Showing posts with label going green. Show all posts
Showing posts with label going green. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Tryna Eat Right

One of my aims in growing a garden is to eat better. I'm not a huge fan of dieting-I think denying myself the foods I crave only leads to ultimate failure. I can't keep it up forever and eventually I end up binging. :: sad face :: Wholesome foods and exercise are where it's at.

However, I do try to keep the amount of processed food in my diet to a minimum. I like knowing everything that's on the ingredients label. Propylene glycol? Glycerol triacetate? Xylitol? Do you know what that stuff is? I certainly don't, and I've even got three semesters of organic chemistry under my belt! So why would I want that stuff in my body? Especially considering the FDA classifies most food additives as "generally recognized as safe." Generally? I'd like a little more conviction when you say that!

I believe that if I start with some basic ingredients: pasta, rice, fresh fruits & vegetables, spices, I will know what I'm putting into my body, it will be more nutritious and I can cut down on the things we all know we shouldn't be eating. You know what I'm talking about-cheese puffs, Twinkies, etc. I'm convinced there is a direct connection between orange food coloring and food quality!

I also think that fresher ingredients mean better taste. And if it starts out tasting better, I can cut down on things like butter, salt and even meat. No I'm not going veg-although I have mucho respect for those who are. However, I know meat production eats up a vast amount of resources and has a proportionally larger carbon footprint than many other foodstuffs. Red meat especially is bad for the environment-cattle farms are simply not sustainable. So even though I'm not cutting meat out of my diet entirely, cutting back even a little bit helps.

So those're my thoughts on eating right. Anyone else have any thoughts to share?