My Foodie Call

Dial in to your health.
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  • Category: Small changes

    • Grocery shopping… Have you been paying attention?

      Posted at 9:33 pm by myfoodiecall
      Feb 10th

      Hi all!

      So this is ME checking in with YOU to see if you have been duped this week in your quest for health. Remember this post? In short, I was trying to get you to shop consciously and not fall prey to those wellness claims. Fancy advertising promising health inside of a margarine container? I think not.

      This company is throwing every health claim at you at once. I'll get my Omega 3's elsewhere, thank you very much.

       I’ll get my Omega 3’s elsewhere, thank you very much.

      Surely you all have been shopping in the past week. Did anyone pay attention? Anything to report?

      Well, regardless of whether or not you are ignoring me…

      This caught my eye the other day.

      Gluten free? They may as well be named "scam brownies".

      Gluten free? Sorry gluten free lovers out there, but this can be such a scam.

      Yah, let's elminate gluten and add a ton of sugar...that's the ticket to health.

      Yah, let’s eliminate gluten and add a ton of sugar to the package…that’s the ticket to health.

       Here is another example of trickery masked as a vegetable…

      "Ooooh sweet potatoes. Those are the good potatoes. I'll buy these," says unsuspecting consumer.

      Unsuspecting consumer says, “Ooooh.. sweet potatoes. Those are the good ones. I’ll buy these muffins because I heard that I should be eating more sweet potatoes from the Dr. Oz show.”

      Do you see any sweet potato in this list?

      Do you see any sweet potato in this list? There is some, but in miniscule amounts. Squint your eyes a bit and it’s in the middle of those ingredients listed as sweet potato powder. hmmm….not feeling the veggie in this thing.

      What did you find??

      To close, I’ll leave you with a quick video that is witty and does an awesome job on false advertising and the words “all natural.”

      Hate videos?

      Just watch okay? It’s only 4 minutes, you can get back to your Facebooking in a second.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AftZshnP8fs

      Posted in Random stuff, Small changes
    • Small changes…Homework assignment for you.

      Posted at 10:28 pm by myfoodiecall
      Feb 1st

      I have been meaning to write about this for a while now but in my mind it seemed too lengthy and mentally taxing to write. I could go on and on about this subject ad nauseam… Seriously, it makes my head hurt to even think about condensing this. This discussion could be days long. Who has time for that. Here goes my oversimplification.

      Propaganda.

      The media.

      The diet industry.

      The wellness claims.

      How much do you fall prey to the claims?

      We all do, including myself. I found and bought myself Dark Chocolate Multi Grain Cheerios the other day because, “hey dark chocolate is better than regular chocolate, so it must have more nutritional benefits, right?”

      It’s an easy trap to fall into and usually I can do pretty okay.  I am a firm believer in flipping the package. ALWAYS. Never believe the front. Although at home, upon further inspection, my Cheerios had zero dark chocolate. Yes, things could be worse. I could be buying Cocoa Pebbles or something, but you get the point.

      Let’s start our mini lesson shall we?

      I am pretty certain any educated adult can recognize when they are being sold to and enticed by a Kohl’s 2 day power sale, but how often do you recognize “diet” and “wellness” propaganda?

      (P.S. There is a mini assignment at the end so be sure to pay attention, okay?)

       Ritz Crackers

      Seems harmless, right? Says, whole wheat on the front. Claims "5g whole grain". What does that even mean??? They are going to the bank that you do not know or even care.

      Seems harmless, right? Says “Whole Wheat” on the front. Claims “5g whole grain”. What does that even mean??? The Ritz marketing team is going to the bank that you do not know or even care. You say, “hey, its whole grain, it must be good for me, right?” Let’s flip the box and take a closer look…

      Do you see anything whole wheat about this ingredient list?

      Do you see anything whole wheat or whole grain in this ingredient list? Not sure about you, but I see a whole lotta partially hydrogenated this and corn syrup that. And this cracker is definitely more than 5 ingredients. We do not do this anymore right? We have evolved!

      Lovely Chef Boyardee. Oh be still my heart.

      Hilarious. Since when does slapping the label "whole grain" on Chef Boyardee make it healthy? I applaud their efforts, but seriously? I'd rather give my kids plain white pasta than this sodium-laden canned goop.

      Hilarious. Since when does slapping the label “Whole Grain” on Chef Boyardee make it healthy? I applaud their efforts, but seriously? I’d rather give my kids plain white pasta than this sodium-laden canned goop.

      “Healthy butter”. How many of you have bought into this?

      Olive oil butter. As if it magically makes it healthy. "Olive oil". Oh right, that's the stuff that's good for my heart, right?? Wrong. Media= 1 You= 0.

      Olive oil butter. As if olive oil magically makes it healthy. “Oh right, that’s the stuff that’s good for my heart, right?? I think I’ll buy olive oil butter because it’s better for me than my old Promise spread that I use to buy.” Wrong.

      Oh and this one is the best. Total identity crisis on this label.

      This company is throwing every health claim at you at once. Words like "light" and "extra virgin olive oil" and "omega 3" and "Vitamin E". Wow, all of these things in one tub? Might as well eat it  in one sitting.

      This company is throwing every health claim at you at once. Words like “light” and “extra virgin olive oil” and “omega 3” and “Vitamin E”. Wow, all of these things in one tub of buttery spread? Might as well eat it in one sitting.

      So my homework assignment????

      The next time you shop, find 5 diet and wellness products that are being marketed towards an unsuspecting consumer (you). Don’t worry, you can still buy your Omega 3 peanut butter, JUST BE AWARE.

      Report back to me. Let’s be accountable.

      I would love to hear what’s out there. It really is everywhere.

      Except the produce aisle…

      Posted in Random stuff, Small changes
    • Small changes…Start buying Ezekiel Bread

      Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
      Jan 12th
      Have you whizzed past this  at the grocery store?

      Have you whizzed past this at the grocery store?

      Have you ever seen this at the grocery store? It’s often times in the freezer case instead of the bread aisle.

      Why? Well, it’s expensive. Most people have caught onto swapping out white bread for whole wheat, but we can do even better.

      Your next step in your nutrition journey?

      Ezekiel Bread. 

      Why?

      It’s sprouted bread. No flour.

      For all you low-carb people out there, I’m talking to you.

      No flour.

      Why should I care about sprouted bread? Isn’t my whole wheat bread good enough?

      Yes, your whole wheat bread is better than white, but sprouted bread is best. In Ezekiel bread, sprouted kernels are ground up and made into bread. In whole wheat bread, kernels are ground into flour, then the flour is made into bread (with a bunch of other stuff) See the extra steps? More processing=less nutrients

      Also, sprouted bread retains more nutrients, is easier to digest and has no added sugar.

      Sorry, whole wheat flour. You can’t make that claim.

      But how does it taste?

      True, it’s not going to be pillowy and dreamy like the Wonderbread from your youth, but give it a shot. Start slow and work it into your food rotation in your tastiest foods. Using it for french toast might be a good starting point.

      For our family, I pretty much always have it in my freezer and will take slices out as needed and strategically use the bread when making “kid-friendly” foods like grilled cheese or peanut butter and fluff. Yes, I have tried to make the crew hummus and veggie sandwiches on Ezekiel. Not good.

      I’ll leave you with this piece below that’s been floating around Facebook, because I think it’s so dead on:

      cancer image

       

      Posted in Small changes
    • Small changes…Why I always use grapeseed and coconut oil in my recipes.

      Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
      Dec 13th

      You might have noticed that pretty much all of my cooked recipes use either grapeseed oil or coconut oil. Why??

      So many oils, what to do…

      Although there are some pretty great oils out there, I use these two oils in my kitchen specifically for cooking because they have a high smoke point.

      What is a smoke point??

      Basically its the point at which the oil starts to break down its fatty acid chains.

      And starts to smoke…

      and the nutritional benefits are null and void….Might as well go grab some fries. 🙂

      and the taste goes kaput.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_point

      FYI…A couple of smoke point temperatures.

      Smoke point: 420 degrees

      Smoke point: 420 degrees

      I use grapeseed oil quite a bit for stir frying, and baking. It rocks because it is always liquid and can blend seamlessly into recipes.

      Smoke Point: 420 degrees

      Smoke Point: 420 degrees

      Coconut oil is great too. We all know that. Problem is that coconut oil is sometimes hard when it is at cooler temperatures. Or it might be too liquid-y when you want it semi-solid. You sometimes have to do a tiny bit of prep to work with it. Sometimes.

      That said, coconut oil is still pretty dang good though…And you can slather your body in it too and feel like you are on tropical island instead if your nasty kitchen.

      Smoke Point: 375 degrees

      Smoke Point: 375 degrees

      Olive oil, yes its great, but only for use in dressings or as a dipping oil for breads. If you must cook with it, use it at the tail end of your cooking.

      Make sense???

      Posted in Random stuff, Small changes
    • Small Changes…Leave your minced garlic alone.

      Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
      Nov 22nd

      garlic

      So here is the deal.

      We all know that garlic is good for us, right? 

      Garlic is a super star helper for our immune system, keeps our heart healthy, and is anti-inflammatory…yada yada yada. 

      Do you know why though?

      It’s the allicin in the garlic that is your golden ticket to its amazing health properties.

      But do you know that allicin is only available to us after the garlic has been chopped, minced, crushed?

      However many people will chop their garlic, toss it in the pan with their oil, and go to town on their stir-fry. No lag time.

      So where’s the problem in this?

      Allicin, the good stuff in garlic,  is the most available to you after your minced garlic has been sitting for 10 or so minutes…

      If you do not leave your garlic alone, the allicin will never be produced.

      Another reason to mince and walk away?

      When you do decide to cook them vegetables with your garlic, the allicin that is produced will  be more stable and resistant to the heat from cooking. That way the health properties are not destroyed.

      So chop, mince and crush your garlic all you want….

      But then go fold some laundry, will ya?

      Remember no cooking until its been chopped for 10+ minutes!

      Posted in Small changes
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    • You missed a call?

      • Make friends with…Bean Pasta.
      • Whole Wheat Flax ‘N Apple Muffins
      • Small changes…Eat what’s in season.
      • Whole Wheat Broccoli Mac N Cheese
      • What I pack my kid.
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