Nitrate-free is the key: What to look for in lunch meat

Weapon X is a picky eater. What toddler isn't?

Moss, also a picky eater, wants to offer him hotdogs. I'm not sure where this new fixation comes from. I don't think we have had hotdogs in our house more than a couple times in the 5 years we have been married. I guess he has fond memories of eating hotdogs as a kid and bachelor. Does he long for the college days when he didn't have a nutrition-freak preparing his meals? Maybe he is just giving in to the instinct to give your kid anything he wants, as long as he eats.

Now, the idea of hotdogs makes me cringe for 3 main reasons:
1) I have been a vegetarian for 12 years. If I was going to eat meat, I would want it to be as natural and chemical/hormone free as possible.

2) The few memories I have of throwing up as a youngster were following the consumption of hotdogs. I'm talking projectile vomit… like my stomach was just rejecting the idea entirely.

3) Preservatives and additives in foods have been linked to ADHD.

4) Feeding a child foods laden with preservatives and vague meaty "parts" instinctually just does not feel right.

Not wanting to deprive my husband of the joy of feeding his child nostalgic foods (within reason). I did my best to research good hotdog choices, and this is what I found:

Nitrates are the main no-no in hotdogs and other lunch meats. Nitrates convert to nitrites, known carcinogens, when ingested. Some of the cancer-causing effects can be negated by eating vitamin C (slice of tomato on your sandwich or an orange) with your nitrates. Cancer-causing effects are increased when nitrates are combined with sodium. I say just avoid the nitrates altogether.

Nitrate-free hotdogs and other lunch meats are the best option. Applegate Farms sells organic, nitrate-free lunch meats. Their website says we can buy their products at Whole Foods and Central Market.

In fact, I just realized that my husband has been eating Boar's Head meats on the assumption that they are nitrate free. Unfortunately, most varieties of their ham are not nitrate-free. Most varieties of their chicken and turkey are.

What are the negatives to avoiding nitrates? The shelf life of your nitrate-free lunch meat will be considerably shorter than lunch meat preserved with nitrates.

Credits:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&uid=8671549&cmd=showdetailview&indexed=google
http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/25996
http://www.preventcancer.com/consumers/food/hotdogs.htm
http://www.thehealthcenter.info/adult-add-adhd/diet.htm