Not so Sweet Surprise

Not so Sweet Surprise that the corn industry, by way of the Corn Refiners Association, is up in arms. Apparently the backlash against High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) has caused them to get two websites going and I recently saw my second commercial today. The first pro-HFCS commercial had me absolutely flabbergasted and falling back on the couch. The biggest problem with the Popsicle she's pushing in the park is there is nothing in it that really belongs in your body! Red #40, anyone? YUM!

The commercials essentially say it's OK to make fun of people who are choosing to consume as little HFCS as possible; saying 'it's ok in moderation'. Sure, anything is OK in moderation, including arsenic – but that doesn't mean you should go ahead and consume a ton of it. Which is something they don't mention; it's in EVERYTHING – you basically cannot get away from HFCS.

If you want to be able to eat store-bought food, you essentially have to be a detective to find anything on the shelf that does not contain HFCS. They talk about how it's great – the same as sugar and honey AND it acts as a preservative. Unfortunately, the preservative use has exploded the use of High Fructose Corn Syrup, causing the average American to consume far too much.

They say 'it's natural'. Yes, natural and PROCESSED to oblivion. To paraphrase Michael Pollan in Omnivore's Dilemma: Essentially all of our processed food is made of corn in some sort of fashion. If all you're food has corn in it, there is no way to moderate you're intake.

And in this pro-HFCS article they insist that Moms shouldn't worry about what the kids eat, so much as the caloric count of what they eat. So, maybe a 50 cal pre-made dessert with HFCS instead of a 50 cal banana?! That really doesn't make sense. In this pro-HFCS commercial, one mom is pouring grape drink for a kid's party. How about this – some REAL grape juice or apple juice? Why does it have to be fake?

Now, I like Popsicles and other not-so-healthy foods like any other person. But don't insult my intelligence by saying that it's perfectly fine in moderation - especially since moderation is impossible when it is essentially included in every processed food you eat.

Clothesline Challenge Update

We've done really well with the clothesline. Back when we first started, I thought we had left some clothes at my mother-in-laws or perhaps just a random location. Where were they? I found them in the dryer about 2 months later.

We've only had to use the dryer once since we started using the line. It was raining EVERY FREAKING DAY and the littlst man had NO clothes. So, into the dryer they went - don't judge.

I am worried about this winter. We don't get crazy cold winters here, but to me it's still very cold. I also don't know how long they will take to dry. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Laundry Detergent Update

I had a comment from Joy asking if you can use the laundry detergent in the new HE machines. That what Shinerman and I have and it works just fine, not had any problems. One piece of advise: Keep the door to the place where you put the detergent in open. You'll probably need to smush (very technical scientific term, yes?) the detergent when the water starts flowing. My first load had about a third of the detergent caked in the cup after the wash was done. The clothes came out fine and we didn't rewash them.

Another thing I did was buy one of those Downy balls. I'm not sure our machine really understands that I want to use the fabric softener cup, and we haven't been able to figure out how to make it work since we bought the machine. I put some lemon essential oil in my white vinegar bottle and use the vinegar as fabric softener.

I put the lemon in there because, apparently, I don't enjoy the smell of the outdoors. When I get the clothes off the line, all I smell is "little outdoor boy" smell - not pleasant. But I'm please to say that not only are my line-dried clothes softer, but they also smell like lemon - yummy.

Full disclosure - the towels are still crunchy. Not as crunchy, but still crunchy nonetheless. We've learned to deal with it, so can you!


Happy laundry day to you!!