New with LOTS of questions
 

I am extremely new to the Whole Foods lifestyle. I've been wanting to do it forever, but lived on campus at college and had to eat the dining hall food and now that I graduated I am living at home to offset expenses at the moment..

BUT, I will be moving into my own apt in the next month and I want to start weeding out my processed foods.

I have been reading lots of posts about how to eat wholesome on a budget (bc it's going to be a SERIOUSLY low budget), I have great ideas.

but are whole grain cereals...all of that is out? I don't know where to start. INFO OVERLOAD!

help?:?:

Well you can be as 'whole' as you like in regards to whole foods.

When I think of whole foods, I think of lots of veggies, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, etc. All of those you can find fairly cheaply. Look for Farmer's markets, any food that you can find in bulk, asian markets, sales at regular super markets, etc.

Things related to whole foods would be 'processed' items that contain minimal ingredients such as certain tofu, breads, cereals, etc.

What you eat is really entirely up to you.

I would just say start simply and incorporate as much as you can. Read labels for foods that you decide to purchase and look for items with minimal ingredients.

Thanks so much! I am thinking of joining a CSA as well for this season, I didn't even know I had one close by. Well it's 30 min away..but that's still kinda close haha.

The one thing I WILL do is cut out ALL high frutose corn syrup, partially hydrogentated oils, and enriched flour.

Yeah I joined a CSA for the first time this year. I'm looking forward to it.

Hey :) Welcome to the forum! Don't let it overwhelm you, you don't have to totally overhaul your entire life in a day.

I try to do the best I can. I'm a busy person that works. I would love to have the time to bake my own bread, make my own yogurt, make my own whole wheat tortillas, grind my own peanuts for natural peanut butter. I consider food like that "convenience" foods. I try to buy the healthiest possible choices - I carefully read labels and try to buy organic wherever possible.

I am able to avoid a lot of processed JUNK - like chips, candy, cookies, poptarts. I try to eat a mostly plant-based diet, so my snacks are mostly fruits and vegetables. I buy a LOT of produce :)

One good way to start - whenever you plan meals, try to imagine your plate divided into four sections. 1/2 should be vegetables, 1/4 should be protein, 1/4 should be healthy carbohydrate/whole grain (with a little bit of healthy fat thrown into the mix).

Last night I made one of my favorites - a home made pasta sauce (with 3 cans of organic whole tomatoes, 1 can of organic tomato paste), onions, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil, splash of red wine, wilted spinach and a package of Morning Star farms veggie crumbles. I carefully measured 2 oz of whole wheat pasta. My plate was mostly vegetables, a little protein and a little whole grain pasta!

Definitely join CSA - it rocks.