1. Potato Chips date back to 1853. An unhappy customer at a restaurant in Saratoga Springs, NY kept returning his fried potatoes to the chef, requesting they be prepared much thinner. The chef sliced them so thin that they could not be eaten with a fork, and thus was born the potato chip.

2. It wasn’t until the early 20th century that potato chips expanded from restaurant food and started selling in bags.

3. Flavored chips were born in the 1950’s by a small independent manufacturer who then sold the concept to the larger corporations.

4. As junk food goes, potato chips contain only 3 ingredients (potatoes, oil, salt) and are considered by some nutritionists the lesser of savory evils.

5. Potato chips were sold for over $15B (!!!) last year worldwide. They tally up about one third of all savory snacks.

6. While we call them potato chips, our overseas friends use the word crisps.

7. A single serving of potato chips, 1 ounce, contains only 150 calories, 10 grams of fat and 180mg of salt. That’s less than 10% of the daily calories of most people, about 15% of the fat, and 8% of the maximum sodium intake.

8. Problem is that most people don’t stop at one serving. Honestly, are 11 chips enough for you? People can wolf down 5 times that amount in sitting, dip not included…

9. One of the most popular flavored potato chip varieties is Sour Cream and Onion. Compared to just 3 ingredients in the original version, this one has 20 ingredients including MSG, Palm oil, and artificial colorings.

10. Just in case you were wondering, this national holiday does not appear in congressional records. It’s just another made up holiday by snack food industry marketing geniuses.

What to do at the supermarket:

Potato chips don’t have to be a daily ritual with your lunch sandwich. However, if you do buy them, choose potato chips that have been minimally processed -  Stay with the plain, unflavored chips as they have no additives and colorings. Buy single serve 1 oz. bags of chips so that you won’t be tempted to eat more than one serving at a time.

Get Fooducated: RSS Subscription or Email Subscription

Follow us on twitter: twitter.com/fooducate

New! Choose a better breakfast with CerealScan™ by Fooducate

As if we haven’t got enough things to worry about, 8 years ago Swedish scientists discovered that acrylamide, a synthetic potentially dangerous chemical used for various industrial purposes, also appears in french fries and potato chips. More accurately, it forms in some foods during high-temperature cooking processes, such as frying, roasting, and baking.

What you need to know:

1. Acrylamide is formed in a high heat reaction of sugars and asparagine (an amino acid) that are naturally present in certain foods such as potatoes and breads.

2. Frying, roasting, and cooking form acrylamide, but not boiling, steaming, or microwaving.

3. Acrylamide can also be found in cigarette smoke.

4. The health risks associated with acrylamide are still being investigated by health organizations and the FDA. It has been shown to cause cancer in animals in high doses. Additional evidence talks about damage to reproductive glands.

5. Coffee, potatoes, and grain products are foods that form the highest level of acrylamide, whereas meat and dairy products produce almost none.

6. Acrylamide levels increase the higher the heat level and the longer the food is exposed to the heat source.

7. Frying creates the most acrylamide, roasting less, and baking the lowest of the three.

What to do in the kitchen:

8. Store your potatoes above 46 degrees Fahrenheit. At lower temperatures, fructose content in the potato rises sharply and that results in more acrylamide forming while frying or baking.

9. Soaking raw potato slices in water for 15-30 minutes before frying or roasting helps reduce acrylamide formation during cooking.

10. Fry potatoes rarely (french fires are not exactly a health food you know), and when you do, stop when they become golden, but not brown.

11. When toasting bread, prefer a lightly colored toast to a brown one.

sources of information: FDA, WHO

Get Fooducated: RSS Subscription or Email Subscription

Follow us on twitter: twitter.com/fooducate

Help us test our new food comparison tool: alpha.fooducate.com

As we sit down to enjoy the quintessential American holiday dinner, let’s stop for a minute and contemplate what we are actually celebrating.

What started off as a harvest festival in colonial times, became an annual tradition during the civil war, and was formally observed as a federal holiday for the first time during World War 2. (Coincidence, or did people needed an extra something to celebrate during wartime?)

So what did people eat here 350 years ago?

It was all local food. Sourced from 100 miles or less. Probably much less.

The main elements of today’s meal are based on fresh local food that was available back then in the new land – the wild turkey (and other fowl), the cranberries growing in coastal bogs, the pumpkins, squash, yams, and corn.

It was also about community. The tradition of a large shared meal with family, friends, and other community members began with the first harvest festivals when the pilgrims and Native Americans sat together to celebrate together the bounty of the land.

Thanksgiving has changed form and been commercialized by big financial interests over the years, but at its core, this beautiful tradition is an ode to all that is good in this world.

– The miracle of food coming forth from the land.

– The harmony of different peoples forming a community of help and trust.

– And a minute to pause and count our blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Get Fooducated: RSS Subscription or Email Subscription

Follow us on twitter: twitter.com/fooducate

Help us test our new food comparison tool: alpha.fooducate.com

Fooducate is participating in the annual Food & Nutriton Conference and Expo (FNCE) in Denver this year. We’ll be covering the show on the blog and on twitter, trying to bring interesting stories and attractions, along with a dash of opinion.

Today, as a pre-conference activity a group of dietitians and food professionals visited a local Frito-Lay manufacturing plant where we were given a tour and presentations about the company’s commitment to health and sustainability. We have to admit that healthy and ecology are not the first 2 things that come to mind when thinking about potato chips. That said, the PR team and plant staff did provide interesting information.

Here then, are a few observations:

1. A Dorito or Frito right hot off the machine is definitely tastier than what you get out of the bag a week or month later.

2. Seeing how a truckload of corn or potato is transformed in a matter of minutes to a bagged savory snack is quite remarkable. There’s a lot of engineering and quality control that goes into this process, regardless of the fact that the end product is not a picture of perfect nutrition.

3. Frito-Lay, owned by PepsiCo, has been and is continuing to lead in nutrition and sustainability, according to its press materials. Some examples include becoming a “net zero plant” by 2011. This means energy in equals energy out. This is achieved by reusing water, generating electricity through solar and other renewable means.

4. The nutrition improvements include – removal of bad fats in the 1980’s , then the removal of trans fats in the early 2000’s. Only 3 ingredients – potatoes, oil, salt. Relatively low amount of sodium – same as in a slice of bread.

5. When asked how much potato chips America consumed, the answer was 2-3 servings a week per person!

6. If that’s not enough, the dietitians working at Frito Lay said that as part of a balanced diet, there’s no problem in your children consuming a serving of potato chips every single day.

7. Baked chips, which have only 20% of the fat in the regualr chips account for only 7% of chip sales for Frito-Lay.

8. Potatoes sourced by Frito-Lay are of a specific variety with exactly the right shape, size, extra thin peel, and starchiness.

9. From truck to bag, it takes a potato just 12 minutes to go the route.

10. Damaged chips and corn products are not wasted, they get sold to local pig farmers. Wonder if all that Nacho seasoning does anything to the hogs…

11. The average potato chip serving is 1 oz. or 16 chips, according to the product label. When asked if this is in line with what people actually consume (we think people eat much more), the answer was that studies on this have not been carried out. The team was quick to point out the single serve bags, the portion control bags, and that for bags under 3 oz that may be consumed in a single sitting nutrition information is presented both per 1 oz serving and for the entire bag.

Summary – all in all, the visit opened our eyes to the ingenuity both in manufacturing and product formulation. We are happy that there are registered dietitians working at Frito-Lay helping to make the products less bad for us.

But at the end of the day we must still remember, these are just snacks. They are not meant to replace real food, nor should you look at them as a source of any substantial nutrients. And we definitely don’t think it’s fine to serve our kids potato chips 7 days a week. But then again, we don’t get our paycheck from Frito-Lay.

Get Fooducated: RSS Subscription or Email Subscription

Follow us on twitter: twitter.com/fooducate

Help us test our new food comparison tool: alpha.fooducate.com

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.

Get Fooducated: RSS Subscription or Email Subscription

Follow us on twitter: twitter.com/fooducate

Help us test our new food comparison tool: alpha.fooducate.com

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.

Get Fooducated: RSS Subscription or Email Subscription

Follow us on twitter: twitter.com/fooducate

Help us test our new food comparison tool: alpha.fooducate.com