Fad Diets

Lately it seems like everyone is starting a new diet.  In fact, there seem to be a lot of fad diets around lately.  I am not sure why.  It seems like all the "real food," "whole food" crowd has gone wild for gluten-free.  Then there is the paleo diet.  The gaps diet.  Oh, and the time-honored vegan diet (not just vegetarian, which I can see to a point, but flat out vegan!), which rolls around every couple of years.   I like to eat healthy like any other good old-fashioned 50s housewife, but all of this fad diet stuff is just making me want to have some Twinkies and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.  (Okay, I don't actually like that stuff, but I am making a point).  If I have to see yet another blogger post a recipe using Quinoa, I am going to die.

So this is a sad commentary, but I use formula for my baby.  So sue me - I have medical issues.  We were discussing formula choices with the pediatrician and he said, "Don't use a soy-based formula."  This made me laugh.  You can't buy milk-based formula these days that doesn't contain a decent amount of soy.

I used to buy as much organic as possible; now I don't because I look at the ingredient list and one of the first things listed is soy.  Soy has only been used in small amounts in certain traditional recipes that are mainly found in Asian cultures. Humans have never eaten soy in the forms and amounts that we do now, not even 10-20 years ago.

Does this mean I think soy is evil?  I don't know, but you have to wonder - why does everyone seem to get fatter?  I think our constant tinkering with our food supply generally (not just soy) has a lot to do with obesity.  I wish I had time to cook all of our meals from scratch without using any soy or corn.  (Don't get me started about corn syrup.)  This, however, is not something I am not able to do right now in my life, as much as I love cooking.

So let me know when bran muffins are back in vogue, right along with bell bottoms and stirrup pants.