Many visitors to our WEB site are looking for solutions to which foods are safe from harmful chemicals.  Here is a guide that will help you.

Most dairy products except milk have synthetic carrageenan which include synthetic MSG.  A very few select dairy companies sell unadultrated products, but they are not carried in all stores and are sometimes hard to find.  Dairy includes half & half, cream, ice cream, cheeses, yogurt, soy milk, sour cream, sherbert, puddings (including mixes) and cream cheese.  Most dairy products post carrageenan on the product since it is required by law.  Some dairy products post artifical flavor which can mean synthetic MSG.  We have found souces for half & half, cream and ice cream although we make our own ice cream.  We also make our own yogurt and cheese, quite easy to do.

Most condiments(pickles, salad dressings, catsups, barbecue sauces, jellies, jams and the like) include high fructose corn syrup and may contain synthetic MSG.

Most cerealsincorporate artifical flavorins which may contain synthetic MSG including health and organic labeld cereals.  This includes health food bars made of cereals.

Most ready to eat processed foods like forzen dinners, chicken pieces, bread fish, hot dogs, luncheon meats and snack foods like chips and nuts include artifical flavors and may contain synthetic MSG.

Most packaged processed meats like bacon, hot dogs, sausage, salami, pepperoni and luncheon meats with that interesting Red tint include sodium dixode and artifical flavors with may contain synthetic MSG.

Some very basic foodslike cake mixes, spices and tomato paste include artifical flavors which may contain MSG.

Most candies and deserts including mixesand pie fillings include artifical flavors and may contain synthethic MSG and synthetic carrageenan.  Cocoa powder and chocolate chips or bakers chocolate are not beyond problems.

Are brand names safe?  NO! (they are often the leaders in chemical infusion of foods)

Are low cal foods safe? NO! (a haven for chemicals)

Are health foods safe? NO! (sorry)

Are organic foods safe? NO! (the word has been officially maligned by the FDA and food industry)

Are natural foods safe? NO! (not always)

Are artifical sweetners safe? NO! (artificial says it all)

Note:  where we say foods that list artificial flavors “may contain MSG,” it is more that likely true since that is one way manufactures can hide the ingredient besides a number of alternate names used for it.  Since we do not know for sure the product you are holding has synthetic MSG we cannot answer for certain it does.  And that is the way the food manufacturers want it.  Whenever we have experienced a food with artificial flavor listed it caused the symptoms of MSG.  We have since taken a hard stance, we eat no food with artificial flavor, since that signifies chemicals not found in nature.

If you are reading long ingredient lists to see what is safe to eat, save yourself some time.  If the list is long it is wrong.  Long lists always lead to more than chemical you do not need or want.  See a long list and just assume it is not for you and put it back.  No more reading for that product.

You are probably asking what is left?  Some health books say it is safe to eat from the outside isles of the stores.  Since diary products laced with synthetic carrageenan and synthetic MSG, and processed meats ripe with sodium dioxide and possibly MSG are usually reside on the outside isle this is not true.  In most stores you are safe from chemicals added within the food chain (beyond the farm) when you buy fresh un-processed meats, fresh fruits and vegetables.  Fours, corn meal, sugar, powdered sugar, dried beans, dry pasta, herbs and some spices are safe. 

Watch out for onion powder, garlic powder and seasoning blends they often list artificial flavors and may contain MSG.

What about eating out? Eating at fast food restaurants is asking for trouble since synthetic carrageenan and synthetic MSG are ways to control cost and attract repeat business.  High fructose is the ingredient of the day for any sweet treats or drinks including salad dressings.  Eating at restaurants in general is a risky business since most chiefs are not cognizant of the chemicals in most foods.  Chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, cake mixes, nuts, cheeses, even tomato puree can be an ingredient they use to complete your meal.

Can I eat food from friends and family? If you are sensitive to the chemicals the answer is no.  Well meaning as they may be those tasty meals, deserts and snacks could accidentally be laden with commercial products that contain one or more of the ingredients.

What if I just take a small sample? And that in it self is a problem.  Just how many foods are you ingesting on a daily basis that include one or more of these chemicals?  It only takes one to cause damage and set off a reaction, thoughout a typically day surviving on commercial foods you are inindated with chemicals that can poison your system and cause serious damage.

Leave us a comment and we well will answer your questions with what we know.  If we don’t know we will tell you that as well, but we often research products or chemicals brought to our attention since others may ask the same question.  Lectin, aspertame, synthetic MSG, synthetic carrageenan, food coloring, sodium nitrate and high fructose corn syrup are major products/chemicals we avoid.  We wish we could avoid 100% the dixons from the chemical treatment of corn and bean crops, but realize that is impossible.  We do our best to minimize its consumption since it has an eleven year half life and does modify human DNA/RNA causing serious health issues.  

So what is the solution?  Cooking from scratch is the secret.  Buying bulk on-line is an enormous savings and advantage to buying from a broader food source and safe choices.  Anything sold on the market started in a kitchen.  Food science is not rocket science.  Most commercial foods had to dumb taste down to extend shelf life.  This means most, no all foods made at home should taste better than those bought in the store.

You can easily make:

Meats you can make: breakfast sausage, salami, peperroni, smoked bacon, smoked ham, smoked chicken, smoked turkey, hotdogs, and luncheon meats.  None are difficult to make and are excellent to eat without the unnecessary chemicals

Cheeses you can make run the gamut from soft to hard cheeses.  It is all easy to make until you start making speciality cheeses with the innoculation of specific spores.  Most cheeses can be made in minutes if they are a soft cheese.  Hard cheeses take a little longer and rely on curing in the refrigrator for several months.  Farmer, cottage, motzorella, feta, cheddar, parmazon and many other are within your grasp.

Breads, cakes and crackers are not difficult to make with the proper instructions.  French bread, traditional homemade bread, crusty Russian breads, pumpernickle, Irish soda bread, cakes and crackers of all kinds can be made with little effort and taste wonderful.

Candy can anyone survive long without some type of sweet.  If it can be made commercially it can be made at home.  Start by understanding what the candy is made of and how each step is completed.  Read the ingredients where not exact most ingredients must be listed and in the order of greater quantity first.  It is a starting point.

Condiments such as catsup, mustard, vinegar, barbecue sauce, cocktail sauce, mayonase, pickles, chili sauce are not difficult at all.

Spices can be cinnamon, ground peppers, cumin or they can be mixes like chili power, taco seasoning, barbeque rubs and even onion and garlic powder are often mixes (including MSG).  You can order the components of any spice mix and often find the same ingridents in one or more mixes.  We make chili powder which we use for chili, but also use in some barbecue sauces and in our chili sauce.  Some of the chili powders are used in both the chili mix and the taco seasoning.  Salsas get a nice kick with one or more chili powders.  We also find a number of dried peppers in other foods that add a hidden flavor which boost the complexity.

We will share recipes and secrets we have learned over the years on the WEB site as we have in the past.  In response to the need of so many recipes in a convient place we have almost finished writting a book that we use everyday to remind us of recipes we have built.  With over 400 recipes and great insight into the science of cooking we think the book will be well recieved and will allow chemical free cooking of just about anything you can imagine.  The book will be released this year if all goes well and the price will be very low covering publishing costs.  We hope readers will appriciate the material, insight and what we believe is the essences to cooking from scratch.  We can beat the chemicals and we know how to do it in style with robust, mouth watering foods that fulfill the desire for just about any food imagined.  We tell you how to not just cook our recipes, but how to take on other recipes and bring your favorites home.