Chemicals

Pink Slime is the either Boneless Lean Beef Trimmings (BLBT) or Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB) that is created from low quality beef trimmings and connective tissue, and is treated with ammonia hydroxide (ammonia and water) to kill bacteria.  It is used in ground beef – may represent up to 25% of patties. The problem is that you didn't know this was added to the ground beef products you have been buying.  We don't like to feel violated.  Maybe you would be okay with spending less for this mix of beef and fat if you knew this was added to reduce the price.  Having the facts is essential for your decision process. Some beef companies said they are eliminating pink slime from their products. Schools are also moving to remove it from their meals. Makers of pink slime are reportedly shutting down some the production plants. Hue and cry does work!  So does voting with your pocket book.

Another truth: ammonia hydroxide is found in many processed products – baked goods, cheeses, chocolate, snack foods, jam, jellies, pudding and more.  This is why we recommend eating fewer packaged and more fresh foods.

As you know, organic and grass feed beef is the best.  You get more with every bite – a little goes a long way.  Eat less and get more for your money.

… for the health of your family,
ellen

Do forget to enter to Win a Case of Oat Blueberry Lemon Whenever Bars, gluten free, by Pamela's Products.  www.KidKritics.com/sweepstakes.  Enter more than once to up your odds!

APPLES, number 1 on Dirty Dozen list.

“Dirty Dozen” means these vegetables are the most “12 heavily pesticided crops.” * Apples, Celery, Strawberries, Peaches, Spinach, Grapes, Nectarines, Sweet Bell Peppers, Potatoes, Blueberries, Lettuce, and Kale. They are listed from the most chemically filled to the lesser of the twelve. To avoid these chemically laden fruits and vegetables buy organic.  Fortunately, organic apples, celery, spinach and lettuce are readily available in most grocery stores.  Do you best when buying the others. Though organic is your best bet, it is better to eat produce that contain pesticides than none. Just be careful of the amount and frequency, especially for children.  I do seriously recommend that you buy only organic apples.  Eat fewer of them and focus on regular pineapple and watermelon which research shows contain very few harmful chemicals.  You can thank their thick skins for this!

… for the health of your family,
ellen

A WHOLE CASE of ORGANIC POPCORN by Good Health Natural Foods!  Enter to win, www.KidKritics.com/sweepstakes

Here's what food oils to buy and how to use them to get the most for your money.  Buy Extra Virgin Olive Oil and non GMO Canola Oils in dark green or brown glass jars.  The rest , including "Pure Olive Oil" have been processed enough to remove their health benefits and add unwanted ingredients – chemicals. Store in a cool dark place, away from your stove and burners.  These oils should be good for 18 months to 2 years.  Hopefully you use them up before then – your brain needs it!  The best have a bite in the back of your throat.  The bigger the bite, the better it is. If you open a jar and it smells like Play-Doh, it 's bad – take it back or throw it away.  Please, stay away from those sold in plastic containers or cans that are now being lined with BPA. 

Use your non-GMO, organic Canola Oil for everyday cooking.  Save your EVOO for drizzles over vegetables and salad dressings, though it is also good for sauteing as well. 

One more thing:  Those bright store lights degrade oils.  Pull out a bottle/jar from the back of the shelf where it has not been exposed to the light.  (I do this when buying produce as well.)

For more good facts on food oils, please listen to Food Expert and Author (Reading Between the Lines), Kimberly Lord Stewart,  on www.iTunes.com, Podcast, Better Food Choices dates 2/17/12.  She is worth every minute!

… for the health of your family,
ellen

You have until Sunday evening to enter to win a Case of Enchilada Sauce Mix by Simply Organic.  If you want a stash of this quick fix for a delicious healthier family dinner, please go to www.KidKritics.com/sweepstakes.  Enter more than once to up your odds.

Turn the package of your chocolate over and if you see Alkali listed in the ingredients, throw it out.  Better yet, don’t buy it. When the “Dutch” alkali process is used, it removes all of cocoa’s naturally beneficial nutrients.  The reason chocolate manufacturers do this is because they are using cocoa from trees grown in an acidic soil which makes it bitter.  Then, more sugar, often corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup is added to sweeten up this useless mess.

You want chocolate made from cocoa beans grown from trees rooted in alkaline soil.  Less sugar is needed due to its naturally wonderful chocolate flavor.  All those satiating up-lifting antoxidant nutrients are there for you to enjoy.  How do we know this? We interviewed Mark Ebling from Bissinger’s Handcrafted Chocolatier which began making cocoa for King Louis XIV in 1668.  Bissinger’s knows chocolate.  To learn more about chocolate from Mark  – it was fascinating… go to www.iTunes.com, Podcast, Better Food Choices.  Make sure your chocolate money is well spent enjoy!

… for the health of your family,
ellen

They went from Junk Food to Real Food and now swear by it. One boy was 16 and always “starving.”  The other was an overweight college kid.  And they have a dad with Type 2 diabetes.  Mom thought she was feeding her family good food but after a dinner with me, she realized Jello and other processed foods she was serving were counter-nourishing her family. Her turnaround story is brilliant. A first bit of advice is, “You can’t tell them. You must show them.”  If you want to be inspired and learn how overnight everyone of them voluntarily bought into her changes, listen to Vickie Peaire tell her story.  Go to www. BetterFoodChoicesRadio.com (date: Jan 27, 2012) and listen or find it on iTunes, Podcast, Better Food Choices.  You will be SO glad your did!

… for the health of your family,
ellen

Save money and Win a Case of Classic Macaroni and Cheese by Annie’s Homegrown.  Go to www.KidKritics.com/sweepstakes before Sunday night.