RECENTLY, I RECEIVED AN INTERESTING AND INFORMATIVE LETTER from a reader. The letter included an ingredients list for Mucinex for kids. I was very grateful for the letter and information about a product I’m sure many of us give our kids, so I thought I’d share it with you. Like this reader, I don’t often…
RECENTLY, KRAFT FOODS SENT ME FREE PRODUCT SAMPLES and a gift card to conduct a taste test of a new milk and granola bar. I can only hope Kraft did it’s due diligence and discovered my feelings on most processed foods before deciding to contact me… Anyway, here’s how the test unfolded in my kitchen.…
LIKE MANY OF YOU, I’M A COMPULSIVE READER OF INGREDIENTS LABELS. But I have a confession: the “healthier: I perceive a product to be, the less likely I am to check the ingredients. As a result, I’m often unpleasantly surprised to discover when I get home, that, say, my frozen peas have added salt or…
I DETEST KIDS FOODS — at least on a regular basis. Everyone likes to buy something special sometimes, but kids foods shouldn’t be an every day or every meal occurrence. Why? Because kids foods prevent kids from eating and enjoying regular food give kids the idea that they need special food cost more are often…
A FEW DAYS AGO, A CTF FACEBOOK FOLLOWER ASKED A REALLY GOOD QUESTION: WHAT IS A REALLY GOOD PRETZEL? Well, I don’t have the answer to that. But I can explain how I choose a pretzel and share what brands I buy. It is hard to find a good pretzel. There are a lot of…
Most people don’t want to think too much about where their meat comes from beyond the meat department in the grocery store. As a society, we spend a lot of time anthropomorphizing animals, which makes it hard to think about slaughtering and eating them. Who among us would eat Wilbur from Charlotte’s Web or the…
DEAR EVERYONE: STOP GIVING KIDS FRUIT SNACKS AS IF THEY AREN’T GLORIFIED CANDY. The ingredients are so similar, the cost so much more, and these gummy globs of sugar are keeping kids from eating actual fruits. Think I’m overreacting? Read on. The packaging of fruit snacks gives us with the impression that they are in…
GROUND POULTRY IS A STAPLE IN MY HOUSE. In the summer, we grill turkey burgers and as the weather grows cooler, I make a lot of chicken or turkey chili. Ground poultry is relatively inexpensive, flexible, and has less fat than ground beef. But last time I made chili, sudden visions of Jamie Oliver’s chicken…
If you’ve read about recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) and want to avoid it in your kids’ diets, here is some information about companies and brands without milk from cows given rBGH. The good think is many products are now labeled as rBGH-free. For example, Polly-O string cheese in the smaller size is labeled rBGH-free…
What is rBGH Since 1937, the dairy industry has known that the growth hormone bovine somatotropin (BGH) increases milk production in cows. Somatotropin increases milk supply by increasing the circulation of another hormone: insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1). Up until the 1980’s, this hormone was used on a very limited basis and its source was bovine…
THIS MORNING, I READ AN ARTICLE ABOUT BOVINE GROWTH HORMONE (RBGH OR RBST) IN BREYERS, HAAGEN-DAZS, AND BASKIN-ROBBINS ICE CREAM. It made me think about just how hard it is to find a good, real ice cream. Ice cream is milk, cream, sugar, and real flavor ingredients like vanilla or cocoa (not to be confused…
SUNNY D JUST WENT GREEN. And while it is impressive that Sunny D ‘s six manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Spain went to zero waste this year – beating the company goal by three years – this faux juice still rates as a Worst Food. Strike 1: Misleading marketing To start with, if a…
YOU HAVE TO GIVE KELLOGG’S CREDIT. Through some sort of marketing magic, they’ve convinced everyone Pop-Tarts are a breakfast food. Now, if only we could get them to use that marketing magic for good and not junk food, we might achieve world peace. At least Quaker had the guts to come right out and call…
In a grocery rut? Don’t have time to read the ingredients? Don’t worry, CTF has you covered with Buy This, Not That. BUY THIS: Popcorn kernels, preferable organic. NOT THAT: Microwave popcorn, no matter how many “I’m healthy” messages are on the front of the box.
In a grocery rut? Don’t have time to read the ingredients? Don’t worry, CTF has you covered with Buy This, Not That. BUY THIS: Organic jams, jellies, and preserves (like Cascadian Farms Organic Fruit Spread) NOT THAT: Conventional jams jellies and preserves (like Smuckers Jam)
SO, WHY DO PEOPLE BUY Lunchables and Uncrustables? Maybe to save time? Well, if you look at ingredient highlights for each below, it’s clear any time saved in making and packing a lunch is completely negated by the sugars, hydrogentaed oils, and ingredients which have been linked to serious health issues. Lunchable: The turkey contains…
Originally published as a guest blog post on Fooducate.com BIRTHDAYS ROCK. ASK ANY KID what their favorite day of the year is and chances are, the answer is “My birthday!†And birthdays almost always mean birthday cake. It may seem like the easiest thing to do when it comes to making all those birthday cupcakes…
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