October #Unprocessed...why real food matters. #takebackourfood

This month, I am celebrating October #Unprocessed with almost 6000 other people. For this month, I have committed to eating food in its unadulterated form. No unpronounceable ingredients. No weird preservatives....no funny stuff. I am dutifully reading labels with even more intensity than I normally would. And boy...does it open my eyes. I have a mostly unprocessed diet but it is amazing how a little mindfulness reminds me how difficult it truly is for the average person to go unprocessed. Of course, I have made a few hiccups so far, usually whenever I forget about my mission for one second. "Sure, I will have that piece of chocolate"....darn!! 

You know, I am a simple gal. A good, old-fashioned vegetarian. Not a raw foodie or a Paleo enthusiast. I live by the 80/20 rule. For me, this means an 80% whole plant foods approach. That leaves 20% for some other picks...and I like me some cheese. The staple in our house is organic, raw milk cheddar but in a pinch, I picked up some pizza mozzarella from Saputo at the grocery store across the way. Then, I just happened to glance at the label. Milk...yes...modified milk ingredients...WTF???

This is cheese. I double checked! Not cheese "spread" or cheese "product". And it is not the only one. A bunch of pre-shredded cheeses from Kraft and other companies now have modified milk ingredients in their labels. 

Confused? Me too. Here is the legal definition of 'modified milk ingredient' from Health Canada: 

Modified milk ingredients are defined in item 7.1, subsection B.01.010 (3) of the FDR, as "any of the following in liquid, concentrated, dry, frozen or reconstituted form, namely, calcium reduced skim milk (obtained by the ion-exchange process), casein, caseinates, cultured milk products, milk serum proteins, ultrafiltered milk, whey, whey butter, whey cream and any other component of milk the chemical state of which has been altered from that in which it is found in milk".

The 'milk serum proteins' really freaks me out because I have no idea what it means. You want the common sense definition of a modified milk ingredient? Industrial by-products of milk. Milk too expensive for your factory food? Here, take the waste of my factory's milk usage. 

Say what you might about the role of dairy in our diet but let's defend what is good and real and simple - milk from a cow still has nutrition to offer as long as it agrees with you. Foods in their whole form are kinder to our digestive systems and have been designed by nature to nourish our bodies. What really (language alert!) pisses me off is that the average Jane, which includes me, buys food with a gentlewoman's expectation that a food that looks like real food is real. I don't expect that the weird pink "strawberry" milk is natural. Plain white cheese? Now you've gone too far...

This is happening all across our grocery stores: ice creams morphed into 'dairy desserts'; juices transformed into 'beverages' and meat bloated with water, antibiotics and salmonella. The industrial food supply...it's what's for dinner!

In North America, we are facing an unprecedented epidemic of obesity, chronic disease, digestive disturbances and allergies like never before. Our bodies are quite literally under attack from our food, our lifestyle and our environment. Why are we not more angry about this? Because we have no idea it is happening. We have been buying the same brand of cheese for 10 years and so why would we bother looking at the ingredients? Cheese is cheese, right? RIGHT?  Wrong. Ice cream isn't ice cream, either. 

Where milk, butter, flour and sugar once existed we have modified milk ingredients, esterified fatty acids of soy, franken-gluten and high fructose corn syrup. Researchers are working overtime trying to figure out how modern foods have been modified and what that is doing to our bodies. In the meantime, no one can dispute that our food has changed. And we are sick from it. 

Right about now, there might be some trickling thought that "real food" might not be affordable food. That taking a stand might be reserved for those of us lucky enough to buy 'fancy food'. However, as a dietitian, I think it is completely unethical that companies making lower cost foods are trying to soak extra profits from them by reducing ingredient quality. In fact, some companies are starting to come back around. McCain, for example, is one that actually has pronounceable ingredients on their labels. It may be a frozen pizza but at least it has real basil and tomatoes. And Hellman's Mayo has committed to using 100% cage free eggs by 2020. These are steps in the right direction for companies with the power to make real change in our food supply. Yes, some of us can afford to buy organic kale smoothies. However, I know that many of us can't - so don't think that you deserve cheap food just because you can't afford to buy expensive food. 

I feel its time to take a stand. Want to join me? Here is how:

1. Food manufacturers listen to the almighty dollar. Read labels voraciously and don't buy food with ingredients you don't understand. During October #Unprocessed, this is called the "kitchen test". Click here for more info.

2. Whenever you can, visit companies' Facebook and Twitter pages and respectfully tell them why you don't buy their products. Companies are very connected to the conversations on social media. They listen! Use the hash tag #takebackourfood

3. Share this post on your Facebook pages, Twitter profiles and Google +. Use the hash tag #takebackourfood

4. Even better, share your own thoughts and experiences and use the hash tag #takebackourfood.

Eat, Drink and Be Happy...Finding Yoga on Your Plate, Part Two

Food has changed. Once upon a time, we rarely thought much about what we ate; now there is so much context sitting on the end of our fork that it can be almost too heavy to lift. When we sit down to a meal, any number of questions can appear on our plates. Was the food grown close to home, supporting local farmers and putting less fossil fuels into the atmosphere? Were these fish farmed, spreading disease in our oceans? Should we be eating animal foods at all? What about all this GMO corn, is there some in this breakfast cereal? 


As I mentioned in my previous post, there is new meaning to the practice of ahimsa, or non-harming, where our food choices are concerned. How can we nourish our bodies and our spirits without causing undue harm? Here are some of my thoughts...take from them what you will. I hope they will encourage you to think about what it means to you to tread a little more lightly on the planet.


Eat plant-based meals. Whether this means a meatless Monday each week, a few vegetarian meals a week or transitioning to a completely vegan diet; eating fewer animal foods conserves energy and is good for your health. Consider meat as a condiment at any meal: building your meals around whole grains and vegetables, with meat as feature, is more sustainable from both an economical and an environmental sense.


Choose animal foods wisely. Cheese, one of my favourite treats, is also one of the most resource-intensive animal foods because it requires a great deal of milk from a very energy-intensive animal (the cow). If you eat cheese, choose good quality cheese and savour it. Don't simply cover everything you eat in a fake-orange tinted rubbery substance.  


Give your food animals a happier and healthier life. Buy your meat and dairy from organic sources whenever possible and if you can, from farms that raise their animals ethically. In BC, we have the SPCA certification for farms. If you have a good butcher, they will know exactly how that meat came to be in their counter.


Reconsider "superfoods". So many exotic foods sold as super foods can come with a hefty price tag for the buyer, the planet and the grower. In developed nations, our pocketbooks rule and we can outbid local markets for access to staple foods. A good example is quinoa, which has grown so expensive that many local populations that once relied upon the food have been priced out of the market. In addition, all of these foods have to be transported from far away. If they have travelled by boat, the carbon output is light. But if that pineapple or mangosteen is "jet fresh"...When you do choose super foods, buy fair trade whenever possible.


Eat Fair. As I alluded to above, when purchasing foods grown in developing nations, we should be buying fair trade. Those that toil growing our food, particularly in countries far away, are at risk socially and economically; they rarely earn enough money to raise their families. We often think about fair trade coffee, tea and chocolate. What about quinoa, bananas or sugar? Ask your retailer for fair trade foods and vote with your dollar. 


Eat modestly. We overeat. Period. We do harm to our bodies as we disconnect from true hunger and force our body to process the extra food that it doesn't need; we damage our spirit as we use food  as a substitute for something else that is missing in our lives. All of that excess consumption, whether in food or material goods, causes waste and an increased demand for resources which puts undue strain on our environment. Think of the Japanese tenet, "Hara hachi bu." Eat until you are  80% full. There is plenty of food out there. No need to gorge in preparation for hard times.


Eat real food. Food can be medicine or it can be poison. We honour our bodies when we choose simple, wholesome foods that are prepared with love. When we continuously feed ourselves over-processed, nutrient poor foods such as fast foods and junky snack foods we rob our bodies of nutrients and force them to go into detox mode to clean up the mess we just served.


Savour your food. We eat multiple times daily. Each opportunity can be one for happiness and pleasure when we take the time to focus on eating. Don't just scarf down your food in front of your computer screen or television. Take a quiet moment to eat slowly and truly experience your food. This will help put your body into a relaxed state that will encourage proper digestion, reduce mindless overeating and help you appreciate and enjoy what you are eating. Enjoying your meals is one of the simplest ways to add joy to your day.