Next time you're browsing through the store, take a look at some of your favorite red colored foods. Do you see in the ingredients the listing "crushed bugs"? No? Look again... Along the same lines as a previous post, I want to let you all in on a most disgusting ingredient.  Many of you have probably already heard of this ingredient.  This post is for those people who haven't heard of carmine. Carmine= ground up beetles. Why??  They use these crushed beetles as a food coloring.  They give some foods their red color. Don't be mistaken, though. It can be found in purple and pink foods, also. Where can you find these ground up beetles? Answer:  yogurt (many include this) , juice, ice cream, candy. Even Lipsticks and eyeshadow. Does carmine go by other names? Answer: Yes. Crimson Lake, Cochineal, Natural Red 4, C.I. 75470, or E120, carminic acid. It can also be listed as "Color added" on the label! EWWWWWWW!!!!!

Every year at this time I am reminded of a few of the yummy candy I used to love....but wouldn't dream of putting in my mouth again. Candy Corn was one of my favorites as a kid. Since it looks like a veggie it's sure to be vegetarian...right? WRONG! It contains gelatin, which most of us vegetarians know is not at all veggie!! Do a google search...it's quite disgusting how they make gelatin! For a list of Vegan Candy, visit this link.

Just when you get used to doing without tomatoes the salmonella scare is over... But now...it's jalapeno peppers....we don't like to eat those very much..so we're doing ok. How do we know what is safe to eat? How can we keep our families healthy by giving them the veggies they need, but still keep them safe? Well, one way is to grow our own veggies. A small garden in your back yard can keep your family in tomatoes, green peppers and cucumbers all year! They're not too terribly difficult to take care of and the benefits are amazing! If you're not the veggie garden type, try your local farmers market. The prices are usually good and you can talk to the farmer right on the spot. (you don't have to try to track down which State or Country your veggies came from!) What do you ask the farmer? 1. Where is your farm? 2. Do you use pesticides? 3. If buying eggs ask if the hens are grain fed and if they're free range. We like hens who get the run of the place...they're healthier that way! Salmonella shouldn't stop you from feeding your family healthy veggies.