Archive for 411

Yummy Peanut Butter,Yucky Peanut Butter!

March 1, 2010 · Filed under 411, Costco, Products I can't live without, kids · Tagged ,

 

 Organic Creamy Peanut Butter

2 Tbsp

(Costco Kirkland Brand)

   

Regular Creamy Peanut Butter

2 Tbsp

(Jif Brand)
Calories 200 Calories 200
Protein 9 grams Protein 7 grams
Total Fat 16 grams Total Fat 16 grams
Saturated Fat 3 grams Saturated Fat 3 grams
Trans Fat 0 grams Trans Fat 0 grams (umm, not really see below)
Cholesterol 0 mg Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 45 mg Sodium 150mg
Total Carbs 7 g Total Carbs 7g
Dietary Fiber 2 grams Dietary Fiber 2 grams
Sugars 2 grams Sugars 3 grams
   
   
IngredientsDry roasted organic peanuts and salt. IngredientsMADE FROM ROASTED PEANUTS AND SUGAR. CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: MOLASSES, FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, SALT.
   

 

Ounce for Ounce these 2 Peanut Butters look pretty similar?  Yep, that is the kicker.  The only glaring difference is that Jif has 3 times more salt!  But this is America, land of the loopholes.  The 2% or less (per serving, not jar) allows companies to post 0 trans fats as long as there is less than half a gram in a serving.  A serving is two tablespoons. Two percent would be 9 grams of trans fat per 454 gram jar.

Does peanut butter REALLY need to be Organic?  Pesticides and the peanuts: Peanuts are one of the most highly sprayed crops out there.  You decide.  My kids eat so much of the stuff it is a no-brainer for me.

If your peanut butter is SOLID when you put the knife in it has trans fat, that is why an oil that should not be solid is!  Period. 

Tips for dealing with the oil:

The oil in peanuts is monounsaturated, and diets high in this type of fat have been shown to lower levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol while preserving levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol. Peanut oil also contains beta-sitosterol, a plant sterol that studies show can inhibit cancer growth.

Sure, you could dump the oil, but I say keep it! So here is how to have less mess

  • Store the PB upside down before opening it!  The oil will rise to the bottom of the jar and then you can sir it back in with less mess.
  • If you just want to dump it, try dumping half
  • Dump all the oil out mix PB by adding it back in a bit at a time

*I would also like to note my girlfriend told me she didn’t buy organic peanut butter because she has no room in her fridge!  I thought “Oh crud, I have never put it in the fridge!”  I promptly came home and checked and Costco’s Organic PB does not need to be refrigerated!

 

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You Are What You Eat

February 24, 2010 · Filed under 411, Advice from the Experts, Reference/Books/Help · Tagged ,

You Are What You Eat  is a fun little show on the BBC.  Set your DVR or TIVO for this show and record!  It is only 30 minutes, but really all the reminder you need for why eating fresh and healthy is best!  The host Gillian McKeith, and the shows commentator make it entertaining, and informative!  You also learn a lot of valuable information!

http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/273/index.jsp

Gillian McKeith is a great resource for healthy eating and living.  I have two of her books (just saw them at FredMeyer) and she uses a lot of photos, bullet-points, and the layouts are easy to nagivgate…get the facts, the 411, and move on!

 

Her website is worth checking out! http://www.gillianmckeith.info/

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Maria.

February 21, 2010 · Filed under 411, Advice from the Experts · Tagged

When Maria and I are speaking the same language I know I am on the right track, and so should you!

(Poop in our soda? NICE!)

Top 5 Reasons NOT to Drink Soda

February 19, 2010

Talk of a “sugar tax” on soda has people all abuzz about whether it’s an American thing to financially punish people for drinking soda or not. I say go ahead and tax soda, and here are five good reasons why:

1. Soda is one more cause of the climate crisis. We have exported our carbon dioxide addiction all around the world. Just think of the costs in fuel to ship it—and the emissions produced. Maybe if we stop drinking so much of it, the appeal of American sodas will decline elsewhere. And at least in most other countries, the local soda is still made with real sugar!

2. Yeah, yeah, yeah…high-fructose corn syrup. HFCS is only cheaper than sugar because our government subsidizes the toxic, poisonous farming of corn in order to keep chemical companies (and maybe big tractor companies, too) in business. Plus, studies have shown that high-fructose corn syrup has mercury in it. So all those moms who think (incorrectly) that mercury in vaccines causes autism had better not be giving their kids soda!

3. Diet soda causes people to make poor decisions. According to a recent study, people who drink diet sodas think they are getting some energy, but their bodies still feel starved, so they kick into famine mode. Which basically means that the future doesn’t matter, all that matters is getting a next dose of fuel—hence, impulsive, short-term thinking. Amazing.

4. Soda isn’t really thirst quenching anyway. Did you ever really, really pay attention to how your mouth feels when you drink a soda? All that sugar kind of sucks out the liquids from your mouth and leaves a taste that is so icky you have to eat something to get rid of it. So not only are you getting empty calories from your drink, but you are urged to snack, too.

5. Fountain soda has fecal matter in it! It’s been a bad couple of weeks for soda in the news. Another study just this past week found that more than 40 percent of all fountain sodas have traces of fecal matter germs in them. It’s not in the ice, it’s in the soda itself. This was highly disappointing to me personally, since when I do have soda, I really like to have fountain soda with lots of ice in it to water it down and make it somewhat more thirst quenching. Now even that is off limits to me. I look at that cup of Coke with a lid and a straw and think, fecal matter? No thanks.

The only time I really bring soda into my house is when we are sick. There is nothing quite like a real coke or ginger ale to soothe an aching stomach. It’s medicine, really, and frankly, I think it should be treated as such. Think of all the plastic bottles, sugar, and toxic GMO corn we can keep out of the waste stream (and our bodies) if we stop drinking soda routinely.

Thirsty? Buy bottled water instead. YES, bottled water. It’s thirst quenching, has zero calories, and is damn good for you. Of course, you can fill your reusable water bottle with local tap water for free, instead of paying too much for water that’s been shipped and is probably municipal water anyway. And you should. But if you are at a gas station and need something to drink, pass over the soda and don’t feel guilty if a cold bottle of water hits the spot. (Just recycle that bottle.)

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Simple.

February 20, 2010 · Filed under 411, Advice from the Experts · Tagged

 courtesy of Dr. Oz

If you see one of these five ingredients listed as one of the first five things used to make it, don’t eat it.

High fructose corn syrup
“We most commonly get this in soft drinks,” Dr. Oz says. “It’s an inexpensive sugar, which means we’re getting a lot of it in our diet.”

Sugar
Dr. Oz says when you eat sweets, your brain receives schizophrenic messages. “It says: ‘I got calories, but I didn’t get any nutrients,’” he says. Your body will keep craving food until it gets those nutrients. (it is looking more and more like artificial sweeteners (Diet Coke) fall in this category too!)

“Enriched”
Also watch out for products made with “enriched” flour, like white bread. “Why would they take bread and have to enrich it? Because they take all the important vitamins out of it, and they sprinkle just a little bit back in there,” Dr. Oz says.

Trans fat
Also known as hydrogenated fat, these are fats that were once in liquid form but have hydrogen added to make them solid at room temperature. “It extends the shelf life of the product,” Dr. Oz says. “But it shortens the human life.”

Saturated fats
These fats come from four-legged animals like pigs and cows.

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Are Organics Worth Their Price?

February 18, 2010 · Filed under 411, Advice from the Experts, Fruit · Tagged

That is the title of a GREAT article in this month’s Oprah magazine!

The Environmental Working Group, EWG sorted data from over 85,000 USDA and FDA tests to help us figure out when we should throw down the dough for organic, and when it is ok to go mainstream…NICE!

 Check out their list here!

http://www.foodnews.org/fulllist.php

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Q and A for Tracy!

February 17, 2010 · Filed under 411, Costco, Fast Food Options, Food, Fruit, Reference/Books/Help, Trader Joe's, kids · Tagged

My friend Tracy watched Food Inc. a few days ago and I am so impressed!  Instead of burying her head in the sand she is being PROACTIVE!  Go GIRL!

She emailed me some Q & A, so here is my 411!

Do you buy all organic?  

I do not buy all organic.  If I am not sure whether or not something needs to be organic I google it and do some reasearch.  I try to buy organic when it is something my kids consume a lot of.  I also go by the rule of buying organic when the “skin is thin”. 

Go organic: apples, peaches, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, grapes, pears, nectarines, peppers, celery, potatoes, and carrots

Save your cash: avocados, eggplants, pineapples, bananas, corn, kiwi, mangoes, papaya, sweet peas, oranges, grapefruit, and squash

Go organic: all lettuces and greens such as kale, collards, mustard, swiss chard, and spinach

Save your cash: broccoli, cabbage, asparagus, cauliflower, eggplant, melons, and sweet potatoes 

Go organic: milk, yogurt, and cheese (milk and yogurt I am firm on.  String cheese I also buy organic because my kids eat a lot of it.  I buy regular cheese for sprinkling on chili or a quesadilla because we eat soooo little of it.)

You can also buy a lot of organic berries frozen, and I use those in shakes every day!

Eating organic seems really expensive?

I thought so too at first, but if you pay attention it really isn’t that much more.  Given that eating cleaner also led us to eating at home more, we have saved tons of money (and calories)!  Also when you are conscious of what you are eating you buy foods you know you will eat, verses a lot of stuff I just tossed out in the past.

The one thing you realize very quickly is if you eat IN SEASON you will save money.  I bought two spaghetti squashes at Trader Joe’s the other day for $1.75 each.  They keep forever in a cold, dark place and allow me to feed 4 of us, plus leftovers for about $5 (when I add the pasta sauce and a salad). 

Winter has forced me to explore new foods (squash, leeks, carrots, and lentils) that I use to stay away from.  I love summer.  The farmer markets around here make eating organic, and clean, so EASY! 

We don’t eat a lot of meat and that is what gets pricey if you are buying grass-fed (the GMO Corn is as concerning to me as the hormones and antibiotics (we were not raised with these things) being put into our bodies in the amounts our kids are exposed to.  We feed this to the cattle, but it is also in almost all of our processed foods).

We eat lots of seafood.  Frozen tilapia, and wild Alaskan salmon are pretty inexpensive at Costco.

Join the PCC (or any local co-op).  You are supporting local growers, and your local economy, and you know you are getting good stuff!  It was a $65 fee to join, and I get a coupon for 10% off every month and you also get 5% off every 15th and 16th of the month and a newsletter with great recipes for eating in season.

Also, I view it as an investment.  I would rather spend a bit more up front and keep us all as healthy as possible, than pay downstream in medical bills.

I went to Trader Joe’s today and did pretty good-just paying more attention to labels.

They say to watch the first 3 ingredients, I try to watch the 1st five.  Watch for sugar, corn syrup, high-fructose corn-syrup.  A clean, clear label with words you can pronounce is a GOOD THING!  I think the best book you could read to learn about all of this is Michael Pollan’s, In Defense of Food.  He also has a great explanation (cliff notes if you will) in Food Rules, for why and how to eat healthier.

Good rules to follow (when you can)

No sugar.  

No high fructose corn syrup.  

No trans fats.  (hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated)

No saturated fats.

Nothing enriched.  

Words you don’t know or cannot pronounce. (Mono- dyglicerides for example)

And extra words, like “added”!

Do you cook every night?  If you do, what kind of meals do you make? 

I do.  If we eat out or do take out as a family it is sushi, subway, taco time or Indian food.  Or occasionally we order Zeeks and I get half- no cheese loaded with veggies and sauce (you would be surprised)!  It is just easier for me to know what I am putting in my mouth, and to know where it came from and what has been done to it.

We eat lots of lentils (a million ways to cook these and Trader Joe’s has them pre-cooked so you can just add them to a recipe), chili (vegetarian, or turkey-homemade or bought), salmon, tilapia, shrimp, tofu (don’t knock it til you have tried it), soups, salads (oil and vinegar, or a variation….no more ranch or other sugar and fat dressings), and whole grains. Whole grain pastas, wild rice, brown rice, quinoa, and tabouleh (this one takes 30 minutes and just hot water).  And I do cook chicken, and red meat, just not often, and I do buy it from the PCC or Whole Foods.

The kids love chili night, my tortilla soup, and we make pizzas all the time-their FAV!  It is amazing what kids will put on their pizza if they help put it in the topping bowls, and then we just throw them on the BBQ.  (Whole foods and TJ both sell pizza dough for under $3.00). 

We bought some crab for Valentine’s Day, so tonight was crab cakes, shrimp and a salad – YUMMERS!

What do you send with your kids for lunch?

What is tough about lunches is being creative, and making it fun enough that they don’t harp on wanting all the crud the kid next to them has!  The first day of school this year James came home asking when he could have a gogurt?  So we had a chat about food, verses fun food, verses sugar, chemicals and food coloring masquerading as yogurt.  It is impossible to ask your kids to eat healthy if you do not.  I have found my kids are pretty cool about it because they want to be like Mom and Dad.  Some day that will change, and then I will focus on how those “fun foods” make us feel (tired, lethargic, thristy…so on).

There is no peanut butter allowed at his school so it is turkey cheese, sunbutter, cream cheese and jelly.  The key is the bread, this is where I try to make it as nutritious as possible.  We also do wraps and he likes hummus, turkey,cream cheese, cucumbers.  I do send a juice box, Hansen’s 100% juice (Costco).  I wish he would drink water…but lets be real.  We then send a fruit-seasonal, so right now it is small tangerines, apple slices, or pear slices.  We also send hummus and chips. He loves cucumber slices with lemon pepper on them (so do I)).

The junk food/treat is either stretch island fruit leather, kids cliff bar (Costco), dried mango slices (Costco), or a cookie (they might be organic, or vegan, he doesn’t know nor care).  I look for things that maybe aren’t perfect, but better than the alternative.  Last week the kid next to him got 8 OREOS, a chocolate milk, and some Cheeze-Its for lunch.  I sware, people have lost their minds!

I will post my Costco and Trader Joe’s Grocery lists, the staples that I always pick up.  I still hit Safeway for basics, and their organic brand is pretty good.  I have not been down any of the middle aisles at Safeway in ages.

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Yummy yogurt, Yucky yogurt

February 8, 2010 · Filed under 411, Breakfast, kids · Tagged

Yogurt is a staple in our home, but the yogurt you find in my fridge today is nothing like the yogurt you would have found over a year ago.  I think yogurt in America has become nothing more than a base for adding sugar, food coloring, additives, high-fructose corn syrup, potassium sorbate, sodium citrate, caramel color, and EXTRA YUMMY stuff like modified food starch.  Would any of you guessed you needed any of those things to make yogurt?

It is sad that our taste buds have evolved to a place where even our dairy products need to be ”fake” in flavor and pink or green to appeal to our eyes!  Come on people, you know when you peel the lid back and dip your spoon into a “Key Lime” flavored yogurt with a thick, neon-green syrup at the bottom that you are not really eating fresh lime, right?  RIGHT?

Again, moderation.  If your kids need to have a Go-gurt once or twice a week, probably not a big deal (I don’t buy these).  Personally if I were going to buy these, and serve them, it would be an occasional treat, and as dessert!  Let’s teach our kids that junk food is, well, junk…instead of raising them believing junk food is food!

Greek yogurt can be sweetened up for your kids in several healthy ways.  Add a few drops of Agave, a small spoonful of a healthy jam, fresh blueberries, crunchy cereal…PLAY AROUND with it.

Here is a comparison of Yummy vs. Yucky yogurt!  I wanted an Apples-to-Apples comparison, though I doubt many of us purchase this version of “Yucky” yogurt, it is probably much, much worse!

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Why Diet Coke and I are no longer speaking

January 22, 2010 · Filed under 411 · Tagged , ,

I am asked almost every week why I quit Diet Coke.  Here is what I KNEW when I made the decision to quit diet soda (I refer to it all as Diet Coke):

  1. I had been consuming multiple Diet Cokes pretty much every day of my life since I was 7 or 8 years old 
  2. I had been 10 – 30 pounds over-weight since I was about 9 years old
  3.  Every diet or weight-loss plan I ever tried ALLOWED me to drink my Diet Coke
  4.  The only constant in my diet that I had never stopped consuming was Diet Coke

One day I read an article about a woman who quit drinking Diet Coke and lost 60 lbs in a year.  Now she was quite a bit larger than me, with more weight to lose, but it did leave me thinking…” Diet Coke…could that be the culprit?”

I know many SKINNY people who drink Diet Coke.  My theory is this;  for some reason, in some people, artificial sweetener wreaks havoc!  Soda is Big Business and I think it will be years before it is PROVED that Diet Coke is bad for us, but slowly more and more research is being done and the findings keep leaning towards the dark side!  The theories basically range from our bodies don’t recognize artificial sweeteners so the signal to our brains may get screwed-up leaving us thinking we are hungry when we are not, or that artificial sweeteners  are not recognized by our bodies so the taste leaves our body craving actual sugar and  there is higher likelihood that you will consume more food after drinking your diet soda.

The 2nd scenario was definitely true for me.  It always seemed after I had a Diet Coke I needed a little somethin’-somethin’.  I would find myself searching for a snack, almost without realizing it.  WEIRD!

So I basically quit Diet Coke because it was the only thing I had never quit, and for me it worked.  Granted, I eat and live totally differently now too, but that is because I am not driven by my cravings, headaches, low-energy, and poor food choices, which I PERSONALLY believe were all fueled by my MASSIVE Diet Coke consumption!

What are some GOOD Reasons to quit Diet Coke?

1)       It has NO nutritional value

2)       We are made up of 60 to 70% water.  Every soda you drink is water your body is not getting.

3)       When you are thirsty, like you need a drink NOW, you are ALREADY dehydrated, grabbing a Diet Coke will just make it worse, and lead to low energy and possibly headaches.

4)       It cost money.  4 ppl drinking 2 Diet Cokes a day is 8 sodas per day, or 56 per week, which equals 4.6 12 packs per week.  So let’s round up since we all know the open unattended soda gets tossed and a new one opened….so 5 cases of soda a week.  So with no sales tax, at $6.99, that is $1800 dollars a year on POP!  OMG! Say you don’t let your kids drink soda until they are 10 (good luck if you drink it) then that is 8 years of 4 ppl drinking 2 pops a day (will probably be more)….so 15k (give or take) on pop….that could be a year of college!

5)       You are teaching your kids that soda is OK!  You may drink Diet Coke, but odds are your kids will chose regular Pop, leading to boat-loads of added sugar in their growing bodies!

6)       Soda creates an acidic environment so when coupled with sugar it creates the perfect environment for tooth decay (see the advice from my friend Dr. Amy!)

7)       Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio found that with every can of Diet Coke you sip daily, your risk of becoming overweight rises by 37 percent. Other studies hint at why: Regular use of artificial sweeteners may interfere with the body’s ability to estimate calories you’ve ingested, so you eat beyond what you need.

8)       Don’t say you need the caffeine!  Diet Coke has ONLY 47 mg of caffeine, compared to an 8 oz cup of coffee which has between 95 and 200 mg depending on brand. (Plus studies are showing coffee is GOOD for us).

9)       People with diets filled with artificially sweetened sugars or sodium, may be at risk for faster kidney decline.   A recent study conducted at Brigham and Women’s Hospital  and presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s annual meeting revealed a very significant twofold increase in quickened kidney function decline with 2 or more servings per day of artificially sweetened soda.  The mechanisms by which artificial sweeteners affects the kidney is at this point yet unknown. A second study using the same 3000 female participants showed that in women with well-preserved kidney function, high dietary sodium intake was associated with greater kidney function decline as well.

So to summarize…it is NOT food, it does not hydrate you, it has no nutritional value, it is filled with artificial ingredients, it creates an acidic environment in your mouth creating a breeding ground for tooth decay, it is a potentially expensive habit, it does not have very much caffeine, and though studies are not totally conclusive it seems it CAN make you fat and potentially accelerate the aging of your kidneys.

I think everything is fine in moderation.  A Diet Coke is not going to kill you.  However if you drink massive amounts of ANY artificially sweetened beverage you may want to rethink your beverage of choice!  I knew when I felt so cruddy the first few days without my DC that I had a problem.  That in itself was enough to know it didn’t matter if Diet Coke was making me fat or not, it could not possibly be good for me!

(And a HUGE SHOUT OUT to Sandra who is on day 22 of no Diet Coke!  No small task!  21 days to make/break a habit, you are Looking Good!)

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Subscribe to The Good Stuff 411

January 4, 2010 · Filed under 411

Thanks for reading, and if you want to be alerted when a new post appears you can now Subscribe by clicking on the “Email Subscription” link located on the upper right-hand side!

Cheers and Happy 2010!

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Pick Just One

January 2, 2010 · Filed under 411

I had a lot of ideas about possible New Years Resolutions that you could tackle this year in working towards better health. Quitting Diet Coke (I will post this one later because several of you have asked me how and why). Removing foods with High Fructose Corn Syrup from your diet was another challenge I was going to issue. But then it dawned on me that when we tackle something too big we set ourselves up for failure.

Recently I read an article about a woman who lost 80 pounds in two years. The first year her only goal was to do 15 jumping-jacks every morning. Naturally this little step lead to her making other healthy choices during the day. The 2nd year she decided to give up candy. This lead her to give up lots of foods with sugar in them because she noticed she felt better not eating all the candy/sugar she had previously consumed. By the end of the 2nd year she had lost 80 pounds. No diet.

Our bodies crave healthy foods, and movement. I started thinking how crazy it makes me when people ask me to explain my diet…or what diet I am on “this time”. For me all the changes I made started with just deciding to give up diet soda. Which lead to giving up foods with chemicals & ingredients I couldn’t pronounce. Which lead me to being more involved and engaged in the preparation of my food. Which in turn lead me to making better food choices. Which in the end lead me to caring about where my food comes from and what is done to it between its creation and my table. Baby steps.

So this year I challenge you to PICK JUST ONE thing.

Maybe 15 jumping jacks each morning?  Something little.  Something you can do FOR SURE!  Here are some ideas that will all lead you to feeling better, one little step at a time!

For 2010 I Challenge you to PICK JUST ONE, and do it all year long!

  • Always park at the back of the parking lot (or the other side of the mall from where you need to go) and always take the stairs when an option
  • Makes one night a week “meatless” in your home, try tofu, vegetarian dishes, etc that one night
  • Drink a cup of green or black tea once a day
  • Try eating all of your meals on smaller plates (we almost never use the large ones anymore, but the salad plates our set came with)
  • If you are not ready to quit diet soda, or sports drinks, try drinking a glass of water BEFORE you have that drink
  • Change one thing you eat to organic (apples, milk, cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, chicken)
  • Try a new food once a month. Cook with a mango, or try Greek yogurt instead of sour cream when you make Mexican, “think outside the box”
  • Add ground flax seed to your diet. It can be put in shakes, added to cereal, granola, oatmeal, baked in cookies, muffins, breads, sprinkled on salads, added to casseroles.
  • Try healthy fats, add avocado to your salads, replace butter with olive oil.
  • Eat fish at least once a week
  • Cook more. Even a slow cooker counts and will lead to foods much better for you than eating out, and less expensive too! Also kids will eat almost anything if they helped!
  • Replace white rice with brown rice, or try new grains like bulgar, quinoa
  • Eat breakfast every SINGLE day if you do not already
  • If you do eat breakfast work on making it even healthier with an improved cereal, or replacing bacon with turkey bacon.
  • Change out your Jiffy (or other processed Peanut Butter) for an organic one, nothing needed in the ingredients but peanuts.
  • Swap out your current bread for one that has at least 3 – 5 grams of fiber per slice
  • Educate yourself. Read one of Michael Pollan’s books. Rent Food Inc. Subscribe to an online vegetarian newsletter, or a magazine like Clean Eating, Cooking Light, or Body & Soul
  • Find a local co-op, health food store, or whole foods…and shop there once a month. Just walking the aisles of these stores will give you ideas of new things to try. In the summer make it a farmers market.

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