American Food vs the UK

I have said before, in the European countries things must be proved safe before the country allow the ingredient to be manufacturer, where in the USA it put be proven harmful to be removed! So in Europe they have banned 1400 ingredients and we have banned 400....

But yes things can be made without the items that are questionable... as Pop tarts in the video

Stuff that last forever (or until it's gone)...

I have seen and read many different articles about basic product that will last for a long time in the pantry.  Products we should stock up on with out worry it will go bad.... I had to write it down... then I thought So I never lose it I will post it here........... PLUS less clutter...

Sugar 

Corn starch 

Corn syrup
  
Salt

Pure Vanilla Extract

Distilled White Vinegar 

Pure Maple syrup- put in the refrigerator



Honey -just place in warm water if it crystallizes

Rice - but not brown rice (store it in the  refrigerator or freeze it)

Of course common sense tell you to store in a cool dry place and  if it looks bad or smells bad throw it out!!! 

Fast food and Moods

Watching the news tonight I hear that there was some researchers that found fast food makes people cranky and depressed. They had a senior medical adviser presenting the story.........
Our brains need nutrients and when they  don't get it, we get cranky.  Oh yea you don't have to tell  a mom about that.  You can overhear a mom saying Oh someones hungry!  to a cranky little one. (that or is it nap time??)  That's what wrong with the society today, we need to eat healthier.  




But there is research  from the University of Toronto study shows that people became impatient simply considering fast food. I really have a problem with the label fast food for yes it is fast food but not all of it is bad for you, you can get some healthy choices at fast food places. Plus you can make some food fast in the microwave and if it is fresh;  it's not bad for you either.  I used to work at a fast food place and yes people can get very impatient...... that and lose all sense of time.  If they have wait in line for 3 minutes it turns into 20 minutes when they scream at you for 5 because they had to stand in line... Can I take your order now please??............

Also they found if they shown a logo or a menu from a fancy restaurant, people used better manners. Wow just the logo or menu.  When they saw the logo of fast food places they became impatient


Maybe that is the answer to our school crisis.  With Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution; Mrs. Q blog Fed up with Lunch, and Farm to School Network all working on making it the norm to have fresh foods at our schools.  Need more proof... I found this site. A School in Wisconsin changed it food program and found it's  violence, drug problems, drop outs and expulsions changed to 0... Zero... and this is the school for behavior problems, they even had a cop there.  They had a problem with hand guns inside the school and all this from fresh healthy food.  That is  Central Alternative High School

We also know that many food colorings and syntactic sugar  are being blamed for behavioral problems like ADD and hyperactivity.


Why is this even being questioned. That our student need healthier food... that there is a connection to food and learning........... So why is the government talking about cutting the food stamp program and dragging their feet on the  Child Nutrition Women, Infants, and Children Reauthorization Act (CNRA).  


Many eastern countries use fresh food in the lunch program and even teach our children about the food they are having for lunch.  I has so shocked when I watched Food Revolution and saw that most of the kids didn't know what vegetable was what.. Time to go back in time and start cooking food for the students and giving them the best advantage to  secede.

School Lunch Encounters of the Third Kind

Learn something new everyday...

So this week-end we went to the peanut shop got a big bag of peanuts as we are cracking them Miss Animal Right looks at me and asked why don't they sell cashews in the shell. Hummm I never saw a cashew in the shell. So we went on line to see what a cashew shell looks like.

We find this pepper looking things with what looks like the cashews on the bottom.... how cool is that. Not what we thought we find. Cashew apples or "marañón" what it is called in Panama.  The locals eat the fruit or make jams or wine from them.  It spoils too quickly to be shipped any where else. Many times the fruit is decaying  before the cashew falls to the ground. It is the seed for a new cashew tree.  So in the botanical sense it is a seed, like sunflower seeds... ok whatever I still get them from pea-nut shop!! Not the seed shop.

The oil around the cashew is very caustic. Workers can get rashes from the shell oil. Much like the rash we see from poison ivy.  But the research team from the Institute of Chemistry-CAS and Department of Forest Products and Paper Science-CFNR at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) re finding that maybe they could use this natural extract for pest control. Namely termites. The oil is also being researched as an additive to brake fluid to keep it from breaking down. Plus adhesives, paints and varnishes, insecticides, electrical insulation, and anti-microbials, I didn't find a site that said that this is for sure happening. But it could be possible, just don't quote it as that it is being used today.

So  cashews are roasted in the shell to help release the oils and make the shell brittle  keeping the oils from irritating the skin.

Never too old to learn something new..... gotta love the internet.....

Still Tasty

I found a site called Still Tasty. where you can search to see if your food is still good. Save money and feel safe in what you are serving your family. It also has the shelf live of homemade goods. How cool is that!

They have a Iphone app that if you have a Iphone can use it right at the grocery store.   I have web ready phone I think this will become a favorite that I can look up products while out.

The info they use comes from the USDA , the FDA which on their site Food Safety.gov has a ton of info for storing your food, the CDC and many non-profit associations.

Can you smell that?

Interesting. Things that the scientific community tests.

What smell does men like the most?

           Cinnamon.  Research studies found that men were attracted by the scent of cinnamon in  baked goods.

           Vanilla

           Pumpkin pie spice.

           Doughnut

           Orange

The Smell and Taste Research Foundation found that the aromas that enhance male sexual response in order of  best to least:

 Lavender and pumpkin pie
Doughnut & black licorice
Pumpkin pie & doughnut
Orange
Lavender & doughnut
Black licorice and cola
Black licorice
Doughnut & cola
Lily of the valley
Buttered popcorn

They are not sure if it has anything to do with the smell being a reminder of childhood or a relating smell to comfort and  favorite foods.  But it seems to be we really don't need to spend a lot on perfumes just bake our sweeties some goodies...

       OMG my Mom was right the way to a man's heart is threw his stomach.   LOL. My dad did say he would love her forever as long as she baked him brownies! I think it is more than the brownies, for he is a widow and still loves her.