Fake Food Free

After several years of studying nutrition and working in the field I grew more and more concerned at hearing my fellow dietary professionals recommend chemicals and preservatives as part of a healthy diet. From sugar and fat replacers to light desserts, it was all suggested as a way to eat healthfully.

Finally I’m at a place in my career where I can say, “I disagree!”

I want to be Fake Food Free!

This blog is about reducing fake foods - things that really aren’t food at all. This blog is about choosing the natural versus the synthetic.

This blog is about total wellness and wellbeing. These are the motivating factors for reducing fake foods, but they encompass so much more. Therefore you'll find information from time to time about self-improvement and physical activity.

I hope to provide a platform for discussion, food and nutrition focused posts and news about research, current events and new products.

Oh and I'm also a US ex-pat living in Brazil who loves travel and experiencing other cultures through food so there are sure to be some posts related to that now and then.

This blog is not about organic foods, or eliminating animal-based products, or any other single food group. I am a nutritionist who believes that we gain valuable nutrients from all real food.

I am not against any of the above lifestyles or choices. To put it simply, I personally feel there are valuable nutrients gained from meat, dairy and carbs.

This blog is not about completely eliminating white flour or sugar. Although this is an evolving topic for me and I do strive to use more natural grains and unrefined products. While I like altering recipes to make them as healthy as possible many recipes from my great grandmother, grandmother and mother use these basic ingredients so from time to time I do too.

To summarize, I am on a quest to reduce and eliminate fake food from my diet. By my definition, fake foods are those shelf stable items that list a myriad of chemical and preservative names in their ingredient list. They really aren’t food at all, just a bunch of synthetic substances made to look and taste like food.

On this quest, I realize that I am only human. Our environments make it difficult to completely eliminate some of these foods. The idea is to remove these foods as staples in my diet whether they are believed to be healthy or not. They simply are not food and real food is what I want fueling this body.