Know Your Ingredients

Any guesses on what this product is???

Sugar, modified corn starch, salt, mono- and diglyceriedes, carrageenan salts, polysorbate 60, artificial flavor, artificial color (including yellow 5), natural flavor.

Once of the resources I'm reading right now is a book called Nourishing Traditions. Within the chapters are ingredient lists like this for 48 different products. It is quite eye opening to really look at these lists and to try to guess what they are. And quite scary that I didn't have a clue for most of them, or a clue what most of the ingredients are.

In case you are curious, the above list is for Jello Pudding and Pie mix. Mmmmmmmmm...makes me want to steer clear of it!

I'm learning a lot about food lately and I can't seem to stop researching. As of late, my renewed interest in food started when I was in the waiting room at my chiropractors office and I saw a handout that they had for their clients. It was called "Top 10 Facts You May Not Know About Your Diet." It caught my attention. I'm going to include the bullet points here, but because I can't figure out how to put a copy of it on this site that is readable to all, unfortunately all of the explanations won't be included. You can always email me if you are truly interested and I can send you the file.

1. Eggs are healthy


2. Butter is good for you


3. Saturated fats and cholesterol are vital for optimal health


4. Foods from grass-fed animals (NOT grain fed!) are important for good health


5. Lean meat and low-fat milk should be avoided


6. Modern soy products are dangerous


7. Hydrogenated and liquid vegetable oils contribute to heart disease and many other health problems


8. A vegan diet leads to serious nutritional deficiencies


9. Not all "organic" foods are healthy: Organic pasturized milk, breakfast cereal, chips, cookies, crackers and fruit juice are highly processed


10. Breakfast cereal is a junk food

I was interested, so I started researching...A LOT. I still am researching and learning. It's hard to know what to share and what people are interested in. This is something I am passionate about doing for me and my family and don't want to give others the impression that they have to do the same...not by any means. But I do encourage you to research. Know What You are Putting Into Your Body and How It May Affect YOU! People take for granted that if it is FDA approved or says "natural," "heart-healthy," "no-preservatives," "no trans-fats," "no MSG" that the item is good for you. Far from the truth. The foods we are eating are highly processed...genetically modified, hybridized, ultra-pasturized and are as far from their original whole food form as they can possibly get. What is the result??? Disease...and nobody can deny that there is an extremely high rate of disease in our nation right now. Its super scary.

If you get the chance, I encourage you to watch any of many documentaries on where our food comes from. I think if everybody watched these, there would be a much stronger desire to change the way we are eating. People are addicted to the additives that make food taste so good and don't want to change because it is not easy to do and it definitely isn't the mainstream thing to do. But I'm finding there are a lot of healthy options and a lot of whole foods from local farms that are right under our noses. It's been, and will continue to be, a labor of love...figuring out a new way of eating. But well worth it. The movies Ed and I have watched so far are Future of Food, King Corn, and The Beautiful Truth. I have many more on my list and would recommend any of these as insightful:)

And although I always like to cross-reference info. that I find, a great source of information for how we are eating is from the Weston A. Price Foundation. I've discovered websites that share great info and I'm always googling something to see what comes up.

Okay, I've said my piece! Ignore this post if you aren't interested...that's okay:) But I hope I've at least inspired you to learn a little bit more about what we are eating these days!

This is what I have done to take baby steps in changing the way we eat.

1. First, I avoided buying any foods with high fructose corn syrup or artificial coloring.


2. I then eliminated hydrogenated oils both in what we buy and in what I cook with. Now I only use either olive oil or coconut oil (SO good for you) for cooking.


3. I avoided buying anything with soy in it (great non-GMO shopping guide can be found here.


4. I then started eliminating "enriched" and "bleached" grains.


5. We switched to raw milk (gulp, yes people have a hard time swallowing this because of all the "scary" media coverage given to raw milk...I've done a TON of research that reveals how safe a trusted source of raw milk is and how good it is for you). At this point, for me, I would either do raw milk or avoid milk.


6. I looked for eggs and meat that have been grass-fed or pastured.


7. I started buying more organic fruits and vegetables (see the Dirty Dozen list here)

8. I'm also trying to avoid foods with artificial sweeteners in them.

I'm not perfect, I still fall off the wagon and kick myself:) And I also try to live by these rules mostly in our home. We treat ourselves plenty and bend the rules when we are out and about. It's more expensive initially, but then when I consider I'm not buying all of the boxed, processed foods anymore, I think it pretty much evens out. I'm willing to spend a bit more for higher quality food. I see it as in investment in our health...well worth it!