Why Aluminum Free Baking Powder?

Just when I thought we were ridding our pantry of "junk" and finally into full-drive on eating healthy, I discovered our seemingly innocent can of baking powder contained aluminum. Our "loaded" baking powder hit the trash and I went shopping.

I easily found aluminum-free baking powder on our grocers shelf, though it cost about $.30 more. While I didn't purchase the Rumford or Bob's Red Mill brand on this particular visit, additional research has led me to those two as being the better options for my future purchases.

Aluminum shows up in a few common foods. Since we have no need to have aluminum in our bloodstream, and some early research indicates a link to Alzheimers, Lou Gehrigs's and Parkinson's diseases, I think it's best to just avoid it. Plus, many claim the taste of the final product is better when the aluminum is not present.

If you do not have easy access to aluminum-free baking soda, you can make it yourself by using this single-acting recipe from the book "Super Natural Cooking":

1 part baking soda

2 parts cream of tartar

2 parts arrowroot

"Mix everything together and store in an airtight container. This baking powder should last up to a month. To see if it is still active, drop a teaspoon full into a glass of hot water. If it bubbles vigorously, the power is still active."

So here is where it begins. My wife and others have encouraged me to take one of my developing passions and materialize it in the form of a blog so that others can benefit. That passion? Simply returning to eating basics, saying "no" to man-made food and eating what God gave us -- and intended us to eat.

For me, the interest in whole foods began when I read Michael Pollan's book, "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto". The book and his quote, "Eat food. Not much. Mostly vegetables.", really provided the foundation for what has become a consuming interest -- and life change.

I have a lot to share -- some personal experiences in converting a family over to whole foods, some newsworthy tidbits of information, some recipes, some very good web resources, etc. If my sharing of real life experiences and information can be an encouragement to anyone else looking for a change, then I have succeeded.

This will be it for my first official post. Now to finding how to make my page look good.