Although I’m usually against food products specifically geared towards kids, I have to admit I was lured in by Bitsy’s Brain Food. The fun packaging and interesting veggie-and-fruit flavors (lemon-broccoli, orange-chocolate-beet, sweet potato-oatmeal-raisin, and zucchini-gingerbread-carrot) were intriguing. First Impressions We received the sweet potato oatmeal raisin flavor to try out. The box is small (2.125…
NO OFFENSE, BREAKFAST, you’re important too, but for kids in school Lunch has it all going on. Sure breakfast gets kids through the morning, but without a healthy lunch, kids just can’t function in the afternoon. Recently, I spent some time in my son’s preschool lunch program and while it’s been interesting on a number…
SERIOUSLY PEOPLE, I FEEL LIKE I DON’T EVEN NEED A BLOG POST TO EXPLAIN THIS, that just the name of this product sums it up. Goldfish Bread? Come on. Pepperidge Farm touts this bread as having “3g of fiber plus essential vitamins and minerals” and “No high fructose corn syrup.” Plus it lists a myriad…
RECENTLY, FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS LIKE McDonald’s and Burger King have made news by offering healthier kids meals. But will it really make a difference in the fight against obesity?Eating fast food is a lifestyle. Families who eat fast food on a regular basis do it as a part of their lifestyle and weekly meal plan. A…
Summer’s here and if you have kids that means ice pops for every special occasion. And in the summer, special occasions abound: Memorial Day weekend, end of school parties, July fourth, every weekend with friends, family vacation, and “What the hell, it’s really hot out.” Here’s my run down of conventional ice pops, from Worst…
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…
THERE ARE TWO REASONS YOGURT TUBES MAKE IT TO THE CTF WORST FOOD LIST. One: they contain additional ingredients not found in regular yogurt. Two: they are a huge rip-off. Ingredients In the best case (Stonyfield Farms Yokids Squeezers), you’re getting the addition of emulsifiers like tapioca starch, carob bean gum, and carrageenan. In the…
One question I hear over and over again when talking to people about eating fewer processed foods is “How do I start?” It got me thinking back to how I started changing my families eating habits, how overwhelming it seemed, and what small first steps I took. The result is this three-part series of posts…
One question I hear over and over again when talking to people about eating fewer processed foods is “How do I start?” It got me thinking back to how I started changing my families eating habits, how overwhelming it seemed, and what small first steps I took. The result is this three-part series of posts…
I NEVER LIKED THANKSGIVING WHEN I WAS A KID. I didn’t speak to me in the way that Christmas, Easter, or my birthday did, you know, with endless treats or piles of gifts. Thanksgiving, although it did always end with my Aunt Cindy’s scrumptious homemade pumpkin pie, was just a day of traveling, football, and…
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…
Dr. Dina Rose is a food sociologist and mother who writes It’s Not About Nutrition, a blog about the”Art & Science of Teaching Kids to Eat Right.” In this special post, Dr. Rose answers questions which were submitted by readers of CTF. QUESTION 1 I know I should be eating (and serving) more whole…
By Dr. Dina Rose A big thank you to Dr. Dina Rose for giving CTF permission to re-post this fabulous piece about nutrition labels. Dr. Rose is a food sociologist who writes It’s Not About Nutrition, a wildly informative blog about teaching kids to eat right. EVEN THOUGH PARENTS TALK A LOT ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE…
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…
By Charles Wilson and Eric Schlosser In Chew on This, Schlosser, who wrote Fast Food Nation, teams up with Wilson to provide a look at the fast food industry in a book geared towards young adults. Focusing on fast food industry marketing ploys and health impact, this book covers the gruesome side of food creation…
(Source: Dr. Dina Rose, The (Chocolate) Milk Mistake. Detailed list at bottom.) THESE NUMBERS ARE ASTOUNDING AND seeing it in black and white (so to speak) drives home how much sugar kids are consuming when they have packaged chocolate milk once or twice every day. Sugar is only one part of the picture, though, and…
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…
Consume This First is excited to have another guest post from The Non-Toxic Mom. Be sure to visit her blog, where she blogs often and with enthusiasm about living a non-toxic lifestyle. AHH, SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH YOU? I’m not talking to those of you who get it; I’m talking to…
AS A MARKETING GIMMICK, MOTTS FOR TOTS CLAIMS “40% less sugar†than other fruit juices. The idea is, since many people cut their kid’s apple juice with water, those people could just buy it already cut with water in a juice box. BUT HERE’S THE TRUTH: Motts for Tots juice box – 13g of sugar…
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