Some of us beat ourselves up on a daily basis about food. We sometimes feel guilt or fear about what or what NOT to buy. What’s whole, steer clear of sodium, organic this and that, all natural-schmatural. Truth is, it goes back to what our mommas taught us — everything in moderation. THAT’S the key! You can have chocolate, you can have ice cream, you can have pizza. Just make sure that your diet, for the most part is balanced.

We’re talking about coffee creamer here. My favorite thing, besides actual coffee of course! 🙂

I recently walked the aisles of one of our local grocery stores with licensed dietician Kim Galeaz. As an ambassador of the Indiana Family of Farmers, I was excited and jumped at the chance! We talked about products from the meat section to the produce department and everything in between. I learned a LOT of stuff.

This post is part of a 4 part series…the first one being about how Americans spend less of their income on food than other countries. In the post, I shared 7 different dinners that cost less than $50 altogether! Talk about how to get the most bang for your buck!

I’m the first to admit…I like white bread. Soft gooey, stick to the roof of your mouth, white bread. I don’t like whole grain bread. No matter HOW hard I try, I just can’t deal with it. The more you chew, the bigger it gets. The goal according to Kim, is for at least half your daily intake of grains to be WHOLE grains. I can get my whole grain in other forms…including cereal! There are lots of excellent cereal choices that are whole grains. Add some milk (dairy) and some fresh fruit and badda-bing!!

I explained to Kim our hardship with getting little man to eat. He’s the pickiest eater on the planet. Since meeting with her, we’ve switched him over to 100% fruit juice pouches instead of the Kool-Aid Jammers he was once drinking. (No judging allowed! I can feel the stink eye that you’re giving me ALL the way over here!).

For more “fruit” insight you’ll want to visit these 2 sites!!

www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org

www.safefruitsandveggies.com

Kim showing us some of the awesome resources that I’m sharing with you!

Another awesome tip that she had for those scanning the candy and chocolate aisles. Think outside of the box. Choose something like Raisinettes!! They’re just raisins, covered in chocolate. There is even a dark chocolate variety AND there are some covered in greek yogurt. Again, everything in moderation…but it’s a healthier alternative than some other sweets!

Kim showed us how to break the code on those pesky nutrition labels. She also made several resources available to us that were there on the tour. Check the list below for more information!! All in all, I am so glad that I went on the tour. I did learn so much, but more than anything I see the biggest picture — everything in moderation!

One of my favorite things in the world is actually salad, but I hate covering it up with fatty dressings. Since ranch is basically the only dressing I like, I found this one from Bolthouse Farms that’s made with yogurt and buttermilk. It’s wayyyyy less fattening than regular ranch dressing…and only 45 calories per serving. My newest addiction…well, in moderation. 😉

One more resource that you will want to check out is www.choosemyplate.gov. They have so many different things going on over there! You can make meal plans, track and monitor your physical activity, find recipes and so much more!! They also have lots of resources and ideas for kiddos!!

Last but not least, did you know that you can find out where your milk comes from? I did NOT know this! Now I’m always looking at my milk gallons to see, hahaha!!! All you have to do is enter the code from your gallon of milk here at www.whereismymilkfrom.com and it’ll tell you!