Dr. Angela Agrios, ND
My very talented Naturopathic Doctor
She treats a wide variety of conditions
Office & phone appointments available
Los Angeles, CA (Pacific Palisades)
Health Food Store Shopping Organic Food For Flavor and Nutrition Interview with Oona Mekas
Health food stores definitely do cost more money, but in the long run, it’s worth it because I never have to go to the doctor. I don’t really have to go to the holistic dentist very much. One of the reasons I shop at health food stores is because they have organic food, and organic food, for me, is the healthier option. It’s just part of my budget, and that’s just what it costs. And I’ve been doing it for so long now that I don’t ever remember adjusting my budget. Healthy food is a huge priority for me because there’s nothing more important than your health. It’s really all about your person and your physical body in this world, and what better way to take care of it than putting the right things in your body? I don’t really eat much dairy; I don’t eat cheese; I do miss pizza, but it makes me feel better when I don’t eat dairy.
Health food stores do cater to vegetarians and vegans, which is really helpful for me. So when I walk into a health food store, I always know that there’s something there that I can buy and be happy with and look at the ingredients and know what it is that I’m eating. Sometimes I have trouble in regular supermarkets finding something that I really would want to eat and put in my body. At home, I make a lot of meals with whole grains and fresh vegetables – mostly fresh organic vegetables. There are some things that I get frozen, but I try to use only fresh, which tends to be more expensive, but again, it’s just worth it. You get more nutrients from fresh vegetables than frozen.
Mexican food is surprisingly really easy to turn into a vegan meal, so I make a lot of Mexican meals – rice and beans, brown rice, black beans, which are really high in protein, which is good for me as a vegan vegetarian. Salsa’s a great, fresh, and there’s really nothing…you can't go wrong with a salsa. Tomatoes or avocados or mangos or…that’s all good stuff. If you’ve never been to a health food store, find the one closest to you. Just Google it or something, and get there, walk in, and you'll be so surprised. It’ll probably be smaller than what you're used to.
The people at health food stores are super friendly. They usually are pretty well-knowledged about the things that are there in the aisles, and maybe you need something specific – I’m sure they’ll find it for you. And if you have something that you like and it’s not there, there might be something that you can substitute that you might even like better. And you'll know that the vegetables you're getting are high quality and organic, and even if you pay five dollars extra in the end for your groceries, you're going to walk out with stuff that you know is really good for you. And that five dollars might turn into 5,000 down the road because you'll be saving money on healthcare.
