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Happy 4th of July everyone. We’d rather it be called Independence Day, because that is what we have been celebrating for the past 200 years, not a date 7/04.

As we head to cookouts, picnics, bar-b-ques and other food related festivities, we should consider ourselves the luckiest people in the world. Democracy is not the default state of rule in many places around the world. Many countries are art war, some with neighbors, some with themselves. Our nation’s wealth has enabled many of us to lead very comfortable lives, beyond comprehension to many of the world’s denizens, who survive on but a few dollars a day.

Is it any wonder that the number one country people dream of immigrating to is the United States of America?

But we shouldn’t rest on our laurels. Our country isn’t perfect, and neither are we. Although we live in a free country, our choices are often limited. Without even thinking about it, we are steered in ways that are hard for us to resist. Say What?

We’ll take food as an example (surprising, heh?)

1. If you want to eat healthfully at a rest stop along an interstate highway, you can’t, because it’s all fast food. How much of a difference is there between Wendy’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut? They’re all different flavors of obesity-to-arrive-soon and heart-disease-right-after. And they all serve either Coke or Pepsi.

2. How free are families to choose the food they put on the table? With supermarkets stocking 45,000 items, most people would say very free. But a close look reveals that in each aisle there are a few dominant companies, or a few dominant types of food. In breakfast cereals, most of the 400+ boxes are manufactured by just a handful of corporations (General Mills, Quaker, Kellogg’s). Sure, you could buy that healthier brand but

a) it costs 30% more,

b) your kids won’t eat it because there’s no superhero endorsement on the package.

3. You’re at the ballpark, 4th inning, getting hungry. What about some food and drinks? No problem. That is if food=hot dogs, drinks=Coke or Pepsi. If you want to choose freshly squeezed juice, you can’t. A salad? Who are you kidding.

OK, these are just a few example of the limited choices we have.

Limited, unless we decide to swim against the current. We urge you to try, just so you can feel what it’s like to be truly independent. And if enough of us swim against the current, soon the current will follow us. (And that’s what makes this country great).

God bless America!

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You’re in your thirties, forties and fifties.

You’re trying to eat better than you once did.

You’ve gained a few pounds since highschool, and maybe even have a medical condition. You’re not eating all the stuff you used to, whether it’s a refined taste you have acquired over the years, or limits you’ve imposed on yourself due to health considerations.

You’d like your children to eat healthfully as well. But that’s where problems  arise.

You’re not alone. If you are a parents to children under the age of 3, you still  have a chance to succeed because you control almost of every facet of their day, including meals. But it’s all downhill the minute kids go to preschool, kindergarten, grade school and onwards.

Here are a few reasons why it’s an uphill battle:

1. The law of the lowest common denominator. If your child has an apple for snacktime at school, but another kid is munching on twizzlers, what snack will both of them want tomorrow?

2. Childhood heroes sell (out). Movie tie ins are a very lucrative business for Hollywood. Entire licensing departments exist at all the major studios whose task is to sell the rights to use images in conjunction with sales of junk food. In just one example for this summer, Burger King is promoting Star Trek, Transformers, and G.I. Joe.

3. Convenience. The kids have to eat at school. You need to prepare their lunch every day. Or do you? What about some pocket change for little Johnny to get something at the school cafeteria? Or better yet, at the fast food diner conveniently located 2 blocks away from school.

4. Junk Food tastes good. It’s hard to argue with kids, whose taste buds are more responsive to sweet than complex tastes.

5. More convenience. You had a long day in the office, and the last thing you want to do is spend an hour cooking dinner in the sweltering kitchen when you get home. How simple, and cheap, it is to pick up a ready meal at one of the many drive-in windows spread around town.

6. The law of diminishing moderation. You don’t want your child to be totally clueless, plus the grandparents will have a fit if they can’t bring little Sally a chocolate treat when they come over this afternoon. What starts out as our good willed intentions to let kids enjoy a sweet snack once in a while, becomes once a day, and then once every few hours. Before you know it, things get out of control, and the majority of the snacks consumed by your kids are of the wrong kind.

What you need to do:

There is hope. But it requires strong willed parents who can help their children feel good about their food choices, and not feel like social outcasts.

It’s important to start your kids off right from the minute they’re weaned off milk/formula. Set rules that are reasonable (one chocolate snack a day) and stand by them. Show your kids how to prepare meals. Take them to a community garden. Teach them to read nutrition labels. Have them read about the risks of obesity and other diet related health problems. Eat together.

Talk with other parents at school. Talk with the teachers and school administration about improving the nutrition of school food.

If enough parents band together, perhaps law number one above will not be relevant anymore.

What do studios need to do: stop selling out childhood heroes to the highest paying burger!

What Junk Food Execs need to do: stop pushing crap at American kids. Think about your own children and multiply by 100 million!

And the government: Please, make them stop! You know they won’t do it on their own.

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There’s a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange that is having its best year ever. Sales are up, even as the nation is reeling from one of the worst financial catastrophes in its history. Its revenues are up, even as its direct competitors are struggling.

This company is run like a tight ship. An excellent stock to invest in, no doubt. In the last 5 years, the stock has gone up fivefold. That’s better than even Google or Apple.

In top business schools around the world, this company is a study in excellence – students read entire books dedicated to this corporation. They learn how to build operations, sales, marketing, global teams, and brand, all based on the leadership of the company’s executives.

What is this company and what is it selling?

McDonald’s, a symbol of the American way, has been selling us burgers, fries and shakes for 60 years. Our grandparents tried it in the 50’s and 60’s, our parents grew up to love it, we loved it as kids, and now our children love it too. Sounds perfect, right?

But there is one flaw. McDonald’s and its fast food peers are slowly but surely creating an obese nation. In an interesting article published today by Stacey Folsom  of Corporate Accountability International, we learn that the great profits of McDonald’s come at a great price to the nation. Diet related illness costs the US 120 billion dollars annually.

Is McDonald’s paying for these fees? Absolutely not. We are. The fast food chain’s PR department blames everyone but themselves for another record breaking year of obesity. The article tackles each of the company’s claims:

“It’s not our food that’s to blame, it’s a lack of exercise.” (In fact, recent studies have shown that we’re exercising almost the same as we did 30 years ago)

“It’s not our marketing to kids that’s to blame, it’s all the video games and internet media that distract our kids from physical activity.” (that’s why they also have a website for kids with lots of fun games…)

“We’re a leader in offering healthier menu choices.” (like salads with more calories than big macs?)

“It’s not our responsibility that kids are getting sick from eating too much of our food, that’s on parents.” (That’s why fast food joints conveniently like to be located next to schools, right?)

As we posted in yesterday’s rant, the system is malfunctioning.

McDonald’s growth in shareholder value goes hand in hand with the growth in our waistlines.

Which will stop growing first?

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Obesity rates increased in half the US states in the past year. They did not decrease in any state. This despite the growing awareness of the public, healthcare professionals, and government officials.

In an annual report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, aptly titled F as in Fat,  a horrific picture of a country eating itself to death emerges.

In 31 states, obesity rates exceed 25 percent. Childhood obesity is at an alltime high. In 30 states, more than 30% of children are either overweight or obese.

What you need to know:

The report goes on to describe the various measures being carried out by federal and state bodies, such as school lunch nutrition standards, weight screening, community activities to raise awareness, and more.

But can all these efforts put even a small dent in the source of all our woes – TOO MUCH (BAD) FOOD IS IN THE SYSTEM!

At the end of the day, it all comes down to money. How can government’s puny budgets (counted in millions of dollars), match up to Billions of dollars in advertising by the major food corporations. How can people stay slim if everywhere they go, junky food is conveniently shoved in their face. At work, at the bookstore, at school, the gas station, the mall, the deli at the supermarket, the movies, the ballpark, the Starbucks counter at the supermarket, and even at the fitness center. Not to mention fast food establishments conveniently located at every corner.

Big food will claim that it’s a matter of personal responsibility, but do individuals really have as much power as we think we do? Our whole way of life revolves around convenience, time saving inventions (TV Dinners, anyone?), and companies making more dollars for their investors. Even if it kills us along the way.

We need to take a long, deep look at how the system got to be broken and make some real changes, before it gets too late. The current measures, as well as proposals presented at the end of the report are comparable to using a flyswatter to stop an oncoming buffalo herd.

Right now, its still every consumer for themselves against the might of a well oiled industry.

What to do at the supermarket:

The choices you make in the supermarket ultimately effect your health, your family’s health, and the results of next year’s survey.

Choose foods that are less processed.  Fruits and vegetables, fresh and frozen. Whole grains. Less sugary snacks. Lean meat and milk products. More fruits and vegetables. Cut down drastically on soft drink purchases (switching to tap water will save a family of four $500 a year). Did we mention vegetables and fruits?

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Hiking, biking, jogging, kayaking, or just strolling in the park, you begin to feel a bit hungry. Not dinner-time-hungry, and not even snack-time-hungry, rather just-one-bite-hungry. You satisfy that one bite, and 10 minutes later, you want another one. And so forth. What do you do?

If you’re looking for a snack that can be consumed slowly over the course of an hour or more, chocolates and bars are not a great option. Things get sticky if you don’t finish them off right away.

But pouring some nuts and raisins from a pack and popping them in your mouth is nice, clean choice. And supposedly a healthy one too, right?

Theoretically Trail Mix is the super snack – all natural ingredients, no additives, and a good balance of protein, carbs, and unsaturated fats. Unfortunately, not all trail mix products are created equal. If you’re looking for a healthy snack, here are a few pointers:

1. There’s no rocket science here. Trail mix is just a mix of nuts and dried fruit. The most basic formula is roasted peanuts and raisins. In fact, you can make your own at home for a much lower price that buying it prepared.

2. Most brands of trail mix boast more than just peanuts and raisins. As long as the ingredient list stays “pure”, you’re good to go. Walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, and dried fruit such as apricots, pineapples, apples, cranberries, blueberries, etc… are all good.

3. You need to watch out for added “goodies”, such as m&m’s and other candy that really don’t add to the already complex sweet and savory flavor, and just add useless sugar and food colorings.

4. Look out for salted items, and stay away from them. Salted peanuts can contain as much 200mg (close to 10% of your daily maximum) per 1 oz serving.

5. Beware of added sugars used to coat dried fruit. The fruit are so sweet in their natural form that is an absolute crime to add any more sweet.

6. Yogurt coated raisins sound yummy and healthy, but folks, it ain’t really yogurt. Here’s an example of Vanilla Yogurt Coating – Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil, Nonfat Milk, Nonfat Yogurt Powder (Cultured Nonfat Milk), Whey, Titanium Dioxide, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla. Yes, it contains trans fat, thanks to the partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil.

7. Roasted nuts tend to be prepared with oil and salt. Look for naked nuts, no additions.

8. Dried fruit are often processed with sulfur dioxide (E220) in order to preserve their original color. Apples would appear brown and unappealing otherwise. Some people develop allergic reactions to this preservative, and some can actually feel its chemical aftertaste. But for the most part, it’s not a biggie.

What to do at the supermarket:

Consider buying the raw ingredients and preparing a trail mix at home. Base it on your family’s taste preferences. If buying a ready mix, look at the ingredient list and make sure it doesn’t contain any unnecessary oils, salt, sugars and preservatives.

What’s your favorite Trail Mix? How does it stack up nutritionally?

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1. Phosphoric acid is a clear, colourless, odourless liquid with a syrupy consistency.

2. Phosphoric acid is used as an acidifying agent to give colas their tangy flavor.

3. Due to the use of phosphoric acid, cola is a actually more acid than lemon juice or vinegar. The vast amount of sugar acts to mask and balance the acidity.

4. Phosphoric acid also goes by E338, orthophosphoric acid, and phosphoric(V) acid.

5. Food-grade phosphoric acid is a mass-produced chemical, available cheaply and in large quantities.

6. Phosphoric acid is commonly used for rust removal.

7. Phosphorus-containing substances occur naturally (0.1%-0.5%) in foods such as milk, meat, poultry, fish, nuts, and egg yolks.

8. Phosphoric acid has been linked to lower bone density in some epidemiological studies, including a discussion in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

9. Opposing studies showed the opposite – that *low* intake of phosphorus leads to lower bone density. Guess who funded the studies? PepsiCo.

10. Aside from the risk of osteoporosis, Cola consumption has also been linked to chronic kidney disease and kidney stones.

11. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a consumer watchdog group not affiliated with the food industry, only a small fraction of the phosphate in the American diet comes from additives in soft drinks. Most comes from meat and dairy products. So your reason for not drinking Coke should be its sugar content and artificial food colorings, not the phosphoric acid.

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Energy bars are a popular and growing category of snack foods that are a natural evolution of breakfast cereals. Sixty years ago we had time to sit down for a hearty breakfast with the family. By the early seventies, families couldn’t bother with the hassle and settled for a bowl of cereal with milk. Nowadays, many people don’t have time for even this, so they grab a cereal bar / energy bar / snack bar and a spill proof cup of coffee and hop into the car for the morning commute.

With so many bars to choose from, you may find yourself confused. All these bars tout health benefits from here to the 2012 London Olympics. However, there are some companies that try to maintain a higher standard than others, and today we’ll take a look at products from 2 such bars:

Kashi Go Lean Caramel Peanut:

Larabar Peanut Butter Cookie:

Read more…

The hottest trend in the food industry lately is functional food. Although there is not formal definition for the term, its agreed that these are foods that can help reduce the risk of disease due to the presence of specific nutrients.

In general, the best functional foods are also the most unprocessed ones – fruits, vegetables and whole grains, as an example.

However, more and more processed foods are being fortified with nutrients in order to become “functional.” Manufacturers have realized that health sells, and usually commands a higher margin too.

And so we find calcium added to orange juice, vitamin C added to fruit snacks, and breakfast cereals fortified with pretty much the entire alphabet of minerals and vitamins.

OK. In the examples above, they’ve made decent products a bit healthier. But what can manufacturers do with products that at their core are not so healthy? Can a sugary / fatty / salty (take your pick) item  be miraculously transformed into something nutritious?

If we’re to judge by the sales of functional foods, sales are growing at a great clip, which means consumers have been convinced that the bag of cheese puffs fortified with omega-3 is really good for them.

An article in the Wall Street Journal recently tackled this topic:

Lillian Cheung, Ph.D, a nutrition professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, [...] points out that adding nutrients to a food can encourage people to perceive it as unequivocally healthy, whether it’s low-fat and fiber-rich oatmeal that’s been fortified or a similarly enhanced bag of potato chips packed with fat and bereft of any naturally occurring nutrients that the oatmeal has. “The fact that brands have gone to the trouble to add this stuff sends an implicit message that the finished product is desirable, and that’s just not always the case,” she says.

“Sports drinks are an example. The sugar they contain is so much worse than the added vitamins. But that information gets obscured.”

read more…

What you need to know:

The FDA does not recognize functional foods as a category. Which means it’s a wild west for marketers to sell us stories.

So if it’s too good to be true, it isn’t.

What to do at the supermarket:

Go for foods that are naturally functional. The less a food is processed, the most benefit you’ll reap. For example, get your omega-3 from fish, not a snack bar. If you’re still deficient in a certain nutrient, a fortified product is a good option, but only if at its base it is a nutritious product (non sugary cereals yes, soft drinks – NO).

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What do triathletes, professional football players, and weekend warriors fuel up on during an extra long workout?

Some of the answers, such as frozen pickle juice, sound a bit icky, but there is some logic here:

For some athletes, nothing says hot-weather workout savior like popsicles made from the briny, green liquid. The combination of water, salt, vinegar, and flavorings can replace essential electrolytes lost during exercise on hot, humid days. Freezing the juice takes away some of the ick-and-eww factor and adds some refreshing fun.

Read the entire Boston Globe article…

What you need to know:

To re-energize during and after a workout, one does not necessarily have to purchase expensive processed products. The body needs easy to absorb carbs, and athletes described in the article have even used simple solutions such as sugar cubes or salty potatoes.

Research shows that some natural food options can be more nutritionally effective than heavily-marketed sports drinks, energy bars, and gels. Many are more cost effective as well.

Most of us, who at best manage short workouts that don’t go over 90 minutes at a time, don’t even reach the physiological points that make pickle juice or costly gels a required replenishment.

What to do at the supermarket:

So don’t splurge on costly stuff. You need a combination of carbs and protein. A slice of whole wheat bread with peanut butter or a banana before a workout, plenty of water during and after, and a hard boiled egg or beans and salad are cheap simple options that will help you keep your machine running smoothly and economically.

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Baby food is big business, with over half a billion dollars in sales last year. For the companies manufacturing jars of mashed bananas and carrots, this is quite a profitable pursuit.

But why do parents, who could just as easily prepare these simple “dishes”, spend hundreds of dollars a year on jars of baby food?

The answers are varied, and include convenience, lack of food preparation knowledge, and great marketing by Gerber, Beech Nut, and a few smaller players.

A few moms that decided to go the homemade route shared their story:

Jaime Hollock, 32, mother of Micah, 13 months, has been making homemade baby food for her son ever since he started eating solids at 5½ months old.

Before Micah was born, Jaime decided she wanted to make her own food, so she bought two books to educate herself on the subject, giving her confidence.

“I learned this is no different than me cooking for myself”

read the entire article

What you need to know:

If you’re buying baby food to feed junior at home, you’re throwing money away. Especially in the early months of solids, there’s nothing easier than steaming or boiling carrots, zucchini, etc… and pureeing them. You can then store the puree in the freezer for an entire week, using an ice tray to create individual portions that will be used daily.

Chicken? not a problem. boil some water and throw a few drumsticks in a for 45 minutes. When prepared, separate the meat from the bones, and puree.

Fruit? The easiest . Just peel and puree. Bananas are the easiest – just use a fork to create a delicious mushy mass.

By following these first steps you’ll be providing your baby the freshest and tastiest food, without any additional ingredients. (To the manufacturers’ credit, they have removed most of the additives and sugar from baby food in the past few years).

What to do at the supermarket:

Save yourself money and splurge on supermarket baby food for those days where you’ll be on the road or out of the house for a long time.

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