She recently sent me a picture of jams she made that made my heart leap with joy. I/m so thankful that all the fruits of the earth are being utilized in her home. I get excited whenever I see families grabbing the good food train. Let me put a disclaimer here. There are a few items that aren't the best for me that I like such as licorice and chocolate milk. So I'm not preaching here. I'm only writing what's in my heart.
Which brings me to a video I watched this morning that made me a bit sad. The woman is filled with energy and has a lovely well cared for home. There's a Fourth of July party planned so she videoed the items she bought to 'make' food as her contribution. Displayed on the table were all prepackaged items, The cookies were oven ready. The salad dressing came in a bottle with ingredients that can't be pronounced, and the cheese was pre=grated with 'natural' cellulous (wood shavings) in it. I was crying inside for the choices on display. Not judgmental or angry or holier than thou, just sad.
This blog has a steady readership of between 500 and 700 reads a week. You all know I'm not interested in big numbers, only that I can share the knowledge I've accumulated over the six plus decades I've walked the earth. I feel confident in assuming that my readers want to gather foundational knowledge to live a better and more frugal life. If you'll indulge me a moment I would plead with you to think more carefully about what fuel you put in your body on a regular basis. Where does it come from and how was it grown. What ingredients are in the packaged foods you put on the table. (Manufacturers in this country are getting the hint and are removing chemical additives in some of our packaged foods.) Please help make my heart leap with joy!
Then have a piece of chocolate on me.
Stay safe.
I totally agree with all you have said here. I try to buy locally produced fruits and vegetables and look at where the product is made . We have issues here with labelling and often the prouduct states it's made in Australia from local and imported ingredients. Hard to tell then where the food is from .
ReplyDeleteI replied to your comment earlier, but I don't know where it went. In the USA grocers put out a fruit from other countries and the USA in the same bin. I won't buy it when it's presented this way.
DeleteIn summary we could say: The less food products are processed, the better. Many people
ReplyDeletehave forgotten how a pure aroma tastes. Our taste and sensory smell begins at a very early age. Eating habits of a lifetime are established during childhood and therefore nutritional
education is a task of parents and of educational institutions. The majority of food industry has no interest in critical consumers. They just want willing buyers.
Very well said. Thank you!
DeleteSo True! It's okay to indulge in the good ol' blue box of mac'n'cheese once in a while, but it shouldn't be an everyday occurrence. I try to eat as close to the source as possible - all my meat is from local farmers, fruits & veges are organic and as local as I can get them. (let's face it, in Northern MN, it's hard to find a fresh, local orange!) You do what you can how you can. It just seems like a lot of people want an easy way out, which isn't always the healthiest. Blessings! LynneinMN
ReplyDeleteYou'd think we could get local oranges here because it gets hot, hot, hot in the summer. But, no. So Florida is a good choice for us. I would imagine yours comes from California?
DeleteAngie, I cook mainly from scratch and generally from fresh, local ingredients. That said, when I'm having a big gathering (having to feed many more people than usual), I've got to take into account the time necessary for preparation as well as the overall cost. Buying bottled salad dressings is a given for me; it means guests have a selection and I don't have a ton of costly leftover ingredients from fresh versions of favorites, like what's required for Ranch dressing. Sometimes pre-shredded packages of cheese are at a lower per pound price than bricks of cheese. A boxed mix of brownies on sale can be a huge savings from buying all of the ingredients for homemade, and summer holidays mean serious sales on brand name ice creams. While I can--and have--made homemade burger and hot dog buns, Costco discounts packaged buns to as low as $2.99 for a 24 count package. They're not organic wheat. Just plain white. Yet it saves hours in the kitchen as well as money. So while we eat basic, fresh & healthy meals most of the time, I think it's okay to take advantage of budget saving shortcuts once in awhile. Grandma Grif used to say, "everything in moderation".
ReplyDeleteIt was my intention to only speak my heart. I am not, nor would I ever put anyone down for their choices.
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