OCTOBER

THE LEAVES ARE CHANGING, THE WEATHER IS COOLING DOWN, AND ALL SORTS OF FUN BEGINS! OCTOBER BRINGS NEW FOODS AND BEAUTIFUL BRIGHT COLORS...IT WOULD BE HARD NOT TO CELEBRATE THIS WONDERFUL TIME OF YEAR!

WITH THAT BEING SAID LETS TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT FOODS ARE IN SEASON AS WELL AS WHAT THOSE FOODS HAVE TO OFFER!

FALL'S FRUITS:

APPLES PROVIDE FIBER, VITAMIN C, ANTIOXIDANTS, AND THEY CAN HELP  INCREASE OXYGEN DELIVERY TO THE LUNGS

ASIAN PEARS PROVIDE FIBER, POTASSIUM, VITAMIN K&C, AS WELL AS COPPER

PUMPKINS ARE GREAT SOURCES OF FIBER, ANTIOXIDANTS, POTASSIUM, AND VITAMIN C. THEY ALSO HELP REDUCE CHOLESTEROL, ENHANCE MOOD AND ARE GOOD FOR THE SKIN. 

POMEGRANATE IS FILLED WITH ANTIOXIDANTS WHICH CAN HELP PREVENT DEPRESSION, IMPROVE IMMUNE SYSTEM, LOWER CHOLESTEROL, AND INCREASE BLOOD FLOW

                                             

FALL'S VEGETABLES:

Beans, which are great sources of protein, fiber, zinc, iron, potassium, folate, calcium and magnesium. Cabbage, which provide adequate amounts of vitamin C, fiber, potassium, antioxidants, and calcium. Squash, which is filled with vitamins A, B6, and C, magnesium, fiber, folate, riboflavin, phosphorus, potassium, and manganese. Lastly, sweet potatoes, which are a wonderful source of vitamin B6, C, and D as well as iron, magnesium, potassium, and antioxidants. Mix these into your diet this season and see the benefits!

BEANS, CABBAGE,  SQUASH, SWEET POTATOES

OCTOBER IS A GREAT MONTH TO ADD COLOR TO YOUR DIET AND WHAT BETTER WAY TO DO THAT THAN GOING TO YOU LOCAL MARKET AND FILLING UP ON THESE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES?

REMEMBER THOSE FOOD RULES  :) 

SPEAKING OF FOOD RULES... 

WHICH FOOD RULE HAVE YOU USED THE MOST?

LET US KNOW...WE WOULD ENJOY HEARING FROM YOU!

     

                                                  

                                                                               

Back to the Basics: Food Rules 14,15,&16

FOOD RULE #14

Eat Foods Made From Ingredients That You Can Picture In Their Raw State Or Growing In Nature

            Read the ingredients on a package of Twinkies, Pringles, etc. and imagine what those ingredients actually look like raw or in places where those listed ingredients grow. I don't know about you but when I was at the grocery store I looked at the labels and couldn't picture any of the ingredients in either form. Therefore Mr. Pollan states that this rule will keep all sorts of chemicals and food like substances out of your diet.

HOW MANY OF THESE INGREDIENTS CAN YOU PICTURE IN RAW FORM OR GROWING?

FOOD RULE #15

Get Out Of The Supermarket Whenever You Can

            Mr.Pollan makes a great point with this rule. He begins with stating that you won't find any high fructose corn syrup at the farmer's market. You also won't find any excessively processed food products, any packages with long lists of unpronounceable ingredients or major health claims, anything microwaveable, or old food from far away. At the farmers market you usually find fresh, whole foods that are harvested at the peak of their taste and nutritional quality. Food that you can easily recognize! The kind that is alive and will eventually rot!

            Next time you go to the store keep that in mind. Shop as if you are at the farmer's market!! This leads to the next Food Rule...

FOOD RULE #16

Buy Your Snacks At The Farmer's Market

           This is a great rule because you will then find yourself snacking on fresh and dried fruits, nuts, and more real food rather than chips, sweets, etc. 

Hope rules 14, 15, &16 help make your decisions a little easier!

Enjoy the rest of your summer and return soon for more Food Rules! 

             

BACK TO THE BASICS: FOOD RULES 11,12 &13

Rule #11

Avoid Foods You See Advertised on Television

According to Mr. Pollan more than 2/3 of food advertised is spent promoting processed foods and alcohol, so if you avoid products with big ad budgets, you will automatically be avoiding edible food-like substances. Another reason to caution televised products is simply because they take an original product and reformulate it to be low-fat, have no trans fats, or to contain fewer ingredients and then boast about their implied healthfulness, whether it is meaningful or not. The best way to avoid these claims is to reduce your purchase and consumption of heavily promoted foods. 

Rule #12

Shop the Peripheries of the Supermarket and Stay Out of the Middle

In Food Rules Mr. Pollan points out that most supermarkets are laid out the same way: processed food products dominate the center aisles of the store, while the fresh food line the walls (produce,  meat and fish, dairy, etc). If you keep to the edges of the store you will be more likely to wind up with REAL food in your cart. The one area that high fructose corn syrup has made its way into is the dairy aisle, so be aware and read the label before purchasing your dairy product!

Rule #13

Eat Only Foods that Will Eventually Rot

The more processed a food is, the longer the shelf life, and the less nutritious it typically is. Real food is alive and therefore it should eventually die. Again to note: most of the immortal food-like substances in the supermarket are found in the middle aisles!! 

TUNE IN SOON FOR SOME MORE FOOD RULES!

UNTIL THEN... 

                                                                                    

   ENJOY YOUR SUMMER!

BACK TO THE BASICS: RULES 9 & 10

RULE #9

AVOID FOOD PRODUCTS WITH THE WORDOID "LITE" OR THE TERMS "LOW-FAT" OR "NONFAT" IN THEIR NAMES. 

"We've gotten fat on low-fat products," Mr. Pollen states. Why? Because removing the fat from foods doesn't necessarily make them nonfattening. Carbohydrates can also increase fat because as you know sugars are a member of the carbohydrate family. With that being said many low and nonfat foods have boosted the amount of sugar (substitute or pure) to make up for the loss of flavor. While trying to get rid of one nutrient, fat, we inevitably give a free pass to another; a supposedly "good" nutrient, carbohydrate, and then proceed to eat too much of that instead. As Mr. Pollen points out it is better to eat the real thing in moderation than bingeing on the "lite" products packed with sugar and salt. 

RULE #10

AVOID FOODS THAT ARE PRETENDING TO BE SOMETHING THEY ARE NOT

For example imitation butter, also known as margarine. 
Another example that Mr. Pollen uses is nonfat cream cheese. In order to make something like nonfat cream cheese one must add neither cream nor cheese. Hmm? This product actually requires an extreme degree of processing. These products should then be labeled as imitations. These imitation products should be avoided! This same rule applies to soy-based mock meats, artificial sweeteners, and fake fats and starches. 

HOPE THESE FOOD RULES HELP! 

RULE #11 AND #12 WILL BE COMING SOON...SO CHECK BACK IN 

BACK TO THE BASICS: FOOD RULES 7&8

 

RULE #7

AVOID FOOD PRODUCTS CONTAINING INGREDIENTS THAT A THIRD GRADER

CANNOT PRONOUNCE

KEEP IT SIMPLE!

 

 

 

 

 

RULE #8

MR. PONNAN STATES THAT:

1.  FOR A PRODUCT TO CARRY A HEALTH CLAIM ON ITS PACKAGE, IT MUST FIRST HAVE A PACKAGE! SO RIGHT OFF THE BAT ITS MORE LIKELY TO BE PROCESSED RATHER THAN A WHOLE FOOD.

2. BIG MANUFACTURERS HAVE THE MEANS TO SECURE FDA APPROVED HEALTH CLAIMS FOR THEIR PRODUCTS AND THEN TRUMPET THEM AROUND THE WORLD.

3. BE AWARE OF MODERN FOOD PRODUCTS BECAUSE THEY TYPICALLY MAKE THE BOLDEST HEALTH CLAIMS (RED FLAG!). REMEMBER GOOD OLE MARGARINE, ONE OFTHE FIRST INDUSTRIAL FOODS TO CLAIM IT WAS MORE HEALTHFUL THAN THE TRADITIONAL FOOD IT REPLACED? TURNS OUT IT CONTAINS TRANSFATS THAT GIVE PEOPLE HEART ATTACKS.

THE HEALTHIEST FOOD IN THE SUPERMARKET, THE FRESH PRODUCE, DOESN'T BOAST ABOUT ITS HEALTHFULNESS, BECAUSE THE GROWERS DON'T HAVE THE BUDGET OR THE PACKAGING.

DON'T MISTAKEN THE "SILENCE OF THE YAMS AS A SIGN THAT THEY HAVE NOTHING VALUABLE TO SAY ABOUT YOUR HEALTH!"

 

COME BACK FOR FOOD RULES 9 & 10

 

 

BACK TO THE BASICS

 

FOOD RULES... 5 & 6

 

  

RULE #5

 

AVOID FOODS THAT HAVE SOME FORM OF SUGAR (OR SWEETENER) LISTED AMONG THE TOP THREE INGREDIENTS!

 

 

 

As Michael Pollan explains, labels list ingredients by weight, and any product that has more sugar than other ingredients has TOO much sugar. This isn't as easy as it seems since there are now forty types of sugar that can be used in processed food, including barley malt, beet sugar, brown rice syrup, cane juice, corn sweetener, dextrin, dextrose, fructo-oligosaccharides, fruit juice concentrate, glucose, sucrose, invert sugar, polydextrose, turbinado sugar, and so on. Other examples might include noncaloric sweeteners such as aspartame or Splenda, also need to be avoided, for reasons that cannot be explained, yet. Speculations say that they try to deceive the brain with the reward of sweetness, but it actually stimulates craving for even more sweetness, which could lead to weight gain rather than weight loss??

 

 

 

 

RULE #6

 

AVOID FOOD PRODUCTS THAT CONTAIN MORE THAN FIVE INGREDIENTS!

 

 

Mr. Pollan says that the specific number you adopt is arbitrary, but the more ingredients in a packaged food, the more highly processed it probably is.

 

NOTE 1: a long list of ingredients in a recipe is not the same thing; that's fine

NOTE 2: some products now boast, somewhat deceptively, about their short ingredient lists.

 

For example Mr. Pollan points out that Haagen Dazs has a line of ice cream called "five." That is great, but its still ice cream, same goes for the three ingredient Tostitos corn chips advertised by Frito Lay, but guess what they are still corn chips. More regarding these types of products are explained in rule 60, which covers treats and special occasions!!

 



SARA LEE 45 CALORIE MULTIGRAIN BREAD

These rules should provide some guidance and help you find a way to reduce highly processed foods (that have minimal nutritional value) in your diet! Along with that they should also help you discover a more healthy, energetic, and consistent diet that will allow you to stay active and maintain that positive, FUN, and vibrant YOU!

 

STICK around and check back in for more FOOD RULES!!

 

 

 

 

 



BACK TO THE BASICS: FOOD RULES 3 & 4

RULE #3

AVOID FOOD PRODUCTS CONTAINING INGREDIENTS THAT NO ORDINARY HUMAN WOULD KEEP IN THE PANTRY

                 According to Michael Pollan it is best if you try to stay away from the foods that are hard to pronounce such as ethoxylated diglycerides, cellulose, xanthan gum, calcium propionate, ammonium sulfate, etc. If you wouldn't cook with them yourself, WHY let others use these ingredients to cook for you? These types of chemicals are placed into foods to enhance shelf life, make old food look fresher then it actually is (practically tricking you into eating more!). All in all whether or not any of these additives pose a hazard to your health or not you must realize that these types of chemicals that can be found in many processed foods HAVEN'T been eaten by humans for very long, so it is suggested that they are avoided.

 

 

 

WHAT DOES YOUR PANTRY LOOK LIKE?

 

RULE #4

AVOID FOOD PRODUCTS THAT CONTAIN HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP.

 

                 Not because high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is any worse for you than sugar...but because it is, like many of the other unfamiliar ingredients in packaged foods. Michael Pollan states that HFCS is actually a pretty reliable marker for a food product that has been highly processed. It typically is added to hundreds of foods that are not usually sweetened--breads, condiments, and many different snacks--therefore if you avoid products that contain it you will cut down on your sugar intake. NOW on another note Michael Pollan also suggests that we do not fall for the bait or the latest industrial scam: "products reformulated to contain no HFCS or real cane sugar." Somehow they make these claims trying to say that certain foods are healthier, but they are not. SUGAR is SUGAR!!





Referring back to Rule #1 and Rule #2 do you think that these RAINBOW pancakes would be something your great-grandma would recognize as FOOD?!

 

BACK TO THE BASICS: FOOD RULES

 

SELF-QUIZ

 

a. WHAT IS FOOD RULE #1?

 

b. WHAT IS FOOD RULE #2?

 

c. EAT OR NOT TO EAT...

DEL MONTE CANNED FRUIT or a FRESH BANANA?

 

 

KEEP CHECKING IN AS MORE FOOD RULES WILL BE COVERED!!

 

 

 

 

* FOR MORE INFORMATION CHECK OUT MICHAEL POLLAN'S BOOK: FOOD RULES

BACK TO THE BASICS IN 2013

FOOD RULES!!

 

 

A New Year has just begun and instead of analyzing all the different diets out there why not try going back to the basics. Michael Pollan offers some great food rules that won't eat your wallet or leave you hungry. Following his advice in his book "Food Rules," I would like to share some fun and inspiring ways to simply EAT!

 

 

PART 1

 

QUESTION: WHAT SHOULD I EAT?

 

ANSWER: RULE #1...EAT FOOD

 

 

This is easier said than done...right? Especially when there are thousands of new products that show up in your local supermarket/grocery store each year, all of which are trying to take your hard earned money. As Mr. Pollan states in his book, "most of these items don't deserve to be called food--I call them edible foodlike substances. They're highly processed concoctions designed by food scientists, consisting mostly of ingredients derived from corn and soy that no normal person keeps in the pantry, and they contain chemical additives with which the human body has not been long acquainted." Therefore most of the challenge today is how to tell between real food and industrialized foodlike items.

 

 

RULE #2

 

DON'T EAT ANYTHING YOUR GREAT GRANDMOTHER WOULDN'T RECOGNIZE AS FOOD.

 

Michael suggests that one should imagine their great grandmother or grandmother at your side as you walk down each aisle of the supermarket or grocery store. You stand together in front of the dairy case when she decides to pick up the Go-GURT Portable Yogurt tubes and has no idea what the plastic cyclinder of colored and flavored gel could be. Is it food or is it toothpaste? This is just an example of the foodish like products on the shelf that our ancestors would not recognize anymore as food. Therefore you want to try to avoid eating such complicated food products; go beyond the various chemical additives and corn and soy derivatives that they contain and search for something that great-grandma or grandma would put in her cart. Now if your great grandma or grandma was a terrible cook or eater you can substitute someone else's who you envy. :)

 

In the series of blogs to come I will cover more food rules  by Michael Pollan; starting off with how to navigate through the INGREDIENTS LABEL. So be sure to check back in!

 

We wish you a very Happy, Healthy, and Successful New Year!

 

All the BEST IN

 

 

Yours Truly,