No HFCS: Day 2

Day 2 and I’m starting to realize that corn farmers or the Corn Refinery Association (or whatever it’s called) must be making money hand over fist because High Fructose Corn Syrup is legitimately in things that I never would have expected it to be in… like a jar of spaghetti sauce.  It occurred to me that tomatoes sometimes need sugar, even in homemade sauce, to balance out the acidity – especially in the months when tomatoes are out of season.  So when I decided to have ravioli and meatballs for dinner last night, I realized I had to check a jar of pasta sauce for High Fructose Corn Syrup.  So unnecessary.  Anyway, I found out that Francesca Rinaldi’s regular pasta sauce does not have HFCS, it has regular sugar in it so that’s good.  I ended up having ravioli and my mom’s meatballs for dinner and was good to go, HFCS-wise.

This morning, I again had to fight with the bread drawer to find a kind of bread that did not include HFCS.  I decided on Nature’s Pride 100% Natural Stone Ground Whole Wheat with Honey – that’s a mouthful, but it was yummy.  I ended up having a tuna sandwich because Hellman’s mayonnaise has no HFCS in it either.  All I’ve been drinking the past two days is water, which is definitely a switch for me because I am a soda drinker.  If there is soda in the house, especially ginger ale, I am absolutely drinking it.  Ginger ale is probably my favorite drink of all time, I just love it – and I have such a sensitive stomach most of the time that ginger ale always makes me feel better (it might just be in my head, but I really do believe it helps).  So not drinking soda is definitely a change for me.  I weighed myself yesterday (but I am SO not sharing that information for the entire internet to see) and I am going to continue to weigh myself once a week for the next 40 days to see if this HFCS experiment has any effect on my weight.

All in all, I am finding this experiment very interesting.  I’m beginning to realize that millions of Americans are eating HFCS every single day in massive quantities without even realizing it because it has been added to so many random foods and drinks that we consume every day.  We spend so much time trying to understand the rise in obesity, diabetes, cancer, and other ailments in Americans… well, I’d be willing to bet a HUGE part of it is right here. 

And that’s not even beginning to go into the possibility that the corn that is being used to create HFCS might be genetically modified in some way, causing a whole slew of other problems.

This is crazy.

Love to you all,

Sara

No High Fructose Corn Syrup: Day 1

My grandmother believes that High Fructose Corn Syrup is poison.  Since she is one of the smartest, strongest people in my whole world, I believe her.  That’s why I am giving up HFCS for Lent this year.  It is my quest to leave HFCS behind for the next 40 days and when Lent is over, I will revisit this and tell you all how I am feeling (whether it be better, worse, or indifferent).

So this is my official day 1.  I’m not specifically a church-going person, so for all I know Lent may have started yesterday but I am beginning this quest today because that’s when I decided to do it haha.  And let me tell you, people – HFCS is EVERYWHERE.  I slept VERY late today and decided when I woke up that I wanted to have a sandwich and some salad for lunch (which was technically my breakfast because I am a lazy mess who slept until 12:30pm… don’t judge me).  I assumed bread would be a safe option because I’ve made bread from scratch before and I’ve never once used HFCS or anything like it, so I was safe right?

WRONG.

I had to look through FOUR different kinds of bread before I found one with no HFCS in it.  HOW is that possible?  Even the whole grain/whole wheat bread I had in the drawer had HFCS fairly close to the top of the ingredients list.  Luckily, I had no such trouble with the cold cuts (Boars Head, which I had previously Googled) or the salad dressing (Wish Bone Balsamic Vinaigrette) which specifically states on the bottle that they use sugar and not HFCS (and there are no sneaky “maltodextrin (corn)” lines in the list of ingredients either – that is one you definitely have to watch out for because it’s the same thing, just under a sneakier name). 

Who knew this would be so hard? 

And how do I eat at restaurants now?

This is going to be a doozy.  I’m going to try to post at least once every day from now until the end of Lent to keep everyone updated on this little journey.  Please leave any questions in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them!

-Sara

A sneak peek!

So I just finished frosting my cupcakes and they look amazing so I thought I'd share a little sneak peek!

Hope you love it!

I found it…

 

I found it.  The best chocolate cupcake recipe ever.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have found it.  It’s incredible and I’m not sure how I only ate one so far.

More info and some pictures of the decorated cupcakes soon (hopefully tomorrow)!

YAY! My boyfriend is going to be so impressed.

Cupcakes, anyone?

So I’ve been watching increasingly large amounts of Cupcake Wars on Food Network and I am constantly in awe of what these bakers are capable of.  The first thing I want to do is go to Food Network’s website and try out some of these winning Cupcake Wars recipes.  So I do, and I’m met with this disclaimer:

“This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.”

SERIOUSLY?!  Okay so first things first, you’d think that wouldn’t be a big deal right?  With any other kind of recipe, I would agree with you – all Food Network would need to do is scale down the recipe to be used for a smaller number of people.  However, if you know anything about baking or have ever watched the episode of Barefoot Contessa where she talks about baking huge amounts for the Barefoot Contessa store, you know that recipes for baking should stay the way they are.  Baking has such a specific science to it that recipes don’t double or triple well, nor do they reduce well.  Something about the reactions between the ingredients that makes baked goods so delicious turns wonky and disgusting.

Or something.

And on top of that, how in the world can Food Network justify listing recipes on their website that no one has tested?  I just think that’s nonsense, if you ask me.

Did I also mention that The Man has been watching all of these Cupcake Wars episodes with me?  And now wants me to hold my own Cupcake Wars competition in my kitchen?  Me versus myself?  Weirdo ingredient list, fancy decorations, and everything?  So what’s a pretend baker to do?  Find the best vanilla cupcake recipe in the world and the best chocolate cupcake recipe in the world and begin to use them as a base for all kinds of confectionary concoctions to try and blow The Man’s mind, of course!  So if you have a suggestion for a standard (but ridiculously delicious) vanilla or chocolate cupcake recipe that I could use as a base, I would be so appreciative!

The cupcakes I will make are so going to blow The Man’s mind.

On the menu for Sunday (The Man and my candlelit Valentine’s-ish dinner, since we didn’t really celebrate yesterday because he was working): Chicken Francese with rice and some kind of a vegetable that has yet to be determined, and Valentine’s cupcakes of one kind or another (hopefully decorated prettily so The Man won’t think I’m the worst baker ever). 

Stand by for updates on Sunday!

PS: Making knock off Olive Garden breadsticks to bring to a friend’s house for dinner Friday night – can’t remember if I’ve posted that recipe before, but if I haven’t then that will be up Saturday (and might even include some snazzy iPhone Hipstamatic pictures with my new Foodie lens… wow, I am such a dork)!

Love you to all – hope your Valentine’s Day was wonderful!