Egg nog often gets a bad rap these days. “Be careful what you drink,” the health “experts” caution, “raw eggs might give you salmonella.” (Um, a 1 in 30,000 chance, by the way.)
In my opinion, the the super-thick, super-rich concoction in cartons–which, of course, contain only heated egg yolks–carries much higher health risks than salmonella. Here is an ingredient list of a common brand of egg nog:
- Skim milk. Pasteurized, of course. Nutritionally dead. And may I point out that skim milk does not exist in nature?
- Cream. Okay, a bit more natural, but still pasteurized. And both the milk and cream come from inhumanely treated animals full of toxins.
- Egg yolks. Not from organically fed, free range chickens.
- Mono and diglycerides. Non-food that thickens the would-be runny nog because it has more skim milk than cream.
- “Artificial flavor” and “natural flavor.” Both disguises for monosodium glutamate, or MSG, which is notorious for messing with your brain function.
- Two kinds of sodium ending with -ate, which means it is not sodium in its existing form, and therefore a foreign substance to the body.
- Carrageenan. Another thickener, whose safety as a food additive remains controversial.
- Two different poisonous artificial colors because if they tried to sell that egg nog to you in its original color you would probably dump it down the sink and never buy it again.
Disclaimer: Yes, yes, yes, I did actually used to drink this fake nog. And found it quite addicting (the food manufacturers achieved their goal). My mother would buy one carton once a year, to drink on New Year’s Eve and I would savor it like I wasn’t going to get another cup for an entire year…because I wasn’t.
And no, I didn’t die. But I was far from being the poster child for excellent health.
I haven’t eaten any in years, since giving up processed foods. I usually don’t think about it, until I go the store around this time of the year, and there the cartons sit, calling to me, begging me to take them home with me.
Finally, I have an alternative. I understand the health benefits of drinking raw milk, and have the convenience of it being provided through my local food co-op. I’m thinking about saving some of the cream and trying the recipe for Jeannie’s Healthy and Tasty Egg Nog on this page. Non-alcoholic, raw ingredients–what else can the Crunchy Coach ask for in a glass of healthy egg nog?
If you try it (which I plan to!) let me know what you think.
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