Healthy, natural fats such as the kinds in olive oil, cheese or even grass-fed beef can have a positive role in the diet. I never distrusted saturated fat as much as some other nutrition writers, but in recent years I have come to embrace it more wholeheartedly.

Three of your True Food Kitchen restaurants are in California, so do you have any thoughts about Prop. 37 in that state and the unsuccessful campaign for mandatory GMO labeling?  Should consumers have the right to know how their food was produced, and if they are armed with the information, should they think twice about purchasing genetically modified foods?

Most people are unaware that about 90 percent of the corn, soybeans, rapeseed – the source of canola oil – and sugar beets grown in the United States are GMO. I believe consumers have a right to know when foods are modified with genes from another species. I should point out that, to date, there are no identified food safety issues around GMO foods, but that may be because it is too soon to observe negative impacts on human health.

The issue is complex, and many questions remain unanswered, so I believe that until the answers are clearer and we can say with conviction that GMO foods are safe for both individuals and the environment, GMO labeling makes sense.

So how do you recommend people should shop if they’re seeking a healthy diet of sustainable, pure foods?

The best food you can eat is food that you grow for yourself. To whatever extent you can, I urge people to grow some fruits or vegetables, even if you can do so only in a pot on an apartment balcony. If that’s not practical, go to a farmers’ market or CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program.

If none of these is an option, I suggest buying produce from a natural foods store, and if that does not work, from the organic section of a supermarket. The final choice would be conventional produce from a supermarket. It’s better to eat conventionally grown fruits and vegetables than it is to eat so-called “natural” or “healthy” chips, ice cream or snacks.

As for fish, if you can afford it, there are companies that sell frozen wild salmon and will deliver it directly to your door. Aside from that, look for wild Alaskan salmon at your natural foods retailer. If that is still too expensive, I am a great fan of canned sardines. Sardines are sustainable – marine biologists say there are more sardines in the ocean now than there were 100 years ago, largely because overfishing has reduced predator populations. Sardines are high in healthy omega-3 fatty acids, and low in mercury. Try them mashed with Dijon mustard, lemon and onion, and spread that on a whole-wheat cracker or just eat it with a fork.