Do You Know What You're Eating?
I don't know about you, but I get really tired of so many
foods being recalled because of undeclared allergens, food contamination, or
foods containing prohibited materials. Considering
the crap they allow, I don't really want to read the list of prohibited
materials.
I signed up the other day for the First Lady Michelle
Obama's initative, Let's Move.
It's a great program and I hope it works on so many
levels. When signing up to receive updates
I also had the opportunity to sign up for other updates so I included the US
Department of Health and Human Services and specifically, USDA Food Safety and
Inspection Services.
I can't believe how many foods that we are producing in
this country that have problems and are being recalled. It seems like every day I get an update. Here's the latest.
California
Firm Recalls Assorted Meat Products Due To Mislabeling And An Undeclared
Allergen It goes on to share that
undeclared item was wheat.
So it begs the question, what have we done to our food
supplies? Why do we need shows like
Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution for people to even notice what they are
eating?
Now I realize we can't go back to the caveman days and
all go out and hunt and fish for our foods and have gardens and orchards.
But isn't there a way to make a shift to a better supply of food? Can't we have it be affordable and something
everyone can live with?
What
can we do individually, as a family, as a community and as a country?
I recently read Melissa's blog post on Gluten Free For
Good titled, Healthy Eating Food Stamp Challenge.
She made a meal to feed a family for less money than it
cost to but that same family a meal at Jack In The Box. Great information and I suggest you check it
out.
Here is what I think the real problem is and one trap I
have fallen into also. First, we can get
ourselves so busy that we don't really pay attention to our lives, we're just
trying to get through the day. We may
not even notice what we ate and when. Was your last few meals and event, a time
to nourish your bodies, a time to share with family or friends, or a drive by
eating squeezed in-between two of the most important life events like a soccer
practice and the late bus?
Even when we pay attention to the foods we purchased, it's
still easy to get caught up in life.
That can lead to purchasing short cuts, which can lead to eating
recalled foods.
What
is really important to us and are we living our lives like it is? What excuses have we come up with to justify the
way we are eating? Is it time, money,
knowledge, interest, or that elusive myth known as will power? There has to be some reason we are doing this
to ourselves.
So as you may have noticed I have not given you any
answers, just questions. I've done this
on purpose. I'd like for you to think on
this and then journal about it. If you
are a daily journal writer like me this will just be a new topic one day.
If you don't journal, please start one. It's the most amazing thing you can do for your
life. It's a place to contemplate
things, hash them out. It's a place to
name the dreams you have and lament the hard parts. It's a daily cleansing process that will give
you so much more than you ever expect.
Nothing fancy needed, just paper and pen. A kids spiral notebook, a pretty journal, or
anything in-between.
How do you start?
You just start writing. My first
journal started from the book The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. 3 pages a day were required. It said write anything so my first week went
something like this:
I have to write 3 pages a day in a journal about
anything. So anything, anything,
anything, anything, oh this is so stupid.
What do I have to say. What if
someone reads it. Maybe I'll make up
things and when they read it the joke will be on them. What else could I write about. Anything, anything, anything, oh the other
day I had a conversation with.........
Your mind works in mysterious ways, let it out!
If you find out some things about yourself that are new,
that's great. If you feel like sharing
them drop me an email.
But if all you do is read this and then not think about
it again, I have failed you. |