Wednesday February 3 2016  OUT OF TOUCH

It is always so difficult to publicly confess my shortcomings.  But today I have a confession to make.  I am out of touch with reality.  Not every aspect of reality!  The discovery of being out of touch happened this morning when I read the food ads in the newspaper.  You see, we only take the Wednesday and Sunday paper because it usually takes me all week to just get through those.  Usually I throw away most food adds because I know where I like to shop that consistently has the best pricing.  My favorite place for small items, fresh items, in season items, and often organic items, is a little hole in the wall store, called Aldi’s.  I don’t believe it is a national chain, however I did come across a few Aldi’s in other states.  Perhaps some of my readers may be aware of Aldi’s, or even shop there in their own hometown.

Today I read several ads from other stores.  The price differences amazed me.  Especially when I opened Hy-Vee’s “sale” paper.  I just couldn’t imagine spending so much money on some of the exact same products that I can buy so much more affordable at Aldi’s.  I don’t mean to talk negatively about any store, especially Hy-Vee.  Hy-Vee is one of the most beautiful stores you will ever walk into.  It is clean, spacious, well laid out, displays beautiful produce, and even has an occasional low cost product of some sort.  I go there for one reason.  To buy my frozen Brussels sprouts.  I get the best prices in town there.  So I go to Hy-vee’s, buy about 10 bags of Brussels sprouts, and don’t need to go back for another two or three months.  It’s sure pretty to walk through, but I would not want to pay for a full cart of groceries. 

Even their ads are extremely beautiful and mouthwatering.  I say:  Be cautious of beautiful ads.  First page:  packaged pizza, canned soda, assortment of beer, potato chips, crackers, and the token live food choice, an avocado.

Second page, more chips and more chips, and Velveeta, BBQ sauce, Wing Sauce, Little Smokies, more crackers, M&M’s, salty peanuts, and fried and battered chicken products; Parmesan garlic Wings, Value pack Hy-Vee chicken wings, Big Bad Buffalo Wings, and Serrano and Jam wings.  Most in thick syrupy red sauces.  And so on the ad goes.  More beer, more crackers, more chips and cheese dips.  Oh, don’t forget, more sodas.  By this time I am not even looking at the pricing any longer.  I’m just wondering where the real food is.  These are newspaper size sheets for each page of the ad.  It has 8 sides.  Finally, on the last full page spread I come across a little portion at the top left that actually advertises REAL FOOD. 

Perhaps I should give you my definition of “REAL FOOD”.  My definition includes that which is fresh, or sometimes frozen, in its natural state.  Food that still has live enzymes that connect with the live enzymes of my body.  Real food is that which has not had the nutrition entirely cooked away which is then substituted with “fortified vitamins and minerals”.  It is food that has not been baked, dipped, smothered in sauces, pasteurized, homogenized, cooked to death, covered with MSG or artificial flavorings, food coloring, or salted.  Do I buy things that aren’t alive?  Yes, I do.  I buy dehydrated spices and seasonings.  I buy whole grain bread products, and I even buy fresh roasted COOKED CHICKENS!  But, when I look at a newspaper ad, the first place I turn to (which is usually the front cover of the ad paper) is to see what produce is available at the best price.  Hey, I actually became excited this morning when I read that cauliflower has come down from $2.89 a head to $.99 a head!  And of course that price was at Aldi’s.  Even Aldi’s has been high priced on cauliflower this year.

I shop for produce more frequently in the winter.  During the spring, summer, and fall, I plan our meals in accordance as to what comes in our Farm Box each week.  After accessing what I have to work with, I create my menu, make a list of what I need to pick up at the store to fill in for my recipes, and that’s about all I need to buy.  I buy certain things in bulk at Costco, such as roasted chicken, prunes, walnuts, organic grains, coconut oil, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil.  I come home, make pots of soup, freeze most of it, and then we feast from our freezer all winter.  So pretty much what I need in the winter is just salad greens, veggies, fresh fruits, nut, grains, and dried beans.  

The back page of  theHy-Vee’s ad was more of the same.  Everything already cooked and prepared, lots of sauces, lots of carbs, Blue Bunny ice cream (which I love but don’t buy), diet Coke, and a free Propel drink with purchase of 2 Gatorade 8 packs.  I can see now why food costs so much.  It must take a lot of workers to run the computers to prepare so much pre-made products.  I think I’ll stick to blueberries, cauliflower, and Brussels Sprouts.

After being assailed by the beautiful ad pages in the newspaper, I can see why people would want to buy it.  It looks beautiful, probably tastes good to those who are used to eating highly seasoned and salty foods, easy to prepare, and easy to buy.  But, I will admit, I was totally blindsided by what I saw.  I guess I am out of touch with reality, or just plain getting too old to realize all the nuances of the young generation who are too busy with children, careers, homes, and jobs, to cook.  

Quite a few people have shared the fact that they eat out most nights.  I know young families that go to fast food places several times a week due to time constraints.  And some younger friends have simply confessed the fact that they weren’t taught how to cook, have no interest in learning to cook, and would just rather stop and pick something up.  And unfortunately, these are sometimes the very families that are in the throws of financial crisis.  How sad is it that our society seems to no longer deem the value of the family dinner table.  In my opinion, the kitchen is the heart of the home.  I knew one mom (this is the absolute truth) who proudly told me that her stove top had never even been turned on since she and her husband married.  At this time she had one daughter about 2 or 3 years old.  Actually, she said, she had never used any of her kitchen except the coffee machine and microwave.  It was very clean and very sparse.  Their home was in an exclusive, high-end development.  When I was there I could feel the sadness of that kitchen.  It was a completely decked out, state of the art kitchen which was extremely beautiful, but had no purpose.

Food, REAL FOOD that is, brings me joy.  We are all different.  We all have different interest which bring us joy.  I am really glad that one of mine is creating wonderful meals in the kitchen.  And what makes it even greater now, is the fact that Dave is home, and has taken over cleaning up after I cook.  It is not usually too bad because I keep cooking pots washed up as I go, but it is still a great help and benefit to my time.  His motto to me is, you cook, I clean.  NICE!

Hey, I have gone on and on about something, that more than likely, everyone else was already aware of.  I must admit, my eyes were never opened quite so wide as they were this morning.  Seriously.  I also enjoy looking into other carts to see what others purchase.  I’ve always thought, that what is in the cart, tells a lot about what is going on in a person’s life.  I thought I could guess when someone was having a party by all the chips and hot-dogs, and boxed pizzas, and beverages, and desserts piled high.  One day I said to the lady behind me, “Looks like a fun party coming up.”  She looked at me, then looked at her cart (loaded with all the above mentioned foods), and said casually, “Actually no, I have three teenagers at home and this is what they like to eat.”  Unless something was hidden on the bottom of the cart I did not see one bag of salad greens, no other vegetables, and no fresh fruit.  That was an eye opener. I have learned that I may not be able to guess the intent of anyone’s purchase, but I still like to peek.

If you have an Aldi’s close by, go in and check it out if you haven’t already.  It can save you a lot of money, and they have good sales each week. The sale goes from Wednesday through the following Tuesday.

 

EACH DECISION IS IMPORTANT

By Kathleen Martens

February 3, 2016

 

Though money is a factor

When you shop for food.

It is more what you buy

That concocts your mood.

 

Be careful of the colorful ads

Designed to entice desires.

What you put in your mouth

Can really make you tired.

 

Be careful little mouth

About everything you eat.

Regardless how much you cram in

Your needs it may not meet.

 

Look for that which will die

If unattended in your fridge,

And it will build a strong body

And will be your healthy bridge.

 

Fruits, vegetables, and salads greens

May not be on everyone’s plate.

But if they are on yours,

It determines a better fate.

 

For God is the creator

Our body designed with perfection,

He also created live food

Positioned for our detection.

 

That which grows on trees,

On bushes, and in the ground,

Is the table that God prepared

To make us healthy and sound.

 

So stop and give pause

To all you ingest each day.

Each decision is important.

Consequences you will pay.

 

Every day a building block

For tomorrow, next week, next year.

And it really makes a difference

When older age is looming near.

 

As I sat at the breakfast table and looked at the ads, I knew I had to write about what I was looking at.  Do not let your eyes deceive you.  The beautiful food ads are just a small part of what is happening to our society.  Family values are rapidly dissolving, there is pressure to buy what we cannot afford, instant gratification seems to be the norm, and we as a society are drifting toward socialism.  Oh how sad it will be, when the younger generation wakes up when they are older, and realizes how their decisions of today have spun a tight web of deception around them.  I won’t go into the political aspects of what I could say, but I am grieved when I remember the values our country was founded on, and now realize where we are progressively headed, and how quickly we are getting there.  But I know that God is in control and I believe His clock is ticking, preparing for the return of our Lord and Savior.

Just as Judas was the one to betray Christ, there are also Judas’s in place to betray our country.  It has already started happening,   I believe that what is happening in the world, is on God’s timeline.  It says in the Bible that God is the one that allows which rulers to rule.  His plan is in action.  My prayer is not for just one person to rise to the top, but that God would put the one person in place that is to be used to better further His plan.  I pray for His perfect will.  And actually, it may possibly be the one, I would least likely choose.  But, I know whoever is elected, it will be for the purpose of God’s timeline.  Regardless what happens,  I need not fret or worry.  My hope is in God.

Blog became too long.  I must close.

FUN FACT:

The tooth is the only part of the human body that cannot heal itself.

My comment:  And that is too bad, because they are sure expensive to repair. 

 

It is only 10:32 a.m.  My blog is written! 

 

So, if you read this tonight: GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS YOU!

If you read it today:  Have a great day and God bless  you!