Okay I admit, and I even tell
those who attend my classes, I tend to be a bit opinionated when it
comes to food. I tend to
take issue with “common sense” issues such as sodium chloride
(salt) intake. Did you
know that Americans, as a whole, consume 15 times the recommended
amount of table salt as is required by the body.
Hypertension, heart disease and high blood pressure can be the
result.
If you research it, you will
find that coronary disease has been on a constant upswing since the
introduction of hydrogenated fats such as margarine and shortening in
our diets. Just keep in
mind, if it’s solid at room temperature, that’s pretty much the
way it appears in the arteries.
I take exception with those
who will pay extra to have someone else put butter sauce (and I assure
you it’s not butter…) on their peas!
Frozen vegetables are a time saver…. but make sure you are
just getting the vegetables.
Frozen dinners and entrees are
convenient, I admit. But
please understand they are through the roof when it comes to sodium.
Don’t believe me, okay, then go pull that Salisbury Steak out
of the freezer. Freezing
plays havoc with the flavor of foods. When foods are frozen, the sodium doesn’t diminish, but the
flavors do. In order to
compensate for the loss of flavor, the manufacturers must increase the
amount of sodium to offset the loss.
Thus, you get a tasty entrée with hypertension on the side.
Truth in food labeling...oh
jeez here we go...I know we would all love to have the faith
in the good ol' FDA, but the truth is, packaging lies are
abundant. You know that 98% fat free ham you saw on the shelf...
well it is probably in the low 90% at best. You see, the
manufacturer is allowed to count that often slimey or watery gel or
solution that surrounds the ham in the cryovac package as part of the
product. Adding water to the whole, cuts the fat overall.
Deceiving, huh? And the low-fat dilemma is this: in order to
meet the FDA's criteria for low fat, the item must measure 3 grams of
fat or less per serving. PER SERVING! I can't speak for all, but
I can't stop at 2 chips or 1/4 to 1/3 of a pint of ice cream!
You need to calculate how much you will really consume and weigh the
total fat gram cost to your regimen.
It’s not all gloom and
doom.
There are alternatives to
solid fats:
Try a no calorie no
fat olive oil spray and a Teflon® pan to reduce the amount of fat
when you are sautéing or searing meats.
Use olive oil when you
can, pure for no added flavor and extra virgin to give your
preparation a boost.
