Food

I am person who loves to bake, cook, dry and can  food for her family and lately I have been really thinking about how processed our foods have become. The corn syrup, modified corn starch, and  meat fillers are in most of our commonly eaten  foods on the shelves in our local grocery stores. I am utterly disgusted after watching Food Inc. and Super size me this weekend. It was an eye opener for me. I knew some of what was going on in the food industry due to the nutrition classes and self education I have had about food labels and their sources BUT it did not prepare me for what was presented in Food Inc. Our bodies are chemically engineered and the modified food we eat as a country causes many of the health problems our society fights daily on the home front. I love picking our own produce from local farmers and eating in season, canning whats left over for winter and eating. I am now going to carry that further and start to expand my food vision for my family a few steps at a time. We are not junk food eaters, fast food goers, or sugary sweet addicts but there is always room for improvement in our food choices.

The food choices in our house currently are:

Picking local produce from orchards and buying at the farmers markets
Making our own bread from freshly ground wheat
Making mixes from scratch VS buying store bought mixes that include fillers and dyes.
Planting a garden with other fruit baring trees and plants
Canning and freezing freshly picked veggies and fruits
ALWAYS having veggies, fruits and other healthy snacks for the kids and Keith and I to eat
Buying meat in whole with bones (less fillers!)

Things I am contemplating:
Getting a 2-3 chickens
Buying our meat now from an organic farmer
Buying less store bought granola bars and other various snacks that are JUST sugar coated carbs
Buying organic when in the budget for other various food outlets

I know for us a family of 5 .....it's a LOT of work to make things from scratch. It is. I will not lie to you. For example I remember growing up with the box of Bisquick and just adding water. Wa-la you had ready made pancakes in two seconds. There is nothing wrong with that. Its convenience and sometimes we need a brake BUT what people do not know is that they could save so much money in their budgets if they made the mixes and seasonings. Yes it is work but if you set a time aside to make a bulk batch, you have it for those nights when you tired and you can feed your family and KNOW whats really in it.

I recommend the book my mom gave to me for Christmas Make a Mix by Karine Eliason. Its been AMAZING!

* THANKS MOM *

Check out the movie http://www.foodincmovie.com/