Jan.8 - Toxin of the Day: Microwave Popcorn

Microwave popcorn is a "guilt free" staple of dieters far and wide. Sure it is low calorie, but as we all know, "low calorie" and "good for you" are not always riding in the same car.

Let's examine the ingredients in a popular brand of microwave popcorn that you can find on the shelves of any grocery store in North America.

Ingredients: popping corn, palm oil, salt, potassium chloride, natural and artificial flavors, butter (Cream and annato), color added, freshness preserved by TBHQ and Citric Acid

Okay, the first three ingredients I understand. I can picture them in my head. I might actually use those ingredients in making my popcorn at home. But what are those other ingredients?

Potassium Chloride: According to Wikipedia, the number one use is for fertilizer. Mmmm. It is also used to melt ice in commercial "sidewalk salt" and for a little bit more fun, it is used as part of the chemical compound used in lethal injections to carry out the death sentence. Wow. Could you pass me some of that?

Natural and Artificial Flavors: Natural flavors are derived in some way from organic things, but not necessarily the organic item it is supposed to taste like. Artificial flavors are synthetic and if they make up less than a certain percentage of the ingredients then the manufacturer is not required by the FDA to distinguish the chemicals used to produce those flavors. So basically, your guess is as good as mine as to what this popcorn contains.

Annato: A naturally occurring food coloring, Annato is the only natural food colouring linked to allergic reactions. This is what gives the popcorn it's yellow "buttery" color.

TBHQ: That is the short way of saying tertiary butylhydroquionine. I'm not sure how to say it the long way, but I don't blame them for abbreviating it. This is added to stabilize the oils used in the popcorn. This chemical has been proven to cause precancerous stomach tumors in lab animals, and long term exposure is said to cause other cancers as well. TBHQ is also used to stabilize explosives and make varnish.

Citric Acid: That's just vitamin C, is the common refrain. True. However the commercial citric acid used as a food stabilizer is obtained by growing mold in scrap molasses. I'd frankly prefer to get my vitamin C from eating an orange. Other uses for citric acid include delaying drying time for cement, developing film and making explosives.

Let's make our paper bag popcorn tonight instead, shall we? http://afuturesuccessstory.blogspot.com/2010/01/jan-3-clean-junk.html

Have a squeaky clean day!

Daisy

Jan. 3 - Clean "Junk"

I knew the day would come and today it did. We were out today and the plan was to go out to lunch. We were visiting a friend in the hospital and we were planning to stop near the hospital to grab a bite to eat. There was absolutely nothing around so we ended up heading home. During our drive home, the snowfall turned into a blizzard and there was no way I was driving anywhere but home. My oldest proceeded to get upset because I was "depriving" her from junk. She said, "I'm a kid!!! Kids eat junk!"

So I've put on my mom thinking hat and I'm coming up with some more clean food that will pass as junk. Here are some of the things I have come up with so fa:

PAPER BAG POPCORN

How about the ease of microwave popcorn without the chemistry project? All you need is a brown paper bag, 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels, some sea salt and some olive oil. Put the kernels in your bag and roll the top over twice, leaving plenty of room for your kernels to pop. Put this in the microwave for 1.5 - 2 minutes. When it's done add a splash of olive oil and sea salt to taste, close the bag and shake it to mix it up. POOF! Truly healthy microwave popcorn.

^ this recipe is thanks to "Natmo", a wonderful member of the toscareno.com forum.^

MEATBALL SUBS

Clean meatballs

Clean marinara sauce

2 cloves of roasted garlic

olive oil

low fat mozzarella or Parmesan

Clean bun

Heat up meatballs of your choice in marinara sauce - careful not to use too much sauce or the sandwiches will be too messy to eat. Slice the buns in half and brush or spray with olive oil. Spread roasted garlic on the buns. Toast these in the oven, then top with meatballs, sauce and cheese. Return to the oven until cheese is melted. I eat these sandwiches open-faced with a knife and fork. (only 1/2 a bun that way). You can also top them with onions and peppers.

BEAN DIP

Can of low-fat refried beans (check ingredients to make sure they're clean - we use President's Choice brand)

Shredded low fat cheese

Clean taco sauce or salsa

(I make this dip in a loaf pan - it's the perfect size)

Spread the beans in the pan. Top with salsa, then cheese. Bake at 350 until hot and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Serve with multigrain or other clean tortilla chips, or pita chips. Leftovers are great as burrito or pita filling.

I know these are not fancy cooking. They barely qualify as cooking - more as putting stuff together. I'm working on some other ideas that I will share with you after some experimentation. I want my kids to enjoy eating clean, not to feel deprived.

I felt a sense of urgency today, even though DD was just sulking because she wanted to eat out. The surest way to make this change fail is for the kids to feel like they are getting "ripped off." I feel so strongly about this way of life - I'm going to work as hard as I can to make it work for all of us.

Eats were a little weird today, what with being stuck in the car in a blizzard for 3 hours! Here they are:

M1: whole wheat toast w/ natural pb, apple

M2: Trail mix

M3: Bean dip and multigrain chips

M4: Open faced meatball sub

M5: Fruit

So, low on the fruits and veggies but nothing bad here!