Junk Food in Disguise

I like to feed my family home-cooked meals and give my kids healthy snacks. Yes, we like to have our cake (or brownies, cookies, ice cream, pie, etc.) and eat it, too, but we don't make a daily ritual of it. Since I'm home with the kids all day it's easier for me to dish up from-scratch meals than if I had a paying job, but sometimes we find ourselves having oatmeal or scrambled eggs and toast for supper.

There are times when the kids have eaten all the grapes and cottage cheese and we've had apples for 4 days straight and I'm looking around for something for them to snack on. I can always find raisins in the pantry, but most people like a little variety - my kids are no different - so I keep an eye out for non perishable snacks.

I don't think all parents buy junk food on purpose. Sure, there are parents who don't care. But some people just don't think about checking the label. I wasn't raised to read the ingredients. It's a habit I've gotten into over the years. There are times you have to give a product more than a cursory glance to know exactly what you're getting. I happen to have 2 packages of "fruit snacks" marketed for preschoolers. They were given to us and have been sitting in the pantry for a while.

A glance at the first shows "Fruit Snacks. Made with REAL FRUIT." Looks good, right? Here are the ingredients: juice from concentrates, corn syrup, sugar, modified corn starch, fruit puree, gelatin, citric acid, lactic acid, natural and artificial flavor, ascorbic acid, coconut oil, sodium citrate, carnauba wax, tocopherol acetate, red 40, yellow 5, blue 1, vitamin A. There are 15 g of sugar in one serving. The second says "Juice treats. Naturally flavored." The first two ingredients are corn syrup and sugar and there are 17 g of sugar in one serving. Why would I give these to my children?

So in addition to raisins, I've been trying to keep other dried fruits on hand: things like dates, papayas, apricots, and pineapple. I've also found fruit leathers. I like these kinds of snacks because you can store them for an extended amount of time in the pantry (stock up when they're on sale) and they're easy to throw in a bag before you head out the door.

I was blindsided by High Frutrose Corn Syrup

Earlier this year I read a number of articles about the danger of High Frutrose Corn Syrup(HFCS). Obesity aside the nonprofit Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) tested products containing HFCS and discovered that 17 out of 55 had measurable amounts of mercury in them. Dr Lars Friberg, Former Chief Adviser to the World Health Organization said " there is no safe level of mercury, and no one has actually shown that there is a safe level. I would say mercury is a very toxic substance." The speculation is that since mercury is used in the production of caustic soda an ingredient used to make HFCS leaving mercury in the HFCS. The Corn Refiners Association claims that this is an out dated way to make HFCS, but there is no regulation on where the HFCS comes from. So where as that might be an outdated method of HFCS production here in the US, if the HFCS is purchased from abroad who is to say what method they are using to manufacture the HFCS.
SO even though I was scared to death of the HFCS, I figured I make most of my own items and my kids do not eat a lot of candies and we only drink all natural juice so I thought we were safe. Boy was I wrong. I was making one of my kids favorite meals, honey mustard chicken. When something caught my eye on the mustard bottle: High Frutrose Corn Syrup. In Mustard!!!! So I went through my refrigerator and pantry. I was shocked some of the items I found HFCS in were:
Salad Dressing
marinades
YOGURT ( this was the most shocking to me)
oatmeal bars
cereal bars

There were many flaws in the tests, they only did one test of each product , they can not determine 100% that the mercury levels came from HFCS ( yet it is the only ingredient all of the products had in common), and they did not differentiate what type of mercury was present. I know so many people that have chosen to avoid vaccinating their children because of the trace amounts of mercury in the vaccines, yet there is measurable amounts of mercury in the food we are feeding our kids, foods geared towards kids. I am hearing so much about BPA why am I not hearing about this from the FDA or EPA? I am not telling you to avoid these products I am however telling you to look at your food labels. I was shocked and had no idea I had been feeding this to my children. If you would like to see the list of the 17 products that contained mercury you can do so here: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20090127/mercury-in-high-fructose-corn-syrup are any of these products in your pantry?

Beat the Heat

I don't know about you, but I've been staying inside with the air conditioner lately. This time of year, I look for "cool" recipes. I've been going through my recipe collection (I've got TONS of recipes) and have selected a few of my favorites to share with you. The first is for a salad, but it's a little more special than your regular green salad. Next is a recipe for ginger ale. I don't like soft drinks, but I do like good ginger ale. I like Reed's Ginger Brew but it's around $1.50 a bottle. This recipe allows me to enjoy inexpensive ginger ale without artificial ingredients. Finally, I'm including my homemade ice cream recipe. If THAT doesn't cool you off, nothing will.

Strawberry Salad (I don't know where my aunt got this recipe.)
lettuce, torn
strawberries, sliced
celery, sliced
green onions, sliced
pecans, chopped
raspberry vinaigrette dressing (I bought some Annie's Naturals Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette when it was buy one get one free.)

Toss the first 5 ingredients. Serve with raspberry vinaigrette. You could make your own raspberry (or strawberry) vinaigrette. There are lots of recipes on the internet.

Ginger Ale
http://www.biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/Ginger_Ale_Ag0.htm (I changed the directions a little. Grating the ginger is difficult, so I put it in the blender.)
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon active baker's yeast
1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons fresh ginger root
juice of one lemon
cold fresh pure water

With a funnel, add the sugar and yeast to a plastic 2-liter bottle. Thinly slice the ginger root against the grain (or you'll have ginger "strings" in your drink). Put in a blender with lemon juice; blend, adding a little water if necessary. Add this to the bottle. Pour more water into the blender to rinse out the dregs; pour into the bottle. Fill the bottle with water, leaving about an inch of head space. Screw cap on securely. Invert repeatedly to dissolve the sugar. Place in a warm location for 24 to 48 hours. Do not leave at room temperature longer than necessary to feel "hard." The excess pressure may cause an eruption when you open it, or even explode the bottle! (Been there, done that.) Test to see if carbonation is complete by squeezing the bottle forcefully with your thumb. If it dents in, it's not ready. Once the bottle feels hard to a forceful squeeze, usually 24 - 48 hours, place in the refrigerator. Thoroughly chill before opening. Crack the lid of the chilled ginger ale just a little to release the pressure slowly.

Rachel's Ice Cream (6 quarts)
3 cups sugar
1 quart cream
3 - 4 tablespoons vanilla (I never measure, so I'm guessing)
milk

Pour sugar into ice cream freezer. Add cream and vanilla. Stir until sugar no longer sticks to the bottom. Add milk until it reaches the fill line. Freeze according to manufacturer's directions.

Off to a Good Start

I recently read "The Healthiest Kid in the Neighborhood" by William Sears, M.D., Martha Sears, R.N., James Sears, M.D., and Robert Sears, M.D. I was in the middle of it when I came across this article which states that 18.4% of 4-year-olds in the United States are obese. 4-year-olds!

Although "The Healthiest Kid in the Neighborhood" is directed to parents (particularly those with young children), the information put forth would be beneficial to everyone. At the beginning of the book, the authors list 10 changes every family must make. The rest of the book is devoted to explaining how and why to make these changes. I've listed them below, along with some examples.

1. Shape young tastes early.
2. Feed your family the right carbs. (fruits, beans, peas, nut butters, soy foods, veggies, whole grains, yogurt)
3. Feed your family the right fats. (avocado, flaxseed oil, nut butters, nuts, olive oil, seafood, seeds)
4. Feed your children grow foods. (avocados, beans, blueberries, eggs, flaxseed meal, nuts, oatmeal, salmon, spinach, tofu, tomatoes, yogurt)
5. Feed your family fill-up foods. (apples, beans, beef, cheese, cherries, eggs, fish, grapes, nuts, oatmeal, olive oil, oranges, salads, soybeans, vegetables, whole-grain breads and pasta)
6. Begin the day with a brainy breakfast. (A brainy breakfast includes protein, fiber-filled carbs, omega-3 fats, and minerals such as calcium and iron.)
7. Raise a grazer.
8. Feed your child's immune system. (chili peppers, cold-water fish, flaxseed oil, fruits, olive oil, nuts, spices, vegetables, whole grains, wild game meats)
9. Raise a lean family. Get active as a family.
10. Teach your children to be wise supermarket shoppers. (mainly shop the perimeter, buy whole grains, buy mostly grow foods, read labels carefully)

The authors note that by not feeding your children anything containing high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils ("trans fats"), or any color additive with a number symbol attached to it (e.g., blue #1, yellow #5, red #40), you'll have gone 90% of the way toward de-junking your child's diet.

You can find a wealth of information at http://www.askdrsears.com/.