This post was first published exactly a year ago and I think that more than ever, it’s so relevant.
Getting children to eat less sugar may be a laudable goal, but what are the children to be protected from? The candy and sugar-coated cereals that lead to tooth decay? Or the inability or refusal of their parents to say no? The food products will still be there, sitting on the shelves of the local supermarkets after all, no matter what happens to the commercials. So the proposal, in reality, is designed to protect children from the weaknesses of their parents—and the parents from the wailing insistence of their children. That, traditionally, is one of the roles of a governess—if you can afford one. It is not a proper role of government.
That was culled from an article on The Post which argued that instead of asking Government to regulate the industry and stop manufacturing giants from killing us and our children softly with their sugar/salt/fat-laden foods, we should TRAIN the parents to be disciplined enough to make the BETTER choice for their kids, even in the face of temptation.
Phew.
In this blog, I hope I provide you with practical info that helps you make better choices for our children, because honestly, our children deserve better.
A better legacy, literally
Hey Moms,
I pray you are doing well. Spirit, soul and body.
You know I gotcha, right?
On this blog, we provide content that can help you live your BEST life at home, tackling many areas covering your spiritual life, planning, reading, parenting, being a godly wife, and so much more.
I also have a YT channel, which also provides amazing content on Faith, Family and Fitness, and the video I just published which goes hand in hand with this blog is a particularly good one.
Rethinking Convenience: 5 things to note
For the purpose of this blog, let us define convenient foods, before we delve into 5 that we need to throw out of our kitchen and pantry right NOW.
A convenient food, typically, is a complete meal that has been pre-prepared commercially and so requires minimum further preparation by the consumer.
“Convenience foods make life easier”
The bad news is, it may be convenient for your time, but it is not convenient for your health and life.
Convenience comes at a high cost, and news flash, the company wasn’t thinking so much about making your life easier for you. It was taking advantage of you to make more money for itself, knock out competition and keep you addicted as a heavy user.
It’s all about the money mama, and I won’t let my sisters be VICTIMS !!
Ok, here are 5 of the many ‘convenient foods’ we need to dispense with
- Fries
PS; The event I told you about which I’m organizing for Domestic queens like you is fast approaching.
I won’t stay too much on this point because I did a whole dedicated post on fries and the dangers of store-bought ones.
The dangers of store-bought frozen French fries
A teaser
One thing I have learned in popular fads especially unhealthy foods is that there is nothing casual or coincidental about it. Manufacturers and advertisers jointly create very well-curated steps that ensure that you see these products as vital for life, and then when you taste it, you are hooked. It is even amplified when this is aimed at kids because they are very impressionable and gullible, which is normal at their age. The main reason why they need their parents (moms) to be healthily cynical. (I just made up that term and I love it lol).
Today, French fries are so ubiquitous that soon I fear it will even be added as a side dish to eba and egusi soup. (A Nigerian delicacy)
You can cut and slice your own potatoes, Mom.
Cut out distractions from your life, and see how much time you save to invest in old-fashioned home values we should never have let Manufacturers rob us of in the first place.
2. Ketchup (a sorry companion of fries)
Phew!!!
First, let’s ask ourselves Moms, is tomato that sweet? So how come ketchup is sweet? Shouldn’t it even make us ask questions?
Let me let you in on a little manufacturing secret
Of course, you already know that sugar is added to ketchup, but what you didn’t know is that the more sugar they add (which is SO BAD for our health but cheaper), the less real tomatoes they have to use, as it provides bulk to the mix.
So they get to spend less, and make more money off you, while providing very little nutrition-wise This article didn’t mince words when it said that thing causes diseases.
Bet You Didn’t Know These Diseases Tomato Ketchup Was Causing
Just make your own stews and sauces for sides, moms.
3. Sausages
Another ‘food’ I took the pains to do a dedicated blog post on.
Isn’t it funny how real meat takes more time to cook, and is not as sweet as sausages, yet we embrace it because it is convenient.
No, these things ought not to be and I hope you toss that crap out after reading this.
An excerpt…
Is it really an ajebo thing?
Like most of us, I had planned ahead to feed my kids sausages and chips when I had them.And thanks to well-curated marketing, it looked like the ajebo (high class) thing to do. As an adult, I found it delicious and sadly addictive. I start with one and end up eating 7 pan-fried sausages. Thankfully as I have paid more attention to my eating first as an informed human, and next as an informed mom, I am making better choices on behalf of my kids that give life, rather than take life away from them.
How are sausages prepared?
4. Noodles
A personal ex-addiction And maybe the ‘chief’ of all convenient foods in Nigeria, both for adults and children.
Breaking my Noodles addiction was HARD.
I had to go cold turkey for 3 months first, and then extended it for 6 months. I wanted to completely lose the taste and desire for it, as I was eating it daily, sometimes twice a day.
And yes, it is created to be addictive, yet it has been processed to nutritional nothingness, literally
With a high amount of sodium, fat, and calories, noodles are also laced with artificial colors, preservatives, additives and flavorings.
Everything is curated to make you addicted.
I have a post here on how to fortify your Instant noodles, and the first thing to do is throw away the seasoning.
CoachE’s FORTIFIED noodles…A Recipe
Here is a short excerpt
I hardly do this one but if I am feeding noodles to my kids, especially a baby (which I don’t), then I would have to fortify with Irish/Sweet potato and then boiled egg or fish. I would mash it all in and then feed the child. That super complex Carb and then the complete amino acid that egg provides as the protein OR the Omega 3 your oily fish is bringing to the table makes it super fortified for both adults and kids.
5. Pancake Mix
My goodness, how did we even get here?
I mean, pancakes are so easy to make, so why are we looking for convenience?
It makes me start to think that this is not only about convenience but it’s a social statement. Because this one makes little to zero sense.
I like what this Huff Post article said about Pancake mix and I am echoing them.
The one ingredient that is found in the pancake mix that most of us don’t want served on our morning plates is the partially hydrogenated oil. It’s basically the manufactured form of trans-fat, and we all know how bad trans fat is for us. If you don’t, you should know that it raises your bad cholesterol, lowers your good cholesterol, and is generally bad news for your heart.
So make your own pancakes, skip the trans-fat in lieu of butter and enjoy a better tasting breakfast.
Like I said, I have a YT video that delves deeper into Convenience and five reasons we should rethink it.
Rethinking Convenience; 5 things to note
I talk about how it is really at a cost, how some things take time (and we can find joy in the process), and how we can create our own convenience without outsourcing it to the processed food industry, and allowing ourselves to be victims of greed, marketing and competition.
Like the quote at the start of this blog said, we cannot wait for government regulations. We have to take responsibility and declare WAR ON JUNK in our homes.
You got this and I am on your side.
To your best convenient life,
Eziaha
P.S
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