What’s not to eat?
April 3, 2008 by kittehfoodWhat’s not to eat?
I’ll tell you what’s not to eat, and that is processed
foods. And I’ll tell you why.
1. It’s not healthy, compared to real, unadulterated food.
2. It’s supporting the industries that want to zombie-ize
you.
3. It adds to the trash, “uniquely American.”
4. It’s often loaded with salt and sugars, not to mention
chemicals.
5. It’s more expensive.
OK, that’s enough for a start. Let’s explore this.
Why isn’t it healthy?
Because much of the natural goodness has been processed
out, that’s one reason. Why are there vitamins and
minerals added? Because they have been stripped out, and
even soulless corporations have to pretend they’re giving
you some semblance of nutrition by adding a pinch.
How does it support industries that want to zombie-ize
you?
Well, duh, you’re buying it: paying for the advertising
and packaging, shelf placement fees, and grotesque CEO
salaries. And in this New World Disorder of unregulated
capitalism for the poor and socialism for the rich, it
supports industries that “self-regulate,” i.e., they are
the entity that oversees their own misdeeds, which means
they go unpunished for their misdeeds.
How does it add to trash?
Let’s use mac ‘n’ cheese in a box as an example.
Typically, you will throw away the box instead of
shredding it and adding it to compost, and the package
that holds the “cheese sauce” is trash, too. It’s a couple
of handfulls of pasta and artifically flavored and colored
not-cheese.
Loaded with salt and sugars, you ask?
Read the damn labels. Many if not most canned tomato
products include some form of sugar. If you want sweet
tomatoes, add your own sugar or grow your own! Tell me
what’s to like in this beverage:
“filtered water, contains less than 2% of natural flavor,
citric acid, sucralose and acesulfame potassium
(sweetener), sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate
(preserve freshness)”
That’s what’s in Fruit2O, a drink you can easily make (and
more healthfully) by adding a squeeze of lemon juice to
water, and sugar if you want.
How is it more expensive?
1. It can make you sick or obese, increasing the cost of
disease care.
2. You are giving an already monopoly even more power over
you.
3. Soon, if not already, you will be paying for trash
removal.
4. The added salts and sugar derivatives can be addictive,
if not downright poisoness.
Do me (and you) a favor: price a bag of macaroni, a half
pound chunk of cheese, and a few green onions. I guarantee
you will get more meals for your money than boxed mac ‘n’
cheese.
As your reward, here’s a homemade “recipe” for mac ‘n’
cheese.
Pasta with cheese
Tiny shell macaroni
Water or broth
Pinch of dry mustard, or more, to taste
Butter or olive oil
Cheese (any kind you like), grated
Green onions, sliced thinly on the diagonal
Cover mac with water or broth, heat and add more
water/broth as the mac expands, stirring until the pasta
is al dente (i.e., no longer crunchy and not mushy)
Add a pinch of dry mustard
Add some butter or olive oil to make it slippery
Grate cheese into the pot, stir
Add sliced onions, stir
Serve with a mixed green salad, green beans or steamed
broccoli florettes, roasted carrots, stewed or sliced
tomatoes.
Need dessert? Try fruit with cream or half and half and
brown sugar.
