Sometimes eating healthy–and responsibly–can be confusing.  That organic kids’ cereal must be healthier than it’s generic counterpart, right?  “Natural” means I’m getting only the good stuff, yeah?  And how about that salmon?  It’s wild-caught and that’s best for me and the environment, correct?  There are a lot of questions to ask and even more answers, some of which you might even regret hearing.  Being a good steward of the planet and watching what go into your body can seem like a full-time job!  Luckily, there are some great apps to guide you through the grocery store (and your pantry and refrigerator!)!

Cindy Hoedel at the Kansas City Star published a great piece recently about apps that make healthy, responsible eating easier at the grocery store. After giving about two dozen apps the old college try, Cindy narrowed down her favorites to five–and we think they are great choices!  Without further ado, here are the best free apps to help you shop for food!

1.  Oh how we love the Dirty Dozen!  We’ve been singing the praises of this list, created annually by the Environmental Working Group, for ages.  They make it easy to make well-informed decisions about buying organically-grown produce or opting for conventionally-grown produce by laying out information about the number and concentration of pesticides found in 48 different fruits and vegetables.  They also have a list of the Clean Fifteen–fifteen fruits and veggies that are relatively safe to eat even if they haven’t been grown organically–and they update these lists every year!  In the olden days, you’d have to go to their website for such information, but not anymore.  Now, you can get the app for free and have it ready when you shop.

2.  Good Guide–it just sounds helpful, doesn’t it?  This little app works two ways: You can scan the product you want to buy and find a rating based on health, environmental and social impact; or you can type in a product type, like baby food, and it will compare the ratings between brands that have been tested and rated.  You can filter out brands, traits and ingredients or sort things by the three factors rated: health, environment or society.  Ms. Hoedel has a tip: She got more results when she searched for something like “apple juice” than she did by scanning specific products because many products hadn’t been tested yet.

3.  Love Food Hate Waste–it’s not just a question, it’s an app!  This little app gives you info on how much to buy (portion-wise) for a specific number of people, as well as recipes for using leftovers and reminders about “Use By” dates on the food you’ve already purchased.  Waste not with this app, folks.

4.  If you’re wary of GMOs, get the app for the Non-GMO Project.  It’s like the best friend of the Dirty Dozen app; just search by a category or brand name and find out which foods are verified to be GMO free.  Like the Dirty Dozen app, it’s easy to use and straightforward.

5.  Seafood Watch–How much do you want to know?  This app by the Monterey  Bay Aquarium is your own personal guide to sustainable seafood, but we’ll warn you: It’s not as easy as you’d think to eat seafood sustainably, and sometimes it makes us sad.

Here are a couple that we also love that Cindy didn’t mention:

Locavore:  Helps you find local, in-season produce at farmers markets, food stands and grocery stores.*

Substitutions:  This little gem offers alternatives for foods you’re looking to give the cold shoulder to, as well as things to substitute in recipes if you’re missing an ingredient.  It’s handy dandy.*

Allergy Guard:  Type in your allergy data, and search the ingredients of more than 2,000 common foods! This one could literally be a lifesaver.*

Got some good food apps that you recommend?  We’d love to hear about them!  Feel free to post any of your personal favorites to our Facebook or Twitter  pages!

*Note:  Not all of these apps are free.

Last week, we introduced you to a few eating habits healthy people have developed; habits that most of us could stand to adopt.  They’re not hard to do, and if you stick with them, you might just find that some positive changes start to take root in your life.  So, take note!  Make some changes!  Eat healthy!  And let us help!

6.  Size does matter, especially when it comes to portion size, so summon your inner control freak and get a handle on yours.  It’s no sin to have a little dessert, but things can wrong when you have a super-sized slice or you double down.  How about a sliver or just a bite or two?  You’d be amazed at how little it takes to satisfy that desire for sugar.  Another thing to remember: It’s not all about sweets and treats.  Watch your portion sizes all day long–if you’re over-indulging in general, that’s not good.

7.  Don’t demonize carbs.  Carbs are not the enemy, portion sizes and unbalanced eating are.  Carbs are an important part of a balanced diet.  Aren’t vegetables carbohydrates?  Maybe when you’re talking about carbs, you’re really talking about breads and pastas, and that’s fine, but don’t throw them in a dark corner of your basement either.  Everyone needs whole grains and the carbs they provide.  Your diet should be a healthy combination of simple and complex carbs (45%), protein (30%), and fats (25%).

8.  Fasting and starving are not good meal plans.  The hungrier you let yourself get, the more likely you are to overeat when you do actually eat again.  Don’t start that cycle.  Most nutritionists recommend eating 4 to 6 small meals a day, rather than 3 large meals.  Eating every 3 to 4 hours may seem like a lot, but not if what you’re eating is healthy, low-fat and half the size of one of your usual meals.  If you eat more small meals more often, you’ll keep your hunger under control, and that beast will be more easily soothed by your healthy snack than a 1000-calorie meal.

9.  Don’t skimp on the protein.  All of us need protein to maintain good health.  Most of us get that protein from nuts, dairy products, fish and red meats; if you’re a vegetarian, you may be gathering your proteins through legumes and other sources, as well–just make sure you’re getting them.  Proteins burn more slowly are essential to a healthy, happy body.

10.  Keep an eye to the sugar.  There are hidden sugars in so many foods–especially packaged and processed foods.  You’d be surprised at how much sugar hides in places you wouldn’t expect, like canned tomatoes!  The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar a day for women, and 8 for men.  Both women and men can blow that (and more!) in one glass of orange juice!  Take a look-see at the labels on your packaged and processed foods and try to rein in your sugar consumption.  You’ll be surprised the difference it can make in your weight and your overall health.

Eating healthy and the demands of a full life don’t always go together.  Often, people find themselves eating whatever is fast and available just so that they can keep moving through their hectic days.  We aim to give you fresh, homemade food–fast! That’s why we call it “cuisine on the fly”!  We know how fast your life moves, and we think that you shouldn’t have to compromise a healthy diet to move with it.  So, stay the healthy course, folks, and Brown Bag will be here to help!

Habits are hard to break, right?  So, maybe it’s time you made some new ones!  If you’re thinking it’s about time you started eating healthier or you just want to stay the healthy path but feel like you’re struggling, how about developing a few good habits that will keep you on the low-fat and healthy?  Give these a try!

1.  Surround yourself with healthy-eating role models.  It’s not easy to be the lone green-bean eater at a table full of French fries, so how about taking lunch with someone else who’s trying to eat on the straight and narrow?  If there’s really no one around who prefers a great salad or homemade sandwich packed with fresh-food goodness to a burger and milkshake, then go it alone.  Take lunchtime to unwind and enjoy a peaceful break!

2.  Focus on your meal.  Slow down, turn off the TV, and focus, people.  If you sit and do nothing but eat your meal–no TV, internet, Twitter or phone–you may just find that, as you slow down, you eat less and feel more calm and satisfied after your meal.  Pay attention to each bite–the taste, the texture, the smell, etc.

3.  In the vernacular of the 80’s–take a chill pill.  When people are stressed, their bodies produce more of the stress hormone cortisol, and studies have shown links between cortisol and fat retention.  Try to think of those worries as pounds, and let them fall away.

4.  Take baby steps, one after another.  Too often, when people make drastic changes in the way they eat (or go on “diets”), they give up and fail, but if you ease into things and make small lifestyle changes over time, you’ll be surprised at how those small things can build to bigger and lasting changes.  For instance, cut out fast food, give up soda, etc.

5.  Don’t be afraid to take a snack break.  Just because you’re trying to be healthier or to lose weight, doesn’t mean that snacks have to be on a no-fly list.  Starving yourself is never good!  Just keep your snacks healthy–a protein and a carb make tasty friends!  How about an apple with peanut or almond butter?  Cheese with crackers or on whole grain toast and a fresh fruit smoothie with protein powder are good examples.

Check out Brown Bag’s breakfast and lunch menus for balanced, homemade meals with fresh ingredients; and if you want to build your own meal, go right ahead.  That’s what the brown bag is for!  Let us know exactly what you want on your sandwich, in your salad or making up your noodle, rice or quinoa bowl.  Need some snacks to take back to the office?  We always have fresh fruit available, as well as yogurt and other healthy snacks.  Feel free to stock up and stay on the right path during that late afternoon snack time.

They are the rainbow, and they’re probably in your refrigerator right now!  We know they’re filling our line at Brown Bag!  Negative-calorie foods are foods–fruits and vegetables, usually with a low-glycemic index–that actually require that the body burn more calories to digest them than the food actually contains.  Seriously.  Does it get any better than that?  Actually, yes!  Here’s how: Negative-calorie foods are high in fiber, so they leave you feeling full longer than other foods (therefore you eat less often), they take Ginzu knives to your cravings and hunger pains, and they boost your metabolism and enzyme production so your body burns fat instead of storing it.  They give you more energy, help cleanse your liver and colon, lower blood-cholesterol levels and, being mild diuretics, help you shed excess water.  And still there’s more!  They balance blood sugar levels, which stabilize your moods, and they reduce inflammation and improve circulation.  And they do all of this while making a rainbow on your plate and tasting great!

Ever heard the phrase, “Eat a rainbow”?  Unfortunately, it doesn’t refer to Skittles (that’s “Taste the rainbow”).  What “eat a rainbow” means is that people should be eating fruits and vegetables that are all kinds of different colors because different colors mean different nutrients.  Black, purple and blue colored produce are usually high in certain antioxidants and anthocyanins, while yellow, orange and red fruits are full of beta carotene, lycopene and vitamins C and A.   Dark green veggies are full of vitamins A, C, K and folate, as well as iron and calcium.  So, if you spend your whole life in the red zone, you’ll be getting lots of beta carotene and lycopene (which are great for your heart), but you might be lacking calcium (needed for bones) and iron (which is needed for healthy red blood cells).  You don’t want that, do you?  So, make like a leprechaun and spread some rainbows around your plate!

When you live in this kind of color, you’re eating foods that are low in calories, but that also make your body burn more calories than are contained in the foods you’re enjoying.  We don’t mean to be dream dashers, but we’ll break it to you now–there are no baked goods on this list.  In fact, you’ll get the most out of these foods if you eat them whole and raw (not juiced) or lightly steamed.  If you douse them with cheese or butter, you’ve negated the whole point.  Ditto on rolling them in flour and frying them in oil.  We think you’ll find, though, that raw fruits and veggies are not the blah-tasting snacks they’re made out to be.  In fact, once you try them, you might even be sorry that you’ve been covering their natural goodness with condiments for so long.  Ready for your list of negative-calorie foods?  Here you go!

Veggies

Asparagus, bean sprouts, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chicory/radicchio, cucumbers, endives, green beans, jicama, kale, leeks, lettuce, radishes, spinach, squash, tomatoes, turnips, zucchini.

Fruits

Apples, blueberries, cantaloupe, cranberries, grapefruit, honeydew melons, lemons, limes, mangoes, oranges, papaya, peaches, pineapple, raspberries, strawberries, tangerines, watermelon.

Herbs and Spices

Anise, cayenne, chili peppers, cinnamon, cloves, coriander/cilantro, cumin, dill, fennel seeds, flax seeds, garden cress, garlic, ginger, parsley, onion, mustard seeds, watercress.

There’s a lot to choose from, right?  You don’t need to convert your everyday diet to nothing but negative-calorie foods to lose weight and enjoy their health benefits.  Replace your mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack of a granola bar or bag of chips to an apple or a bag of carrot sticks.  Whatever you love from  this list, fit it in!  When it comes to meals, remember that in all things there is a balance.  So, if you eat meat, keep your serving of lean meat, and have a side of one or more of these veggies, and a serving of a whole grain.  Have a bowl of berries for dessert!  When you keep these foods as natural as possible, you’ll reap the benefits.

And we’ve got you covered for breakfast and lunch at Brown Bag.  Choose a salad of fresh, leafy greens, add your favorite veggies from the list (and some fruits, too!), and top it with grilled chicken or steak–or simply leave it be and  enjoy the goodness of fresh produce.  If you want to keep your calories down, consider using a simple oil and vinegar dressing.  We designed Brown Bag to be all about you.  You can always choose one of our signature meals, but our handy, brown bag means that you choose; you can build the sandwich or salad of your choice.  And with all of the amazing choices on this negative-calorie foods list, your meals just got a whole lot more interesting–and healthy!