I have been baking a lot lately.

And while I love to write, it seems that my bakes are in high demand right now.

So writing had to take a back seat. Together with baking, is the cooking of meals which is a regular part of my days. And in between, I had to deal with a minor foot injury. I confined myself to bed because my leg and knee have been weakened from a previous medical condition I was diagnosed with.

Joy and Purpose

But this is life. The ups and downs. The good days and the bad days. So, during the bad days, we need to find joy in certain tasks or routines that let us immerse ourselves in their rhythms.

I think it is wrong to assume that we should all find joy in the same tasks as the next person. Because we are all motivated by different things.

Baking and Writing are my Joys

For me, baking and writing bring me much joy. For someone else, it might not be quite the same. I can literally forget the pain I am in because of the sense of being present in these motivational and beloved activities.

For example, I was motivated to bake due to a phase in my life, more than a decade ago. It was when I was diagnosed with a rare medical condition in my knee. I researched the impact of certain foods on our health. I am a bit of a research expert from my previous training as a lawyer.

And here’s what I concluded. Artificial coloring, artificial preservatives and ultra-processed foods do much damage to the human body. In fact, I have written on the topics of Healthful Food: Why Insist on Natural Color in your Food? and Healthful Food: Why Ultra-Processed Food is Not It.

Motivation to Counter the Fake in other Bakes

Ultra-processed foods usually contain ingredients that we would not use, when cooking at home. In addition, the method of making a dish is what takes it from processed to ultra-processed: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/what_is_ultra-processed_food. ‘(B)read made from wheat flour, water, salt and yeast.., but add emulsifiers or colorings’ is an example.

However, I enjoy baked goods a lot.In consuming commercial baked goods, I was shocked to find that many big bakery brands, even ‘fancy’ brands carry artificial and toxic ingredients in their baking. And why do they do this?

So they can make a profit feeding off of our love of baked goods.

When I launched my baked goods for sale, I swore off adding fake stuff like bright colorings and additives to my bakes. At the same time I know that people have budgets to keep to. So I have to think of these factors when selling my baked goods.

Not Ultra-Processed and No Toxic Chemicals

I do sell processed foods but keep away from the ultra-processed category.

Another example of a commonly used chemical in commercial baked goods, which is toxic, is tetrasodium pyrophosphate, https://www.isitbadforyou.com/questions/is-tetrasodium-pyrophosphate-bad-for-you. ‘Studies have found that nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are not just possible after consumption but likely. Exposure to this chemical can also cause skin rashes and visual disturbances.’ Yet this ingredient is used in food as an ’emulsifier, thickener, dispersing agent, and as a pH buffering agent.’

An Idealistic Mission

So here I am, juggling the pressure of inflation with the vow not to add toxic chemicals to my baking. I fight every day not to buy into the seduction of a franchise with bad ingredients and a massive marketing campaign. I guess I am forever that idealist who cannot in good conscience, willfully poison nor sicken my customers. That’s why I feed my family the exact same bakes that I sell and in decent quantities.

This is how I hold myself to a higher standard. And I am so grateful that there are people out there who want to feed themselves in a better way. They don’t want to get sick. This is why they find me and buy from my little shop on https://bakedbysueslife.etsy.com.

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