Lately I have been talking a lot about what is going into your food. We are eating organic in this house and cutting way back on processed food. The question is, are we doing enough?

I read an article recently that listed the things you need to take out of your home to become greener. Can you guess what was number 1 on their list?

If you thought non-stick cook and bake ware you are right!

For years I loved the stuff, everything I had was coated with the miracle non-stick stuff. Now we are finding out all of that stuff that it gives off is not healthy for us. It is not safe over a certain temperature. That temp being much lower than than the high setting on most stove tops. This is just down right scary. There are enough chemicals surrounding us, then to think we are adding more with what we prepare our food in.

Alternatives?

Several years I switched over to stainless steel. Does my food stick? I have become a better cook over the years, but yes on occasions those silly little pancakes do stick. You have to learn to adjust the temperature. If you do that and use the correct oil you shouldn’t have a problem.

Hard anodized aluminum cookware. I do not have any of these pieces but have heard they work just as well as the Teflon and are much safer.

Time to get out my little soap box.  A good friend sent me a diet video to watch this weekend. Most of these things drive me nuts, but this time I really liked this woman’s approach. And now I will tell you why.

First off that commercial on TV about corn syrup? DON”T LISTEN TO IT! That has to be the worse commercial ever made! Horrible. Drives me crazy. High fructose corn syrup has to be one of the most terrible things in the world for you. It is highly processed and it is in everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING! Start reading your labels. Do you NEED high fructose corn syrup in your hot dogs? Not that I eat hot dogs, but really do you???

The only thing they get right is when they say, “with moderation”. Sugar, any form of sugar, is not the best thing in the world for you. But if you are going to use it, use the natural alternatives. Not highly processed, nutrients sucked out of it high fructose corn syrup.

The next thing is those sugar substitutes. We are going organic and as local as we can. We are trying to get rid of those toxic chemicals in our diets. To be really honest the sugar substitutes are making people FAT. That is right FAT. You may think you are doing the right thing by picking up that diet soda or tea instead of regular, but have you noticed you aren’t losing any weight? Chance are not.

We often associate canning, pickling and freezing with something our grandmothers or mothers did. All that time in the kitchen, over a hot stove, making sure it was just right so there was no spoilage. We have all heard the stories of the pressure cookers exploding and the walls being covered with tomato sauce.

But does this help us stay green in anyway? Is this something that has been “modernized” to become more effiecent and worth our effort and time?

The answer is yes!

I even read in the local paper on Sunday how using our freezers to preserve food was becoming the in thing with the economy headed the way that it is.

So how does one go about this? How do we can or freeze or pickle? Well if you were like me and didn’t learn at Grandma’s knee, then you start your research. There are many good sources on the internet for all sorts of food preserving.

My all time favorite and probably the American Standard is Ball Blue Book of Preserving This is the book put out by the people who make the canning jars. It never fails that I always make my way back to this handy reference. It covers from pickles to jams and just about everything in between.