Artificial Additives

When you find your kids or yourself reaching for something sweet, reach for nuts, seeds, slices of cheese or turkey instead.  You will find you are not as interested in satisfying your sugar craving.  This will help keep your family and you from eating the average of 35 teaspoons of added sugar a day!  So many grams of sugar are hidden in processed foods as high fructose corn syrup, glucose, dextrose, fructose, maltodextrin, and more. Reading labels is the smart way to avoid buying any of these foods.  And, always having some protein finger food around as an alternative will save the day!

… for the health of families,
ellen

Brain Boosters for your kids! Enter to Win a Case of Yummi Bears Organics Brain Booster by Hero Nutritionals.  Go to www.KidKritics.com/sweepstakes today!

Prepare your womb with good eating habits before you are pregnant.  When you test positive for pregnancy you are already at least 2 weeks along.  So stop with the smoking, drinking and drugs well before you conceive to give your baby his or her best odds. Also, Dr. Keri Batiskov  says no raw fish or meat (sushi), deli meats, fast foods, unpasteurized milk and soft cheeses, artificial additives, fake sugars, fish with mercury, sodas… AND YES to fruits, vegetables, grains, meats, good fats, eggs,dairy and WATER!  "Eat from the earth."  Definitely take supplements per your doctor's recommendations, especially folic acid, and hold off on herbal supplements during your pregnancy.  Take the time to listen to more from Dr. Batiskov, go to www.BetterFoodChoicesRadio.com or iTunes ("Better Food Choices".

… for the health of your family,|
ellen

Thanks to Nutrition Babes Registered Dieticians, Lauren Harris Pincus and Kathy Siegel, we have a great list of cake toppings to replace sugar-filled frosting and dyed decorations:

- Icing: gluten-free, no high fructose corn syrup, no hydrogenated or trans fats whip cream: TruWhip
- Fresh fruit, cut or sliced
- Frozen fruit, drained
- Dried fruit
- Nuts, only when there are no allergy concerns
- Non-eatable decorations: curled ribbon, plastic creatures, other plastic decor

I am adding mint leaves and flowers (for girls)! Get creative.  Have you kids help decorate their cakes. For more delicious tips about Healthier Birthday Celebrations for home and school parties listen on iTunes, Better Food Choices.  Then, please, let us know your ideas!

… for the health of your family,
ellen

Don’t forget about the YOU WIN, YOU CHOSE! sweepstakes this week.  When I call the winner, he or she will tell me whether to ship a case of Original, Pizza, Hot Veggie Stix or Chips to him or her.  Plus this is the last week you can win “The Princess and the Pop Star” DVD by Veggie Tales.  Go to www.KidKritics.com/sweepstakes and enter today!

We are starting a Did You Know series.  This first one is a whopper.  It is reported that Chicken McNuggets are 50% chicken and 50% "corn derivatives, sugars, leavening agents and completely synthetic ingredients.  Two include: dimethylpolysiloxane anti-foaming agent made of silicone, and, tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) "a chemical preservative so deadly that just five grams can kill you."  Holy smokes.  Well, you say, there aren't  5 grams of TBHA in a serving.  That's no excuse.  Every bit adds up. How many times a week do your kids eat Chicken McNuggets?  How many weeks a year?  PLEASE, take a stand for your children and vote NO with your pocketbook…

… for the health of your family,
ellen

Win a Case of 6oz. bags of Pizza Veggie Sticks and the DVD, "The Princess and the Pop Star" by Veggie Tales.  This Veggie Stix & Veggie Tales sweepstakes series is more than half way over.  Don't miss out.  Go to www.KidKritics.com/sweepstakes today.  Enter more than once to up your odds!

SOURCE:  "The Chicken Which Should be Banned," posted by Dr. Mercola, www.Mercola.com, 11/8/2010

 High Fructose Corn Syrup  – looks harmless… not.

    Sugar Cane Crystals (not bleached)

Some restaurants and packaged food companies are “bowing to consumer concerns about HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) and replacing the sweetener with sugar…. It’s so hard. It’s in everything.” True. From ketchup to oyster crackers, HFCS has been the sweetener of choice for decades. Finally, many are waking up to the reality this needs to stop due to the research associating it with cancer and more. Sugar cane crystals are still sugar but are at least less processed. This change will up their prices since part of the appeal of HFCS was how cheap it was as an ingredient. Still, this is a good move and you can thank those who spoke up and said, “We don’t want it.” Keep speaking out…

… for the health of your family,
ellen

* Katy McLaughlin, “Sweet Revenge, Chefs Pour on the Sugar,” Wall Street Journal, 7/6 11, p. D1.