When Sally Sweetooth and Robin Realfood got to the grocery store, the first part they came to was the Dairy Section.

Sally pulled out her list. The first item on her list was cheese, so she reached for a package of American cheese slices.

“Wait, Sally,” said Robin. “Aren’t you going to read the label first, before you decide to buy that?”

“Why do I need to do that?” Sally asked.

“Well,” said Robin, “Because some foods at the grocery store aren’t really FOOD at all.”

“WHAT!?” exclaimed Sally. “It’s a grocery store, Robin. Food is what they sell.”

“Reading labels can be very important, Sally, because a lot of companies that make the groceries in this store take some of the ingredients that started out as food and have a scientist change them in a laboratory until they aren’t really food anymore. They just look and smell like food."

“Oooh, that sounds a little creepy, Robin.

I don’t think I want to EAT something unless it

really is FOOD.”

“Then let’s look at the label on this cheese and see what it's made of."

"Cultured pasteurized milk ......."

“It says milk first, Robin. Is that good?”

“Yes, it does say milk first, Sally. But the longer the list of ingredients, usually the further away from real food it is, and the more ingredients created in a lab."

“So, how do we know what’s good then, Robin?”

“Well, let’s look at the label on this block of cheddar cheese.”

Robin turned the cheddar cheese over to see the label on the back of it. He read, “Milk, cheese cultures, salt, and enzymes."

“Wow,” said Sally, “Only 4 ingredients. That’s all?”

“Yep,” said Robin.

“Both of these cheeses start with milk but yours has 16 ingredients and some of them are really hard to pronounce, which probably means they came from a laboratory and not nature.”

“I think I’ll get the cheddar cheese,” said Sally.

Next, they came to the Eggs.

“I need to get some eggs, Robin. But let’s check the ingredients first."

Sally picked up the carton of eggs but couldn't find a list of ingredients anywhere.

“There's no list of ingredients on these eggs. Why not, Robin?"

"Eggs are what’s called a ‘whole food,’ Sally.

Whole foods are found in nature just like they are. They aren’t created in a laboratory and they don’t need things added for us to eat them. They are already full of the vitamins and minerals we need to grow healthy bodies.”

“I never thought about that before, Robin.

That’s pretty cool. What are some other

whole foods?”

Whole foods are foods like vegetables:

broccoli, carrots, kale, cabbage,

green beans, and squash.

And fruits like bananas, apples, oranges,

grapes, pineapples, and strawberries.

Meats like chicken, beef, pork,

and lamb.

Seafood like cod, salmon, shrimp, and lobster.

Dairy foods like whole milk, cheese, eggs, and butter.

And also nuts and seeds like cashews, almonds, walnuts, and pecans.

“And guess what, Sally?

In a grocery store, the whole foods are found mostly around the outer edges of the store.”

“Then what about all the aisles in the middle of the store, Robin?”

“Many of the products in the middle of a store are the ones that have been Highly Processed.”

“What’s ‘Highly Processed’ mean?" asked Sally.

"Highly processed is another way to say that a food

was made in a factory, and not by a farmer

who grew it or raised it.

Also, when a

food is processed it loses a lot

of its vitamins and minerals."

"Oh, I see,” said Sally.

"All of the products in the middle of the store aren’t bad, Sally. There are still some healthy foods there, and foods that can be special treats once in a while. But you’ll probably need to do a lot more label reading.”

“What else is on your list, Sally?”

"Let's see," said Sally, "breakfast cereal, cola, popcorn, and cookies."

“All of those items are in the middle of the store, Sally.”

“Oh,” said Sally sadly. “Can you help me read the labels, Robin?”

“Sure, I can!”

First, they went to the cereal aisle.

Sally picked up her favorite box of cereal and turned it over to read the ingredients.