Healthy Cooking Journal

Avoid MSG

The other day a friend of mine asked me about MSG. Golly, I thought everybody knew about MSG. Apparently not. I’m fairly sure she eats lots of stuff that contains MSG. I also realize now that she’s constantly complaining about all sorts of maladies from headaches to sinus problems to allergies and numerous other aches and pains. Duh, I am putting two and two together here. So I did some research. I am certainly aware that a number of ingredients have “shady” names to mislead consumers, but here’s some really shocking news! Today, there are MANY more.

So, I took a little trip through my fridge to check labels of everyday type things. My dry storage pantry checked out very well, but my fridge surprised me. Two bottles of salad dressing disclosed an array of additives for everything from color and flavor enhancer to stabilizers. I understand that the low-fat versions are much worse, if that’s possible. OK, so my next step is to find that recipe that claims to taste just like ranch dressing and make it myself. And, that goes for the caesar dressing as well. All this makes good old olive oil and balsamic vinegar look really delicious.

Then I checked out two additional things in my fridge. Just simple things like the sour cream and a well known brand of blue cheese. The blue cheese is “enhanced” with modified. enzymes, cellulose and natamycin to “protect flavor”. Now, I am smart enough to know that natamycin isn’t a glutamate, so I looked it up and found this: Natamycin is an antifungal antibiotic from Streptomyces Natalensis and is used mainly as a topical treatment for fungal infections! Yuk!! Looks like any blue cheese I buy in the future will be nothing less than organic, period!

As for the sour cream. I am seeing the same problem. It may be Grade A Whey, but there’s also modified corn starch, sodium phosphate, guar gum, carrageenan, calcium sulfate, locust bean gum, and potassium sorbate to of all thing maintain freshness! My question is…..where is the CREAM? Organic again!

I urge you to read the label (as I should have) and buy accordingly. This isn’t food….this is man-made junk. I am posting another article on this subject at www.thewholefoodjournal.com where I will list the MSG and glutamate culprits that are well hidden in the foods we buy so we can all be better informed as we shop for healthier food.

Just to demonstrate how tricky this all is, here’s an example of well hidden additives. A product can list vegetable broth as an ingredient, but they need not mention the fact that there is an additive called hydrolyzed soy protein wihin the broth. I guess you either buy organic, or make your own…..now that’s a good idea.

Healthy Food Shopping

Next time you shop for food, take a look at your fellow shopper’s carts. It’s kind of a game with me. There’s an interesting quote that goes like this…..”Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are”. So, my little game is to try and figure out what people are (nutritionally speaking of course) by what I see in their carts.

After allowing for kids, plants, toys, paper goods, pet necessities, automotive parts and pieces, and a jillion other things on the shelves of any supercenter, I see the FOOD! Some start with plastic-pack drinks hanging all over the sides of their carts and others just fill the bottom half with diet pop. Then, there is the meat! Lots of meat! And, boxes and bags of cereal and chips. Top that with cookies, burger helper, hot dog buns and spaghetti sauce in huge jars. How about a little iceberg lettuce and a few tomatoes. Last stop is for a couple of cartons of ice-cream. How’s that for a shopping trip??

I’m a list maker from way back, and still to this day forget everything that’s not on my list. I especially love my grocery list. It keeps me in line and guarantees my pantry is filled with food that’s full of nutrition. No burger helper here. If that’s what I want I can make it from scratch and avoid a good number of additives and chemicals. I’m truly a pasta lover and have quite a striking “display” of different pasta to choose from. In the fridge are an assortment of onions, peppers, squash, spinach and other good vegetables that become stir-fry to toss with that pasta.

So, when you see my cart you will find necessities for my kitty, but no kids (they all have kids of their own now…….but I do remember a time when I had one cart for kids and another for the food!). I like to think that my cart represents how much effort I have, and do, put into deciding what foods are the most healthful and nutritious, from canned and packaged goods to fresh produce to meats and cheese. These days it’s smart to actually read labels………and after doing so you will surely bypass the ice cream that really isn’t ice cream at all.

I think I’ll go make a list of everything in my pantry.

The Healthy Cooking Lifestyle

How can you just look in the fridge and throw something together? Depends on what’s in your fridge! Over the years I’ve become a pretty fair cook, mostly because my family of eight depended on me not to starve. These days when I’m asked to bring food, everyone knows to put me in charge of salad….and they do. I can tell you that a fabulous caesar salad is a hit every time. My relish plates are not only good and healthy, they are a work of art…at least in my mind.

I actually do like to cook. Just not the meat, potatoes and gravy daily grind. There’s a better, healthier way. That said, I invite you into this journal of healthy cooking. I’ve been an avid recipe collector since I was a teenager, and the Healthy Cooking Journal is the perfect opportunity to share from my bulging files. I might even be inspired to bake something again real soon even though baking isn’t necessarily my strong suit.

As autumn gets closer I start thinking soup and stew. I can almost smell the homemade vegetable soup simmering on the back burner. Of course the perfect match is sourdough bread hot from the oven spread with REAL butter. No wonder they call it comfort food. But, I’m getting ahead of myself here. We’re still in late summer. Just a few days ago I discovered that potatoes, onions, zucchini and yellow crookneck squash cooked together and seasoned with a little salt, pepper and a dash (or more) of Braggs Sprinkle became a really tasty side for rosemary grilled chicken breast. Are you hungry yet?

As Healthy Cooking Journal grows it will become much more than just a cookbook. We’ll talk about what is, and is not healthy, and why. How you can become a savvy shopper. How you can take control of your health by cooking and eating healthy, healing food. You can also find more about healthier food at www.thewholefoodjournal.com.

Perhaps you want to grow your own….and preserve it too. Good for you. You’ll find what you need to know right here. Homemade is the very best and worth your efforts.

I guess cooking naturally could be best described at this moment as the difference between the pizza you make yourself and the one I once purchased at the grocery store with only three things I could recognize on the label…..white flour, fat and some kind of tomato spread. The remaining “ingredients” were words I could not pronounce. Of course I trashed it! But, there you can clearly see the line in the sand when it comes to healthy food and just plain junk.

I invite you to visit Healthy Cooking Journal often and to share your comments, suggestions (and yes, recipes too!). Someone out there is looking for your prize recipes and tips.

And, I leave you today with a great little story about my mother-in-law. She was the best baker I ever knew. Every Sunday after church she would take over my kitchen, make one huge mess and produce six beautiful loaves of homemade bread. I cleaned up the mess, but there was NO whining in my kitchen, for as she took her one loaf with her, she always left the remaining five with me. No wonder her grandkids loved her.

Welcome to Healthy Cooking Journal. What’s your story?