Do you know what a GMO is? If not, let me help you out. GMO stands for genietically modified organism. In short, this means that something in the food has been changed, altered, modified. Obviously, you can't know what is what these days in the grocery store just by looking at the labels. They teaase you, trick you, make you think what you are eating is good for you, but in all actuality, it is garbage. Sometimes, illegal in other countries. Sometimes, it is something that could eventually make you sick.
Sounds like a conspiracy theory right?
I have spent the last year researching foods, reading labels, catching up with other homemakers out there and finding out how this real foods thing works. I have spent countless hours reading labels and have come to find out that there are a lot of foods out there that have things in them that I can't even prounounce! Isn't what we eat supposed to be something we actually know what it is? Made from wholesome ingredients? I can tell you that when I bake homemade bread, I use flour (depending on what kind of bread I am making this could be wheat flour, rice flour or coconut flour) yeast, water, honey or sucanat (a type of organic sugar) and some oil. I mix the dough, knead it, let is rise and there you go. Nice fresh, homemade bread. Nothing I can't pronounce, nothing chemically added to preserve it. Lately, I have been going gluten and wheat free, so when I go through that process, I do add xantham gum. It is natural, it is still not a chemical.
I looked at the bread at kroger one day and found things in it that sounded like something from a sci-fi show.
Here's the exact list: enriched flour (wheat flur, malted barley, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin, mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid) water, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, yeast, soybean oil, salt, soy flour, sodium stearoyl lacylate, ammonium sulfate, calcium sulfate, ascorbic acid, azodicarbonamide, monocalcium phosphate, enzymes, calcium propionate.
Do you even know what half of that is? I can tell you that high fructose corn syrup is a GMO. Anything with corn in it has been modified and changed, enriched flour means they bleach the natural flour with chemicals, taking out the nutrients, then add in fake synthetic nutrients. The ammonium this and phophate that is just a bunch of unnecessary garbage they add in usually to preserve freshness and shelf life. Or to make it taste good and make you want more and more and more. Yes, these chemicals they add to your food actually make you want more. They have an addictive property in them. It is disgusting.
I know some will think I am nuts, read too much and have way too much time on my hands. I decided recently that since I do have time on my hands and have read and researched this stuff, that I may as well tell you all about it. We have been eating organic, real foods for the last year, off and on at times, and I will tell you that when we are eating out at restaurants or eating processed food or foods that have GMO in them, we feel sluggish, run down and just blah. When we eat organic, real foods, we feel better and it is not just in our heads. It is really a difference.
Some easy starting points to eating better.
1. Buy organic fruits and veggies. With all the pesticides and herbicides they spray all over these, you can't wash them all away. Buy from farmer's markets if you can too.
2. Buy all of your dairy products organic. Again with the hormones they give the cows in big farms, that gets transferred to you in your milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.
3. Spend some time reading food labels and try to buy only things with 5 ingredients or less in them.
4. Don't buy anything that contains HFCS. (high fructose corn syrup)
These are a few starting points. I would be happy to help you in any way I can with some guidance or information. Don't hesitate to ask. :)
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
Whole food, whole new life.
It has been quite a while since my last post. I have recently been thinking about what I blog about and how I blog and after reading a lot of blogs lately from some other homemakers I follow, I am going to go about this blogging thing just a little differently.
Last summer, as those of you who read my blog know, our family decided to take a turn for the better regarding our health and food. We went organic and natural, eating only real foods and only foods where we could actually read all the ingredients! After a lapse back to garbage food for a few months, we have begun the journey again and doing it a little differently this time around.
Sometimes, there are circumstances where you cannot help but eat processed food. Other people's homes are a big one, out to dinner somewhere at a restaurant, etc. When Cameron is busy during the hot and heavy marching and season, it is very hard to eat good when your choices are concessions at a school. We slacked off a little at that point in time last fall, but now we are back on track.
Like I said, we are going about this a little differently this time. We were buying organic "processed" food at the whole foods market before, now we are not. It was interesting to taste the processed food that was certified organic and natural, compared to what we had been used to. While better for you, still not good for the budget, or the calorie count (if you're into that sort of thing, which we are not). Now, being allergic to nuts, I have to literally read every single label and every single ingredient list from every food. This is a giant pain in the booty, but I deal with it. You would not believe the amount of foods that have nuts in them or have been packaged in a facility with nuts or processed in a facility that also processes nuts. It's a lot to look out for! So that has become part of my every day life now
Recently, I read a book called "wheat belly". It was incredibly informational and I found it quite fascinating to read all the biology and genetics of wheat. Having had issues with my stomach my entire life, as well as Cameron, I decided it is probably a wheat/gluten sensitivity and thus, we have decided to do away with wheat and gluten as well. The doctor that wrote the book had some ideas and suggestions about what to cut out and how far to take it. I originally was going to follow the ideas, but for d out that coconut flour isn't that good for making bread. So, rice flour it is. Although coconut flour has very low glycemic index, I decided that a few carbs without wheat is still better than ingesting the wheat. So, rice flour, here we come. It makes risen yeast bread and tortillas and all kinds of flatbreads we can use in place of wheat products.
What I learned about wheat is very interesting. It isn't the same genetic makeup of the wheat originally used to make bread. It has been modified, and changed so much that it resembles the original wheat only in name. Not to mention the fact that most of the wheat we use and ingest is made up of GMO's. (for those of you who are not privy to this kind of verbiage, GMO stands for genetically modified organisms.) Unless it is the original einkorn wheat of ancient times, it is GMO. Anyhow, wheat of today causes all kinds of troubles in your body and because of that, we are no longer ingesting it. Not to mention the gluten sensitivities.
Since I am home and don't work, I can make homemade breads, pastas and other foods. I try to cook homemade meals for my boys every day. Obviously there are times we go out for dinner or lunch or do something with friends that involves eating processed foods, but for the most part, we eat organic, real natural food. If you come to my house, you will find cage free organic eggs, organic milk, butter and veggies. Organic fruit, canned foods are organic. The meat in my freezer is Amish grass fed meat. My bread will not look like the wonder bread from kroger or marsh. My hamburger buns are homemade, gluten free. My pasta is gluten free and homemade. While some look at us like a bunch of goofballs for buying into the whole "organic natural real food fad" I can tell you with confidence that the changes in our bodies are not made up. We all three feel better, healthier, stronger. I have lost 25 lbs. and counting. Cameron has lost some weight and his body has changed shape, and Shane has lost some weight as well. We signed up for snap fitness in hopes of getting our bodies in a stronger and healthier as well. The last several years , we have discussed getting healthier, eating better, etc. and every beginning of the year it was our resolution to be the year of change. Well, this time, it is. No more talking about it. We are changing. We are making a lifestyle change.
If you are looking at making a change in your life, make this one. It is easy, it is healthier, it is worth it. I will be posting more about this subject and be sharing more about this type of lifestyle and other things that are worth changing.
Have I mentioned microwaves yet? :) Stay tuned until next time!
Last summer, as those of you who read my blog know, our family decided to take a turn for the better regarding our health and food. We went organic and natural, eating only real foods and only foods where we could actually read all the ingredients! After a lapse back to garbage food for a few months, we have begun the journey again and doing it a little differently this time around.
Sometimes, there are circumstances where you cannot help but eat processed food. Other people's homes are a big one, out to dinner somewhere at a restaurant, etc. When Cameron is busy during the hot and heavy marching and season, it is very hard to eat good when your choices are concessions at a school. We slacked off a little at that point in time last fall, but now we are back on track.
Like I said, we are going about this a little differently this time. We were buying organic "processed" food at the whole foods market before, now we are not. It was interesting to taste the processed food that was certified organic and natural, compared to what we had been used to. While better for you, still not good for the budget, or the calorie count (if you're into that sort of thing, which we are not). Now, being allergic to nuts, I have to literally read every single label and every single ingredient list from every food. This is a giant pain in the booty, but I deal with it. You would not believe the amount of foods that have nuts in them or have been packaged in a facility with nuts or processed in a facility that also processes nuts. It's a lot to look out for! So that has become part of my every day life now
Recently, I read a book called "wheat belly". It was incredibly informational and I found it quite fascinating to read all the biology and genetics of wheat. Having had issues with my stomach my entire life, as well as Cameron, I decided it is probably a wheat/gluten sensitivity and thus, we have decided to do away with wheat and gluten as well. The doctor that wrote the book had some ideas and suggestions about what to cut out and how far to take it. I originally was going to follow the ideas, but for d out that coconut flour isn't that good for making bread. So, rice flour it is. Although coconut flour has very low glycemic index, I decided that a few carbs without wheat is still better than ingesting the wheat. So, rice flour, here we come. It makes risen yeast bread and tortillas and all kinds of flatbreads we can use in place of wheat products.
What I learned about wheat is very interesting. It isn't the same genetic makeup of the wheat originally used to make bread. It has been modified, and changed so much that it resembles the original wheat only in name. Not to mention the fact that most of the wheat we use and ingest is made up of GMO's. (for those of you who are not privy to this kind of verbiage, GMO stands for genetically modified organisms.) Unless it is the original einkorn wheat of ancient times, it is GMO. Anyhow, wheat of today causes all kinds of troubles in your body and because of that, we are no longer ingesting it. Not to mention the gluten sensitivities.
Since I am home and don't work, I can make homemade breads, pastas and other foods. I try to cook homemade meals for my boys every day. Obviously there are times we go out for dinner or lunch or do something with friends that involves eating processed foods, but for the most part, we eat organic, real natural food. If you come to my house, you will find cage free organic eggs, organic milk, butter and veggies. Organic fruit, canned foods are organic. The meat in my freezer is Amish grass fed meat. My bread will not look like the wonder bread from kroger or marsh. My hamburger buns are homemade, gluten free. My pasta is gluten free and homemade. While some look at us like a bunch of goofballs for buying into the whole "organic natural real food fad" I can tell you with confidence that the changes in our bodies are not made up. We all three feel better, healthier, stronger. I have lost 25 lbs. and counting. Cameron has lost some weight and his body has changed shape, and Shane has lost some weight as well. We signed up for snap fitness in hopes of getting our bodies in a stronger and healthier as well. The last several years , we have discussed getting healthier, eating better, etc. and every beginning of the year it was our resolution to be the year of change. Well, this time, it is. No more talking about it. We are changing. We are making a lifestyle change.
If you are looking at making a change in your life, make this one. It is easy, it is healthier, it is worth it. I will be posting more about this subject and be sharing more about this type of lifestyle and other things that are worth changing.
Have I mentioned microwaves yet? :) Stay tuned until next time!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
My Boys!
