vegan

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A High Fructose Corn Syrup, Artificial Food Dye Tour Of WalMart

What’s the easiest way to being able to spot junk food?

Fat? Cholesterol? Weird, unpronounceable chemicals?

Those are all good, but there’s an easier way than that…

A High Fructose Corn Syrup, Red 40 Food Dye Tour Of WalMart

Just look for high fructose corn syrup and/or artificial food dyes.

This is coming from a guy who over the course of several years, learned the cure to eczema (dyshidrosis) by experimenting with what I did and did not eat. The first step for me, 6 years ago, was discovering I had to eliminate high fructose corn syrup and/or artificial food dyes from my diet.

Why?

High fructose corn syrup is the most processed version of GMO sugar you can find. It’s the sweetest of the sweet, which teaches your body to “look for the rest of the food” it came from. In other words, high fructose corn syrup keeps you hungry; as explained in this article by scientificamerican.com.

A High Fructose Corn Syrup, Artificial Food Dye Tour Of WalMart

Meanwhile, artificial food dyes have been linked to anxiety, migraines, and cancer; according to this respectable article on Forbes.com.

Today, I want to introduce you to the concept that WalMart’s vendors are very good at making sure WalMart’s customers are strategically surrounded by high fructose corn syrup and artificial food dyes.

It’s common knowledge to our generation that WalMart has this way of attracting a certain crowd worthy of their own website: peopleofwalmart.com. (I don’t endorse that site, by the way; it’s not “family friendly”.)

However, there’s a reason it’s so easy to relate to WalMart memes:

WalMart Memes

For example, over the weekend I overhead this phone conversation while I was there at WalMart: “I ain’t no snitch… I didn’t give the cops a first name. I wasn’t brought up that way…”.

In case you need a visual, he looked like a young version of Weird Al in his video for “All About The Pentiums.”

This past weekend while I was there to pick up my car after getting an oil change, I took a walk around the place.

I only had to walk past a few aisles to pick up on a marketing strategy: WalMart’s vendors strategically place “pillars of cheap junk food” around the outer perimeter of the store’s interior.

Vendors pay for that high-traffic real estate within the store, as explained by one of my coworkers, whose wife is a manager at WalMart.

junk food pillars WalMart

If I sound a little harsh regarding these strategically placed junk food pillars, let me give you some more quick background on me, because I feel it’s relevant to my passion behind this story.

I was one nervous little kid, from age 10 to age 12. I had anxiety issues, as well as constant digestion problems.

Fortunately, my own parents were open-minded enough to listen to good advice, and cut out red food dye (Red 40 and Carmine) from my diet.

What a lot of people here in America don’t realize about those petroleum and insect derived food dyes is that are banned in Europe.

A High Fructose Corn Syrup, Artificial Food Dye Tour Of WalMart

So hopefully now it makes better sense why I am “outing” WalMart’s vendors for barricading the floor with junk food pillars.

See for yourself the next time you shop there.

I realize that other stores do this to, but I feel it’s taken to a whole new level at Walmart.

This is me inviting you to be in the know; just like I did back in 2009 when I pointed out the marketing scheme of fast food companies using the color combination of red and yellow in their logos to subconsciously control you like a traffic control light:

Yellow: “Slow down.”

Red: “Stop!”

https://familyfriendlydaddyblog.com/2009/12/19/red-and-yella-will-kill-a-fella-2/

What do you think? Do I know what I’m talking about here?

Is it safe to say that the vendors of many stores, WalMart serving as the epitome of them, surround the floor space with pillars of junk food, filled with high fructose corn syrup and artificially food dyes?

Tell me I’m not crazy. Most people say I am.

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Proof I’ve Deprived My Kid Of Fast Food (And Meat In General)

March 20, 2013 at 10:26 pm , by 

2 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

Fate would have it that your parents would become vegetarians right around the time you would be old enough to start eating meat; back in December 2011.

Now that I’ve fully converted to veganism, your chances of trying chicken nuggets anytime in the near future look pretty bleak.

But here’s the thing: You really have no concept of eating animals. A vegetarian diet is all you know.

Yesterday we received some coupons in the mail for a fast food restaurant. You saw a picture of a combo meal, consisting of a burger, fries, and a soda. Your reaction:

“What this called, Mommy?”

This past weekend while you were hanging out at an indoor playground, you discovered the pretend kitchen. After toasting the plastic peas in the pink toaster, you found a plastic chicken leg.

“What this called, “Daddy?”

I quickly responded without thinking about how weird my answer would be.

You were confused, but you tried not to question it, as you are still fairly new to the human experience:

“That’s fried chicken leg? Chicken leg.” You walked away with the plastic chicken leg in your hand, trying to figure out why a human being is supposed to play with a random body part of an animal.

I am trying to put myself in your shoes, simply thinking that all those animals on Old McDonald’s farm are just his pets and nothing more.

It’s going to be weird for me the day you’re old enough to understand that certain animals are a protein source for the 97% of Americans who are not vegetarians or vegans.

I wonder: At what point in your life will you finally eat meat; with the knowledge of what it actually is. If ever.

Aside from your parents’ influence, are you still a vegetarian? I’m sure the truth will come out in your teenage years.

 

Love,

Daddy

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My Toddler’s 1st 5 K… He Just Felt Like Running!

March 11, 2013 at 11:40 pm , by 

2 years, 3 months.

Dear Jack,

Here’s the most flattering picture I’ve ever taken of you. (Sarcasm.)

There you are in the back seat on Saturday afternoon, indulging in a vegan chocolate cookie from Whole Foods Market.

You didn’t seem to notice there were no eggs or dairy in your cookie. All you knew is that for some reason, I was letting you pig out on a treat which you didn’t have to earn by going potty at the house.

As for the reason the cookie was vegan, that would be because, well… this is me officially coming out of the vegan closet.

I have suffered from severe allergies and sinus problems since 1992, when I was only 11; I’ll be 32 next month. But a week ago I decided to see what would happen if I stopped drinking milk with my coffee.

About two days into using coconut and rice milk instead, I noticed that my constant sinus pressure cleared up.

Then I became addicted to that version of life. It’s been 21 years since I’ve breathed so easily and have been able to think so clearly. The fog in my brain has lifted, in more ways than one.

I decided that if it meant going vegan (no dairy or eggs, in addition to no meat) to continue my heightened state of well-being, I would be willing to make the appropriate lifestyle change. Watching the documentaryVegucated on Netflix solidified my decision.

Granted, our family has been vegetarians for 15 months now. So I’ve been living an alternative lifestyle this whole time anyway. Here it is; the last picture of us together before I became a vegan. The following day I would become even weirder.

Just to be clear, the vegan thing is just for me; not for you or Mommy.

Though when I think about it, the only thing keeping you from being a vegan is Annie’s whole wheat macaroni and cheese and your Chobani Champions Tubes of yogurt.

You don’t like eggs. You don’t like milk. But you’ll eat cheese and yogurt so I want you to keep enjoying them.

Or at least I should say, enjoy them while you can.

I’ve already learned that you and I have basically the same medical issues. The only reason you and I don’t currently still have eczema is because A) I make sure that none of your soaps or lotions contain sodium lauryl sulfate or artificial dyes and B) other than special occasions, I deprive you of processed sugar; even 100% fruit juice.

So don’t be surprised in about 9 years when you turn 11, that you’ll suddenly get this sinus pressure that gets worse at night and any time the weather changes. It will feel like you desperately need to blow your nose, but there’s nothing there when you try.

Son, I hope the best for you. I hope you haven’t inherited my severe allergies and sinus problems, but if you have… at least you’ll have a vegan dad to help teach you have to live the peculiar life of no eggs or dairy, in addition to no meat.

Mmm… did somebody say vegan chocolate cookies?

 

Love,

Daddy

 

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Review Of Toddler Mum-Mums: Apple, Banana, And Strawberry Rice Biscuits

I love reviewing food products! Today I am featuring Toddler Mum-Mum rice biscuits, by a brand called Hot Kid.

For the review, I was sent 2 boxes of the banana, 2 boxes of the apple, and 2 boxes of the organic strawberry.

Toddler Mum-Mum review

To meet the criteria for my review, the food could not contain artifical food dyes or flavors, or high fructose corn syrup; which in my opinion, is the easiest ways to identify junk food.

With that being said, Toddler Mum-Mum rice biscuits do not contain artifical food dyes or flavors, or high fructose corn syrup; nor do they contain preservatives, gluten, egg, or peanuts.

If you are a strict vegan or vegetarian, please note they contain gelatin, which is an animal by-product also found in pudding and marshmallows.

My niece Calla really loved Mum-Mums… all July 4th weekend. My sister, her mom, said she wouldn’t stop eating them!

Toddler Mum-Mum review

As the name implies, Toddler Mum-Mums are especially intended for toddlers and older. (My niece just turned 3, though.)

While at the grocery store yesterday, I looked at the competition. Turns out, unless you’re at Whole Foods, most grocery stores contain mystery ingredient filled versions of Mum-Mums as the competition.

Toddler Mum-Mum review

In other words, Mum-Mums stand out in the crowd in that their brand cares enough about its consumers to not include a long paragraph of ingredients you have to Google to even find out what they are; only to find out those ingredients shouldn’t even be considered as food to begin with. Mum-Mums only contain about 6 different ingredients.

For more informations, you can check out the Mum-Mums website at mummums.com.

Thanks for visiting Family Friendly Daddy Blog today. I wonder what I’ll review next?

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Vegan Recipe Review: Quinoa And Pinto Bean Sloppy Joes

Let me introduce myself. I am Nick Shell. I am a daddy blogger who happens to be a vegan. For years I suffered from dyshidrosis (a rare form of eczema which causes painful blisters to form on the palms of the hands) and severe allergy & sinus issues.

Vegan Sloppy Joes Pinto Beans Quinoa But now that I live 100% plant-based (since April 2013), those problems are now a thing of the past. I am not one of those annoying vegans who tries to show you pictures of animals being slaughtered. Nor am I the kind who wants you to become a vegan- what you eat is none of my business. That changes, however, if you end up visiting my website to learn what our family thinks of Quinoa and Pinto Bean Sloppy Joes. In that case, I’m going to have to tell you how awesome these things are! Quinoa and Pinto Bean Sloppy Joes are one of our family’s favorite recipes. Since discovering them, we pretty much have them once a week. And they even make great leftovers. vegan sloppy joes quinoa pinto beans We base our recipe from VegKitchen:

  • 1/2 cup raw quinoa, rinsed
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 medium green bell pepper, finely diced
  • 15- to 16-ounce can pinto, drained, rinsed, and coarsely mashed (or 1 1/2 cups cooked)
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 1 medium tomato, finely diced
  • 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce or tamari
  • 1 teaspoon agave nectar
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro, plus more for topping, optional
  • Shredded baby spinach leaves
  • 6 whole grain English muffins

We add avocados though- I highly recommend doing so. They are the secret ingredient that really puts this recipe over the top. These Quinoa and Pinto Bean Sloppy Joes are so filling! Man, I want some right now- seriously. vegan sloppy joes Nick Shell And again, they are made with all plant-based ingredients; meaning you consume less than 1% of your daily cholesterol. Even aside from the technical 0% cholesterol is the fact that by making the sauce yourself, your not feeding your family GMO high fructose corn syrup that the leading sauce brands are full of. Please take my word for it… this is a good recipe. Not to mention, the prep and clean-up is very minimal. Make them, then, please… tell me what you think. I want to know.