Cooking from Scratch for a Large Family

RE: Cooking from Scratch for a Large Family Post by lyndagayle62 (92) | (10/08/2006) Profile | Blog! | Contact I AGREE!! Are you aware of the culprit in bacon that is considered carcinogen? We can't ignore this and I'll tell you why. My grandmother and mother-in-law died from all sorts of cancers. My grandmother's habit was to eat a slice of bacon with each meal. My mother-in-law relied on lunchmeats/cold cuts. Years ago, when more cancer research was REALLY being done, the educational channel showed a documentary of how research in a village deep within China had revealed that the process of adding Nitrates/nitrates to a pig's diet, was getting into the pig's fat/flesh, and under certain circumstances was believed to be instrumental for the origin of SO MUCH cancer in that village. Most of the villagers there had developed esophegael cancer, thus the reason they were chosen for the study by renown cancer researches, from around the world, I believe. The villagers had the habit of growing/eating mostly cabbage/meat from the pigs/oatmeat cakes which they dried on the roofs of their homes, a tradition of hundreds or thousands of years...So that because the vegetable had a lot of minerals, and because the oatmeal left tiny scratches in their esophagus when swallowed, these facts, mixed with the nitrate/nitrites in the meat most often eaten last, then "attached" itself to the tiny wounds each of which became cancerous IN ALMOST ALL VILLAGERS. How many of us eat chips, crackers, cookies, shredded wheat, occasional fish bones, etc. which cause the same sorts of tiny scratches/wounds in our throat? Should we eat meats with these nitrates/nitrites(often renamed ___ite and ___ate since the study was broadcast and the public cried out against those specific chemicals), and should we HAPPEN to mix certain naturally occurring minerals from our veggies, and HAPPEN to have previously eaten any of these "scratchy" foods FIRST, we, too might be being set up to have cancer, STILL one of the biggest causes/"mysteries of death" in America. ALSO, we cannot forget the immense research/data results from the HARMFUL sort of fat from the pork consumed in this nation. It definitely contributes to heart problems and their origins/cancer, running in families because of their eating/cooking habits/wrong beliefs/lack of knowledge. Pigs/hogs will eat most ANYTHING, are OFTEN fed restaurant patron's plate scraps(complete with whatever germs/viruses the patrons might have had), and will burrow deep into the mud or troughs to furrow the scraps out, to satisfy their voracious appetites. Although sanitation for hog raising has greatly improved, NOTHING is being done about the choices of foods/additives. Although extremely intelligent animals, the pigs have no concept of what they should/shouldn't eat. They are also fed the nitrates/nitrates/phosphates/etc. and naturally unaware, as are any other animals. Some large pork growers claim they've been given "permission" to add "other" chemicals as substitutes, but if fact, these chemicals aren't much better, if any. (Cold cuts ALL have these chemicals, except the organically grown ones.) We LOVE bacon, and do eat it OCCASIONALLY, but as with everything we eat here, I MUST PAY ATTENTION TO THE RESEARCH DATA, not just anyone's opinion, or preferences, or taste buds. (Like noses, we ALL have one. LOL ) It makes good sense to me that the MORE OFTEN a person eats these, the greater their chance of it happening to them. When I can afford bacon/lunch meats/cold cuts, I choose less and healthy ORGANIC over "more" and unhealthy that have the additives. I hope all who read this will do/are doing the same. : ) Stocking Up Post by ThriftyFun (4042) | (07/09/2005) Profile | Blog! | Contact Stock up on a lot of rice and vegetables. A lot of healthy dinners can be made from this combination. By james sprague Cooking Bread Post by ThriftyFun (4042) | (07/09/2005) Profile | Blog! | Contact Years ago I used to make my bread by hand until I started having rib problems from kneading the bread & so I ended up purchasing a bread machine. It is so inexpensive to make your own bread plus it tastes so much better than store bought bread. If you are watching your fat & salt intake this is the perfect solution as you can completely monitor what or what doesn't go into it. I have several bread cookbooks & many of them have listed in the index all kinds of odds & ends you can use to make them more nutritious & enticing. You can make plain white bread or you can use in addition to your regular ingredients things such as olives, cereal, yogurt, mint. I could go on & on. And boy oh boy does the house smell wonderful. Sometimes it's difficult to wait until it cools to taste it. Cooking From Scratch Post by ThriftyFun (4042) | (07/09/2005) Profile | Blog! | Contact Cook from scratch. It is really not that hard or inconvenient. Once you do it for a while, it will seem like you've done it forever. The savings are great and this way you know what you and your loved ones are eating. Mandy (Originally published on 1-31-2001) RE: Cook From Scratch Post by alpenlite (10) | (07/26/2004) Profile | Contact Making your own applesauce is very easy and you don't have to worry about all the added "stuff" that the kind contains at the grocery store. Using 4 good-sized apples, any kind but Red Delicious works well; peel, cut into fourths and core. Cook in microwave with 2 tablespoons water for 8 minutes, until soft but not mushy. Blend until smooth in blender or food processer. Mix processed applesauce with 1/3 cup of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Keep in refrigerator. Makes about 3 cups. Freezes well. RE: Cook From Scratch Post by alpenlite (10) | (07/26/2004) Profile | Contact I have been making my own brown sugar. All it is is 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon molasses. Mix with a fork and store the same way as brown sugar you buy from the supermarket. I have used dark molasses and light molasses; works well either way. I now make a double batch each time. It is cheaper than buying brown sugar, even in bulk.