Unprocessed natural foods 2574

Hello there - I am the original post and I don't think I ever mentioned the word organic. I don't buy organic food per se - sometimes it just so happens that something I buy is labelled organic but I don't specifically go looking for this type of product (except I always buy organic free-range chickens because we all know what has gone into the other sort!)

So you found my post amusing? Well, he who laughs last laughs longest as they say - and I hope your present general aggravation is relieved soon.

There has been mbuttive medical and media coverage recently about unhealthy food and families who are possibly not aware of what processed food is all about. Some governments are even spending heaps of money to educate people who don't eat the right food. So it is not a fanatical few as you seem to think, but a serious global concern - mainly affecting Western countries of course, and particularly fast-food consumption.

I appreciate that some people live in regions where scarcity and high priced fresh produce determines what they can afford to eat. I am lucky in that I live in a country where good quality fresh produce is available year-round - yes, even tomatoes and salad ingredients.

And I do appreciate that a balanced outlook is better than all-out fanaticism about food.

What I was attempting to do was not to preach from a soapbox, nor to the converted, but to point out that really good nutritious meals can be prepared economically using unprocessed ingredients. Such cooking takes more time - and time is very precious in the many modern homes where both parents work and the kids are participating in all sorts of out of school activities that lead to separate eating habits. I have a couple of daughters who are in this situation, so I fully appreciate the short-cuts that the cook often takes.

I've also been there myself, but have to say that many modern processed foodstuffs were not available 20 years ago. And I often spent one weekend day a month (usually a Sunday) to prepare meals and freeze them. We ran out of them before three weeks was up, but it was an attempt to avoid too many quick-fix meals that were unhealthy.

And, yes, I do sometimes splurge and have a high-fat, high-carb. meal - usually of the fast-food style. I am not a fanatic, but I do try to buy food without preservatives or other additives where I can. I don't bake my own bread, but buy it from a bakery nearby that promotes its bread as containing no preservatives. It is certainly quite stale by the following day, as opposed to the plastic-wrapped loaves that have a use-by date 6-7 days ahead!

It's relatively easy to make such items as chicken stock from scratch and freeze for use later. It takes about 4 hours to do it properly and doesn't require constant attention . And it's not too difficult to locate preservative-free canned vegetables, is it? I can find items like this very easily in the supermarket and we have very limited brand choice in this country with a population of only 4m. I find it takes no time at all to create pasta sauces using crushed tomatoes or tomato puree rather than use the so-called quick and easy commercial sauces, which are full of preservatives, salt, etc.

Cheers - and good luck with your cooking - and the aggravation!

Daisy

Carthage demands an explanation for this insolence!