Wednesday, June 30, 2010

ORGANIC JUNK FOOD?

Yes, Ned assures his readers that there is such a thing as organic junk food, and it is only infinitesimally better for one than conventional junk food.
At my local co-op, where I am privileged to work one day a week, the shelves are stocked with food in cardboard boxes. Ned cautions his readers to be extremely wary of such "food", processed as it is, and generally bereft of redeeming social virtues.
Let's take crackers for example. Most are made of processed grains, even though they may shout "whole grain!" on the box. Ned's rule of thumb is a simple one: if the crackers contain any "unbleached" or "enriched" flour, avoid it. Furthermore, any package of "food" that has more than 4 lines of ingredients, should be approached as warily as a rabid dog. Next time you are at the store, pick out some packages of crackers and count the number of ingredients. You might well be amazed and will almost certainly be chagrined.
Ned is also wary of "veggie" burgers, those generally frozen wolves in sheep's clothing. Ned's problem with them is, first, their generally high salt content. Second, unless they are organic, they probably contain GMO soy. Third, they probably contain very little protein, and, if one is going to substitute such fare for meat, one had better be aware of the protein content, especially if one is working out to improve one's sadly neglected physique.
The same caution should be applied to most packaged breads, unless you can find some from a local baker. But even then, the primary ingredient is likely to be "unbleached" flour, whether organic or not. Contrast that with the ingredients in Ned's Irish Soda Bread from an earlier post: whole wheat flour, oat flour, currants, oats, baking powder, buttermilk, yeast and brown sugar (which serves as food for the yeast). Basically seven ingredients, all of which are known to the average person.
Ned also cautions his readers against serving sizes and salt content, especially in such seemingly benign foods as salsa and granola. In granola, serving size tends to be 1/4 to 1/2 cup. Who eats such a miniscule amount? Certainly not Ned. Salsa must be approached carefully because of the high salt content, among other things, since the serving size is generally 2 Tablespoons.
Back to Ned's original point: there is such a thing as organic junk food; in fact, the shelves are groaning with it.
Be wary. Let Ned know of any particularly egregious examples you discover.

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