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Helping children cut down or eliminate sugar from their life seems to be a never-ending task. I admit that sugar has been very hard for me to cut down, too. I believe the culture of life is different now than when I was growing up, though. Then the long-term effects of what we eat were not as well publicized. Now, most persons are aware of the excesses of sugar and the problems it can cause.

But, do we do anything about it?

I just read a blog with great information about a method worth trying to help get over the sugar craving. This blog by Connie Bennett is at http://www.sugarshockblog.com/2009/06/delay-to-conquer-sugar-cravings-kicking-sweets-culprit-carbs-can-be-easy.html.

Connie has lots of other good ideas on her blog and in her book, Sugar Shock!

I must try her method, and it sounds like a good method of helping children and others cut down, too.

Here’s to better health,

Lee Jackson

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• Watch What You Eat: The Sugar Content is Deceptive (treehugger.com)

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Before you go grocery shopping, think of foods your family would like for quick “pick-me-up” snacks. This could be your family’s “fast food”.

Raw fruits and vegetables are great to include. You might consider fruit such as grapes, apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries or other berries. Add some veggies like carrots, cut up cauliflower, celery stick and others. And you might want to have on hand non-sweetened cereals, granola bars, yogurt, dried fruits, cheese, whole grain crackers, and nuts.

Especially now when children are home from school for the summer, it’s good to have nutritious grab-and-go foods available.

Here’s to happy and healthy snacking.

Lee Jackson

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As we are winding down the month of March, National Nutrition Month, I wanted to summarize six “good health” ideas that can get powerful results. For your well-being, these are suggestions for everyday living that can boost health and energy.

1. Focus on fruits and vegetables. Eat a variety of fruit. Try to include 2 a day. Berries and citrus fruits are especially good choices.

2. Vary your veggies. Eat more yellow and dark green vegetables such as sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli and dark leafy vegetables. Tomatoes, onions, pepper, celery, mushrooms, cabbage and cauliflower are other good selections.

3. Eat whole grains in moderation. This could include whole grain breads, cereals, crackers, rice and pasta.

4. Choose lean meats and use healthy cooking methods like baking, braising and broiling. Proteins are the building blocks of growth. Protein foods include beef, pork, chicken, turkey, and eggs. Salmon and fish, as long as they are shown to be safe from mercury and other toxins, are also good protein sources.

5. Young children need whole milk or 2 percent for calcium. Yogurt and cheese are also rich in calcium.

6. Choose foods low in saturated fats and no transfats. Healthy fats and oils include butter, olive oil, coconut oil, and nuts.

7. Spare the sugar. Sugar is not an essential nutrient. Our taste buds have become acclimated to the sweet taste. However, we can live very easily, and sometimes, better, without sugar.

This is the guide the Chef uses to maintain vigor and good health.

Best to you,

Crombie

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Here is another breakfast hint – have a Breakfast Drawer for an instant meal.

In this Breakfast Drawer you can have foods that are easy and fast to prepare. That way you don’t have to think, or worry, what you will eat for breakfast.

This list of quick foods will take you through the morning with a smile!

Single serving cereal boxes
Instant oatmeal packets
Cereal bars
Whole grain crackers
Dried fruit
Nuts
Vegetable and tomatoe canned juices
Fruit juices in small cans
Small cans of fruit

This is a quick and easy solution to the morning rush.

Yours for better breakfasts,
Chef Crombie

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Is what you eat really “food”? If you eat it, does that make it “natural food”?

A diet high in “natural food” or “real food” and low in food products (or those heavily processed foods) is a much healthier choice. But how can you tell the difference?

One way to generally tell whether the food you eat is considered “natural food”, or “real food”, is to check on the following:

• Is the food grown and does it have a close connection to the land? (Considered the best is if the food is grown locally).

• Does the food go bad quickly? (Does it spoil easily)?

• Does the quality of the food vary? (Some may be more ripe, more colorful, or shaped differently).

• Does it require any preparation before you eat it? (Do you have to cook it? Peel it? Change it’s form?)

• Are the colors bright and rich?

Many food products have questionable health benefits. These types of “foods” are the ones that:

• Keep forever

• Are artifically flavored

• Are artifically colored

• Form never varies

• Are heavily processed

• Contain hydrogenated fats

• Contain high fructose corn syrup

• Are not grown but are manufactured

It is best to read labels and choose real food for you and your family.

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Glad to have you visiting today!

In the last post we looked at some words pertaining to food labels and other terms related to food. Did you divide the words and phrases into “good” and “poor”?

Here is the way I think of those words and phrases:

“Good” words to look for when choosing food:
fruits
whole food
whole wheat pasta
organic
whole grain
whole grain oatmeal
eggs
natural
vegetables
plain organic yogurt
brown rice

“Bad words” or foods or processes to avoid when choosing food:
hydrogenated fats
white rice
artificial flavoring
colas
corn syrup
refined flours
high fructose
frosting
artificial dyes
refined – white bread

When I go to the food market I want to have my list ready. First, though, when I make out the list, I try to write it according to the layout of the store – that is, I visit first the canned areas, the meat section, then the fresh fruits and veggies, and finally the frozen food section. Actually, I try to stay out of the middle of the store. Much of the fresh foods and those that are more nutritious are generally on the outside perimeter.

I don’t go to the store hungry either, because you know what that does! Everything looks good and I buy more than I need. The sooner I leave the store the better, too, because that means I won’t spend as much. I won’t be enticed with all the temptations surrounding me. In and out, is how I like to shop.

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Today, let’s take a look at some categories of foods or common words and phrases found on food labels. I would like you to divide these up into two columns. On one side, place all the words or phrases that are considered “good words”, or those that promote health, and on the other side write the “bad words”, or those that drain our health.

Select from the following list:
hydrogenated fats
fruits
whole food
whole wheat pasta
organic
whole grain
white rice
artificial flavoring
whole grain oatmeal
colas
eggs
corn syrup
refined flours
high fructose
frosting
natural
vegetables
artificial dyes
plain organic yogurt
refined – white bread
brown rice

Tomorrow we’ll compare our lists. Making wise food choices helps us stay healthy. Do you believe that what you eat helps determine how you feel and perform in school and at home? Chef Crombie wants you to be fit and healthy.