Monday Musings: Food Additives (and Quinoa Persimmon Salad recipe)

In the post-Halloween sugar extravaganza, I got pulled up short. I don’t eat a lot of candy, normally. Halloween presents an opportunity for a couple of weeks of sugar-indulgence.

I took a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup into work with me. I don’t know why I idly glanced at the ingredients list as I pulled it out, but I did. Heaven knows candy is never considered healthful, and the combination of sugar and processed stuff in it is why I normally limit myself. But I do try to at least have a good idea of what I’m putting into my body, so when I saw TBHQ listed at the end of the ingredients list, I thought “What is that?” and promptly did a google search.

Turns out, it’s a preservative… a form of butane – you know… the lighter fluid? – and it’s allowed in concentrations of 0.02% in relationship to the oils of the food it’s in, because  “at higher doses, it has some negative health effects on lab animals, such as producing precursors to stomach tumors and damage to DNA.”

Lovely.

Google it if you dare. I just linked to Wiki… but there’s more information all over the web about it, like here at Natural News. And it’s in lots and lots of different foods that we eat.

I like to think I eat healthy. I like to think that I largely choose foods that are non-toxic to my family. Really though, I’m just like anyone else… I do what I can each day, and sometimes I fall off the bandwagon. Sometimes I’m a little too complacent for too long, and I think “It’s okay if we eat something like this… just this once, it’s not like we’re eating it all the time.” And while I don’t feed my family Velveeta and corn dogs for dinner every night, sometimes I’m tired. Sometimes we opt to go out to eat instead of me cooking. Sometimes I don’t want to make three grocery store stops to get the best price and the best option. And the crackers and the candy and the “fake” additives creep in. And then something like this happens and I get all fired up again about our food and what is in it and what shouldn’t be in it.

Well and so.

So in honor of my rediscovered drive to eliminate stuff like this from our diets… here’s a new recipe for you.

 

[recipe title=”Quinoa Persimmon Salad” servings=”4-6″ time=”20mins” difficulty=”easy”]

Quinoa Persimmon Salad Recipe | DakotaMidnyght.com

 

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 Cup uncooked quinoa
  • dash of salt
  • 1 persimmon
  • 1 mango
  • 1/2 cup slivered almonds
  • 1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
  • 1/2 Tbs cinnamon

1. Cook the quinoa. I heat the quinoa with one cup water & a dash of salt over medium heat until boiling. Cover the pot and remove from heat or turn to low until fully cooked.

2. Peel your mango and persimmon. Dice into 1/2 in. cubes. 

3. Toast the slivered almonds. I do this in a toaster oven at 350 degrees until they just start to turn brown on the edges. Pull immediately.

4. Toss the fruit, quinoa, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Serve. 

Enjoy!

 

[/recipe]

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