Frustrated with the Food Chain

I'm frustrated.

Every time I go to the store I'm just dumbfounded by the lack of isles I can't bring myself to go down.  There is row after row of crap offered as food.  I suppose our definition of food is somewhat loose these days.  No wonder America has health issues.  Seriously.  We are slowly killing ourselves, one spoonful at a time.

Have you ever looked at the foods that are offered on the shelves of the local store? Lots of MSG, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Nitrates, Perservatives I can't spell and I won't even bother to pronounce... The super sad thing for me is knowing that it's there because people buy it, demand it.  It's all about the law of supply and demand.  Americans demand crap food, so that is what they are getting. Crap food.  And then we're supposed to be surprised when people get sick?

Of course I feel bad when another gets sick, but I can't help but wonder, what have they been eating? Have they been seeking out real food or are they consuming large amounts of convience food that gives more time but lacks nutrition? 

Our bodies are miraculous vessles that can heal themselves.  HEAL. When you pause and think about it, it really is amazing how the body works, but it can only work as well as the nutrition you put into it.  Like a car, if you put junk into it, it won't run properly, if at all.  Our bodies are no different.

This is just an example of a junk food gone WAY bad.  I would love to eat all organic and healthy, but at this point in our budget, the best I can do is aim for natural. I try as best as possible to buy natural foods, foods from nature.

So, yes, it's easy to pick up a bottle of syrup from the store, but do you know how easy it is to make it at home? It's also cheaper.  Bring the sugar to a boil and then let it cool. That's it. I would rather use fruit instead of sugar on the pancakes, but let's get real, kids are kids and sometimes they just want syrup. I used to buy real maple syrup, but it's gotten quite expensive and I just can't bring myself to buy the crud they have at the store. (The bottle in the pic isn't mine)  So my thoughts on this topic, at least sugar is natural and not made in a lab. That maple flavoring is probably made in the lab, but it's a Tablespoon in the whole container, and most of that Tablespoon is alcohol that evaporated away during the boil.

Which would you perfer to put on your whole wheat pancakes?  

Homemade Maple Syrup

White Sugar
Brown Sugar
Water
Maple Flavoring

Store Bought Stuff

High Fructose Corn Syrup
Corn Syrup
Water
Salt
Cellulose Gum
Molasses
Natural & Artificial Flavor (Lactic Acid)
Sodium Hexametaphosphate
Potassium Sorbate
Sodium Benzoate
Carmel Color
Citric Acid

All I can say is, REALLY!??  Why does all that stuff have to be in there?! Is it too much to demand food that we can pronounce? I mean, who doesn't want a dab Hexametaphosphate on their yummy pancakes? Mmmmmm....