Comments on: Food Choices

By: lyrahollis

lyrahollis — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 04:58:10 +0000

Wow. I wasn’t even aware that they made organic pop tarts. You are completely right about the dyes. Red #40 is made from the crushed shells of a certain kind of beetle. I honestly wish everybody was as informed and interested about their food choices, especially being a student of dietetics.

I would like to see some of your personal green smoothies, just btw.

You’re awesome, please keep writing!

By: Andrea

Andrea — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 15:24:30 +0000

Great post.
I just read “What to Eat” by Marion Nestle.(No relation to Nestle company!!) Easy to read and an eye opener on the food industry. Concise as well.

By: Aimee

Aimee — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:32:08 +0000

I have also heard somewhere that using epsom salts in a sinkful of water is a great wash for fruits and veggies that are not organic?? It might be worth a google search. For bigger families we have to really pick and choose what to buy organic b/c we just can’t stretch the food budget any further to buy all organic and my kids fly through fruits and veggies.

By: livelightly

livelightly — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 05:23:03 +0000

Ann...congrats girl! You ARE making changes...I'm so excited for you. Weeeeee! I'd love to answer any of your questions offline too, so feel free to shoot me an email (janssenfamily (at) gmail (dot) com. About the fruit/veggie washes...I honestly think they are a waste of money. When something is grown non-organically, the pesticides and chemicals are going to be in the soil as well...soaked up into the fruit/veggie. It IS possible to wash off some of the residue from the outside, but not all. If I can't buy organic or it's not available...I just use soap and water. You can also check out the "Dirty Dozen" and see which fruits and vegetables have the highest % of pesticide use, etc. Here is a good link for it. Regarding GMO's...if you're buying organic, you don't have to worry because it's not allowed under the regulation...but the BIG ones are anything with corn or soy. They are almost always genetically modified (this would include high fructose corn syrup). A book that you might like to read is called "Food Revolution" by John Robbins. It has lots of great info. Again...I'm so pumped that you're making these changes. Way to go! Check out my post on Kids and Food that I did today...I think you'll enjoy it. Melissa...regarding food banks, I think it's very important to give food banks healthy food as well....but I don't think ALL of the food that you might get rid of should go to waste. The food you donate might be the only thing that keeps someone ALIVE that day. It's just a little different perspective than eating the same stuff day in and day out by choice. It's a hard decision though...one I don't have a cut and dry answer for.

By: Ann

Ann — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 19:12:53 +0000

Hi, Sara, just one more question (sorry!) Do you know, does that fruit/veggie wash really work? I bought an all-natural veggie wash that claims to be made with organic citrus. Does it REALLY take off all the surface contaminates on apples/pears/grapes, etc.? It smells nice, but does it really work?

By: Ann

Ann — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 19:09:39 +0000

I just read Jen’s comment about GMO’s and had to look up what that was. That’s too much for me to tackle right now, I’ll just take it one step at a time, but it’s interesting stuff.

By: Ann

Ann — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 19:05:08 +0000

YAY! I threw out an entire pack of corn dogs. It felt wasteful, but it had that sodium nitrate in it. I still have 3 frozen pizzas and a pack of burritos in there, though.

I also have been reading labels on all our stuff, and EVERYTHING has high fructose corn syrup! Even the 100% whole wheat bread that I thought was so great has it!!

Hydrogenated vegetable oil is bad, too, isn’t it? That’s in everything.

My first step is to quit buying convenience foods. No more pre-packaged and frozen snacks/treats/dinners. I’m going to try to buy real food. This means I need to think ahead, plan out meals, make grocery lists.

And, I need to keep coming to this website regularly for reminders/encouragement/recipes.

By: Jen.

Jen. — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:47:05 +0000

Hey Sara
I LOVE your disclaimer! And you are SO right about all this – so many people either don’t know or don’t care, or both – it’s nuts! What got us started eating real was learning abut GMOs – we threw out everything that had GMOs in it & not much was left! So off to the farmer’s market we went. Good news here, too, Lauren has finally discovered she likes salads – opened up a whole new world for her – hooray! (alfalfa sprouts, broccoli, carrots & a little romaine – no dressing)
Glad you’re getting a lot of good foody fixes. Is there room for a juicer on that RV?
{{{hugs}}}
Jen.

By: Aimee

Aimee — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 13:24:54 +0000

I agree with food being a journey. Or I should say eating well. I have baby-stepped our family over the last 3 or so years and it makes for healthier relationships. Sometimes wives must be careful to not show a lack of love or respect to their husbands when they (out of love) turn the family’s food choices 180 degrees. It can cause strife (he has a personal/emotional connection to food as well) and he may not be on the same page. I say to gently inform family and friends over time…esp husbands and do make incremental changes. The relationships are ultimately more important than the food choices. The husband will be much more on board if shown respect during the process than if mama just dumps all the Oreos fast. We should make these decisions not out of fear or believing we can ultimately control health, but out of love and honor and glory to God for how He made us. (I say this b/c it is easy for me as a woman to read food literature, get really scared, and start being a foody tyrant! Relax, love, and eat better bit by bit.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 03:46:07 +0000

Isn’t giving it to a food pantry just continuing the bad cycle of eating for those in need?? If you give junk to a food pantry that people depend on in times of need thats all those families will get. I am all for getting it out of our homes, but not filling up a food pantry with junk. I would encourage folks, who can afford to, give healthy nutritous food to those pantries.