PART ONE
Hey there!
These are little interview clips really, but I thought they were fitting for our Monday Movie series. The cool thing is you don’t have to wait to watch them!
OK, the introduction to the first one is obnoxiously long, but kind of funny – the lady rambling all of those things that you are never going to remember. Uh, that’s what credits are for!
Of course the title is dramatic and catchy…and at times we all find ourselves in situations where we have to eat convenience foods. I’m not saying I’m never eating anything packaged or manufactured again, but…
Here are the points I thought were interesting:
In a 20 year history, genetically modified crops haven’t really shown any real productivity gains for agriculture.
There are better technologies to use than genetically modified crops.
Large food manufacturers use popular health trends to market their products, and they are crafty at putting health claims on their overly processed products. For example, after the the public started to become educated about the evils of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) they started marketing things as “Made with REAL sugar!”. Hmm…maybe a better choice, but not necessarily a healthy choice.
Don’t buy products with more than 5 ingredients. It’s a sign of being highly processed and less healthy.
PART TWO
Interesting points continued….
“Healthy food is found in the produce section without packaging…”
We’re using our public schools as a disposal system for overproduced subsidized food. Most current school lunch programs teach children how to become fast food consumers.
Eat REAL food.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
How do you think this applies to highly processed gluten-free foods?
How could being on a gluten-free diet possibly put you a step ahead of the general American public when it comes to making food choices, reading labels and being conscious about what you eat?
Please share your thoughts as a comment. Thx!
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I do agree, however it’s not easy to find healthy food everywhere. Plus, when you do find any it usually very expensive compared with regular store brand. As, for me I can’t just focus on that since I have to focus on avoiding gluten and sugar(hypoglycemic) and sometimes lactose. So, it’s slim pickings for me and a pain at the same time.
Kelly, thanks a lot for posting this. Very interesting and eye-opening. I enjoy your blog.
Kathie
I know that for me, pre-GF I could walk into any c-store and buy anything in there. Not that it was healthy, but if I was hungry, there were soooooo many choices. Now, on a GF diet, I have to really look for something that I can eat. And if there is a grocery store in the area, I can always go in there and buy some grapes or strawberries, and maybe a piece of cheese. But, anything else, I have to spend time reading labels, and most people don’t do that.
Before I was diagnosed I would eat just about any thing but was aware what was bad for you and reasonably healthy. After being diagnosed with Celiac I sought out to replace my old processed products with gluten-free ones. Most Gluten-free processed products don’t taste that good and they contain A LOT OF FAT. So, I started a journey looking for better foods, started eating more vegetables and eating RAW and alkaline. If it wasn’t for being diagnosed I wouldn’t be this aware of what is in our food. The GMO’s are terrible and america has lost it’s way when it comes to food. It’s so sad. Europe has one up on us when it comes to this.
What Mr. Pollan said about school lunches is so true. I am a teacher in a public school and what the children are eating everyday is real garbage. We ARE teaching our children to eat junk food at the same time that we are teaching them to read and write. If you have children in school, send them to school with REAL whole food from home!
Way too much sugar and non-fiber grains in gluten-free commercially made foods. I choose to make my own baguette and grind amaranth in the Blendtec for flour; I do use pre-ground brown rice flour and arrowroot with it as well. I use 1/2 the recommended amount of sweetener in recipes, using vegetable glycerin. Make two bite brownies with pumpkin puree and always have them on hand in the freezer and when I leave the house I either have these, nuts or a banana in case I get hungry.
It is not too time consuming. I make large batches of things. When I had to go gluten-free, I was appalled at the ingredients and lack of nutrition in some of the baked goods.
An opportunity to make money on celiacs was taken advantage of, and trying also to be fair, we have to be open minded that we are not replicating the flavours of wheat but can develop a palate for other tasty flours, grains etc…
After being gluten-free during July (unfortunately didn’t help the issues I had hoped) I realized people who are gluten free can fall into the same traps as all other Americans. As more processed gluten-free products become available, people who are gluten free will eat more junk. I learned that with wheat flour also comes sugar and fat — a lovely trio. I tried baking many times with alternate flours but was never happy. That was good for me. I ate fruits, vegetables, meat, seafood, and dairy. When I tried baking, I ate more sugar and fat. If you shop the circumference of the grocery store you will buy mostly good food. Of course there is still junk there — junk yogurt, cheese and meat, junk juices, but mostly it’s whole food.
Gluten Free can make grocery shopping a time consuming process. You read labels, you write the manufacturer to ask and then you start a list of items you “like” and can eat. If you have other dietary issues the process takes longer. Whether you are Gluten Free or not eating processed foods can make life simpler “save time” but what are you sacrificing? Your health, your child’s health it is something to think about.