Photo: Great grandparents at their farm in Blandinsville, IL, with five of their six children .. my grandpa was yet a twinkle in grandma's eye. Stable boy and governess also pictured. Hodges farm, circa 1903-4

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Without The Boxed Food

Beef Stock .. simmering
... in my shopping cart I'm able to afford the good stuff.  It's become second nature to put my kitchen skills to good use by cooking every meal from scratch.  Now that the pantry, storage room and freezers are kept stocked with garden and local farm goods, it's really not even necessary to buy much in the way of packaged food.  Our taste in food has developed to one that includes F.R.E.S.H. whenever possible .. and then frozen .. then canned.  We have fresh veggies some raw and some cooked that fills the dinner plate 1/2 full.  One fourth in a protein like meat or eggs .. and a small helping of a carb.  Dinners are a sit down .. s.l.o.w. eating routine and often begun with a thin soup.  Eating a well balanced meal including farm fresh milk ... and cutting out snacks has resulted in effortless weight loss.

If we (people) would just eliminate ONE item from our shopping carts .. anything containing high fructose corn syrup, that would be a GREAT start in healthier eating and send a message to the food makers that speaks loud and clear.  Take your health to heart and 'mind' what goes in your body.  Next to eliminate (or cut significantly) would be beet and cane sugar.  These sweeteners are contributing to the addiction that is fueling obesity.  Learn to live without artificial sweeteners too.. they can be toxic.  Having something sweet is best left as a once in a while treat.


Home Canned Goods

5 comments:

Sandy Livesay said...

Mrs. Mac,
It's nice to shop for just the bare minimum of healthy stuff when you have everything stocked up at home in your pantry, freezer or refrigerator. Cooking from scratch is the healthiest way to live. When we were younger, our Mom's would cook for us. Notice how many people were sick, obese or had cancer back then, very little. In today's world many people are sick, obese or have cancer. A good part of this is caused by all the processed food/materials. It would be a different world if we all decided to be accountable for what we feed our families.
You have some nice looking canned goods there.

Sue said...

You said exactly what I've been doing---we have switched to all organic foods now for things that must be purchased. We're able to do that, and still get by cheaper than we used to because we buy so much less now. It's a great feeling, isn't it? Love your canned goods. What a satisfying feeling....

Anonymous said...

Wow! Your pantry is so organized! Looks good! When I go grocery shopping, I try to only shop the perimeter of the store. I start in the produce section. Then, I buy meat. I move along to the dairy section, and I finish by picking up some whole wheat bread in the bakery. I try to avoid the middle of the store entirely. That's where all the packaged stuff is. I once heard a nutritionist say that people are confused by labels. They can't figure out which things are really healthy because the labels are often so misleading. Her advice? If it has a label, don't buy it.

Mrs. Mac said...

Yep ... don't buy food with labels :) Works for me. The middle of the store is scary for sure!

Anonymous said...

Hi Mrs. Mac, I just love your blog sharing your foods and gardening and all else. Your canned goods look fine! :)
matermusearts.wordpress.com