Feeding three growing boys means being a regular at the supermarket. My youngest who is 11 can literally go through a bag of oranges in one sitting if nobody stops him. I bet the term "bottomless pit" was coined by a mother of teenagers 😅.

Since my deep dive into the world of nutrition started, queuing at the supermarket has taken on a somewhat different dimension. I find it very interesting looking at other people's carts 😎.

What is it that people take home with them to put into their (and their kids') bodies?

It is interesting to see how much marketing plays a role, how convenience wins over nutritional value, how socioeconomic status, age, sex, are all determinants of what goes onto that shopping cart. 🛒

Every time, this "supermarket queue observation practice" serves as an affirmation that I am not attempting a career change in midlife for nothing. There is work to be done.

There is information to be given. There is misinformation to be dispelled. There is guidance and support to be provided. There are chronic diseases to be prevented.

I looked at my own shopping cart.

Did it always look like this? Certainly not!

Can it still be improved and optimised? Hell yeah!

My current shopping cart is a result of: two chronic autoimmune diseases that prompted years of reading, learning, experimenting, optimising.

I don't want you to have to do that. I want to give you a shortcut. This is why I decided to take this plunge in the unknown. As I continue on my nutrition "geek safari" I will sure be passing my "aha moments" on to you.

Here is what I like about my cart from this morning 👍 

(which I'm lucky if it lasts us 3 days!):

- It's got all the colours of the 🌈 - antioxidant value +++

- The stuff in it comes from close by: 🇧🇪 🇫🇷 🇳🇱, there is nothing from Chile or New Zealand and Spain is marginal. More nutrients for us, less emissions for the world.

- A lot of it is organic 🌱 - an attempt for less pesticides and more nutrients. (Organic is not always more expensive than the regular version. When it is, I see it as "I'm voting with my €€", doing my bit to shape the demand/supply equation of food production). It's important to me so I chose to spend money on that rather than other "luxuries".

- Not much comes in a package and in the stuff that does, the ingredients list is short and does not include any gibberish.

What I don't like about it 👎:

- There is waaay too much plastic! This is the price I paid today for my convenience. Time is a valuable resource. It's not just that plastic pollutes the environment, it's the very fact that when it comes into contact with the food, that's not ideal. The styrofoam fish and meat trays, and the soft cling film that touches the food are the worst offenders.

(At least I brought my own boxes to take the stuff home. I am lucky to live in a country where single use plastic bags in supermarkets are a thing of the past. If that's not the case where you live - here's your chance to be a trendsetter 💪).

What steps can I take to make it better?

- look into local farms or services that work with local farmers to shorten the circuit - which means more nutrient density and less plastic touching the food;

- make time to go to the local market (with my own veg bags);

- plant a thing or two in the garden once spring comes - or at least start a herb table!

Maybe that will be a project for the boys during the next school holiday. Get the tools out and build a herb table. They have to earn their keep somehow …

What does your cart look like? What small next steps can you take to optimise?