WTF?? (What The Food?)

8 Comments
Posted 29 Mar 2011 — by FV
Category As I see it., Learn Before You Eat!, Really??

As they say, you can’t make this stuff up!

I was cleaning out my kitchen cabinets last night and came across some interesting things. I must tell you that these cabinets have not always been mine and in the depths were some things that I don’t use at all at this time, but have in the past. We’ll call it BV, before Vigilance!

So, go out to your local store and pick up these for a great recipe…

De-fatted Soy Flour, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Salt (Hey, I recognize that!), Artificial AND Natural Flavor, Water (also sounds familiar), Sugar (of course), Red 40 And Other Color Added, Hydrolyzed Corn-Soy and Wheat Proteins, Calcium Oxide.

Doesn’t it all sound delicious so far?? I’ll break this down for you before I tell you what it is, any guesses?

1)  De-fatted Soy Flour is pretty much what it sounds like. The soy bean is to oily when ground for flour so most of the fat is removed before processing. It could, and is in some cases, ground whole which is called full-fat soy flour, but the process requires a different more expensive processing procedure and equipment. So, it’s cheaper to remove the fat and process it the same way and on the same machine as other grains. It’s the fat removal process that troubles me. I can’t seem to find whether it is a mechanical process or chemical, this could make all the difference.

2) Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil.  I won’t beat a dead horse here. In taste and initial digestion the body can tell no difference from regular oil. Yet on a cellular level the body simply can’t process hydrogenated oils so it just gets stored in our cells and sits there weighing our cells down and causing them inability to do their particular jobs. So, it clogs up our whole system. Doesn’t that sound healthy. This is why margarine and other oil based products are NO good for us. The body can get it out of our system, but it takes about 18 months of NOT consuming ANY hydrogenated products. Whoops, dead horse beat, sorry.

3) Salt, Water, Sugar, Artificial and Natural Flavors. I won’t gripe about all these, even the artificial flavors. Even they are made up of natural chemicals. Problem is if you are eating something that requires artificial flavor, chances are it to cover up whatever toxic junk is in the “food” to begin with.

4) Red 40 or Allura Red AC. Sigh. Companies were given the chance to “voluntarily” stop the use of Red 40 as a food coloring, but many still use it. It’s toxic and proven to cause and/or increase hyperactivity in children. Answers a lot of questions for a lot of parents.

5) Hydrolyzed Proteins. Used as a flavor enhancer and although reports show that these proteins are safe for consumption, the process to create them involves boiling soy, corn or wheat at a very high temperature in hydrochloric acid then neutralizing them with sodium hydroxide. Too much chemistry for me. This process does occur naturally in our own stomach, I think it should stay there.

6) Calcium Oxide. I googled this compound and I can’t for the life of me figure out what it’s doing in food. Here’s what it said…

It is...”Calcium oxide (CaO), commonly known as quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. It is a white, caustic and alkaline crystalline solid at room temperature.”

It has been used as a weapon…”Historian and philosopher David Hume of Godscroft, in his history of England, recounts that early in the reign of Henry III, the English Navy destroyed an invading French fleet by blinding the enemy fleet with quicklime.”

It’s just not good for us…”Because of vigorous reaction of quicklime with water, quicklime causes severe irritation when inhaled or placed in contact with moist skin or eyes. Inhalation may cause coughing, sneezing, labored breathing. It may then evolve into burns with perforation of the nasal septum, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Although quicklime is not considered a fire hazard, its reaction with water can release enough heat to ignite combustible materials.”

Have you figured out what this toxic, caustic, weapon of death is?

Hidden Weapon of Mass Destruction! ;)

At least their “CRUNCHY“,

FV

Dinner For A Dollar, Almost.

6 Comments
Posted 28 Mar 2011 — by FV
Category As I see it., Meal Deals!, Really??

I always hear this…”Oh, Food Vigilante, it is just too expensive and time consuming to prepare and feed my kids nutritional meals!” Which has made me respond often…”Well then, just punch your kids right in the belly, make sure it’s as hard as you can swing. I guarantee two things will come of this. One, it is unlikely that your child will be hungry after the blow. Two, it will be healthier than feeding them McCrap or other fast food that is cheap and convenient for parents.”  There problem solved, right? What’s that? My plan sounds awful?? Well, I don’t actually condone taking a swing at your little ones at all! But, we all insist to continue to push indigestible plastic fast food down their throats and that is just as cruel and uncaring as a jab to the tummy!

I have given many ideas in the past about affordable, nutritious meals. I have decided to challenge myself even further. My kids and I often visit the local dollar store for school and/or drawing supplies. Now, I can almost hear an audible shudder coming from you as you read this…dollar store….food…..NOOOO! Calm down. If this were brain surgery, you’d need a brain surgeon. This is food, you have the Food Vigilante! I admit this is not an easy task. There’s a reason that the food in the dollar store is there. It’s mostly crap. But for all of us who have ever struggled even a moment with finances, you can even leave the dollar store with a meal and feel good about your family eating it! Here we go…

Mission: Chicken Fajita wraps.

First order of business is the chicken. No, it’s not in the dollar store. I did, however have some in my freezer from Aldi. (The best four aisles of value and quality anywhere!!) I buy chicken 5 chicken breast for around 7$. Each breast is very big (10-12 oz.) and I plan to use only one to feed 5 people! So that’s $1.40 cents so far. The chicken will be cut up into thin strips and sauteed in a bit of olive oil, also from Aldi. With oil, seasoning (salt and pepper would do, but I happened to have a little chili powder in the closet, so I added it.) With the amout of oil and spices used, I will generously say the chicken cost is $1.50.

Next the wraps…

Authentic, huh!

This was a surprise find. An employee said that they get them in all the time. Basic ingredients, natural preservatives, salt, etc. Finding these is what inspired the meal idea. Price, $1.00.

Next we needed cheese, rice and salsa…

Just Cheese, whipped.

Ok, this product had guar gum added amongst some spices and peppers. Guar gum is very common natural ingredient these days an is a thickener like corn starch, but more potent. It stands to reason that this company most likely waters down the cheese and adds guar gum to thicken, thus reducing the cost. No, this is not, by any means a whole food product, but not full of hydrogenated oils or sugars and for the task at hand, a good find. Price, $1.00.

The San Francisco Treat!

Look at that box trying to steal my idea! Rice-a-roni is simply dried pasta and rice with a seasoning packet. It is in the packet that the product goes bad. The spice pouch that is to be added to the cooked rice and pasta is full of hidden horribleness! Preservatives, bad oils, the absolute end of processing a whole chicken. Tastes like chicken but made up of beaks and well, you know. Use your own spice combo, get creative or fall back on the old standbys, butter, salt and pepper! Price $1.00

Ooo, Vine ripened!

Salsa is hard to screw up. The acids in tomatoes and peppers act as a natural preservative. Rarely do you find artificial or any other added ingredients. This one was no different, tomatoes, onions, peppers, spices, vinegar. Price, $1.00

This next item I am struggling with. Ranch Dressing.

Caution.

I am not against ranch on the whole. With all natural ingredients I think you can make a pretty darn good Ranch dressing. It will never be a health food, but in moderation, like butter, it has it’s good qualities. This product did have canola oil which is made from rapeseed. The name rapeseed oil is unattractive for obvious reasons. The more you know, the worse it gets. Rapeseed is poisonous. The oil extracted is treated and processed so that there is an acceptable amount of erucic acid and the toxin glucosinolates. It was origially mass produced in Canada…Canadian-Low-Acid-Oil….shortened to “Canola”. The double edged sword with this oil is that high levels of these toxins are toxic, but apparently low levels have been proven to be anti-cancer agents in animals and humans. This is all supposed to be OK with all of us because it’s cheap. I am completely on the fence. Alas, for this challenge I went with Riverton Valley’s Ranch Dressing. Price $1.00.

So, with products in hand, I sauteed the chicken in oil and spices, I prepared the rice according to the box sans the spice pouch, I spread cheese on the tortillas, added chicken, rice, salsa and a dab of ranch, and I fed five people for $7.50 in under 30 minutes. The recipe made 8 chicken fajita wraps. (don’t worry, I didn’t break my Lenten resolution and eat the chicken. I wrapped mine up for leftovers and had pasta and sardines instead, don’t say yuck, it was delicious!) Keep in mind that I also have leftover ranch, rice, salsa and a couple of wraps after all was said and done. This will cut the cost of future meals even further!

There!

Yes, I forgot to take a picture of the finished product.

Tell me about your favorite, low cost, convenient, nutritious meal!!

Eat well,

FV

 

Attack of the Teenagers!

3 Comments
Posted 25 Mar 2011 — by FV
Category As I see it., Food Holidays

Milestones come and go and none really affect me much. But, I just had one recently that caused me just the slightest of pause. I have, alas, become the father of a teenage boy. Thirteen doesn’t sound or look menacing at all, yet it resonates with the near future filled with the struggle to keep a step a head of puberty, bold and brazen independence and a driver’s license! I will take stock in the anecdotes of warning that I get from fellow parents in the same club, but I will, for now, enjoy the whispering hold that my son and I have on his pre-teen childhood. Besides, my kid will never do any of those terrible things I hear about, right? HA! We’ll see.

At any rate, we hosted yet another successful at-home birthday party and put on some ritz as well! My budding teen invited five of his friends over for a birthday party and the Food Vigilante was hoping to give this group of mini-teens a glimpse of true culinary excellence, or at least something interesting enough to eat to drag them away from the video game system for around 15 minutes! My son is a seafood lover, the party was on a Friday, most of our neighborhood is Catholic, so a seafood fest was a good fit.

Yes, I had a back-up plan for any land lubbers. Yes, I checked with the parents of the attendees about seafood allergies. Yes, I put too much effort into a meal for 6 teenage boys.

Here are some pics of the festivities…

Buffalo Shrimp!

Tomato Garlic Mussels!

Lobster Tail! Barely got this shot they were shovin' the food down so fast! Ugh, teenage boys, lol.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake!

Cerimonious Blowing of Candles.

Last, but not least, all of the gracious teenagers showing me adoration and gratitude for a feast fit for kings!

Ok, so they cared more about the Sony Playstation3, silly teenagers!

Love them while they will still hug you in public, love them more when they won’t, for they will again.

One down, two to go,

FV

← Previous Entries
Next Entries →