How Far to Go?

Now that my family has started to eat better, I find myself asking, "How far should I go with this?".  As stated in my last blog, I still have bagels sitting in our house and after DAYS (which seemed like months) of not having pretzels, I finally cracked and bought some at Wal-Mart just the other day.  Many of you may be asking, "what's wrong with pretzels and bagels".  Well, to be honest, I really don't know.  All I know is when I look at the ingredients list there is "stuff" in there that I question if I should intake on a daily basis.  Store bought bagels aren't made up of pure ingredients (flour, eggs, etc).  As I look at the label now I see momo and diglycerides, wheat gluten, maltodetrin, algin...to name a few.  I don't even know how to pronounce this stuff let alone what this stuff is!  Shouldn't I know if I'm going to be eating it? 

I think moderation is key.  We live in a world where chemically engineered food is readily available.  Of course I'm going to eat a store bought bagel at some point.  Who knows, I might even have a hot dog :).  I won't however, purchase those items and let them be a temptation to us.  So, I guess I just answered my own question.  I'm really going to miss my pretzels though!

I have a feeling some of you may think I'm falling of the deep end, and that's okay!  It has taken me YEARS to get to this point.  Just last year I was feeding Jackson cold meat turkey and green beans from a can.  I would not feed him that today.  For those that may question why - cold meat, hot dogs, sausage, etc all have nitrates in them.  There is a link between nitrates and cancer.  My love for Panera and Subway have been squashed a little, but I will survive! :)  (If I've sparked some questions, please look this up for yourself!  I feel that when you do your own research you get so much more out of it.)  As for canned veggies, pretty much all the nutrients have been cooked out, so really, what's the point in eating them?  Anyway, I don't want a factory to cook my veggies, I'd rather do it in my own kitchen.

My big mission this week is to make my own chicken broth!  I bought a 34 quart pan (and for those who are space dumb, it can fit my 9 month old in it).  This pan is HUGE.  I plan to make a lot so I won't have to make it for awhile!  I roasted a WHOLE chicken last night for the first time and plan to use the bones.  I'm going back to the store this week to buy 2 more chickens and hopefully, I will have broth by Friday.

I would like to leave you all with this request...please educate yourself.  Read the labels, and figure out what you and your family are consuming.  In case you haven't figured it out, Americans are not healthy.  We are sick and overweight.  It's time we take back our health and our lives.  One small step always gets you closer than where you were before!