The post where I start sewing our clothes and canning jam
Oh wait...
Anyway Steph asked what I meant by a diet overhaul and basically I'm trying to make our meals healthier. This is the point where Greg adds "again". To which I say "continuing with a few setbacks."
My current goal is to cut out High Fructose Corn Syrup and Trans Fat. The trans fat one wasn't hard because we don't eat a lot of processed baked goods in the first place. Although I found it in the microwave popcorn from the Boy Scouts. And we have two boxes worth. Hmph.
The HFCS, like I've said before, is in everything. I bet in a typical grocery store, it is in 90% of the processed food. I've found it in bread, chocolate syrup, ketchup, salad dressing, granola bars, salsa, cereal, spaghetti sauce, and saltine crackers. Let alone the obvious ones like soda, jam, and cookies. It's insane and it also makes me mad. If you read the long term health effects of consuming it, it's practically a poison. And it can be really hard to avoid. I thought I did a good job yesterday getting rid of it here but this morning I noticed it's also in Miracle Whip Lite (our favorite version of mayonnaise). Grrrr...
You'll notice that I didn't say we're going "organic." I need to do some more research on this but some of my initial findings, organic isn't *always* better. They are organic pesticides that are still toxic. And if I have pneumonia, I want an antibiotic. If a cow has a treatable disease, it should receive an antibiotic, not be made to suffer so it can be labeled organic. (We'll just ignore the whole "dying in a slaughter house" part at the end.) Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of less pesticides and unnecessary drugs but I'm not positive the FDA's current regulations are the best way.
That said I did purchase a lot of organic foods yesterday. Organic versions of most processed foods (ketchup, salsa, etc) are often the only way to avoid HFCS. And I'm okay with that. Because while I'm willing to make my own jam, I'm not quite prepared to be making cereal and crackers. Yet.
Which brings me to my last point. Greg always says "Cheap, quality, or convenient, pick two." Quality food usually isn't cheap (unless you have a nearby Trader Joe's, I'm in LOVE with that store now). Taking the time to read labels and making your own food from scratch isn't always convenient. I'm doing trade offs where I feel it's important. I'm still letting the kids have Catalina dressing since it's a sure way to get them to eat salad (next goal, more veggies!) while I search for a HFCS-free alternative. I'm spending more money (tons more) on lots of fresh fruit to replace fruit snacks and other processed foods. Today I'm making strawberry jam and stock piling homemade wheat waffles (to be eaten with trans-fat free margarine and a dab of real maple syrup). I figure we're so extremely lucky to not have any food allergies in the family that going out of my way to avoid a few unhealthy ingredients isn't that much of a hardship.
Actually the hardest part of all this is giving up Mountain Dew. If I refuse to buy Coco Puffs for the kids anymore, I can't be a hypocrite and keeping drinking it all the time. (I reserve the right for the occasional can, like once a month or so.) If I seem a little sad (and caffeine deprived), I'm mourning the loss of my favorite drink. RIP my Mountain Dew addiction. It's been a fun and HFCS filled 15 years.
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