Cupboard Cleanse 101

There is no time for a cleanse like January after all the excesses of the holidays and the determination to  “start the year off right.” 

From green juice to celery juice, from sugar-free and dairy-free to gut resets and auto-immune protocols, the internet and social media will abound with options. 

But instead of a 10-day or two-week restrictive regime, why not set yourself up for long-term well-being with a pantry and cupboard makeover?

As much of a fan I am of Mari Kondo and her Konmari clean up method for organizing and tidying  the home, holding that box of oreos to your chest and feeling if it brings you joy might not work so well when it comes to letting go of foods that don’t serve you.  

As motivated or disciplined as any of us might be, any of us can succumb to the stress of a bad day at work or failed negotiations with a toddler or even feelings of loneliness and dive head first into whatever bag or box of salty, crunchy, smooth or creamy treat that will sooth our out-of-balance emotions. You can call them trigger foods, highly palatable over-processed food, or simply junk, but having them easily accessible is a recipe for disaster, not dietary success. 

Killer ingredients

Beyond those obvious saboteurs in our cupboards, many seemingly innocuous items, like ketchup or yogurt, may contain ingredients that are like little micro doses of, dare I say poison, that add up over the years to undermine our health. If you don’t believe me, stop reading and go look at the ingredient label on your ketchup. A popular brand that begins with an “H,” for example, contains corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup and “natural flavoring.” None of those ingredients belong in your ketchup. 

Many yogurt brands contain sugar and gums and more of those “natural flavors.” 

Before we can welcome better food choices into our lives, we need to make room for them by cleansing our cupboards, fridges and freezers. Let’s start by getting rid of any bags, boxes, cans, or containers that contain the worst-of-the-worst ingredients:

• Corn syrup

• High fructose corn syrup

• Polysorbate 80 

• Trans fats 

• Artificial sweeteners, e.g, aspartame, sucralose, saccharine 

• Artificial flavoring and natural flavoring

• Food dyes: e.g., Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, 

• Phosphates

• BHA & BHT

• Propylparaben

• Potassium bromate

• Titanium dioxide

• Azodicarbonamide (ADA)

• Sodium Benzoate

• Sodium nitrite 

• Gums, e.g., guar gum, locust bean gum, carrageenan, xanthan gum. 

• Yeast extract, hydrolyzed yeast extract 

• Corn oil, safflower oil, canola oil, soybean oil, peanut oil, Crisco, margarine. 

Start reading food labels today and make it a habit when you are shopping. Author Michael Pollan’s rule “don’t eat foods with more than 5 ingredients with ingredients you can’t pronounce,” is a good general rule. Anything with more than 10 ingredients and you should see a giant red flag waving before your eyes. 

The one in-one out approach

If a total makeover feels like too much then, sure, start with a few swaps but acknowledge that these are like the nicotine patch of the food world, meant to help you reduce your consumption but not meant as a permanent solution. For example,

• Replace soda and diet soda with Zevia which is sweetened with stevia. 

• If you really like a teaspoon of sweetener in your coffee, replace the cane sugar with allulose or stevia. 

• Condiments like the aforementioned “H” ketchup can be swapped for Primal Kitchen ketchup, which, although it technically has more than 5 ingredients, none of them are scary. 

• Bottle salad dressings - I really recommend making your own, but, if you must have a pre-made one, Primal Kitchen also makes dressings. 

• Plant-based “milks” often contain oils and gums but there are a few clean brands out there like Elmhurst, Three Trees and Malk. Be aware that nut milks are usually made with nuts that have the skin on so they will contain phytates, which as you Bone Babes should know, is not great for your bones. Opt for unsweetened! The added sugar in many of them is very high. 

• Oat milk usually contains oils and most brands are made with conventional (meaning not organic) oats and studies have shown that they contain glyphosates (the main ingredient in RoundUp insecticide.)... Oat milk is also high in carbohydrates, so proceed with caution. 

• Beware of hidden ingredients! Trader Joe’s sweet potato fries, for example, contain soybean oil, wheat flour, modified and unmodified wheat starch, rice flour, corn starch, potato dextrin and xanthan gum. Yikes! 

Your Bone Babe shopping list

Now that you have become an expert at reading food labels and your cupboards, fridge and freezer have been liberated from all those food foes, it’s time to restock with more friendly foods. This list is just a guide and is by no means exhaustive. Also, use your common sense, if you don’t tolerate something, don’t buy it. For example, onions and garlic are great, if you tolerate them, my body does not, so they are not on my grocery list. Also, if you hate something, don’t buy it. It will just languish in your fridge or cupboard and waste money. 

• Lean cuts of beef, poultry, pork, lamb. 

• Fatty fish - e.g., salmon, sardines

• Vegetables - aim for what is in season

  • Romaine, arugula or little gem lettuce

  • Zucchini

  • Squash

  • Peppers

  • Cruciferous veg like broccoli, cauliflower & Romanesco, k broccoli, broccoli rabe, kohlrabi

  • Bok choy and choy sum 

  • Green beans

  • Eggplant

  • Sweet potatoes

  • Potatoes

  • Avocado (technically a fruit)

  • Tomatoes

  • Onions & garlic

• Fruit- aim for what is in season, with the exception of berries

  • Apples

  • Pears

  • Berries of any kind

  • Citrus fruits

• Dairy - if you tolerate

  • Plain yogurt - from sheep, goat or cow’s milk

  • Kefir

  • Aged hard cheeses 

• Eggs - opt for organic and truly free range, if possible

• Legumes & Beans - I don’t eat often because of the high carb content, but you do you. 

  • Lentils

  • Black beans

  • Garbanzos

• Nuts and Seeds

  • Walnuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, Baruka nuts, hazel nuts

  • Sesame seeds, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds

  • Nut & seed butters - proceed with caution as they are (1) highly caloric, (2) not usually made with sprouted nuts thus can be high in phytates. (3) Choose unsweetened and without any added oils. Read the label! 

    • Almond butter, cashew butter, tahini

• Grains - If you include grains in your diet, here a few BB approved choices:

  • White or brown rice - choose a brand like Lundberg Farms which screens for arsenic, which can be high in rice.

  • Oats - choose organic, gluten-free, sprouted, and  glyphosate-free, if possible. 

  • Buckwheat groats

  • Quinoa-rinse thoroughly before cooking, pressure cook if possible.

• Condiments

  • Olives 

  • Capers

  • Pickles

  • Mayonnaise - choose a brand that is made with only avocado oil, like Sir Kensington or Primal Kitchen - read the label! 

• Oils & butters

  • Olive oil - cold pressed & extra virgin or virgin

  • Avocado oil

  • Coconut oil - cold pressed & unrefined

  • Ghee

  • Beef tallow 

• Beverages

  • Coffee

  • Tea

  • Herbal teas

  • Sparkling water

Actions with impact

Save the chips, crackers and sweet treats for when you have guests over, birthday celebrations or picnics at the beach. Any item that is a trigger food for you, meaning, you have a hard time stopping once you start, should not be allowed in your home. If they aren’t in your cupboard, you won’t have to rely on your here-one-minute-gone-the-next willpower not to eat them!

 Bone Santé,