Is Life “Uncrustable”?

Some of you have commented that this is off topic – Chiropractic Orthopedics and all – going on and on about fats and foods. However, there is a real slide underway, and I am trying to improve Vitality.  After all, what’s an orthopedically perfect body without VITALITY?  So this morning I read a nice excerpt from the book Make the Bread, Buy the Butter, by Jennifer Reese, about the value of making basic foods rather than buying shortcuts to basic items.  In the modern mode of living, many assume that we should simply buy the foods we need without pausing to ask, “Can we make this ourselves – and make it cheaper and better?

Now some time ago, I did a blog post praising Barbara Kingsolver’s book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, but I am not now suggesting we should all be raising our own heritage turkeys at home – in Sienna. But follow me for a moment. Reese’s new book was talking about the difference between Smucker’s “Uncrustables” pre-made frozen peanut butter sandwiches for child’s lunches, versus make-your own.  The short course is that the shortcut costs twice as much for half as big, and a fraction of the nutritional value.  Not to mention ingredients that possibly negate health.   So, have the shortcuts improved Quality of Life? I wonder – is life “Uncrustable”, and is that truly desirable?

Cut to my breakfast this Saturday morning, and we looked at the great ready-made biscuit dough we had purchased (from a very well-respected store, mind you…) and my daughter said, we should make these ourselves in 20 minutes!  Looking at the label on the , we see:  10 grams of fat, PER BISCUIT… (6 of which is Sat Fat (30% daily limit! 60% in two!) and 550 mg of sodium PER BISCUIT (24% daily limit!)… and I had TWO with my one egg. Yes, I salted the egg.  Yes, it was tasty. But if you look at the 20 minutes it takes to whip up (and clean up after) fresh biscuits – once you are set up to make them – versus buying the store-bought…  I get it. This is one sure-fire way to increase the quality of life, improve Vitality, and  enjoy it in the process. Read the book – eat a biscuit, and talk to me about this at your next appointment.