Traveling cross country to share a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends, I was struck by the proliferation of viable real food purchase options… everywhere!

OK, yogurt, the cliche for “healthy” food, has been a given for years alongside cellophane-wrapped replica pastries composed mostly of chemicals and candy! With the airlines putting travelers on their own to provide sustenance, the market has responded. Sugary carbs have been upstaged by outsized refrigeration units brimming with pre-made salads, hummus and tiny vegetable dippers, cereal and fruit atop yogurt; it’s a feast for the eyes. This in itself may not be news, but a virtual tsunami HAS occurred which says the message is getting through. Fresh food is becoming the norm with even corner stores in urban centers actually selling fruit and water as alternatives to the fried, the sugared and the unnaturally colored.

Nonetheless, many of us (and our children) are just getting harmfully bigger and bigger, all the while struggling with indigestion, constipation, high blood pressure and joint pain. Overwrought rushing to meet unimaginable schedules, in horrible traffic; food is more often than not “grab ‘n go.” The fast-growing segment pushes the prepared meals and snacks from grocery store to gas station. Natural, fresh food is popping up everywhere, but old habits die hard. It all feels like a theme park when you see the long lines of people still clamoring for the grease bomb sandwiches and burgers, stuffed everything, the outlandish pastry (bigger than your face, bad), or a bag of over-salted, largely artificial morsels.

Let’s listen… It’s NOT A FAD! You are in fact what you eat. Cleanse, detox, shakes, powders, supplements, nothing can replace eating fresh fruits and vegetables you’ve purchased and prepared yourself. It’s not a matter of carving out time for yet another task, it’s a matter of putting yourself first. #1 on The Stalk’s list: Have a plan. Wandering aimlessly in any store is danger, but the food store is the most perilous of all. When you invest in fresh, REAL food the dividend is less colds, flu, coughing, stomach aches, clearer skin, less chronic pain… just sayin.’