Peer Response to Erin's Post 2: "Real" Food vs. "Fake" Food

In this blog, we were required to talk about how we felt about the "real" food vs. "fake" food debate, and describe one food that we personally used to consume in it's "real" form and now consume in it's "fake" form.

Erin described how she used to eat fresh squeezed juice that her mom used to make with their juicer from various fruits and vegetables around the house. After the prices of fresh fruit went up and the excitement of the new juicer faded, her family found V8 Fusion juices to be a much more convenient source of fruit and vegetable juice blends. She goes on to tell us how although V8 Fusion juices claim to be made from 100% juice, that doesn't necessarily mean that they are nutritionally equivalent to 100% fresh squeezed juices that you can make in your home with fresh fruits and vegetables. The article that Erin found goes on to further explain why fresh squeezed juices cannot be replaced by V8 Fusion juices made from fruit and vegetable concentrates.

I believe that Erin did a very good job with this post. It was easy to read and easy to follow, and it was informative without being too long or rambling. I agree with the opinion that Erin has about fresh squeezed juices. The nutritional value of fresh squeezed juice far outweighs the fortified form that V8 Fusion juices, and lots of other juice products, come in today.

Post 4: "Real" Food vs. "Fake" Food

Since I have arrived at college, my eating habits have changed pretty dramatically. I no longer have the luxury of a home cooked meal every night or being able to hold a whole pantry of groceries or a fridge full of fresh food. Most of the time, I have to eat food that is mass prepared by the university through the food provided to freshman in the housing food plan. Much of this food, like I stated earlier, is served in mass quantities. Therefore, it is easiest for the university to provide food by using previously prepared meals or food in a much more processed form.

One of the foods that I used to eat in it's "real" form was scrambled eggs. Eggs have been said to have many *health benefits, and I really like them so I wanted to continue to eat them when I came to school. I used to have them nearly every morning before school, and made them myself. Now, through housing food, I eat the scrambled eggs prepared by the university that have been made using a powdered egg. The "fake" eggs are much more rubbery, a brighter yellow, and have less of a distinct flavor than a "real" scrambled eggs would have. Although "fake" eggs provide a lot of the same vitamins and nutrients as "real" eggs, these nutrients have been added in after processing of the powdered eggs, and aren't the natural vitamins that would be found in the "real" eggs. So, even if the powdered eggs claim to be more nutritionally valuable than real eggs, the nutrients in the real eggs will may ultimately be a little better for the body than the man-synthesised vitamins and minerals that are added back into the powdered eggs. Although there isn't much of a difference nutritionally, I still prefer the "real" form of eggs.

I definitely will return to eating the real food as soon as I have my own place to cook them in! I personally enjoy "real" food much more than I enjoy their "fake" counterparts, and can't wait until I have the means to make and store some "real" food in my apartment!

*this article briefly describes the health benefits of including eggs in the diet. Although it doesn't mention powdered eggs, lots of the information found in this article applies to both "real" and "fake" eggs.