The folks in Portland, Maine have encouraged their community to follow the 5-2-1-0 program: EVERYDAY eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, engage in 2 hours or less of screen time, exercise at least 1 hour, and, consume 0 sugary drinks. A recent survey showed a significant increased dedication to this behavior pattern.  More kids are sitting down and eating fruits and vegetables which means parents are serving them.  45% of kids are watching less screen entertainment.  Water is replacing sodas.  The trend is moving in a healthy direction.  This 5-2-1-0 number series seems to make it easier for parents and children to follow this guideline.  Do you agree?  If so, we encourage you to adopt it in your home.

… for the health of families,
ellen

Win a Whole Free Range Turkey (Shelton’s Poultry) for your family. Go to www.KidKritics.com/sweepstakes to enter.  Shelton’s birds “don’t do drugs.”  You can really taste the delicious difference!

Do you want someone with authority to step in to try and the limit amount of sugary drinks kids drink? This as been suggested since recent research reveals that “85% said they had a sugar-sweetened drink at least once in the past week.”*  The policy of no sodas on school campuses has not made a measurable difference in how much of it kids drink.  And, we all know kids should not be drinking sugary junk drinks. What is your suggestion on this issue?

…  for the health of families,
ellen

How nice would it be to have a whole Case of “Amish style” Spelt Wide White Noodles by Vita Spelt in your pantry for holidays and winter meals?  The grain, spelt, offers a complete protein and scores low on the gluten scale  – it’s nutty delicious!  Makes them the preferred pasta.  Enter to win.  Go to www. KidKritics.com/sweepstakes today.  Enter more than once to up your odds.

*Ron Winslow, “Kids Keep Sipping Sodas”, Wall Street Journal, 11/8/11, D3.

I watch people putting cases and huge bottles of soda in their carts and wonder what they are thinking.  They are spending their hard earned money on carbonated dyed sugar water, described by some as Liquid Candy. They are kidding themselves when they are buying diet which is worse.  Both are empty of nutrients and full of disease related ingredients.  Not only are you paying for the actual soda, you will be soon paying for soda induced doctor  and pharmaceutical bills in the near and far future.  This is an addictive acting expensive habit. Buy water or water filters instead.  Stop throwing your money down the soda drain.  Can you afford to do this?

… for the health of families,
ellen

Wouldn’t you love to have a case of Tomato Basil Spaghetti Sauce by Simply Organic in your pantry for holiday cooking?  Enter to win one this week.  Go to www.KidKritics.com/sweepstakes today.

Author and Food Expert, Kimberly Stewart, is GIVING away her book, Eating Between the Lines. , the Supermarket Shopper's Guide to the Truth Behind Food Labels.   Go to www.eatingbetweenthelines.com and sign for it.  All addresses are kept confidential.  This is a must have book, a very generous offer.  Don't miss out.

(We learned how to spend money on which Eggs on today's radio show, www.BetterFoodChoicesRadio.com or iTunes (Better Food Choices) from Kimberly Stewart.  Great show!)

… for the health of families,
ellen and sally

Aspartame has been rebranded as AminoSweet

… for the health of your family,
ellen and sally

Please fill in this blank: “It’s easier to ____________________ than figure out what to feed my kids every day.”  Answer in a comment or email your response to ellen@KidKritics.com.  We will chose one and send the “author” a signed copy of our new book after it is finished and hot off the press!  We look forward to hearing from you… more than one fill-in is encouraged!

… for the health of your family,
ellen and sally

It doesn’t take much soda to overdose on sugar in a day.  On average, four ounces will do it.  There about 6 teaspoons of sugar in an 8 oz. soda.   A half cup has about 3  teaspoons.  Kids should have about 2 teaspoons of sugar a day.  Adults don’t need much more. When was the last time you saw a small 8 ounce container of soda?  Kids, teens and adults drinks a lot more, a recipe for obesity, diabetes and depression.  Drink ice cold water or diluted 100% fruit juice instead.

… for the health of your family,
ellen and sally

NutraSweet, Equal, Canderel and now AminoSweet are table top brand names for asparatame, the artificial sweetener known to “excite brain cells to death.” As an ingredient, aspartame is also found in over 6,000 foods: sodas, chewing gum, diet foods and drinks, cereals, jams, candy, supplements… the list goes on and on.

From headaches, mood changes and even hallucinations, aspartame seriously impacts your nervous system. (That includes your brain.) It mimics and/or contributes to diseases such as MS, Alzheimer’s, ADD, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, Parkinson’s, seizures and hythyroidism. This is serious stuff. Plus, when exposed to heat, it turns to formaldyhide and then formic acid which is stored in your fat – not a good thing. Aspartame makes you crave carbohydrates. Instead of losing weight with this “Sugar-Free” artificial sweetener, you tend to gain weight.

When the public gets wind of the questionable properties of a product, it gets rebranded – it is given a new name and package. This is what has happened here. Don’t be fooled by their use of the word “Amino” which may lead you to believe it’s a healthy sweet. It is absolutely the opposite. Please, out smart the producer of asparatame. Do Not buy their song and dance. Keep it away from you kids. Eat pure sugar cane instead, just not too much.

… for the health of families,
ellen

This is a site for sore eyes.  Look at this adorable little girl walking on the beaching clutching her big bottle of Coke.  Shouldn’t she be clutching a pail with a shovel or a bottle of water? Instead, she is owning this soda – its mine.  (Check the body language). This darling girl was born wholesome and healthy with her whole life before her.  Someone is tampering with her future by giving her a Coke. 

Man-made Coke is pure acid, one of the best rust removers you can buy.  This is what this precious child is pouring down her throat.  It looks like she is carrying a regular Coke but it could be a Diet Coke … just can’t tell from this photo.  Either way, she is drinking an excessive amount of unnatural sugar, artificial dyes, sodium, caffeine, phosphoric and carbonic acid – all of which seriously over-stimulate and deplete everyone’s body much less one of a little girl.  

In addition, sodas dehydrate the mind and body.  Now, remember, she in on the beach in a sun dress so the outdoor temperature has to be at least warm, if not hot. This little girl needs to be hydrated. Our body temperature is 98.6 degrees F.  Don’t you think that when you hold a bottle of soda against your body it is going to become warm, maybe as warm as your body?  Odds are this bottle of Coke is warm which presents additional unwanted consequences, especially if is sweetened with aspartame.  When aspartame is heated to 86 degrees Fahrenheit, it turns to formaldehyde and then formic acid (red ant sting juice). This opens the door for some real health challenges. 

So, review what is going on in this photo.  A cute little girl is walking the beach on a warm sunny day, pressing her bottle of Coke against her body.  The person who took this photo witnessed her periodically drinking her beloved Coke.  She said, “Watching her was heart-breaking.”  It breaks my heart, too.  Please, be smarter than this family and give your kids spring water or Vitamin Waters to drink when you play at the beach – or during time of year.

… for the health of your family,

ellen

Twelve Worst Foods
1. Candy artificially dyed, sweetened and flavored
(Examples: M&Ms, Smarties)
2. Candy Cereal
(Examples: Fruit Loops, Lucky Charms)
3. Doughnuts
4. Drinks: Artificially sweetened, artificially dyed, artificially flavored drinks
(Examples: Kool-Aid, Crystal Light, Gatorade, Powerade)
5. French Fries (all deep fried food)
6. Lunchables
7. Margarine
8. Pizza with extra cheese and pepperoni
9. Pop Tarts
10. Pork products (bacon, chops, tenderloin, hotdogs)
11. Soda – ALL
12. Sugars: Refined sugars and sugar substitutes
(Examples: high fructose corn syrup, Splenda, Nutri-Sweet)

Honorable Mentions … couldn’t help ourselves as these should be part of the twelve.
A. Bleached and bromated flours
(Examples: white flour, white breads/rolls, white pasta, cakes and pastries)
B. Lunch meats with nitrates
C. Milk, non-organic

For the health of your family, AVOID these foods.
ellen