Based cookbooks have recipes for salt free spice combinations as well. See Linda’s Spice and Dr John’s Spice combination suggestions in your Recipes folder .

Note on Herbs: A pinch of Fresh Basil, Thyme, Oregano, or fresh ground Rosemary are fantastic additions to salad, or to your other food dishes.

So, start an herb garden😊! Herbs are just too expensive to buy fresh all the time. Even if you have to use a small planter in the window, or you have a very small yard: Clean up a 5-foot space. Turn over the soil. Add a little soil amendment (ask at Lowes or Home Depot Garden Centers). Basil plants, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, and Thyme grow easily. In the meantime, use your spice rack of dried spices. They are wonderful. Dr J

Animal Based Ingredients to avoid:

There are marker ingredients for added unhealthful animal products in packaged items. Avoid: Albumen, Casein, Gelatin, Keratin, Lanolin, Lard, Lipase, Oleic Acid, Pepsin, Rennet, Shortening, Lard, Tallo, Stearic Acid, Suit, and Whey.

Do not purchase: Animal meat (Birds, Cows, Pigs, or ‘Swimming Things’); Dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, and whey), and Eggs (chicken, turkey, duck, quail, and ostrich😊).

Meat ‘Substitutes’: like Tofurky, and Impossible or Beyond Meats.

I am not going to say no. However, these products are industrial processed foods. Therefore, they do not have the full complement of life promoting and healing phytochemistry, or fiber. They have too much fat [some saturated!]. They also displace higher quality foods like greens, beans, intact grain, and fruit from our plates. Please limit “meat substitute” products to less than 8% in your personal weekly nutritional plan.

Frozen and home-made bean burgers, and Tempe (fermented soybean product) have much more nutritional profile. Dr John approves of eating these😊.

PLEASE DO NOT SHARE THIS DOCUMENT WITH OTHER PARTIES. They are welcome to peruse our website, and make a consultative appointment with Dr John

Where to buy groceries:

Large discount stores kike ‘99 Cent Store’ or Dollar General with produce sections may be an economical place to buy Kale and Spinach, or Sweet Potatoes. They may also offer Avocados, Mango, Papaya and Berries at a reasonable price. Prices vary.

WinCo Grocery is our ‘go to place’. They are reasonably priced, and they have bulk bins with: walnuts, whole grain flower, ground Flax Seed, Raw Cashews, Nutritional Yeast, Oats, Beans, Peas, Lentils, and Dates. They sell bulk spices at reduced prices as well.

Cardenas: Good produce with a high turnover for freshness. Good Salsa too!

Costco and Sam’s Club: Some good deals on volume vegetables. They have large bags of frozen chunk fruit for our Vibrant Green Smoothies as well.

88 Ranch Market in Temecula: An Asian market with a wonderful selection of vegetables and fruits.

Baron’s Market: While not an inexpensive store to shop in as a rule, they sometimes have good prices on select items like apples and kale. They always have ‘Baby’ Bok Choy; and they carry large bags of chopped Kale at a good price at the Wildomar store!

Farmer’s Markets: I love Farmer’s Markets! They have farm ripened fruits and vegetables in quantity. Many are organically grown. Most of the fruit in regular markets is harvested pre-ripened ☹. At the Farmer’s Market produce is fresh, ripe, and full of flavor😊! Go early in the day before the sun begins to wilt the greens

There is a Saturday Farmers market in downtown Temecula; and there is one on Wednesdays at the Promenade Mall in Temecula; and Sundays in Murrieta

Tip: GOOGLE ‘Local Farmers Markets’ or ‘Farmer’s Market’ in your area. You will be amazed.

To Buy “Organic” or Not:

We respect, and often patronize, the “organic section” of the produce section. Organic farming uses only essential fertilization, no pesticides, and they avoid practices like invasive insect attracting monocropping. Organic farming is good for the soil, avoids ground water contamination with pesticides and heavy fertilization. Organic also not genetically modified (non GMO). Organic is health engendering for us.

However, buying Organic is more expensive. I respect your budget! There may be some nutrient advantage in eating an ‘Organic’ Brussel Sprout over a ‘non- Organic’ Brussel Sprout; and yes, there are some health risk associated with ingesting insecticides. Rinsing your non-organic fruits and vegetables in water is a reasonable gesture. It removes most of the surface insecticide residue. Go to the Environmental Working Group website (EWG) for their list of severely pesticide contaminated produce- EWG “Dirty Dozen” list. You may decide to buy Organically grown produce on this list.

https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw5J_mBRDVARIsAGqGLZBAO1IscGEyf_1XvHW7XFHmQ5-4uzI2jUafy_8W5KSllW_1Dc3-AkoaAqT0EALw_wcB

The tremendous lifesaving gesture of eating large quantities of health affirming green vegetation, along with beans, fruits, nuts and whole intact grains, is the one critical issue for us, Organic or Non-Organic

Food Weight:

Neal Barnard, MD in his book “Reversing Diabetes”, demonstrates that people eat generally the same weight of food at meals each day. Our body feels satisfied after eating a certain weight of food. Our program with the likes of fresh broccoli, beats, and beans are heavier compared to the oily and sugar laden foods at the center of the Standard American Diet. A general rule in evaluating a potential food source is to ask if the weight of the food is higher than the calorie content of the food. Divide the weight, in grams, by the calories. The answer should be 1 or greater.

Dr. Barnard gives us a couple of examples:
Spinach: 115 grams [3.5oz]/ 30 calories =3.83—————————-a great choice!
Skinless Chicken Breast (3.5oz): 100 grams/ 173 calories! = 0.57 — a poor choice. Bread Slice: 32 grams/ 80 calories=0.4———————go very light on the bread please