The Kitchen Audit the quick checklist.

Look for

✓Extra-virgin olive oil — low-medium heat only ✓Avocado oil — best for high heat/frying ✓Beef tallow — best for high heat/frying ✓Coconut oil — good for medium-high heat ✓Macadamia oil — low-medium heat only

Our family avoids

✓Canola (rapeseed) ✓Corn oil ✓Cottonseed oil ✓Soybean / "vegetable" oil ✓Sunflower oil ✓Safflower oil ✓Rice bran oil ✓Grapeseed oil

Look for

✓Grass-fed & grass-finished beef ✓Pasture-raised poultry ✓Pastured or omega-3 eggs ✓Wild-caught seafood ✓Grass-fed A2 milk ✓Grass-fed plain yogurt & cottage cheese ✓Grass-fed butter & ghee ✓Grass-fed, unflavored whey protein

Our family avoids (as default)

✓Grain-fed / conventional beef ✓Conventional eggs (when budget allows better) ✓Farmed fish & seafood

Dirty Dozen — always buy organic

✓Spinach ✓Kale, collard & mustard greens ✓Strawberries, grapes, cherries ✓Nectarines, peaches, apples, pears ✓Blackberries & blueberries ✓Potatoes

Clean 15 — conventional is fine

✓Avocados, pineapple, mangoes ✓Sweet corn, onions, cabbage ✓Asparagus, cauliflower, carrots ✓Papaya, watermelon, bananas, kiwi ✓Mushrooms, frozen sweet peas

Not on either list, we default organic anyway

✓Green beans ✓Sweet potatoes ✓Brussels sprouts

Look for

✓Organic, unbleached flour as the first ingredient ✓Bread, crackers, or tortillas with 5 or fewer ingredients ✓True sourdough (real fermentation) ✓White rice (jasmine, basmati), rinsed before cooking ✓California-grown rice, when labeled

Our family avoids

✓Bread, crackers, or tortillas with 10+ ingredients ✓Dough conditioners (DATEM, azodicarbonamide) ✓Preservatives (calcium propionate, potassium sorbate) ✓"Enriched" or bleached flour as the first ingredient ✓Whole-grain bread as the default ✓Brown rice as a daily staple

Look for

✓Certified organic ✓A harvest date on the bottle ✓A specific regional origin ✓A peppery bite / throat catch ✓Third-party certification seal

Our family avoids

✓No harvest date on the bottle ✓Vague "imported" origin ✓Suspiciously cheap "extra virgin" ✓"Light" oils

Look for

✓Parmigiano Reggiano (stamped rind) ✓Grass-fed goat & sheep cheese (feta, pecorino) ✓Grass-fed buffalo mozzarella ✓Grass-fed, high-fat aged cheeses (brie, Swiss) ✓Grass-fed cow's milk cheese (A2, when we can find it) ✓Block cheese, shredded at home

Our family avoids

✓Generic "parmesan" ✓Cheese with added emulsifiers (phosphates, citrates) ✓Cheese with added oils or excess sodium ✓Pre-shredded, bagged cheese

Look for

✓Organic spices & dried herbs ✓Organic coffee ✓Organic tea ✓Non-GMO canned goods, especially corn (organic is always non-GMO)

Our family avoids

✓Irradiated or fumigated spices (conventional default) ✓Conventional coffee & tea

Look for

✓Organic, real maple syrup ✓Whole dates ✓Ripe bananas, mashed ✓Raw honey ✓Organic cane sugar, minimally processed ✓Monk fruit ✓Erythritol / Swerve (occasional, for baking)

Our family avoids

✓"Pancake" or "table" syrup (not real maple) ✓Refined white sugar ✓High-fructose corn syrup

Look for

✓Plain heavy cream (no gums added) ✓Short, simple ingredient lists

Our family avoids

✓Xanthan gum ✓Carrageenan ✓Guar gum ✓Cellulose gum (CMC) ✓Condensed & canned soups with gums added

Look for

✓Reverse osmosis (RO) filtration on the kitchen tap ✓Showerhead filter ✓Remineralization drops added back to RO water ✓Your local water quality report (EWG's database)

Our family avoids

✓Unfiltered tap water ✓Basic pitcher filters alone in high-contaminant areas

Look for

✓Organic or biodynamic certification ✓Small-production, low-intervention labels ✓High-elevation reds (Malbec, etc.) for polyphenols

Our family avoids

✓Mass-produced, heavily-sprayed conventional wine ✓"Sulfite-free" as a health promise (not the real culprit)