Using chemically induced artificial food colorants versus making your own

A while back I was invited to a Pampered Chef party at a dear friend's house who is trying to start up her business. I do hope her the best of luck and will support her in any way I can. She has yet to have her own site, therefore if anyone out there wants to order some Pampered Chef items, comment on this post and I will make sure to forward you her contact info.

She made those amazingly tasty key lime tarts, but used artificial food colorant. The reason I used the word "but" is that I am not a supporter of those store bought chemically induced food colorants. Apart from the fact that they are just not healthy, there are enough studies out there that show a correlation between them and people with ADHD. This IS a big deal to me as my oldest daughter was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD a few years ago and as I am not a fan of meds I decided to do my own research in ways I could help her out in natural ways. Soon I will create a post on the steps her and I have been taking to help her with focus.

Let's start by understanding what are food colorants. There is a wide range of food coloring. Some are natural while most commercially manufactured goods and those you can buy in stores for baking are artificial. Food colorant generally comes from two forms:

1. Dye form: which produces less vibrant colors and does not mix well in oil
2. Lake form: is oil soluble

The artificial food colorant are derived from mineral compounds and "said" to be safe for consumption. Yet there is already quite a lot of research out there showing that it can harm your health. Some countries such as in EEC have already banned some of the food colorants we use here in the States due to such reasons.

The artificial food colorants that have shown to create health problems are as follows:

1. FD & C Yellow No. 5 contains tartrazine. People who have aspirin sensitivity may not tolerate it and it may be especially a bad choice for people who have frequent asthma. Tartrazine is derived from coal tar, which has led to concerns for all people who consume it.
2. FD & C Red No. 3 contains erythrosine, another coal tar based compound. There is suspicion that this colorant may be carcinogenic. Rat studies showed development of thyroid tumors when high doses of erythrosine were administered.
3. Other FD & C colors may also have adverse effects on some people such as depression, anxiety and accentuate attention deficit disorder (ADD). There has been much anecdotal evidence that reducing artificial food coloring in children’s diets may reduce or eliminate ADD.

So how can one create home made natural food colorant?

Red food colorant
boil some beets until fork tender then create a paste with them, add enough water not to be too thick.
Pink food colorant
thaw out a few raspberries and create a smooth paste out of them
Yellow food colorant
Add a little turmeric with water
Green food colorant
Puree blanched spinach
Black food colorant
Puree a few thawed blackberries
Blue food colorant
Puree a few thawed blueberries
Orange food colorant
Boil carrots in little water until fork tender then puree them

Vegetarian Chicken Pad Thai

 

Last week I bought Morningstar Farms Meal Starters Chik'n Strips and have been wondering on what to do with them. This morning I just thought of it. Pad Thai! That is something I never made so was looking forward to venture myself into this meal. Everyone at home loved it and even my oldest daughter who is not a great fan of peanuts enjoyed this meal. Hubby is realizing more and more that it actually is not that hard to eat vegetarian meals and that nowadays meat substitutes are not bad at all.

INGREDIENTS

16 oz. of rice flat noodles
Canola oil
3 Bok Choy heads
1 Package of MorningStar Farms Chik'n Strips
2 Green onions
1 Shallot
6 Cloves of garlic nicely minced
1 tbsp of sugar
2 Beaten eggs
2 cups of bean sprouts
3 tbsp of vegetable stock
1/2 bunch cilantro
1/2 cup of finely chopped peanuts


For the sauce:
3/4 Tbsp. tamarind paste
1/4 cup hot water
4 Tbsp. soy sauce
chili sauce or ground chili peppers to taste
3 Tbsp. brown sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Soak the noddles in boiling water for about 10 minutes
2. In a wok warm the oil and sautee the green onions, shallot, garlic, and chik'n'strips together until golden
3. Mix all of the ingredients for the sauce and add it to the wok
4. Stir is for about 5 minutes and serve with a few fresh cilantro leaves and chopped peanuts on the top and lime wedges on the side

Creme de Abacate - Brazilian Avocado Cream

This is an awesome dessert that can be created in minutes or even have in prepared ahead of time and freezing it. Not that is it the healthiest but still a good way for kids to eat avocado. My oldest is not a fan of such fruit, but will certainly eat this. The youngest... well she eats EVERYTHING!

INGREDIENTS

2 ripe avocados
1 can of sweet condensed milk
lemon juice from half a lemon
crumbled walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a blender add the avocados and sweet condensed milk
2. Blend it until a smooth paste
3. Add the lemon juice and blend it again
4. Serve cold plain or with crumbled nuts