Take a look at the article for tips on keeping our bodies healthfully fueled while not breaking the bank at the same time.

We’re all examining our spending habits and paying closer attention to diet and lifestyle choices.  A slow food approach describes a shift in attitude away from fast food and toward savoring what we eat.  Americans are showing more interest in knowing exactly what they’re eating and where their food comes from.

I would say I’m a pretty healthy eater – I pay attention to what I buy, where it’s grown, how it got to the shelf, etc.  I would NOT, however, say that I am the kind of person who luxuriates in what I eat each day.  I’m not quite cramming it in absentmindedly at every meal, but it does require focused attention on my part to slow down and appreciate each bite.  I blame motherhood for this unfortunate turn of events.

So, if you’re like me and wish you could visit that place where you fully attend to the eating moment (at least aspire to do so), take a summer day to drop by a farmer’s market and pick up local veggies for a stir-fry or local fruit to toss on some yogurt.  Take a look at some of the yummy recipes (and cooking demos) on how2heroes.com, take a deep breath, and TASTE.

In a section discussing artificial flavorings, the authors list ingredients needed to concoct a typical at-home strawberry milk shake – “ice, cream, strawberries, sugar, and a touch of vanilla”. 

I get that.

They then print the ingredients found in a typical fast-food strawberry milk shake – “milkfat and nonfat milk, sugar, sweet whey, high fructose corn syrup, guar gum, mono- and diglycerides, cellulose gum, sodium phosphate, carageenan, citric acid, red food coloring #40, and artificial strawberry flavor”. 

Hmmmm.

The FDA permits the use of that phrase – “artificial strawberry flavor”.  This, however, is what that additive really contains – here goes:

“amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, diporpyl ketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate, ethyl methylphenylglycidate, ethyl nitrate, ethyl propionate, ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hyroxyphrenyl-2-butanone (10% solution in alcohol), a-ionone, isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol, 4-methylacetophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl benzoate, methyl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbonate, methyl naphthyl ketone, methyl salicylate, mint essential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate, orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, rose, rum ether, y-undecalactone, vanillin, and solvent.

Uhhhhhhhhhhhh?

“Chew On This”, by Eric Scholosser and Charles Wilson, is the book by my daughter’s bed right now.  It documents the inception, growth, mass production practices, and health realities of a part of our world we all take for granted – fast food.

I will, on occasion in this blog, point out some of the more poignant (read heartrending) particulars that I end up not being able to pry out of my head.

Here are just a few morsels from the inside flap.  Did you know that…

1) “Americans now spend more on fast food than on movies, books, magazines, newspapers, and recorded music – combined”?

2) “A child of ten who is diagnosed with Type II diabetes can expect to lose seventeen to twenty-six years of his or her life”?

3) “The Golden Arches are now more widely recognized than the Christian cross”?

Are you kidding???!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!