March 30, 2014

Xconomy: Sugary Foods Are Killing Us, The Internet, Not So Much

Sugary Foods Are Killing Us. The Internet, Not So Much

Terrific article by Wade Roush
SuperMom101 Comment:
The public library analogy is perfect. When our children were small we'd walk to the library to have something to do, and yes, play the "educational" video games, enjoy the puppets and read books. Now, our 20 year-old came home from college and wanted to get some "independent" movies he thought the library would have. Our 18 year-old daughter and I tagged along and found ourselves wondering the bookshelves for at least an hour. All together, we came home with six books and two movies.
p.s. Happy to say I haven't purchased "food" from a vending machine in years, but there is one in our office building in the basement.
Best health!

March 29, 2014

Your Life in Your Hands: Understanding, Preventing and Overcoming Breast Cancer - Should be on every library shelf in the U.S.


I remain so very grateful to have discovered these books and resources and changed "What's on my plate" in my shopping cart and on our dinner table over 12 years ago. 

Would love to hear what you think!

Best health always,
SuperMom-in-Training


March 28, 2014

Modern Milk - 'The milk we drink today may not be nature's perfect food.'




Time to repost this article to remind myself exactly why I have not consumed dairy products for the past 12 years!

Ganmaa Davaasambuu, a Mongolia-trained medical doctor, a Japan-trained Ph.D. in environmental health, and a current fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study: 'The milk we drink today may not be nature's perfect food.' Modern Milk Harvard Magazine May-Jun 2007

FSIS Issues Public Health Alert For Processed Egg Products Unfit For Human Consumption

FSIS Issues Public Health Alert For Processed Egg Products Unfit For Human Consumption

March 26, 2014

Brazil's Dietary Guidelines


Reply to Fooducate Post


Dear Ann,
When experiencing breast cancer at the age of 38 I had no idea about America's highly processed, genetically engineered, factory farmed, hormone and steroid injected, chemically laden, arsenic feed, artificially flavored, food supply, and I thought I was eating healthy! Thankfully, at the time, I discovered the Walter Willett's and MIchael Pollan's of the world. (Also that the breast cancer rate in rural China is 11:100,000 and in the U.S. it's 1:8. Yep! They call it's the "rich" women's disease. (BTW, have the complete support of my oncologist.)
So, I have a frank question for you. Don't you find it strange that America (and her children) have never been fatter or sicker and we can't seem to figure out why? Meanwhile, you're telling us that everything is fine with America's food supply?
Twelve years ago, I changed what's on my plate, in my shopping cart, in my kitchen cabinets, and on my dinner table and thankfully have been healthy ever since.
Wishing you good health,
SuperMom-in-Training

March 24, 2014

How to spot added sugar on food labels - from our friends at Harvard School of Public Health

How to spot added sugar on food labels

Spotting added sugar on food labels can requires some detective work. Though food and beverage manufacturers list a product’s total amount of sugar per serving on the Nutrition Facts Panel, they are not required to list how much of that sugar is added sugar versus naturally occurring sugar. That’s why you’ll need to scan the ingredients list of a food or drink to find the added sugar. (29)  However, the body doesn’t distinguish between natural or added sugars, so paying attention to total sugar is the key.
  • Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight (30), so where sugar is listed in relation to other ingredients can indicate how much sugar a particular food contains.
  • Added sugars go by many different names, yet they are all a source of extra calories.
Food makers can also use sweeteners that aren’t technically sugar—a term which is applied only to table sugar, or sucrose—but these other sweeteners are in fact forms of added sugar. Below are some other names for sugar that you may see on food labels:
Agave nectarEvaporated cane juiceMalt syrup
Brown sugarFructoseMaple syrup
Cane crystalsFruit juice concentratesMolasses
Cane sugarGlucoseRaw sugar
Corn sweetenerHigh-fructose corn syrupSucrose
Corn syrupHoneySyrup
Crystalline fructoseInvert sugar
DextroseMaltose
From our friends at Harvard School of Public Health.  Read entire article here: How to spot added sugar on food labels

March 21, 2014

Sustainable Table | Recipes

Happy Second Day of Spring!
This year's garden will rock!*
Am excited to finally start sharing recipes from those that have "changed what's on their plates" and are making a difference on America's Food Supply.  First up:  Sustainable Table | Recipes.

Best health always!
SuperMom-in-Training

*Our Italian neighbor will not be riding by and shaking his head at the overgrown, unweeded garden this year!

What to make during a blizzard…

Chillin' Chili                                      

Dutch oven

2 pounds ground beef (or substitute ground turkey)
1 large onion
4 gloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cans whole tomatoes, undrained (28 oz. each)
1/8   teaspoon cayenne pepper (hot, so use sparingly)
4 teaspoons ground cumin
                                             ©
4 teaspoons dried oregano leaves 
1/2   teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon chili seasoning
1/8 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
4 cans of beans in any combination: red kidney, pinto, black  (15 oz. each)





Place ground beef, onion and garlic in le creuset (heavy cast iron pan)*.  Cook until beef is brown; drain (if necessary).



Stir in whole tomatoes, breaking up with metal spatula as they simmer.









Add herbs and spices and continue the simmer over low heat for an hour.  Continue to break up tomatoes with spatula as necessary.

Last of the dried oregano from the  garden

Add semi sweet chocolate chips.








Stir in beans.  Heat to slow boil; reduce heat.  Simmer uncovered, stirring mixture occasionally, until desired consistency, about 30 minutes.


Add some (non GMO)* tortilla/corn chips for dipping.

Ingredient insight:  *NON GMO Project Verified: www.nongmoproject.org

*Found mine for a fraction of the cost at a discount store - not the prettiest color and had a chip on the outside, but I love the price and use it at least twice a week during the cold New England months.  (Le Creuset Home Page)

March 12, 2014

Food Safety: Are You Buying the Right Poultry Products?






First things first: most food is safe to eat most of the time. Still, one out of six Americans will get sick from eating tainted food this year. And while most people recover fully, food poisoning can have long-term—and in some cases deadly—consequences, especially if your immune system has been weakened by illness or pregnancy. Here are some tips on how to navigate the poultry aisle that will help keep you from getting sick or wasting your money: Nutrition Action for the Complete Article

March 11, 2014

Crazy Good Carrot Cake (Dairy-Free)

Crazy Good Carrot Cake


1 ½ cups            organic* cane sugar
1 cup                 olive oil (extra virgin cold pressed) or dairy free Earth Balance
3                        eggs**
2                        cups white whole wheat flour (your family will never know)
1 ½                    teaspoons ground cinnamon
1                        teaspoon vanilla
1                        teaspoon baking soda
1/2                     teaspoon salt
¼                       teaspoon ground nutmeg
3                        cups shredded carrots***
1                        cup organic Thompson raisins
1                        cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 350°.  Grease with olive oil and sprinkle flour in to rectangular pan (13x9x2 inches) coating the sides and bottom.  Mix sugar, oil and eggs until blended; beat 1 minute.  Stir in remaining ingredients except carrots, walnuts, and raisins; beat 1 minute.    Stir in carrots, walnuts, and raisins.  Pour into pan. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.  

Optional creamy vanilla frosting:
3                        cups powdered sugar
1/3                     cup Earth Balance (non-dairy spread, softened) 
1 ½                    teaspoons vanilla
                          About 2 tablespoons of soy milk

Mix powdered sugar and margarine.  Stir in vanilla and milk; beat until smooth and of spreading consistency.  Frosts a 13x9-inch cake.

**cage free – raised naturally – raised without antibiotics – vegetarian feed with no animal by-products (remember the 500,000,000 recalled factory-farmed eggs?)

***Substitute 3 cups chopped tart apples for carrots

Thank you to Betty Crocker’s Cookbook for providing the general inspiration for this recipe.  Yes, some of us still enjoy old fashioned cookbooks our mother’s used.

March 9, 2014

Youngest child refuses to eat school supplied lunches* - what's a SuperMom-in-training to do? (Repost)

I guess it's a good thing that our youngest child announced last Spring that he no longer wants the school lunches that we were ordering twice a week.  (Disclaimer: There is no cafeteria in his elementary school so all meals are prepared and packaged off site - just like the airlines used to do!  Several airlines have allegedly confessed that they sold all their prepackaged meals to local elementary schools and that's why they are no longer served in flight.)

"Mom, it's just gross.  Can YOU please make me lunch EVERY day?" he pleaded.

I recalled many years earlier a lunch lady whispering to me, "don't order the bagel fun lunch.There's nothing fun about it. It's a stale bagel with something that looks like plastic cheese."

USDA approved school lunch
(only item missing is chocolate milk)
Check out  Fed Up with Lunch: The School Lunch Project
In fairness to our city's school lunch program they have begun to offer "more nutritious" options since our oldest was in elementary school and our guy was choosing them: garden salad with cheese & wheat roll or the Greek salad with feta & pita.  
http://www.thermos.com/

Anyway, I was letting him eat popcorn chicken and nachos with cheese twice a week because well...I was lazy.  I work full time and twice a week I didn't want to plan a lunch menu at 6:00AM.  But, this is a child that doesn't usually order from the kid's menu.  Sure he's had his share of chicken processed, boneless breaded junk but he'd rather have steak tips with mashed potatoes and green beans.  
So, I purchased the same product that I had used many...many...school years ago.  Yep!  A thermos.  And, they still rock.  In fact at our son's end of the year school meeting his teacher commented, "we always want to see what's in his lunchbox."

And, it's usually leftovers, because I'm not getting up and buying processed deli meat at 5:30AM.   Leftovers at our house might include Shepard's pie, rice with chicken and peas, or plain pasta with olive oil or sauce.  We've gotten real creative in the morning.

I always pack a water since the school can't offer it on the lunch menu.  You know, the whole federal government "sees no nutritional value in water" thing and will not reimburse school lunch programs if it is offered on the menu.  Of course I can choose between 4 types of cow's milk (including chocolate) but no water.  Hmmmm...wonder what industry/council got that placed on the school lunch menus and water banned?

So, in the vain of always looking for non plastic ways of storing food, I fell victim to the packaging and purchased the following product on a whim.
Stainless Steel for Lunch (Enviro Products)
"Reusable Forever!" Is what the packaging proclaimed.  Unfortunately I didn't turn the product over and look where it was manufactured - China.  Now, I wouldn't have bought it if I'd done my homework since the product claims, "no chemical leaching, no toxins".  I'm suspicious of what was used to manufacture the metal.

Anyway, to those who "don't have the time."  I too work full time and some nights after football, baseball, basketball or volleyball games, we're not home until after 8:00PM.  So, add leftover pizza served at room temperature to his menu. (Now that's testament to how nasty the school pizza must be.)

Are You Being Tricked By These Food Industry Marketing Tactics?


Check out the Food Babes latest Blog.


Readers - what do YOU think?




March 7, 2014

8 Foods We Eat In The U.S. That Are Banned In Other Countries



Yikes!  If these chemical dyes do this to your tongue
imagine what it does to your insides?

Hosting a party for middle schoolers this afternoon and serving:

Sparkling lemonade - (yield: 2 gallons* cost approximately $7.00)
*with plenty of ice the yield can be incresed to nearly 4 gallons

2 1/2 gallons of "real" lemonade - no powders or artificial flavors, etc.
1 bottle sparkling water or seltzer water - cold
1/4 cup of 100% fruit juice - Example: strawberry/lemonade
Scoop of frozen fruit - if I have any in the freezer
few slices of lemons* and/or limes

Use smaller cups filled with ice - they'll be back for more so you want to serve smaller portions so there's no waste.

Will also serve ice water since it's going to hit 90 degrees by 2:00PM.

*Using a lemon from a neighbors yard.

p.s. To get the most juice out of lemons and limes, take a room temperature lemon and using the palm of your hand (as shown below) roll the lemon around on the counter gently pressing to loosen and break up the pulp inside.  Take a spoon and use it to "squeeze out" the juice in to the container or beverage.  Slice the peel and place in drink.





Happy Summer!



March 4, 2014

FDA and list of "Food Ingredients" that are not tested and might be in your breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Another great item open for discussion on Fooducate.  Here's my response:
Terrific post! Any chance you can provide a link to those food and beverage "ingredients" listed as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS). Can't seem to locate one and am now very. . . very curious about those "food ingredients" that were more likely to have been "grown" in a chemistry lab than on a field (and how many are on our children's food trays?)
Best health always!

March 1, 2014

What do ya think? The "New and Improved" SuperMom101 Web Page

Would love to hear "What's on your Plate" and what you think of our new and improved

SuperMom101 Web Page

Best health always,

SuperMom-in-training