Abeego Flats Review

I've been making a conscious effort to stop using as many disposable and plastic items as I can. One of those disposable items that gets used a lot is plastic wrap. Plastic wrap is so wasteful! Use once then throw away. Unfortunately plastic wrap is not recycleable so every time you use it you are generating waste, and of course plastic is not biodegradable. 

Most plastic wraps are made from polyethylene, PVC, or PVDC. In a previous article I wrote about the dangers of PVC. Why would I put something on my food if I won't even put it in my bathroom!? These polymers are all derived from hydrocarbons such as methane or ethylene. These are produced from natural gas or petroleum. Petroleum is not good, and I could write about it forever, but that's another post for another day. The sum of this is that plastic wrap is bad.

In my search to find a more eco-friendly solution to plastic wrap I came across Abeego Designs.

Abeego products are natural and eco-friendly, made from organic hemp/cotton and infused with beeswax and plant extracts to make them moldable and water resistant. They are super easy to clean, just use cold soap and water! Abeego has three different products available: Abeego Wrap, Abeego Snack, and Abeego Flats. I was given the opportunity to review the Abeego Flats. 

Abeego Flats come in 6, 9, and 12-inch squares so they will fit an assortment of bowls and foods. The woman behind Abeego, Toni, told me that they worked great on avocado. I tried it out and she was right! I've used them for bowls, veggies, and to cover a strawberry cake I made (yum!). I haven't tried it with cheese yet but I want to. We always put our cheese in plastic baggies and since we're ditching those too I need to find a new alternative. I will definitely report back once I do try these flats on cheese.

A set of flats retails for $20 and will pay for itself in the long run!

Visit Abeego to buy some eco-friendly food storage products for yourself!

Food, Inc.

I've been wanting to watch Food, Inc. for a while now and tonight I was finally able to. This documentary made me happy that I am vegetarian and conscientious of what is in the food that I am purchasing.
Our food supply is controlled by corporations that don't have our best interest at heart.
70% of the beef that Americans are eating has beef "filler" that was washed in ammonia. Yes, ammonia, and you are probably unknowingly eating that! Not to mention they wash chickens in chlorine. They are not required to put these things on the labels of the food that you and your children are eating. Don't you think we have the right to know these things?

Facts from Food, Inc. (taken from the Food, Inc. press release)

• In the 1970s, the top five beef packers controlled about 25% of the market. Today, the top four control more than 80% of the market.
• In the 1970s, there were thousands of slaughterhouses producing the majority of beef sold. Today, we have only 13.
• In 1998, the USDA implemented microbial testing for salmonella and E. coli 0157h7 so that if a plant repeatedly failed these tests, the USDA could shut down the plant. After being taken to court by the meat and poultry associations, the USDA no longer has that power.
• In 1972, the FDA conducted 50,000 food safety inspections. In 2006, the FDA conducted only 9,164.
• During the Bush administration, the head of the FDA was the former executive VP of the National Food Processors Association.
• During the Bush administration, the chief of staff at the USDA was the former chief lobbyist for the beef industry in Washington.
• Prior to renaming itself an agribusiness company, Monsanto was a chemical company that produced, among other things, DDT and Agent Orange.
• In 1996 when it introduced Round-Up Ready Soybeans, Monsanto controlled only 2% of the U.S. soybean market. Now, over 90% of soybeans in the U.S. contain Monsanto’s patented gene.
• Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas was an attorney at Monsanto from 1976 to 1979. After his appointment to the Supreme Court, Justice Thomas wrote the majority opinion in a case that helped Monsanto enforce its seed patents.
• The average chicken farmer invests over $500,000 and makes only $18,000 a year.
• 32,000 hogs a day are killed in Smithfield Hog Processing Plant in Tar Heel, N.C, which is the largest slaughterhouse in the world.
• The average American eats over 200 lbs. of meat a year
• 30% of the land in the U.S. is used for planting corn. 
• The modern supermarket now has, on average, 47,000 products, the majority of which is being produced by only a handful of food companies.
• 70% of processed foods have some genetically modified ingredient.
• SB63 Consumer Right to Know measure requiring all food derived from cloned animals to be labeled as such passed the California state legislature before being vetoed in 2007 by Governor Schwarzenegger, who said that he couldn’t sign a bill that pre-empted federal law.
• Corn products include: ketchup, cheese, Twinkies, batteries, peanut butter, Cheez-Its, salad dressings, Coke, jelly, Sweet & Low, syrup, juice, Kool-Aid, charcoal, diapers, Motrin, meat and fast food.
• Corn, which is the main ingredient in animal feed, is also used as a food additive. Those products commonly include: Cellulose, Xylitol, Maltodextrin, Ethylene, Gluten, Fibersol-2, Citrus Cloud Emulsion, Inosital, Fructose, Calcium Stearate, Saccharin, Sucrose, Sorbital, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Di-glycerides, Semolina, Sorbic Acid, Alpha Tocopherol, Ethyl Lactate, Polydextrose, Xantham Gum, White Vinegar, Ethel Acetate, Fumaric Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Baking Powder, Zein, Vanilla Extract, Margarine, and Starch.
• 1 in 3 Americans born after 2000 will contract early onset diabetes; Among minorities, the rate will be 1 in 2.
• E. coli and Salmonella outbreaks have become more frequent in America, whether it be from spinach or jalapenos. In 2007, there were 73,000 people sickened from the E. coli virus.
• Organics is the fastest growing food segment, increasing 20% annually.

Those facts alone should make you think twice about what you are putting in your cart. If you eat meat, try to buy it locally, or look for organic, grass fed without hormones.
Organic food is more expensive but you can eat healthily on a budget. Eating organic whole foods will save you money on medical bills so in the long run it will pay for itself.

Another thing that is truly disturbing is the food libel (also know as veggie libel) laws. You might remember in 1996 when Oprah was being sued by Texas for talking smack about beef. Food libel laws allow a food manufacturer or processor to sue a person or group who makes disparaging comments about their food products. Yup, if you make them or their product look or sound bad they will come after you.
Thirteen states have this food libel law and I just happen to live in one of them. The other 12 are Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakots, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.

Now might be a good time to finally get started on that garden I've always wanted!

Food!

In order to save money and waste less food I have started trying to make a menu for the week. I picked out several recipes and went to the grocery store with $100 and managed to get enough ingredients for 7 meals (meals large enough to have leftovers!) and some extra items like snack items and drinks. I also had about $15 left over!
One of the menu items is a crockpot soup. I started soaking a 15 bean mix last night and this morning I put some carrots, celery, red bell pepper, onion, marjoram, thyme, bay leaves and some vegan boullion cubes in the pot and set it to low to cook for 8 hours.
For dinner we had avocado carrot wraps. I bought some fresh corn tortillas from the bakery (69 cents for about 10!). Heat the tortillas up, spread some tahini and put sliced avocados on them. Sautee some carrots and mushrooms in olive oil then put on top of the avocado slices and then top with some salsa. Delicious, and healthy!
Also on the menu this week is a veggie shepard's pie, curry, vegan pesto on pasta, and some bean and brown rice veggie burritos.
We went to this banana stand this afternoon, they sell frozen dipped bananas. Umm, yum! I got a half banana dipped in chocolate and topped with graham cracker crumbles. It was pretty delicious. I think I might get some bananas to cut in half and freeze! I was also thinking that when Elijah is older I can give him a frozen banana as a "junk food" treat. I mean, it's healthy for you! Frozen bananas almost have the consistency of ice cream when you bite into them. The chocolate part isn't that healthy but you could dip it in other things too!

Nutrition

This morning I started a chart of the food that I am eating. It's mostly to keep track of my protein because I don't think I am getting as much as I need to, and after last weeks class I learned a lot about nutrition. Most of it i knew already, but some I didn't, like I should be getting between 80 and 100g of protein a day. Because I am a vegetarian this is a little harder for me to do, but still doable. Other than that I have been obsessed with nutrition lately. I am realizing what a huge affect the food you eat has on you, your body, and your baby. Your nutrition during pregnancy plays a big impact on your labor & delivery, and your recovery period after birth. While I generally eat healthy, with the occasional indulgence in ice cream, it's nice to know exactly how healthy I am eating. There's so much stuff out that that is terrible for you, and people don't realize how terrible it really is. We do not buy anything that has high fructose corn syrup in it. HFCS is not good for you at all, fructose and glucose that has traces of mercury in it? No thanks. Large quantities of fructose stimulate the liver to produce triglycerides, promotes glycation of proteins and induces insulin resistance. If you start looking at the ingredients when you go grocery shopping you will find that the majority of items on the shelf contain HFCS. Look for items that say sugar instead, these are a much healthier option. I look for foods that have the least ingredients listed. Items, such as bread or ice cream, do not need more than a few ingredients. When you are getting into the huge words you can't pronounce then there's an issue. If I don't know what it is then I don't want to eat it! Monosodium glutamate, MSG. Here's another ingredient I steer clear of. Surprisingly (or maybe not so surprising) this ingredient is also in a ton of items stocked on the shelves at your local grocery store, not to mention in tons of take out and fast foods. If your label says "spices" or "natural flavorings" it's more than likely going to be MSG. I don't even need to go into depth on this one because you should all know that MSG is bad bad bad for you!
I will not buy any genetically modified food. Now, this is something that is tough, they are not required to put on the label that the food has been genetically modified, so there is no guarantee that what you are buying is not GM. However, all organic food is not genetically modified. It's more expensive, yes, but I will pay a little more to ensure I am not putting chemicals into my body.
I will not eat fast food. After seeing Super Size Me years ago, and becoming interested in food and eating healthy in general, I will not touch the stuff. There is almost no nutritional value in fast food, and one "meal" has almost the equivilent to what your daily sodium intake should be. It is recommended that you do not consume more than 3,000mg of sodium a day, 2,000mg if you have high blood pressure or cholesterol. This is especially important for pregnant women, the more sodium you consume the greater your chances are of getting high blood pressure or high cholesterol, and that's bad news. High blood pressure leads to medical interventions, such as induction or c-section because of risks of preeclampsia. Besides the sodium that stuff is just bad. Lots of calories, and the bad kind of fat, trans fat. Not to mention it's not even real food.
The more I read about healthy nutrition during pregnancy in all the books I am reading and from my Bradley class, the more interested in it I am. It's crazy how much what we eat really affects us.

So on that note, I will post my food chart at the end of the day! Maybe I will even start posting a weekly food chart! How exciting!