There's Nothing Cool About It

Ok, so the answer to my previous post is Cool Whip. Cool Whip? How can a white creamy desert topping come from that list of ingredients? Instead of writing an explanation on each of these ingredients, I will refer you to this link. It tells you what each ingredient is and the other uses it has (such as hemorrhoid cream and sexual lubricants).

What I don't understand is how we got out of the habit of making homemade whipped cream, and buying this tub full of chemicals. For those of you who don't know how to make whipped at home here is a recipe.

1/2 cup organic heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add all ingredients together in bowl. Whisk by hand, use a hand blender, or beat in your kitchen aid for about 5 minutes until desired consistency is reached.

You can use any sweetener of your choice and any extract of your choice (try mint). Sometimes if the food I am using it on is sweet enough, I will not add any sugar or vanilla. Add more sugar for a sweeter topping.

Guessing Game

Guess what food this list of ingredients came from. Once I get three guesses I'll post the answer. (don't cheat and google the ingredients!)

water, corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated coconut and palm kernel oil, sodium caseinate, vanilla extract, xanthan and guargums, polysorbate 60 and betacarotene

What is a Whole Food? (Part II)

"If it serves no other purpose but to be eaten, then it is not a whole food." I just remembered an exception to the rule.

51 Uses for Coca-Cola

No, this does not make Coke a whole food.

What is a Whole Food?

The question I get asked the most is what is the most important dietary advice I can give. People say to me, "Tell me what I should eat". If I had to pick only one message to tell the world about healthy eating it would be to CHOOSE WHOLE FOODS. When whole foods are selected we have the freedom to eat whatever we want and as much as we want. What is a whole food? I am not trying to market a grocery store. A whole food is a food that is closest to the way it is found in nature. For example, an apple is a whole food. Apple juice is not because it has the fiber removed from it. I am not saying that apple juice is bad, but juice intake needs to be monitored whereas apple intake does not. The more an item is processed, the less of a whole food it is. An apple is more of a whole food than homemade apple pie, but homemade apple pie is more of a whole food that MacDonald's apple pie.

The best description I have ever heard of a whole food is from a prior teacher. "If is serves no other purpose but to be eaten, then it is not a whole food." I will stick to the magnificent apple. An apple does not need us. It develops from a flower, it is a vessel for seeds, and those seeds hold the life of another apple tree. If an apple is not picked for consumption it will fall on the ground and eventually degrade back into the dirt to fertilize other plants or spread its seeds to start a new life. Now picture a twinkie. What if it is never eaten? No twinkie tree will grow, it will just sit there probably for a few thousand years.

Whole foods contain all the essential nutrients, they don't contribute to disease (depending on how they are grown but that's another story), they leave you feeling satisfied and when you eat whole foods your body knows when to stop eating. When was the last time your friend confessed to you that she failed her diet because she ate the whole box of oranges or half a gallon of brown rice with fresh herbs?

Next time you are shopping and don't know what to buy just think of how you would find the food in nature. Choose honey instead of refined sugar, whole oats instead of boxed cereal, or a potato instead of potato chips.

The Wide Wide World of Food

Around the world for thousands of years food has been used traditionally as the center of societies, celebration, families, healing and maintenance of health. Before the creation of industrialized agriculture and food production people lived and worked to eat. Food was enjoyable and a reward! I see in our society today a major focus on what we should not eat. People struggle to not eat what they are craving and to not over eat. Companies completely dismantle our food, bottle it and sell it at exuberant prices which confuses us even more! The focus on this blog is help individuals feel freedom from that struggle and confusion. I will write about a variety of aspects to help people focus on the right kinds of food and to get back in touch with their bodies to feel what is right for them. Once that is accomplished optimum health and freedom from guilt can be attained. This will be done through a variety of subjects: food and agricultural politics, herbal medicine, restaurant reviews, emotional aspects of eating, alternatives to pharmaceuticals, recipes and so much more. There is no one aspect that will bring optimum health, no "magic bullet". What a wide wide world of food we live in.