Processed food...

Recently I read a passage called, Xylitol, Erythritol, Sorbitol…What’s That "Ol" About? It was article posted by Kitchen Stewardship.  This post talked about bout these "itols."  These are considered sugar alcohols which are created chemically.  For me I most commonly see the first one in gum.

My husband read an article about the top 10 worst sugars for you to eat and the top10 best.   Many of the sugars that I use regularly were on the worst, like agave nectar.  These were listed due the high concentration of sugar.  

This weekend I began watching the documentary, Forks over Knives.  All these things combined made me think about the food that I buy for my family to eat.  I have always focused on healthy food.  The more I read and research about food the more I worry about what my family is eating and how it can affect them.

So after talking with my husband we decided to make a few more changes.  I want to stop buying processed or preservative filled food.  Any food that we really need I will attempt to make (bread, granola bars, etc.).  So here is the list I came up with.

Foods that I would like cut back significantly or eliminate:

Bread- I would like to make our own when possible

Cereal- maybe buy it once a month- organic less than 6 grams of sugar per severing

Bacon- butcher our own

Lunch meat- eliminate

Pasta- eat once a month, I haven’t learned to make my own.  If I learned I could make it and freeze it.

Granola bars- I don't buy these, I make my own.  Make sure the cereal used to make these is organic

Dark chocolate- eat occasionally

Tortillas- eliminate?

Cookies-I don't buy these, I only make them on special occasions

Crackers- I don't buy these.

Chips- I don't like buying these. But I can't make everyone give up everything.

This may seem extreme but I feel a need to protect my family from all the additives of processed food.

A few things that I think will help with this would be to eat more oatmeal for breakfast.  This is a great alternative to cereal.  Also I will plan one vegetarian meal per week.  This will help cut back on the amount of meat we consume; which will in turn decrease our food bill. 

 The next area I would like to look at is the dressing, peanut butters, mustard, ketchups, and bbq sauce.  I know they have alot of nasty things in them.  I think I will be making alot of my own with these.

What changes have you made in your kitchen or buying?