A lot has been said about processed foods. For many people, it is a staple in the pantry and a quick, affordable and acceptably tasty way to suffice one's hunger in the office, on road trips, and even at home. For a few, seen and heard but not necessarily listened to, processed food is to blame for most ailments and other maladies of our day.
I grew up spending most of my childhood in our town's public market where my mother has a store. It is just a stone's throw away from our home but we got used to buying our meals from the nearby carinderias. These are small eateries very common in the Philippines, but are not to be confused with the also prevalent street food vendors. This penchant for quick food (long before fast food became popular in the country) became part of our family's daily routine. We would only cook food for dinner, and sometimes for breakfasts. Along with this "quick food" mentality came the appreciation for tasty and pricey processed meats. Know where this is leading? |
As kids, my siblings and I enjoyed every bit of our hotdogs (the red ones Pinoys are very fond of), hickory-smoked bacon, longanisa (Philippine sausages), corned beef, luncheon meat (Spam or Maling), etc. We enjoyed them because they were tasty and valued them because they were quite expensive --- it made us feel wealthy, even for just a while. Back then, there is much premium placed on imported PX goods. These include canned corned beef, luncheon meat and Vienna sausages.
These childhood habits grew up with us, leading us to put these processed meats on our lunch boxes and dining tables. As a working mother, I found an ally in these food products. They provide a quick solution and better option for hungry tummies. Considering the more than one (1) hour it usually takes for a Filipino home-cooked meal to cook, opening a can of sardines suffices hunger much much faster. Now, with better and more widespread information about the evils of processed foods, the busy informed mothers like me face a dilemma: to buy that 250g pack of tocino (a popular Philippine cured meat) for Php 45 or the 250g piece of pork tenderloin for Php 60? More practical moms out there will barrage me with comments about buying such an expensive piece of meat. Yes, I admit it, I buy my meats at the supermarket all because I do not have a meal plan and I'm usually on the rush. Good meats in the public market sell out by the time I get home from work, so the better option is to buy them in the supermarket. | |
I'm a work in progress... hopefully I will be able to plan our meals better and save lots and lots on our food expenses. But, now, going back to the heart of the matter... When faced with such a dilemma, the thinking process involves consideration of one's fundamental principles. Perhaps the practical answer is to go with the tocino. The ideal answer is the pork tenderloin. But... I grew up loving processed food. I appreciate how it makes life easier. |
But I also acknowledge the harm they bring to me and my family. So the question is, how do you see evil in the eye and stop defending it as a necessary evil? A little help here, please?...