If you haven't seen Jamie Oliver's television program, where he goes around American schools and American cities and changing the way people think about food, you are missing great information and wonderful insights.
Last night, while Hubby and I craved a rich dessert like the one I'm showing you, we settled for strawberries and cream. Jamie Oliver's lessons are sinking into our consciousness. Even mine and Hubby's. Hubby whipped up the cream with Splenda, and we argued about Splenda afterword.
Why?
Because of something Mr. Oliver stated to a class in the Los Angeles School District. He had a food science class where he showed students what goes into some candies. Would you believe bird feathers?
Yes!
The lesson concluded with this statement:
"If you don't know an ingredient on a package, don't buy the package!"
So, Hubby researched the ingredients in Splenda, and while he understood the chemical process that provides these ingredients, (after all he is a scientist!), I argued that we were better off just using plain sugar, or better, plain honey.
How about you?
Do you buy packages with ingredients you don't recognize?
I agree with you - plain honey or sugar would be my choice!
ReplyDeleteI try not to purchase anything I have doubts about ... plain old sugar or honey is our sweetener of choice. We used to buy Splenda, no more. I JUST finished cleaning two quarts of fresh strawberries and sprinkled them with sugar. Last night we had a Stilton/blueberry cheese which was pure heaven!
ReplyDeleteHelen, the recipe, we need that recipe!
ReplyDeleteBecause I have type II Diabetes I have to be very careful about my sugar intake. That means it is important to read the amount of sugar in the food products I buy. It appalls me how much sugar there is in most dry cereals. In general I try to limit my use of convenience foods because of salt, sugar and chemical content. Our lives today are so hectic and pressured that it is an awful temptation to give in to these foods -- especially for those with families and parents with two jobs. Times are hard for a lot of people right now and it is amazing how much money people spend on these foods when fresh tastes so much better. And the fact is that sometimes it doesn't take any longer to prepare something from scratch. Jamie Oliver is really committed to teaching people about the importance of eating healthy foood and having a balanced diet and gets a lot of flak from both sides of the Atlantic. The Congress under Ronald Reagan decided that ketchup was to be included as a vegetable in school lunches and things have gone downhill ever since.
ReplyDeleteWe try to eat "whole" foods and ingredients,the names of which my grandmother would recognize (to quote Michael Pollan). Jay's favorite is to pass someone eating Nachoes with "cheese" and say...I think that is a cheese-like substance! Poor Jamie Oliver is having a difficult time in Los Angeles. I think the Reality TV format has the school district running scared. But his message is certainly necessary. I used to love his TV show where he picked things in his garden and then came into his kitchen to show you how to prepare them.
ReplyDeleteWe eat a lot more veggies than we did this time last year and less processed foods. It's difficult kicking those processed foods we've become so dependent on to the curb, but we're trying!
ReplyDeleteI have been a label reader since I was 25 years old, when after reading the book, "Sugar Blues", I threw out everything in my cabinets out and started over. I then embarked on a 20 year odyssey of eating organic and health foods, and was a strict vegetarian for 10 of those years. Then I moved back to Louisiana and started eating Cajun food, again, mostly grilled seafood. But I still eat a lot of fresh fruit and veggies, very little meat, no processed foods, and I only eat dessert once a week.
ReplyDeleteI'm a fervent label reader-mom taught me well:-)
ReplyDeleteIf you're looking for a better low calorie sweetener option, xylitol is a decent choice. We've been using it since Patrick embarked upon his yeast free odyssey, and overall I'm pretty happy with it. It actually seems to have a lot of health benefits, and has no known toxicity in humans (and has been around for quite awhile).
I still have some reservations about anything that's pretty processed, but it seems a good alternative. I still use honey and maple syrup a lot, and sugar, but less.
Read more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol
Isn't Jamie Olive wonderful - he is one of my cooking heroes!
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