Some Foods Are Better Than Others

 This is a new page where I will link all the "Why I Buy" (or why I think some things are better than others) posts.

Because "I am woman" (but not a roaring feminist!), ethnic, and what I will call "generously mature", I have sometimes specific needs for haircare, skincare, and diet.  However,  because I am also a woman living on a skinny budget, I have to be particular. I want good products at a good price - or at least products good for the price. 

When it comes to dietary needs, I will skimp on every other thing in my life to buy what I think is best. When it comes to hair- and skincare, I will limit what I buy to get what I think is best. There was a time I'd buy several types of shampoos and conditioners but now I have settled on one of each. There will be times that I change what I buy but only because I found something better or more affordable. And I make a habit of using up everything I buy.

Another reason I am putting this page together is because of my recent desire to stage my personal food revolution. I started slow but am gaining lots of momentum. 

I will be updating this post as often as I can find time to and, in some cases, there are no links to the products listed. I will get to them.  Enjoy!

WHY I BUY...

• Camel Hump Fat - more on this later
• Children's haircare products - this is a brand I am using now.
• Flour sack towels for personal care. Because they are gentle on my hair and skin and very absorbent. I found these larger sizes work best & I particularly like the Aunt Martha brand which you can Google to find sources. I get mine from both Walmart and Amazon. (I do use the smaller sizes for the kitchen!)
• Meat & Seafood from Good Chop. It's non-GMO and tastes great. 
• Flour milled in France (or Italy). This is the only brand I've tried. The flour is less bloating and doesn't cause the issues I get with bread flour I buy here. (I will post some recipes at some point.)
• Steens Manuka honey. I use this on cuts, scrapes, and cold sores. It's as close as I can get to the medicinal honey used by hospitals. It's pricey but I look for sales. An 8-ounce jar can last me over a year since I only use it medicinally.
• Raw (& preferably) honey for daily use. I look for raw, unheated honey when I can. Some of my favorites are WeeBee raw honey; Cox's (it's large quantity and lasts); Goshen's extremely raw Linden honey and their Altay Buckwheat honey;
• Whole-fat milk powder from the Netherlands. It has more fat and a much better taste than the previous whole milk powder I used. 
• Sodas without high fructose corn syrup. "Mexican" Coke is my favorite but there is Pepsi available. I really like some of the Bundaberg beverages - especially the ginger beer and I need to try the fruit beverages. I try to avoid anything with high fructose corn syrup. I have found Dr. Pepper and some more localized brands that are made without the HFCS. I avoid the HFCS for personal reasons but this article and this one are not the only ones giving reasons to do so. (Note: I also do not drink beverages using any artificial sweeteners.)
• Juices that are not from concentrate (I personally like this one, and this one, and have found others. So far Aldis is the best local place for me to get some.You can Google for the ingredients.)
• Ketchup without HFCS. This is one and this is another than I can find easily. Both cost the same or almost the same as the "regular" ketchup. It's wild to me that the non-HFCS is on shelves right next to the other in stores. If we know that HFCS is less healthy, why still sell it when there are alternatives? The non-HFCS one tastes (to me) like ketchup did when I was a kid. There is a reason for that. I went on a rant. I am also looking for other common condiments with better ingredients and so far, I have found a tasty sweet and sour sauce. It's a start!
• Minced dried garlic - I bought the 1.3kg size of James Spices brand but Amazon has it "currently not available". Dried garlic is great if you use a lot of garlic and don't want to keep throwing it out when it goes bad. I keep some of mine in a small jar in the fridge to grind into powder or use as is. I will put some in a bottle of EVOO to season food with and I put the unused dried garlic sealed and in the freezer.
• Pancake Mix - I look for a couple of things when choosing a pancake mix - preferably, I only have to add water, and that it's made with sugar and not HFCS. This is my favorite so far and this is my (new) backup. I might end up having a new fave... I chose both because, until I get teeth, I am eating a lot of pancakes!
• Pancake syrup without HFCS. I prefer this Log Cabin because it's affordable and made with cane sugar. I don't particularly like maple syrup, but it is an option. When I can't find the Log Cabin with cane sugar, I will get the Log Cabin made with corn syrup, like this one. And, yes, there is a difference between corn syrup and HFCS (Google it and see). Of course, both corn syrup and cane sugar are still sugars and all sugar should be eaten in moderation.
• Lard is something I sometimes use for cooking and baking. There is some information out there refuting all the negative things that have been said about lard and, at least, some sources sharing the pros and cons of lard. (I also use it to season my cast iron cookware when I am using the cookware a lot. I use other oils when I am storing my cast iron or not using it as often.)

Here are some sources of information that you might find useful in your own food revolution:

• You probably already know what you need to watch out for in your own diet. I have a couple of issues I have to keep an eye on. For a while, I relied so heavily on the Cronometer app that I used the paid version. Now I can use the free version because I have a better idea of what to eat or avoid. It has been a great resource.
• Healthline has an ingredients dictionary. 
• This might help explain why I try to avoid HFCS. I never really thought much about HFCS until I started to get serious about watching ingredients and paying attention to how things impact my health,
• Happily Unprocessed is a site I ran across while doing some research. What caught my eye is this listing of products with no HFCS.  Be still my heart!
• Learn how to read food labels. There are hidden sugars, salts, and other things to watch out for.
• I can't remember if I already included this on misleading food labels!

Of course, as with my other pages, I will be updating when I can.

Peace

--Free

Disclaimer: I am not a medical, dietary, or any sort of specialist. I am sharing my opinions. You must do your own research and check with professionals for your own peace of mind.