"What shall we have for dinner?"
"Let's use the last of the organic bison."
"K - what else? Oh, we can eat up this box of potato salad I got from the store."
"Uhm..."
The bison is delicious, topped with organic tomatoes, onions and lettuce, no bun. Still gluten-free. I don't try the potato salad. My 11 year old takes a bite.
"Ew, it makes me sick," he says.
I look at the side of the box (never look at the sides of grocery store boxes - just don't). Hang on - let me grab the box out of the garbage can. I'll be right back... okay, ready:
Ingredients: potatoes, salad dressing (water, soybean oil, corn syrups, vinegar, modified food starch, egg yolk, salt natural flavors (?), garlic, lemon juice, paprika, disodium EDTA, mustard, sugar, onions, red peppers, citric acid, sodium benzoate, and potassium sorbate.
No - not on my watch. I take out the eggs, peel the potatoes, and put them all on to boil. I cut up three stalks of celery, half an onion, and cut up some carrots (all organic). When the eggs and potatoes are done, I slice them all up and put them into a bowl, add the vegetables and squeeze some canola mayo and organic mustard over the top, add a splash of fresh horseradish, some Celtic sea salt and some freshly ground pepper. There. My ingredients, ready?
My ingredients: potatoes, eggs, celery, carrots, onions, canola mayo, mustard, salt, pepper (all organic, except I'm not sure about the pepper).
It's hard to be humble when it comes to my potato salad - I have never tasted anything better than it. It's not rocket surgery (as we always say), but it IS homemade and fresh, always. That's ALWAYS better, in my opinion. I whip up a batch of egg salad for Bill's lunch, and call it a night. All told, I've spent another hourish in the kitchen making more 'good' food. Then I think - I could make a big batch of my Carolina soup - fall's coming - I could make a double batch and freeze some in smaller containers to have ready quicker in case someone wants some soup and feels like reaching for that Campbell's chicken noodle (don't even ask - it was a HORRIBLE fight between me and Hubby over that soup - oh, and Spam).
Am I willing to spend maybe another hour a day in the kitchen, making sure we have all fresh food in our fridge, nothing out of a box? Let me reiterate - we do not have that much processed food in our house anyway. Yes, some chips - we like our Lay's - well, my son and hubby like Lay's. Uhm, that's about it - Hubby eats honey granola bars and organic licorice. That doesn't count, does it? It's organic. Still junk food (sort of), but still healthy ingredients.
Yes, I'm willing to do that for the health of our family. Not only that, for the TASTE and GOODNESS. That is a bigger motivator than anything, I think, as I remember my dear son's face as he bit into the yellow blob of 'potato salad', and him saying, "ew, this makes me sick." So not worth it. If I make the time, we'll have the food. NO sodium benzoate to be found. I don't even KNOW what is - I don't want to know that is, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't belong in food. Ew, this makes me sick." Yes, sweetie - me too.
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