Just a general update

So life is life here in the valley of Washington state. Life is finding us with a tight pocketbook these days as well. I still work to keep my food & all purchasing choices as good as possible.

As any of you who read this know, I strive to remove all HFCS from my diet. I'd love to also remove corn syrup in general but that is quite a bit harder to do than just removing the high fructose corn syrup. I am encouraged tho, that as of late I am seeing more labels telling us consumers that their products are now made without HFCS. Makes me smile!!

Bull's Eye BBQ sauce is now HFCS free. This is fantastic since all the other labels I checked of the big brands have the HFCS as either the first ingredient or pretty close to it.

Another cool thing was finding the no HFCS label on Log Cabin syrup. All the others have it so now we finally have a choice besides buying pure maple syrup which is quite pricey!

Along with the HFCS I am finding myself trying to get rid of so much MSG in my food. Wow, thats a tough one. Not only is there all kinds of salt in so many foods, but the MSG on top of it all.

I was really bummed to see the MSG on all the sausage & keilbasa labels. The fancy funky flavored ones are made with all sorts of good stuff but sometimes i just want plain old sausage or keilbasa. Today I found one that was MSG free. Yes! Ask & you shall receive.

With summer coming I am starting to look at salad dressing labels. Amazing how many of them have the HFCS. Why? Ugh! It just gets so irritating. But, there are a few brands that are free of it.

I'm working on making a "safe list". Mostly for my own benefit, but I will gladly share it here as well. I plan to list products that are HFCS free & MSG free. Granted it will be tailored to what we eat, but it may help out some of you as well. It'll be a work in progress for awhile, but when it's done I'll make an entry for it.

On the non food front ... I'm going to have to do some more looking on laundry cleaners soon. My last bottle of Era is less than half full. Currently, I'm using the smallest amount of that along with baking soda, vinegar & hydrogen peroxide in my loads. I'm pretty happy with the way the hydrogen peroxide works in place of bleach. The vinegar works as a decent softener & along with the baking soda, they remove odors pretty well.

I'm happy with the Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds for my hand dishwashing needs. adding a little vinegar helps cut heavy grease too so thats cool. Baking soda works good as a non abrasive scrub too. I'm not sure what I plan to do to replace my dishwasher tabs tho. I currently use Electrsol 3 in 1. We'll see what I can find to replace that.

A solution of vinegar & water in a spray bottle has worked great on my stove top cooktop as well as on windows & mirrors for cleaning. And all we use is a clean microfiber cloth. No paper towels!

Guess that's it for the moment. Just wanted to get an update on here of real life. As always, all your comments are most welcome!

12 Dangerous food additives

The Dirty Dozen Food Additives You Really Need to be Aware Of

In the United States, more than 3,000 substances can be added to foods for the purpose of preservation, coloring, texture, increasing flavor and more. While each of these substances is legal to use (at least here in the States), whether or not they are all something you want to be consuming is another story all together.

With any processed food you run the risk of coming across additives, and reading through ingredient labels can be like trying to decode a puzzle.
Of course, eating largely fresh, whole foods is the best way to stay away from unsavory additives, but, assuming you do include some processed foods in your diet, the following additives are ones you surely want to stay away from. Look for them on ingredient labels and if one turns up, take a pass.
Propyl Gallate
This preservative, used to prevent fats and oils from spoiling, might cause cancer. It's used in vegetable oil, meat products, potato sticks, chicken soup base and chewing gum, and is often used with BHA and BHT (see below).
BHA and BHT
Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) are used similarly to propyl gallate -- to keep fats and oils from going rancid. Used commonly in cereals, chewing gum, vegetable oil and potato chips (and also in some food packaging to preserve freshness), these additives have been found by some studies to cause cancer in rats. If a brand you commonly buy uses these additives, look for a different variety, as not all manufacturers use these preservatives.
Potassium Bromate
This additive is used in breads and rolls to increase the volume and produce a fine crumb structure. Although most bromate breaks down into bromide, which is harmless, the bromate that does remain causes cancer in animals. Bromate has been banned throughout the world, except for in the United States and Japan. In California, a cancer warning would likely be required if it were used, which is why it is rarely used in that state.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
MSG is used as a flavor enhancer in many packaged foods, including soups, salad dressings, sausages, hot dogs, canned tuna, potato chips and many more. According to Dr. Russell Blaylock, an author and neurosurgeon, there is a link between sudden cardiac death, particularly in athletes, and excitotoxic damage caused by food additives like MSG and artificial sweeteners. Excitotoxins are, according to Dr. Blaylock, "A group of excitatory amino acids that can cause sensitive neurons to die."
Many consumers have also personally experienced the ill effects of MSG, which leave them with a headache, nausea or vomiting after eating MSG-containing foods. To find out more about the side effects associated with MSG, as well as a complete list of which foods contain it, see our past article MSG: If it's Safe: Why do They Disguise it on the Labels?
Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet)
This artificial sweetener is found in Equal and NutraSweet, along with products that contain them (diet sodas and other low-cal and diet foods). This sweetener has been found to cause brain tumors in rats as far back as the 1970s, however a more recent study in 2005 found that even small doses increase the incidence of lymphomas and leukemia in rats, along with brain tumors.
People who are sensitive to aspartame may also suffer from headaches, dizziness and hallucinations after consuming it.
Acesulfame-K
Acesulfame-K is an artificial sweetener that's about 200 times sweeter than sugar. It's used in baked goods, chewing gum, gelatin desserts and soft drinks. Two rat studies have found that this substance may cause cancer, and other studies to reliably prove this additive's safety have not been conducted. Acesulfame-K also breaks down into acetoacetamide, which has been found to affect the thyroid in rats, rabbits and dogs.
Olestra
Olestra is a fat substitute used in crackers and potato chips, marketed under the brand name Olean. This synthetic fat is not absorbed by the body (instead it goes right through it), so it can cause diarrhea, loose stools, abdominal cramps and flatulence, along with other effects. Further, olestra reduces the body's ability to absorb beneficial fat-soluble nutrients, including lycopene, lutein and beta-carotene.
Sodium Nitrite (Sodium Nitrate)
Sodium nitrite (or sodium nitrate) is used as a preservative, coloring and flavoring in bacon, ham, hot dogs, luncheon meats, corned beef, smoked fish and other processed meats. These additives can lead to the formation of cancer-causing chemicals called nitrosamines.
Some studies have found a link between consuming cured meats and nitrite and cancer in humans.
Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil
The process used to make hydrogenated vegetable oil (or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil) creates trans fats, which promote heart disease and diabetes. The Institute of Medicine has advised that consumers should eat as little trans fat as possible. You should avoid anything with these ingredients on the label, which includes some margarine, vegetable shortening, crackers, cookies, baked goods, salad dressings, bread and more. It's used because it reduces cost and increases the shelf life and flavor stability of foods.
Blue 1 and Blue 2
Blue 1, used to color candy, beverages and baked goods, may cause cancer. Blue 2, found in pet food, candy and beverages, has caused brain tumors in mice.
Red 3
This food coloring is used in cherries (in fruit cocktails), baked goods and candy. It causes thyroid tumors in rats, and may cause them in humans as well.
Yellow 6
As the third most often used food coloring, yellow 6 is found in many products, including backed goods, candy, gelatin and sausages. It has been found to cause adrenal gland and kidney tumors, and contains small amounts of many carcinogens.
***So where did I find this info? From a site called SixWise.com if you click this link ... HERE ... it will take you directly to the page I got the above info from. Links within the article will take you to other parts of the Six Wise site. I found it interesting & intend to do some more research on some of these additives. Kind of hard to eat normal food if you try to avoid ALL these things. Sigh ... maybe one day we won't have to watch labels so carefully.

Update time

Thought I would do a little update on a few of the changes I have made. Right now I am working on just a few ingredients at a time. The ones that are being omitted from my & my family’s diets are artificial sweeteners, MSG & High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). As we read labels if there are other questionable ingredients in the label they tend to not get purchased either. It is taking more time to shop but it has been an eye opening experience to what is in our food. So what have I changed?

Ketchup. I’ve looked at store brands & name brands. They all contain HFCS. My options? Buy organic or make my own. For the time being I have bought one bottle of organic until I see just how expensive making my own will be. My dad’s wife (Neva) has a recipe so I know they are pretty easy to come by.

Mayo. Well, the switch was actually to mayo, from Miracle Whip. That was simple & saves me money since I can get mayo cheaper a lot of the time. I’ll admit the true test will be when I make my potato salad this summer. Or any pasta type salad I was using MW in. But on a sandwich or toast with cheese, it’s no big deal.

Soda. Oh the stuff that’s on some of the labels. . . I was buying whatever was on sale for the hubby to take to work each day. I was buying generic ginger ale for me. I have switched to Natural Brew Outrageous Ginger Ale. More expensive but the taste alone is enough to keep me buying it. I started when it was on sale & fell in love with it. IT worked because I continue to buy it at regular price now. For hubby & daughter, they have discovered making their own soda with seltzer water & DaVinci flavors. The flavors are not totally natural, but contain less crap than regular soda … & no HFCS. Cost? Probably about the same as name brand soda.

OJ. I was buying the half gallons from the refrigerated section. Until I read the label. Now I buy the frozen concentrate. The taste is better & the cost is less at regular prices. If the ½ gallons go on sale, they are cheaper. But I wont buy them.

Granola Bars. All I had to do was switch brands. With all the coupons I get, it doesn’t cost me much more at all. I stock up when they go on sale & it’s all good. The Kashi TLC bars & the Quaker Simple Harvest All Natural are what we buy right now.

Salad Dressings. Wow, this was amazing. I couldn’t believe how many brands & flavors have HFCS. But you can’t go by brand alone. You have to look at the flavors. Not a tough switch to make, just a bit more reading of labels. There are plenty out there that don’t have as much added stuff.

Spaghetti Sauces. The cheaper brands I was buying all have HFCS. Prego & Ragu don’t. Several of the better brands don’t either. So switching here is just a matter of watching for different brands to go on sale & saving coupons for them. I was buying Hunts & Del Monte in the cans which didn’t have coupons much anyways. The house brand can sauces are also off the list.

Cookies. Well, good bye cheap cookies. For the most part. My switch? I just make them from scratch at home or read some of the cookie dough labels & packaged cookie labels. Not a big deal except for the money. But it’s a price hubby & I are willing to pay. So far, we’ve just eaten a lot less cookies.

So there is a sampling of some of the items I’ve changed. I will continue to go thru everything we eat by reading labels. Once we have omitted these things, we’ll look into what all the other ingredients really are & work on omitting more.

Now I need to say something that might sound odd. I’m beginning to feel different. Is it in my head? I guess it could be. But I choose to believe. One of the side effects of the HFCS is that when it is consumed, the body does not know when it is full, & therefore when to stop eating. Well, it’s been out of probably 98% of my diet for over a month now. I don’t seem to be eating as much. I’m full at dinner without going back for seconds. And no, I’m not having bigger portions. I still snack, but they are good snacks now. I drink better juices, herbs, natural soda & water. Are my baby steps beginning to show? I’d like to think so. It makes me happy to have omitted some artificial things from my diet. I’m happy eating better food. I think I like these changes.