Real Food

[talon]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/23/real.food.challenge/index.html?hpt=Sbin

There are certain processed foods I am more than comfortable purchasing because there is negligible difference between someone eles doing it large scale and me trying to do it at home myself. True, I could grind my own wheat, but flour mills are more efficient and I'd rather support them and their employees than grind my regular flour myself. Olive oil - do you know how intense and involved it is to press one's own olive oil? No - that also I prefer to buy.

Pasta is another product I'm willing to buy simply because I don't have the tools to make my favorite shapes. The flavor isn't altered by the shape, but the shape does matter in soups, stews, and with sauces. Some shapes are bestter suited for some thing - lasagna pasta just doesn't make a good mac and cheese nor is it a suitable soup noodle, but it wows in the casserole division. And trust me - angel hair pasta does not make a good lasagna.

Milk also needs to be bought already processed because there just isn't any raw milk available locally and living in the city as I do, keeping goats or cows just ain't happening.

Cheese - I buy cheese already made up because raw milk isn't available here. I do frequently make some of the fresh dairy products - cream cheese, cottage cheese, tiny mozzarella balls, crème fraiche, sour cream - but cheeses like cheddar, Parmesan, asiago, Havarti, etc. - I buy those.

Old fashioned rolled oats (not the quick-cooking or instant kinds) is another processed food I buy because it's simpler and cheaper to buy it than to do it myself.

Sugar is another processed food I buy, but since I use a 4 pound bag of sugar a year (outside of Cookie Day), it's not much. I mostly sweeten with honey and molasses.

I do buy cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and assorted herbs and spices that don't grow locally and you can't make me give those up.

Tea and coffee are the final things I buy processed. Both come from Free Trade sources and the coffee comes from a small roaster.

Casting a thought over my pantry - those are the only processed foods I buy: Flour, oil, pasta, dairy, oats, sugar, herbs and spices, coffee and tea.

I don't have a problem with buying processed foods. I have a problem with buying over-processed foods. I don't buy TV dinners, frozen pizzas, boxed mac and cheese, canned soups, canned, frozen, or boxed entrees, microwavable anything (except occasionally popcorn for work since I prefer stove top popped corn), canned or frozen vegetables already seasoned or in sauces, cereals (except corn flakes and rice krispies as recipe ingredients), instant anything (puddings and hot cereals come to mind), pop tarts, chips (except tortilla chiips made at the restaurant while I watch and I can take them home fresh and still warm), bread (except the occasional baguette from the Asian store), bottled dressings, prepared mayonnaise, sodas, canned teas, or juices made from concentrates. And none of those weird "go-gurts" and things, no granola bars (which are just glorified candy bars, anyway), or store bought muffins and things.

It's not hard for me to do this as I've never been a fan of those over-processed foods.

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<p><lj-cut><p>http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/23/real.food.challenge/index.html?hpt=Sbin <p>There are certain processed foods I am more than comfortable purchasing because there is negligible difference between someone eles doing it large scale and me trying to do it at home myself. True, I could grind my own wheat, but flour mills are more efficient and I'd rather support them and their employees than grind my regular flour myself. Olive oil - do you know how intense and involved it is to press one's own olive oil? No - that also I prefer to buy.<p>Pasta is another product I'm willing to buy simply because I don't have the tools to make my favorite shapes. The flavor isn't altered by the shape, but the shape does matter in soups, stews, and with sauces. Some shapes are bestter suited for some thing - lasagna pasta just doesn't make a good mac and cheese nor is it a suitable soup noodle, but it wows in the casserole division. And trust me - angel hair pasta does not make a good lasagna.<p>Milk also needs to be bought already processed because there just isn't any raw milk available locally and living in the city as I do, keeping goats or cows just ain't happening.<p>Cheese - I buy cheese already made up because raw milk isn't available here. I do frequently make some of the fresh dairy products - cream cheese, cottage cheese, tiny mozzarella balls, crème fraiche, sour cream - but cheeses like cheddar, Parmesan, asiago, Havarti, etc. - I buy those.<p>Old fashioned rolled oats (not the quick-cooking or instant kinds) is another processed food I buy because it's simpler and cheaper to buy it than to do it myself.<p>Sugar is another processed food I buy, but since I use a 4 pound bag of sugar a year (outside of Cookie Day), it's not much. I mostly sweeten with honey and molasses.<p>I do buy cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and assorted herbs and spices that don't grow locally and you can't make me give those up.<p>Tea and coffee are the final things I buy processed. Both come from Free Trade sources and the coffee comes from a small roaster. <p>Casting a thought over my pantry - those are the only processed foods I buy: Flour, oil, pasta, dairy, oats, sugar, herbs and spices, coffee and tea.<p>I don't have a problem with buying processed foods. I have a problem with buying over-processed foods. I don't buy TV dinners, frozen pizzas, boxed mac and cheese, canned soups, canned, frozen, or boxed entrees, microwavable anything (except occasionally popcorn for work since I prefer stove top popped corn), canned or frozen vegetables already seasoned or in sauces, cereals (except corn flakes and rice krispies as recipe ingredients), instant anything (puddings and hot cereals come to mind), pop tarts, chips (except tortilla chiips made at the restaurant while I watch and I can take them home fresh and still warm), bread (except the occasional baguette from the Asian store), bottled dressings, prepared mayonnaise, sodas, canned teas, or juices made from concentrates. And none of those weird "go-gurts" and things, no granola bars (which are just glorified candy bars, anyway), or store bought muffins and things.<p>It's not hard for me to do this as I've never been a fan of those over-processed foods.<p<What slays me, though, is people saying they can't find real food at the grocery stores. We don't have a Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Central Market, or even a very good Farmer's Market here. We have Buy 4 Less, Homeland, Walmart Super Centers, one lone Target Super Store, and an Aikens Health Food Store as our major stores. We also have the upscale Crescent Market for the wealthy to patronize with a friendly butcher and a tiny produce section. If these were the only stores we had, I could easily find plenty of real food to buy and eat.<p>But we also have tucked away and often well hidden little ethnic stores - Asian markets and Mexican stores and even a German deli - where we can buy lots of real food, including seafood still swimming in their tanks. Most of these stores are located in our inner city and high poverty areas, often in neighborhoods that are questionable looking or have high crime rates, so the best real food in town is also the scariest to buy if you don't already live in those areas. <p>This is pretty much the way it is throughout the south and bordering into the Midwest - the best real food is available in the worst-looking neighborhoods, the poorest ones, the inner city areas. Maybe it's different out west, on the east coast or up north. Or in other countries.<p>Finding real food isn't hard. You just have to know where to go, where to look, and be willing to go to some of those places.<p>It's just so much easier to buy a can of soda pop and a bag of chips as a snack than to carry around a banana or an apple. The fruit is cheaper than the soda and chips. A banana cost maybe 15¢, an apple will cost around 30¢(unless you buy from 7-11, when either will set you back a whopping 50¢ each) , a soda costs $1.00, and a bag of chips costs $1.50 so don't <i>tell</i> me that it's cheaper to eat junk food. It's just easier and habitual, not cheaper. <p></lj-cut>