August 10, 2012 at 4:55pm
It was just a couple of years back that I would go to the supermarket and buy a trolley full of things which would be consumed over the week. The food bill would be over the $200.00 dollar mark and worst of all health outcomes were turning for the worse. The community nurse was not happy that my cholesterol levels were rising and looking myself in the mirror naked felt like I was staring at a tissue synthesizing factory.Anthropologist credit our phenomenal rise as the most powerful species to the uniqueness of our grey matter. This 1.5kg jelly shaped organ gives us strong capacity for memory, analytical skills and ability to project our thoughts into the future. However analysing my shopping basket felt quiet the contrary. It felt like I was paying someone to poison myself into a life of ill-health, bad life style, premature death and poor outcomes for fellow earthlings. In spite of all the education under my belt it felt like a truly dumb thing to do!
It has been 5-6 years since I have been trying to do something about the predicted future. A future where I would contribute to the turnover of pharmaceutical companies. It was a thought I did not relish. Engaging in “Diets” was not my thing as it is a temporary measure at best. There was a need to make a lifestyle change if I was to acheive my goals and still love what I was eating.
Present here is a list of foods that I used to buy 3-4 years back and what I have replaced them with. The price of the food basket has not necessarily gone down, but the savings pay for better produce. Also I do not mind the occassional indulgence.
1. Rice……………………Low GI Basmati Rice, Quinoa and Cous Cous
2. Cooking Oil (any)………Rice bran for high heat and cold pressed Olive oil for low heat & salads
3. Bread (any)……………Wholemeal grain & seeds, fruit bread with sultanas & currents
4. Butter………………….Blended product with 16%butter & Olive oil (tips by Wendyl Nissin)
5. Milk (any)………………99% fat free, high calcium UHT milk or low fat milk powder
6. Sugar (any)……………Brown raw sugar, Natvia sugar crystals, Muscodavado or molasses sugar
7. Coffee (any)…………..Fresh ground coffee beans used to make filter coffee
8. Tea black ……………..Mix of black tea, green teas and flower based teas.
9. Reconsitiuted Juices…..Tap water
10. Coke and family……….Black current syrup with hot water, Ginger beer (ocassionally)
11. Jam……………………Honey or jams that use pure fruit juice as the sweetening agent
12. Sweetmeats (any)…….Sugar free cookies or biscuits, 85% organic cocoa chocolates, nutbars
13. Meats (any)…………..Organic trim chicken, sustainable fish stocks (salmon, line & hook fishes)
14. Eggs (any)…………….SPCA approved Barn eggs
15. Hashbrowns (any)…….Kumara Hashbrowns (Sweet potato)
16. Sausages & steaks……NIL
17. Yoghurt (any)…………Low fat yoghurt
18. Breakfast cereals……..Rolled Oates, Muesli & chia mix or similar with no additves added
19. Fruits………………….As per season and in moderation, prunes, figs, dates
20. Ice-creams…………….ocassionally
21. Energy drinks………….Tap water with lime, sugar and salt
22. Lentils………………….Lentils
23. Fresh Produce…………Fresh produce from the farmers market
24. Soups (tinned)…………Fresh packed soup without additives/ home made broth
25. Chips/ corn chips………Rice crackers (occassional consumption only)
26. Dips……………………Pesto, Glucamole, Pudina chutney (No use of cream/white sauce)
27.
…..still adding to list
It is sad that processed foods these days are cheaper than non processed foods. A 2L bottle of coke is cheaper than a similar sized bottle of water and this includes the cost of making the PET bottles. With intense competition it is now possible to buy a large pizza for $5.00 which can easily feed two people and is cheaper than having to buy fresh produce. Saving on time is an added bonus to the buyer who now has to work longer for lower wages.
Fast foods manipulate our basic cravings for sugar, salt and fat. Our genes were hardwired during the evolutionary process to hoard on these 3 tastes which were back then a scarce resource. While most restaurant kitchens are hidden away from sight, the chinese fastfood is where one can see the chefs indulge in exciting our basic food senses. Next time you are in a chinese takeaway look for the bowls filled with spices next to the wok. The four main bowls contain castor sugar, salt, white pepper and MSG. I had picked up on MSG and I would tell them I wanted mine done without MSG. It was the inside knowlege from a friend that alerted me to the contents inside rest of the mysterious bowls.
The Chinese takeaways add salt and sugar to get us going back for more while other fast foods like McDs’ , Dominos’, KFCs’ etc use fat and salt to get us hooked and for the sugar rush we are given sugar loaded cokes. I am not arguing against having sugar, salt and fat in our diet, but that we should be careful about the 1001 ways in which these additives are being pumped into our bodies. Factory farms feed minced beef to cattle to beef them up and then add additives during processing so that we may beef up and demand for more. This is a cycle of destruction and and in this cycle we are the ones losing our health while the corporations are making the big $$$.
Wishing all earthlings good health – Godspeed to the believers and for the rest “may the force be with you”
Abbreviations
SPCA: Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Some interesting readings
Disclaimer:The follwing articles were not the reason for this blog, rather the article was written before I had a casual read of what was being said about the topic.
1. Ethical shopping: The price of goodness
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10777149
2. Ethical shopping: Healthy food choices
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10777467
3. Demystifying Ethical Food Labels in New Zealand
http://www.vegetarians.co.nz/articles/demystifying-ethical-food-labels-in-new-zealand/
4. Code for Advertising of Food in NZ
http://www.asa.co.nz/code_food.php and http://www.foodstandards.govt.nz/
5.The movie: Food, Inc
Free online: http://www.ovguide.com/food,-inc.-9202a8c04000641f800000000b63f6e2
Youtube trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eKYyD14d_0
Insight 