Is your kitchen filled with ready-to-eat food?
Do you often eat instant noodles?
Do you grab a protein bar?
When getting late for work has frozen food become your go-to party snack, have cake packets made their way into school lunch boxes are their crackers and microwave pop corns in your kitchen.
Always in your home there are biscuit packets too. It is a lie that these packaged food products are safe that, when in a hurry, you can pack a ready-to eat meal bowl instead of some homemade food.
Indian homemade food there are vegetables, lentils, carbohydrates, dairy and pickle. Pickles are probiotic, they do just what your little bottles of probiotic drinks.
Probiotic drinks do what about your packet of protein bar.
Bars have micronutrients, natural sweeteners, healthy fats, high fiber and all that jazz.
Protein bars we think are healthy, to think again because they are not anything that is packed processed and preserved cannot be healthy.
Do you know who the healthiest people in the world are?
People who live in the blue zone, these are five pockets around the world. Where people live the longest.
Blue zones:-
OKINAWA – JAPAN
ICA RIA – GREECE
ITALY – SARDINIA
LOMA LINDA – CALIFORNIA
NICOLA –PENINSULA
These are the five blue zones and here people routinely live more than 100 years as opposed to the average lifespan. So the people living in blue zones must be doing something right,
What do people in blue zones eat?
The blue zone people eat,
• yogurt cups
• bought from stores packaged oatmeal’s
• ready to make breakfast smoothies
• Low-fat almond milk/ soy milk
None of the above people living in these blue zones eat home food, they eat locally sourced fruits & vegetables. People in blue zones stick to time-honored recipes, food that has been passed on to them from their ancestors.
For India that could be DAL or idle or fish and rice, these are our traditional foods. The traditional foods they are made from locally sourced ingredients, and they complement the local weather conditions.
Our traditional food is our health food. There is no need to consume healthy fats from packaged foods. When coconut oil and ghee already charge your home food with healthy fats,
why do you need multi-grain cereals?
Turmeric:
It is an antioxidant.
Cardamom, It has antioxidants. These are cancer fighting properties. It also prevents cavities.
In Cinnamon, It reduces cholesterol levels also the risk of heart diseases.
Cumin, it is locally known as jeer 'a'. This spice helps lower blood sugar levels.
Coriander seeds, they have antifungal properties.
All of these spices are commonly used in Indian cooking.
Can package and processed food replace traditional food?
The answer is ‘NO’.
Why?
• The ingredients are questionable
• The hygiene is questionable
• The packaging itself is often harmful
Some of the most common packaged foods in our kitchens,
1. Most common ingredients of preservatives
2. Excess salt
3. Color This, all three are bad for you.
Preservatives end up killing the good bacteria in your body. Then they can trigger breathing problems and also make children hyperactive, weaken heart tissues. In extreme cases, cause cancer.
Which food items have preservatives almost everything that is packed this includes your cereals, biscuits, crackers, breads, ready-to-eat meals, cheese, yogurt, deli meat sauces, soups everything.
What is the shelf life of home-made cookies?
Two to three weeks maximum, it kept outside the fridge. Then,
How is it that your biscuit packet stays intact for month’s even years?
Because it comes with chemicals. Chemicals that extend their shelf life, but reduce yours. Nowadays, our lives are busy. There is not enough time to cook three fresh meals a day. So microwave meals have become common, they have replaced traditional meals for some people.
A lot of these ready-to-heat packets can be kept in the room temperature for months. Imagine keeping a homemade DAL or curry outside the fridge for months. It will not be possible.
Imagine the amount of preservatives that go into making these packaged meals. Same with packaged bread, packaged cakes and everything else that is industrially packed salt too. Salt is a preservative most of the packed items including chips, noodles and fries are loaded with salt. It extends, their shelf life. It enhances their taste. But at what cost,
What happens when you consume too much sodium?
• Increase in blood pressure
• Increased risk of stomach cancer
• Increased risk of heart diseases
• Premature death
If you continue eating packaged food even after knowing its downside, is it worth risking your health.
What do you do?
Cook three meals a day while also juggling work and life. Reduce the intake of packaged and processed food.
What’s wrong with food colors?
Color has acrylamide. It is a chemical that is not good for your health. It causes cancer.
How are some biscuits so dark?
Some of those biscuits are unnaturally dark or orange or pink, how is it that they come with colorful creams. Sure, your homemade snack look dull in comparison, but it is safer.
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