nongmo bpa and organics
I wouldn’t say that I’m a “health nut” in any way. I do however, believe in watching what I put into my family’s bodies. You should know that while it is much more convenient to grab a box of pre-made muffins from the store, you can make muffins that taste better and have 1/4 of the ingredients in them. I know it seems like a hassle, but if I can take the time to do it, anyone can. I’m not telling anyone to go out and change their whole diet. I just think that people should be informed. With that said, let’s talk about a few of those things that are in our foods that we can easily avoid (and should)! Like I said, being informed is the first step. How far you go with the knowledge is up to you. I’ll be putting some links at the end of this post of some of the sites that I frequently use.
GMO’s
Genetically Modified Organisms – These are bad. Why can’t we just grow food the way we did 100’s of years ago? Why must we get all scientific and mess with everything? I could go on with this for days. It’s so very annoying to me. Can you completely avoid GMO’s? You can definitely try and you can take steps to not eating certain things. The really hard part of this whole deal is that, in the U.S. GMO’s are not required to be labeled. However, there are several companies that do label their products. You’ll probably notice in a lot of the recipes I post, I’ll put the brand name to make things a little easier. I also try as hard as possible to stay away from the biggest culprits: corn, soy, sugar beet and canola. I’ll admit that staying away from things with corn is very hard, but I do try. I feel like if I’m putting in the “good ol’ college effort” then I’m doing okay.
BPA
This is also bad. BPA is a chemical that is used in making plastics. It’s also used inside some metal food cans and bottle tops. The problem with BPA is that it can seep into the food or beverages and cause medical problems. You may or may not remember where a few years ago it was a pretty big deal with not using it in baby bottles anymore. There are manufactures that have quit using BPA and label their products. On the other hand, there are still a lot of manufactures that continue to use it. One thing you can do is not microwave or use a dishwasher for plastics. This causes the plastic to break down and the BPA to seep into your food.
Organics
This is probably the most familiar term here. Organic foods are grown without the use of pesticides and all the other things that honestly, I’d rather not eat or feed my family. It will sometimes cost a bit more, but in the long run, it’s worth it. It is possible to stay on budget and eat healthy. Most organics are clearly labeled and easy to find so I won’t stay on this subject long.
Is everything my family and I eat completely healthy and without chemicals? No. My whole point is that, while I do try to watch what we’re putting into our bodies, sometimes things don’t go exactly as planned. I think that if we all just do the best we can with the knowledge that we’re given then that’s great! Everything in moderation. Are those M & M’s good for you? Probably not. Am I going to sit and eat a whole family sized bag in one sitting? No. No one is perfect but with all the information that is out there, how can we not try to stay as informed as possible?
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