People seem to ask me all the time what my grocery shopping list consists of. I always reply, “Simple, protein, veggies, and good fat!” Well, that doesn’t seem to suffice, so I will expand here and try to keep it as simple as I can. My husband (Dr. Jerod Bergman) and I have two sons (8 and 2), and one daughter (4). We eat a minimum of six smaller meals daily, and each meal consists of a protein, fat and a vegetable. Grains are a rare occurrence at our house, but if eaten, they are always before 2 p.m. so they are properly burned off before bedtime.

Daily Staples:

Vegetables are first on our list of staple items. My family eats veggies nearly constantly throughout the day. The easy way to keep your family eating them is to cut them all up snack size as soon as you get them, and put them in (what we call) a veggie bin. The bin comes out every time the kids are hungry-easy. Try finding interesting ways to incorporate veggies, such as using hummus for dipping or allowing the kids to make faces with them on their plates.

Eggs are a close second on the staple list. We go through at least 15 eggs daily between the five of us. As long as you are eating the entire egg (white and yoke,) and the chickens were allowed to roam free, you can eat this perfect protein without any worry or guilt. Talk to your local farmers, or check the dairy section for free-range eggs.

Wild caught sardines and tuna are another almost daily eaten food at our house. Try to get the smaller tuna, such as Tongol, instead of Albacore, as the larger the fish, the more mercury it can hold. The benefits of eating these deep sea fish far outweigh any issues with mercury, though.

Did you know that if you ate tuna all day long, you would actually pull in around 4 micrograms of mercury, and that just chewing or drinking hot liquid with dental amalgams in your mouth will release around 100 micrograms? Yikes. For more info on amalgams, check out PPNF.org. Save money on sardines/tuna by ordering a case from your local health food or grocery store.

Other things on our daily list would include olives, unsweetened organic dried coconut chips and coconut oil, organic butter (raw is best if you can get it from a farm,) pickles (look for the ones without sugar,) whey protein (we use one from Standard Process, as it is not heated and doesn’t include other chemicals or synthetic nutrients) and a greens powder (we use Dynamic Greens). We also love sparkling water. If you get a type that comes from naturally occurring co2, it is full of minerals and is so refreshing with a lemon or lime. Sometimes the kids will use a root beer, or lemonade flavored liquid stevia in their sparkling water for a “soda” without the sugar. Try to buy the kind in glass instead of plastic or aluminum. Some combination of kombucha, kimchee, sauerkraut and/or Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar are ingested throughout the day as well to keep digestion optimal.

Each year we purchase a portion of an organic grass fed cow, and an entire grass fed pig. Half of the pig gets mixed with my husband’s deer (if he gets one! He did this year-yay!) Overall quite a bit of money can be saved by buying these larger animals, rather than purchasing different cuts throughout the year. We also eat grouse from our land, and some duck (although I have to say duck is not my fave). Of course, we do organic chicken, salmon and other white fish. When cooking meats, always remember, the slower, the better to preserve the nutrients and keep the proteins intact (definitely no microwave!) I love to throw dinner in the crock pot in the morning and have it ready that evening after cooking on low all day. Simple and delicious.

So those are the basic staples. Here is our list of occasionals.

Cereal-this is a treat at our house, but if the kids have it, it is a quinoa, oats, millet, rice or sprouted grain type without any sugar on the ingredients. We will always add some protein powder to it as well, and use unsweetened coconut or almond milk, or raw grass fed cow’s milk. Cheese (again raw is best but otherwise something that is imported and is not dyed) must be white. Legumes-beans and lentils, properly soaked and rinsed to release enzymes and clear any free-radicals. Fruit-so many pesticides with fruit, so do your best to get organic. Granny Smith apples are usually the lowest in sugar. Homemade bread such as sourdough rye or spelt. Crackers such as nut, rice or rye crisps. Raw almond butter. If we are entertaining, we will use sulfite free organic wines (the darker red, the healthier,) possibly a gluten free beer (not from the U.S., as those almost always contain fluoride,) and/or water processed decaf coffee.

The Weston A. Price Foundation puts out an excellent Shopping Guide each year. They include every category of food you can think of and divide them up into BEST, GOOD and AVOID. They even give you information on where to purchase/order the different foods. We use this guide all the time. You can find it at WestonAPrice.org.

As always, if you have specific questions, feel free to shoot me an email. Also, if you are interested in Infrared (Thermographic) Breast Mammography, and how it can benefit you (painless and radiation free!), I’ll be teaching a free class on it Monday, Jan. 30, at 6:30pm at Rhinelander High School. Call us at (715) 362-2300 to sign up!

The information provided by Dr. Allen-Bergman in this column, or by any of her businesses, agents or employees, is for educational purposes only, and should not be interpreted as recommendations for a specific treatment plan, product, course of action or medical treatment/advice. If you would like further information on this or any other articles, visit EducatingWellness.com. Send questions to starjournal@jcpgroup.com, or mail to Fit & Fab, Star Journal, 24 W. Rives St., Rhinelander, WI 54501. All submissions will be treated in a confidential manner.