Back to Basics

As the mommy-cook extraordinaire at our house, I'm very focused on making sure my family eats home cooked, balanced, healthy meals. This means meal planning and making as many things as I can from scratch, as well as figuring out substitutes for different ingredients (however...I will use real whipping cream and full fat butter on Thanksgiving etc...splurges are def OK!). This also means that I've begun to read more and more about harmful hidden things in food and packaging (no BPA in our water bottles or coffee mugs!).

Well, last night I came across this article in Prevention Magazine, which is a pretty legit source. Its all about 7 foods you should never eat; some if it is common knowledge (ie avoiding farm raised fish) and some of it was novel (to me, at least) ie microwave popcorn?!  Additionally, I often cook with canned tomato products to make my homemade pasta sauce and chili...but now I'm thinking about learning how to can my own. Anyone out there do any canning? I'm thinking it might be a good project for next summer when I can actually have a small garden in my backyard...but I am a total novice, so any tips or ideas are appreciated. It also doesn't hurt that this idea appeals to the cheapskate budget conscious side of me :)