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5 Pointers To Help Avoid Foods With Fillers

December 20, 2012 at 9:08 pm , by 

This post is sponsored by Little Remedies — makers of children’s medication without artificial colors, artificial flavors, or alcohol.  

2 years, 1 month.

Dear Jack,

I often wonder what you will think of all the seemingly obscure limitations that Mommy and I put on our family’s food choices.

There’s actually a decent chance you will think our lifestyle of avoiding processed foods is normal, since it’s mainly what you’ve been exposed to your entire life.

To avoid all processed foods completely would mean to only eat from the food we grow and prepare ourselves. Right now as at stands, Mommy and I still have full-time jobs on top of taking care of you, so I don’t see a full family garden happening anytime soon.

So for us, we make a highly concentrated effort to avoid foods with fillers, which largely refers to processed foods.

This is both extremely easy and extremely difficult to do, but Mommy and I have some pointers to help keep us on track.

1. If we can’t recognize (or pronounce) the name of any ingredient on the back of the package, it doesn’t earn the right to enter our bodies. How do we know it’s not some harmful chemical or strange animal by-product? Mystery ingredients are fillers.

2. If the food contains artificial flavors or colors, that’s a dead giveaway the product contains “non-food” ingredients. Artificial flavors and colors are often derived from petroleum (like in Red 40 dye) or random animal by-products (like in Crimson Lake dye, which is made from the powdered and boiled bodies of insects including the cochineal scale and the Polish cochineal).

3. Food in the form of nuggets, patties, and sticks is highly likely to contain fillers. These foods by their very nature (or should I say lack of nature?) must contain fillers, otherwise they would be actual slices of meat.

4. High-fructose corn syrup is a bad influence on food. It can turn a normally healthy food into a junk food. Typically, high-fructose corn syrup, as opposed to actual sugar or evaporated cane juice, has a way of associating itself with other cheap and processed ingredients. It’s like a magnet for other mystery fillers.

5. Drinks other than water and whole milk are typically filled with unnecessary extras. The name whole milkitself should be a clue that low-fat milks have been processed and replaced with extra ingredients to a higher degree than whole milk. Even 100% juice removes the fiber from the fruit, and therefore from our diets, yet gives us 100% of the sugar. It only gets worse from there in the beverage world, like with regular soda and diet soda.

I know at times these dietary restrictions on you may seem extreme, but they are restrictions that we as your parents abide by alongside you.

After all, Mommy and I drank skim milk our entire lives until I agreed to participate in an experiment where I switched to whole milk for a month. Despite doubling my intake of milk that month, I didn’t even gain one pound. So we switched to whole milk.

As for the “no juice rule,” we’ve learned to incorporate more actual fresh fruits and vegetables into our daily diets.

I can’t always promise that you can have the “fun” food the other kids at school have, but I can promise you that we will make sure you are well fed…with healthy food without fillers.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

P.S. I invite any other readers of this letter to share your additional pointers, personal stories and struggles regarding the avoidance of fillers in foods, or even voice your disagreements; feel free to leave a comment.

Photo credit: Photostock, Little Boy Biting Big Carrot.

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Why Every Parent Should Know About The Skin Deep Cosmetics Database

November 25, 2012 at 12:14 am , by 

2 years.

Dear Jack,

By now, however old you are as you are reading this in the future, you have figured out that I have raised you differently than most of your friends. Sure, there’s the obvious vegetarian thing—but that’s only a fringe quirk of our family’s lifestyle.

What it ultimately comes down to is, you have a dad who has always questioned the social norm, even at the risk of looking like a weirdo with ulterior motives.

As I write this now, it is during a time in American culture where most people are not questioning “pink ribbon product promotions.”

Because we all personally know someone who has suffered from breast cancer, we want to do what we can to help the suffering, so we raise money and awareness.

However, we are not being told how much of that money actually goes to find a cure, nor are we told what our donations have actually accomplished so far.

Part of the reason we as a family are vegetarians is that, according to “The China Study” referred to in the documentary Forks Over Knives on Netflix, the activation of our bodies’ “cancer cells” is directly related to the level of dependency on animal proteins for nutrition, versus a dependency of plant-based foods.

A couple of years ago in my blogs I started pointing out that, ironically, the companies most likely to contribute a portion of their proceeds to find a cure for breast cancer, are often actually selling products that are likely to cause cancer in the first place…

Like junk food, fast food, cosmetics, and personal hygiene products.

I know we’re really strict on the amount of sugar we let you eat, but it’s because I’m so aware of the link between sugar consumption and auto-immune deficiencies. The reason I know this is because both you and I have psoriasis- one of the ways we keep it under control is by eliminating processed sugar (including fruit juice!) from our diets as much as possible.

So when I see cookies for sale with the pink ribbon on the package, I don’t know whether to laugh or to be disgusted. The foods that help fight cancer and auto-immune diseases, like fresh produce, have no reason to need to capitalize on pink ribbons to emotionally entice us to buy their highly processed product.

That’s because fresh fruits and veggies are actually part of the cure, not the disease. Needless to say, we now have a policy in our family that we deliberately don’t buy products with the pink ribbon on the package, as it signals to me that it is a processed food we are trying to avoid in our lifestyle.

This is something I decided to implement after watching a documentary on Netflix called Pink Ribbons Inc., which attempts to answer the questions I have been asking for years:

How much of America’s “pink ribbon” donations actually go to help find a cure for breast cancer? What has the research actually taught us since 1982? Which exact companies sell “pink ribbon” products that are linked to cancer?

I give Pink Ribbons, Inc. the credit for telling me about a really cool and important website called Skin Deep.

We can instantly search and find out, on a scale of 1 to 10, just how harmful and toxic our household personal products are to us. It shows a break-down of each secret ingredient and rates its link to cancer, developmental and reproductive toxicity, allergies, and immunotoxicity..

For example, my cologne scored a 9 (10 being the worst). Mommy’s nail polish scored a 7. Fortunately, your shampoo scored a zero.

Each search on Skin Deep automatically shows you safer alternatives with a zero rating, which is the best, that you can buy instead.

I know that at times our lifestyle seems a bit over-the-top and even unnecessary. But this is me doing my part to raise awareness about what cancer-linked ingredients are going into our bodies, as well as ingredients that promote auto-immune diseases.

Why were cancer and auto-immune disease rates so much lower a hundred years ago? One obvious reason is that we didn’t have as many mysterious chemicals going into our foods, personal hygiene products, and cosmetics.

So needless to say, tonight I threw away the hair pomade I’ve been using to spike your hair. It scored a 6 onSkin Deep. I’ll be going to Whole Foods Market this week to buy you some more that doesn’t include ingredients linked to cancer and allergies.

You know the reason I’m so obsessed about all this stuff is because I care about your well being, right? It’s not simply because I’m weird, I promise.

 

Love,

Daddy

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Survey Predicts Vegetarian Families Won’t Eat Turkey This Thanksgiving

November 15, 2012 at 11:42 pm , by 

23 months.

Imagine gratefully sitting down at the table for a classic American Thanksgiving meal, only to notice the glorious turkey is nowhere in sight.

As strange as it sounds, a survey shows there are around 7 million Americans identifying as vegetarians; meaning this Thanksgiving they will intentionally pass on the traditional turkey, ham, and chicken-infused dressing.

If you happen to be in a room of 100 people right now, look around you: Statistics would predict that 3 of those people are vegetarians; meaning they choose not to eat meat.

Cue the Shell family from Nashville, Tennessee. Every time they walk into a room of 97 people, they become the token vegetarians.

How is it possible to have a Thanksgiving meal without any meat? Doesn’t that somehow defeat the purpose of the feast?

Nick Shell, father to 2 year-old Jack and husband to wife Jill, gives some insight on what will be on their Thanksgiving menu this year:

“We have this awesome recipe for vegetarian meat loaf. I know this sounds weird, but you make it with cottage cheese, bran flakes, French onion soup mix, chopped walnuts, and an onion. You mix it up in a big bowl then bake it in muffin tin in muffin form. It so believably tastes like real meat loaf, I often feel guilty when I eat it.”

While many of the Shell family’s daily typical meals are simple and based around whole wheat pasta, they plan to prepare some of their more special recipes for this Thanksgiving.

To accompany their “meat loaf,” they also plan to indulge in “baked spicy fries” and cucumber sandwiches on Jewish Rye bread. Of course, it goes without saying they will have a salad to start off their vegetarian Thanksgiving feast.

It sounds like the Shell family have their menu figured out for this year, but how would things be different if they were guests at someone else’s dinner instead?

“It’s actually not that big of a deal,” Nick explains. “When you live the extreme lifestyle of ‘no meat’ every day, you’re already accustomed to coming up with a Plan B. A lot of times, it becomes our responsibility to bring our Plan B with us to a dinner. We’ll volunteer to being a dish or two that we know will fill us, and that will also contribute to the meal as a whole, so others can enjoy it too.

For our son Jack, we seem to always be carrying out a bag of Cheerios and pouch of pureed veggies with fruit any time we drive him somewhere anyway. Or he can try what we’re having. So we really don’t have to worry about what to feed him; this lifestyle is all he knows. Even at his daycare, he’s used to being the only kid in class to have a separate vegetarian version of what the other kids are eating.”

But even with a fancy vegetarian selection, does a person truly enjoy their Thanksgiving as much as the other 97% of America? Nick shares his perspective on this:

“Honestly, I never really was a big fan of the Thanksgiving meal. For me, I always felt obligated to eat too much turkey and overcooked vegetables, becoming too lazy to escape whatever VH1 countdown was on TV. But now, as a vegetarian, I can be completely full, yet not feel bogged down. In fact, it’s becoming our tradition to go for a long walk after our Thanksgiving meal. Fresh air and sunlight are basically part of the menu too.”

Of course, vegetarians aren’t really limited when it comes to desserts. Sure, marshmallows and pudding are made from the skin and bones of pigs and cows; but other than that, a vegetarian can enjoy pumpkin pie, homemade cookies, and egg nog with the rest of the crowd.

However, if you are of the majority of America who will be eating turkey this Thanksgiving and the concept of a vegetarian Thanksgiving meal does not intrigue you, then there’s one more thing to be thankful for this year:

Be thankful you’re not a vegetarian.

To see the actual recipes of the menu items Nick Shell mentioned today, check out his Pinterest and click on his page called “Proven Vegetarian Recipes.” Then you can make your very own vegetarian meat loaf out of cottage cheese and bran flakes.

 

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Yes, Facial Cream Is Made From Foreskins… Why, Does That Bother You?

November 14, 2012 at 11:19 pm , by 

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Why This Dad Supports Proposition 37, The Food Labeling Bill

November 1, 2012 at 2:59 am , by 

23 months.

I happen to be on vacation right now in California, and couldn’t help but notice the continuous TV ads either praising or demonizing the state’s Proposition 37.

It is a food labeling bill that would force companies selling genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) to make this clear in their labels, to notify potential consumers.

To research both sides of the controversy, visit CA Right to Know and No Prop 37.

However, if you would like to hear my extremely biased perspective, keep reading.

This is a subject I am passionate about. It’s a personal issue for me which I have written about several times before.

My family has been vegetarian for nearly a year now; to the best of our knowledge, that is.

Honestly, I am less concerned about knowing whether my food has GMO’s and more concerned about knowing what actually is in my food. But I know that if Proposition 37 is passed, it will provide a greater chance for a future of more honest food labeling, in general.

Back in February, I published an article named “Is ‘Natural’ Vanilla Flavoring Really From Beavers’ Anal Glands?”

What a silly and ridiculous question to have to ask. But the the truly silly and ridiculous thing was that the answer was, and still is, an assumed yes.

I want the confidence of knowing that my son isn’t eating food that was “naturally” flavored by the anal glands of a beaver.

Not to mention, pudding and gelatin are made from the skin and bones of cows and pigs; not vegetarian or kosher.

Oh, and the red food dye Crimson Lake comes from parasite bugs. I applaud Starbucks for agreeing to stop using Crimson Lake in their drinks earlier this year.

Why did Starbucks implement the change? Because it’s what some of their vegan and vegetarian customers asked for.

Similarly, there are Californians who want their food growers to be less candid as well.

If you have Netflix, watch Food, Inc. It’s a very well-produced documentary that helps us understand, as well as question, what’s actually in our food and where our food comes from. You will understand why people like me cringe at the mention of the name Monsanto.

Then it will be that much more interesting that Monsanto is currently the top financial donator against Prop 37, having already spent over $7 million to campaign against it.

I also highly recommend taking look at this list of the top donors, both for and against the bill.

Let me be the first to admit Proposition 37 isn’t perfect. I have extracted this quote from No Prop 37, a website that is against the food labeling bill:

“Prop. 37 is full of absurd, politically motivated exemptions that make no sense. It requires special labels on soy milk, but exempts cow’s milk. Dairy products, eggs, meat and poultry are all exempt. Fruit juice requires a label, but alcohol made with some of the same GE ingredients is exempt.”

Good point. Proposition 37 is politically motivated and catered to protect certain groups. But I would rather have an imperfect solution than no solution.

I believe that if Proposition 37 is passed, other states will adopt similar, yet better, versions of the bill.

In closing, please know that I welcome all comments on Proposition 37, especially from people who completely disagree with me.

If you believe my opinion is wrong, let me know why. Use this article as a platform for your biased perspective, as I have just done.