Junk Food

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.

“Hooked on chicken nuggets: Girl, 17, who has eaten nothing else since age TWO rushed to hospital after collapsing.” *

Apparently this teenager has never eaten fruit or vegetables.  Now she is in hospital with  swollen veins in her tongue, has anemia and has been warned that she was killing herself.

You say, no way this can happen.  I say, “Yes Way.”  Too many times I have has parents tell me, “My son/daughter will only eat chicken nuggets so that’s what I give him or her.  They refuse to eat anything else.”  I simply look at them and wonder who’s the boss.  Moms and dads, you have to guide your children away from the wrong decisions and to the right ones.  Sometimes that is easier said than done, yet, the alternative can be deadly.

Keep in mind you may be working against addictions.  Unfortunately, ingredients put in some foods are purposely habit forming.  Take charge now and avoid disaster later.  I am using strong words.  Don’t underestimate the consequences.  Steer your kids into making better food choices today and tomorrow.

… for the health of your family,
ellen

P. S. Please pray for this girl.

* This is a report from the U.K.

It just makes me mad.  Plain yogurt is healthy.  It is what many food companies do to it that makes it unhealthy. You think yogurt with fruit on the bottom is healthy – too many have more sugar than a candy bar.  Watch for the amount of sugar and ingredients in all flavored yogurts. Better to buy plain and add your own fresh or frozen fruit.  Bottled drinkable yogurts/smoothies may have as many calories as an ice cream dessert.  Again, it is all the added ingredients used to make it that are collectively unhealthy.  Instead, make you own yogurt smoothies with fresh fruit.  Frozen yogurt is mostly misleading as to its health benefits.  By the time it is flavored and sprinkled with toppings, you are really looking at an ice cream sundae.  Please watch out for sugar and fat-free versions.  Artificial ingredients are the worst!  Now you know not to be fooled by some food companies.  Outsmart them with your knowledge – Buy Smart.

… for the health of your family,
ellen

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The 10 Worst Cereals in terms of sugar per cup

Cereal, grams of sugar per cup, teaspoons of sugar:

• Kellogg's Honey Smacks, 20.0, 5 tsp

• Post Golden Crisp, 18.7, 4.6 tsp.

• Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch Original, 16.0, 4 tsp.

• Quaker Oats Oh!s, 16.0, 4 tsp

• Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch OOPS! All Berries, 15.0, 3.7 tsp

• Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch's Crunch Berries, 14.7, 3.6 tsp

• Kellogg's Froot Loops Marshmallow, 14.0,3.5 tsp

• Kellogg's Smorz, 13.0, 3.2 tsp

• Kellogg's Apple Jacks, 12.0, 3.0 tsp

• Kellogg's Froot Loops Original, 12.0, 3 tsp

Alternatives:

• Post Shredded Wheat,* 0.0, 0 tsp

• Kellogg's Mini-Wheats Unfrosted Bite-Size,* 0.6, 0.15 tsp

• Cheerios Original, 1.0, 0.25 tsp

• Kix Original, 2.4, 0.6 tsp

• Post Grape-Nuts Flakes, 5.3, 1.3 tsp

• Quaker Oats Oatmeal Squares Cinnamon,* 6.0, 1.5 tsp

• Post Bran Flakes, 6.7, 1.6 tsp

• Post Honey Bunches of Oats with Vanilla Bunches,* 8.0, 2 tsp

* The serving size for dense cereals was adjusted to a serving (2/3 cup) with roughly the same weight as a cup of most light cereals.

Source: Environmental Working Group – THANK YOU!

Please avoid the sugar cereals and use the others as snacks, not the central source for breakfast nutrients.  Give your kids a better start , especially on school days.

… for the health of your family,
ellen

  (Not the recent ad I am referring to – don't you think this is dumb?) 

It frosts me when ads give you misinformation in order to sell, sell, sell.  Be smarter than they think you are.  Follow your gut instinct rather than be misled.  The most recent ad that makes my hair stand on end is about sugar and high fructose corn syrup.  What research has shown is that processed corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, impacts the body differently than plain sugar cane. The results are linked to diseases.  They lead you to believe this is not so – its okay to eat high fructose corn syrup.  Not.  One thing they do say that is right is "Sugar is sugar."  True.  However, the sugar's origin and how it is processed impacts the molecular structures which determines the impact it has on your body when you eat it. We say stay away from high fructose corn syrup and when you need a sweetener, use sugar cane. Also, please less is better. 

… for the health of your family,
ellen

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