DrCarney.com Blog

After making the transition to a plant-based diet, it's only natural to want to rush out and buy an expensive juicer to make our own juice. However, before you start searching on Amazon for the best kind, watch this six minute video clip from Jeff Novick's "Fast Food - Shopping School" dvd.

Jeff explains how fruit juice is not a natural state of the whole fruit, but actually a highly processed, refined food that should be used very sparingly, as a condiment for extra flavor. A whole fruit contains fiber, is low in calorie-density, and high in satiety, whereas fruit juice has had its fiber and many nutrients removed, is calorie-dense, and is low in satiety. Jeff refers to juice as "liquid calories" that can quickly add unwanted pounds and elevate blood sugar levels as well as triglycerides.

The first few trips to the grocery store will take a little longer as you make the transition to a whole-food, nutrient-dense, plant-based diet. But after you learn some label reading guidelines, and the basic principles of a plant-based diet, you'll be able to zip through the store easily.  This informative video of Chef AJ shopping...

The healthiest foods of course are those that are grown in a garden and consumed "in their natural form." However, there are some packaged foods that can be included in a healthy, Starch-Smart® diet. These foods are minimally processed, keeping their fiber and nutrient content intact. Jeff Novick gives us some guidelines to follow when we make a trip to the grocery store, in his article: "The 10 Healthiest Packaged Foods."