We recently wrote about chocolate milk with too much sugar being served in school lunches. We also covered a chocolate drink that’s better left on the shelf. But as parents, we can’t ignore the fact that kids LOVE sweetened milk. So what alternatives are there for breakfast, suppertime, or afternoon snack companion?

We decided to compare 3 options – ready to drink chocolate milk, powder, and syrup. For simplicity, we checked the category leader – Nesquik – which has all these options available. We only had powder at home, so we went to Nesquik’s website for more info. Unfortunately, the Nesquik website does not include ingredient information, which always means there’s something to be ashamed of… Read more…

“A salad without the dressing is not a salad”, someone famous once said. Or should have said. A good dressing helps accentuate flavors, helps some of those greens go down easier, and as you’ll see in a minute improves the nutritional value of the salad.

If we’re to judge by the hundreds of varieties of dressings available at the supermarket, most shoppers agree. Salad dressings historically include some form of fat, such as olive oil or canola oil as a base. Even a mayonnaise base is actually a form of oil (mixed with raw eggs). In the past few years, many dressings have been re-formulated as fat-free, a means to tempt weight conscious consumers to continue buying them.

What you need to know:

A fat-free salad dressing is actually a bad nutritional decision. You see, a little bit of fat goes a long way in helping the body absorb the nutritional goodness of the salad. This is because some vitamins are fat-soluble. Vitamins A, D, E, and K (ADEK) are absorbed in the intestinal tract with the help of fat molecules. Which means that having a fat free salad dressing will actually decrease the nutrition effectiveness of your salad.

Good sources of vitamin A include carrots, broccoli, kale, and spinach. Vitamin E can be found in asparagus, avocado, eggs, nuts and seeds, and spinach. Vitamin K is present in parsley, cabbage, swiss chard, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts.

So what’s a non-fat dressing made from?

Mostly water. that’s right, you’re paying for water. Additionally, in order to maintain the semblance of an oil based dressing, emulsifiers and thickeners are added. Just look for example at the ingredient list for Kraft’s Fat-Free Italian Dressing:

Ingredients: WATER, VINEGAR, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CORN SYRUP, SALT, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OFPARMESAN CHEESE* (PART-SKIM MILK, CHEESE CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES), GARLIC, ONION JUICE, WHEY, PHOSPHORIC ACID, XANTHAN GUM, POTASSIUM SORBATE AND CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA AS PRESERVATIVES, YEAST EXTRACT, SPICE, RED BELL PEPPERS*, LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE, GARLIC*, BUTTERMILK*, CARAMEL COLOR, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, ENZYMES, OLEORESIN PAPRIKA. *DRIED.

That’s quite a lengthy list for what should be a simple dressing. Some highlights:
High fructose corn syrup and corn syrup are the 3rd and 4th ingredients, used to round off the flavor of the highly acidic vinegar.

Phosphoric acid is used to add more acidic flavor, but why not add more lemon instead? (answer: it’s cheaper).

Calcium Disodium EDTA is a preservative with a mildly salty taste. It may cause kidney damage, and blood in urine. It’s on the FDA’s priority list for more health effects research.

Folks – this is ridiculous. Nobody in Italy dresses their salad like this. Nor should you. The 20 calories per serving of 2 tablespoon are to be commended, but a 50 or even 100 calorie dressing based on real ingredients such as olive oil, lemon juice and spices will probably serve you better both gastronomically and nutritionally.

What to do at the supermarket:

Here’s a great idea for you. Buy a bottle of good extra virgin olive oil. Also a few lemons.

At home, make your own dressing as follows: in a mixing bowl add equal parts olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour over salad and toss just before serving. Forty five seconds tops.

If you’re more courageous, you can try adding any combination of a teaspoon of dijon mustard, a minced clove of garlic, and balsamic vinegar. Sometimes a teaspoon of honey or sugar can help take the acidic bite off, especially if the salad contains strong tasting greens such as arugula.

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1. Annatto is a natural spice used as a food additive.

2. It is used both as a red food coloring and adds a sweet peppery taste.

3. Annatto comes from the pulp surrounding the seeds of the achiote tree of tropical Latin America.

4. It is found as a colorant in cheeses, butter, margarine, rice dishes, and prepared foods.

5. You can buy annatto seeds at ethnic markets and prepare a red dye by mixing the seeds in hot water.

6. Originally annatto was used as an insect repellant or body paint. Other uses over the centuries include sunscreen and treatment of heartburn.

8. It is also known as Achiote and E160b.

9. Although it is a natural food coloring, annatto has been associated with allergic reactions.

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The long weekend marks the beginning of this year’s barbecue season, and if you’re like most Americans, there will surely be some form of frankfurter sizzling away on your grill.

Hot Dogs are a big business (billions of dollars a year), and as the weather heats up, so do the marketing battles between the market players.

As food companies like to sue each other every once in while in turf wars, how timely it is to read about a weiner war, with Kraft’s Oscar Meyer Brand getting sued by Sara Lee (Ball Park brand) over “We are tastier” claims.

From a nutritional standpoint, the products are very similar, and sadly, very poor in nutritional value.  Read more…

Very healthy! Or at least that’s what new research, sponsored by ConAgra, has shown. Here’s the press release:

ConAgra Foods announced today new research that shows people who ate Healthy Choice(R) really did get healthier. Participants in the 24-week study, on average, lost 18 pounds – all as fat – trimmed their waistlines by about three inches, and lowered their cholesterol by 12 points. Leading cardiologist Dr. James Rippe, founder and director of the Rippe Lifestyle Institute, led the research team that conducted the study, which was presented during the 2009 Experimental Biology Conference April 18-22 in New Orleans, La.

get it all here…

Excuse us while we scratch our heads. How can The Rippe Institute conduct a truly objective study when it is being heftily paid by a company with a vested interest in a specific outcome?

Reading into the study, the people eating Helthy Choice got healthier because they were forced to excercise, eat only fruits, vegetables, lean meat and dairy, and whole grains. Oh, and one Healthy Choice meal once a day. How can the weight loss be attributed specifically to the frozen meal?

This press release is part of a huge rebranding of the Healthy Choice empire, including the introduction of new products, reformulation of some existing lines, and new packaging. ConAgra is estimated to be spending close to $100 million on this effort, including National TV Ads starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and web activities.

What you need to know:

While frozen dinners have made some headway over the past few years in terms of nutritional content, they still lag far behind home made food on several fronts:

1. high levels of salt – in the clip above, Julia Louis Dreyfus is stuffing herself silly with Sweet Asian Potstickers containing 600mg of sodium. That’s a quarter of the daily maximum value.

2. high levels of sugar – 19 grams or 4 teaspoonfuls. Hey, is this dessert?

3. too many ingredients* – here’s what’s inside the Sweet Asian Potstickers:

Vegetable Potstickers: (Filling [Cabbage, Vermicelli {Mung Bean, Water}, Baked Tofu (Tofu [Water, Whole Soybeans, Nigari], Tamari [Water, Soybeans, Salt, Alcohol, Wheat], Natural Flavors, Spices), Bulgur Wheat, Precooked Rice, Water Chestnuts, Green Beans, Onions, Carrots, Soy Sauce (Water, Wheat, Soybeans, Salt), Sesame Oil, Evaporated Cane Juice, Salt, Xanthan Gum, Spice], Wrapper [Wheat Flour, Water, Corn Starch, Soybean and/or Canola Oil]). Cooked Whole Grain Brown Rice, Water, Sugar, Carrots, Red Peppers, Sake, Rice Vinegar, Scallions, Corn Starch, Wheat, Soybeans, Spices, Sesame Oil, Garlic Puree, Salt, Locust Gum

To be fair, most of the list above is actually understandable, and there are no freaky additives or preservatives in this dish. So when the food scientists want to, they can dish out healthy fare…

* We could not find the ingredient information on the Healthy Choice website. The customer support group did reply promptly to our email, though.

What to do at the supermarket:

If you really really can’t prepare your own food, and must grab something from the Frozen Dinner Aisle, take a look at health brands such as Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine first. The brand does not automatically promise you’ll get a nutritious dish, but it improves the chances.

Proceed to check the ingredient list, scanning for unpronounceable chemicals, and then look at the sodium count. It should be in the neighborhood of  400-500mg or less. The sugar count should be lower than 12 grams. Usually the calorie count will be decent, because manufacturers know that’s the only number most people look at.

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1. Ketchup, one of the most popular condiments in the US, is a half a billion dollar industry.

2. Ketchup is originally a spicy fish sauce called Ke-Tsiap from east Asia. It was brought west in the 17th century and by the early 1800’s recipes for ketchup as we know it started to appear in cookbooks.

3. H.J. Heinz Company is the world leader in ketchup sales, with a 60% market share in the US. It sells over 600 million bottles of ketchup annually.

4. Nutritionally, ketchup , as well as other cooked tomato products, is a good source of the anti-oxidant lycopene. Lycopenes are beneficial in the prevention of prostate and colon cancers. This is one of the rare cases where cooking a raw vegetable actually improves the bio-availability of a nutrient instead of reducing it.

5. 25% of ketchup is sugar!! Now you know why kids love it, and consider ketchup the main part of a meal, with the rest of the food serving as a condiment.

6. Ketchup is also high in salt. a single teaspoon contains almost ten percent’s worth of the daily maximum recommended value of sodium.

7. The ingredient list for Heinz ketchup is:

Tomato Concentrate , Distilled Vinegar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Salt, Spice, Onion Powder, Natural Flavoring.

If you were wondering why corn syrup (a cheaper sugar than table sugar) appears twice, a possible answer could be that by splitting the sugar ingredient into 2 separate ingredients, it doesn’t appear in the second place in the list, psychologically reducing the fear of buying the product. We’re still trying to figure out what that Natural Flavor is. Spice too.

8. The FDA strictly regulates what products may be called ketchup; especially important are viscosity and the presence of tomatoes and tomato solids.

9. In 2005, after urging by Heinz and several other tomato product manufacturers, the FDA allowed tomato product labels to tout health claims, due to the aforementioned lycopenes. The ruling includes ketchup as well as tomato pasta sauces and marinades.

10. Squeeze bottle were introduced in the 1980’s to solve the problem of ketchup not flowing out of glass containers.

11. Not everyone is a big fan of ketchup. In the Netherlands, mayonnaise is the condiment of choice with french fries.

What to do at the supermarket:

It seems that ketchup is a staple in every household. If you are concerned about sugar, look for ketchup products artificially sweetened as a way to reduce sweet calories. There are also reduced sodium ketchups available in most supermarkets.

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A highly fragrant spice, cinnamon has been around since biblical times and was used even by Moses. The inner bark of a small evergreen tree, cinnamon originated in Sri Lanka, where 90% of the world’s supply comes from.

What you need to know:

Studies conducted by the USDA have shown that cinnamon may help  better regulate blood-sugar levels.This could be a boon to diabetics. In tests, half a teaspoon a day lowered blood-sugar levels in patients with Type II diabetes and reduced LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. Cinnamon may also inhibit cancer cells, is anti-inflammatory, and anti-bacterial. It also tastes darn good sprinkled in a cup of hot coffee or tea.

What to do at the supermarket:

Cinnamon can be purchased in 3 inch sticks, or powdered. The sticks can be thrown into stews, punches, and even soups, whereas the powder can be sprinkled into hot drinks, blended into pastries, or added as a condiment to various dishes. For freshness, best to take a stick and grate it yourself (warning – it’s a tedious task).

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