Where to Begin: Part 2

So…I am sure that you have thrown out all of your packaged sweets and snacks. Right? And gone out and bought a ton of healthy, Jessie-approved snacks?
Good!
The next step to clean up your diet…
Stop buying foods with chemicals added to them! This includes foods containing preservatives, artificial flavorings, artificial food dyes, artificial sweeteners and MSG (which is considered a flavor enhancer).
All of these are thought to cause cancer. I don’t care that a few hold outs say this isn’t true…it makes sense! When your body does not recognize what you are putting in it as food, it sends out an inflammatory response, and inflammation is KNOWN to cause cancer. Abnormal cells will thrive in abnormal tissue.
Some of you may be asking yourselves, “Why would the FDA allow something in our food that could potentially be hazardous?”
Don’t get me started on the FDA! I suppose the best answer is…if it doesn’t kill you right away, it must be okay. But this is wrong on so many levels!
I could go on and on with a bunch of facts…but most of you aren’t like me, you don’t want to know every little detail (drives my poor husband CRAZY). I am a junkie when it comes to health and wellness studies and books!
So…I have condensed it into a few simple lists for you.

Harmful additives/preservatives:

• MSG (monosodium glutamate)
• Sodium Nitrate/nitrite
• BHA/BHT
• FD&C colors…artificial color
• Natural flavor (unless in organic foods)-it can be a sneaky way to list MSG
• Artificial flavor
• Artificial sweetener…aspartame, saccharine, sucralose

 Do not buy foods containing these ingredients.


Commonly purchased processed foods to STOP buying:

• Soups in a can
• Packaged seasoning mixes…i.e…taco seasoning, salad dressings, gravy, sauces…pretty much anything that comes in an envelope
• Packaged meat…bacon bits, jerky, hot dogs, sausage, cured pepperoni, cured bacon, lunch meat, ham, spam…any meat with nitrates or nitrites
• Frozen chicken breasts that come in a bag…they are pumped full of sodium and flavorings, and coated with a nasty saline solution
• Jared sauces with preservatives…spaghetti sauce, alfredo sauce, cheeze whiz or other cheese sauces…
• Canned lunch foods…spaghetti rings, ravioli, beef stew, beefaroni…anything Chef Boyardee or Hormel
• Boxed/packaged noodle or rice and sauce side dishes…Rice-a-Roni, Lipton
• Boxed meal kits…”Helper” meals (hamburger, chicken and tuna), pizza, biscuit topped beef and chicken stews
• Condiments...mayonnaise, ketchup (buy organic), salad dressing, bbq sauce...
• Frozen meals/snacks…pizza, lasagna, taquitos, pot pies, pizza rolls, chicken nuggets, bagel bites, burritos…I could go on forever! If it is in the freezer, and it isn’t a bag of vegetables or fruit…walk away…no RUN away!

What to buy/make instead:

• Organic spaghetti sauce in a jar or homemade sauces (they are easier than you think!)
• Make your own seasoning “packs”…taco, dressing, chili…

• Uncured, all natural packaged meats…USE SPARINGLY!
• Whole chickens with no added sodium or “natural flavors”, fresh chicken breasts , thighs, or legs

• All natural, no hormones or antibiotics used beef (preferably grass fed or organic)

My best piece of advice is…if you can’t pronounce it, DON’T eat it!
Wednesday, I will continue this post with some recipes for taco seasoning mix, salad dressing mixes and a basic homemade spaghetti sauce.
Then, Friday, I will be posting a weekly dinner menu with 6 recipes! I hope to give you alternatives to the processed foods that have become a staple of the American diet. I plan on doing this every Friday for four weeks. Six healthy, whole foods meals with the recipes each week. This will give you a great start, and 24 new dinner ideas to put into rotation. After the four weeks, I will post meals and recipes here and there to add to your collection. I am SO EXCITED!!
Jessie