Food Fight Diary. A Mix

*
That "according to Mc Donalds" list of ingredients looks more like a menu - bun, mayo - are not "ingredients" they are prepared food items and their content is not broken down to ingredients.. Same could be suspected about 100% beef patty- the ingredients are not broken down there. You can name it all you want - "200% beef!!" - it is a title, not ingredient list. It's all about the "legal issues" - "100 % beef in the patty" does not actually guarantee that this beef is the only ingredient. Their tricky statement allows to leave unpunished, let's say this ingredient list: 45% of "100% beef", 50 % of soy protein, 5 % of crazy chemicals.. The real thing would be: "patty ingredients: 100 % beef - 100%" ... Till you see that - you can't sue them,
and you are in danger...

*
Scary stuff goes beyond Mc D... Any prepared food you get anywhere contains chemicals - this is a huge money-saving machine... You REALLY start realizing the seriousness of it though, when you start becoming ill from one or many food additives, pin point which ones exactly make you sick, and start trying to avoid the foods containing them. Well, the first shock you get is that , even "pure" "real" "100%" "old fashioned" titled foods contain chemical additives, declared or often, undeclared. Then, you realize, it is legal to leave chemicals undeclared if they do not effect the caloric value of the food. Desperate to stop getting sick from every simple thing you get in the store, you start cooking yourself. THAT is a good thing.

*
"Looked up lanolin - "used as an emulsifier of water and fats"... this is dangerous... wherever there's an emulsifier - there is "human interference"... Used to buy non-ultra-pasteurized milk version for cheese-making... ((("

*
"I had to give up having olive oil about a year ago - with soy & corn allergy, I was reacting even to "extra virgin" olive oil. Needless to say i knew what was happening right away. Good to learn that somebody is actually trying to do something about it!!!!"

*
"Russian-grown buckwheat makes nice tasting burgers. American brands have a different texture & flavor - do not recommend those. Just boil the grain in moderate amount of water (covered with lid) until soft and dry (water evaporates), add salt, spices (onion & black pepper are good with it). use blender to make a glue-like mass, form rounded buns, cover them in flour or bread crumbs and fry in a pan in hot oil, each side until brown. They might be a bit soft, flip & pick up with care, and do not make them large and thick. the less water you use to cook and the slower you cook the grain, the harder the burgers will come out. if the water boils out before the grain is soft, add half a cup of water into the pot, so the grain gets steamed well. i-net address for good quality buckwheat:

*
"I DO have a butter allergy!! I react to butters bought in US supermarkets, but my allergies are actually limited to soy, corn gluten, annato... Very naive to think that all of a sudden the butter you get in the store is going to be REAL & PURE..."

*
"That's just what life is like for people with allergies. I get some positive out of it - soy and it's "by-products" are not good for you; GMO, filled with chemicals, exposed to led, etc. - I don't want any part of it anyway.. i prefer to be warned by my body... )))))"

*
"It's a fact, pre-made foods & dishes contain soy. soy lecithin, for instance, is very popular to use when you dilute the recipe with water - it keeps any mixture homogenized, even fat "dissolves" in water with help of soy lecithin (chocolate bar, anyone?).. Just add more water and a cheap chemical - you sell twice as much product)))) There IS a different kind of lecithin - egg lecithin - could do the job in a similar way, but eggs are way too expensive. Nobody is going to use real ingredients, if they are allowed to have more affordable replacements, NOBODY..."

*
"Happy to support your idea. Soy producers are flooding countries all over the world with their "miracle food", sadly.... Even in my home country (Kazakhstan) now there are thousands of imported food items that contain soy.. Hopefully starting with initiatives like yours, things can be changed.... You mentioning the taste of the REAL food put a smile on my face, as one of many examples came to my mind: when pizzas, hot-dogs, hamburgers were first introduced in the "cafes" back home (about 10 years ago) they tasted NOTHING like their American "relatives", it was just REAL bread and meat, bread and cheese bread and tomato taste, nobody could understand WHY are those dishes such a big deal in the world:).. P.S.: Thanks for mentioning Robyn O'Brien, I'll look into it."

*
"Alter-e soy-free chocolate gave me a reaction, watch out for it, guys!"

*
"I think a "soy-free day" is a great idea - seems like most of the people would have to fast : ), but it can make non-allergic consumers realize that they are tricked into eating amounts of soy they would never choose to eat knowingly.. Plus it will show them how scarce good food is and make them wanna put money in the "real thing". Ideally."

*
"Sorry to hear that. I have a similar problem. In the long term you can try to see it as a chance to discover new dishes and foods and invent your own flavors... And loose appetite for those foods that give you problems. I'm learning to cook separately for me, or to cook things I can eat for everybody (this one is easier) Replace "bad" meets with alternatives - lamb, beef, fish? Mayo - i do not use it, make my own sour cream from whole milk instead... etc... good luck!"

*
"i've been making my own chocolate bars for a year now, its great! Everything I purchased with "soy free" mark sadly gave me a reaction. It's easy - you can get cocoa butter and cocoa powder online, melt cocoa butter in a pot, in boiling water bath (maybe microwave does the job too), mix in cocoa powder until thick as honey , sugar, anything else you wanna add, taste it, adjust, and temper the mixture several times by heating it up till it gets liquidy and cooling it off while mixing till it thickens a bit. After the last heating session pour it in a container with non stick surface (foil works) and put it in the freezer till completely solid. then use as regular chocolate bar. the more times you temper it the more solid your bar is gonna be. keep in mind that without emulsifiers the texture can be a bit different, like specks of sugar giving it a bit of a crunch,etc, but it's still a great taste!"


*
This milk may be a great buy for people who don't make cheese and have no food allergies.

Unfortunately, it was a waste of money. I relied on a positive review, hoping to make cheese with this milk. It does not act or taste like pure powdered milk should.
It does not make a curd at all.

Additionally, the powder has some inclusions in it, small purple seeds (grains), when dissolved in water- it becomes soapy, and tastes soapy too.. Probably mixed with one of those "gums" or "beans" to give a no-fat product a more "creamy" (comes out as soapy) flavor.

I give it one star, because the producer of this milk does not indicate the full ingredient list of his milk and tricks customers like me into buying it relatively cheaply, but with a no-return "catch".

*
This product… Got it for home cheesemaking. I add it to barely warm non-ultra-pasteurized store-bought whole milk, let it sit for an hour or so, for it to dissolve, stirring occasionally - and the result is more cheese, higher protein, less fat. makes very good cheese. My husband enjoys it. Unfortunately, I had an allergic reaction from this powdered milk, so a warning people with food allergies: it's not a "pure" product.


*
This powder has a refreshingly subtle, confection-like aroma; it is thinly ground. I've used it to make my own solid chocolate bars - it worked very well, the chocolate tastes creamier and less bitter, then with my usual organic brand. I think this cocoa can be used specifically for making solid candy bars. Food allergy sufferers can appreciate it: soy free chocolate. I found myself allergic to any factory or specialty gourmet chocolate bars even if they swore in written "never use emulsifiers" "soy free" "100% chocolate" etc (some of those "cheater" brands later started indicating soy lecithin in their ingredients). Well, you can use this powder to make your own chocolate. It's a simple process. Just get good quality cocoa butter, use boiling water bath to melt it in, mix in enough cocoa powder to thicken the liquid a bit, add sweetener of your choice, maybe powdered milk - taste it and adjust any flavoring - and here the magic starts - heat the mixture up in the boiling water bath till it gets more liquid-y (about 5 min) and cool it off while stirring till it thickens somewhat (about 2-3 min). Repeat at least 3-4 times; after the last heating pour it in a non-stick container (or any container laid with non-stick foil) and put it in the freezer until completely solid (an hour maybe). You can take it out of the freezer later and just keep is in the fridge. Depending on the air temperature you can keep it out of the fridge. P.S.: The more times you change the mixtures' temperature and the better you stir it when cooling, the more solid chocolate bar comes out of it. Practice makes perfect and N N Cacao helps!