I don’t know about you but I have seen a lot of UFOs out there. Unidentified Food Objects. OK so I can’t take credit for that one, I saw Mark Bittman speak back in September and he gave a great talk on food and what our food system has become.
Here we have cheese doodles, a food-like object, and carrot sticks. I think it’s a pretty impressive image. I mean really what ARE cheese doodles?
Unfortunately, there are a lot of foods like this. Sometimes we don’t event think twice about them because they are so ubiquitous in our food system, soda comes to mind. And for the record, yes I have had cheese doodles in my lifetime. Can’t say when the last time I had them was, probably once my palate matured since in my opinion they don’t really taste like food.
Kidding aside, you all know how much I push for you to eat real food*. Eating real food can heal the system or at least begin the process. As a culture our industrial food is so full of sugar, salt and fat that many people have no idea what real food tastes like. I was one of them, I used to eat a lot of processed food, it was easy and fast. Now I cringe when I think of the things I ate, and sometimes when I revisit them I am shocked by how sweet, salty and artificial tasting they are. It takes about a month for your taste buds to change when you reduce your intake of salt and sugar, that’s pretty amazing if you ask me and a testament to what the human body is capable of.
So the next time you are tempted by whatever it is in the crap aisle remember that your body and you deserve better.
And to prove that eating real food doesn’t have to be boring…
Apples ‘n PB
1 Granny Smith Apple
1 Tbsp Peanut Butter
1 Tbsp Flax seeds, ground
1 Tbsp Hemp Seeds
1 Tbsp Chia Seeds
1 Tbsp Cacao Nibs
Nut Milk or Water as needed
Core and wedge the apple into about 8 pieces. In a small bowl combine the peanut butter with the seeds and nibs, add liquid (as much as needed) and whip it with a fork to get a desired consistency. I like it a bit creamy.
Dip the apples in the mixture and enjoy!
Variations: You can use any nut or seed butters that you like. I also add maca powder to the mix. You can also spread on toasted Ezekiel bread and top with a banana.
*real food: foods closest to their natural state such as grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruit. If it is processed foods then choose those with minimal ingredients, <5.