Cravings

My dear husband (AH) stayed home from work today (he has a terrible cold) and so as I prepared to head out to do my weekly grocery shopping he asked me to pick up a few items on his food list.  The problem with his list is that nearly every item contained ingredients that are essentially banned from our house: high fructose corn syrup and/or hydrogenated oil. 

As a compromise to the food changes we have been making in our home the last few years, I have agreed to keep buying him his favorite brand of peanut butter (a particular brand that was once labeled by Dr. Oz (via the Oprah Show) as the worst possible peanut butter on the market) with the trade off being that our daughter will ask him, “Daddy, why do you want to die?”, every time he gets it out (seriously she does this of her own accord).  It’s his one food vice that I won’t forcefully ban from our home (mine is box macaroni & cheese – though currently I have none in stock; the guilt of eating it has become too much for me).

As we discussed his food requests, and my reluctance to purchase much of it, AH pointed out that his diet has always consisted of three snack staples:  eggs, cookies and cold cereal.  I have all but eliminated cookies from our house (unless homemade, which are very rarely made) and cold cereals have been limited to the expensive, minimally processed healthy stuff – not nearly as appealing to AH or his wallet.  So he’d down to eggs and possibly getting a little tired of them.  He needs his cookies and cereal, he craves them! (or so he told me today)

I am not a total food tyrant so I said I would consider the granola bars on his list provided I can come across some that weren’t made with HFCS.  I told him I would pick up a few different brands and then we could taste test until he finds one that he likes and that I can tolerate having in our house.

A few hours later I am standing in Costco reading all the different granola bar ingredient labels.  Each one has HFCS within its top 5 ingredients (for most it was actually the second ingredient).  I came across one that doesn’t have HFCS as an ingredient however it does have other corn based components, but I can compromise so long as they are not a top 5 ingredient.  (I also picked up some bars from PCC for AH to try that are much better options – we’ll see which one he chooses). 

I then headed over to buy AH his peanut butter.  As I reviewed the choices, crunchy or smooth, I could not remember which he favored so I called him to ask.

“Hello”, he answered.

“Crunchy or smooth?” I asked.

“What?” he laughs while trying to sound confused by the question.

“Do you want crunchy or smooth toxic peanut butter?”

“Crunchy, of course,” he responded. 

“Okay.  Also, I checked out your granola bars and nearly every brand has HFCS in its top 5 ingredients so I won’t be buying those.  I did find one brand here (Costco) that was somewhat acceptable and a few others from PCC so I’ll bring them home and you can pick which one you like best,” I told him. 

He quickly responded with sarcasm, “Really how awful can HFCS be?  It seems to be in everything so it must not be that bad.”

I laughed and laughed all the way to pick out his sugary cereal, of which I refused to read the ingredient label.

BTW – AH is encouraged to keep all the cookies and sugary cereals he wants in his office. .  at work.

Chicago School Bans Homemade Lunches

An interesting article is making the rounds about an elementary school in Chicago that has banned homemade lunches requiring all students to eat cafeteria food, unless allergies or other special conditions apply. The ban started six years ago (I am not sure why this is making the news now) when the principal watched students bringing "bottles of soda and flaming hot chips" as part of their lunches during school field trips.

The school is in a lower income area of the city and historically low income areas have a very high obesity rate due to the cheap cost of highly processed sugary foods. In a related article writer Lize Goodwin of "The Lookout" wrote:

"Change in Chicago's school cafeterias feeds into a larger effort to combat the country's childhood obesity epidemic. About a third of America's kids are overweight or obese, and since children consume at least 30 percent of their calories while in school, making lunches healthier is seen as one way to counter that problem. Poorer kids are also more likely to be obese or overweight than middle class kids, and to consume a bigger proportion of their calories while at school. Forty-four percent of American kids living below the poverty line are obese or overweight, according to a 2010 study published in Health Affairs."

While I haven't been able to locate the schools menu a parent comment in the article indicates that the food this school provides is much healthier than what has been traditionally offered or brought from home. If it is anything like to food offered in our local schools I would not be a happy parent either, but I withhold my judgment as I haven't seen what they are actually serving these students.

This isn't the only school making changes. Nationwide many schools are making big nutritional modifications for the better by banning foods high in fat or sugar, removing flavored milks and soda vending machines. One example is a small school located on the south side (that would be a lower income area) of Chicago called the Academy for Global Citizenship. This school offers its students organic foods that are prepared on site (which is reimbursable under the National School Lunch Program), has planted a school garden and has chicken coop with three laying chickens. (read more about a sample lunch (with pictures) and the writers experience on her blog "Fed Up With Lunches")


If you want to be really inspired by school lunches take a look at this video that shows France's school cuisine (I'll take it! . . . minus the snails). Doesn't it open your eyes to the possibility of gourmet school lunches as well as how it teaches life long healthy eating habits to the students?

Though many of the comments about the Chicago school homemade lunch food ban are hostile and outraged I'll hold my formal opinion until actual details are known about what is really being served in that particular school. Of course if it is similar to what is being offered at the Academy for Global Citizenship I'll be asking if I can eat there too!

Code Word: Sugar

A considerable difference between today’s standard grocery foods and the foods our parents and grandparents grew up eating is sugar.  We can thank the introduction of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) into our diets in 1980 for a significant portion of the change as it has since become the leading sweetener in our food.  Initially this might not seem so appalling except that we didn’t stop using, or cut back on, our intake of refined sugar; we now consume both and in large quantities (all the more sugary sweetness). 

Since 1985 the standard annual consumption of HFCS has gone from 45 pounds per year to 66 pounds per year, per person.  If you combine this with the refined sugars we were already eating our annual sugar intake has gone from 128 pounds to 158 pounds per year, averaging 2-3 pounds of sugar eaten per week, per person! (page 128, "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan)  When you consider that in 1890 the annual average sugar intake was 5 pounds per year aren’t you astounded?  Guess what also went up with our sugar intake?  Cancer, cardiovascular disease, Type II diabetes, obesity, and so forth. 

Thanks to Laura Dolson and her article titled “Sugar’s Many Disguises” you can easily decode the names of sugar hidden on the ingredient labels of your food.

Here is a list of some of the possible code words for “sugar” which may appear on a food label. Hint: the words “syrup”, “sweetener”, and anything ending in “ose” can usually be assumed to be “sugar”. If the label says “no added sugars”, it should not contain any of the following, although the food could contain naturally-occurring sugars (such as lactose in milk).

• Agave Nectar
• Corn sweetener
• Corn syrup, or corn syrup solids
• Cane Juice
• Dehydrated Cane Juice
• Dextrin
• Dextrose
• Fructose
• Fruit juice concentrate
• Glucose
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Honey
• Invert sugar
• Lactose
• Maltodextrin
• Malt syrup
• Maltose
• Mannitol
• Maple syrup
• Molasses
• Raw sugar
• Rice Syrup
• Saccharose
• Sorbitol
• Sorghum or sorghum syrup
• Sucrose
• Syrup
• Treacle
• Turbinado Sugar
• Xylose

In addition to its various names sugar can be found in just as wide of a variety of products.  Specifically HFCS can be found in many cereals, candy bars, Power Bar, breads, sodas, stuffing, ketchups, miracle whip, cough syrups, Cool Whip, Yoplait Yogurts, Claussen pickles, Mott’s applesauce, ice creams, syrups, salad dressings, marinades, Oscar Meyer Lunchables, and so much more.  (Click here to see a list – a little outdated but worth a look)

A bit overwhelming isn’t it?  To balance it out HERE is a list of foods that do not contain HFCS.

HFCS can also be found in organic foods (so long as it is grown organically) so it is important to read labels no matter where you shop and use your decoder to see what is hidden in your food.

Chicken & Bowtie Pasta

We had this for dinner last night along with a fruit salad of strawberries, banana and oranges ~ so yummy!

There was no specific recipe I worked from - just items I thought sounded yummy together.

Chicken Bowtie Pasta

 

1 Chicken Breast - pounded to about ¼ - ½” in thickness

2 Tb. Olive Oil

1 Tb. Soy Sauce

1 tsp. Steak Seasoning (Montreal Steak Seasoning or something like it)

1 pkg. Whole Wheat Bowtie Pasta

6 oz. Fresh Mozzarella (preferably soft), cubed

2 c. Sliced Mushrooms

¼ c. Diced Onions

1 tsp. butter (I use Earth Balance Organic Buttery Spread)

2 Roma Tomatoes – diced

2 Cloves Chopped Garlic (or 1 tsp. pre-chopped/minced garlic)

¼ c. Olive Oil

2 Tb. Balsamic Vinaigrette

Cook pasta according to package directions.  

In a small bowl combine chopped garlic, ¼ c. olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette – mix together and set aside.

Preheat grill or pan to med-high heat.  In a Ziploc back combine 2 Tb. olive oil, soy sauce and steak seasoning and gently mix together – add chicken making sure to coat all sides.  Place chicken on a hot grill or in pan and cook for 3 minutes per side.  Remove, cut it into rough cubes and set aside.

While chicken is cooking sauté onions and mushrooms in melted butter until onions are slightly translucent - remove from heat.

Put cooked pasta into a large serving bowl.  Add in cheese, mushrooms, onion, tomatoes, chicken – mix together.  Pour garlic, olive oil, vinaigrette mixture over top and toss until noodles are coated. 

I would have liked to have added some chives but I was out so I’ll have to add them next time.

Why Organic?

First thing you should know right from the get-go is that I consider organic whole foods one of the key ingredients for eating nutritious and healthy.  Why?  It’s really quite simple; it is not healthy to eat foods that have chemicals that are literally toxic to your body.  There are other factors as well but for today this is where I am starting so, for the record, any recipes I post you can presume all ingredients are organic (though whether you make it that way is completely up to you). 

The downside to eating organic is that it does cost more.  Can you afford it?  Absolutely.  Any family on a tight food budget can work some important healthful organic items into it, it's just a matter of choices.  Often it is easiest to start by committing to purchase just a couple of items organically on a regular basis (might I suggest apples?) and then expand as you adjust your budget to the costs. 

Last year when I switched over to an all organic grocery list (there are still a few items not found at our local organic grocery store) two things happened; first – I do a much better job of planning out my menu each week since the organic grocery store carries mostly whole foods and not nearly as many convenient processed food.  I definitely need to know what I am cooking before going inside.  Having an organized menu for the week and a well thought out grocery list means I am not tempted to buy non-list items and this saves me money.  Second, the local natural and certified organic grocery store (PCC is my preferred store) doesn’t have all the sale hype extras that lure you in to buying more than you intended.  When I am in PCC I feel like I can focus on my list and not be distracted by the next best deal on food with no nutritional value, and this too saves me more money.  

“I like to say, “pay more, eat less.” There’s no escaping the fact that better food—whether measured by taste or nutritional quality (which often correspond)— costs more, usually because it has been grown with more care and less intensively. Not everyone can afford to eat high-quality food in American, and that is shameful; however, those of us who can, should. Doing so benefits not only your health (by, among other things, reducing your exposure to pesticides and pharmaceuticals), but also the health of the people who grow the foods as well as the people who live downstream and downwind of the farms where it is grown.”   Michael Pollan, Sustainable Eating & Nutrition

I was curious to see how my food bill was impacted by “going organic” and after tracking my spending for a few months I was surprised, though I shouldn’t have been, to see that my food bill actually went down a little.  Obviously better planning on my part and far fewer impulse buys makes it affordable for me to eat healthier.

Not ready to go all organic?  No problem!  Here are a few links that highlight which food items really ought to be eaten organic and how to eat organic on a budget:

• 7 Foods So Unsafe Even Farmers Won’t Eat Them*

• MSN Organic on a Budget

• 17 Tips For Buying Organic Food On The Cheap

 

*Having a hard time finding jarred tomatoes? Here is a link that gives some alternatives to canned tomatoes and avoiding BPA as a result.