Good Bye Food Dye

If you look back through my posts, it is clear that I used food coloring on occasion and bought food with ingredients like red #40 or blue #1 here and there.  Admittedly, I have known for quite a while that artificial food dyes are junk and that I probably should avoid them.  Unfortunately, I figured it was just another ingredient that was okay in small amounts once in a while.  How much damage can a few drops of something do?  The more I examined ingredients, however, the more I realized how prevalent food dyes are in the grocery store.  AND, the more I read about food dyes, the more I realized that I have to put my foot down and stop buying this junk.  Would I consider feeding my children food with a few drops of petroleum added to them?  NO WAY!  Well, guess what, food dye is derived from petroleum.

This is what I removed from my cabinets in an effort to rid our kitchen of artificial food dyes.  I did keep liquid food coloring, a few boxes of Jello, and packets of Kool Aid but those will be used for art projects not for consumption!

This was hard for me.  I like to make fun food for the kids and for years these nasty things have helped, BUT I know that I can still make fun food without any of this and my kids will be much better off.

I do want to note that I have no intention of denying my kids treats at birthday parties or school functions.  I am trying to get it out of our house to minimize the amount they consume, but I will not stand over them and tell them they can't enjoy an OCCASIONAL treat on special occasions.  I will tell them why I don't like artificial food dyes and encourage them to make wise choices.


If you need a reason or two to cut it out of your diet, check out this post over at 100 Days of Real Food.