What To Eat When You're Broke

The lower your income is, the more difficult it is to be particular about what you feed your family.

This probably isn’t an earth-shattering revelation to anyone, but if you feel like experimenting, try to buy a week’s worth of healthy food for a family on a budget of, say, $50-75.  Food manufacturers that target lower income shoppers with more affordable products tend to include more GMOs and toxic ingredients in their offerings.

It just isn’t possible to stick to  my usual food restrictions.  Generally speaking I avoid:

• Non-organic dairy because of the hormones and antibiotics as well as the GMO feed given to the animals
• Non-organic meat because of the hormones and antibiotics as well as the GMO feed given to the animals
• Anything containing corn, soy, or canola in any form because it is almost certain to be GMO
• Anything with chemical additives like artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives
• Anything that is likely to have been doused in pesticides
• Anything containing neurotoxins like MSG, fluoride, or aspartame (along with other artificial sweeteners)

It is a matter, then, of weighing the pros and cons, and figuring out what things, for you, are the most important, while also deciding which standards can be sacrificed.  These decisions will be different for everyone, based on their personal health concerns, their genetic propensity for certain diseases, and the members of the family for whom they are buying the food.

Sometimes, when you’re looking at someone else’s situation while you are comfortably backed by a loaded pantry, it’s easy to be judgemental and tell them what they “should” do. The thing that we  must all remember is that when times are tough, a person may be down to these two options with a two week grocery budget:

1.) Buy strictly healthy organic foods and feed your family for perhaps 8 out of the 14 days.

2.) Carefully select which standards you will relax to keep the tummies of your family full throughout the wait for the next paycheck.

Very few people are going to choose option one.

Usually, I have an enormous stockpile of non-GMO dried foods and a flourishing garden to serve as a back-up for whatever non-toxic items are being offered at a reasonable price that week.  Because I’ve recently moved and am rebuilding my pantry from the ground up, I have no such stockpile right now. I am at the mercy of the food manufacturers.

When your budget is extremely limited, the normal healthy eating suggestions of shopping only the perimeter of the store or visiting the farmer’s market will not suffice to feed a family.  As much as you may want to dine only on locally grown, fresh organic produce, a $50 farmer’s market spree will only get you through a few days if you are totally reliant on only this food.

The Lesser of the Nutritional Evils

So what is a broke, but health-conscious, shopper to eat?

After strongly considering the list above, I decided not to cut corners on the organic dairy, neurotoxins, or the GMOs.  I have a growing child and these things are at the top of the toxic pyramid for her development.  This isn’t to say that the pesticides aren’t harmful, or the preservatives are not a  chemical minefield.  In a perfect world, I’d avoid all of it, and you should too.

If you are in a situation where you have to feed your family and don’t have a lot of money to do it, you need to do your research well before looking at those brightly colored packages with the false promises of nutrition within.  While this list isn’t comprehensive, here are some things to consider about conventional grocery store offerings.

GMOs: Genetically modified foods have not been tested for long-term effects on humans.  There is a great deal of evidence to indicate the GMOs can cause a host of illness.  Peer reviewed studies implicate GMOs in the development of grotesque tumors, premature death, organ failure, gastric lesions, liver damage, kidney damage, severe allergic reactions, a viral gene that disrupts human functions…you can read more HERE.

Hormones and antibiotics: Livestock animals that provide meat or dairy products are tainted with growth hormones, antibiotics, and GMO feed.  These items pass through the food chain to the consumer. Growth hormones can cause opposite sex characteristics in developing children, early puberty, the development of cancer, and infertility. Furthermore, the world is quickly becoming immune to the effects of antibiotics because of constant exposure through the food supply, which means that there is the potential for things that should be easily treated to become deadly due to antibiotic resistance.

Pesticides: The use of pesticides in conventional farming is rampant.  Even the hijacked the Environmental Protection Agency has to admit that the ingestion of pesticides can cause health problems.  They warn of the risk of “birth defects, nerve damage, cancer, and other effects that might occur over a long period of time.”  (Keep in mind, however, that despite this warning, the EPA just RAISED the acceptable limit of glyphosate at the behest of Monsanto.) Especially at risk of harm from pesticides are prepubescent children and fetuses.

Neurotoxins: Our water supply is spiked with fluoride, a neurotoxin that  lowers IQs, causes infertility, has been linked to cancer and causes hardening of the arteries. Nearly every packaged food on the shelf is seasoned with MSG in one of its many names, and many lower calorie foods and diet drinks are sweetened with aspartame.  Both of these are excitotoxins that cause brain cell death instantly, causing decreased IQs, headaches, depression, and seizures.

Assorted chemical cocktails:  The length of the ingredients list in your food is often a direct indicator of the unhealthiness of the item. When an item contains a host of additives, colors, flavors, and preservatives, you can safely bet that most of the nutrients are gone.  These highly processed foodlike substances are very difficult for the body to break down so that the few remaining nutrients can be used. If you can’t picture what an ingredient looked like in it’s natural state, it probably isn’t something you really want to eat.  When is the last time you saw a tertiary butyl hydroquinone grazing in a field, or a calcium propionate growing in the garden?

What should you eat when you’re broke?

Grains: If you can’t swing organic grains, look for whole grains with few or no additives.

• Wheat flour
• Brown rice
• Pasta (with recognizable ingredients)
• Couscous
• Quinoa
• Barley

Meats:  If you can’t afford grass-fed organic meat, at the very least look for options that are guaranteed to be hormone and antibiotic free.  The USDA does not allow the use of growth hormones in pork, which makes it a slightly better option.

Here’s a little primer on those confusing meat labels:

• Hormone-free: This means something with beef, but is nothing but a marketing ploy when you see it on poultry or pork, as the USDA does not allow the use of hormones with those animals.  Hormone-free does not mean antibiotic-free
• Antibiotic-free: Because of poor and stressful living conditions, factory-farmed animals are very susceptible to illness.  Antibiotic-free means they were not prophylactically treated with antibiotics. This does not, however, mean that the animal is hormone-free.
• Grass-fed: Grass-fed cows are allowed some access to the outdoors and are not fed grains or corn.  This does NOT mean they are organic, because the grass they are grazing on may have been chemically fertilized and sprayed.  Unless you have actually seen them roaming around the farm, keep in mind their access to the outdoors may not be the lovely rolling pastures that you have in your mind, but a crowded corral with hundreds of other cows.
• Free-range: This label doesn’t mean diddly squat.  It means that the animal is allowed a minimum of an hour a day outside.  This could mean that they are crammed into an open area with a billion other chickens, still, without room to move, or that their cage is put outside, leaving them still tightly confined. Like the grass-fed cows above, unless you actually see the farm with the gallivanting chickens or pigs, take the label “free-range” with a grain of salt.

Your best options, if you can’t afford organic meats, are to go for the hormone and antibiotic free options as a supplement to vegetarian protein sources like local eggs, beans, and organic dairy products.

Fruits and vegetables: If organic produce is not an option, look for the items with the lowest pesticide loads.  (This list by the Environmental Working Group is based ONLY on pesticide loads – some of the items they recommend could be GMOs).  Fruits and vegetables that can be peeled often subject you to less pesticides than thin-skinned items. If you must buy conventional, wash the produce carefully and peel it if possible.  Look to these stand-bys:

• Apples (peeled)
• Asparagus
• Avocados
• Cabbage
• Cantaloupe
• Eggplant
• Grapefruit
• Kiwi
• Mangoes
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Oranges
• Pineapples
• Rutabagas
• Sweet Peas
• Sweet Potatoes
• Turnips

 Dairy products: Conventional dairy products are absolutely loaded with hormones.  Dairy cattle are given high levels of female hormones to make them produce a greater quantity of milk. This makes little boys develop female characteristics and makes little girls hit puberty at a far younger age than normal, which is the reason you see 4th graders with large breasts and hips.  These hormones can also trigger obesity in both genders.  Because of the public outcry, some dairies have pledged not to use rBST, the most commonly used of the growth hormones.  Do your research to discover if there are any such brands available to you.  The Lucerne brand from Safeway is guaranteed to be hormone free. (It’s interesting to note that Monsanto, the company that pushes rBST, wants the FDA to disallow dairies to put this on their labels, and that the FDA forces those who label their products rBST-free to also put the following disclaimer on the containers: “No significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rBST-treated and non-rBST treated cows.” (source) )

Organic dairy is still better, because the cattle are fed a healthier diet and are free from antibiotics.  If you can’t swing it, at the very least, search for rBST-free dairy products. For products, you can save loads of money by making your own from untainted milk.  Learn how to make yogurt, how to make yogurt cheese, and how to make cottage cheese.  Plain yogurt can also be used as a healthy substitute for sour cream.

Water:  If you are on city water, chances are, your water is loaded with chemicals, from fluoride to ammonia to chlorine.  I won’t drink this water, and I won’t let my children drink it either.  The large 5 gallon jugs provide the least expensive way to buy water.  Also look for sources of spring water to fill your own containers. (This interactive map can help.)

Other Tight Budget Tips

Build your pantry. It’s hard to think about building a pantry when you have barely enough food in the cupboard to make it between paychecks.  But if you can purchase one bulk item per shopping trip, in a few months you will have a pantry that will allow you to make higher quality grocery purchases on your weekly trips. At that point, you can start going to the farmer’s market, which in many locations is very reasonably priced, buying in enough bulk to preserve your foods, and have the occasional splurge.  Go HERE to learn more about building a whole foods kitchen on a half price budget.

Be scrupulous about food hygiene.  Wash your produce very thoroughly and soak it in a baking soda bath.  Also remember to careful wash your beans and rice. (Click HERE to see some photos of the dirt that comes off of a cup of rice!)

Get growing.  Even if it is the off season, you can sprout some seeds on your counter to add fresh nutrients. You can grow some salad greens and herbs in a sunny windowsill.  Invest a few dollars each week in some seeds and you will soon be able to supplement your diet with nutritious, organic, home-grown veggies.  Go HERE to get more ideas for growing your own food on any budget, in any location.

Visit outlet stores.  Sometimes places like Big Lots or grocery clearance centers have organic options at good prices. You might be able to pick up canned goods, cereals, and crackers at a fraction of the normal grocery store price.

Forage for freebies.  In many locations, even the city,  there are free delicious foods just waiting for you to pick them.  Dandelions, wild berries, nuts, and nutritious leaves abound. Just be very sure you know what you’re picking and then enjoy your wild foods.  Check out this excellent guide to the nutritious goodies that may be in your backyard masquerading as lowly weeds.

Plan on at least one extra frugal meal per day.  Have peanut butter and crackers, a bowl of oatmeal, or soup for one meal per day – not every meal has to be made up of protein, veggies, and grains.

 Don’t give up.  If you are feeling financially defeated, it is sometimes easy to say, “*bleep* it!!!” and just get some Ramen noodles or macaroni and cheese and call it a meal.  Don’t do it!  Do the very best you can with the resources you have available. Remember, if you can’t afford good food, you definitely can’t afford bad health – it’s even more expensive.

 The Simple Truth

There are a lot of things that readers may find to pick apart in this article – and that’s good!  By thinking critically and discussing these things, sometimes we can come up with solutions that may not have occurred to us previous to the conversation. I’m not some expert that shouldn’t be questioned – I am just a mom on a budget.  Some of the suggestions here were gleaned from the comments sections of previous articles.

Do your research and do the best that you can with what’s available given your resources.  Create a plan to provide better options in the future. Don’t go down that toxic trail laid out by Big Food without fighting, kicking, and screaming.

About The Author:

Daisy Luther is a freelance writer and editor.  Her website, The Organic Prepper, offers information on healthy prepping, including premium nutritional choices, general wellness and non-tech solutions. You can follow Daisy on Facebook and Twitter, and you can email her at daisy@theorganicprepper.ca

Heat Your Room For 15 Cents a Day

The following video shows us an ingenious way to heat a whole room for under 15 cents or possibly even cheaper if you find cheaper candles or maybe larger ones. It's simple, here's what you  need:

1. Small candles such as the ones seen is the video which are found at Ikea
2. A metal cake pan
3. Two clay planter pots, one smaller than the other
4. A lighter to light the candles

This awesome idea works on convection, which is accomplished by the air moving around between the two clay pots. This helps create a forced air effect which pushes the hot air around the room. Watch the video below to see how it's done:

8 Ways To Eat Healthy On A Budget

I am often asked how individuals and their families can eat healthy when they have to stick to a monthly budget – when a container of organic lettuce costs 3 times as much as an easy pop-me-in-the-microwave dinner, it is often much more convenient (and cheaper) to go for the latter than the former.

However, once you begin to realize how much you might be spending on food items outside of the foods you buy at a grocery store (say, a lunch bought at work, or going out to eat a couple times a week for dinner) you start to realize that you could be saving pocketfuls of cash.

When I switched my diet, I actually managed to save money because I stopped eating out, I gave up alcohol, I don’t smoke cigarettes, and I live a simplistic life with minimal materialistic possessions. Even choosing organic foods didn’t budge the bills – I came to realize that much of the organic produce was similarly priced as the non-organic produce, and that shopping around was my best bet to getting good deals.

Here are some tips and tricks so that you can work toward consuming a healthy, high raw and organic lifestyle on a budget!

Farmer’s Markets

Farmer’s markets are one of the best ways to get the most for your money. The produce is fresh, local, and instead of supporting corporate giants, you are supporting individuals in your community which leaves a sense of fulfillment and gratitude. If you are concerned about pesticides and herbicides, you can often find vendors which are certified organic, or, you can simply ask the farmers if they spray their farms. You can make the decision as to whether you trust their sincerity, I often take their word (and individuals who cannot afford certified organic labelling, but do not spray, usually have cheaper produce too!).

Store Swapping

Shopping between stores for the best deal is a must for helping save money. I often find that the same produce distributors at one store might be 2-3 dollars cheaper at another (which can save a lot of money, especially if you are buying per pound or kilogram). Getting to know stores and which are more pricey than others is also useful in ensuring your money isn’t spent ruthlessly.

For example, I often shop between a few different stores in my area. There is Organic Planet, Organza, Vita Health, Superstore, Safeway, Mondragon, and of course farmer’s markets in summer. The prices between these places vary, and so I shop between them weekly to find the best deal on organic produce.

Sprouting

Sprouting is incredibly easy, and they are packed with a variety of nutrients. Eating nutrient rich foods help satiate the hunger signals in your brain, and also help mineralize your body (meaning that you don’t need to eat as much food and thus save money). If you are fond of sprouts but can’t afford them, sprouting is also an excellent way to save money.

Buying bulk sprouting seeds and sprouting them in an old jar with a sprouting lid (or even a rubber band and some clean pantyhose) is inexpensive and one of the best ways for introducing organic micro-greens into your diet. My favourites to sprout are sunflower seeds and broccoli seeds (all organic of course!).

Bulk Buying

Buying in bulk is an excellent way to save money, especially if you want to go in on it with a couple other friends or households nearby. You can also ask your local health food store if they sell items in bulk, and if so, if you can get a discount (for example, an organic grocer in my city gives a 10% discount on items when you buy in bulk).

Going to your local health food store and buying your nuts, seeds, legumes, dried fruit or grains (if you consume grains) from bulk bins is a sure way to save money on the same product that might be in a fancy package but priced at double the cost.

On Sale Produce

A lot of stores have discounted produce shelves where they put produce out that can no longer be sold because they are not in perfect condition. Usually this means that all of the ripe, ready to eat fruit will be in these discounted sections, which is great because that is the condition we should be eating our fruit in – RIPE!

Wholesalers are also a great way to save money on produce, although finding organic wholesalers is a little more difficult (especially where I live). Whenever I buy produce, if I find some fruit or vegetable that looks a little bruised or battered up, I will ask the produce people or someone up front if I can get it for a discount price. More often than not, their answer is yes, and I end up getting a 50% discount on my produce!

Eat at Home

Preparing food and eating at home is one of the most important lifestyle changes to help save money. Eating out is expensive, no matter what way you look at it. I can stay at home and make the most delicious, satiating, massive salad for under $7, OR, I could go out and get a bland, boring salad which is 1/8th of the size of the ones I make at home for $10. It only makes sense not to eat out when you can.

Eat Seasonally

Seasonal eating is another great money saver. Seasonal produce is much cheaper, because it is much more abundant and readily-available (opposed to something being grown under less-than-optimal conditions during a time when nature did not intend for it to be grown). Eating seasonally is also much healthier too! In-season produce is more nutrient dense, and also more flavourful. This also works out well for people who do not want to eat vegetables or fruit, because in-season produce that tastes better will be eaten more often.

Ditch Supplements (& other non-necessary expensives)

If you are consuming vitamin and mineral rich fruit and vegetables, supplements are not really necessary. Protein powders and daily vitamins are taken to supplement an already deficient diet. If you are eating healthy, and consuming adequate quantities of fresh, organic, mostly local produce then your body doesn’t need supplementation. The same goes for superfood blends which can be bought for so much cheaper in bulk at health food stores, separately, and mixed yourself.

Supplements are a $25-billion-a-year industry, because so many people think they need supplements to have a balanced body chemistry. Nutritionists and medical professionals argue that supplements are necessary because most people don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables and rely more on processed foods which lack essential nutrients. When I went raw vegan I removed all supplements from my diet and my blood work still comes out great every year (and I have been raw for 3.5 years!).

It might also be the case that the soil in which our food is grown is depleted and thus lacks essential minerals. If you have reason to believe that your food may not be mineral rich, then look into buying a quality mineral supplement such as those provided by Mother Earth Minerals.

Article Source: Live Love Fruit

The Story Of Bottled Water

The Story of Bottled Water, released on March 22, 2010 (World Water Day) employs the Story of Stuff style to tell the story of manufactured demand—how you get Americans to buy more than half a billion bottles of water every week when it already flows from the tap. Over five minutes, the film explores the bottled water industrys attacks on tap water and its use of seductive, environmental-themed advertising to cover up the mountains of plastic waste it produces. The film concludes with a call to take back the tap, not only by making a personal commitment to avoid bottled water, but by supporting investments in clean, available tap water for all.

Our production partners on the bottled water film include five leading sustainability groups: Corporate Accountability International, Environmental Working Group, Food & Water Watch, Pacific Institute, and Polaris Institute.

Source : http://storyofbottledwater.org

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Top 10 Reasons To Grow Your Own Organic Food

1. Get The Nutrition You Need and Enjoy Tastier Food!
Many studies have shown that organically grown food has more minerals and nutrients that we need than food grown with synthetic pesticides. There’s a good reason why many chefs use organic foods in their recipes—they taste better. Organic farming starts with the nourishment of the soil, which eventually leads to the nourishment of the plant and, ultimately our bodies.

2. Save Money
Growing your own food can help cut the cost of the grocery bill. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars and month at the grocery store on foods that don’t really nourish you, spend time in the garden, outside, exercising, learning to grow your own food.

3. Protect Future Generations
The average child receives four times more exposure than an adult to at least eight widely used cancer-causing pesticides in food. Food choices you make now will impact your child’s future health.
“We have not inherited the Earth from our fathers,
we are borrowing it from our children.”
– Lester Brown

4. Prevent Soil Erosion
Soil in developed nations is eroded several times faster than it’s built up naturally. Soil is the foundation of the food chain in organic farming. However, in conventional farming, the soil is used more as a medium for holding plants in a vertical position so they can be chemically fertilized. As a result, many farms worldwide are suffering from the worst soil erosion in history.

5. Protect Water Quality
Water makes up two-thirds of our body mass and covers three-fourths of the planet. Pesticides - some cancer causing - contaminate the groundwater an can pollute the primary source of drinking water.

6. Save Energy
Modern farming uses more petroleum than any other single industry, consuming a significant percentage total energy supply. More energy is now used to produce synthetic fertilizers than to till, cultivate and harvest crops. If you are growing your own food in the city, you are cutting down on transportation and pollution costs.

7. Keep Chemicals Off Your Plate
In the United States, many pesticides approved for use by the Enviromental Protection Agency (EPA) were registered long before extensive research linking these chemicals to cancer and other diseases had been established. Now the EPA considers 60 percent of all herbicides, 90 percent of all fungicides and 30 percent of all insecticides carcinogenic. A 1987 National Academy of Sciences report estimated that pesticides might cause an extra 4 million cancer cases among Americans. If you are growing your own food, you have control over what does, or doesn’t, go into it. The bottom line is that pesticides are poisons designed to kill living organisms and can also harm humans. In addition to cancer, pesticides are implicated in birth defects, nerve damage and genetic mutations.

8. Protect Workers and Help Small Farmers
A National Cancer Institute study found that farmers exposed to herbicides had six times more risk than non-farmers of contracting cancer. In California, reported pesticide poisonings among farm workers have risen an average of 14 percent a year since 1973 and doubled between 1975 and 1985. Field workers suffer the highest rates of occupational illness in the state. Farm worker health is also a serious problem in developing nations, where pesticide use can be poorly regulated. An estimated 1 million people are poisoned annually by pesticides.
Although more and more large-scale farms are making the conversion to organic practices, most organic farms are small, independently owned family farms of fewer than 100 acres. It’s estimated the United States has lost more than 650,000 family farms in the past decade. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted that half of this country’s farm production will come from 1 percent of farms by the year 2000, organic farming could be one of the few survival tactics left for family farms.

9. Promote Biodiversity
Mono-cropping is the practice of planting large plots of land with the same crop year after year. While this approach tripled farm production between 1950 and 1970, the lack of natural diversity of plant life has left the soil lacking in natural minerals and nutrients. To replace the nutrients, chemical fertilizers are used, often in increasing amounts. Single crops are also much more susceptible to pests, making farmers more reliant on pesticides. Despite a tenfold increase in the use of pesticides between 1947 and 1974, crop losses due to insects have doubled—partly because some insects have become genetically resistant to certain pesticides.

10. Help Beautify Your Community
Besides being used to grow food, community gardens are also a great way to beautify a community, and to bring pride in ownership.

Source: Prevent Disease

Path to Freedom - Homestead Growing Your Own Food Urban Garden

Without Saying a Word This 6 Minute Short Film Will Make You Speechless

Feel free to leave comments below and let us know how this video made you feel...

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6 Ways To Buy Organic On A Budget

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1. Put your green bargaining cap on and talk with farmers at the markets to negotiate a lower price for your produce. We know they work hard for their money but it can’t hurt to ask. Bartering for fare isn’t as strange as it sounds. Maybe they’ll unload the less popular fruits and vegetables for less too.

2. Everyone’s looking for the perfect specimen. You might want to choose produce that’s been passed over, because of minimal bruising and spotting, and ask for a lower price. Let’s face it, basil is going to wilt anyways once you chop it up or cook it so buying some that’s already on its way isn’t going to affect its flavor. It just means that you’ll want to use it sooner than later — which isn’t a bad thing.

3. More and more of the bigger food warehouse stores (like Sam’s Club, for example) are carrying organic items. If you can buy in bulk (dried beans, rice, canned tomatoes, organic coffee, etc.) this will save you a few dollars too. If you want to buy vegetables in greater quantities because of price, some will freeze nicely if slightly blanched beforehand. Asparagus, green beans, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, turnips and squashes can all be frozen.

4. Before you go to the Farmer’s Market and get pulled into the romance of it all (“I must have those gorgeous garlic scapes – now what do I do with them?”), plan ahead and go with a set list in mind. If an item is too expensive because it’s just come in season, wait a week and the price may go down.

5. The proliferation of websites that sell organic food and related items is ever-growing and with the incentive of free shipping on some sites, this may be a great alternative for you. Amazon.com is even dabbling in selling organic grocery store items, so you’ll have a variety of sources from which to choose.

6. Just as you search for coupons in your local supermarket flyers (or watch them haphazardly fall out of your weekend newspaper), many of the organic brand websites offer a way to print out coupons too. If you don’t have access to a printer, some of the websites will simply send you the coupons if you supply your snail mail address.

What To Do When You Can't Find Organics Or Pesticide-Free Fruits and Vegetables? If you don't have the advantage of buying organic and your local supermarket only carries fruits and vegetables that have been sprayed with pesticides, reduce your risk by finding out which ones are the worst. 
Check:  47 Fruits and Veggies and Their Pesticide Loads

Source: http://preventdisease.com

A Dear John Letter To Trader Joe's

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Dear Trader Joe,

When I met you many years ago it was love at first site. I loved your fun attitude and your philosophy. I loved your cozy, small neighborhood market feel.

You became a regularly weekly date and I always looked forward to seeing you. What new foods would I find? What yummy food samples were being served? Would there be a wine tasting or free coffee?

I was so enamored of you I told all my friends how great you were, I even wrote about you on my blog for the whole world to see.

For years you made me feel that I could afford to buy the healthiest food without breaking my budget and for that I will always be grateful.  So this is really hard for me to say, but I'm going to have to break up with you.

I'm really sorry. It's not you, it's me. I've changed. I'm not the same sugar-loving, carbo-consuming, canola-oil guzzling gal I was when we first met.

I was so blinded by your Hawaiian shirts, your super-friendly crew mates, and your whimsical captain's bell that I was too busy having fun when I shopped. But eventually I started to notice things that I didn't like.

I didn't like the way you started sneaking sugar into everything. Maybe it was always there and I just didn’t want to see it. When you're in love you tend to overlook these things. Do you really need to put it in your Chili Pepper Sauce and your Garlic & Butter Mashed Potato mix? But the last straw for me was when I found it in your beef broth! Why, Joe, why, do you need to put sugar in this most savory of items?

I now feel like I can't trust you. I have to read every single label and frankly, this is no way to shop. A good relationship is based on trust, and you have destroyed my faith in you.

But there is even a bigger problem than hidden sugar. It's your love affair with polyunsaturated vegetable oils really takes the cake. This stuff is bad news yet you put it in everything.

I don't understand how you can take such pride in putting out award winning olive oil on one hand yet sell canola oil on the other. It makes you seem like a hypocrite.

I know it's not all your fault. You have to give your customers what they want because without your loyal fans there would be no "Trader" you'd just be "plain old Joe".

Maybe you're worried your customers aren't ready to give up flavor boost from sugar or willing to pay more for food once you transition from using cheap vegetable oils. But Joe, you could pave the way! After all you've made some pretty bold moves like refusing to carry products that contain MSG and everyone has stuck by you! You could do the same here!

Oh, we had some good times, Joe. I'll never forget your pumpkin ice cream, your honey-glazed cranberry pecans, or your Greek apricot-mango yogurt. I'm really going to miss your BBQ Sauce, Teriyaki sauce, and your lime-curry marinade. They made others believe I was a good cook. But the truth is I owe it all to you.

I hope we can always be friends but I just don't want to be exclusive any more. I need to find someone whose philosophy is more akin to mine.

If you decide to mend your ways – get rid of hidden sugar and canola oil – give me a call and maybe we can patch this up.

Until then I'll be seeing you around.

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