What is TBHQ?

On Wednesday, we looked into the enriched wheat flour in our peanut butter sandwich crackers. Today, I'm looking at the "TBHQ added for freshness".

What the heck is that?
TBHQ stands for tert-Butylhydroquinone. Sheesh, what a mouthful! It's added to foods like twinkies and chicken nuggets to keep them from going bad for a very, very long time. It's found in most fast food products. However, It's use is limited to less than 0.02% of the oil used in any given twinkie, so the amount you are ingesting (per food item) is very small.

Photo Credit

Should I be afraid of it?


In a word, yes. Lab tests have shown that if one gram of TBHQ is taken in, symptoms such as nausea, delirium and tinnitus appear. TBHQ has also been shown to aggravate emotional issues such as anxiety, restlessness and ADHD. In long term animal studies, it's caused cancerous precursors in the stomach and DNA damage. In addition, according to this source, it doesn't even have to be listed as an ingredient, so we may be ingesting way more than we think.

But don't go running into the streets screaming just yet.

Yes, this stuff seems to be terrible bad no good. I don't recommend eating it. However, at the concentration it's legally allowed, you're not going to kill yourself or your kids on one happy meal. The problem is, how many kids in America only eat one fast food meal a month, or even a week? Add to that the number of processed prepackaged snacks consumed and you've got quite a buildup.

What should I do?
As I suggested on Wednesday, find a good brand of 100% whole grain bread that you trust and make a plain ole Peanut butter sandwich or peanut butter apples. These don't take much work, and they're safer. Of course, make sure your peanut butter is made from good ingredients, too.

We should be avoiding fast food, snack cakes, and other prepackaged junk food as much as we possibly can, and this is just yet another good reason to do so.

Our bodies need food in the form it comes from the earth, with its original nutrition still intact. It takes some work in the beginning because you have to rethink your food routines, from shopping to cooking to mindless snacking. Can I tell you, it's well worth it? Meal plan, cook ahead, and keep plenty of fresh fruits and veggies handy. Educate yourself and notice how much better you feel when you eat properly.  One day, you'll look back and wonder why you didn't do this years ago.

I found my information for this post here, here, and here.

Sodium Benzoate - What is it?

See what happens when you start reading labels?

I found out that my soy sauce had something called sodium benzoate in it. I didn't really know what that was, or if it was something to be avoided, so I contacted my wise old friend, Mr. Wikipedia. His opinion is usually pretty balanced, even if he isn't respected in the classroom.

What is it?

Well, first of all, sodium benzoate is a preservative, that's why it's in there. In it's natural form, it's benzoic acid and can be found in many fruits. To be used in most packaged foods, it's neutralized with sodium hydroxide to make it more dissolvable, and it becomes sodium benzoate.

It's been found to be safe at levels of 647-825mg/kg per day. The FDA limits it's concentration in food to 0.1% by weight. So, just make sure you're only getting 647-825mg per kg of body weight each day and you should be fine.... but you may get a headache from all the calculating.

What's it in, besides soy sauce?


Usually, sodium benzoate is found in acidic food products such as salad dressings, carbonated beverages, jams, jellies and juices.

It's also found in fireworks and as fuel in whistle mix. Just so you know.

*Update - two different people asked me what whistle mix was, and I honestly wasn't sure so I looked it up. It's a pyrotechnic powder that makes a whistling sound when it's packed into a tube and ignited. Think bottle rockets.

So, is it bad for me, and what's it gonna do?


There are two concerns with sodium benzoate. When this chemical and ascorbic acid are mixed, they form benzene, a known carcinogen. Many soft drinks contain both ingredients, but the levels at which benzene is formed are very low. Therefore, one soda will not give you cancer, but a buildup over time is not a good idea. I know that ascorbic acid is a common food ingredient, so it's a pretty sure bet that any sodium benzoate I'm taking in is being combined with ascorbic acid to form benzene.

The other concern is that sodium benzoate, when combined with certain artificial colors can trigger hyperactivity. There is a lack of conclusive evidence on this one, though. I do know that food dyes have long been suspected to cause hyperactivity on their own.

What's the verdict? Should I throw my soy sauce away?


While I don't put sodium benzoate on the level of, say hydrogenated oils or refined sugar, I definitely say it's something to be cautious about. I won't be throwing out my soy sauce, but next time I buy, I'm going to check a few brands and see if I can find one that doesn't include any potential carcinogens. With cancer rates rising like they are today, I think it is wise to be careful when possible.

Carbonated sodas are never good for you. I just have more evidence for that now.

Oh, and don't eat any fireworks or whistle mix fuel, either.

Have you found any weird ingredients on your labels? I bet you have, if you've been looking!

Reading Your Food Ingredient Labels

Have you been reading your ingredients?

When I lived overseas, I couldn't read the labels on anything I bought. Consequently, I was often surprised to find that I had bought, say, red bean flavored ice cream instead of chocolate for example. Most of the time, I stuck to the simple stuff, like rice, noodles, and the fresh produce section.

I'm not sure I want to know what flavor this is....

Upon my arrival back to the U.S.A., when I could read the writing again, I was bombarded with claims on the front of every packaged food item at the grocery store. "Naturally Flavored" ginger ale and lemon-lime soda. "Fat Free" gummy bears. Everything was making some sort of health claim. I was appalled that all of these junk foods were claiming to be healthy, because I was also seeing that the majority of people at the grocery store were being duped! How's a person without a degree in nutrition to sort through it all?

Well, one easy way is to pick up that box/bag/carton, turn it around, and read that ingredient list. The ingredient list cannot legally lie to you.

But what am I looking for? You ask.

Well, for one thing, did you know that the ingredients are listed in order of amount? For example, if you buy a fruit snack that says "made with real fruit", but sugar is the first or second ingredient on the list, and the fruit is listed somewhere near the bottom, then you've really just bought and consumed mostly sugar with a little juice to make it marketable.

So, read those first few ingredients, and see if that's what you want to be made out of, if you really "are what you eat".

Whole wheat baked goods can fool you, too. Unless they are made with 100% whole wheat, you're getting mostly white flour with some whole wheat flour thrown in to make it look a little healthier. If you see "wheat flour" as an ingredient instead of "whole wheat flour", than you may want to try another brand.

Hydrogenated oils tend to lurk in cheap convenience foods at the grocery store, despite the fact that more and more studies are showing that they contribute greatly to heart disease and a number of other illnesses.

Finally, as you become more aware of the chemicals, preservatives, and artificial colors listed in your ingredient lists, you just might be encouraged to put that box back on the shelf and go for some whole, nutritious foods like fresh fruits and veggies and real whole grain baked goods. (Maybe even some real butter, too!)

Here's one final tip for you:
Read the ingredient list at the grocery store, before you buy an item. I know that I am not likely to just let a food go to waste once it's at my house and paid for. I find it much easier to resist eating things that are bad for me if I just don't bring them in the house.
It takes a little longer to shop this way, but consider it time well invested.

I challenge you to do some research on some of these ingredients you're seeing. Some that sound scary really aren't so bad, but some, like one I found in my soy sauce, are known to be cancer causing.

I'll tell you what that ingredient is on Friday.

This post was shared at Simple Lives Thursday.

Make-ahead Monday and January's Challenge

Happy New Year to all! I hope that you had a great Christmas and New Year, and that you are ready to get back into the swing of things. We've had, for the most part, a relaxing holiday. I've been off of work, and Dennis has had a few days off, too. The best part is, he's been out of school, so he hasn't been driving back and forth to New Orleans or having to fool with much homework. He'll go back a week from today, so Izzy and I are enjoying these last few days of more Daddy around to hang out and help out.

I did get pretty awful sick for about a week and a half, but Izzy and Dennis managed to escape it, and I'm feeling all better now.



Make Ahead Mondays

As I promised all the way back in 2011 (really, only about 2 weeks ago), I'm trading in "Meal Plan Mondays" for "Make Ahead Mondays". It's much easier to eat healthy when there are plenty of meals and snacks waiting in the freezer to be whipped out and heated up/baked/thrown in the crock pot on a busy day.

My plan is to share recipes, and get you to (pretty please) share some recipes, too, so we can have our freezers ready for what may come. For me, I've got a baby coming in May, so I want to be good and ready for those first few crazy months.

I also learned over the past few weeks how invaluable cooking ahead can be in case Mama gets sick. My husband is a very helpful and thoughtful man, but he doesn't know a thing about making dinner. He can, though, thaw out a casserole or throw a bag of prechopped veggies and meat into a slow cooker.

Today, I've had my bread machine and my oven going making up some pizza crusts. Pizza from the freezer section at the grocery store is usually pricey, unhealthy, and/or not so tasty. It's easy to take a crust from the freezer and spread some toppings on it. Ten minutes later, you've got a tasty, healthy dinner!

Here's What You Do:
Make up a batch of sourdough sandwich dough (I used 100% wheat flour this time)
Divide into 6 or so equal parts
Roll out to desired thickness
Bake at 375 for 5-8 minutes, or until just starting to brown

This makes 6 individual sized pizzas. Divide the dough however you like.

I let them cool, stick them in a plastic bag, and pop them into the freezer until I'm ready to use them.

Here they are, being rolled out, and the finished product. I know they don't look all that round...I call it "artisan baking" whenever what I'm making doesn't turn out "picture perfect". I promise they still taste good!

Here are some topping suggestions:
-leftover veggies
-leftover taco meat
-refried beans and mozzarella cheese



One of my favorite, simple ways to top a pizza is with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and generous dose of italian seasoning. It tastes gourmet, and is super easy.

This is a great way to use up leftovers. Invent your own kind of pizza, or get the kids involved and let them each make their own!

January's Challenge


I know we're already a couple of days in, but I want to let you guys in on a personal little goal-setting routine I fell into last year. I don't make resolutions for a long or indefinite period of time. That is too daunting, and I have found that I'm easily overwhelmed. I can easily commit to making a change or continuing a habit for a month, though. Each month, I pick one thing to work on, and try not to compromise for that first month. By the end of the month, it's usually worked into my routine and I can easily keep it up.

Are you ready for this month's challenge?

Read your food ingredient labels.


That's it. We're not giving anything up or adding anything complicated into our daily routines. When you start reading what's in your food, you just may end up being a little more careful what goes in your mouth.

I've kept you long enough for one day, so I'll elaborate more on this point on Wednesday.

Until then, work on getting into the habit or reading the ingredient labels on all of the foods you eat.

See you then!

*update: I've just added a link-up, so you can link up directly to your blog, where you've shared a great make-ahead recipe!