by Dcm Paul

Created on: March 06, 2009   Last Updated: March 21, 2009

In today's hurried world, we can find foods that were once only to be gotten when homemade, or from a restaurant. Whole and complete meals right at your fingertips, at a moments notice! No restaurant fees and tips need be spent. Just pop it in your microwave and eat! How wonderfully convenient? Or is it?

Convenient? Perhaps. Wonderful? Not so much.

Along with processed foods often comes more sugar, artificial sweeteners and flavorings, greater risk for allergens that go undetected or unnoticed by the consumer (or even the processing plants, as can often be observed by food recalls), and a craving for more food with less feelings of satisfaction.

Take a look at the ingredients in some of the processed foods you buy. You'll be surprised at what you find in most of them. A perfect example is a "Berry Smoothie" we had purchased just a couple of weeks ago.
The package said it had frozen berries and yogurt chunks. Just put in the blender, add milk, and you get a wonderful smoothie. It sounded healthy and tasty, so we tried it. It was okay, but it had an after taste. We looked at the ingredients, and here's what we found it contained:

"Strawberries, Raspberries, Water, Blueberries, Nonfat Yogurt (Skim milk, yogurt cultures), Sugar, Fructose, Milkfat, Corn Starch, Banana Puree, Nonfat Milk, Gelatin, Xanthan Gum, Pectin, Carrageenan, Sucralose, Citric Acid, Natural Flavor, Tocopherols (Perservatives). Contains Milk Ingredients."

After seeing that they actually added an artificial sweetener, on top of several other sweeteners, I decided to make our own. I purchased a bag of frozen mixed berries (no ingredients added), plain yogurt unsweetened, and pure cane sugar (to taste). I mixed these in a blender. It far excelled the taste of the pre-packaged "smoothie," and left me feeling full and satisfied! Now, compare the ingredients in this combo:

Strawberries, Blueberries, Marionberries, Cultured Pasteurized Organic Whole Milk, Pectin, Blend of Six Live Active Cultures (including L. Acidophilus, Bifidus, L. Casei, and L. Rhamnosus), Pure Organic Cane Sugar.

The beauty of homemade is that you can customize it to your needs. I made a batch for all of us, took out a cup for my dear husband (who is allergic to bananas an ingredient we didn't expect the "Triple Berry" Yogurt Smoothie to contain), and add a banana for my son and I (when desired). No one feels left out. I didn't need to buy two (2) different products. And, most of all, we were able to have a delicious drink without having

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>