Real Food Rots

A while ago I was listening to the radio, or watching something on TV.. in fact it might have been a stand up comedian, and he was talking about the crap we eat and how most of the stuff people put into their bodies is, in his opinion, "edible food like substances." He want on to talk about real food, and made a statement that has stuck into my brain since that time. "Real Food Rots." Something so simple, and yet so incredibly profound. I know that I am just as guilty as everyone else of eating junk. Processed food. Boxed cereals (although I do eat Healthy Start which is supposed to be good for you). Nacho chips and jarred salsa. Bottled salad dressing. I like to put 2 sugars and 2 spoons of non-dairy creamer (full fat, thanks) in my coffee. I have a weakness for Tootsie Rolls. I like to have a beer with dinner a few nights a week. The list goes on and on. Does any of this make me a bad person? Certainly not.


However, I have been making more of an effort to eat better. Not eat better as in more vegetables, less red meat, low fat, low carb, cook more meals at home.. blah blah blah. I already do that. We eat healthy dinners at my house, 7 nights a week. On occasion we will go out, sometimes more often than others depending on circumstances, but mostly we eat at home. I make my own lunch to bring to work every day, that is typically salad or yogurt and nuts, or some other such good yummy-ness. I don't eat fried food if I can help it. I would rather go hungry than go through the drive through, and have done so. I drink loads of water. What I meant.. is to eat. Better. As in, better foods.

I have started making my own pasta sauce, which is easy and more yummy and so much more rewarding than just cracking open a jar to pour on. I have always been a bread maker, but I've begun branching out into a better variety, and more types of breads (I hope to make my own burger rolls soon). In the summer and fall I make my own jams and applesauce.... but I want to expand on this and do more canning. I'm hoping my garden will do better this year, and combined with shopping at the farmer's market I can eat more fresh foods. There's a lady up the road who sells eggs that her chickens lay, that are better than any store bought egg I've ever had, and I have made a vow to only eat fresh local eggs, except for when they aren't availeable. I want to experiment with making my own cheeses, from ricotta to cream cheese and even yogurt. I can't tell you how rewarding it is to eat food that you have created with your own hands. Not just thrown together using bought ingredients.. but made.

Tonight, while The Boy was grilling dinner... I made peanut butter. My friend actually turned me on to this. She makes her own peanut butter, and it's so remarkably simple I thought.. why haven't I done this yet? So tonight I tried it. I can't tell you how yummy homemade peanut butter is. There is an option to make it with a bit of honey for sweetness, and I might try that in my next batch, but everyone else likes it just how it is without it. I cannot wait to have some on a warm slice of homemade bread with some hot tea I will brew in my favorite tea pot. I was going somewhere with all this..... mostly just that I'm trying to eat better. More 'real food', less "food-like substances."