Taco Bell Update

So I just received my current issue ( February 7, 2011) issue of Time Magazine and they have a very informative article Titled "Fast Food: What's in your taco?".

In this article they also detail the current lawsuit against Taco Bell regarding what is actually in their taco meat. To remind you the USDA requires 40% fresh meat when an item is labeled "Taco Meat Filling. (If it is labeled ground beef it needs to be 70% beef with no more than 30% fat). According to this lawsuit, the claim is that Taco Bells meat is only 35% beef. Taco Bell denies this and claims that their beef is 88% meat.

What I learned from this article that really shocked me was the detailed list of what the other ingredients are in the meat. According to Time Magazine, one such ingredient is "Silicon Dioxide" . Silicon Dioxide is finely ground pure SAND (that's right sand) added to many products, including table salt, that makes the mixture easier to pour. This list does also include some recognizable seasonings, including salt, chili pepper, and onion powder but also some that you cant get at Jewel including isolate oat product, maltodextrin, and soy lecithin.

Now to give Taco Bell some credit, they are not the only ones to blame nor should they be the only one made to run for the border (little Taco Bell humor). They are not the only food chain to include additives and preservatives into their food. According to Time, a federal judge once called McDonald's Chicken McNugget a "McFrankenstein creation". (Side note: Peta has a marketing line that includes pictures of chickens and the slogan is "I am not a nugget"-I didn't realize how true that it until now)

This is why I will continue to promote cooking at home, buying local (whenever possible), and reading the labels of the foods that you buy. When you cook at home you are in control of what goes into your food. Not only that, you become in control of what does not go into your food. We are being allowed to be sold half truths regarding our food. We are being attracted to food with labels that may or may not be correct. And the agencies that we trust to monitor this appear to have just as low standards.

36% beef--64% Other

When I was a kid my best friend and I always made jokes regarding what was in Taco Bell's taco beef. Was it actually cow or some other mixture of animal meat? We never thought that this was actually a valid question. What is in the beef?
Well apparently we have an answer. According to a recent article on yahoo news
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110125/ts_yblog_thelookout/attorneys-question-whether-what-taco-bell-calls-beef-is-actually-beef)
Taco Bell is being sued for making false claims regarding the content of their tacos. According to the lawsuit, Taco Bells claims that their tacos are filled with beef when in fact they are really only 36% beef 64% other.

Now I know what you are thinking. Why does this Vegan care about how much beef is actually in their Tacos? My answer is I don't. What I do care about is the colorful labeling that is allowed on the food that we eat. Apparently the USDA only requires at least 40% meat for meat to qualify as meat.( I know what a lot of "meats") 40%!! Thats not even half. That seems crazy to me.

It makes me wonder what other half truths we are being told when it comes to our food?

We look to labels to tell us everything about what we are eating. Organic or not. Calorie, salt, fat amount. Amount of nutrients. Ingridient list. Even where the food is made. If the labels are incorrect or if the labels do not tell the whole story, than what do we as consumers use to make educated choices regarding what we feed ourselves and our family?

Visit my YouTube Channel-First Video has been posted!!

Yeah it took all day, but my first YouTube video ("Introduction and Desert Essence Review") has been uploaded to my CrunchyandHappy YouTube Channel. Please watch, comment, subscribe and look for upcoming videos.

Ode to Breastfeeding

I wanted to let you all know about the Joys of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding has been getting on lot of news time lately due to the many benefits. I am also starting to see more women breastfeeding everywhere that I go. I don't knock or judge any women's decision on how to feed her child, but I will say that breastfeeding was one of the best decisions that I ever made. I wanted to give you all my top 10 reasons to breastfeed.

1. Its Free. Need I say More? I have a friend that says that she pays $7 a day in formula for her 4 month old. That's $210 a month, $2510 a year in formula. That means that my tatas are making me $2510 a year minimum.

2. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends it

"Human milk is the preferred feeding for all infants, including premature and sick newborns... It is recommended that breastfeeding continue for at least the first 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mutually desired."
(See A.A.P. Breastfeeding Policy Statement: Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk (RE9729))

3. Breastfeeding means less things to carry when traveling. When my little one and I go out I don't have to worry about bringing along formula, bottles, extra bottles, bibs, and extra nipples.

4. Breastfeeding provides the perfect nutrition for my son. Breast milk naturally changes in nutrition, consistency, and amount as the needs of your little one changes.

5.Breast milk contains immunities to diseases and aids in the development of baby's immune system. My son is 10 months and has yet to develop any colds or infections (knockonwood).

6. Breastfeeding helps the mother lose her pregnancy weight and also helps her uterus shrink back down to pre-pregnancy size. Breastfeeding requires about 500 calories a day. (Side Note I lost all of my baby weight within 3 months of my son birth)

7. Breastfeeding  reduces the risk of obesity in children later in life.

8. Breastfeeding produces fewer waste products. No Packaging to throw so breastfeeding helps the baby, the mother, and the environment.

9. Its free (I had to say this one again)

10. Breastfeeding Its what Tatas where made for!!

Vegan 1st Birthday Party!!

Hola!

So my son's first birthday is in March and I have already begin the planning for this joyous occasion. It is going to be a vegan farm animal party. Sounds like an oxymoron?

Well I'm vegan and my hubby is vegan for the year (I'll explain his project in a later post) and so it only seems fitting that our son will have a vegan party. The theme is farm animals because we call him our farm baby. (Back story. I interned at the Farm Sanctuary in 2009. I came back from the internship preggos ergo "farm baby".) I love to bake and I love to expose people to vegan cooking as well, so this is the perfect place to do so. My MIL will be making chocolate cupcakes from a recipe that she found in a Vegetarian Times magazine and since My husband is Colombian I have to include some good Colombian foods, including rice, plantains, and arepas. I also plan on making a good vegan birthday cake.

Farm Sanctuary, Watkins Glen, NY

The best part of the party. PRESENTS!! (JK....No seriously) Hopefully our son will come home with a bucket load of clothes (HINT HINT to family and friends reading this) otherwise he will be spending his 2nd year on this earth naked.  

I know that my son won't even know that this party is for him nor will he even remember the day, but I want to make it special because 1 year ago in March his birthday became one of the most special days of my life.

Any birthday party suggestions?

Crunchiness?

So what does crunchiness mean?

 It refers to the term granola which according to Urban Dictionary is, "An adjective used to describe people who are environmentally aware (flower child, tree-hugger), open-minded, left-winged, socially aware and active, queer or queer-positive, anti-oppressive/discriminatory (racial, sexual, gender, class, age, etc.) with an organic and natural emphasis on living, who will usually refrain from consuming or using anything containing animals and animal by-products (for health and/or environmental reasons), as well as limit consumption of what he or she does consume, as granola people are usually concerned about wasting resources. Usually buy only fair-trade goods and refrain from buying from large corporations, as most exploit the environment as well as their workers, which goes against granola core values."

I love how it says "Granola Core Values!" Anywho...

This blog is not just for people who are 100% granola. This blog is for any who would like to add some crunchiness into their lives. From how we spend our money, parenting, clothes, work, beliefs, the environment, and of course my favorite topic FOOD.

So I hope that you enjoy and that we learn and grow together. And most importantly that be all become a little more crunchy and happy.