I do like to post about flowers and everything I grow, plus books, so to get out of a rut here is a different post.
These are some health and food related ideas.
I did not have a pretty photo of additives (giggle), so chose a photo of a tulip bouquet.
Nitrates and MSG
My husband and I are not buying foods with nitrates or MSG this year. Boy this involves reading teeny tiny labels in stores. Some food like sliced lunch meat packages do advertise boldly, no nitrates, no MSG. Thank you food producers for that.
These chemicals have negative effects, nitrates related to cancer, MSG to sleep difficulties.
Fiber in bread
Most bread we buy at our house has plenty of fiber per slice, usually 8 g or more per slice, and it tastes yummy. Some bread names are a bit sneaky though, for example some Oat Bread or Nine Grain Bread is made with refined flour and has only about 1 g per slice. In general we stay away from refined flour. There are many delicious crackers and cereals made with whole grains, like Rye Krisp crackers, Shredded Wheat and Post Great Grains cereals. Crunchy Pecan is our favorite Great Grains cereal. Where I live those cereals are usually $4.99 so I stock up when they are on sale at 2 for $5.00.
Fruit juice
We don't drink fruit juice since all that sugar hits your system with a big jolt. We prefer fruit anyway which is absorbed in your body slower. I know, I know, all those years of giving our children fruit juice instead of soda.
GMOs
Much corn is grown from GMO seed, so when we see nonGMO corn written on a package we grab it.
What food tips have you discovered? I like to get new ideas and info about eating well.
30 comments:
I wasn't familiar with the nitrates and will watch for that. I do watch closely for a lot of things and try to stay as close to natural as possible. My husband still drinks diet soda and aspartame is really bad for us. I don't buy it anymore so either he has to buy it or our daughter picks it up for him! I try to buy organic too and the juice I consume is from real fruit in my smoothies.
We are not bound by any medical condition to buy anything with artificial sweetener, so we stay away from those. Also, anything with High Fructose Corn Syrup is not part of what we bring home. Bread is always whole grain, but I am not sure that the fiber count is as good as yours. I will have to start watching. We are not ready-to-eat cereal people, so I prepare cooked cereal year round - oatmeal (from bulk bin), grits, cream of rice. Hardly ever any soft drinks, and always fresh fruit over juices. Great post,Terra!
Sometimes I choose between bad and really bad, I must admit! I don't like to drink anything with artificial sweetener.
I like real cheese, but my stomach doesn't.
Good for you, Terra!
We also limit our fruit juice and no soda in our house. We also process our own grass fed beef - hormone free.
I must admit I don't pay all that much attention. I just try to eat more fruits and vegetables and try to eat more fiber and drink water.
Great post my friend ... it's amazing what is really in our food when we take the time to become informed (not always easy - with the way food manufacturers word or phrase things). Thanks to my sister we too have been doing our best to eliminate Nitrates and MSG from our food purchases. Wishing you a great week, Blessings, Celia M. (HHL)
I got a new fermentation contraption I am getting ready to use. Supposedly the best thing since sliced bread for your health. Just have to figure out how to do it. Going to try kimchi and pickled peppers.
Thank you for this informations! Great! Now I know more! Yes, what do I do? I try to cook as much as I can out of my home grown vedgetable and fruits!
All my best and a happy happy time
Elisabeth
I've been trying to learn a little about Juicing. We watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead by Joe Cross. Makes you think about all the preservatives and additives! Keep on! Love those tulips. =) blessings ~ tanna
I agree with you on hidden additives that are literally popping up in our food so much, it makes you wonder just how much food are we really eating.
I love going to places like Trader Joes, Sprouts, Fresh and Easy and local Farmer's Markets searching for organic products. Even though I pay a little bit more, to me it's worth it. But we still have to be wise as serpents and check the labels because not everything is as innocent as we are lead to believe.
Love and Hugs ~ Kat
Thanks for sharing this! It's amazing and actually quite sad to see what they put in our food that is not good for us and can be harmful.
Have a beautiful afternoon! Hugs
A Great post Terra. I stay away from MSG, but like you say, it is difficult to read the fine print. John is diabetic and for the most part, we drink water.
I have been aware of the affects of nitrates and have stayed away from those for years. My problem is sugar and I keep telling myself I need to cut down, but It is hard.
This is a good and informative post.
Ever since I have a bread baking machine I bake our bread and fruit juices we avoid we prefer to eat a lot of fruits. It is important to eat healthy !
Your tulips are gorgeous, Terra. I wish I could read labels on food but it gives me a headache. Thanks for the positive notes on Rea. We are just so relieved and so happy she is doing so well....Christine
Yep, I'm with you on this, Terra! My husband and I have been juicing for 20 years and try to eat mostly raw veggies and fruits.
I don't think any sliced lunch meat is actually good for you. Surely they are high in sodium and other ingredients that you can't even pronounce. Of course, I'm vegetarian and vegan for the most part, so wouldn't consume them anyways. Labels don't always tell the whole truth. I figure the fewer items on that ingredient list, the better it probably is. Wish the food companies would stop adding crap to our food. Most items contain unnecessary sugar. Even the bread we have here has milk powder and sugar in it. Why milk? Anything packaged should certainly be scrutinized before purchasing or eating. It's amazing to me the things the FDA will allow in foods and approve for consumption that are actually banned in other countries. I do buy orange juice, but always water it down -- same thing with lemonade that we buy. Too sweet, so I do about half juice, half water. Otherwise I only drink water or green tea. Every little change for the good certainly helps. Have a lovely weekend. Tammy
Hi Terra,
Your tulips are just beautiful!
Thank you so much for visiting and your kind words...
I will work on the yellow roses today.
blessings,
Penny
I love reading about your healthy choices and I'm doing to post on some of our food purchases on my blog tomorrow. It's a post I rarely write, too. I've always tried to make healthy choices and have been blessed with good health. Enjoy your Sunday afternoon! Hugs, Diane
Terra, these are great changes we can make and yet they will have a big impact in the long run. I have been wanting to get a little table top grain mill and start making my own bread again. When my children were growing up, all they got was fresh milled whole wheat bread from the little mill my mom bought me and boy did they not like it much. I remember that they thought they were in heaven when I would buy a loaf of store bought white bread :))) The mill wore out from use and I never replaced it, but have thinking that home baked WW bread sounds good again.
sending hugs...
Loved this and I do the same. I buy unrefined sugar as well.
the tulips are amazing and the photo is beautiful. thanks for the tips and for stopping by my blog.
Terra, I'm with you on many of these things. I found a good bread with 6 grams of fiber per slice. It's mostly rye and one slice with a little almond butter is a good and filling snack. I like fruit juice, but rarely drink it. My internist once said to me, "You might as well be drinking Coca Cola," and that was the end of orange juice in the morning.
Thank you for sharing this information.. I try to eat healthy, but I must admit, I have a thing for pastries..
Thank you so much for your visit.
I always enjoy seeing you there.
So happy you enjoyed.
These are great things to know, Terra. I heard aspartame was not good for us, so I stay away from that now. Thanks for sharing all this info.
love,
~Sheri
We try to eat healthy and buy local fresh food, but it is hard to know what is good for you and what isn't.
It really scares me to think about what we are buying and eating. I think that's why there is much disease today.
Well, you are right that we need to take a magnifying glass to the store with us! I have recently learned that it is important to keep our bodies alkaline. And certain foods really need to be organic, but not all of them. Chicken and milk are very important to buy organic because of hormones and antibiotics.
Good for you! We do the same...I try to buy organic, non-GMO foods, no nitrates, only free-range chicken and eggs. It's expensive, and also exhausting trying to keep all harmful things out of the food we consume, but I feel that it is infinitely important. I wish I could find a farm to buy all my meat, milk and eggs from (or two or three farms)....when I can, I go to a Farmer's Market, but even then you have to ask about what you are buying. If the chicken you buy has been fed GMO corn and soy, you are still getting the GMOs! Oh, that's another thing that is strictly GMO these days--soy. And, there are harmful toxins in olive oil and other cooking oils unless they are cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, or cold pressed coconut oil. Like I said, it's exhausting! :-)
I have been off MSG forever. I get migraines from it. I have tried going off nitrates but hubby doesn't like some of the meats that isn't cured without it. He does like the bacon though so I have been buying that. Trying to eat right does take a lot of work.
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