Freshly Baked Organic Bread
Ok, so if grandma recognizes it and it spoils, we know we are on the right track in our search for real food. But what about an innocent looking loaf of bread? Granny would recognize that! And it may indeed have a sell by date on the fasterner. But is it really bread like grandma would eat?
Ah, now we are into reading labels. And when I think of reading labels, I think of the commercial with the two small children reading the contents of the gallon of ice cream. One reads, cream, sugar, eggs, the other child attempts to read a litany of strange scientific words that none of us recognize but assume is ok to eat because we are sure the FDA is protecting us against strange concoctions brewed in the cellars of some mad scientist hoping to make a buck. (Ok, yeah, I like creative writing!)
But, again, what a great illustration of how to identify real food. Pollen suggests that we avoid foods with the the following:
1. Unfamiliar words
2. Unpronounceable words
3. More than 5 ingredients
4. Includes High-Fructose Corn Syrup
Ok, so I tried this out with selecting bread. You would be amazed at what gets included in a loaf of something as innocent and “recognizable” as bread! After being disgusted at what was being advertised as “bread” at my local grocery chain, I headed to the farmers market to read the ingredients on the baker’s loaves. Wow! Familiar words, pronounceable, a couple of ingredients (well, more than five on bread with goodies – like olives) and no high-fructose corn syrup. Oh yeah! And it had to be consumed in a couple of days… It started “sprouting” quickly. Now, I know it was food!
So go forth and read those labels! Find the few but the best! Tomorrow we discuss “health claims” on packaging!!
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