What Passes for Food In America
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Preface: I normally like to talk about what’s good about food on this blog. I like to celebrate good fats like butter and whole, raw milk, and and traditional nourishing foods. I prefer not to rant about what’s wrong with modern food. I don’t think it’s healthy to get too neurotic and paranoid about what’s in our food. We all have to do the best we can. However, I also think its important to expose industrial food and industrial food processing. Hence, this post.
Last week we took a weekend trip down to San Diego with my in-laws to do Sea World and the San Diego Zoo with our daughter. Normally when we go on vacation, I bring our food and we get a hotel room where we can cook. It’s more work for me and I don’t really get a real vacation, but I believe it’s important to feed our family well even when we are traveling. Plus, it’s a lot cheaper than eating out every day.
On this trip, we were only going for a weekend so I figured we’d have less stress and just eat out. We had a great time, and we stayed in one of those hotels that have suites, so we saved some money that way. It was a very nice hotel, recently remodeled. They also told us proudly that a free breakfast was included.
There Is No Such Thing As A Free Breakfast
Even at no cost, this free breakfast was no bargain. I would rather pay less for the hotel room and have them offer no breakfast.
I was dismayed and disgusted by what they tried to pass off to us as food. Not only did it taste terrible, there was no nutrition at this buffet. None whatsoever.
And, of course, the place was packed every morning. Nobody seemed to notice or care how bad it was.
If it were just us adults, I wouldn’t care — I’m not a big breakfast eater and I could have just grabbed something at the zoo. But I have a growing child to feed. And based on the garbage they were trying to pass off as food at this free breakfast buffet, and the complete lack of nutrition, we’d have been better off going to McDonald’s.
Here’s what they offered at the hotel breakfast buffet: scrambled eggs, sausage, fried potatoes, granola, milk, toast, bagels, muffins, cereal, waffles, yogurt, coffee, tea and juice.
Sounds pretty good, eh? Surely we should have been able to find something to eat. You would think!
Fake Eggs
I tasted the eggs. There was something funny about them. You always have to be suspicious of scrambled eggs. If you’re served a whole egg, sunny side up, it’s pretty obvious that it is an egg. It might not be the most nutritious egg, and yeah, it’s a factory farm egg, but at least it’s a real egg.
These scrambled eggs were most likely made from powdered eggs. What’s wrong with that? A little something called oxidized cholesterol.
What’s Oxidized Cholesterol?
Remember all those studies that came out that said cholesterol was bad for you? According to Ray Peat, PhD:
Around 1971, someone noticed that the commercial cholesterol used in feeding experiments was oxidized, that is, it wasn’t really cholesterol. Comparing carefully prepared, unoxidized cholesterol with the oxidized degraded material, it was found that pure dietary cholesterol was relatively non-atherogenic. (Source: Ray Peat’s Newsletter September 2005)
What does this mean? Bruce Fife, N.D., explains:
The cholesterol in fresh milk, eggs and meat is not oxidized and is utilized by the body to strengthen cell membranes, synthesize vital hormones, and build brain and nerve tissue. The drying process in making powdered milk, cheese, and eggs fully oxidizes the cholesterol in these products. Once oxidized it can not be utilized in the normal fashion to build and strengthen body tissues, but is packed away into the plaque of injured arteries. Eating such foods will surely clog your arteries faster than any other substance known on the face of the earth. (Source: Saturated Fat May Save Your Life
Sally Fallon Morell elaborates:
A note on the production of skim milk powder: liquid milk is forced through a tiny hole at high pressure, and then blown out into the air. This causes a lot of nitrates to form and the cholesterol in the milk is oxidized. Those of you who are familiar with my work know that cholesterol is your best friend; you don’t have to worry about natural cholesterol in your food; however, you do not want to eat oxidized cholesterol. Oxidized cholesterol contributes to the buildup of plaque in the arteries, to atherosclerosis. So when you drink reduced-fat milk thinking that it will help you avoid heart disease, you are actually consuming oxidized cholesterol, which initiates the process of heart disease. (Source: Dirty Secrets of the Food Processing Industry)
Extended Sausage
The sausage was even worse tasting than the eggs. I have no idea what it was made from but I’m sure it had some kind of extender added to it. Sausages are one of the meat products that are very commonly “extended” with fillers.
I wondered what could be in this sausage other than sausage. I knew it had to be something because it didn’t taste very much like sausage. It tasted more like cardboard.
I looked it up online and found a book on meat science (Meat Science and Applications) which said that sausage is commonly extended with all kinds of things including: water, non-fat powdered milk (more oxidized cholesterol), whey protein concentrate (oxidized cholesterol), sodium caseinate (I didn’t know what this was so I looked it up. According to answers.com, sodium caseinate is, “A tasteless, odorless, water-soluble, white powder; used in medicine, foods, emulsification,” Ahhhhh! Even more oxidized cholesterol!), wheat gluten, cereal flours, tapioca dextrin, soy flour, and soy protein concentrate.
Don’t get me started on soy. I avoid soy like the plague, as most of my readers do. If you want to know why soy is bad, check out Kaayla Daniel’s book, The Whole Soy Story (which I’m reading now).
White Flour Galore
You could have your choice of baked goods — toast, waffles, bagels, muffins — but they were all made with white flour. Even the whole wheat bread was that kind of fake whole wheat that is really made from refined white flour and has coloring to make it look dark. As my readers know, there is zero nutrition in white flour. There is no point eating it. Plus, most modern baked goods have additives like high fructose corn syrup and soy flour.
High-Fructose Corn Syrup
I never order waffles or pancakes in restaurants. Not only is it white flour that fills you up and provides no nutrition, but you can never find real maple syrup in a restaurant. It’s always just called “syrup”. Thanks, but I’d rather not eat a load of HFCS first thing in the morning.
The waffle syrup was not the only thing with HFCS. It’s in everything these days — anything sweet. The yogurt, the jam, the cereals, the granola.
What About Cereal?
Most of my readers know that extruded cereals are not a healthy choice. The extrusion process denatures the proteins, rendering them toxic. To read more about why extruded cereals are bad for you, see this article: Dirty Secrets of the Food Processing Industry.
OK, but what about granola? That’s not extruded, right? Right, but it’s made of mostly oatmeal. When oatmeal is not soaked, it’s chock full of phytic acid — an antinutrient that blocks mineral absorption. Not something you want, especially for growing children.
Low-Fat Everything
Other than the powdered eggs and extended sausage, there was nothing with fat at the buffet. This was extremely disappointing, because I know how important it is to fuel a toddler with good fats.
Sure, they had milk but it was pasteurized, not organic, and it was low-fat. They only had 2% and skim. They had cream for the coffee but it was ultra-pasteurized. They yogurt was also low-fat. And they only had margarine for the colored faux-whole-wheat toast.
What’s wrong with pasteurized low-fat milk? Well, it’s not just the fact that it’s devoid of all the good stuff — the good fat soluble vitamins, the enzymes, the probiotics, etc.
As Sally Fallon Morell mentioned in the earlier quote, pasteurized low-fat milk has powdered milk added to it. That’s right, more oxidized cholesterol.
According to Sally Fallon Morell:
Powdered milk is added to 1% and 2% milk to give it body. Regarding milk, the more I learn about pasteurization, the more I realize how harmful it is (for other reasons than the oxidation of cholesterol). And now most milk is ultra-pasteurized, especially most organic milk.
I think if people can’t get raw milk, the next best thing is pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized) cream diluted with water. The fats are much less prone to damage by pasteurization than the water portion of the milk, and at least the fats in cream have not been homogenized. This is what I did for my family when we could not get raw milk. We used diluted cream on porridge and in cooking. (Source: Kelly the Kitchen Kop)
Isn’t it ironic that people think they are avoiding cholesterol by drinking skim milk — when in reality, it’s actually full of the bad cholesterol — the oxidized cholesterol?
What’s a Mother to Do?
We ate at the free breakfast buffet the first morning morning and I decreed that we would not go back. My father-in-law said he thought it was “fine” — but of course, he’s one of the most easy-going people on the planet. He’s one of those people who’s happy with a danish and some coffee. He’d rather not know what’s in the food. As he likes to say with a wink and a smile, “Don’t confuse me with the facts!”
I used the Garmin GPS to search for Whole Foods and lo and behold, there was one less than five minutes away. Our hotel had a full kitchen so we could make eggs and bacon there every morning. Whole Foods also had a full breakfast bar, so if we didn’t feel like cooking, we could just head over there. And in California, you can buy raw milk in the store — so we stocked the fridge. We ate delicious dinners from Whole Foods every night.
Even More Oxidized Cholesterol
It wasn’t just at the hotel breakfast that we encountered oxidized cholesterol. When we were at the zoo, we thought it would be fun to get Katie some ice cream. We found a place selling ice cream, and then we realized it was soft-serve ice cream.
I have never really liked soft serve ice cream. It’s OK, but I’d much rather have what I consider to be real ice cream. I feel the same way about low-fat frozen yogurt. What is the point?
I remembered seeing a place with real ice cream so we walked an extra 15 minutes to get to that one.
I’m glad we did. When I was researching powdered eggs for this post, I was surprised to learn that soft-serve ice cream also usually contains oxidized cholesterol.
Soft-serve ice cream has been shown to contain higher levels of oxidized cholesterol than traditionally produced hard ice cream because it is often produced from a powdered mix containing powdered milk and cream. (Source: Integrated Supplements newsletter)
There Is No Such Thing As Cheap Food
This is what drives me crazy about industrial food. It’s so hard to eat out these days because you never know what you are getting. Oxidized cholesterol, trans-fats, powdered eggs, soy extenders. I never knew about any of this stuff a few years ago.
You end up feeling like one of those moms on the high-fructose corn syrup commercials. People give you that look, you know the one. Rolling their eyes. “Oh, no, here she goes again.”
Luckily, I have the best in-laws who are very open-minded and totally supportive of the way I feed our family. I’m so grateful for them. My mother-in-law was the one who wanted me to do this post — she even came up with the title, “What Passes for Food in America”. (She even took the photos for this post. She said she was snapping pics and someone came up to her and said, “You’re taking pictures?” and she said, “Yes, my daughter-in-law is going to write about it on her blog. She writes about food and nutrition.” They said, “How’d we stack up?” She said she just smiled and gave them a thumbs up. Ha! Don’t you LOVE it?)
I do spend a lot of time educating them, though. It doesn’t hurt that my mother-in-law reads this blog. I think it can be hard with family members who just don’t know any better — and if you don’t take the time to explain why you do the things you do, they are not going to be as understanding. If they act like you are being a pain, you just have to take the time to explain and try to help them understand.
I find that when I provide my family members with information, they tend to be open to it. Not always, and not all family members. But many of them are. For example, when my mother read Sally Fallon Morell’s book, Nourishing Traditions, (which was lying around at my sister’s house — because I had sent her a copy) she said, “I had no idea our food supply had changed so much in the past few decades.”
The biggest advantage industrial food has is a lack of information. When we educate ourselves, it’s a lot easier to make healthy choices. I think it’s important that we all speak out and demand quality food for our children and for ourselves.
As Michael Pollan says, “There is no such thing as cheap food.” There is always a cost. Pay now or pay later. I’d rather eat well now than eat cheaply and pay later for diabetes medication and hospital visits.
Share Your Comments
What about you guys? How do deal with food when you travel? Do you find it challenging? Share your thoughts and tips in the comments below.
This post is a part of Fight Back Friday on Food Renegade.
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28/08/2009 at 7:24 am Permalink
“When we educate ourselves, it’s a lot easier to make healthy choices.” I find that to be true over and over – the more I know, the better we eat. It doesn’t always happen fast, and of course there are still some nasty cravings now and then, but as I find out more it just gets more difficult for the crap to sound good.
I love the story about Nancy – I’ve found that there are different levels of acceptance and support with family members and friends:
1. Some think I’m crazy and mock me every chance they get (and often they’re obese and sick).
2. Some tolerate me, don’t like to “get me going”, but realize there “might be” some truth to what I believe.
3. Some are interested but just can’t get motivated to make changes.
4. Some are learning and trying to do better and ask me questions all the time. (I LOVE it when people are open to learning and like to talk about food as much as I do!)
5. THEN there are those like Nancy, who are not only supportive, but they even help me with posts! I’ve got friends who have written down their recipes and taken pics for me like Nancy did!
There’s nothing like that support when we’re trying to get away from all the crap that at times DOES seem to *too easily* pass for food in America. How many did you see eating that nasty breakfast without even blinking an eye?
Kelly
28/08/2009 at 7:38 am Permalink
The more I learn about actual ‘real food’, the harder it is for me to eat outside of my home. I find it both freeing and imprisoning. I find less and less to buy at the supermarket and find it harder and harder to not be disgusted when we go out to eat. What’s a person to do? If it were just me, then I would have total control over my diet. But I have older children and they are not as easily convinced. sigh….
28/08/2009 at 8:01 am Permalink
Great article! I agree that we shouldn’t be neurotic about what we eat, but for some people, picking apart mainstream foods and explaining how bad they are seems to be the only way to get through to them. The free breakfast food that most hotels offers is as good of a variety of food to do this with as any.
Whenever I go on vacation, I too try to find a place with a kitchen, or at least a refrigerator. It may incur more work, but what good is a vacation if you feel poorly most of the time from eating garbage?
28/08/2009 at 8:18 am Permalink
How funny. We were in SD as well 2 weeks ago. We did the SeaWorld, Legoland, etc. thing. We ate some junk at the parks for lunch but Whole Foods was our savior and we ate there whenever possible. We became regulars at the Whole Foods in La Jolla.
28/08/2009 at 8:25 am Permalink
I just wonder what you were going to grab to eat at the zoo…zebra maybe?
28/08/2009 at 8:31 am Permalink
Tara -
We actually eat out a lot. There are lots of places you can go that serve healthy, real food.
Usually it’s the higher-end restaurants, of course, so it does cost more. What we do is we just eat out less frequently, and when we do go out, we try to eat someplace nice. Or at least nicer. You know what I mean. We avoid fast food completely.
If the restaurant has a chef, there’s a better chance that the food will be good. Many chefs will go to great lengths to procure good quality meats and cheeses, and they will often buy their produce at farmer’s markets. Restaurants with chefs will also make their own stocks and sauces. Just ask them what they use for a soup base. If they say, “We make our own stock” — wonderful!
When ordering Eggs Benedict (my favorite breakfast) I always ask, “How do you make your Hollandaise sauce?” If they say they make it from scratch, I order it. If not, I skip it and order something else.
Another thing we like is fresh seafood or sushi. Sure, a lot of the fish is probably farmed… you can’t be perfect. But seafood, especially raw fish like sushi and oysters, is so good for you.
Also, if we want pizza, we try not to order it from the pizza delivery place (although that does happen sometimes). I was listening to Sally Fallon Morell talk just the other day about how they use cheapest quality skim milk for the cheese on pizza. We go to a local pizza place called Antica Pizzeria that is run by an Italian guy who takes great pride in his pizza. He uses much better ingredients like fresh cheeses and basil and tomatoes. And of course his pizza tastes 5 million times better than any of the other local pizza places.
There are also more and more restaurants serving grass-fed meats. We went to a place in Seattle a while back called Lunchbox Laboratory. There’s also a place here in LA that sells grass-fed hot dogs called Let’s Be Frank. And there’s a place called Library Ale House that sells Lindner Bison burgers and J&J grass-fed beef.
Chipotle is also getting a lot of press for selling sustainable, humanely raised meats (not all of their locations do — you have to ask).
I think the movement is growing. So, to wrap up my long-winded response, the short answer is, if you want to eat out healthfully, try to eat upscale if you can afford it, and if you can’t spend much, try to do some research and find a place that at least uses better quality ingredients.
And if you are in a situation where you have to eat out and there are no great options, don’t worry too much about it. Just do the best you can. If you only eat bad occasionally but you eat well most of the time, you’ll be fine!
I meant what I said when I wrote in the post that it would have been better to go to McDonald’s than to eat that free hotel breakfast. From what I have read, McDonald’s does use real eggs. And at least we would have gotten eggs instead of just white bread and fruit juice.
28/08/2009 at 8:36 am Permalink
This was wonderful! I loved learning about the eggs…I had assumed those eggs were real, just all beat together! I never knew they were fake also-thank you!
I am so thankful for this blog and so many others that are helping make such a difference in our family’s life. Not only do we feel better, get sick less, but my oldest who always has been VERY difficult to handle, has been acting out less…now I know why! =)
It is HARD work, but SO worth it!!!!! And, I feel so passionate and purposeful in how we eat and live!
Blessings!
28/08/2009 at 8:39 am Permalink
Julie – That is so funny! That was the Whole Foods we were at. I’m surprised we didn’t bump into each other!
28/08/2009 at 8:42 am Permalink
Tara -
One more thing… the other thing I do is I try to find ways to prepare kid-friendly favorites at home in a more nourishing way. Like chocolate chip cookies made with sprouted flour and palm sugar and butter, and chicken nuggets cooked in coconut oil and French fries cooked in beef tallow.
I think if you can provide these kinds of comfort foods for your family at home more often, they will be less likely to beg you to go out to eat so they can get the junky versions.
That said, I always have a hard time when anyone orders French fries when we go to a restaurant. My daughter is a French fry fiend and will not eat ANYTHING else!
28/08/2009 at 8:44 am Permalink
I am always completely disgusted when we go to a hotel and the continental breakfast is waiting down in the lobby. My husband and son always want to go and eat at least some of what is there, even though they know better. But we always carry food with us in the car in a cooler, so I’m armed with my raw milk, hard-cooked eggs, butter, raw cheese, fruit, Ezekiel bread and homemade yogurt from home. People always stare at us when we are sitting down in the dining room as they eat their nutritionally-devoid, industrial food offered by the hotel. But I don’t care because I know we’ll have better nutrition than someone who has eaten granola cereal with pasteurized milk or processed muffins and toxic eggs and bacon or sausage with rancid, genetically-modified grain products. Great post Ann Marie! I agree 120 percent!
28/08/2009 at 9:02 am Permalink
You are fortunate to have in-laws who are supportive of how you want to feed your family. Although my in-laws are very kind and generous (I have some of the best in-laws a girl could ask for), they are still really perplexed by my beliefs and opinions on food. They both have health issues (heart disease and asthma), but persist in eating the low-fat diet and think our consumption of eggs, butter, cream, raw milk, bacon, and red meat is dangerous.
It’s hard to convince family members and friends what the right thing is to do, but I hope that being an example and continuing to keep up my own blog (neither my parents nor my husband’s parents read my blog). will be a motivation or inspiration to at least some people in the future.
28/08/2009 at 9:10 am Permalink
We don’t stay at hotels often, but when we do, and end up having the “free” continental breaky, it is the exact garbage you are describing. And I know that I feel awful for the rest of the day. I always bring a cooler with us to the hotel with some raw milk, hard boiled eggs, raw cheese, crispy nuts, and some fruit to at least make up for some of that crap.
28/08/2009 at 9:23 am Permalink
Kelly & Raine -
Yes, I am so lucky to have such wonderful people in my family. It’s not just my in-laws… Although you’re right Kelly, Nancy does go ABOVE and BEYOND — she and Ed are now taking cod liver oil, eating coconut oil, drinking raw milk from the Amish, she soaks her oats and makes kefir, and she even wants to start making kombucha for Ed!
My mom and step-dad are both very healthy eaters. They eat real butter and grow a ton of vegetables in their backyard. They have no fear of fat — they love foie gras and good cheese. My mom has been an advocate of organic gardening and farmer’s markets for as long as I can remember. She was the one who introduced me to “Animal Vegetable Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver — she was reading it for her book club.
My sister, too, is amazing. She’s the real gourmet in our family. I’ve learned more from her than just about anyone — and the best meal I’ve ever eaten was cooked by my sister (filet mignon stuffed with oysters). She was carping about high-fructose corn syrup before I even knew what it was. (She disdainfully calls it “high FRUCK-tose corn syrup”.) She’s read “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “Real Food” by Nina Planck and “Animal Vegetable Miracle”.
And even my aunt in Ohio is changing. It’s not so easy to find good healthy food in Ohio (sad, because they still live on farms — farms that are planted with GM soy and corn). They eat butter, not margarine. And she makes her pies from scratch with real ingredients like heavy cream and coconut milk. And the Alfredo sauce she and my niece make with butter, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese is TO DIE FOR. Seriously — the best I’ve ever had.
Are they all drinking raw milk from local farms and eating grass-fed beef? Hell, no. Most of them still don’t really understand my passion for raw milk. (As my sister said once, “What’s this obsession you have with raw milk?” Interestingly, I heard Sally Fallon-Morell say that raw milk today is where organic was 20 or 30 years ago.)
But they are making changes. Nobody is perfect and you know what, it’s not about being perfect. But we are all doing better every day. And we do impact each other. I think we just have to keep doing what we’re doing and keep educating each other and focus on what we’re doing right.
28/08/2009 at 9:51 am Permalink
FYI- Burger Lounge in La Jolla uses organic grass fed meat.
http://www.burgerlounge.com/about.html
28/08/2009 at 9:59 am Permalink
Oh YES I forgot about Burger Lounge. I’ll have to make sure we go there next time.
28/08/2009 at 10:03 am Permalink
By the way, did you guys see in Food Inc. about how 70% of the beef in American restaurants is washed with ammonia? SO NASTY!
They do this to kill the pathogenic bacteria like E. coli, of course, which is only present in grain-fed cattle.
Thank goodness for places like Burger Lounge!
28/08/2009 at 10:07 am Permalink
Bryce -
There were some decent things to be found at the zoo. Granted, it’s factory farmed most likely but at least it’s real food. I found some pork carnitas for my daughter. It was served on gross white flour bun but she didn’t eat very much of the bun. And we had ice cream. Sure, it wasn’t the greatest ice cream ever (and a far cry from our homemade grass-fed raw ice cream) but at least we didn’t end up getting that soft-serve crap. I’ll never eat that again!
For lunch, we ended up going to Cheesecake Factory. My FIL really wanted to go there and you know what, the man is almost 80 years old — he should eat what he likes!
28/08/2009 at 10:15 am Permalink
Wonderful post. There are so many elements of our society that tie together. As I am listening to the Omnivore’s Dilemma when I run, and our family finally got around to watching Sicko, and a while ago we watched The Corporation & The Future of Food, I find it amazing how the way we do business, the way we eat, the kinds of food we eat, the lifestyles we live, etc., are too often all of a piece. I like how you have summed up so much of what we face every day, especially when we travel. I swear I have stayed in that same hotel and ate that same breakfast. ugh.
28/08/2009 at 10:42 am Permalink
Wow and double wow. I love the way this was written, concise and no fluff. Thnak you for writing it just exactly as you did. It will help me explain to those skeptical folks who roll their eyes when they see what I am eating! I knew skim milk had powdered milk in it but didn;’t know why it was so bad. Oxidized cholesterol is so much easier to explain now! I am printing this article and carrying it with me (until I can memorize it!). Thanks again, keep up the good work. Adn the same to all the other wonderful whole food bloggers too!
28/08/2009 at 10:42 am Permalink
This post is so right on. I travel a lot for work, thankfully by car, so I always carry a small ice chest full of my healthful breakfast items. I need to start taking more of my meals – I travel to a lot of small towns in central Texas, and there are few good options out there – but I do avoid fast food like the plague. Thanks for the post – I forwarded it on to some of my co-workers, since it pretty much sums up why I don’t eat “free” hotel breakfast:-)
28/08/2009 at 11:14 am Permalink
I always check out http://www.localharvest.org before taking a trip anywhere, so I know what some of the food options are in the area to which ‘ll be traveling. You can search by zip code for farmers’ markets, restaurants, grocery stores, farms, etc. that have REAL food. Of course, not every acceptable place is listed but it’s a good place to start.
And if there’s nothing decent in the area, I’d personally rather fast than eat the crap that passes for food at most restaurants or hotels. That, or make different travel plans to a place that has decent food.
28/08/2009 at 11:21 am Permalink
Wow. I’m always blown away with revelations about processed food. Thank God for my new learning curve.
28/08/2009 at 11:22 am Permalink
I totally agree. We just got back from 18 days on the road in the Pacific Northwest. On the way home, I started taking pictures of all of your eating options per exit. I was going to do a post on that. It is ridiculous, like you said, what they try to pass off as food. I knew it was going to be challenging, so a few tips:
1. I dehydrated snack foods and stored in mason jars. I did flax seed crackers, kale chips, fruit, nut granola, and nuts.
2. I made 4 batches of different soups and froze those as well. This worked out great b/c they doubled as ice packs too.
3. Stopped at local fruit/veggie stands.
This was our healthiest trip by far….
thanks for your tips, i love your blog.
sheila
28/08/2009 at 11:29 am Permalink
This post hits home with both my husband and I because he is home with a nasty food-borne illness. Not sure what, exactly, but he is the sickest he’s been in a few years. He suspects the supermarket salad bar nearby his work. He declared to me this morning (between loud, gutteral moans) that we are never eating out again. Uh huh…people promise all sorts of things when they feel like they are on the verge of death.
28/08/2009 at 11:46 am Permalink
Oh my god! I never heard of fake eggs before. How disgusting!
Whenever we travel, I always do my homework and search for local, non-chain restaurants, health food stores and Whole Foods. Though I dont consider Whole Foods a “health food store” I always know that I can get a decent meal.
Unless its a four star hotel, the breakfasts are never worth a consideration. Hotel refrigerators start to become your friend!
28/08/2009 at 11:52 am Permalink
Hi Ann Marie! I live in Tokyo and have been following your blog….I think what you are doing is great! And thanks for the wonders of technology/ internet…we can actually find real information from real people about real food!! I love what you are trying to do in educating people about nourishing our body i.e: weston price and Sally Fallon etc regarding healthy fats, and whole, organic fresh foods or locally grown vegetables! I have been giving my family 80 % of the time organic, fresh whole foods and I drink raw milk and other 20% from going out to eat at restaurants but we try to eat out at good restaurants with quality food
My 2 year old has hardly ever been sick since we started eating this way and when she does get the occasional colds/ fever ( only had three since she was born ) it just goes away after one day or two tops! And she is a healthy, happy, loving and smart girl! I am a big fan of fermented foods, butter and good fat soluble vitamins! Japan is good with the fermented foods but society as a whole should try not to fear fats so much..the good fats anyway! Keep blogging and keep up the good work!!
28/08/2009 at 11:57 am Permalink
We also take our own food along when we travel. I ask the server if they have raw milk, they of course say no, I ask :”do you mind if I drink my own?” They always say it is fine, please go ahead. I also have my little sea salt shaker and small jar of butter.
We bring kombucha and kefir as well to help counter when we do eat other items that we know are less than nourishing.
And we’re always happy to get back home to real food on our real farm.
Thanks for the information and the topic.
28/08/2009 at 12:05 pm Permalink
Ann Marie your posting couldn’t be more timely in so many ways.
We will be traveling in the near future and our eating on the road will
mainly consist of bringing all of our own food. But there’s always that
possible “let’s stop somewhere for a bite”. I am actually working on
mapping out all the Chipotle’s on our route to and from. I have not only
our desire to eat well but need to keep gluten / dairy free in mind for
my husband and that’s a challenge at most restaurants. I also have to haul
my husbands food for the whole trip even staying with relatives. He eats what
he can at their meals and then supplements with what I packed for him. Were
working on trying to get him to tolerate raw milk but it’s going to be a slow slow process since he can get very sick.
I think it’s good to get the word out for what is wrong with food…..best to focus on what can be right…but the word needs to get out so it begins to reach people and they start seeing the connection between the foods they are eating and how they feel over all and how in long term what the negative health effects could possibly be.
I enjoyed all the previous comments. Kelly’s were great…..all her points of how people react are so so true. Have experienced each and every one.
Eating out can be a challenge and eating the wrong foods can end up leaving you in digestive distress. We had a week a way at a family camp. My husband did fine because we had his own food with and worked in was safe from the meal menu’s. But me…..it was a week of not much choice to stay away commercialized ingredients. I came home with my whole digestive system off whack for a whole week……..I jumped right in with fermented foods almost exclusively to heal.
So for this up coming trip where we will be with relatives I’m bringing along fermented foods to eat every day to keep from getting out of whack again.
By the way your comment above about the meat washed ammonia….I saw the movie…….my gut literally wrenched during that part!!
Keep the postings coming Ann Marie………I appreciate all the research you and the others of Real Food Media do and so many other bloggers out there get the word out and I join you.
28/08/2009 at 12:38 pm Permalink
Thanks so much for this post. While my family is on board with our nutritional choices, I often find others think I’m a bit nuts. Nevertheless, we keep on.
It was very helpful to learn about oxidized cholesterol and how prevalent it is in America’s industrial food system. I think we are waking up to the high cost of cheap food in the U.S. I hope so anyway…
28/08/2009 at 1:46 pm Permalink
this post was so great. it has facts that i didnt even know!
28/08/2009 at 2:00 pm Permalink
AnneMarie, what an excellent post. I forgot how much I enjoy investigative journalism. I guess it’s because there isn’t much out there anymore. We have a corporate apartment in NJ and a home in IL which forces us to make the 13 hour trek, back and forth, more than I’d like. One time I was really excited because we found a restaurant advertising its Amishness, it was even called Amish something. In we head with our 8 year old and before sitting down I decided to check out the bakery section. Low and behold everything was made with HFCS and vegetable oil. When I asked the cashier how they could call themselves Amish, she replied that they are Amish like!!
I also ordered a salad with my burger at Applebees and requested oil and vinegar. They brought out the carafes and I thought the olive oil looked really light, turns out it was vegetable oil!
28/08/2009 at 2:08 pm Permalink
I’m laughing because that’s so true of traveling. I use local harvest like someone else said but just because something is local doesn’t always make it good. I’m in the PNW and between about Tacoma and Portland one of the main places listed on the travel page linked with local harvest is Burgerville.
It’s a fast food place but they are local to Oregon and a the southern part of Washington. I wouldn’t call them healthful but they do advertise that everything is purchased locally. Most everything has some sort of breading (or it used to–I’m no longer in Vancouver) but the meat is local and most of the cheese is made in Oregon too. I don’t know about the rest of the menu.
At any rate, it’s a bit better than driving through Southern Indiana and Ohio. I didn’t see a Chipotle. I think the most healthful thing I ate on that route were some chocolate chip cookies my aunt made us and sent us on the road with! At least they were homemade.
While I don’t notice a lot of physical symptoms with diet changes, I do notice on my tongue and pulses (I am an acupuncturist) and the minute I have non sprouted flours it shows so I try and avoid those things. A friend I traveled with had Sprue–and believe me I’m am constantly amazed at the things white flour ends up in. Eating out with her in a strange place challenged us a lot!
28/08/2009 at 2:09 pm Permalink
Lauren -
“Amish-like” — that is so funny!
Reminds me of this time I went to PF Chang’s. I asked the waitress, what kind of oil do you fry with? She said, totally earnestly, “It’s wok oil.” I said, “No, I mean, what kind of oil is it? Is it canola or soybean oil?” She said, “It’s wok oil! That’s what it says on the can!”
How did you find out that the “olive oil” at Applebees was vegetable oil? YUCK!
28/08/2009 at 2:14 pm Permalink
Bonnie –
Yes, it’s very sad what has happened to the Ohio/surrounding area. When I was little they used to have roadside stands with local tomatoes and other vegetables in summertime. Now the roadside stands have food trucked in — but most people don’t even go there anymore. They just go to the Walmart.
Not to get graphic, but he thing I notice about eating unsprouted/unfermented flours when traveling is I get soooo constipated. Oddly enough, looking back, this used to be normal for me. I was constipated all the time. I think most people are.
28/08/2009 at 2:29 pm Permalink
I love the smell of oxidized cholesterol in the morning. NOT! Great article.
28/08/2009 at 2:36 pm Permalink
We took a trip in early/mid June where we stayed at motels for about 5 nights (in the South, no less). It has been a long time since i took such a trip, so all these new “breakfasts” were new to me. As i eat a gluten free vegetarian (well, pescatarian) diet, there was little at these “meals” i could eat. However, most of them did have boiled eggs (i don’t remember any scrambled) so i was fairly certain they WERE eggs, tho i’m sure they were not the eggs from free-range hens i normally buy. And don’t even get me started on what they serve at restaurants as “vegetables” !!! We may have some problems her in So Cal, but having access to good food is not so hard. Made me appreciate home so much more.
I appreciate your site, but i do, frankly, tend to rant against what is eaten these days, tho i try not to go overboard. But part of the reason for that is two nights a week we stay with my ILs, & frankly my MIL has no clue about organic foods, nor free-range or grass fed meats. I try not to go crazy there, & she has asked my opinion a few times, but much of what she has is still pesticide laden, HFCS filled stuffie. She’s lucky she is from sturdy farm-grown stock & grew up on good, natural food. Because she is mostly healthy & energetic & the “food” she eats doesn’t seem to effect her too much.
Blah, blah, blah. I can talk so much! But, even tho i don’t comment often, i do want you to know how much i appreciate what you write & share.
Do you know when the Food movie will be available on DVD?
Thanks.
28/08/2009 at 2:38 pm Permalink
ANN MARIE – I was just thinking about writing about our recent trip to a lake in NY… Processed food EVERYWHERE. I shiverred when my sis-n-law offered Cap’n Crunch to my 21 month old (because she was going to feed her baby them) until I offered to scramble them my pastured eggs. I could go on and on, but long story short I let myself relax on my morals and let him have some crackers (yucky ones)… That is all. Crackers and ONE teddy graham gave my boy the runs and patches of eczema. They saw me cook everything, feed him his CLO, only raw milk (no juice) or kombucha, and pull out all the fruit I brought with me. I cooked up Applegate Farms bacon and squash before I left. I offered to make her baby everything I made my son. Grilled cheese made from sprouted bread and raw cheese (is this still healthy?) was a hit with both. Do you consider Food For Life sprouted bread to be acceptable? Also, if you only cook with butter, is this OK? I now get worried that I am frying things in butter and don’t want to go above the smoke point (after worrying about the beef tallow fries)…
28/08/2009 at 2:44 pm Permalink
Just read comments that came via email.
FOOD INC. comes out in DVD….early November. You can reserve your own copy at amazon.com. I plan to buy a copy to share with others.
28/08/2009 at 2:53 pm Permalink
I love Chipotle so much. According to this, all locations get pork from Niman Ranch:
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2003/12/15/newscolumn1.html
Unfortunately, they proudly cook their onions and peppers (so delicious) in soy oil. Ugh!
28/08/2009 at 3:06 pm Permalink
Kathryn, are you asking about Food, Inc? Last time I checked on Amazon it was due out in November some time. I’m going to put it on my Christmas list.
I hate those “free” motel breakfasts. They think they’re doing you a favor! I think the last time we stayed in such a place I had a banana and coffee. I did strike it rich once with hard boiled eggs! Even before I started learning about good food I wasn’t crazy about them. Too many carbs.
28/08/2009 at 3:06 pm Permalink
The oil was in a clear glass bottle and it was so light that at first I just thought it was really cheap. I poured some on my finger and tasted it. Of course, it didn’t taste like anything so I asked the waitress what kind of oil it was; she came back and told me after checking with the manager.
I appreciate the approach you take re celebrating what you love about food but once in awhile, it feels good to rant about the lack of choices for people who love real food.
28/08/2009 at 3:43 pm Permalink
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this post and all the thoughtful responses. I hate trying to eat out when we’re traveling because the food is so nasty. Eating out with family members is even worse, as they are all white flour everything kind of folks. My friends think I’m nuts because I can and preserve so much of our own food, but at least that way I KNOW what’s gone into it. The food supply is filled with garbage. Our eating habits aren’t perfect (it’s a process), but I am working to eliminate the nasties.
28/08/2009 at 4:30 pm Permalink
Great post, Anne Marie.
28/08/2009 at 4:49 pm Permalink
Yes, I’ve had those hard boiled eggs at the breakfast buffet at hotels too. I thought they were probably the most decent option, until I saw them coming out of a plastic bag. Ewwww! I knew they tasted off! They must have some sort of preservative in there with them, and who knows when and where they were boiled.
28/08/2009 at 4:56 pm Permalink
I recently traveled out of town & was inspired by some blogs I read to bring food. I took coconut bread & cheese & fruit & nuts – so at least we could do some breakfasts. We traveled on an airplane – so had to keep the food cool & used my frozen blueberries – that worked well. I don’t think I could have packed any ice cubes or any ice pack – that would have been tossed by security.
When we got there we ate the blueberries 
While we were out of town, we found a Trader Joes & that was a help. We didn’t have any cooking facilities – except a refrigerator & a microwave.
We did buy premade hardcooked eggs from Trader Joes – about 10 in a bag. They tasted TERRIBLE. I wonder if they put something on the eggs to preserve them. If anyone knows about this, I’d be curious to know. I’ll email TJs to find out what it may be.
28/08/2009 at 5:02 pm Permalink
Sadly, McDonald’s eggs are…well, wanting…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/13/usa-today-dietitian-recom_n_258691.html
28/08/2009 at 5:10 pm Permalink
Great post Anne Marie!!
We just took a big trip to visit family (around 1000 miles down and 1000 miles back!) My hubby really wanted me to have a break so we decided I wouldn’t cook much. In the end it was much more stressful *not* to cook!!!
What worked best was taking properly soaked bread and cold cuts for sandwiches at rest stops on the road. Also, avocados, raw cheeses, soaked nut mixes, etc. for snacking. And we took our own milk + I got milk from the farm when we arrived (we stayed with family).
Still we ended up eating out a lot. Next year will will take several more loaves of bread and do many more sandwiches for lunch. Not only did the unhealthy lunches make us feel crummy, they didn’t really taste good. My cold cut and farm-fresh veggie sandwiches were loads better.
On the road, hardboiled eggs and cold bacon work well for breakfasts. The sandwiches work well for lunch. We’ll do eggs and bacon (or real sausage) for breakfasts at our destination from here out. For suppers we’ve talked about maybe buying a good amount of beef once we arrive and grilling burgers/steaks most nights.
We also went out for sushi twice and that was good
28/08/2009 at 5:27 pm Permalink
Christine – your right there’s preservatives in those bagged boiled eggs you get at restaurants / in hotel breakfasts, etc.. I looked at the box for them recently at the family camp we went to, I working in the kitchen. You can buy them in bulk through food service companies. 4 -6 eggs per bag with liquid sealed tight in plastic. I can’t recall what all the box said off the top of my head…..but preservatives were part of the list. Sure they’re convenient and you don’t have to set your timer, etc… all you have do is bring some water to a boil, pull it from the heat, drop as many eggs as you need in and let them sit for a spell to warm them up and “instant boiled egg” and of course their factory eggs to boot.
I would much rather boil them from start to finish myself in a saucepan or use one of those egg cookers which do an egg or more up perfectly with just water.
28/08/2009 at 5:29 pm Permalink
We usually carry food, but sometimes when getting together with friends you just have to grin & bear it. I often carry apples & other healthy snack so I can eat small amounts of food an at least counteract with good food.
The last time I got together with my college girlfriends I took raw milk for them to try and a few other homemade goodies and farm eggs. They all loved it.
28/08/2009 at 5:56 pm Permalink
Hi!
I just wanted to let you know that I just found your blog and am thoroughly enjoying it! It’s only been within the past year or so that I’ve gotten very serious about what I eat and what I feed my kids, so I’m learning more and more every day, both about what’s good for us and what’s horrible that most people are eating on a regular basis. My mom (who completely agrees with me) and I recently took a trip and stayed in a hotel, and we had the same reaction to the continental breakfast! We turned right around a left–yuck!
If my husband or in-laws had been there, unfortunately it would have been a different story. They think I’m absolutely insane (and I’m really not even that ultra-strict–I totally agree with the idea that if you eat well the majority of the time, you can eat badly on occasion without ruining anything!) For their own health, I wish they would listen just a little bit, especially my husband. I can only feed him “healthy” food if I disguise it as something he considers “normal”: )
28/08/2009 at 6:23 pm Permalink
Thank you for this post. I got a dose of this just this morning. The Arlington, TX hotel offered a free breakfast, and based on what I have run across before, I wasn’t too hopeful, but what they were offering makes your experience look like a good option! YUCK!!!
28/08/2009 at 6:33 pm Permalink
Ann Marie,
Wow, the comments on this post have exploded today! It reminds me of the post I did about my shock at the junk they call hospital food – that one hit a nerve, too. We are all catching on, getting smarter, and no longer want the crap, no matter who is trying to feed it to us!
Kelly
28/08/2009 at 7:02 pm Permalink
Haha I have to come to your aunts states defense!
I live in OH (Dayton area) and I do a local, organic CSA, get raw milk and cream (cow and goat), eat grass fed and grass FINISHED beef, render tallow, use grass fed organic lard, soak grains, and make my own yogurt! OH is not a bad place, you just have to know where to look!!!
PS is there a source for me to see what foods contain oxidized cholesterol? I am now officially scared of my whey protein powder I use sometimes…
28/08/2009 at 7:08 pm Permalink
Tara, can you use real whey instead? (Just drain it off your yogurt.)
28/08/2009 at 7:24 pm Permalink
Tara -
I’m pretty sure all whey protein powder contains oxidized cholesterol.
http://integratedsupplements.typepad.com/integrated_supplements_bl/2007/04/study_finds_oxi.html
I would avoid them.
And I know that Ohio DOES have sources for grass-fed beef and organic produce and such — my aunt just isn’t there, yet. Hopefully she will get there. I think it’s great that she uses real butter and cream. And she started growing vegetables in the past few years. I just think it’s so neat how we all rub off on each other and help inspire each other to make changes.
29/08/2009 at 2:40 am Permalink
Ann Marie – thanks for all the great suggestions. I also try to ‘nourish up’ the family favorites. I did a blog post on grass fed burgers and fries cooked in tallow not long ago. Just tonight I snuck in a kefir dressing into the tuna salad. I love being sneaky!
On the whey protein powder – I’ve stopped using them. And have looked all over for into on how the whey drained off of kefir or yogurt is similar to whey protein powder. Can’t find anything. I would love to know how they compare protein wise.
29/08/2009 at 4:31 am Permalink
This was an awesome post, one which I am sure has caused your relatives to second guess what they are eating.
My BF and I recently left San Diego. I used to refer to WF as “my happy place” because it was such a change in shopping experience from a regular grocery store. I definitly miss their deli. We ate out very little in San Diego, and we eat out even less in our new city as we become more and more discriminating with our food choices. Last weekend we were invited out by another couple, and found ourselves at a steak restaurant. Although the food taste was excellent…….I wasn’t sure what to do when the very first steak was written up as “finest corn fed beef from the midwest.”
29/08/2009 at 4:48 am Permalink
Ya know as I read your blog the passion to feed my family, well intensifies!! Then I scroll back up and to my discussed Darigold Half and Half (ultra pasteurized) vanilla advertisement! and I crave a cup of coffee!! Yuck! You see I would use that stuff every morning, if it were good for me, but because of you and all your friends my coffee is NO longer adulterated!! Thank you, Kelley
29/08/2009 at 4:50 am Permalink
I also know that my last response might not be chosen to be shown because of the Darigold advertisement and that is ok! Thank you,Kelley
29/08/2009 at 6:49 am Permalink
When we travel we always book a hotel with a kitchen and I check my 48 quart Igloo cooler(s) as baggage on the airplane. I freeze 1 or 2 gallons of milk and any other foods that can or should be frozen and put those in the cooler. I put a doz eggs in an empty carton (carton in a carton) and have never lost an egg in flight. We use a strap to keep it closed with an easy release buckle and then use that to carry the cooler if it is not too heavy. I am sure the food is x-rayed but my x-rayed food is still better than anything I can buy (IMO) or eat out.. Most foods are cooked and frozen (Chicken coconut soup, meat sauce, bacon, quiche…simple foods) which keeps me out of the kitchen while on holiday except to warm and plate.
29/08/2009 at 8:16 am Permalink
LOL! I hear you about those nasty hotel breakfasts! lol Ive hardly EVER eaten those things especially those nasty, fake eggs, BLECH!
This post made me do some research to find suitable nourishing food near my MIL (using localharvest.org) whom we just decided to go visit this October. She lives in Arizona and according to realmilk.com, i may be able to buy raw milk from the store there!
At any rate, hubby just giggled at me and called me crunchy, but he’s down with it. All he knows is that he feels much better eating my food than regular, conventional food. It would be cool to convince his family of the very same thing just by visiting them!
29/08/2009 at 8:20 am Permalink
Great post. It can be frustrating to feel like we can’t just eat on the fly although, like you said, there are more and more options becoming available (depending on where you are). We live in a place with lots of great whole and local foods so we are spoiled when it comes to eating out and thus, wholly shocked when we travel.
Thanks for all the information and wisdom! So glad to have found you
29/08/2009 at 4:13 pm Permalink
The mystery eggs never fail to make my husband sick as a dog. When we go out to breakfast, he has to be careful to order eggs over easy or none at all. BLEH!
29/08/2009 at 4:21 pm Permalink
Thanks for the info about the oxidized cholesterol – going to pass that tidbit on to my step-dad before he has another heart attack. I thought I was doing good by eating the eggs instead of the donuts
I’m hoping someday there will be more real food options that fake food. But until then I have been saving money by cooking at home (and I even buy mostly organic foods now) and watching my waistline shrink while I actually eat more food has been FANTASTIC!!! Not to mention the added “together” time with my family.
Thanks again to all you bloggers who enrich my life with your dedication!!
29/08/2009 at 6:40 pm Permalink
I am so happy that I found your blog. As much as I read about food and try to do what is best for my family, I still feel like I hardly know anything. I found this post to be really informative, thank you! We struggle with the good food issue when traveling. And we recently stayed in a hotel with a bunch of other family members for a family reunion (so we didn’t pick the place). We live in Canada but it was in small town Minnesota. They had “free” breakfast which was EXACTLY like what you spoke of, aside from the fact that the yogurt was TRIX yogurt and it glowed orange and pink from coloring. The woman working the buffet went out of her way to go and get my three year old one, while I was in the room, and my husband hardly knew what had happened before it was open and she was being told to eat it. She ate like two bites and didn’t want anymore, thank goodness! My sister in law was totally appalled when the woman tried to give her 16 month old a yogurt!
29/08/2009 at 8:09 pm Permalink
LOL Tiffany – that yogurt sounds horrible!!!!!
29/08/2009 at 9:29 pm Permalink
I’m really glad you wrote this post!
I always take beef jerky, some sprouted and dehydrated nuts and seeds, and if I’m driving, some fermented drinks too. Oftentimes I just have to accept that I’ll come home bloated and constipated
.
I also look on yelp and research extensively before I go somewhere.
Half my family eats pretty healthily already. My parents keep kosher, and are unwilling to do anything that is inconvenient. I just found them a source for grassfed kosher beef (it was really hard to find!), and my mum at least has started drinking raw milk. My siblings are hopeless though.
I have a question– what you said about white flour being devoid of nutrients. I agree that unfermented white flour is gross, but what about white flour in sourdough? I know that the Bezian bakery guy says that white is more nutritious, and I think I read in the WPF newsletter that white sourdough has better effects on your blood sugar than whole wheat sourdough. What’s your opinion on that?
29/08/2009 at 10:05 pm Permalink
Yes def agree on the rubbing off on people!
I dont really use the whey for much besides fermetation. I try to stay low carb and I keep reading that most of the remaining sugars in milk drain off in the whey.
30/08/2009 at 12:55 am Permalink
What a great and well-researched article. I write about whole foods, the importance of fat and cholesterol, and the hazards of following conventional wisdom myself, but I must admit I didn’t understand much about oxidized cholesterol before reading this. Instinct and taste buds have kept me away from hotel breakfasts though!
30/08/2009 at 7:12 am Permalink
LOL on the Trix yogurt. My MIL bought the boys some back when they were toddlers and we had the same experience. They were all excited about the color (we don’t normally eat day-glo foods at home) but after a couple bites they pushed it away and wouldn’t eat any more.
I forget get where I read it (was this a Michael Pollen quote?), but the motto “If your great-grandparents wouldn’t have recognized it as food, you probably don’t want to eat it” is a good one.
30/08/2009 at 8:38 am Permalink
The only way I can some up the vast majority of ‘hotel breakfasts’ is a ‘baron wasteland’.
30/08/2009 at 12:43 pm Permalink
We had a similar issue with a recent trip to Indiana for a family reunion. Not even ultra-pasteurized cream at the buffet: Coffee Mate. I found a farmer’s market and bought some cherry tomatoes and raw milk cheese. Now THAT’s a breakfast I can get behind!
I wish my family didn’t read my blog. I have some family members eating very, very scary diets, but they are not open to considering the danger. I’ve done the research on their fads and there is great cause for concern but they won’t listen because it comes from me.
More and more I’m convinced I need to be bringing food with us and not trusting anyone else to provide something so important.
30/08/2009 at 12:55 pm Permalink
Local Nourishment, I know what you mean about family. I’ve been eating this way for years and nobody hears me, but all of the sudden my mom will read a book or hear something on Oprah and it’s real. I’ve learned to appreciate that I’m building the fuel for the fire, but they need to hear it from a source they don’t feel defensive about (and for some reason it’s not me [most of the time
])
31/08/2009 at 9:23 am Permalink
thank you for this post! it is so helpful. i have been looking for a good explanation about the cholesterol to share with my dad, and now I have more info!
you absolutely have to send the link to this blog post to the hotel manager where you stayed.
31/08/2009 at 9:55 am Permalink
I emphasize full-fat dairy and whole grain products at home and cook from scratch as often as possible so I have control over what’s going into the meals. But I had no idea about the powered cholesterol!
The depressing thing is that some parts of the country are cut off from better quality options. Sure, our local grocer has a few “organic” items, but not nearly enough. And we’re 800 miles from the nearest Whole Foods. You say “Trader Joe’s” around here and get blank stares.
And to make matters worse, there’s only a single, anemic farmers’ market in the area, it’s nearly an hour’s drive away, and only happens on Saturday mornings. (If you don’t make it over there before 10-ish, most of the vendors are already wiped out & packing up!) Occasionally, you come across produce being sold roadside, but it’s usually limited to melons & zucchini – which is nice, but not nearly enough.
I’ve found a nearby meat market that offers very good quality, regionally-grown beef, but little else. And haven’t found a local source for dairy or poultry. I’ve been wanting to shift us over to raw milk, but can’t seem to find it around here.
31/08/2009 at 11:51 am Permalink
Rob, where are you located? Do you have a local Weston A. Price Foundation chapter? I found a lot of good local food by checking with them.
31/08/2009 at 4:24 pm Permalink
Great Article
You are so right on. I was out in Cali at Seaworld 3 weeks ago with a fellow WAP Chapter Leader and we basically felt the same.
I carry lots of snacks and when I travel I always bring my milk with me, I know it sounds funny but out here in GA it’s really hard to come by, we are not as fortunate as everyone in Cali. I also have a 20 mos old baby so she happily eats whatever I give her.
I also learned a lot about what to ask for when traveling for business, you can usually always find real eggs if you go for Hiltons and Embassey’s Suites, they also have real butter. Yes I have seen my fair share of the hideous powdered eggs, but I always ask letting them know I am allergic to the fake stuff and that usually does the trick and at least I get an honest answer and the real eggs.
Marriott’s are aweful, ask anyone who was at the WAP conference 3 years ago, they were serving the powdered stuff there. I however found the omelet bar and made them crack three eggs in front of me so I knew for sure what I was getting.
Hope this helps.
Keep up the great articles.
Heather
01/09/2009 at 4:41 pm Permalink
i loved this post! it really is such a disgrace, the state of.. umm.. “food” is that what you would call that?
as a fellow weston a. price member and chapter leader, i love your blog, just added it to my blogroll!
02/09/2009 at 7:01 am Permalink
word up! great info as always
thanks to you and ladies of realfoodmedia, I broke my 10 year vegetarianism last night with a DELICIOUS (happy!) chicken soup…absolutely divine. it’s amazing how good real food makes you feel!
02/09/2009 at 7:58 am Permalink
Wow Claudia –
Congratulations!
What inspired you to eat meat again?
02/09/2009 at 8:23 am Permalink
Congratulations Claudia! Keep it up….GO GIRL and inspire others to do the same.
02/09/2009 at 9:43 am Permalink
I love reading all these comments. I just have to share my own MIL story, it is so ridiculous. Last night I was laughing about how I had made a special trip to get organic, grass-fed ground beef for my toddler and when I served it to him, he threw it all on the floor and the dog ended up with a nice (expensive) treat. Well my MIL says, “See, you should forget all this organic nonsense, he probably needs all the other stuff that’s in there. It might slow him down a little.”
Seriously, this is how they think!
Thanks for a fun post.
02/09/2009 at 12:21 pm Permalink
So happy that this post generated some many interesting comments. Great post Ann Marie!!
02/09/2009 at 12:40 pm Permalink
Tierney – Oh that is so sad. Too bad people don’t understand what food additives and chemicals do to kids.
When I was pregnant with Kate, my MIL threw me a fabulous baby shower. All her friends came. So fun!
Anyway, one of her friends told me all about the story of her son and how he went on the oh-gosh-I-forget-the-name-of-it… it was a diet in the 60s/70s for kids with food allergies. Anyway she said it was like night and day. His behavior was SO MUCH better when he didn’t eat the additives and the sugar. I remember she said he got called to the principal’s office for bad behavior and she gave him a lollipop and he said, “Don’t you understand what this does to me?” (I’m sure I’m misquoting but it was a funny story.)
I’m again reminded of how lucky I am to have a MIL and mother who are so supportive!
02/09/2009 at 12:42 pm Permalink
Nancy – it’s all thanks to you! This was your idea — you have great instincts! I’m so lucky to have you as my MIL!
xoxo
02/09/2009 at 5:17 pm Permalink
Hi Ann Marie – I found your website and article by serendipitous accident (I can’t even remember how I got it) and was floored by the information here. I am a raw foodist who drinks raw goat’s milk (that’s all we can get in Georgia) and eats grass-fed, grass finished beef and organic chicken and turkey. I had never heard that you need to soak oatmeal. I read about it in your link to Sally Fallon’s article. I have been making my own raw granola using oatmeal (gluten free) and now I need to change that it seems. How long do you soak it and then do you rinse off the acid medium or do you cook it with that in it? Do you have any links to sites that might explain it in more detail? I thought I had coverd most of the bases in health food but your blog showed me there’s a whole lot more to learn! Of course, isn’t there always?
I used to have to fly often for work and I would take my raw food with me in a cooler that would plug into the cigarette lighter of the car and then into an electrical outlet via a special adaptor when I got to my destination. I would take my raw granola and boxes of organic rice milk that didn’t have to be refrigerated with me when I couldn’t take the cooler so at least for breakfast I would have something decent. Now I’ll have to re-think that. Thanks for the great info!
02/09/2009 at 11:00 pm Permalink
The diet is the Feingold diet. It’s for hyperactive kids. It really works! You remove all sugar and white flour and all food additives. Sound familiar? Just a little less restrictive than GAPS.
We’re lucky to have you as a daughter in law!!!!!!
02/09/2009 at 11:12 pm Permalink
I just Googled (Google is your friend) Feingold diet and it was primarily the removal of food dye and other chemicals. Of course the results were contested, but it proved itself it numerous clinical trials. Feingold was a doctor, I think a neurologist.
Most mothers choose to use Ritalin and other drugs because it’s easier to give a pill than remove chemicals from their child’s diet. Sad commentary on what is happening in our country!
03/09/2009 at 5:41 am Permalink
That’s right Feingold, thank you, Nancy. I was thinking Gold-something.
That is interesting that Dr. Feingold was a neurologist. Dr. Campbell-McBride of the GAPS diet is also a neurologist.
04/09/2009 at 9:30 am Permalink
W.O.W.
I am just learning about all of this. In Canada raw milk is not available. Too bad. I have tried it and it does taste good, unlike the “usual”. Here I drink and cook with almond milk. I never knew why I like hard “real” ice cream and not soft serve. I am starting to get an inkling of the reason now. The body knows, if we listen.
Thank you!
04/09/2009 at 10:55 pm Permalink
I’ll join you in the “here she goes now” syndrome! It is hard being the only person who cringes (ok, has an internal panic attack) when presented with a buffet like you mentioned. My family just doesn’t understand why I don’t want to go out to eat to “give myself a break”. I always feel worse after a restaurant meal. Good for you for standing up to the continental breakfast! Obviously this idea has hit a nerve – the number of comments at this post is amazing! I’m learning more all the time about oxidized cholesterol, and it just makes me sick.
When we travel, so far we’ve just settled for restaurant food. The more I get into the “real food” movement, though, the more I wonder if that will change. This week we went camping, and the fare was markedly different than last year (although still many compromise foods!). You can see my attempt at positive change if you click my name – will take you to the camping tag.
17/09/2009 at 10:11 pm Permalink
I am having MIL envy right now. I have a pretty darn good mother in law when it comes to being an adoring grandmother, and they are so generous and supportive of me and my husband. MIL has even shown interest in Real Food and we try to educate them, but the fear is ever present. For example we read her the chapter about oils and fats in NT, and she seemed to get it. But when we go to her house she still uses canola oil for baking. I guess I should give her a break as old habits die hard, and she does try!!! Anyways, I love this post…very informative.
18/09/2009 at 9:18 am Permalink
I had never heard of oxidized cholesterol, but… I received something i have wanted for a long time last christmas, a yougurt maker, so I could have “fresh” yougurt with no added sugar, just my own honey (from the bee farm down the street, who’s bees visit my flowers:)). My mother started educating us on the wholesome foods when we were kids, thanks to adele davis. as I grew older, i found that what i ate really did affect how i felt, both short & long-term.
The only thing I am not too sure about here is the powdered eggs. I have worked on two sides of the food industry, as a restaurant/catering manager and in food sales. As a food purchaser, we never purchased “powdered” eggs, even though the kids probably thought we did. Also, as a purchaser from several vendors (including Sysco, one of the largest institutional vendors) I don’t think I ever saw “powdered” eggs on any of the order forms. As a food salesperson, again, I don’t recall ever having that on our inventory list. I think I would have remembered, because when I was a kid in boarding school I/we swore that is what they were feeding us, so I was always kind of on the lookout for powdered eggs.
As far as I know, eggs are only sold as “eggs”, which you have to crack open; or in liquid form in quarts or in 20 pound bags. Most schools, restaurants, and catering will use the liquid eggs which have what is it ascetic acid as a preservative; also, the liquid eggs are pasteurized, just like milk. The liquid eggs are “idiot proof” in providing the same product every time. I am afraid that powdered eggs would not be “idiot proof”, as that would require someone (who may or may not be able to read, or for that matter, read english. and there is a lot of room for error in having to mix something. Chains, of any kind, like to “idiot proof” the production of food to the public in order to provide a consistent product everytime, everyplace.
HOWEVER, there is a fake butter/liquid margarine product which is probably what gives the eggs the texturized, rubbery texture (from being “overfried”/heated). Also, spending several hours in a hot chafing dish does not make a better egg.
18/09/2009 at 9:56 am Permalink
Hi, Kathryn
Yes, I’ve ordered from Sysco before too when I used to work at a restaurant.
I’m not sure if this hotel was using powdered eggs. I don’t have any proof of that. But I do know that some restaurants and hotels do use powdered eggs.
This is from Wise Geek:
“While many people are not aware, scrambled eggs served in many restaurants are made with the use of powdered eggs. This is particularly true in family style restaurants that offer a breakfast bar. Other restaurants will make use of powdered egg products when preparing fresh baked goods or creating an entrée that calls for the inclusion of eggs in the recipe.”
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-powdered-eggs.htm
Although I didn’t see any powdered eggs on their site, Sysco does sell some highly processed egg products.
Liquid Egg blends that are pasteurized and homogenized:
http://www.sysco.com/products/Productpage_search.asp?productID=61
I found this PDF from the CDC from 2004:
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/EHSNet/Docs/JFP_egg_practices_article.pdf
They did a study of 153 restaurants and found that of the 153, all used real eggs (in the shell), however, they used other egg products as well including:
Pasteurized eggs in shell: 30%
Liquid egg blends: 88%
Powdered eggs: 9%
So it looks like most restaurants are probably using those liquid egg blends that Sysco sells. But some are using powdered eggs.
Interestingly, the “scrambled egg” liquid that Sysco sells lists “nonfat milk” as the second ingredient. I wonder if that is powdered milk. If so, that would also be oxidized cholesterol.
http://www.sysco.com/products/Productpage_search.asp?productID=88
24/09/2009 at 11:30 am Permalink
This reminds me of my experience with buying heavy whipping cream at Kroger. I got started with the stuff in my coffee when I first began low-carbing, and then expanded to other uses like making homemade ice cream. I wasn’t crazy about their use of thickeners in the cream but if we were running short before payday, they were still a viable option.
Then one day I looked at the ingredients for some reason. I had looked at them previously, which was when I had learned of the gums and thickeners included in the formulation, but now the list had changed. They were cutting their heavy cream with skim milk!
This was about the time food prices were really spiking about a year or so ago. I had wondered why the cream price hadn’t really changed…
They did me a favor in the long run. I went casting about for another source of heavy cream that was closer to where I lived than the one other place I’d found that offered it without the added gums. About that time, my local natural foods store began offering a local brand in half-gallon cartons. I looked the label over and liked what I saw: Ohio-raised, grass-fed. Which point was brought forcibly home to me this past spring when I opened my latest carton and the cream was so yellow you could light up a dark room with it. I had never seen yellow cream before! I was hooked.
I’ve since expanded to using their whole milk as well. When I think about where I might still be had Kroger not started cheating me… well… blecch.
On another subject also treated in the comments here, it’s amazing how many rural people do not eat rural anymore. If I search on LocalHarvest for local foods in Louisiana where my family is from, there isn’t anyone listed on LH within many, many miles of my parents’ rural farming town. There are still some cattle ranchers there, but it’s beef cattle; some people raise sheep, but I suspect that’s mostly for mutton. And a few people garden but it’s mostly for personal use. And most of the foods in their pantries, as far as I’ve seen, have been boxed and canned and shipped in from elsewhere and, as often as not, bought from Wal-Mart even though they have a local grocery right there in town. Mind you, that grocery has a credit line for its customers with welfare or irregular incomes. No chain grocery that I know of does that.
Sometimes this greenhorn (how do you say that in French anyway?) thinks about going home for good and starting a food revolution before all the young people get fed up and leave, not knowing why they are discontent, and all those little towns dry up and blow away. They took our language a long time ago, now they’re taking our farming jobs and when the offshore oil rigs dry up, there won’t be anything left.
11/10/2009 at 4:20 pm Permalink
I find it very difficult to eat the right foods when traveling. How about when you go to a restaurant, where the menu is in a language you don’t speak? You aren’t sure what you are ordering – and you can only hope it’s cooked in some extra virgin olive oil. Of course they aren’t using coconut oil, right?
Chances are, they are using some sort of vegetable oil – great!
My best bet is to make sure any pousada(small hotel/house) i’m staying in has a kitchenette where I can buy food at the local grocery store and make my own healthy dishes.
19/02/2010 at 5:01 pm Permalink
You know, goodness there is so much powdered milk everywhere it’s stupid. I worked at a convenience store … loved the midnight to 8AM shift because I lived in a safe area and I got to start off slow, inventories, bagel prep and cleaning, and then sustain myself as it got busy for the “coffee” rush at around 6. But it wasn’t a coffee rush. It was a “cup’o'cino” rush. That machine that mixes the heavily sugared, reconstituted milk powder garbage with hot water. I never touched the stuff because I loved regular coffee and didn’t want the sugar, but never really thought of the double whammy of the excess sugar with the oxidized cholesterol. We blame coke … but how many people drink this stuff EVERY DAY? 20 ounces of it. Fill ‘er up, we had plenty of regulars. I’m sick to my stomach.
30/03/2010 at 10:40 pm Permalink
For anyone who lives in or will be visiting Chicago there is a Restaraunt/Bar that I swear must be WAPF inspired
Duck liver mouse and Pate’s, Rabbit, Grassfed Organic steaks, Homeade Cashewbutter and jam sandwhiches, sourdough breads and only homemade condiments.
The quality is awesome over 700 Yelp reviews too.
Me and my hubby eat there once a month $50-80 for 2 people
Hopleaf Bar
5148 N Clark St
(between United States Highway 41 & Winona St)
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 334-9851
http://www.hopleaf.com
02/04/2010 at 10:42 pm Permalink
Tricia,
We’re going to Chicago soon so I made a note about this, THANK YOU!
Kelly
16/04/2010 at 1:45 pm Permalink
Goodness, the terrors of the “breakfast buffet.” We were in Europe last year and they had breakfast buffets with whole fat, unsweetened yogurt, mueslix (which is usually prepared by soaking, IIRC) fresh fruit, real butter, rye bread made with um rye. If you wanted cooked you get actual bacon and actual eggs. Yeah none of it was organic, raw or ideal, but at least it was edible. We did better with the buffets there than we did at the little city supermarkets that had almost no fresh produce and only UHT milk, etc.
In the US, we always get a kitchenette and we always cook in at least two meals a day on vacation. I don’t mind cooking so much on vacation, since I don’t have to work. Sometimes “cooking” is just blue cheese, on sprouted grain toast with fresh cherry tomatoes.
16/04/2010 at 1:49 pm Permalink
Another point: it’s crazy but my Healthfood restaurant right now is the local greasy spoon where I can see them make everything. I know they use real eggs and bacon. I know they fry the eggs in butter. They still use soy oil for the grill items like pancakes, but I think until coconut oil comes down in price I can’t imagine them being able to use it in a cost effective way. I’m trying to go super low omega 6 right now so I just get the eggs fried in butter.
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25/07/2010 at 8:56 am Permalink
I love this! Thank you for posting. Now I know why I hate eggs in restaurants. But as you mentioned soy, and know that this is my first reading of your blog. Did you know that most restaurants and nearly all premade foods use soybean oil or a soy mix as the vegetable oil? I’m allergic to soy. And have discovered the root to my digestive issues were this allergy and eating out or boxed foods, like rice a roni or noodles. This comment is to help everyone know to ask before you eat. I pretty much just don’t eat out anymore.