The Healthier Flavored Water

For those who are accustomed to sweet drinks, but are trying to drink water instead, commercially flavored water and vitamin water can be enticing.  So, what are these liquid water enhancers made of?  I researched the most visible brand of water flavoring by visiting their website, where I discovered that each flavor contains two artificial sweeteners, at least one preservative, and several artificial colors, depending on the flavor.  In addition, nearly all of the flavors list propylene glycol as the second or third ingredient.  

I have been trying to avoid propylene glycol in my family’s food and cosmetic products for years (not an easy task―it’s everywhere) since a friend told me it is a possible carcinogen.  According to my old copy of The Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives, propylene glycol is used in food industry and RV anti-freezes.  It’s also widely used in processed foods, over the counter children’s medicines, and cosmetic products.  Don’t believe me?  Go check a sampling of products that your family uses; I’ll wait.

According to this article, the main function of propylene glycol, besides providing moisture and acting as a solvent, is to penetrate the skin so other chemicals can reach the bloodstream.  Even though most studies suggest it is safe in small quantities, I’m not a fan of putting chemicals on or into my body, so I try to avoid propylene glycol.  The article linked above also suggests avoiding it, and if you consider that the artificial colors and preservatives in most foods that contain propylene glycol (such as water flavors) can interfere with children’s sleep, this makes sense.

I avoid sweet drinks, so I drink a lot of water, but sometimes I want a little something to flavor it.  My children are learning to drink plain water, but they are not always cooperative.  Homemade lemonade is wonderful, but sometimes I want to avoid the sugar in the lemonade, and I definitely don’t want my children drinking the sugar, artificial colors, and artificial flavors of other drinks.  Sometimes, I just squeeze some lemon or lime into our water.  Other times, I splash some juice into it.

Recently, I ran across Fork’s post about Sassy Water on her blog Fork fabrications (via Karri’s My Favorite Things Link up).  I have tried a similar water flavoring before, using only a cucumber, so I just had to try this recipe.  As Fork explains, you just slice up your citrus and cucumber, toss it with mint into the water and let it sit in the fridge a few hours.  She found this recipe at Prevention Magazine, and when I clicked over there I learned that their recipe uses grated ginger.  I used a few thin slices of ginger root instead.  I pulled the mint right out of our garden.

This beverage is indeed a yummy sugar free homemade flavored water.  Even my kids liked drinking it.  They especially liked putting slices of cucumber and orange in their glasses, and they liked the yellow tint the orange gave to the water.  You can tell by their excitement over over such a pale color that we don’t drink artificially colored stuff that often!  We will definitely be drinking this regularly!

Because I have made flavored water before with just a cucumber (you can try that too), I know you can refill the pitcher and get a second batch, although the flavor is not as strong. Also, you can vary the citrus and the type of mint, and leave the ginger in or out, creating different flavors.

By the way, the glass pitcher in my photo belonged to my parents; they received it as a wedding gift.  I also have all eight of the matching goblets.  I just love the heavy green glass look of the set; it’s so 1960s!  

I also have bowls and other kitchen items that belonged to my grandparents.  I am overjoyed to have a direct connection to the women who taught me how to cook; using these items reminds me of the many hours I spent with these two women, along with many other aunts and cousins, in the kitchen preparing daily meals and food for family gatherings.

Linked with Catholic Bloggers Network, Welcome Home, Farm Fresh Friday, Making it Count, Your Green Resource, Food on Fridays, Better Mom Mondays, Try a New Recipe Tuesday, and Healthy 2Day Wednesday.

Healthy Eating: How to Get Started

Last week, a friend of mine was discussing her quest to cut refined sugars out of her family’s diet, lamenting that she had a pantry full of processed foods that contained refined sugars.  She had watched this 60 Minutes report on the health problems related to sugar and the science behind sugar addiction (yes, sugar is like other addictions).  FYI, in this previous post about health problems related to sugar, I discuss additional concerns to those presented in the news segment.

I have mentioned on this blog several times that I try to feed my family homemade healthy meals using whole foods as often as I can.  Here is what I told my friend when she was overwhelmed by the task of eliminating sugar from her family’s diet.  You start off slowly, making a few of your own snacks and meals and move forward to the next stage once you have integrated one thing into your family meal habits.  While I would love to say that we never eat processed foods, we do from time to time.  Nearly everyone does, but a good goal is to minimize the processed foods as much as you can.  If you are wondering how to do this, keep reading!

So, how do you start?  There are several different options.  When I discuss healthy eating with my students, I tell them to pick one change and focus on that.  For example, if you are not eating salads nearly every day, start there; it’s a great way to get fresh food into your diet, and if you are pressed for time you can make one huge salad that will feed your family for a few days before you need to make another one.  Or, start by eliminating a particular processed junk food or drink, such as soda.

In her book The Unhealthy Truth, Robyn O’Brien explains her method, an 80/20 approach.  She suggests starting with twenty percent healthy meals or ingredients and working your way up until you reach at least eighty percent.  She offers other practical suggestions in her book and on her website.

Another way to begin is to choose a meal or snack time and focus on making that particular eating experience healthy every day, or at least Monday through Friday.  For example, start with breakfast.  Eliminate processed foods from your breakfast: no boxed cereals, pop tarts, frozen sausage biscuits, or microwave pancakes.  To make this easy for you, I’ll list a week’s worth of healthy breakfasts to get you started.  

Monday = oatmeal (old fashioned rolled oats, not instant) topped with fresh, frozen, or dried fruits, cinnamon, and plain yogurt.

Tuesday = boiled or scrambled eggs with whole grain toast and fresh fruit.  Throw some salsa on the eggs if you are inclined.

Wednesday = plain yogurt with fresh or frozen fruit, raw nuts, sunflower seeds, and cinnamon. 

Thursday = barley (cook the night before) topped with fresh, frozen, or dried fruits, cinnamon, and plain yogurt.

Friday = whole grain toast spread with natural peanut or almond butter and topped with sliced fruit.

Saturday = make pancakes or waffles with a whole grain flour.  Top with defrosted frozen fruit, raw nuts, yogurt, and/or raw honey.  

Sunday = omelet with mushrooms, zucchini, and salsa.  Fresh fruit.

Choose five of the suggestions above and try them out this week.  The other two days, eat some of the processed foods in your pantry so you don’t waste your money and your family doesn’t feel the change so much.  If your family is not ready to give up their breakfast bacon or sausage, serve them on the side.  Then, you can “forget” to make them one morning… see if they notice!

Here are some tips to make these meals easy and quick to prepare.

Cook oatmeal and barley (or another whole grain) the night before; when it is cooled, place the entire pot with its lid in the refrigerator and reheat it on the stove in the morning (stir some water into the pot).  Store leftovers the same way to serve as a snack or another morning.

Defrost frozen fruit in a bowl in the refrigerator overnight.

Pancake or waffle batter can be made the night before and stored in the refrigerator.  Freeze the leftovers tor another day; heat up frozen pancakes in the toaster.

Slice the mushrooms and shred the zucchini the night before.  Whisk the eggs with the salsa, mix the veggies in and store overnight in the refrigerator.

You are probably wondering: how do you keep track of what you need to do when?  I make a meal plan chart and refer to it throughout the day.  Write yourself sticky notes or set up a calendar; whatever works.  If you forget, it’s ok; these meals can be made quickly in the morning (except for the barley, but if you put it on as soon as you wake, it will be ready in time).  If you forget to defrost fruit, use fresh or dried.  We always have frozen blueberries, which are small enough to defrost quickly on the counter in the morning.

I would love to hear about your efforts, so don’t be shy with your comments or questions.  If you have other helpful ideas or tips, please share them with us!

P. S. Find a schedule of healthy lunch ideas here.

In 2013 I am linking with: Motivational Monday, Better Mom Monday, Try a New Recipe Tuesday, Healthy 2Day Wednesday

In 2012 I linked with:  Catholic Bloggers Network, My Favorite Things, Menu Plan Monday, Welcome Home, Food on Fridays

The Healthier Glass of Juice

Last week’s announcement that orange juice imported from Brazil may contain a fungicide not approved for use in the U.S., and several recent reports about the type and quantity of arsenic in apple and grape juices have me asking: Is juice safe for my children to drink?

If you haven’t heard about this issue, you can read about Dr. Oz’s tests on apple juice here, and read an article about the Consumer Reports test results on apple and grape juice here.  While most interpretations of the test results suggest the levels of contamination are below the levels of concern, as a parent, I want to know what my children might be drinking.  This is particularly important to me, since I purchase 100% juices in order to avoid the additives in “juice drinks.”  Arsenic is a known carcinogen, and the lead found in some of the tested samples can affect brain development.  The fungicide found in orange juice, carbendazim, affects reproduction in animals.

Courtesy of Consumer Reports

How are these chemicals getting into our juice?  According to Consumer Reports, in the past, arsenic was used in agricultural pesticides and as a wood preservative for decks and playground structures.  It is also released into the air during smelting and coal burning.  Lead was also used as an agricultural pesticide.  Soils, air, and water remain contaminated from previous and current practices.

I have always been concerned about the amount of juice my children drink, mostly because of its high sugar content.   Yes, juice has nutrients like vitamin C and fiber, but the sugars from the fruit are concentrated, making it sweet enough for children (and adults) to drink a lot more of it than they should.  Aside from the concerns about ingesting lots of sugar, given a choice, most children would prefer to drink juice instead of water.

My children are no exception, even though I dilute the juice they drink with water.  Doing this ensures that they are drinking water in addition to juice and that they don’t grow accustomed to sweet tasting drinks.  While my children also drink undiluted juice when others serve it to them, they are in the habit of adding water to their juice themselves when we are at home.  They take their cups to the water dispenser and top them off.

If you want to try diluting juice for your children, start off with mostly juice and a little water, then increase the water content little by little.  Stronger tasting juices, like grape, are palatable with a lot more water than juice.  Thicker juices, like orange, are the other way around.

Another way I limit their juice consumption is by serving only water with lunch.  I don’t even ask them what they want to drink when serving lunch; they get a cup of water, and they will often refill it themselves.  My older daughter takes a water bottle to school in her lunch box, and can also choose bottled water from the cafeteria line when she buys her lunch.  While she doesn’t always drink the whole bottle, she is learning that water is the drink that goes with lunch.

If you can afford to buy organic juice, that may be the best way to avoid contamination, although fields may still retain pesticide residue from many years ago.  We don’t have that many organic juice options where we shop, so for now, we have stopped buying juice made from fruit or concentrate from China, where arsenic based pesticides are still used.  We have also learned to check the packaging, as the store brand that we usually buy is sometimes sourced in China and sometimes not.  The FDA has stopped shipments of orange juice from Brazil for now, but it is worth keeping track of what happens with the tests they are conducting.  I will try to update you with another post if there is more news about this topic.

The Healthier Peanut Butter Sandwich

I have decided to add a regular feature to this blog: posts labeled “healthier eating” that will highlight healthy alternatives to specific foods or food groups.  We begin with the peanut butter sandwich.

Recently, my friend Crystal told me how she ate peanut butter and pancake syrup sandwiches as a kid, and how she had to ask her parents not to make these sandwiches for her daughter.  So, I started thinking about all the healthier peanut butter sandwiches my family has been eating the last few years, compared to those of my own childhood.

Crystal makes peanut butter and fruit sandwiches for her daughter.  We do too, because it is very hard to find jelly or jam or even fruit preserves without high fructose corn syrup or a chemical preservative or both.  The only one I have found at our local supermarket is imported from Lebanon: Cortas Fig Jam.  My kids will eat it, but they prefer other flavors.  I have made strawberry jam myself a few times, but since I’d rather use organic strawberries, it’s not really cost effective.  So, we slice strawberries, or bananas, or peaches, or apples (really, any fruit will do) and put them on top of the peanut butter.  The girls even like to make faces or other shapes with the fruit.

We also buy all natural peanut butter made with only peanuts and salt.  Laura Scudders brand has no added sugar, corn syrup, or unpronounceable ingredients.  When you buy it, you need to stir it, as the oil separates from the solids at room temperature, but if you refrigerate it, it will stay together.  Otherwise, you will need to stir it each time you use it.  Another alternative is almond butter (just almonds, sugar, and salt) or the no-stir almond butter with added date palm oil.  Date palm oil is a saturated vegetable fat that stays solid at room temperature.  It does not pose the health risks associated with saturated animal fats.  Do not purchase nut butters with hydrogenated oils or other saturated oils.  We buy MaraNatha Creamy Almond Butter No-stir because we can get it at our local supermarket.

Which brings me to the bread.  I have tried to get my husband to like whole wheat or other whole grain breads for ten years.  Finally, we found one that he likes enough to stop asking for white bread: Mrs. Beard’s Honey 7 Grain.  The label claims “No Artificial Preservatives, Colors, or Flavors.”  This bread does contain some questionable ingredients, but I am willing to eat those if it means I don’t have to listen to complaints about bread all the time.  Also, despite the 7 grains, this bread does not have that much dietary fiber, but we tend to eat a high fiber diet most of the time, so I think we’ll be ok.  One of these days, I’ll get around to baking our bread, but I have yet to find the time.

Nature’s Own makes a similar bread, and according to their website, they are removing high fructose corn syrup from all of their breads, so maybe we can find another one with higher fiber that my husband likes.  We are trying Nature’s Own Honey 7 Grain this week.

You may be wondering: Why do I bother to avoid products with corn syrup?  [By the way, pancake syrup is corn syrup with artificial color and flavor.  I’ll post about healthier alternatives to that another time.]  Believe me, it is not easy to avoid corn syrup, but it is well worth the effort.  Corn syrup and other additives made from refined corn are in nearly every single processed food and drink.  For this reason, they are major contributors to obesity and poor health.  American taste buds have grown accustomed to the super sweet taste of corn syrup and we over consume sweetened foods to feed our cravings.  Part of the reason we crave sugar and high glycemic carbs is because the sweet foods we eat are refined instead of whole, and they don’t contain the fiber, vitamins, and other nutrients present in raw sugar cane and corn.  We don’t get the feeling of being full from the fiber or get the B vitamins needed to process the sugar from refined foods, so we crave more.  All that low nutrient, high calorie food makes us gain weight.

Consider this: if you are eating lots of processed food, most of what you consume is refined corn and soy beans.  If you are eating a chicken nugget, for example, the chicken was fed corn, the batter is made from different refined parts of corn, and the oil it is fried in could be made from corn . . . your whole meal is basically corn!  All day long, you are eating processed foods, but really most of what you are eating started out as corn.  Your body becomes nutrient deficient, because corn is not a complete food, and most of the fiber, vitamins, and other nutrients are removed during processing.

If you believe the claims of the corn processing industry, their “corn sugar” is the same as any other sugar.  Here’s the problem with sugar (and sugar substitutes): it debilitates your immune system for hours and gives easy quick energy to cancer cells.  Frequent consumption of sugar and refined carbs that are broken down into sugars is also the guilty culprit in many adult health problems, including high triglycerides and atherosclerosis.  Children experience hyperactivity and lack of concentration.  Seriously, for your health, stay away from refined sugar whenever you can.  The healthier peanut butter sandwich avoids high fructose corn syrup in the two spreads and the bread and provides many more nutrients than the corn infused bread spread with corn butter and corn jam.  I bet your kids will love it, or at least, they won’t notice enough difference in the taste to say anything.  

Now, it’s your turn.  How do you make a healthier peanut butter sandwich?  What other healthy alternatives do you want to share, or to read about in this blog?

Sources:

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon with Mary G. Enig

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan