Brown Jasmine Rice or Brown Basmati Rice just went on tomorrow's shopping list ...

I usually use Golden Rose Brown rice which is a medium grain brown rice, but it is a GMO rice, so once it's gone, no more. The sad part of that is that this rice has served to provide very needed food for people in third world countries where other rices would not grow, but we do have a choice. I love medium grain brown rice vs long grain brown rice, but can't get the one I used to buy in San Diego.

I guess chaos had to happen to get me into more of a problem solving mode as I did find some solutions that I could have used last week, if I had been thinking clearly.

I always have canned tuna on hand ... packed in water. Kosher dill pickles ... they have less salt and low fat mayo. One can, one half pickle and one tbs mayo is less than 200 cals. It takes no time to fix and would give me the protein fix my body requires during the day. I don't need to eat it all at once, but something like that would work.

I usually have single serving size meals in the freezer of pot roast, chili, etc., but had run out. I just need to make sure I stay ahead when I know there is the potential for a crazy week.

I talked with a girlfriend this morning who is recently separated who I know is into healthy eating and discussed the problem of keeping fresh produce on hand and she is having the same problem I am about having to throw about half of it out due to spoilage and we have agreed to share. Now, I can buy the organic lettuce mixes, baby spinach, etc., and we will share them and neither one of us will be tossing veggies. That feels really good.

You have no idea how much produce I have tossed. It's almost enough to make me want to stop buying stuff that is good for me. Yes, I do use my freezer a lot, but not all things freeze well unless they are cooked. If we work it right, I can have fresh again ...

We are going to meet up and see what else we can do, so that we can shop and cook economically and make it work.

Lyn, the bags of Golden Rose Brown Rice that I've seen have all been organic which means that they can't be GMO. There is a GMO rice called Golden Rice, but that's something different (and is the color of Kraft's Mac & Cheese!) From Wikipedia's page on GMO Golden Rice, "Not to be confused with "gold" varieties of African rice, which have golden-coloured seedcoats, not golden endosperm."

I hear you on the produce spoilage/wasting issue. I'm sure I look like a nut at the store trying to closely inspect the leaves inside the plastic container of organic spinach. Sometimes there are a few leaves already starting to rot at the store. And bananas! Geez, I could have built a bridge to the moon and back with rotten bananas by now.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/...

From what I read in my research is that Non-GMO doesn't necessarily mean Pesticide Free/Organic. It only means the seeds have not been genetically altered but doesn't signify the way it was grown.

And "Organic" unless it has the non-GMO Project logo on it does not mean it is not non-GMO. You really need the USDA Certified Organic logo AND Non-GMO Project logo to get it "right". Someone correct me if I am wrong.

I am going to say something that may not be 100 percent accurate..but I will clarify when my son gets back to town. He was telling me about a site called Boxed or Boxit..

He demonstrated...I buy whole grain Cheerios-- at Costco...two boxes total 37.and something ounces for $6.99. Each box 18 and some ounces..

A good price as compared to a regular traditional super market. ...well..this site had the same product... for a dollar less ....AND gave an extra 18 plus ounce box. Free shipping. The site is only for dry good ( so no produce Lyn ) but maybe you can get your rice and dry goods at a bargain and free shipping.

Lyn, the bags that I saw were USDA Certified Organic. A product is supposed to be GMO free to be USDA Certified Organic.
http://blogs.usda.gov/2013/05/...

I guess, check the bags when you go shopping. You may have an older bag at home. They may have updated the bags with all the symbols now. It's worth checking if you really like that variety.

Danita said:Lyn, the bags of Golden Rose Brown Rice that I've seen have all been organic which means that they can't be GMO. There is a GMO rice called Golden Rice, but that's something different (and is the color of Kraft's Mac & Cheese!) From Wikipedia's page on GMO Golden Rice, "Not to be confused with "gold" varieties of African rice, which have golden-coloured seedcoats, not golden endosperm."

I hear you on the produce spoilage/wasting issue. I'm sure I look like a nut at the store trying to closely inspect the leaves inside the plastic container of organic spinach. Sometimes there are a few leaves already starting to rot at the store. And bananas! Geez, I could have built a bridge to the moon and back with rotten bananas by now.

Thank you, Danita. I just pulled a package of rice from the freezer and it does say "organic" on the BACK of the package. I missed it.

You can freeze ripe bananas whole ... take the skins off ... and use them in smoothies. That's the only way I know to save them. Just put parchment paper on a cookie sheet and after they are frozen, put them in a freezer bag. They also can go into banana bread. They turn to mush right away when you take them out of the freezer, but that doesn't matter if you are going to use them immediately for smoothies or baking.

Same thing happens when you freeze tomatoes, but they are going into a soup or sauce, sooooooo

But ripe bananas are the worst bananas.

OK ... freeze before they are almost too ripe instead of throwing them away ...

OK, here's a good one that I just recently discovered. Convenient and healthy. Savory Spice Shop = one of the best suppliers of spices that I use. Tomato Powder. I bought the 12 oz.. jar to start with. For any new (to you) spice always get the glass jar first. Then you have the name, ingredients, brand name handy. Then if you use it up get the refill 4 oz. 8 oz. 16 oz. bag next. 100% pure tomato, nothing else. No salt, no preservatives. Stores well. Long shelf life. Great flavor. By mixing it with different amounts of water you can have: tomato juice, tomato sauce, tomato paste in any quantity you need. Good to sprinkle on eggs, pasta, add to soups, add to chili, tacos, etc. I have just begun to discover the many uses of this great product. Many foods do not turn out well when dried to be used later. Tomatoes are one exception. I also have Tomato Dices in a quart jar (Mother Earth Products) for when I need the texture and flavor. Gene

If you decide to place an order with Savory Spice Shop let me know either here or in a Tree Mail and I'll tell you about the 12 other items I have from them that I suggest you try. Gene

That sounds great. I wonder how it would do on cold food..like a green salad perhaps in the dressing

I picked up something similar in the Mexican spice department of a regular super market down the mountain. However, even tho' the label is written in Spanish, I can tell there are more additives than I would now purchase for healthy eating, but I have used it to make salad dressings and such.

My great surprise this week was to discover how many grams of sugar were contained in good ol' Campbell's tomato soup. YIKES ! I am going to have to find a different brand ...

I am glad I am reading labels, now, but I am guessing I'll find more surprises like that one.

Reading labels is a very important part of healthy eating. Many surprises there. Gene

I very seldom buy anything "boxed" from the grocery store.

gasrocks said:Reading labels is a very important part of healthy eating. Many surprises there. Gene

I do have some problems when I am purchasing the Mexican spices ... the labels are written in Spanish ... I've decided that if the labeling has a long list of ingredients, the product must contain stuff I don't want, so I don't buy them any more .. It doesn't matter if I can't understand the label since it is written in Spanish.

RoseBlush1 said:I picked up something similar in the Mexican spice department of a regular super market down the mountain. However, even tho' the label is written in Spanish, I can tell there are more additives than I would now purchase for healthy eating, but I have used it to make salad dressings and such.

My great surprise this week was to discover how many grams of sugar were contained in good ol' Campbell's tomato soup. YIKES ! I am going to have to find a different brand ...

I am glad I am reading labels, now, but I am guessing I'll find more surprises like that one.

It is surprising how much sugar is in everything and anything pre packaged or pre made. I just don't know why they have to add so much sugar.

For instance I like to eat yogurt. I like it plus I always felt it was a healthy choice for a snack. But never until recently discovered that there was as much sugar in the small container of yogurt as there is in a can of soda. I didn't much like that!

Make your own yogurt? I know they sell yogurt making appliances. I'm getting rid of the last cans and boxes of processed foods that are in my cupboards. And not buying more. So far I have not missed them at all. Gene

gasrocks said:Make your own yogurt? I know they sell yogurt making appliances. I'm getting rid of the last cans and boxes of processed foods that are in my cupboards. And not buying more. So far I have not missed them at all. Gene

Sorry but any kind of cooking or such is not my thing. Never going to be making my own yogurt or ice cream.

I cook because you have to cook to eat but otherwise I would just skip it.

Sorry to hear that. Gene