The Kitchen Audit — Quick Checklist

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Our family's top six priorities

Protein first Grain-based carbs are not the foundation

Whole-food default Minimally processed, short ingredient lists

Invest in sourcing Grass-fed and pastured meat, eggs and dairy

Organic where it matters Dirty Dozen, not everything

Read labels for hidden ingredients Oils, sugar, sweeteners and gums

Movement Non-negotiable. Healthspan is the KPI

Meal Foundation

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Look for

✓A meaningful protein at every meal ✓Vegetables or fruit alongside the protein ✓Nourishing fats for flavor and satisfaction ✓Carbohydrates chosen to support the meal: fruit, potatoes, squash, beans or a thoughtfully chosen grain ✓Bread, rice, pasta and tortillas served as an accompaniment rather than the center of the plate

Reconsider

✓Cereal, toast, muffins or waffles as the entire breakfast ✓Sandwiches, wraps or crackers with very little protein ✓Pasta or rice taking up most of the plate ✓Snacks made almost entirely from refined flour ✓Meals that contain plenty of starch but little protein, produce or fat

The goal

We are not removing carbohydrates or declaring every grain unhealthy. We are changing the order of priority: protein first, plants and nourishing fats next, then a carbohydrate when it serves the meal.

Seed & Refined Oils

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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

Proteins & Dairy Sourcing

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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

Organic Produce

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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

Bread, Crackers, Tortillas & Rice

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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

Olive Oil

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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

Cheese

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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

Spices & Pantry Staples

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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

Sweeteners

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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 ✓Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet) ✓Saccharin (Sweet'N Low) ✓Sucralose (Splenda)

Gums & Thickeners

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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

Water & Filtration

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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

Wine

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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)

The rule of thumb

If you can't picture it growing, raised, or made in a kitchen — it's just worth a second look.

Where this came from

This checklist is what I pulled out of these five books — particularly where they overlap — and what I actually changed in my own kitchen after reading them.

The Plant ParadoxDr. Steven R. Gundry

Deep NutritionDr. Cate Shanahan

Good EnergyDr. Casey Means

Genius FoodsMax Lugavere

OutlivePeter Attia, M.D.

Want the full context behind this checklist?

The $14 guide goes category by category with the reasoning behind every line on this checklist: what the research actually says, where the five books agree and where they contradict each other, and how strong the evidence is for each claim. Every claim is tagged with who said it and how much of it holds up, so you can see which rules all five authors land on and which come down to only one or two books.

Get the $14 Context Guide