Grocery Shopping with Frances Arnold, RD

I go shopping from A to Z
I go shopping, shopping, shopping
Shopping, shop, shopping

(Awesome song from the 80’s)

For the past month, I have been attending a weekly weight loss class run by Frances Arnold RD (Namaste Nutritionist).

Over the last few weeks we have learned about choosing foods wisely and eating more mindfully. It’s sort of like Karate Kid (the original one with Ralph Macchio) where Mr. Miyagi teaches Ralph (I forget his character’s name) karate by having him “sand the floor” and “wax-on, wax-off” — our sensei Frances Arnold-san makes us do meal planning and other “mindful” things to achieve weight-loss bliss.

After a lot of whining about grocery shopping (me, whining) not being fun anymore, Frances (dietitian extrordinaire, or DE from here on), finally got fed-up with me and met me at my favorite grocery store, QFC. Armed with an organized,neat grocery list…OK, maybe the list wasn’t so organized…to be honest with you, I really just remembered I needed peanut butter. I need to confess that over the years I would cruise up and down the aisles of my local QFC and grab whatever looked good at the time. It was necessary for some grocery-store whoop-ass that Frances, DE delivered in her kind, but firm way.

One of the skills we learned in class was to add more whole-fruits and veggies to our diet. Some of my classmates started to blend smoothies in the morning to get a head start on all of the fruits and veg that Frances encouraged us to increase. I figured that this would be a good practice to get more fruits and vegetables.

The first stop with Frances, DE was the produce section. She advised choosing organic produce whenever possible. I learned that both apples and potatoes have to be sprayed with pesticides to keep the fruit looking pretty; more so then other vegetables and fruits. Organic apples and potatoes don’t have these pesticides. For my morning smoothies I put celery, beets, sweet potatoes, kale and cucumber in my cart.

The next stop was the meat and seafood department. When selecting beef, Frances, DE recommended choosing grass-fed beef in order to maximize that balance of fats that come from a grass fed versus a grain fed diet.

I generally buy organic chicken when I shop. We looked at the package and Frances pointed out that ALL chickens have to be fed a vegetarian diet and that chickens can only receive antibiotics if they have a reason to take antibiotics. “Free Range” just means that the cages are opened for 10 minutes a day. She recommends that if you can’t get true organic chicken to choose a chicken that comes as close to your home as possible.

Onto the peanut butter aisle, I showed Frances the organic peanut butter that I usually buy and was ready to put it in my grocery cart when she stopped and told me to read the ingredients first. It showed that my organic peanut butter took out the peanut oil and substituted canola oil. Peanut butter manufacturers sometimes take out the peanut oil and add canola oil (a cheaper oil) to get more profit.

My hour with Frances was one of the most informative and enlightening times that I can remember. I highly recommend that if you are having trouble achieving your weight loss goals to consult with her and go on the grocery tour.