November Challenge

Time again for a 7-day challenge.  Can you go seven days without eating nitrates or nitrites?  Ni-what?

 

Processed meats like bacon, sausages, hot dogs, pepperoni, ham, lunch meat, and more contain nitrates and nitrites.  According to this source, they are what make the meat pink, rather than an unappetizing gray.  They have been linked to colon cancer, stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer, decreased lung function, and for children born to mothers that eat a lot of processed meats–brain tumors.

 

So, check your labels, look for SODIUM NITRITE in the list of ingredients.  This is where turkey hot dogs aren’t necessarily better for you.  They have it, too.

 

But the good news is that at some stores you can find uncured products.  They don’t have nitrates and nitrites.  I’ve been buying my family bacon and hot dogs from Whole Foods and they taste great.  In some parts of the country you will find uncured items in your regular grocery store.  I haven’t seen them in mine, here in Oklahoma.

 

I will check back in at the end of 7 days and report on my findings.

 

Why Avoid Nitrates and Nitrites

About.com – Nitrates and Nitrites

October Challenge Update

Little late here with my update on the trans fat challenge–been busy!



Well, trans fat is probably the number one thing I look out for. I avoid it like the plague. I don’t just look for the grams of trans fat listed on the label (it’s often not correct), I look at the ingredients list and check for partially hydrogenated oils. That’s the true tell. So, I don’t have a lot in my house that contains it. The only staple I can think of is flour tortillas. Some day I will get around to making my own, but for now I still buy them. However, I abstained during the challenge.



My family wanted Oreos with our movie night. In the past I bought Newman’s Own Newmanos, because the cream filling was trans fat free. Since companies are now required to label trans fat, Oreos has reformulated their product. They couldn’t risk everyone knowing just how many grams of trans fat their product contained. So now I will buy them about twice a year. The other night I indulged in one cookie.



Other things that come to mind are peanut butter. I buy Smucker’s Natural because it truly only contains peanuts and salt. Don’t be fooled by the other brands that try to say they don’t contain trans fat. They do, and they’re loaded with sugar.



Many bread products have trans fat added to soften them–sandwich bread, hamburger buns and hot dog buns. Packaged cookies, cakes, and chips contain trans fat. Packaged cookie dough is a big one–it’s loaded, and also packaged biscuits and rolls. Make your own cookies and use real butter. Believe me, they will be much better for you!



I used to buy crescent rolls in a tube. Pampered Chef recipes call for this ingredient all the time. Well, not any more! Not since I found out about the trans fat! Packaged pizza crust, too. Make your own with my french bread recipe. It’s so very easy and much, much more delicious!



Boxed cake mix contains trans fat and canned icing is pure trans fat and sugar. Think of it as a can of Crisco with sugar and flavoring added. I do not eat store-bought cakes anymore and trans fat is the reason. If you invite me over for a party and see that I do not partake of the cake, don’t think I have immense will power to avoid junk food. I have just read about trans fat and what it does to your body and it totally turned me off to store cakes. I make my own and enjoy them fully! Click here for my chocolate cupcake recipe.



I could go on and on about trans fats. Learn to check your labels. Cook with butter, coconut oil, and olive oil. Start making more things at home from scratch. Take your babysteps and checkout The Trans Fat Solution by Kim Severson for more information.  I don’t agree with everything in this book (she mentions using soy protein, for example), but her information on trans fat is wonderful.  And she has good information about coconut oil, too.  The informative part of the book is only 31 pages, the rest are recipes.  It’s available at my local library, it might be at yours, too.

October Challenge

Are you ready for another challenge?



This month, the challenge is to cut out hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils for 7 days. Check your labels, you might be surprised to learn what foods contain these oils.



Partially hydrogenated oil is the same thing as trans fat. The problem is that a lot of packages claim 0g of trans fat per serving, but it really is anywhere from 0 to .49g. The FDA allows the manufacturer to claim 0, if it is less than .5. Well, half a gram doesn’t sound bad, does it?



Let’s think about it this way, though. When was the last time you just ate 1-oz. of chips. If you have a scale, try weighing out 1 ounce. It isn’t much. Most of us eat more than one serving of most foods at a time. The manufacturer makes that serving size so small so that they can hide how much trans fat and/or sugar the item really has. So, then you are really eating possibly 1.5g of trans fat, every time you enjoy those chips. Studies show that even 2 grams of trans fat a day are dangerous.



If you normally cook with Crisco, use butter instead. Butter is a very healthy fat. It has had such a negative connotation for far too long. Click here to read about that.



Click here to learn more about hydrogenated oils.



I will check back in at the end of the 7 days and report my results. See you then!

Recommended Reading

If you haven’t noticed already, I highly recommend Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, with Mary Enig. This book is available at my local library, it just might be available at yours.



This book opened my eyes to a lot of things. But I must say that the first time I checked it out, I was overwhelmed and didn’t even read it. It is so thick. Then I learned that it is mostly recipes. The portion on nutrition is only the first little bit, maybe 60 pages. That was doable to me.  I have read that portion, now, over and over, each time gleaning new information.



The authors cover everything you need to know on the subject of fats, carbs, protein, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, and more.



This is a general resource that everyone should check out, whether you’re just starting to eat healthy, or you grind your own wheat and make your own bread.

Challenge of the Month

This is something new I’m doing.  I am going to issue a new challenge every month.  The challenge will be for 7 days.



This month’s challenge is to cut out High Fructose Corn Syrup.  Now this is only for 7 days.  You will want to start checking your labels to see what foods have HFCS in them.



Why?  Why do we care if there is HFCS in our diets?  Isn’t it just sugar?  A little sugar does no harm, right?



Well, all sugars are not equal.  The closer a food is to how God created it, the better it is for you. Natural sugars contain enzymes, vitamins and minerals.  Refined sugars are stripped of all that and rob your body of those things as they’re digested.  If we’re going to chart things on a Great-Good-Bad-Worse chart, sugar would be bad, but HFCS is worse.  You can’t make this stuff in your home kitchen.  It actually takes battery acid to make and is reported to contain levels of mercury.  Read this article on that subject.



Most of the junk food my generation grew up on was loaded with sugar, but the same foods today are loaded with HFCS instead.  Could there be a link with this change and the rise in obesity rates?



So check your labels.  I challenge you to cut this one ingredient out for just 7 days.  Let me know if you have questions.  Get creative.  Remember, I didn’t say you had to cut out all sugar.  If there is a food that you like that contains HFCS, make it from scratch with sugar instead.



I will report back here at the end of the 7 days and let you know what I’ve had to cut out.  (Yes, I’m sure I’m ingesting some HFCS, too!)  See you then!

Be Informed

I will not be a guinea pig tester for the upcoming swine flu vaccination and neither will my children. You need to be informed.



What kind of testing has this new swine flu vaccine gone through?
What are the ingredients of this new swine flue vaccination?  Does it contain the highly controversial ingredient Thimerosal?  (Thimerosal is mercury, by the way.  Highly toxic.)
What were the side effects of the 1976 swine flu vaccination?
What are the symptoms and effects of the swine flu on your body?



Click here to read and watch videos.

Shopping

We headed to Whole Foods yesterday, I thought I’d let you peek at my shopping cart.

 

I bought -
-Organic grains:
  5 lbs. whole oats (called groats)
  1.5 lbs. brown rice
  1 lb rye berries

(We grind the oats in the blender and soak overnight to eat for breakfast.  Click here.  We also make blender batter pancakes, my recipe coming soon, or go to www.suegregg.com to see the original.)

-Store brand (365) baking powder – because it is aluminum-free (I hope it’s good, I usually buy Rumford, but it was over a $1 more.)

-2lb. bag of Sucanat – a true whole sugar, unrefined, we like it in our oatmeal and other things.

-Bragg raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar – great source of enzymes

-Blackstrap molasses – I take a few spoonfuls a week, it’s very high in iron and calcium.)

-bacon (my family loves this, but I HATE buying the nitrate/nitrite filled variety at Walmart, so we are going to try this.)

-hot dogs (see above)

 

Going to Whole Foods is a special occasion for us.  It’s so far away, we don’t go that often, so we will pick up a treat or two.

-I picked up a Lara Bar for myself.  These are really good and they don’t have any junk in them, not even sugar, they are sweetened with dates and raisins and such.  I glanced at a Luna Bar and it was full of junk.  Just goes to show you that you still have to read labels, even in the health food store.

-I also splurged on some crystallized ginger.  It’s good on it’s own, but a friend of mine adds some to her kombucha and it tastes very similar to ginger ale.  I’m going to try this.

-My son picked out some ginger snaps

-My daughter loves those date pieces sold in the bulk section.  I don’t really care for them, they don’t have any added sweetener and they look like puppy chow, but she likes them, so she gets them.  :)

 

Hope you enjoyed seeing what I buy at Whole Foods.  You will notice that I don’t really buy any packaged food here.  That stuff is unhealthy, whether you buy it at Walmart or Whole Foods.  Processed is processed.  :)

I Had NO Idea!

I have heard that most honey sold in the stores is cut with corn syrup, but I had NO idea that olive oil is often adulterated, too!

 

I read this post by Cheeseslave, that details how olive oil manufacturers are cutting their oil with other oils, possibly soybean oil, hazelnut oil, and who knows what other oils.

 

One way to test your oil is to place it in the refrigerator and see if it solidifies.  A true olive oil should become solid.  If your olive oil doesn’t solidify, it could mean that it has been cut with other oils, OR had the waxy portions of the olive oil removed.  Read the post by Cheeseslave and also the comments, too.  Someone mentioned that Bragg brand didn’t solidify when cold.  I think that Bragg is a great brand overall and they are probably selling pure olive oil, but they are just removing the waxy portion of the oil.  (I personally want my oil as unadulterated as possible, including all the components of the first pressing.)

 

I started buying Star brand from Walmart because it was labeled “organic”.  Well, I put it in the refrigerator and it did not solidify.  I knew it had to be too good to be true.  It was such a great price.  I will be looking elsewhere now.

Personal Care 101

I mentioned in my Money Matters article that I save money by using frugal personal care products, but they also happen to be all natural.  I have a big list, so I have decided to split this into a few different posts.

 

  Deodorant

I switched to natural deodorant many years ago (I think about five).  I love it and it is VERY economical.  I have been using the crystal rock deodorant.  It is a natural mineral salt that works by killing the bacteria that cause odor.  It is not an antiperspirant, but it’s not really healthy to block a natural function anyway.  Most deodorants contain aluminum, a known carcinogen (hello–breast cancer!) and is linked to Alzheimer’s.  The crystal, however, does not contain any chemicals.  It is great because it doesn’t stain clothing, isn’t sticky, and doesn’t cake up like typical deodorants.  They are so economical because they last forever!  The website says it will last up to one year, but I have one I bought a little over four years ago!  (It was about $6.00.)  You will find this deodorant in health food stores and online.  I like vitaminshoppe.com.

 

Read more about the benefits of the crystal deodorant here.

 

Stay tuned for more on my personal care products.  I have alternatives for toothpaste, facial cleanser, facial moisturizer, eye makeup remover, lip balm, hand and body moisturizer, shampoo, and conditioner.

Why?

I am going to start a series called Why?  In it I will select a few things I do/supplements I take/food I eat and explain why.

 

While I was mulling over things to include in this series, I ran across this post on Cheeseslave – Top Ten Reasons to Drink Raw Milk.  This post is wonderful!  It includes all the reasons why I love raw milk.  I love all the Powerpoint slides, especially the one regarding food-borne illnesses.  Thank you, Ann Marie, for putting this together!