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Thread: I Challenge You!

  1. #1
    chefness
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    Lightbulb I Challenge You!

    * I'm not exactly sure where to put this so please feel free to move it*

    Here it is in plain english, a challenge - a dare -

    I ask you simply to think of your three most favorite things to eat on a daily/weekly basis. This could include pizza, chips, crackers, cereal, breads, soda, drinks, pre-packs meals, pastas, sliced meat, cheese, milk, yogurt - ANYTHING EDIBLE that you simply cannot live without.
    *(I originally posted this wirh omnis, carnis and vegges in mind - the same applies to substitutes)


    Now, look at the ingredients list on each of these three things. If you cannot pronounce all of the items listed - I challenge you to find out what those ingredients are . Perhaps they are things that you truely don't wish to be putting into your body, but had little to no idea of their presence in your day-to-day living.

    This is not to scare you from eating these items - just simply to educate yourself on what nourishment (or lack there of) you are fueling your body with.

    Once you have completed this task - if you are strong of soul - I dare you (triple-dog-dare, infact) to a) go without said item for 3 days and see if you truely do need it or b) seek out an alternative with ingredients that you can pronounce and which you know from whence they came.

    At the same time, try local - try fresh and try organic. I do so challenge you to live with what was given to us, not created to destroy us.

  2. #2
    RubyDuby
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    I would think most vegans already read the ingredients. lol
    Each snowflake in an avalanche pleads not guilty.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    i don't.
    "i'm rejecting my reflection, cause i hate the way it judges me."

  4. #4
    helen105281
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    BB not Helen




    Agree with RubyDuby. Read everything on them. If I don't know what they are I don't buy them.

  5. #5
    RubyDuby
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    Quote missbettie View Post
    i don't.
    orly? then missb, how do you know you're not eating animals?
    Each snowflake in an avalanche pleads not guilty.

  6. #6
    missbettie's Avatar
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    well duh i'm psychic. sheesh!

    JUUUUSSST kidding...although there are sometimes when I buy stuff and assume its vegan and forget to read the ingrediants... i've been unlucky a few times and have had to take the stuff back! d'OH!
    "i'm rejecting my reflection, cause i hate the way it judges me."

  7. #7
    Rocket Queen
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    What kind of a response did you get from omnis?
    I rarely eat anything I haven't made myself lol
    exceptions include plain popadums (lentil flour, dab of oil) and stock cubes! (salt, vegetables, spices/pepper etc)
    Make my own soup which I eat quite often.
    The greatest mistake is to do nothing because you can only do a little.

  8. #8
    buttons's Avatar
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    Quote missbettie View Post
    i don't.
    I only recently started checking the funny little numbers (additives). Turns out the crackers I had just bought contained fish derivatives! I then switched to stuff with simple, letter-filled ingredients lists.
    "Keep your friends close and your enemies so close... you're almost kissing."

  9. #9
    pat sommer's Avatar
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    I picked olive oil, garlic and marmite before I finished reading.... now I feel left out!
    the only animal ingredient in my food is cat hair

  10. #10
    chefness
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    I had alot of friends tell me that they canot live without pizza, but never realized that ingredients list was quite terrifying. The dough alone was bleached white flour with a whole list of additives...and then there was the pepperoni slices which almost compare exactly to the "Yyves" fakkeronni you can buy...Scary :S

    But most of my friends were actually quite concerned. Though I got the same response all over the board of "There's no time to make your own".

  11. #11
    baffled harpy's Avatar
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    Fake meats tend to have weird ingredients don't they? I wouldn't say they were in my top three foods though

  12. #12
    Knolishing Pob's Avatar
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    I'm not convinced that there is a strong correlation between the difficulty of pronouncing an ingredient and it's effect on health. Many ingredients have a variety of names, some simple, some complex. Many natural ingredients can be harmful.

    You should be aware of ingredients, what they are and where they come from. But I would suggest a more scientific approach.
    "Danger" could be my middle name … but it's "John"

  13. #13
    leedsveg
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    I'm sure I've seen some of the ingredients of my non-dairy creamer, used in fireworks.

    leedsveg

  14. #14

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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    ^ Scary

    I already do this when I read labels. If I don't know what it is, I don't buy it. But I like this challenge idea. I'm curious to hear how others have reacted to it.

  15. #15
    mwb's Avatar
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    Back when I used to eat pre-packaged prepared foods (the vegan ones), I went with the rule if the ingredient list was bigger than my thumb I wouldn't eat it.

  16. #16
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    ^^^ I like that! I find the less ingredients the better! I don't buy many prepared foods. Once you get into the habit of cooking, you get so much quicker at it, when I make pizza, it takes less then 30 minutes! And everything is fresh

    People just want more more more convenience instead of actually just putting in the effort themselves!

    I'm quite bad with reading labels as I forget what most things are anyway, and if I make a list of what everything is...I lose it!

  17. #17
    fortified twinkle's Avatar
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    Well, my top three are bread (which I make myself), some form of cooked potato, and chocolate (cocoa bean products and sugar, with maybe some vanilla).

    Hooray! I'm going to live forever!
    "If you don't have a song to sing you're okay, you know how to get along humming" Waltz (better than fine) - Fiona Apple

  18. #18

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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    I already do this

    I love having a smart phone so I can look up ingredients in the store. I try to stay away from long lists of ingredients and artificial ingredients in general, but there are exceptions.

  19. #19
    patientia
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    Do you guys know how much dihydrogen monoxide you consume each day? Dihydrogen monoxide is present in many food items, but rarely listed as an ingredient:
    http://www.dhmo.org/

    Ban DHMO!!!!1!

  20. #20
    Abe Froman Risker's Avatar
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    ^ Quite. I saw a news article recently about a cash award being offered for anyone that could name an ingredient that wasn't a chemical because of the amount of people that say they don't want chemicals in their food.

  21. #21
    Can't cook. Sarah_'s Avatar
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    Right. Has anyone ever noticed that the unhealthy, chemical-laden food is always the stuff that tastes the best? Taste-wise, I always prefer the store-bought stuff as opposed to homemade. Dunno why. Canned tom soup always tastes better than homemade, etc. etc.
    Either this wallpaper goes, or I do.

  22. #22
    RubyDuby
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    maybe bc that's what you're used to? Your taste buds are trained to prefer them.
    Last edited by RubyDuby; Feb 19th, 2010 at 05:00 PM.
    Each snowflake in an avalanche pleads not guilty.

  23. #23

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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    ^ Agreed!!!

  24. #24
    patientia
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    Why do caramelised/browned parts of food taste so good? Why? Why does fried food taste so good?

  25. #25

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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    it isn't all that hard. we should make more items ourselves from scratch. I know I do.
    I cannot believe people saying storebought tastes better.
    Go learn to cook! Teach your tastebuds a lesson

  26. #26
    patientia
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    I'm not going to deny it, store bought items taste damn good. Firstly, the manufacturers have access to the technology, additives and methods of improving organoleptic properties of food. I can't buy those additives (and machines). Secondly, they market only the products that tasters liked the best. Thirdly, they don't care about food's impact on health, so they can ad a lot of taaaasty sugar and fat, something we don't do at home, because we eat what we cook.

  27. #27

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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    I disagree..........I don't think they taste good but ok it's your thing but do you REALLY want to put all that crap into your body: additives, sugar, fat with the impact it will have on your health?

  28. #28
    patientia
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    Who says I do? BTW, additives aren't necessary bad. Vitamin C is an additive, E300.

  29. #29

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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    well, YOU said it. because you like storebought stuff, my conclusion is you eat it, and thus you eat also the additives, fats and sugar the manufacturers add to their products.

  30. #30
    patientia
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    I eat them very very rarely. But I don't deny that they taste god. Speaking about additives, I need sodium alginate, calcium chloride, some vegetable gums, nothing harmful.

  31. #31

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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    Store-bought items taste good. I'll admit it. But oh do they make me feel horrible after I've eaten them... I prefer to cook my own

  32. #32

    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    Quote baby_vicuña View Post
    Store-bought items taste good. I'll admit it. But oh do they make me feel horrible after I've eaten them... I prefer to cook my own
    Some do, some don't. I find that I go back to foods I loved in the past, and find them too sweet, salty or just not very flavoursome.

    On the other hand, there are some store bought foods that are very good. For example, I'm appalling at making bread, so store bought bread is always good for me

    Quote pat sommer View Post
    I picked olive oil, garlic and marmite before I finished reading.... now I feel left out!
    LMAO.

    I'm in the same boat... I had

    Peanut Butter (Peanuts, sunflower oil and salt)
    Black Beans (Ummm, beans and water )
    Yeast Extract (I've run out at the moment, but I think it's the same are Marmite yeast extract, salt, vegetable extract, niacin, thiamin, spice extracts, riboflavin, folic acid, celery extract, vitamin B12.)

    I used to loooooooveeeee Marmite, but use a supermarket brand instead as I don't want to buy from Unilever. Tastes pretty much the same and after a week of using it I totally didn't notice the difference.
    Quitting something because it's hard is wrong, and quitting something because it's wrong is hard. One takes cowardice, the other bravery.

  33. #33
    patientia
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    I had chickpeas, potatoes and chocolate, none of which have unpronouncable ingredients (actually, I'm not sure about pronouncing lecithin in English...).

  34. #34

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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    Quote Ms_Derious View Post
    Some do, some don't. I find that I go back to foods I loved in the past, and find them too sweet, salty or just not very flavoursome.
    Good point. I actually haven't had processed store bought food in almost a year, so I'm going off memory. I'd imagine if I tried some of the stuff I used to eat they'd be way too sweet, salty, etc.

  35. #35

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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    Quote patientia View Post
    I had chickpeas, potatoes and chocolate, none of which have unpronouncable ingredients (actually, I'm not sure about pronouncing lecithin in English...).
    Isn't lecithin an animal ingredient? Unless it says soy lecithen, I won't purchase the product.
    All about the animals, Lucia

  36. #36
    patientia
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    Yes, it can be derived from eggs, and also from other plants (I've seen canola lecithin in some product; some people avoid all soy believing it's all GM). Some chocolates contain PGPR, too, that can theoretically be animal derived.

  37. #37

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    Default Lecithen

    That's what I thought about Lecithin. It is not in many products so that it good. I did not know about Canola lecithin, but I use Canola oil here and there when I cook. About chocolate, isn't pure cocoa powder and pure dark chocolate vegan? I gave up sweets and junk food as a New Year's resolution. I fell off the wagon only once. I had 2 pints of vegan Coconut Ice Cream - one pint Plain Coconut and one pint Mint Coconut. Yummy! I am not on a diet, but I was eating too much vegan junk food (potato chips, pretzels) so I put "no more junk food" on my list of New Year's resolutions.
    Last edited by VeganLu; Feb 24th, 2010 at 08:24 AM. Reason: Added my comment about Canola oil
    All about the animals, Lucia

  38. #38
    Johnstuff's Avatar
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    I've heard a song that says canola oil is bad for you...I'd never heard of it before.

    VeganLu you're right cocoa is perfectly vegan, 'pure' dark chocolate should be vegan but sometimes they still add milk or some crap. I was caught out by green and blacks extra dark, there normal dark chocolate is/was vegan so I assumed the extra dark woul be too but it isn't.

    I'm eating bad stuff at the mo cuz I'm moving house and can't be arsed cooking till I've moved. When done I'm planning to eat much more healthy food and grow some of my own too.

  39. #39
    patientia
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    Yes, Lindt uses butterfat and cocoa butter instead of pure cocoa butter in some chocolates. Butter fat is cheaper, but, shouldn't Lindt chocolates then be cheaper than other dark chocolates?

    Canola oil is OK:
    http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/canola.asp

  40. #40

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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    Quote Sarah_ View Post
    Right. Has anyone ever noticed that the unhealthy, chemical-laden food is always the stuff that tastes the best? Taste-wise, I always prefer the store-bought stuff as opposed to homemade. Dunno why. Canned tom soup always tastes better than homemade, etc. etc.
    No, I generally don't like the really preservative-filled stuff. I can taste it, too. There's a bitter saltiness to it -- though part of that could just be all the extra salt. I don't even like most American chocolate for that reason. The taste gets all muddied up by additives.

    However, there are a few reasons why premade stuff tastes better sometimes. For one, they add far more salt, sugar, and/or fat than most people do when cooking at home. That's just about a given. Also, MSG. Most people do not add MSG when they cook stuff at home but it is in soooooo much stuff from stores and restaurants because it is a flavor-enhancer. And it's not always easy to spot on the labels, either, because it goes by a lot of names including "natural flavoring".

  41. #41
    patientia
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    MSG is naturally present in food like tomatoes and soy sauce. Many vegans add these when they cook.

  42. #42
    Mahk
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    Quote PlantsPlease View Post
    Also, MSG. Most people do not add MSG when they cook stuff at home but it is in soooooo much stuff from stores and restaurants because it is a flavor-enhancer. And it's not always easy to spot on the labels, either, because it goes by a lot of names including "natural flavoring".
    I was worried about that. "Natural flavoring" is found in many, many foods.

  43. #43
    Johnstuff's Avatar
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    Here's the link to the MSG/canola oil tune. (I posted it in the music thread before)
    I really like it

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1Kx-79cAxc

  44. #44

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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    Quote patientia View Post
    MSG is naturally present in food like tomatoes and soy sauce. Many vegans add these when they cook.
    I don't know that I'd say it's "naturally" present in soy sauce as I've never seen a bottle of Kikoman growing, but then I guess we could have a whole thread on what is "natural".

    As far as I know glutamic acid is found in those things, but that's not exactly the same thing as monosodium glutamate. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.) Of course, that doesn't mean they don't do the same things essentially.

    I don't really have a problem with eating MSG in small doses, though some people may have specific problems with it and glutamic acid even in "natural" foods like tomatoes (just as some people are allergic to strawberries).

    However, I think there is a difference in quantity between what you'll find in natural foods and what you'll find in a prepared meal (especially since a lot of Asian-style restaurant food -- at least in the U.S. -- adds soy sauce AND monosodium glutamate). It's like fruits contain fructose but typically less then you'll find in sugary drinks containing high fructose corn syrup. So, it'd be like saying, "Well, fructose appears naturally in fruits so it must be o.k. to drink in soda!" (Of course, that isn't the only thing wrong in soda, but it doesn't help and unfortunately some HFCS substitutes, like agave syrup, are even worse. And I guess there's plenty of other stuff wrong with restaurant food most of the time.)

  45. #45
    patientia
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    You are right, MSG is a sodium salt of glutamic acid, that might be a concern for those who have to watch their sodium intake. Glutamic acid/glutamate is what's tasting umami.

    Not everything natural is safe or good and that's not what I was trying to say, only that most vegans do use MSG (well, some glutamates/glutamic acid) from natural sources. Cyanide is natural, radioactive minerals are natural, death cap mushroom is natural...

  46. #46
    Staffy's Avatar
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    About the only processed items i eat right now would be soy ice cream, protien/soy sausages twice a week for the fortified b12 that's in em with lots of other goodies. I'm gonna check both of those closer. I usually don't eat anything that has a number listed in the ingredients or something ambiguous like "flavour" or "colour". I think if i found something in those sausages i'd still eat em as the benefits are real good

  47. #47

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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    Well the stuff I eat doesn't have lable, I only eat raw foods (potatoes, sweet potatoes, yucca, carrots, apples, papaya...) well you get the idea.

  48. #48
    rxseeeyse
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    Default Re: I Challenge You!

    yep, I will stop drinknig soft drinks all together.
    and yes, I cant live without rice or homemade soup or pita with falafal

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