for the past year i have been trying to phase out my family’s eating products made with high fructose corn syrup. alexis told me a year ago that high fructose corn syrup is one of the reasons this country is so fat. i have been removing the offending products from my house slowly so as to not have my kids notice their snacks are different. then, of course, my husband keith watches the oprah show and all hell breaks loose. after seeing dr. mehmet oz on oprah, keith declares…there will be no more high fructose corn syrup in this house! (i’ve been telling him that’s the way to go for a long while but did he listen???? NOOOOOOOOOOO!) so this weekend i did some more shopping for food that is healthy and kid friendly. but i am having a really tough time replacing the high fructose corn syrup laden betty crocker fruit snacks (like there is any fruit in them) and we still have heinz ketchup (which i could get in an organic version but it is not easy to find) i found most of the products in the pictures at whole foods…and a few at waldbaums. of course, my kids will sometimes eat candy and cookies and cake and junk… but i can limit what of it we have in our house. i am not perfect, but can certainly work toward a healthy home. not shown are the organic fruits and vegetables in my refrigerator..nor the organic dairy we eat/drink, nor the whole grain bread.
better than eggo waffles…
trying to get my kids to give up artificial syrup in exchange for real syrup.
better than aunt jemina…
a poptart with no high fructose corn syrup, no trans fats and it’s organic. best part is my daughter likes the taste!
ingredients.
better than hot pockets.
new kind of cream cheese and jelly sandwich.
skippy all natural… really! and it tastes great.
ingredients.
better than hershey’s chocolate syrup.
healthy soups… better than cup o noodles.
pasta.
organic prego… so good.
soups.
better than goldfish.
better than chips ahoy.
better than oreos…ok not really but healthier.
better than edy’s light ice cream.
organic sugar.
cannot give up ketchup. that would be unamerican.
gotta have something… i mean i don’t drink nor smoke!
mmmmmm…water.
cliff bar protein bar. 270 calories (it’s a meal) and it’s delicious.
being healthy takes a lot of work…and i am definitely a work in progress.
xoxoxo
jennifer
Heinz ketchup must be in every house! I eat ketchup on so many things it is sad!
~L
Jennifer…keep up the good work..your kids will love you more for it. I put mine on the right track a while ago and now they are older teenagers on “auto-pilot” about what they will put into their bodies. FYI..Luna bars are good too!
Jennifer, I saw Dr. Oz on Oprah and flipped. I don’t know what was worse – learning more about all the crap in food or measuring my waistline!!!! (The entire show was predicated on the hypothesis that waistline measurement is a predictor of potential heart disease, cancer and other dreaded ailments.) I had no idea about the corn syrup issue till I saw the show. Time to purge the shelves and fridge of all the garbage we eat and never think about!
Not to offend you but it all still has alot of calories and appears still to be junk food
I would love to see a price comparison between the regular products and their “organic-healthy” alternatives. I would predict that the Organic might be twiceto three times as expensive?
Healthy eating is a work in process… kind of like my starbucks latte habit – first you begin with regular tall latte with sugar. Then you change to brown sugar, then to equal, then cut to 2% milk, then to 1% and finally to nonfat. Then realize that tall is just as good as grande and eventually switch to decaf and hopefully sometime soon, my tall, nonfat one equal decaf latte will become Green Tea :). Takes time, but is totally worth it in the end :o) Good luck.
The food is definitely a bit more expensive but would you rather have fat kids that die at 35 of massive heart attacks? And Yes Jennifer the food is organic but it is still not “eating healthy” come on! You can still have fat unhealthy kids even if the sugar is “organic and Natural…” Maybe you can fade out a few of the sugary snacks….
Jenny~
I’m proud of you. You guys are a good example of ying and yang…you balance each other very well…and in the best ways possible!
Hugs,
We have been eating these foods for so long now that my kids now prefer the natural brands.
Try MaraNatha organic peanut butter. Ingreddients: peanuts & salt. I’t delicious. Store it upside down prior to opening. Once you open it, stir in the oil and store in the fridge.
good luck. It costs more to eat this way, but I think it’s worth it.
Great job on your effort to eat healthy. NYtimes had an article today about “Healthy” foods https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/06/business/06grocery.html
I am addicted to Perrier Lime water. However I dislike drinking from a plastic bottle. The grocery stores near me are starting to sell the plastic bottles and I am fearful that plastic is taking over. There is definitely a difference in taste between plastic and glass. What do you think?
Great Job Jennifer! I am trying the same approach…it is so expensive…but worth it in the end. Thanks for sharing, it helps me with brands to buy:)
J, you are on your way. Proud of you! I would just remove all of the prepared processed foods. Throw in some organic raw LaraBars instead of the cookies.
Jen,
Glad you are trying, but I have to agree, if you actually cooked something fresh I bet your whole family would LOVE it. Tastes better. Try some soups they are easy to make easy to re-heat and you could take that to work! We have an organic section in our grocery store nothing is hard to find! I’m so glad the country is finding out about HFCS, the prices will come down if nobody buys the bad stuff anymore!!! Boycott HFCS. Try Blue Sky Beverages, they are tasty w/o HFCS! Check on the internet for a store near you. Love you guys!
Jennifer! Way to go! If more people knew how harmful ‘high fructose corn syrup’ really is, they too would remove it from their diets. Don’t forget to read your bread ingredients. It is very difficult to find a loaf of bread without HFCS in it. Salad dressing as well. Ooooo, and not only does HFCS lend to obesity, but it also is a major reason for the high rate of diabetes as well. HFCS makes the pancreas go nuts and produces wayyy to much insulin, which over time contributes to diabetes.
I’m truly happy for you . It takes an effort to make the right food choices for your kids. That’s love baby!
I have been trying not to use hydrogenated oil and sucrose corn syrup. It is hard to find things. I also use 100% whole grain spaghetti, 100% whole grain noodes and macaroni, and brown rice. They are all really good. Your kids would probably see not much difference in the spaghetti and macaroni. The rice might be more of a problem, but it is good.
Jen you are doing the right thing except honestly be careful because organic does not always necessarily mean healthy. My husband was diagnosed as *pre-diabetic* and I always shopped at Whole Foods and this other store, PCC in my area to be healthy. Just be careful of all white sugars and white flours. If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t have said this/one step at a time, you can’t change everything at once – I think you are spectacular!!! I was going to complain about something that just happened to me at Whole Foods but opted not to. I said enough on your bulletin board. Love the show and think you girls are the best!!!
Cliff bar has LOTS O’ SUGAR!!!
Ketchup…Jen I agree with you on ketchp..however, you can buyt he organic kind and it does not have HFCS(high fructose corn sryup). Try it ..it tastes even better than Heniz 🙂
p.s. your sister was in A E Phi at Syracuse with my cousin 🙂