I should have known when my overly-observant husband kept asking “What is all of that stuff cooking out of the meatloaf?” I told him I was using 97% lean beef now, so it must be water or I added too much “Whats-this-hear” sauce. Either way, it has to be better than the 90% beef he had been buying from Sam’s Club. Enter the crisis. No time for two shopping trips in the same week and I have to buy my ground beef at Sam’s. This would be the first meatloaf made with “fatty” hamburger since I had lost 40 pounds. The meatloaf came out perfect, and there was no weird “juice” in sight. So I start researching and I don’t like what I have learned. Neither will you.
In March of this year, many people have starte complaining about “Pink Slime”. I thought they were talking about that weird pink stuff that looks like ice cream that they force into chicken nuggets. I use the term “chicken” loosely, of course. In further study, I found more weird pink slime is being used to up the beef content in ground burger all across the country. Sam’s is one of the few exceptions. They do not sell the pink stuff. A little more research shows me that my local grocer, Deirberg’s, who I love for their focus on the health food aisle, has been slipping goo into my 97% burger all along. I feel cheated. So much for the lavender-scented health food aisle. Their rebuttle? You may buy Angus, which I had already determined was too high in fat. Or, you may buy our natural choice brand in the freezer section of the health food aisle. Thanks a lot. I would have liked to have known that a little sooner.
What is IN the “Pink Slime”? You really might not want to know, but here goes. As reported in How Stuff Works, “Ten years ago, the rejected fat, sinew, bloody effluvia, and occasional bits of meat cut from carcasses in the slaughterhouse were a low-value waste product called ‘trimmings’ that were sold primarily as pet food. No more. Now, Beef Products Inc. of South Dakota transforms trimmings into something they call ‘boneless lean beef.’ In huge factories, the company liquefies the trimmings and uses a spinning centrifuge to separate the sinews and fats from the meat, leaving a mash that has been described as ‘pink slime,’ which is then frozen into small squares and sold as a low-cost additive to hamburger.” Feeling sick yet? So am I. Basically, they are selling us pet food and saying it’s “edible.”
Edible must be a relative word. For instance, many had this response to my findings for the post Is McDonald’s Lying About Their Ingredients? More than one replied to the fact that McDonald’s uses silicone to paste nuggets and other things together with statements like, “Well, it must be edible or the FDA wouldn’t allow them to sell it.” Is it just me or should pet food and bathroom caulk not qualify as food? I say they shouldn’t be allowed to call burgers 100% beef with this kind of trickery. Why don’t we just skip the middle-man all-together and stock up at Pet’s Mart for the whole family?! It’s probably cheaper.
Some blame our expectations as Americans that food be plentiful and cheap. This has been the mantra of the corn industry which receives the biggest subsidies and is responsible for the fact that 80% of the 50,000 products found in our supermarkets today have corn in them. In my post What do you want on your burger: Corn syrup, Mustard or Mayo? we see how these subsidies are playing out. You can buy TWO 64 ounce bottles of Heinz Ketchup at Sam’s for the same price as ONE 24 ounce Reduced-Sugar Heinz at Walmart. The only thing missing? Corn syrup!
I am all for progress. I am also all for food. Real food. The kind you feed to people, not pets or cows. What’s your take on food in America today? Are you willing to “upgrade your ketchup or burger”? Before you answer, invest 40 seconds of your life looking at this:
How quickly obesity has changed in US
Stay tuned for “Dreamy Chocolate Tarts”, “Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting” and “Cocoa Puff Cookies”. I told you I am a chocoholic! I’ll even add some pics for you to drool over. I have learned over the last year, that you don’t have to give up your love of food to be skinnier. You just have to learn how to have a “healthy relationship” with it.:)
Apr 21
Psst ….The Size of Your Waist and the Size of Your Breakfast Have Something in Common
News, comments and facts behind America's Obesity
by Danielle
People who are overweight do not eat eggs and bacon for breakfast every day, contrary to what thinner folks might think. In fact, people who struggle with weight usually don’t eat much at all for breakfast. They either skip it all together or go for quick, refined carbohydrates such as a daily bagel while they head out of the door. I recognize that person. That was me before the 40 pound weight loss. I didn’t have time to make or eat a real breakfast. I also considered eggs and bacon a “no-no” except for special occasions because of the fat content.
If you have been skipping breakfast in order to shed some pounds, think again. The National Weight Control Registry which tracks thousands of people who have lost weight show only 5% skip breakfast. Whether low-carbohydrate or low-fat, a nutritious breakfast sets up your entire day for success. In fact, new research has shown that after 8 hours of sleep we actually need to kick-start our metabolism by eating well in the morning. Don’t believe it? Here is what I have found when talking to people who maintain a healthy weight.
People who maintain a healthy weight look at breakfast as one of the most important parts of their day and give it due attention. They often eat eggs or peanut butter toast or protein smoothies. They even eat cereal, though it’s usually high protein or high fiber, or oatmeal with protein powder, peanut butter or even cottage cheese stirred in. It’s common to hear flax seed and other things sprinkled on top and higher-quality sweeteners such as agave or honey. Here is a pic of a breakfast I typically eat that helps me continue to control my weight:
Confucius say: Eat like a King for breakfast, a Prince for lunch and a Pauper for dinner. If you don’t do what “Confucius Say” when are you eating like a King? Are you back-loading your daily calories into lunch and dinner? If I have one small lesson to share, it is this:
Change the size of your breakfast and you can change the size of your waist. Even if you don’t look, know someone else always is.;)
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s story with some eye-opening information on your ground beef called The Dirty Little Secret in Your Lean Beef. You don’t want to miss this one.
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Tags: breakfast, healthy breakfast, weight control, weight management
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