"Healthy" isn't always friendly.
Just wanted to clarify a few things, after a trip to Super-1's Huckleberry's department (all the "conscious" stuff sold at Super-1). Super-1 and Andy's (a local store) tend to compliment each other's health related items. It's just too bad the drive between the two is kind of a gas guzzler. I'd never seriously considered just what it was I was walking right past on the shelves in either Huckleberry's or Andy's, when I would shop just for one or two specific things that I couldn't get elsewhere in vegan-mode. I just thought, "Eh, that's hippie stuff. Those poor things, they pay twice as much because a label claims it's healthier. I've been eating normal stuff for how long now? And 0 adverse affects!" I thought that mainly because I was taught that while growing up poor. In reality though, I do believe that my mom was trading off health for funds. That's not going to help me down the road when it comes to health-care costs. Thankfully, I'm (barely) still 34. I'm still salvageable. What's the difference?
As my best friend of almost 23 years now, Laura, has spent so much time and effort trying to convince me, natural is always best. It DOES cost more. And it can just as easily be abused as manufactured foods. While I do know that most "additives and preservatives" are nothing more than latin words for food bi-products used to improve the overall texture, color, and longevity of processed foods, the truth is... Well... It's not like they sell those things over the counter for home cooking! Why? Home cooking doesn't require such things. Those tend to only be added because manufactured foods have to be stored, transported, stored again, shelved, sold, driven home, stored in pantries, and finally opened and eaten, then stored again in fridges and freezers... That's a LOT of storing and transporting! Most home cooked foods would rot before even making it to stores from storage facilities, if put through all that.
The whole point of this blog, and really, of my kitchen, is home cooking. Not specifically "down home" cooking. Not even necessarily "pioneer" cooking, "international" cooking, or whatever. Just home cooking, period. As apposed to microwave "cooking" (though I do at times use a microwave more properly to reheat leftovers or make hot water for tea) or "eating in" or worse yet, "eating out." There are tons of sites out there that try to ease your eating-out-woes, try to get you to make "healthier" choices in the fast-food and restaurant industries... But seriously, if you knew what was in those sauces and syrups and icings and even in the veggies... You'd just about gag, once you researched what all that sodium, sugar, and fat does to you. Even healthier foods, such as Lo Mein or basic spagetti aren't safe when ordered in or out: you may get a lot for your money, but there's like 5 servings in each "serving" of those when they come from restaurants.
That's actually the main reason for home cooking. The other reason, of course, is that it's TONS cheaper, even when using all natural organic produce and so on, than pre-packaged foods, fast foods, or foods that come from restaurants. The nice thing is, home cooking means that you use your fridge more fully, which means you pay the same amount for electricity but you get more out of your fridge. And you use the foods in your fridge more often, thus less spoilage. I'm aware that spoilage is the main reason people don't cook non-fast-foods at home, and the secondary reason is that they don't have a lot of time. If you only do home cooking, you'll use your ingredients often enough that they won't spoil. Also, one of the objectives of this blog is to (hopefully, though the almolate and bread baking experiments are exceptions) stream-line and simplify home cooking so that time won't be a major factor. I realize that a lot of blogs and cooking sites, as well as recipe books, make the claims that they are "15 minute" recipes and so on. All they mean by that is that the cooking time itself is 15 minutes. The prep time, including trying to find all those obscure ingredients? In some cases, we're talking hours. I don't have that kind of time. I'm guessing you don't either.
In any case, I'm realizing that natural foods cooked at home are the best way to go, when considering all the various options. If you're willing to eat basic foods. Now, if you're one of those super convoluted everything-has-to-be-complicated "cuisine" freaks... Um, you might as well move on to some other blog. There's a little "Next Blog" link at the top of this page, I suggest you use it. I'll happily donate those old unused recipe cards to ya if I ever find them in some old box somewhere or other... I just have no use for that kind of cooking on a daily basis, and I doubt that most people reading this blog do either. Goodness, not every Sunday is "brunch day." Um. I've never been to a Sunday brunch! Heard of 'm, never been to one. Have you? Good for you if you have, but most people haven't and don't care to.
Getting back to my original muse. "Healthy" isn't always friendly.
While I was in the Huckleberry's section, I quickly became acquainted with some varying "conscious" terms. There's "eco-friendly. Not to be confused with "animal-friendly." "Fair Trade" is completely separate. And of course, there are at least two organizations that companies can pick and choose from to get certified for each of these. MOST companies aren't certified in all 3 areas. And even if they are, almost none of them are truly vegan. Check out the shared equipment clause under the ingredient lists! Usually, milk or dairy is on the list. And, even when they're vegan, they aren't free of other allergens, when really, there's no need at all for such allergens to be present in those foods. I mean, good grief, a bar of dark chocolate... Yeah. You tell me!
I did find however that there are at least a few 99%'s out there. Foods which are at least Fair Trade, and a few of them at least didn't have milk as an added ingredient. Were it not for the shared equipment issue for the chocolate, there would have been several brands I found there which I would have recommended. Is chocolate processed food? Yes. Does it matter? You try making real chocolate at home. Good luck with that. The almolate... Well, you judge for yourself on that one. I'm still playing around with it. Picked up some almond butter and almond "flour" (the flour came from Wal-Mart) last night - will have to see what comes of that.
Here's a list of the best of the best that I found at Huckleberry's. These are all Fair Trade, except for the *almond butter and *almond oil.
Rapunzel Organic Whole Grain Sugar
Wholesome Sweetener's Organic Powdered Sugar
Frontier Vanilla Extract
Alter-Eco Robust Extra Virgin Olive Oil
*Justin's Natural Almond Butter (You have GOT to see the fav fan video!)
*Spectrum Almond Oil
It's good to remember that not everything on the planet has to be "Fair Trade." Those items whose ingredients came completely from the US and never left the US, just don't need to be worried about. I have seen a few "Fair Trade" items on the shelves that were just outright gimmicks. "Fair Trade" whole wheat flour? Hahahaaaa! There's no reason in the world for whole wheat flour to be "Fair Trade"! Of course it's "Fair Trade"! Um. Yeah. Whole wheat flour generally already comes from the US and stays here anyway. Duh.
It's always good to just ask yourself, "Does this item grow in a tropical region?" That'll pretty much clear up most of that issue right there. Why would I purchase non fair trade almond products? *coughs* All almonds (and almond products) sold in the US come from CA.
Altogether, the items listed above are, um, spendy at best. But it's really hit me that this is how much it actually costs to produce these items. Why have these things been cheaper for me in the past? Child-slaves made them. It's really that simple. Children suffered for my food. It angers and grosses me out to think of it. So, I didn't know... That changes nothing for those kids.
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