“With great power comes great responsibility”
-Spiderman’s Uncle Ben
Ok. So now that you know how to be a great cook, take it to the next level and become a great cook with a purpose: the health of your family, the global community, and our planet.
In our stores and markets today, we are overwhelmed with food labels that are promising a cleaner and greener diet. But what do they all mean? Here are the top 10 food labels out there today, deconstructed:
1. Organic: the way agricultural is grown and processed. Organic crops must be grown in safe soil. Farmers are not allowed to use certain pesticides, fertilizers, and GMOs. A product may contain some organic ingredients but that does not mean that ALL of the ingredients are organic.
2. GMO: Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are plants or animals whose DNA has been altered to meet our needs. Not all GMOs are bad things. For example, genetically modified rice has been developed to provide extra nutrients in regions that are prone to malnourishment.
3. Free range: Animals that have access to the outdoors.
4. Grass/grain fed: Animal feed that does not contain any animal by-products.
5. Hormone Free or No Hormones Added: Chicken and pig producers are not allowed to use hormones but beef producers can, so this label is more important to look for on beef products.
6. Locally grown: Grown and transported less than 500km from its destination. Very different from locally produced products whose ingredients may come from anywhere around the globe.
7. Fair trade: Ensures that farmers receive fair prices, workers have fair wages and good working conditions. This label is especially important on products coming from developing nations, such as coffee, chocolate, sugar, spices, and tropical fruits.
8. All-natural or 100% natural: Shockingly, there are no standards for this label. It may mean that just the “main” ingredients are natural, or that the ingredients are naturally derived, but then modified, such as high-fructose corn syrup.
9. Whole Grain: Means that at least one ingredient in a product contains all three components of every grain-from wheat to oats to rice. This does not mean that a food is necessarily healthy or all-natural or unprocessed. It may also have tons of sugar, fat and even processed grains, such as white flour.
10. Sustainable: Not a specific label, but rather an all-encompassing concept that describes a way of providing food that is healthy for consumers and animals, does not harm the environment, and supports and enhances communities.
Moral of the story: Don’t just look at the label, really read it.
So have I left you completely freaked out and overwhelmed? I know I sure was when I started learning about all this stuff. But don’t try to do everything; aim for being better and don’t worry about being best. Choose the things that are important to you and your family and mesh well with your budget and lifestyle.
One thing I’m really focused on this year is being more conscientious and appreciative of where my food comes from. This includes reducing the amount of food I throw out. If my bananas travelled all the way from South America to get to me, I’m going to make sure none of them end up in my green bin, no matter how brown.
Sunday Morning Bread Pudding
This is my go-to meal when cleaning out the fridge on a Saturday night (yes, I know my life is exciting). It is a great way to use up the milk that is about to expire, any less-than pretty fruit, and anything else you think might taste good. Feel free to make it your own. Keep the egg-to-milk ratio the same and go nuts!
Appox. 5 cups of bread cut into chunks (preferably stale-ish)
3 Eggs
3 cups of milk
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
pinch of salt
1. Grease an 8 x 8 glass dish and then sprinkle with 1 tbsp. brown sugar.
2. Toss in all of the bread. Its ok if it looks like its overflowing right now.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, honey, cinnamon, and salt until smooth and a bit foamy.
4. Pour over the bread and mix well. At this point, you can also add in anything else you want, such as fruit, nuts, or chocolate chips.
5. Cover and let rest in the fridge for anywhere from one hour to overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 350. Sprinkle with the remaining brown sugar and bake for 45 min or until it puffs up and the liquid mixture sets.
7. Serve with a sprinkle of sugar, maple syrup, or whatever else you like.
Saturday night: notice the now-empty honey, egg, and milk container.
For this batch, I also tossed in a single-serving box of All-Bran, a diced (and bruised) apple, and the handful of blueberries I had lying around.
Sunday morning: Check out how it puffed up and transformed into brown, toasty yumminess. Not bad for a bunch of ingredient bound for the green bin!
What are your lean and green cooking goals this year?
Try freezing the bananas before they are brown, if you think you may not finish them. They taste better in smoothies or breads. I make my own bread (bread machine, of course) and I like adding some seeds, some ground flax, but I love white! I also add some bran, so I don’t feel so guilty.
I make croutons with the old bread (cube the bread, sprinkle generously with extra virgin olive oil, salt and oregano, you can add garlic powder or fresh if you like and bake them) and freeze or refrigerate some if there are too many. My neighbors love them, too!
Or I make bread crumbs, good for baked chicken fingers: toss the meat (a little salt and pepper) in breadcrumbs and put them on a tray, in the oven, for 15-20 min. Very little oil on the tray and on top. You could also marinate the meat in mustard & bbq sauce, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, yogurt, just chose your favs. Good since I do not have a gall bladder and can’t digest too much oil!
I know it, lady… I cook just about everything from scratch, so I try to give myself a break when it comes to local/organic/whatever… I just want to eat delicious foods I like. My husband has a gluten sensitivity, so he’s been completely abstaining (STRICTLY!) since September 2010 – it’s wreaking culinary havoc around here – I almost gave up cooking entirely! I’m still cooking two dinners almost every night, but I’m working on that too. It’s TERRIBLE! Gimme gluten, or give me death! Gah. It’s annoying.
First of all, good for you for doing something! Even one tiny little thing you do to get better is, in fact, better! I hear you with that gluten-free diet thing, its nuts! I tried it for about 2 days but couldn’t hack it. One thing to remember with gluten-free is that it not healthier, just gluten-free (hence, the name), an ingredient that is only harmful to those who have an intolerance to it…which isn’t most of us. Also, many gluten free products have more chemicals and processed ingredients than their “regular” counterparts. Once again, read labels! Remember this rule: if your grandparents would not recognize an ingredient as food, its probably not.
Thanks for the info. I find weekly menu planning helps reduce waste. I always freeze bananas when they’re brown and use them in smoothies, muffuns, or bread. I love the idea of the bread pudding. I think my kids would like it. I was really good for a while about letting the end slices of bread dry out and then whirling them in the food processor into breadcrumbs. They keep well in the fridge. And no more moldy, lonely little end slices clogging up the bread bin!
I’m still negotiating the gluten free needs of my husband, which has been no small trick for the last year-and-some… I’m still working on it though. So, I’ve slacked in the “locally-grown” department, which is where I usually keep in mind when I shop. That said, I’m always looking for ways to use up everything and toss out less. More weekly meal-plans help, but I’m good at it one week, and then a complete failure the next. C’est la vie. But I’m trying!
Good post, Cayla! Thanks for spelling a lot of these out for us!!