Tuesday, February 26, 2013

WHAT IS REAL FOOD?

I have become very disappointed  with society and the the misconceptions of what is healthy for you. We hear so much in the media. Every company is screaming loudly making all kinds of health claims. It is so overwhelming. It seems like what was healthy last week is this weeks devil food. It is enough to make your head spin.  

I HATE THE MARKETING SHENANIGANS THAT ARE GOING ON ALL AROUND US. I FEEL LIKE A RAT IN A LAB EXPERIMENT.


© Alexanderpokusay | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos


I try not to let it get to me, but sometimes I can't help it. For example, last week I was looking about the grocery store and I saw a container which I thought read  "fat free half and half."  I stopped and looked again; and sure enough it said fat free half and half. I am thinking to myself "What in the world are they putting in there?" Half and half as I know it is half milk and half cream. I started reading the label, skim milk, corn syrup, guar gum, natural flavorings and the list goes on  about 15 ingredients in all. About every ingredient has a star by it. In the fine print, it says the starred items are not normally found in half and half.  I was shocked. People use this thinking that they are healthy, because it is fat free. Come on people! I can understand milk and cream, but this list of ingredients seems too much. Then I read this morning about a petition to the government to allow artificial sweetners into our dairy products without having to label it. Oh man, what's next.

Then there is the Corn syrup thing. I read "no high fructose corn syrup" on the package, and then three ingredients in I read  corn syrup.  Many things still have corn syrup, just not the super refined high fructose kind. The corn syrup I bought to make Christmas candy was labeled as "no high fructose corn syrup"  (if that is not confusing to the brain, corn syrup labled as no corn syrup).  People read the headlines on the package and then go right on thinking it must be healthy, because the banner across the front of the package says so. It says no corn syrup on the label, yet it is still full of the stuff, just slightly less refined (like that makes it ok).

As a society there is a desire to be healthy, and the marketing people know it. The newest buzz words in the fast food industry are "healthy, and wholesome"; if they use those words they can sell the products for up to three times the price. The trouble is that those types of food are rarely healthy or wholesome. We are just kidding ourselves in thinking that they are. It is a crazy game that we are playing and our health and well being are on the line.  The only way to get good wholesome food is to create it and grow it yourself.


I am trying to get back to basics and eating food as it comes from the earth.  It is a big change for us and finding recipes is a big part of it. I recently have had several friends go on vegan diets. I was so excited thinking that I had some new resources in my real food revolution. I thought I would pick their brains for some great recipes, boy, was I ever disapointed. I didn't come up with much of anything from them. As a further disapointment, I watched a documentary where they took three individuals and followed them as they began a journey into the vegan lifestyle. It was eye opening for me.
© Digitalpress | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos



During this documentary they took a trip to the store to get supplies; it looked like this: Vegan margarine, soy hot dogs, vegan burgers, Oreo cookies, boxed cake mix and frosting and the list went on like this. I did not see any real food going into the baskets. They were showing how you can transfer over from the standard diet to veganisism with very little change.  "Really this is what vegans are eating?"  My freinds also verified this fact. I suppose that I live in a land of my own imagining, thiking that a vegan diet was a whole foods diet. I knew veganism was more than just salads as some people think, but what I found was suprising to say the least.



Now that I have that all off my chest I can go back to finding recipes for real food and writing about it here at life less hurried.




article about the petition to put artifical sugers in dairy
I have included the links to several of my past posts that you may enjoy reading

posts about those great grains

I'm eating real butter and eggs

slow down and savor your food and life

confessions of an emotional eater













10 comments:

  1. So true! It is insane what is on the packages. I saw the fat free half and half the other day too. I didn't look at the back, but I thought I wonder how they do that...half and half should have plenty of fat. I am of the belief that good, healthy food, isn't always the low-fat or low-calorie versions, it is the real stuff. I actually had a sample of formula for the baby that is supposed to be for sensitive stomachs and guess what one of the first ingredients was, yep, you guessed it, corn syrup. I was shocked. Thanks for the reminder to check the labels and make sure the food we are eating is really what we think it is. Crystal

    ReplyDelete
  2. Seems like the biggest thing is to eat as much fruits and veggies as possible, but trying to avoid the dangerous pesticides and GMOs and such isn't easy... How complicated things have gotten since people decided to modify and put chemicals in everything. :/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Food today has gotten scary. I have little confidence about the foods we consume.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So so true! I try very hard to eat cleanly and it is so hard these days!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great post! It's really scary to actually open your eyes and examine what we have been eating as a society. We have been taught for years that healthy foods are manufactured and that many of the real foods like eggs and butter are bad for you. You have to give props to the advertising and marketing departments. Unfortunately, we have all paid, in more ways than one, for this way of thinking. We have stopped eating food like products and have switched to a real foods or whole food diet. We feel better for it. Good luck with your journey. I look forward to following it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for sharing this on Foodie Friends Friday. It's something we all should keep in mind.

    Joanne/Winelady Cooks

    ReplyDelete
  7. Reading labels on food can definitely be shocking these days!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I feel your pain! We make almost everything from whole ingredients now...raw milk, organic grains, beef and pork from local farmers, and chicken and eggs from our own flock.
    I'm so glad you shared this post on The HomeAcre Hop! See you on the next hop at:
    http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/03/the-homeacre-hop-9.html

    When you get a chance, check out The Linky Love Party for new places to share your posts!
    http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/03/lets-party.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is so true! People are so conditioned now to focus on phrases like "fat free" or "no high fructose corn syrup" that they often don't bother to look at the actual ingredients list (which usually sounds more like a science experiment than a food!)

    Thanks for sharing with Old-Fashioned Friday! I hope you'll stop by again :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. It's surprising how many ingredients are in processed foods. Thanks for sharing your journey toward real food over on Tuesday Greens!

    ReplyDelete