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McDonald's Chicken McNuggets--Gross

Want to know what's in your McDonald's chicken McNuggets? It's all right here

Pick Your Poison...or Your Best Form of Medicine.

Oh No, GMOs!

There's this thing called GMOs. The short and skinny of GMOs is that they're not good. I lived with knowing that for a while because I like to keep things simple. The equation in my head went something like this:

GMOs=bad=won't eat.

But recently, that wasn't enough for me. I naturally wanted to know WHY they're not good.

To begin with, what IS a GMO? It stands for Genetically Modified Organism. Can also be synonymous with Gentetically Engineered Organism. So that in itself says a lot. It's basically technology mutating food organisms in unnatural ways. These laboratory-created mutations are unlabeled, virtually untested and on grocery shelves everywhere. I feel really uncomfortable not knowing what's in my food. Granted, I can't understand half of what's listed under INGREDIENTS of food...but that's the scary thing. If you look at anything off a typical grocery store shelf, look at the ingredients, you won't know most of what's on there. If you look at an organic box, most if not all the ingredients are recognizable or at least pronounceable.

Why are there GMOs in the first place? GM foods are developed – and marketed – because there is some perceived advantage either to the producer or consumer of these foods. This is meant to translate into a product with a lower price, greater benefit (in terms of durability or nutritional value) or both. (Hence why I don't shop at places like U-Save and Aldi...cheaper foods to me equal crappier food.)

Another scary thing is that these GMOs undergo very little testing for safety! There's no long-term studies that research the effects of these mutations on the human body. It is claimed that Americans have eaten GM foods for years with no ill effects. But these foods are unlabeled in the US and no one has monitored the consequences. Aside from us humans eating these things, our ANIMALS are also eating GMOs. Studies have shown, and it makes total sense too, that animals fed GMOs are way less healthier than naturally fed animals. I'm not sure about YOU, but I'd rather eat a bacteria-free, healthy cow than a bacteria-filled, sick cow. I can't be the only one who feels this way.

Animals aren't the only contaminants. The genetically modified crops require increased pesticides. GMOs with pesticides. Grrrrrrrrrrreat.

The thing with GMOs is that because they're not regulated, because there's very little research on what these crossbreeds do, because they're not even listed, it's difficult to know the extent of what they can do to us for sure. How can this affect us? There's been studies that show children are more prone to food allergies. We have increased toxin levels within us. There's definitely less nutrition value in these foods. It's possible that the bacteria that stays in our intestines from GMOs creates an antibiotic resistance.

So what can WE do?

Try to buy organic. With the organic label (there are strict qualifications to be able to put the word ORGANIC on a product), they can't intentionally have GMOs in the food item. Better yet, if the food has a Non-GMO Project Verified Seal on it, even better.

Avoid at-risk ingredients. If it’s not labeled organic or verified non-GMO: Avoid products made with ingredients that might be derived from GMOs. The eight GM food crops are Corn, Soybeans, Canola, Cottonseed, Sugar Beets, Hawaiian Papaya (most) and a small amount of Zucchini and Yellow Squash. Avoid sugar when you can. If a non-organic product made in North American lists “sugar” as an ingredient (and NOT pure cane sugar), then it is almost certainly a combination of sugar from both sugar cane and GM sugar beets. Check out your dairy. Products may be from cows injected with GM bovine growth hormone. Look for labels stating No rBGH, rBST, or artificial hormones.

It's nearly impossible to eat NO GMOs in our country today because we're so dependent on others for food. Everything contains GMOs and the above ingredients. And yes, it's totally expensive to go all organic and eat more FRESH food instead of stuff off the shelves. But what you CAN do is do the best you can. Buy what you can afford. Maybe start by buying organic milk (or almond or coconut milk) instead of regular milk. Then next year, start buying organic fruits and veggies. Then the next year, buy hormone free meat. Things like that. Do what you can with what you have because every little bit counts towards a healthier you. And that's all I want for you.

 

Gluten-Free Grilled Apple and Gorgonzola Sandwich Recipe!

Came across this YUMMY sounding recipe...let me add...HEALTHY recipe! I haven't tried it yet, but I have faith that this is going to be one dee-lish sandwich!



Ingredients:
1 package 1/3-less fat cream cheese
4 oz. gorgonzola or blue cheese*
1 T honey
1 thinly sliced apple
arugula
gluten-free sliced bread
roasted chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions:
Combine the cream cheese, gorgonzola and honey in a bowl and season with fresh-ground pepper. Add the walnuts at this time, if using. Spread a tablespoon on each slice of bread, add sliced apples and a handful of arugula. Grill on a griddle or a pan.
The cheese mixture also makes a great dip for apples, if you want to forgo the sandwich.
* Most blue cheese and gorgonzola produced the USA are gluten-free, and not started on bread. BelGioioso is one brand that is verified gluten-free, as is Rosenborg blue cheese and Point Reyes blue cheese.
——————–
Author Information: Anne Steib, Chicago, IL
Anne Steib
gfreegurl@yahoo.com
http://www.examiner.com/x-13312-Chicago-GlutenFree-Food-Examiner

I got the recipe from: http://glutenfreeworks.com/blog/2009/10/19/fall-recipe-gluten-free-grilled-apple-and-gorgonzola-sandwich-recipe/
 

Bad Soy, Bad!

When my kids were just getting off the bottle, I was learning that cow milk isn't GREAT for us. It's hard to digest. And of course drinking a lot of juice wasn't good because of sugar content. So though I always keep organic milk on hand at all times, and we have juice too, I got them started on chocolate and vanilla soy milk as an alternative to milk and juice. I've read that soy is good, it's full of protein, etc. I figured they'd be drinking something healthy and drinking less cow milk, less juice.

So that's my story on how soy was introduced into my life.

Well, recently, I was startled to find out that soy is actually BAD. Huge red flag for me since my kids drink soy milk a lot. Of course, for every positive said for a food, there's a negative statement about the same food to follow. But I became concerned because we go through maybe two cartons of soy milk a week. I also heard nothing but GOOD things about soy, so I was curious as to WHY soy is now bad. Because if it's bad, I don't want my kids to continue drinking it. And how can soy be bad? Vegetarians eat lots of soy, don't they?!

Well, I did my research on it.... And here's why it's bad:

1) The soybean contains large quantities of natural toxins or 'antinutrients,' including potent enzyme inhibitors that block the action of trypsin and other enzymes needed for protein digestion. They can produce serious distress, reduced protein digestion and chronic deficiencies in amino acid uptake.

2) Soy is higher in phytoestrogens than just about any other food source. Phytoestrogens are dangerous to the human body. Phytoestrogens are plant-based estrogens that mimic estrogen in our bodies.

3) It raises cancer risk, and causes nutrient deficiencies, osteoporosis, thyroid problems, reproductive difficulties, and Alzheimer's Disease.

4) There have been studies that soy lowers sperm count.

The list can go on. And the truth is that these studies have given us these results, but that doesn't mean it's been proven.

The bottom line is that it's given me a scare strong enough to make me ween the kids off of soy milk a little. There ARE alternatives like goat milk, almond milk and coconut milk. I found chocolate almond milk, so I'm giving that a shot. And as with all foods, I'm keeping the soy milk in moderation. There are no studies that confirm that soy is totally, irrevocably BAD for you...and there are studies that show there IS some good to soy. That being said, I'm going to probably seek out the alternatives for now, just in case.

I just wanted to inform you that soy is NOT the BEST out there because everyone is so gun-ho thinking that soy is so good for us, when there's a very real possibility that it's NOT. The food industry won't tell you that, so I will.


*Some info based from:

http://www.vegfamily.com/health/is-soy-bad-for-you.htm
http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/articles/soy-truth.php

Doormet - Gourmet Cafe Food Delivered to Your Door

I'm always on the look out for YUM, LOCAL health food...whether it be a grocery store, fast food, a sit down restaurant...or food delivered to my door!

I came across this article on tbo.com about a local gourmet cafe that delivers food to your door! The place I speak of is Doormet, right on Dale Mabry in the Palma Ceia area in the Publix plaza! You can walk into their quaint place that sits 30 or you can have them deliver. They serve pizza, soups, sandwiches and salads, burgers and pasta...yeah, perfect for lunch, I know! They even have mac 'n cheese, which is a PLUS since mac 'n cheese is a staple food for my kids...and on a slightly more enticing note, they deliver desserts, wine and beer! They even have some organic items, which is AWE-SOME.

SIGN. ME. UP!

I don't think they'll deliver to my new house which is NOT in Tampa, but I think I'll have to stop by there before work.

Contact info: (813) 287-DOOR (3667),www.doormet.com

I guarantee you, they HAVE to be better than McDonald's!