What foods are best?

My two girlfriends and I were having a lovely fall gathering this afternoon at one of their homes. We started talking about what she feeds her three year old daughter and began a very interesting discussion on what foods are best for us.
Like many people in our day and age, she asks herself if she should buy organic or local, free range or humanely raised, eggs with omega 3's or pastured ones from the farmers market, and countless other questions about which foods she should provide to her child, in order to offer her the best possible nutrition she can.
As we pondered on the answers she realized, that even though she felt like she knew a decent amount about food, she was not as informed as she thought.
Supermarkets and food corporations are not making these choices easy for us with their marketing targeted to confuse us and grab our attention with slogans like "organic" or "free range". The answers to these questions are not always black or white.  The grey area is vast, and like in many other instances, knowledge is power.  But most people do not have this knowledge, and because of it they are mosre often than not making the wrong choices for themselves and their families.  Even sadder is the fact that many times, like my friend, they are making these choices under the false impression that they are indeed the best choices.
A prime example of this is a family that I am very close to.  They are wealthy, educated, cultured Americans.  They live here in the Bay Area, travel extensively, and eat out often, only at the best restaurants.  They have a five year old daughter, whom like most kids her age is in the "picky eater" stage.  I spend Thursday afternoons with her, and cook her dinner.  A few weeks ago, I got very frustrated when I was trying to figure out what to prepare for our meal.
The fridge was rather full, with things that are staples for them: English muffins, whole wheat bread, coffee creamer, sugar free ice tea, newman's lemonade, non denominated supermarket ground beef (aka feedlot beef), supermarket brand sliced cheeses, hot dogs, Pillsbury biscuits, salsa, old broccoli and old "baby" carrots. Usually I can also find strawberries, apples, blueberries and raspberries, regardless of the season and  I sometimes also find leftover vegetable salads from "whole food's" salad bar, as the mom has been trying to eat " healthy".
As I stared at the refrigerator, I thought of my friend Courtney.  She roasts or sautees seasonal local vegetables, from the farmers market or her own garden, for her baby girl.  She then purees them, freezes them in ice cube trays, and when it's meal time, pops a cube out onto a bowl of cooked quinoa, barley, or another whole grain, sticks it in the microwave, and voila!
Preparing those meals doesn't take more time than preparing a chicken quesadilla, or a risotto, or a hamburger with some carrots and butter, which is what my little friend eats for dinner most nights of her life, yet it provides so many more nutrients for her body to absorb and assimilate.
And to be quite honest, it also tastes a whole lot better!
A lot of it is lack of time, or as my friend said today, lack of cooking knowledge, or creative ideas. A lot of it is misinformation, and marketing.  But regardless of the reason, it pains me to see people that I love spending their money and time in buying and preparing things that are barely providing nutrients, and are instead laden with ingredients that are more of a detriment to their health than anything else.
As my two cents, I vow to to share my knowledge, accompanied with recipes and tips.  I am not in any way an authority on the subject, but I love food, I am constantly reading about which ones are best for us and why, and many would agree that I am a wonderful cook. So keep on reading, let me know what your questions are, and let's try to feed ourselves and our loved ones better, one delicious meal at a time.