Becoming a savvy grocery shopper is a skill well worth learning, as you will need to invest some high-quality time shopping for, and preparing, your food if you want to stay healthy.
You may be tempted to "save money" on food using the dollar menu at your local fast-food restaurant, but this will cost you dearly in the long-run as the food is virtually guaranteed to:Grocery shopping takes more time and effort, true. But it's also the only way you'll have control over what types of food you feed your family. Learning to be a savvy food shopper is not only about the price tag (looking for freshness and food quality are also important), but, that being said, the more you can keep your grocery bill down, the better.
- Zap your energy
- Sour your mood
- Ultimately cause weight gain and disease
A delicious blend of corn sugar, wax, and condom lube.Nutritious Fake 'Food' Through Better Chemistry?
Water
It's the main ingredient. But like any whipped product, Cool Whip contains a high percentage of air. At 41 cents per ounce, you're buying mostly water and air for just over twice what it would cost to whip real cream yourself.
Natural and Artificial Flavorings
Cool Whip doesn't really taste like much, but Kraft's recipe for blandness is a trade secret. That means the company doesn't have to disclose the specific flavorings.
Note: When a product lists natural and or artificial flavoring as an ingredient, be alert to the fact that these general descriptions routinely serve as a Trojan Horse for the dangerous excitotoxin - aspartame.
Corn Syrup and High-Fructose Corn Syrup
Sugar by other names. Corn syrup is mostly glucose. High-fructose corn syrup is corn syrup treated with amylase and other enzymes, which together help convert glucose into fructose. A diet high in fructose is known to make lab mice fatter than other diets, so keep your research animals away from Cool Whip.
Read about the significant dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup HERE.
Hydrogenated Coconut and Palm Kernel Oil
Cool Whip needs to feel like whipped cream in the mouth without actually being, you know, made with cream. One cheap, reliable way to replicate the texture is by using semi- solidified plant oils. The best method of solidifying plant oils: Bubble high- pressure hydrogen through them. Of course, if not done completely, the result is trans fat. These days, Kraft avoids that.
The health dangers of trans fats have been known for decades, yet food companies still poison customers with hydrogenated oils HERE |
Polysorbate 60
Polysorbates are made by polymerizing ethylene oxide (a precursor to antifreeze) with a sugar alcohol derivative. The result can be a detergent, an emulsifier, or, in the case of polysorbate 60, a major ingredient in some sexual lubricants.
Sodium Caseinate
Also common in powdered non-dairy creamer, this protein derived from cow milk helps oil and water mix.
Sorbitan Monostearate
Chemists call this stuff synthetic wax, and it's sometimes used as a hemorrhoid cream. It's one of the magical substances that keep Cool Whip from turning to liquid over time in the fridge.
Xanthan and Guar Gums
These are natural thickeners, and together they provide more viscosity than either does alone. Guar also helps retard the formation of ice crystals, another key to preserving fluffiness.
Source: Wired Magazine
Adapted from Patrick Di Justo
1. Eat Food. Not too Much. Mostly Plants.
Michael Pollan wrote it. Live it.
2. Eat Superfoods.
Superfoods pack the most nutrients into each serving. Use our Superfood Index, which pairs the most nutritious foods with delicious recipes.
3. Eat Real Foods.
Whether you concerned about salmonella in peanut butter and bisphenol A residue from foods packed in plastic, or just plain confused by misleading food labels, less-processed foods are the answer.
4. Eat Local.
Get your foods locally, so you can ask your farmer how she grows her food, and how she cares for the soil.
5. Eat In Season.
Get your nutrition from foods that are in season whenever possible to ensure freshness and reduce food miles.
It's all nonsense, of course, and it's part of the "power theft" perpetrated every day by promoters of conventional medicine.
Today, I'd like to show you how to take that power back from those who have stolen it. In my book "Take Back Your Health Power!" I show you how to take control of your health from this day forward, putting your health results firmly in your own hands rather than those of doctors, drug company executives or FDA bureaucrats."
--Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Paneer is a fresh cheese traditionally made from whole milk typically [raw milk]. It is crumbly and semi-soft when raw, and has a firm, slightly chewy texture when cooked. Its faintly nutty flavor works well with many different foods and spices. It does not melt down with frying or cooking, but retains its shape and texture, so it can crumbled or cubed for use in different dishes.
From the Ayurvedic perspective, paneer offers nourishment but can be taxing on the digestion. It is preferable to eat paneer dishes at the mid-day meal, and to cook it with spices that enhance digestion. If you would like to combine paneer with other vegetables, or to make it in a sauce, dice the paneer and fry the cubes in ghee separately and add to the dish two to three minutes before the cooking process is complete. Fried paneer cubes make an excellent garnish for rice pulaos. Sliced paneer can be baked into a casserole with other vegetables.
While paneer is available at Indian grocery stores, it can easily be made fresh at home. Ayurvedic healers recommend making the paneer fresh for use within the day for better digestibility.
Materials: 1/2 gallon whole,[organic or better yet [Raw milk] (about 8 cups) and 4-5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 4 sheets of cheesecloth or muslin, a heavy weight such as a clean brick.
Step 1. Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy-bottomed pan, stirring occasionally to ensure that it does not burn or form a skin.
Step 2. Add the lemon juice and stir once. The milk solids should separate, leaving a thin, filmy whey. If the whey is not almost clear, add a little more lemon juice and stir. Turn off the heat.
Step 3. Strain the mixture through the cheesecloth sheets, allowing the whey to drain through. Discard the whey.
Step 4. Tie the ends of the cheesecloth sheets with a string to form a bundle (with the cheese within).
Step 5. Hang the bundle up for a couple of hours so any remaining moisture drains out. If your recipe calls for crumbled or soft paneer, you can remove the paneer to a dish for use at this point.
Step 6. If you would like a block of paneer to cut into cubes or slices, place the cheesecloth bundle on a flat surface and place a weight on top for 3-4 hours. At the end of that time, the block of paneer can be transferred to a dish for use.
Here's a simple way to mold your paneer. "...you may lay the tied cheese flat in between two cutting boards. Put a milk gallon jug filled with water on top of the cutting board. After four hours, remove the weight and slowly remove the cheesecloth and you will have a slab of cheese ready to cut in cubes. My son had given me a tin box of Snicker's bar for Christmas. They came in a square tin box about 2" deep. I drilled 6 holes on the bottom of the box. I lay down the Cheese (tied in the cheese cloth) in this tin can. The tin can basically works as a mold. Then I put two bricks, as a weight on it. After four hours I have 1" thick rectangular slab of cheese."
Note: For maximum nutrition and taste, Paneer should be consumed on the same day it is made.
Go Here: At Cooking 4 all Seasons, there's an excellent step-by-step pictorial on Making Paneer.
Saag Paneer
Photo Credit: Tea & Cookies
Tea & Cookies Saag Paneer Recipe
3 large bunches of fresh spinach, washed and destemmed (this part is important)
1 large onion, chopped into a medium dice
1 medium tomato, chopped into a small dice
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 cup heavy cream (can use half-and-half)
1 1/2 cup paneer cheese (fried in peanut oil, if you would like)
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon fresh chopped or pressed garlic
1 1/2 tbs vegetable oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3 green cardamom pods, smashed
1 stick cinnamon
3 cloves (I like to crush the soft, rounded head of the clove with a fingernail)
3 small bay leaves
2 tsp salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Can add dried red pepper or a fresh hot green pepper for spice, if you like
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
Sauté the chopped onion in oil until soft and golden. Add cumin seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, garlic and ginger, and chopped tomato. Sauté mixture for about a minute. Begin to add spinach, turning to allow it to cook down. When all spinach has been added and the mixture has turned a dark green, begin to add the remaining dry spices, salt and pepper. Mix well and continue to cook about 3 minutes. [If you would like to fry the paneer, you can do it now, cooking in a small amount of peanut oil to get a brown crust.] Add the cream and tomato paste, continuing to simmer the mixture another 5 minutes. Add paneer and fresh cilantro at the very end. Serve with rice or naan bread.
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Photo Credit: Tea & Cookies
