A Most Delicious Pumpkin Pie

Double yum!  Today I purchased the Whole Foods Market GlutenFree Bakehouse Pumpkin Pie. This is THE best pumpkin pie I have ever had. So rich with cinnamon.

Pure Products for Baking - Molasses

I recently inquired of B&G Foods to find out if their Grandma's Molasses is made from pure cane sugar (non-GMO) or from sugar beets (GMO). Here is the reply:

"We appreciate your interest in one of our B&G Foods, Inc. products.  The Grandma’s Molasses is the highest grade pure molasses.  It is made from 100% pure natural sugar cane juice."

HAPPY BAKING!

Clean Bright Teeth for Pennies a Day

I tried Tom's toothpaste and wasn't thrilled. I would like to avoid the regular commercial toothpastes because of saccharin and because ingredients could be micronized or nano-sized. I spoke to my dental hygenist who said to mix a little water and hydrogen peroxide with baking soda (I use Bob's Red Mill baking soda because it is mined, not derived from corn). I keep a little decorative bowl on my bathroom sink, along with a covered glass jar of the baking soda. I mix up a new batch every 2 days or so. I am also using Gel Kam, which only has three ingredients in it. This contains the flouride you need and also helps to remineralize the teeth. I have known about hydrogen peroxide and baking soda for a long time, and I have used Gel Kam before, but never thought of these as being my every day products. Give them a try!  The peroxide-baking soda formulate keeps your teeth clean and bright, and you don't have to pay for bleaching kits or toothpaste!

A Note about GMOs

I wanted to make a note about GMOs. We don't know if the genetic modification is, in itself, good or bad. No testing has been done. We do know that these crops were engineered to be drought and pest resistant. But something has gone gravely wrong (or perhaps it was planned this way). The big chemical companies are having to douse these crops with loads of pesticides like the deadly weedkiller Roundup (and they are pushing hard now for license to use 2-4D). (2-4D!!) I don't know about you, but I don't want these chemicals in my food.

Organic Chicken

Wow! I had organic grass-fed chicken today for the first time. Organic in this case means no GMO grain or other products have been fed to the animals and no hormones etc are involved.

It looks different, it handles different. And, my oh my, does this meat taste good. And the bit of soup that came from it, delicious. So something is profoundly different here. The texture of the meat is different. I was able to cook it thoroughly but it remained soft and flexible. I can't really explain it. It definitely had more juices in it. I boil chicken in water, and there was a lot more white fluff in the pan.

It may have been 20 years or more since I have eaten chicken breasts from a farm-raised chicken who was not administered hormones and not given commercial grain. Or possibly I have never eaten chicken of this quality.

I am just saying, if you can afford it or at least sometimes, this might be worth it.
I purchased a Bell and Evans product.

If you want to comment on this blog, you need to click the No Comment link. It is not very friendly, but that is how it works. After typing your comment, click Publish Your Comment. I am unable to change the settings to show the comments in the blog. Happy Commenting!

How Far Can It Go? Very Far

I felt like I might be able to have some level of control over the quality of my food, and then I found out many (if not most?) of the food packaging in our country is made from GMO products. Companies enlisted in the Non-GMO project are trying to find or develop alternative packaging materials, so the current packaging is either not good for us, or many people are worried it might not be. And then you have the polymer coating issues.

Merrick/Castor and Pollux affirm that their dog food bags are not polymer coated.
I have not heard back from Arcana/Origen, a wonderful company that makes dog food with very fresh ingredients: here's hoping.

As for the humans, on that wonderful 365 Pacific Rim coffee, the bag is not polymer coated (although it could be made from GMO material, I don't know). Or so they say. Whole Foods employees do not seem to  know much about the real situation with food or packaging, but this was their specific reply to my inquiry.

I have known for a long time that cellophane is the best packaging material, without knowing why exactly. But I believe a lot of cellophane is now being made from GMO products. Don't quote me on that. I wouldn't buy cellophane from Walmart to put food in, but a product made in Europe and packaged in cellophane is likely a good product, if that country is still non-GMO.

I am eating so much better because I am now trying not to eat packaged foods, and I am giving the dog nearly all real food.... But the packaging issue was a shock to me and discouraging.

At least some manufacturers are really trying to provide a healthy product in all aspects...