By Gabrielle Chevalier
With a new year comes new promises to eat better and get fit, but it can be hard for some to make the transition to healthy foods while still maintaining the same grocery budget.
This year, local Whole Foods employees are encouraging everyone to take a tour to learn how to avoid the "Whole Food, whole paycheck" cliché .
"We want to offer value tours so anyone can come and talk about different products that are beneficial and still at a great price," says Whole Foods marketing leader Sarah Luginbuhl.
The tours, which are expected to begin next month, will help teach consumers how to read labels and understand the nutritional value — or lack thereof — of what they're purchasing.
One factor which sets Whole Foods apart from their competitors is the elimination of overly processed or artificial ingredients such as fake sweeteners, Luginbuhl says.
"Most people go into a competitor and see the cheaper price and don't see all the ingredients that are lower in quality going into these products," she says. "We have a whole list at our store of products that are simply not allowed in anything we sell."
Morgan Mason, local Whole Foods healthy eating educator, says she frequently finds that people don't realize what they're doing incorrectly when trying to be healthier.
One example she gives to customers is the overuse of oils in many cooked foods.
"Believe it or not, you don't need added oils to make the foods you love," she says. "You can steam fry those onions using simply water or low sodium vegetable broth and replace the oil in those muffins with applesauce."
"And, if you don't know what to look for and you see that low fat or diet sticker on a box, you might buy it and think you're really being healthy," Luginbuhl adds.
To help promote their healthy living lifestyle, Whole Foods will sponsor the five Erlanger Live Fit Challenge contestants and help educate them on how to eat well on a budget, Luginbuhl says. The store plans to provide $25 per week gift cards to each contestant throughout their journey.
"It may not seem like a lot, but it will help really show the contestants as well as the community that you can shop at Whole Foods on a budget," she says. "Many of us are on a budget, myself included, but it is possible."
When all else fails, Mason says, stick to what is closest to nature.
"If it looks like it did when it grew from the earth, that's your cue that it's a healthier choice," she says.