Fake Food & The Anguished Homemaker ~ Update

An oldie not moldy post originally published April 24, 2012~ in light of the recent push by the Food Babe to bring to light azodicarbonamide AKA a chemical used in the production of yoga mats that is found in factory bread produced in the USA ... and banned in numerous other countries around the world.  Here's my take on this subject a few years back. Know what you're feeding your family. 

Dilemma ..

What is it? ...
Enriched bleached flour (wheat, malted barley flour, niacin, iron, thiamin, mononitrate [Vitamin B1], folic-acid), water, high fructose corn syrup, yeast, contains 2% of each of the following: vegetable oil (soybean and/or cottonseed oils), salt, wheat gluten, dough conditioners (may contain one or more of the following: mono-peroxide, datem, ascorbic acid, azodicarbonaumide, enzymes), calcium sulfate,/yeast nutrients (monocalcium phosphate, calcium sulfate, ammonium sulfate and/or calcium carbonate), cornstarch, calcium propionate (preservative) distilled vinegar, soy lecithin, milk, soy flour, sesame seed.  Allergy warning:  contains milk, wheat and soy (AND GMO'S .. emphasis mine).  Cost .. $3.29

The above FAKE FOOD is the ingredient list on a package of white hamburger buns.  Yep, it's vacation time from the family and I had to 'stock up' on some food while I am away for a mini trip.  Sticker shock!  Ingredient (not so) shock(ed)!  Creepy feeling shock!  Oh .. I also had the choice of 'whole' wheat buns and the ingredient list was similarly (anti) nutritious!

My homemade bread ingredient list:  Freshly ground sprouted wheat flour, water, sunflower oil, sea salt, yeast.  Notice there are no vitamins added because they have not been stripped out of the flour.  No dough conditioners and preservatives .. because the shelf life is a few days .. not months.  Cost including baking fuel .. under a dollar.

I walked away from the market with a basket half filled with mostly JUNK, and was hoping not to be seen with the various items in my cart.  I digress .. there was also a  box of Kashi cereal .. some sort of message on the box reassured me that it didn't contain high fructose corn syrup and that was supposed to make me 'feel good' about serving it to my family.  A bunch of grapes (out of season), bananas from half way around the world, a package of kosher hot dogs, sliced deli turkey lunch meat, lettuce, lemon and (God forbid) a bottle of (fake) peppercorn ranch salad dressing.  My total was $76 (almost 1/4 of our total monthly food budget).

Last time I went away I worked my butt off making bread, spaghetti sauce, and prepped enough food for several days .. along with our daily food prior to leaving.  This little endeavor left me exhausted and questioning the sanity of why I was getting away from the family for a little rest and relaxation.  I came home to find the spaghetti sauce still in the freezer (not used) and a few receipts for 'fake food' on the counter.




In a perfect world I wouldn't need to buy this JUNK.  My family would know how to make their own salad dressing, cook oatmeal for breakfast, make lunch that didn't include processed meat.  My job is not done.

Get to know your food sources.  Read labels.  Learn to cook. Plant a garden with your family. Have ingredients available and teach your kids to pack a healthy school lunch.  The rewards will pay off with overall health now and when you're older.


Homemakers prayer: "Lord, I cannot always inspect the food my family eats.  Let there be enough nutrition in the foods I prepare at home to offset the times I have to close my eyes.  Help me teach my family the importance of good nutrition and making wise food choices.  Amen"

Vintage Cookbook Review

I picked up a jewel of a book (off my mother's bookshelf;) titled, 'The American Woman's Cook Book,' from the Culinary Arts Institute .. originally published in 1938.  It makes for a good read as it goes into detail the daily nutrition needs of children and adults ... and includes such topics:  Food Values, The Lunch Box*, Menu Making, Food For Invalids, Useful Facts About Milk (farm fresh) .. etc.  This book was written prior to the mass use of commercially produced (fake) food, and the current epidemic of obesity. There are charts explaining vitamin content in produce (cooked and uncooked), the importance of good fats/oils and a host of other topics.  As a gift to you, I'm including a few links .. this one you can read the book online .. and here you can download a pdf copy for yourself.  Enjoy.

*Imagine that!  Long before the FDA got involved parents were responsible for sending nutritious foods packed in boxes for their children to take to school.