You have probably heard that plastics contain dangerous chemicals such as Bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates, which mimic hormones in your body. They have been linked to ailments ranging from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Hopefully you’ve taken steps to avoid BPA, like using only stainless steel drinking bottles or glass food storage containers.

But did you know that there is BPA in the lining of food and beverage cans as well? Yes, it’s true. The resin linings of tin cans contain bisphenol-A. Canned tomatoes are likely to have even higher levels of BPA; the high acidity of tomatoes causes more BPA to leach into food.

Can-Free Tomato Solution? Pomi Tomatoes in a Box are BPA Free

Thankfully there is an easy way to avoid BPA from canned tomatoes: Pomi tomatoes come in a BPA-free box!

Pomi tomatoes come straight from Italy and they contain one ingredient: tomatoes. Italy’s standards for tomatoes and farming all fresh produce are much stricter than here in the U.S. Here are some more great reasons to choose Pomi tomatoes:

Why Pomi Tomatoes are a Great Choice

• All natural: The only ingredient is tomatoes!
• Pesticide free: Pomi grows their tomatoes without pesticides; many consider it to be an organic product because of this.
• Non-GMO
• Grown in accordance to the EU’s regulations for eco-sustainable agriculture
• Packaging is recyclable and BPA free
• No preservatives, water, artificial flavor, additives, or citric acid
• Low in sodium

You can read more by going to www.pomionline.it and clicking on the British flag at the bottom.

My Thoughts

When I first opened the box, all I could smell was fresh tomatoes! If I didn’t know any better, I would have said they were straight from the garden. Seriously, they smelled that great. And when I used them in a meal, they tasted as good as the tomatoes my mom canned from her garden! I was very impressed!

Where to Buy Pomi Tomatoes

I have seen Pomi tomatoes in my local Whole Foods. But if you aren’t fortunate enough to have a store that carries Pomi tomatoes, you can always find them on my favorite online store: Amazon.com!

Go to Amazon.com now and buy Pomi’s Strained Tomatoes and Chopped Tomatoes. You will have peace of mind from buying a safe tomato product and you will be very happy with the taste! Enjoy!

[Disclosure: I received some samples of Pomi tomatoes from the marketing firm Think Cannon.  With that being said, the comments and opinions above are purely my own.]

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You can also use whatever beans you have available; use what’s on sale, what’s in your garden, what you need to use up, or what your neighbor gave you.

Why I Like This Meal

We love that this is another vegetarian meal (it’s vegan, too). Quinoa is a complete protein so this is a full meal for us, or I should say a complete meal for us. It is on the light side. It could also be used as a side dish; it is my current favorite dish to bring to potluck meals.

• Pros: This meal is super easy to prepare and it only takes about 15-20 minutes. It is a cool, refreshing meal to have in the summer. It’s a great vegetarian option.
• Cons: None that I can think of. (Unless you want to count the fact that my newly-picky 3 year old won’t eat this meal, or any meal with beans. He used to eat this meal before he started this picky phase, though.)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1/2 lb green beans, trimmed, cut into 2″ pieces, cooked and rinsed in cold water
• 1 1/2 cups frozen shelled edamame, thawed
• 1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers
• 1  (15-oz) can salad beans, drained
• 1/2 cup Italian dressing
• 1 tsp dried tarragon
• Salt and pepper to taste

I use all organic ingredients

Directions:

1. Rinse quinoa in water and drain.
2. Bring two cups of water to boil in small pot. Stir in quinoa, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender and liquid is absorbed (10-15 minutes). When finished cooking, uncover and let cool.
3. Cook green beans in small pot to desired tenderness. When finished cooking, let cool.
4. In large bowl, combine quinoa, green beans, edamame, red peppers, salad beans, dressing, tarragon, salt, and pepper and toss well.
5. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Note: To save time, I make this in the afternoon. I combine all ingredients while they are still warm and then refrigerate the entire salad for a few hours until dinner time. It works well!

the finished salad - yummy!

Note: I don’t use red peppers since I’m not a fan of them. But if you like them, I’m sure they would add something extra!

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Why I Like This

• Pros: This is a really easy recipe, especially if you have the chicken cooked ahead of time. It is also light and cool, which tastes great during the hot summer. Oh, and my 3 year old gobbles this up!
• Con: There was no picture to look at and I was confused by the directions for cutting the pita, so I guessed. And my pita was not cooperative and very crumbly. Hopefully you have better luck with your pitas.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup chopped green chilies
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 4 pita pockets, cut in half (not all the way through)
• 3/4 lb. skinless, boneless chicken tenders, cooked and shredded
• 1/2 cup chopped red onions
• 1/2 cup peeled and chopped cucumber
• 1 mango, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded lettuce

Note: I didn’t use chilies or onions.

chicken, cucumber, mango mixture

Directions:

1. Combine mayonnaise, yogurt, chilies, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Mix until completely blended.
2. Generously spread mayonnaise mixture on inside of pita pockets.
3. In a medium bowl, combine chicken, red onions, cucumber, and mango. Toss until mixed.
4. Divide chicken mixture among pitas.
5. Sprinkle with shredded lettuce and serve.

finished results (it would look nicer if my pita wasn't crumbling apart)

If you try it, let me know what you think!

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After reviewing 7,000 studies covering links between diet and cancer, the World Cancer Research Fund came out with a bold conclusion: Processed meats are too dangerous for human consumption.

What is Processed Meat?

Many people may not know the difference between processed meat and non-processed meat (fresh meat).

• Fresh meat has only one ingredient – the meat! Fresh meat is refrigerated, has a very short shelf life, and is usually packaged in simple wrappers.
• Processed meat has many ingredients and is usually packaged for long-tern shelf life. These products almost always contain sodium nitrite, a cancer-causing chemical additive.

Dangerous Chemicals in Processed Meat

Sodium nitrite is a chemical additive that meat companies use as a color fixer; it turns the meat bright red makes it look fresh.

• It is highly carcinogenic once it enters the human body, wreaking havoc on internal organs, especially the liver and pancreas.
• It is widely regarded as a toxic ingredient. The USDA actually tried to ban this additive in the 1970s but was vetoed by food manufacturers who complained they had no alternative for preserving packaged meat products.

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is another dangerous chemical found in most processed meat products.

• It is an excitotoxin, which means it overexcites your cells to the point of damage or death, which leads to neurological problems such as migraine headaches, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Lou Gehrig’s disease.
• It also leads to loss of appetite control, obesity, infertility, and reproductive disorders.

In addition to these chemicals, the animal fat used to make processed meat contains toxic chemicals, heavy metals, environmental pollutants. Fat tissues tend to concentrate whatever pollutants are found in the diet of the animal.

Processed Meat Connected To Cancer

The link between consumption of processed meats and cancer is very strong. After a five-year project spanning 7,000 studies, cancer researchers published their conclusion in the World Cancer Research Fund’s report, Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective (2007). They declared that all people should immediately stop buying and eating processed meat products and that all processed meat should be avoided for life! The report can be downloaded free at dietandcancerreport.org.

The chemical additives in processed meats are known to greatly increase the risk of:

• Pancreatic cancer (67% increased risk)
• Colorectal cancer
• Breast cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Leukemia (74% increased risk)
• Brain tumors
• Diabetes (40% increased risk)
• Heart disease

Do You Need a Visual Reason Not to Eat Processed Meat?

Mike Adams from NaturalNews.com provides some, um, interesting photos of processed meat in his Mystery Meat Macrophotography article.

How To Protect Yourself

1. Boycott processed meat for life. Do not buy it, eat it at a restaurant, or at social events. Do not let your kids eat it at school.
2. Read ingredient labels and do not buy meat that contains sodium nitrite or monosodium glutamate (MSG).
3. If you want to eat meat, choose only fresh, organic, free-range meat.
4. Educate yourself!

• You can read more about dangerous chemicals in the food supply in the book Grocery Warning System by Mike Adams. Or download his free Honest Food Guide from HonestFoodGuide.org.
• Check out the book The Hundred-Year Lie: How to Protect Yourself from the Chemicals That Are Destroying Your Health by Randall Fitzgerald.

As Mike Adams from NaturalNews.com says:

Processed meats promote cancer. There is simply no question about the scientific validity of that statement, and anyone who disagrees with it is either working for the meat industry or hopelessly behind the times on their nutritional research.

No industry wants to admit their product is unsafe. Remember tobacco companies insisting cigarettes weren’t bad for your health? The processed meat industry is no different. So you have to make your own decisions. Educate yourself so you can make the best decisions when you shop for food. Saving money now may be costly to your health in the future.

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(photo courtesy Afonso Lima)

Read Labels

Read the ingredient labels of all the products you buy (not just food) and avoid artificial colorings. It may take a little time to figure out better options, but it is absolutely possible and really not too difficult. Health food stores are a great place to look for safer alternatives.

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) has a Brain Food Selector that you can use to find information about the dyes in your child’s favorite foods. While you are there, check out their Smart Guide to Food Dyes for more information on health concerns for children from artificial food dyes.

If you need a medication and are not sure if it contains colors, you can check online at rxlist.com. If your medication is made with colors, contact a compounding pharmacy to see if they can do it without all the colors. A list of compounding pharmacies can be found at iacprx.org.

Natural Food Colorings Do Exist!

Natural food colorings are a way to add coloring to foods without the negative side-effects found in artificial colorings. Natural food colorings are derived from various fruits and vegetables and therefore high in bioflavonoids, antioxidants, and polyphenols which are beneficial when added to your diet. For example:

• Blue is often made from red cabbage and glycerin.
• Red is often made from red beets.
• Yellow is often made from turmeric.
• Orange is often made from beta carotene.

Where to Buy Natural Food Coloring

Here are a few brands I have found:

• India Tree Natural Decorating Colors come in a pack of three colors: red, yellow, and blue. They are sold at Whole Foods for about $20 and online at Amazon.com; however that link is for a set of two packages. Maybe you could split the order with a friend?
• Seelect Tea offers many colors in their line of natural food colorings; they even have some organic, vegan, and gluten-free colorings. Amazon.com carries a few colors and Nature’s Flavors carries quite a few more. Of course you can buy them from their website, too.
• Chefmaster has a line of natural food coloring which is also gluten-free. You can find them online at Baker’s Nook.
• Nature’s Flavors was one of the first companies to develop natural food colorings. Most of their food colorings are kosher, gluten-free, organic, and vegan.

I bought the India Tree pack of colors at Whole Foods when I made my son’s birthday cake; I was very happy with how well they worked!

Alternative Items for Parties and Events

When holidays and special events come around, it seems to also mean food with coloring! But there are ways to still have some sweet treats without the synthetic dyes.

• India Tree also makes many colors of decorating sugars (sprinkles) for the top of cakes and cupcakes. They even make some in the shape of snowflakes.
• Amy over at Crunchy Domestic Goddess wrote a great article with instructions on dyeing Easter eggs naturally.
• For more Easter egg dying tips, you can check out Organic.org.

I bought a pack of the India Tree natural colorings when I wanted to make my son’s birthday cakes this year. The following two cakes were made by me and the icing was colored naturally – even the painted-on flames!

How to Make Your Own Food Coloring

You can make your own natural food coloring by using certain foods. Some popular choices are:

• Avocado
• Beets
• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Raspberries
• Turmeric

For my son’s birthday last year, I used frozen blueberries to color the icing. I was hoping for blue, but as you can see it turned out more like lavender.

Here are some ideas for homemade coloring, by color:

• Green: Juice some vegetables like kale, parsley, or spinach. For a lighter green blend in avocados. Matcha Green Tea Powder also works.
• Pink/Red: Juice berries, cherries, cranberries, red pepper, beets, dark red tomatoes, pomegranate juice, chili powder, or paprika powder.
• Purple/Blue: Juice blueberries, blackberries, juiced or boiled red cabbage, radicchio, eggplant skin, acai juice, black or purple grapes.
• Yellow/Orange: Juice yellow beets, yellow pepper, pineapple, carrots, or turmeric powder.
• Brown: Coffee powder, cocoa powder.

Choose produce that is dark or concentrated in color. And keep in mind those fruits and veggies that are known for staining; they are perfect for making food coloring!

Read all the posts in the Healthy Living series by clicking on the icon on the left.

Health Concerns Regarding Artificial Colorings

Listed on Mercola.com as one of the 12 food additives to avoid, artificial colors have been linked to many health issues:

• Cancer and brain tumors: In fact, more than one artificial color has been banned and pulled off the market over the last several decades because it was ultimately found to cause cancer. The safety of those still allowed on the market is highly questionable.
• Allergies, asthma, rashes: As long ago as 1985 some of the artificial colorings, especially Yellow 5, were associated with side effects such as allergies, asthma, and urticaria (hives). The connection between Yellow 5 and asthma was the reason the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first required it to be listed by name on ingredient labels. Even today some medications for asthma actually contain these colorings and other chemicals known to cause bronco-constriction.
• ADHD, hyperactivity, and other disruptive behaviors: The effects of these artificial colorings may be more pronounced in children since they are still growing and developing and their systems may be more sensitive to the effects.

The FDA still considers these artificial colorings acceptable in food. Maybe that’s because the FDA receives compensation from the manufacturer for every pound of food dye it certifies (not inspects). (Details are in 21 CFR part 80.) This sounds like a conflict of interest in regard to the safety of these dyes.

Some groups, including the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), insist artificial food colorings aren’t safe and want them banned. In 2008, the CSPI petitioned the FDA to ban artificial food dyes linked to behavior problems.

Behavior Controversy

The issue of whether or not artificial colors contribute to behavioral problems in children has been disputed for many years. In the 1970s Dr. Ben Feingold, a San Francisco allergist, reported that his patients improved when their diets were changed (by removing syntheic dyes, artificial flavors, and several preservatives). He also noticed a marked increase in the ADD/ADHD classification after the mass introduction of food colorings into our society. Many people, including the processed-food industry, reacted to Feingold’s claim with skepticism, saying the reported successes of his diet could be due to something else, and not necessarily to the absence of certain chemicals in the food.

Newer Study Shows Link

However, a 2007 study published in the British medical journal The Lancet concluded that a variety of common artificial food colorings, as well as the preservative sodium benzoate, do cause some increased hyperactivity and decreased attention span in a wide range of children, not just those for whom over-activity has been diagnosed as a learning problem.

That study also indicated that artificial food colorings do as much damage to children’s brains as lead in gasoline, resulting in a significant reduction in IQ.

As a result of the study’s findings, the British Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued an immediate advisory to parents, warning them to limit their children’s intake of additives. Also, artificial food colorings were set to be removed from hundreds of products in the UK, as reported in 2008 in the British magazine The Independent. Not surprisingly, the U.S. has not issued any similar warnings.

What is in Artificial Food Coloring?

• They are made from petroleum (derivatives of coal tar and petrochemicals). These chemicals are in no way made to be ingested by humans or any other animal.
• They contain heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, and mercury. Scientists agree that there is no safe level of exposure to lead. Lead accumulates in the body from multiple exposures over time and from multiple sources. You can also view the lists for each coloring on the FDA’s website. (Just click on the numbered link to the left of the color name.)

According to toxicologist Barbara G. Callahan, PhD, DABT, of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, “Lead exposure among children is a particular concern because their developing bodies absorb lead at a higher rate and because children are particularly sensitive to lead’s toxic effects, including decreased I.Q.” Lead exposure also represents a heightened risk among pregnant and nursing women because lead passes from the mother to the developing fetus or infant.

Why is Artificial Food Coloring Used?

Artificial food colorings provide no nutrition or benefits to the consumer; only benefits to the manufacturer.

• They are cheaper than natural colorings and have a longer shelf life.
• They make food brighter which makes us want to buy it.
• They provide identity to foods.
• They mask natural variations in color.
• They offsett color loss due to light, air, extremes of temperature, moisture, and storage conditions.
• They are used for decorative or artistic purposes.

Where Are Artificial Food Colorings?

They are everywhere! If you buy packaged food at mainstream grocery stores, there is a good chance there are food colorings in much of the food. They are in obvious places like candies, sodas, and many bright foods. But they are also in places you might not think about, like blueberry bagels, vitamins, and salmon.

What Should I Look For?

There are nine certified color additives approved for food use in the United States; seven for general use in food, two for exteriors of food. They are either dyes or lakes; dyes are water soluble and lakes are the water insoluble form of the dye. They will be listed on an ingredient label as follows:

• with ‘FD&C’ preceding the color (FD&C stands for Food, Drug, and Cosmetic)
• abbreviated, with just the color
• the color followed by ‘Lake’ (if the lake form is used)

For example, you might see FD&C Blue #1, or just Blue 1, or Blue 1 Lake.

Here is a list of the seven current artificial food colorings as well as common places they may be found and some related health concerns :

• Blue 1: Found in pet food, beverages, candy, baked goods, icings, and syrups. Linked to tumors, cancer, and ADHD in children. Banned in Finland and France.
• Blue 2: Found in pet food, beverages, candy, and baked goods and linked to cancer in mice.
• Green 3: Added to candy and beverages, this coloring has been linked to bladder cancer.
• Red 3: Used to dye cherries, fruit cocktail, candy, and baked goods and has been shown to cause thyroid tumors in rats. Also used as a pesticide to kill flies’ eggs (maggots) in manure piles (source: US EPA).
• Red 40: The most widely used food color; used in sweets, drinks, and condiments. Connected to cancer in mice. Banned in Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, and Norway.
• Yellow 5: Used in snacks, cereals, jams, instant noodle, cake mixes, and candy and causes allergic reactions, asthma attacks, migraines, blurred vision, anxiety, and behavioral problems (worsening of hyperactivity and attention-deficit) in children.
• Yellow 6: Found in beverages, sausage, baked goods, candy, gelatin and linked to tumors of the adrenal gland and kidney. This color is banned in Norway and Sweden.

Here are the two artificial colors approved for use on the exterior of food:

• Orange B: Used in casings or surfaces of frankfurters and sausages.
• Citrus Red 2: Used on skins of oranges not intended for processing.

Also, watch out for carmine. Cochineal, also known as carmine, is made from dried, ground up red beetles and is used as a coloring ingredient in yogurt, ice cream, juice drinks, and many other grocery products. Obviously, it is neither vegan nor vegetarian. It has also been known to cause severe, even life-threatening, allergic reactions in rare cases. You can read government discussion about labeling foods containing carmine.

Other Products Containing Artificial Coloring:

Artificial colors aren’t just in soda and junk food. Here are a few other places to be on the lookout for artificial colorings:

• Medications: D&C colors are permitted only in cosmetics and in medications (and given to sick children) and are often allowed to have twice the amount of lead contaminant as colorings allowed in food. Tylenol Infants’ Concentrated Drops (grape) contain D&C Red #33 and FD&C Blue #1.
• Vitamins: Many vitamins, especially children’s vitamins, contain artificial colorings. For example, Flintstones vitamins contain Red 40, Yellow 6, and Blue 2. (They also contain aspartame.)
• Salmon: Some farmers add red food dye to their salmon to make them appear more appetizing.
• Cosmetic items: Shampoo, lotion, soap, chapstick, toothpaste etc. can all contain artificial colorings. For example, Johnson&Johnson Baby Shampoo contains D&C Yellow 10 and D&C Orange 4.
• Oranges: Some manufacturers dip oranges in Citrus Red No. 2 in order to give them a brighter orange look. This is not used on oranges that are processed for juice, but on those we sit down to eat.
• Sports drinks / Rehydration drinks: Sports drinks (like Gatorade and Powerade) are loaded with artificial colors and they have no purpose other than to make the product look more appealing. The same is true for re-hydration solutions like Pedialyte.
• Fruit juice cocktails: Fruit punch, cocktails, and other mixture juices can have artificial colorings added. For example, Sunny Delight contains Yellow 5 and 6.
• Cheese: Some companies add coloring to their cheese to make it brighter.

Surprise! Artificial Coloring in Foods You Wouldn’t Expect

Here are more foods that you might not think have artificial food colorings in them just by looking at them. This shows how much you really have to read the ingredient labels on everything you buy:

• Kraft’s Guacamole Dip gets its greenish color not from avocados (there are almost none) but from Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and Blue 1. (It also contains MSG, partially hydrogenated oils, and sodium benzoate, among others.)
• Kraft Macaroni and Cheese contains Yellow 5 and Yellow 6.
• The blue bits in Aunt Jemima Blueberry Waffles are blue thanks to Red 40 and Blue 2, not real blueberries.
• Girl Scout Cookies don’t outwardly seem like they would have artificial colorings in them, but several of the cookies do indeed contain artificial colorings. Caramel deLites and Peanut Butter Patties each contain Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1, and Blue 2.

Gone From the U.K. But Good for the U.S.?

The CSPI reports that many big companies sell different versions of foods in the United Kingdom with natural food colorings, while in the United States they contain artificial coloring. For example:

• Mars has eliminated some or all of the dyes from its Starburst Chews, Skittles, and M&M’S candies in Britain, but not in the United States.
• In the UK, McDonald’s strawberry sauce for sundaes are colored with actual strawberries; however in the United States, the same strawberry sauce is colored with Red 40.

My Thoughts

Some children have strong reactions to artificial colorings and others not at all, indicating there are individual differences in how well your body can tolerate the assault of artificial additives. One theory is that the additives may trigger a release of histamines in certain sensitive kids.

Regardless, I believe that artificial colorings (as well as other food additives such as preservatives and sweeteners) should be avoided as much as possible, especially with children, regardless of whether they have an obvious effect or not. They have no nutritional value and can carry long-term health risks. Really, it’s an easy step to take. It may mean a bit more effort on your part to shop for better options, but isn’t your health worth it?

Even if you think a little can’t hurt, what are the possibilities for exposure in any given day? For example, is your child drinking a sports drink or a fruit juice with coloring? Does their antibiotic contain coloring? What about the macaroni and cheese you made for dinner last night? What are the cumulative effects of this exposure? Are you willing to take that risk?

What Now?

So start reading the ingredients labels on everything you buy, and start saying NO to anything with artificial colorings. Soon I will have a follow-up article showing you how to avoid products with artificial coloring, alternatives for different items and events, where to buy natural food coloring, and even how to make your own!

As always, let me know if you have any comments or questions!

More Information:

• Tartrazine FD&C Yellow #5 on Feingold.org
• FD&C Coloring Research Information on Feingold.org
• Research on Food Dyes and Flavorings on Feingold.org
• Artificial Food and Cosmetic Coloring – A Hidden Source of Toxic Metals on bluedominoes.com
• The Unhealthy Truth: One Mother’s Shocking Investigation into the Dangers of America’s Food Supply–and What Every Family Can Do to Protect Itself by Robyn O’Brien

Read all the posts in the Healthy Living series by clicking on the icon on the left.

In fact, 90 percent of the money Americans spend on food goes toward processed foods because they are convenient and affordable, even though most Americans know that high-calorie junk foods lack in nutrition. But what is the real cost of this paradigm long-term? Americans spend less on food than many other developed nations but pay the price in fatigue, nutritional deficiencies, obesity, and other diseases.

If you are ready to take charge of your family’s health, one step you can take is to make more of your own meals with healthy, real, whole foods. Here are some tips to help you make time for healthy meals at home:

1. Make Healthy Food a Priority

No matter how busy you are, I’m guessing you still find time for some recreational activities for yourself. These activities may take the form of catching up on your favorite shows on DVR, surfing the internet, going to movies or watching them at home, shoe shopping, eating out, etc. In addition to these activities taking time they also cost money. Many people keep up with current trends in electronics, clothes, shoes, houses, toys, and gadgets, which also cost money.

If you are interested in the many benefits of eating healthy home-cooked meals, try spending some of this free time and extra money on healthy food. Make healthy food a priority in your life.

Here are a few things you can do instead of watching TV or while you are watching TV, especially if you have a TV in your kitchen:

• Plan your weekly menu.
• Prepare parts of a meal in advance.
• Prepare veggies in advance. (Wash the head of lettuce, peel and cut carrots, etc.)
• Make entire meals ahead of time and freeze.
• Get lunches ready the night before to help with crazy mornings. It’s better than eating out or school lunches.
• Search for new, quick, healthy recipes.

Consider cutting all TV out of your life (*gasp*) or at least limit TV to one or two shows. It really is a time hog. Take a look at how you spend the time in your days. Take a look at how you spend your money. What you spend time and money on is your priority. Isn’t it better to make healthy food a priority?

2. Plan Meals Ahead of Time

Menu planning is another essential aspect to ensuring home-cooked meals happen. I suggest planning meals for one week at a time and then shopping for those meals. Following this model saves you time because you only have to grocery shop once a week; no running to the store in the middle of the week to pick up this or that. And since you know exactly what you are having on any given night of the week, following this model saves you money from last-minute decisions to go out to eat.

I could probably write an entire article on menu planning tips alone (in fact, I think I will). Until then, here are a few key tips for meal planning:

• Plan ahead for all meals: Plan for breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners. Keep in mind any special occasions such as picnics or get-togethers with friends, extra food you may be making (for treats at school or for a friend who had a baby), or days you won’t need a meal (when you want to eat out or go to someone’s house). Don’t forget beverages, too. It’s no fun to have to make a special trip for a bottle of wine when it could have been on your list in the first place.
• Organize your recipes: I like to keep our favorite recipes in a small recipe box. If I find one we love in a cook book, I will copy it to an index card and add it to the recipe box. The recipe box contains dividers for our meal types: vegetarian, main dishes, side dishes, desserts, etc. I also have a tab in the front for “this week’s meals”. That’s where I put the recipes once I’ve decided they are in this cycle.

3. Learn to Love Leftovers

In fact, plan your meals so they create leftovers. Leftovers=easy preparation the next day. If you don’t like leftovers, get over it! This is one of the easiest ways to save time in the kitchen, which in turn creates time for YOU. A lasagna or hot dish is usually three meals for our family. In that case, sometimes we will eat our meal the first night and then package the leftovers into two containers; one for the refrigerator for the following night and the other for the freezer for the future. Or we will just eat it for three nights in a row. Easy.

Oh, and we only reheat meals using pots and pans on the stove top or in the oven; we do not use a microwave at all (and neither should you, but that’s another article.)

4. Have Staple Meal Supplies on Hand

To avoid the common question that can appear at the end of the day, “What am I going to  make for supper?” it is a good idea to always have on hand a few staple supplies for some of your family’s favorite healthy (and quick) meals. If you plan your meals for the week (see number 2 above) you should rarely encounter this situation. But things happen and if you have a backup plan like this, so to speak, you can avoid ordering pizza (again) or going out to eat (again) and can feel good about saving money and eating healthy.

One of our staple meals is risotto with asparagus, so I always have those ingredients on hand. Spaghetti is another easy one.

5. Make it Simple

No, I do not mean resorting to boxed or microwavable meals; even though those may be quick, they are definitely not healthy. I am talking about other ways to keep your home cooked meals simple:

• There is no need to make seven-course meals every night. As long as the meal contains basic healthy components like vegetables and protein, you are good!
• Keeping the ingredient list simple. I usually cringe when I see really long ingredient lists for recipes. Those meals can be nice for occasional meals or for when you have more time. You can always adapt a recipe for the amount of time you have.

6. Change Your Attitude About Food

Instead of thinking of food as a chore and therefore wanting to spend the least amount of thought, energy, time, and love in preparing it, try thinking of food as fuel for living. That’s what it is, after all. Bodies want and need the best ingredients to fuel its many processes. Fast food, restaurant food, boxed food, packaged food, junk food, and snack food are not what your body wants and needs.

You wouldn’t put water into your car’s gas tank just because it’s a liquid, cheap, and can fill up the tank, would you?

• Think about the effects that advertising and the food industries have on how we think about food and how we eat. Faster, cheaper, and more is not always better.

• Start thinking about why you should eat: sustenance (instead of boredom, socializing, pleasure). Then think about what foods provide the best sustenance/fuel: real, whole foods. Then start making it yourself.

Approach meal preparation with a new attitude of love, nourishment, and health. This is one of the most important points to understand for healthy eating.

Related Articles:

• How to Cook Whole Food from Scratch – and Keep Your Day Job! on Mercola.com
• It’s Time for a New Relationship with Food on ZenHabits.net

Wendy – ParentingTips365.com

Read all the posts in the Healthy Living series by clicking on the icon on the left.

This information led me to create a list of five foods your kids should NOT be eating:

1. Fruit Juice

Many people think fruit juice is healthy when in fact the complete opposite is true. Many parents offer juice as a healthier option to soda, but fruit juice still contains about eight teaspoons of sugar. Even though the sugar is from fruit, drinking fruit juice is not the same as eating fruit.

• Commercial fruit juices contain lots of simple sugars but not much fiber; they are made from fruit stripped of its skin and pulp, which slow down the release of sugars into the bloodstream. Nutritionists say it is better to eat whole fresh fruit than to consume fruit juice.
• The sugars in fruit juice (fructose) cause a major increase in insulin levels, just like drinking a soda. A distortion of insulin balance leads to hormone and neurotransmitter shifts which increase a child’s risk for ear infections, ADHD, and allergies.
• With its sugar content, it’s no surprise that fruit juice also increases cavities in children. Every time juice washes over their teeth, they are exposed to the damaging effects of sugar.
• Be aware that other fruit drinks are mixtures; they do not contain 100% fruit juice but contain extra sweeteners, artificial flavors, artificial colors, and other ingredients that damage your health.

If your kids already drink a lot of juice it may be hard to switch them over to pure water cold turkey. To wean them off juice, dilute the juice with water. Start slowly by diluting slightly, perhaps 90% juice / 10% water, and keep increasing the water content over time.

The bottom line is that children do not need to eat large amounts of sugar. It is so important to cut sweet drinks out of your child’s diet and switch all of their fluids over to pure water. We are not meant to drink our calories!

2. Candy

Many people let their children eat candy regularly and most people think giving their child candy every now and then as a treat or a reward is OK; it’s all about moderation, right? Here are a few reasons why kids shouldn’t be eating candy at all.

Candy is:

• Extra calories that have no nutritional value and don’t do your body any good.
• Sugar overload. Children don’t need much sugar at all, and especially not from junk food. For more information, read about the 76 ways sugar can ruin your health.
• A mixture of chemicals and artificial flavors. Besides sugar, candy can contain trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and food coloring, all of which have their own health consequences and are among the 12 food additives to avoid.
• Not something to give to children, whose bodies are still developing and in need of great nutrients. Providing even an occasional taste of candy can affect their willingness to eat healthy food or their taste for it. Once they develop a ’sweet tooth’ it will be harder for them to eat blander, but nutritious, foods. Sugar is an addictive substance!
• Bad for teeth. Sugar can cause tooth decay and periodontal disease.

To help change your mindset, try thinking of candy as a waste of money and something that will lead to health problems, and try thinking of healthy food as fortifying your body with nutrients and fighting disease.

3. Hot Dogs

Hot dogs are made with processed meat parts, then preserved with sodium nitrite (or sodium nitrate), which is a preservative, coloring, and flavoring commonly added to bacon, ham, hot dogs, luncheon meats, smoked fish, and corned beef. Studies have linked eating it to various types of cancer including brain tumors in children, leukemia, pancreatic cancer, and colon cancer.

Hotdogs can also contain MSG, a flavor enhancer used in many processed foods, which has been labeled as an “excitotoxin,” which, according to Dr. Russell Blaylock, an author and neurosurgeon, are “a group of excitatory amino acids that can cause sensitive neurons to die.”

Mike Adams, editor of NaturalNews.com, lists hot dogs as one of the top five cancer-causing foods. The Cancer Prevention Coalition actually recommends limiting the number of hot dogs that children eat.

4. Doughnuts

Along with hot dogs, doughnuts are also listed among the top five cancer-causing foods. Nutritionally speaking they are one of the worst ways to start your day. Eating a doughnut will throw off your blood sugar and it won’t stay with you so you will be hungry again soon.

Doughnuts contain:

• Hydrogenated oils (trans fats): Besides being a cancer factor, trans fats promote heart disease, interrupt metabolic processes, and cause belly fat that crowd the organs and strain the heart.
• White flour: As a refined grain, white flour has a high glycemic index which means that it will raise blood sugar levels more quickly. This will actually accelerate the growth of cancer cells and tumors.
• Sugar: As you’ve read above, sugar is an addictive substance and children do not need much of it. Read about the 76 ways sugar can ruin your health.
• Acrylamides: Formed during the frying process, acrylamides are a cancer-causing substance.
• No nutrients!

5. Fast Food

This quote from Naturalnews.com sums it up pretty well:

Fast food is extremely unhealthy for children. Not only are the foods often fried, homogenized, hydrogenated and otherwise altered, they’re also laced with chemical additives, taste enhancers, processed sugars, petrochemical food coloring, and other unhealthy substances. Strangely, many parents actually reward their children for good behavior by buying them unhealthy fast food meals, thereby creating a psychological association between good feelings and junk food.

I’ve talked about how fast food is loaded with MSG and high fructose corn syrup. But there are many other toxic chemicals added to fast food during processing.

For example, did you know that the beef sold to fast food restaurants and used in school lunches is injected with ammonia? Ammonia is a chemical commonly used in glass cleaning and window cleaning products and it also happens to kill e.coli – and the USDA endorses this procedure!

For more information, here are a few articles, books, and movies:

• Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser
• Food, Inc.
• Super Size Me
• Surprise Ingredients in Fast Food on Naturalnews.com
• Why You Should Avoid Fast Food at all Costs on Naturalnews.com

Wendy – ParentingTips365.com

Read all the posts in the Healthy Living series by clicking on the icon on the left.

Photo credits:
Orange juice: straymuse
Licorice: beverlytaz
Hot dog: Mike Johnson – TheBusyBrain.com
Doughnut: nazreth
Fast food: mckenna71

Why I Like This

When I made this the first time earlier this year, I think it was the first time I had ever tried risotto! I just loved the flavor and knew it was a recipe that was here to stay.

• Pro: This is a meal that can be ready in about 25 minutes. Nice! It’s also a nice vegetarian option for us, although some may like it as a side dish.
• Con: While this is a quick meal, it does require constant attention (the rice must be stirred constantly).

Ingredients:

• 10 asparagus spears trimmed, cut into 3/4-inch pieces, cooked, and rinsed in cold water
• 32 ounces organic chicken broth, divided
• 2 teaspoons organic extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
• 1 cup uncooked arborio rice
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives (optional)

simple ingredients can make a fabulous meal

Notes About Ingredients

• I do not use onions or chives and, as you can see, I used frozen asparagus.
• Fresh vegetables would be great and you can substitute others as you wish.
• You could even add cooked shrimp or other meat to this if you like.

Directions:

1. While preparing asparagus, heat broth to a simmer in a small covered pot and hold there.
2. Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook until softened, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add rice and cook 2 minutes, stirring often.
4. Add 1/2 cup simmering broth while stirring constantly, shaking pan forward and back as you do, until absorbed, about 1 minute.
5. Add 1/2 cup more broth and repeat the process. Continue repeating until rice is just tender and risotto is creamy and loose, about 20 minutes more. (Reserve any remaining broth for another use.)
6. Remove pot from heat and stir in 1/3 cup cheese, asparagus, and salt and pepper to taste.
7. Transfer risotto to bowls and garnish with remaining cheese and chives. Serve immediately. Serves two.

Risotto in progress

Notes About Directions

In the photo above you can see my set up as I cook this meal. You do have to constantly give it attention by stirring, but since the entire meal is made at the stove top, you can stay in one place and multitask!

finished meal

Notes About Meal

This meal serves two, which works great for our family (two adults and an unpredictable 3 year old). If you need to make this for more people, I imagine you would double the ingredients. But that makes me wonder if it doubles the cooking time as well. Does anyone know?

This is a great gluten free meal as well.

Read all the posts in the Healthy Living series by clicking on the icon on the left.

It is so important for everyone to know the dangers of MSG so if you only have a minute, please read the next section. For more detailed information on the dangers of MSG, keep reading.

Know It In A Minute

• Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is an amino acid used as a flavor enhancer in over-processed foods.
• It is an excitotoxin, which means it overexcites your cells to the point of damage or death, causing brain damage to varying degrees, and potentially even triggering or worsening learning disabilities, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and more.
• It is found in canned soup, diet soda, salad dressing, breakfast sausage, chips, frozen entrees, restaurant food, some manufactured vegetarian or health foods, and even infant formulas and baby food!
• It can cause nausea, headaches (it is a migraine trigger), seizures, and infertility and reproductive disorders.
• It causes weight gain and obesity by damaging the appetite regulation center in the area of the brain known as the hypothalamus, causing leptin resistence.
• Processed food manufacturers add it to food because it’s dirt cheap and increases appetite, thus increasing sales.
• It is also hidden in food labels under the following names: yeast extract, autolyzed yeast extract, broth, casein, hydrolyzed, autolyzed, malted barley, textured whey protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and MORE.
  

What is Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)?

MSG is a salt of the amino acid glutamic acid (glutamate). Glutamic acid is just one of many amino acids that are the building blocks of proteins. It occurs naturally in many foods such as tomatoes, milk, and mushrooms. Glutamic acid that comes from a natural source is a bound glutamic acid, and when broken down during the digestive process it’s harmless.

In making processed foods, however, bound glutamic acids are broken down or made ‘free’ (free glutamic acid) through various processes (hydrolyzed, autolyzed, modified or fermented with strong chemicals, bacteria, or enzymes) to make monosodium glutamate (MSG).

How Does MSG Affect Your Body?

Dr. Russell Blaylock, a board-certified neurosurgeon and author of “Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills”, explains that MSG is an excitotoxin, which means it overexcites your cells to the point of damage or death, causing brain damage to varying degrees.

• Excitotoxins block the receptors in the brain that signals satiation.
• Excitotoxins have been found to dramatically promote cancer growth and metastasis.

From MSGtruth.org, here is a partial list of the body systems affected by MSG:

• Allergic response
• Blood pressure
• Brain
• Digestive system
• Endocrine system
• Hearing
• Hypothalamus
• Lungs
• Nervous system
• Pancreas
• Thyroid function
• Vision

From MSGtruth.org, here is a partial list of some disease states affected by MSG:

• ADD/ADHD
• ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease)
• Alzheimer’s
• Asthma
• Autism
• Depression
• Diabetes
• Epilepsy
• Fibromyalgia
• Parkinson’s
• Migraine
• Multiple Sclerosis

Children Are at Higher Risk

A child’s brain is four times mores sensitive to damage by excitotoxins than is the brain of an adult.

Dr. Blaylock talks about damage from MSG:

The damage affects pregnant women, unborn babies and newborns. It produces changes in the brain that are irreversible. What we’ve found is that it reprograms the wiring of the brain, particularly the hypothalamus, so it doesn’t function normally. These children are abnormal for the rest of their lives in terms of their physiological function.

What Foods Contain MSG?

MSG (or one of its pseudo-ingredients) is found in:

• canned soup and dried soup mixes
• diet soda
• salad dressing
• breakfast sausage and other meats
• chips and other junk and snack food
• frozen entrees
• restaurant food and fast food
• Chinese food
• gravy
• chili
• canned beans
• seasoning blends and mixes
• bullion and broths
• prepared pasta products (like spaghetti Os)
• microwavable cups
• some manufactured vegetarian or health food
• infant formulas and baby food

MSG By Any Other Name – How MSG is Hidden in Other Ingredients

If you look at the labels of your processed food, you might not see the words ‘monosodium glutamate’ anymore – but don’t relax just yet. Once customers learned to avoid MSG/monosodium glutamate, food companies started using other ingredients that contain free glutamic acid, which is the main component of MSG, like:

• yeast extract
• autolyzed yeast extract
• autolyzed vegetable protein
• hydrolyzed vegetable protein
• hydrolyzed yeast extract
• torula yeast
• textured whey protein
• textured soy protein
• textured vegetable protein
• plant protein extract
• calcium caseinate
• sodium caseinate

You need to also be aware of the ingredients spice, natural flavor, and artificial flavor as they can designate the presence of MSG. For a bigger list of ingredients you need to be aware of in your food, check out this list provided by MSGmyth.com.

Read Labels Everywhere, Even in Natural Health Food Stores

Unfortunately, you are not completely safe just buying food from natural health stores like Whole Foods Market; you still need to read labels on all the food you buy. You may remember my dismay after noticing that my son’s (former) beloved snack, Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies, contained MSG in the form of yeast extract.

Why Do Food Companies Add MSG?

There are several reasons (from MSGtruth.org) why food manufacturers add MSG (by any name) to their products:

• Increase sales. MSG stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin. Blood sugar drops because of the insulin flood, and you are hungry an hour later. Hungry people eat more food. The food industry has found their own “anti-appetite suppressant”.  It’s a convenient way to keep consumers coming back for more.
• Reduce cost of production. The illusion created by adding MSG to a food product enables the food processor to add LESS real food.  The illusion of more protein in a food allows the food producer to put LESS protein in it.
• Make food taste better. MSG makes cheap ingredients taste better. MSG tricks your tongue into making you think a certain food is high in protein and thus nutritious. It is not a “meat tenderizer”.  It is not a “preservative”.

What Food to Avoid?

As you can see, MSG does a lot of damage to the body and is clearly something you need to avoid. It is not a necessary nutrient. Here is a list of how you can start avoiding MSG:

• Packaged or processed foods: As you can see above, processed foods are loaded with MSG.
• Fast Food: Fast food is loaded with MSG and many other chemicals that are unhealthy. For example, check out the ingredient lists at McDonald’s, Chick Fil A, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Burger King. You will see many listings of the “hidden MSG” ingredients as well as monosodium glutamate.
• Restaurant food: Restaurant food is also loaded with MSG. Be aware of the language restaurants use regarding MSG in their food. Some might say “We add no MSG”. But they are only saying that they, as in the restaurant staff, don’t add any. It’s probably already in the food they buy from their suppliers. Tricky, isn’t it?
• Infant formula, especially soy: Unfortunately infant formula does contain free glutamic acid (MSG).
• Toddler food that contains caseinate hydrolyzed protein broth

MSGtruth.org has a more comprehensive list of foods to avoid.

What Should I Do?

• The best way avoid MSG is by buying whole foods and preparing them at home.
• The next best thing is to become an expert at label reading and knowing the various disguises under which MSG travels. There are a few packaged prepared items at traditional grocery stores that do not contain MSG. At health food stores there are many more.
• Once you know how to read labels, you can find better alternatives. If you love an occasional snack of flavored chips (barbecue flavor, nacho cheese flavor, etc.) you now can see how MSG is an ingredient. Instead, try plain potato chips where the ingredients are potatoes, oil, and salt.

What Can I Eat?

• For cooking at home, MSGtruth.org provides a list of healthy items to eat.
• For eating out, we like Jason’s Deli. There is no MSG, high fructose corn syrup, or trans fats in any of their food.

A ‘Must Read’ Interview with Dr. Blaylock

Mike Adams from NaturalNews.com has a fantastic interview with Dr. Blaylock in which Dr. Blaylock explains in great detail the health effects of MSG, aspartame, and excitotoxins. The interview is full of great information and I highly recommend you read it all.

And if you want to watch a video, Dr. Blaylock presents a one hour lecture video with great information as well.

Even More Information:

• Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills, by Dr. Russell Blaylock
• Health and Nutrition Secrets That Can Save Your Life, by Dr. Russell Blaylock
• Russell Blaylock, MD
• Hidden Sources of MSG
• Truth in Labeling
• MSG Truth
• MSG Myth
• 12 Food Additives to Avoid
• Shocking Dangers of MSG You Don’t Know
• MSG: Is This Silent Killer Lurking in Your Kitchen Cabinets? on Mercola.com
• How to Find Hidden MSG on Food Labels on Mercola.com
• Grocery Warning by Truth Publishing

Wendy – ParentingTips365.com

Read all the posts in the Healthy Living series by clicking on the icon on the left.