Tag Archive for Food Babe

Tom Brady calls Cocoa Cola and Frosted Flakes “Poison”, and he’s right!

November 8, 2015 / / Comments Off on Tom Brady calls Cocoa Cola and Frosted Flakes “Poison”, and he’s right!

Did you hear about the Tom Brady dust up recently?  Finally!  We have a prominent professional athlete speaking out against the Giants of Big Food instead of promoting them for money.  This is awesome!  Here’s a couple quotes,

“I think we’ve been lied to by a lot of food companies over the years, by a lot of beverage companies over the years. But we still [believe] it… We believe that Frosted Flakes is a food…”

Great point.  Food is food.  Frosted flakes, ( and Captain Crunch and Froot Loops and Raisin Bran etc etc etc) are processed pieces of flour, sugar, artificial color/flavors/scents, additives, and preservatives.

Read the ingredient list for Frosted Flakes:

Milled Corn, Sugar, Malt Flavoring, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Salt, Sodium Ascorbate, Ascorbic Acid, Niacinamide, Reduced Iron, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Thiamine Hydrochloride, Vitamin A Palmitate, Folic Acid, BHT, Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D

That’s not food.  That’s crap.  In Tom Brady’s words, “And the fact that they can sell that to kids? I mean, that’s poison…”

Did you notice that Coke now sells their product in cans and bottles that have names on them??  Oh yeah.  They researched the 250 most popular TEEN names, and stuck them on their containers.  Wow.  So much for their promise not to market to kids.

Here’s the ingredient list for Coca Cola:

Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, phosphoric acid, natural flavors, and caffeine.

I’ve become used to people telling me I’m either crazy/way too out there/or over-reacting.  That our government wouldn’t ever let our food supply become saturated with ingredients that absolutely cause cancer, heart disease, diabetes, mood disorders, auto-immune, and every single other disease out there.

Well, I’m happily wearing the crazy hat, because I believe that’s exactly what’s happened.  Want proof?

Recent studies show:

– 70% of all the calories Americans consume now come from processed foods ( breads, crackers, pasta, cereals, pizza, etc)

– Multiple studies confirm that processed food is just as addictive as heroin and cocaine.  Moms, this means that your skinny, active kids actually shouldn’t get a pass to eat processed foods; their life long eating patterns are being created – by you, right now.  Bad patterns will eventually come back to bite them in the butt.

– Multiple studies link artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, and additives to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, allergies, hyperactivity, Alzheimers, and literally every disease out there.  Not convinced?  Read here.

Let’s look at a few common ingredients.

BHA and BHT are synthetic preservatives that keep fat from going rancid. Look on cereals, breads, meats, microwave dinners, vegetables oils, margarine’s, chewing gum, any and all chips, cookies, cakes, skin lotions, face make-up,… the list is endless. Literally. If you buy and consume processed, refined foods (and lots of restaurants use processed refined foods), you’re consuming these chemicals.

Let’s follow the chem trail. In the 1970’s, the FDA reviewed BHA and BHT and gave then a “GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status, but acknowledged additional review was needed.

In 1986, they just repeated that dictum. No further review – by the FDA – has happened.

However, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Agency for Cancer Research, and The National Toxicology Program, have all declared BHA and BHT as Carcinogenic. There’s also very strong links between these products and hyperactivity in children; it’s highly suspected they cause liver damage; and it takes the average male adult TEN days to eliminate BHA from the system.

Our food system is loaded with cases like this!  Let’s look at pizza, which is pretty much a giant chemical, unless you’re making it at home (another recipe here).

The average American eats 46 slices of pizza a year. 25% of all boys ages 6 to 19 eat pizza every single day.  Our government has actually declared pizza a vegetable for school lunches, hospitals, jails, and social programs. (??)

Food Babe (an incredibly determined Activist) did a thorough investigation of the ingredient list in several pizzas, and the results were horrible. Did you know you can say “100% Real”, legally, and have it be loaded with crap??

Among the many chemicals is MSG, in all it’s FDA approved monikers. Think a little MSG can’t hurt? Oh my gosh, please think again. MSG, under ALL it’s names (yeast extract, autolyzed yeast extract,… there’s more than 40 approved names for it) is an EXCITO-TOXIN. It literally excites brain cells to death; MSG’s links to cancer and other disease states are profound. Unfortunately, like so much poison, it makes food taste good, and it has the effect of stimulating areas of the brain that make us want more. MSG is a Food Manufacturers Dream.

Take a look at some pizza ingredients that contain MSG:

dominos

YUCK!  Not. Real. Food. In Tom Brady’s words: Poison.  We have to wake-up, and unhook ourselves from the siren call of processed foods, because it’s killing us.  Slowly and quietly, but it’s killing us.

The answer?  Real Whole Foods.  Cooking at home.  Making food and meals and nutrition a priority for our health, and our kids health.  Letting go of the idea that skinny=healthy, because it doesn’t.  Healthy=Healthy.  I know lots of skinny people with cancer, heart disease, auto-immune conditions, neurological conditions, etc.

It’s the food.  Moms and dads, don’t push this advice away just because you’re overwhelmed and busy. Our kid’s futures depend on this.  We can make Real Whole Foods our norm, honest.

Want a great place to start? Read the links included in this Post.  The more you know about our food system, the easier it becomes to avoid processed foods through fear and disgust.

Don’t know how to cook/shop/prep/pack?  Get in touch with me.  It’s not hard, it’s just a skill to master; and a way of thinking.

Finally, I want to link to a great book I finished recently: French Kids Eat Everything.  This book is wonderful, and I wish I’d read it 25 years ago.  It details the differences in American and French food beliefs/culture/norms, and why and how French kids eat everything.  It’s a positive approach to food that we just don’t have here.  For example, we have “kid foods” galore in the US:  chicken nuggets, pasta, cereal, etc.  Kid foods in France are pureed vegetables and small bites of organ meats. They don’t snack, and they use utensils at 2. They really do eat everything over there, and consequently, France has the second lowest rate of heart disease in the industrial world, and no weight issues.

I hope you get 2 take-aways from today’s Post. (1) we’re literally creating and training our children for life long eating patterns and food preferences every single day we have them.  (2) We are what we eat.  We eat crap, we create a crap body.  We eat Real Whole Foods, and we give our body the nutrients it needs to rebuild, repair, and thrive.

Get in touch with me for help and changes.  We have so much potential!

Category: Cooking, Food Additives, Food Cravings, RWF / Tags: , , , , , ,

Toxic Drinks for Pregnant Moms and Their Babies? It’s Part of the System.

May 14, 2014 / / Comments Off on Toxic Drinks for Pregnant Moms and Their Babies? It’s Part of the System.

I’m on a mission:  I want to convince everyone that we all have the power to be in charge of our own health care.  I want to convince everyone that handing over your health to the Conventional Medical System (Big Phuvernment**) is crazy.  I’m not saying doctors are useless, but that our bodies have ENORMOUS capacity to heal and regenerate; and if we invest some time in learning what makes the body run well, and then taking the actions to implement what we’ve learned, our health, our energy, our outlook on life, could be so Optimal. Like I always say, no one is sick because they’re deficient in meds, no one. 

Do you ever read FoodBabe?  You should, she’s an activist who’s been a driving force in getting a few Big Companies to quit using  deadly chemicals in their food products.  Her post yesterday was on the glucose drink they feed to Pregnant Mothers when we go in for the glucose test.  I want to say that again:  the drink they have pregnant mothers, and the little babies growing inside of them, drink to test for gestational diabetes.

Here’s the Ingredient List, read it and weep that babies get soaked in this crap:

glucose drink

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s enough toxic chemicals in that drink to kill a bird, and yet it’s given to pregnant women and their babies.  Please read the whole article here,  it’s pretty enlightening.

News about the Medical Establishment failing us isn’t new, and statistics are astounding.  Here’s some words from Dr. Mercola’s post today on the Dangers of Modern Medicine:

Preventable medical mistakes are the third-leading cause of death in the US, right after heart disease and cancer. In all, preventable medical mistakes may account for one-sixth of all deaths that occur in the US annually. Despite spending more on health care than the next 10 biggest spenders combined, the US ranks last in health and mortality when compared with 17 other developed nations. We may have one of the best systems for treating acute surgical emergencies, but the American medical system clearly gets an “F” when it comes to treating chronic illness.

Please don’t blindly throw yourselves at the mercy of your doctor, the pharmaceutical Meg Macchu Pichucompanies, Big Food, and the Government.  You ARE capable of staying healthy, improving your health, and losing weight if you need too.

Real Whole Food, sleep, controlling your stress, and exercise, these are the foundations for Optimal Health, and they’re all within our control.  Evaluate where you are with each of those factors. We can always take steps to improve our health, and it’s never too late to start.  Carve out some time to make a plan, then post the plan everywhere. Commit to your plan! Don’t wait for next week or next month, start now.  You have the power and the ability, now use it.  Let me know if you need help, or a jump start.  I’m good at that!

On a less serious note, here’s a picture of my oldest daughter, Megan, who’s in Peru. This is Machu Picchu.

Remember, Mark and I are doing a Partner Detox next week while we’re on the Low Carb Cruise.  We’ll be posting and/or facebooking every day about the steps we’re taking in the Detox.  If you’re not friends with me on FB and you want to be, find me under Debbie Brockett Abbott.

**Big Phuvernment: the sexual union of Big Food, Big Pharma, and our Government

 

Category: Food Additives, Looks Healthy But Isn't, RWF / Tags: , , , , ,

Looks Healthy But Isn’t – Are You Ready For This?

April 2, 2014 / / One comment

I’m about to trash another beloved food, but before you turn your eyes away, there will healthier options provided, I promise.

Pizza, Learning disabilities, Autism, Neurological disorders, Cancer.  There’s a connection.  Actually, there’s several.  What we eat, what we put in our body, goes on to become our body.  Let’s look at the ingredients in one of the most popular, common, and consumed foods today.  How popular?  A February, 2014 study by the USDA says that 25% of ALL boys ages 6 to 19 EAT PIZZA EVERY SINGLE DAY. Sales of both restaurant and frozen pizza have increased 30% in the last 10 years.  Our own Congress has legally declared pizza a Vegetable for school lunches, hospitals, jails, and social programs, – thank you BigPhov-ern-ment – (that’s the sexual union of Big Business, Big Pharma, and Government. I just made that up, but it seems appropriate, right?).  Americans spent $32 BILLION last year on more than 30 Billion pizzas.  The average American eats 46 slices a year, with the most slices eaten by children, and teenage boys.

Remember, healthier options are coming; I love pizza!  Give me a few more minutes:

Food Babe ( an incredibly determined Activist) just wrapped up a thorough investigation of the ingredient list in several pizzas, and the results were horrible.  Did you know you can say “100% Real”, legally, and have it be loaded with crap???  Thank you, again, BigPhovernment.  Among the many chemicals is MSG, in all it’s FDA approved monikers.  Think a little MSG can’t hurt?  Oh my gosh, please think again.  MSG, under ALL it’s names (yeast extract, autolyzed yeast extract,… there’s more than 40 approved names for it) is an EXCITO-TOXIN. (Check out Neurologist/Dr. Blaylock’s revelations on MSG here.) It literally excites brain cells to death; MSG’s links to cancer and other disease states are profound. Unfortunately, like so much poison, it makes food taste good, and it has the effect of stimulating areas of the brain that make us want more.  MSG is a Food Manufacturers Dream.  Take a look at some pizza ingredients that contain MSG:

dominos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What about other additives, preservatives, emulsifiers, flavors and scents?  Oh, these pizzas are loaded.  Soybean oil and partially hydrogenated oil were in almost every company looked at, from the dough to the sauce to the toppings and cheese, BHT/BHA were in ALL the pepperonis examined, the same with Nitrates. BPA, carmel coloring, artificial colors, enriched flours, found in abundance; remember, these chemicals make the food taste good, and stimulate areas of the brain that encourage you to want more.  You can read Food Babe’s whole report here.

Pizza Hut claims “100% Beef”, but actually the beef is loaded with preservatives and flavors; Papa Johns “100% Real Cheese” has wood pulp/cellulose, modified food starch (MSG), and preservatives; this is NORMAL, and LEGAL.  Thank you BigPhovernment.

What about a local favorite:  Wegman’s Pizza Bar.  Here’s the ingredient list for their Cheese Pizza:

Ingredients
Crust (Wheat Flour, Water, Soybean Oil, Sugar, Corn Meal, Vital Wheat Gluten, Yeast, Dough Conditioners [Datem, Ascorbic Acid, Enzymes, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate], Salt, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Dextrose, Artificial Flavor, Soy Lecithin [Processing Aid]), Cheeses (Low Moisture Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese [Part Skim Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes], Parmesan and Romano Cheese Blend [Both Made from Part Skim Cow’s Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes], Asiago Cheese [Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes]), Sauce (Water, Tomato Paste, Sugar, Salt, Spices, Onion Powder, Xanthan Gum, Garlic Powder).

Should we be eating this? Should our kids be eating this????

It really, really matters that we eat Real Whole Food.  That means planning, shopping, chopping, cooking, and packing.  Obesity, disease, depression, autism,.. the CDC says these things are PERVASIVE and GROWING.  Despite ENORMOUS amounts of drugs, despite that we go to the doctor more than ANY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, despite that we SPEND MORE ON HEALTH CARE THAN ANY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, we are very, very, very sick, … and unhappy… and overweight. We can change this with our choices, our habits, and our lifestyles.

Okay, want some pizza recipes?  We don’t eat wheat, or “gluten free” foods, so I use almond and coconut flours.  If you’re not there yet, THAT’S OKAY.  Buy a Bob’s Mill Gluten Free Crust Mix, or an already made Amy’s in the freezer aisle.  There are quick and easy options out there.  If you’re up for cooking, here’s a couple recipes that work in our house:

This is a yeast/rising crust from ZenBelly – LOVE THIS ONE:

pizza

And here’s a link to 5 more.  No, they won’t taste like wheat flour crusts.  It’s okay.  It’s a crust with good sauce, good toppings, and cheese, it’s delicious anyway, I promise!

Look here. 

Take your health and your mood and your children’s health and moods, into your own hands.  Become a Real Whole Foodie.

Category: Cooking, Looks Healthy But Isn't, Paleo Recipe, RWF / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Paleo Christmas Party Recipe Links

December 14, 2013 / / Comments Off on Paleo Christmas Party Recipe Links

table at partyYou can have a Christmas party without grains and sugars –  we proved it yesterday:)  Thank you to everyone who brought the delicious food, and thanks for braving my snowy, hilly, driveway.  I’ve got the recipes links for about half of the food that was shared, and the whole recipe for the cauliflower soup.  NOTE:  No one expected “cauliflower soup” to be so delicious, but it was.  OMG:  herb-y, hot, creamy, wintery and warming.

Magic Cookie Bars, All Day I Dream About Food.  The sweetened condensed milk takes 90 minutes to make, plan accordingly.

Bacon Jam from the cookbook, Beyond Bacon.

Goji Berry Sea Salt Drops, from Food Babe.

Bacon wrapped dates stuffed with Manchego cheese, and Bacon wrapped dates NOT stuffed – both versions are delicious.

Paleo Snickerdoodles, Elana’s pantry.

Paleo Molassas Spice Cookies, Elana’s pantry.

Paleo Coconut Milk Bread, The Spunky Coconut.

Peanut butter Caramel Shortbread bars, All Day I Dream About Food.

Peanut Butter Cookies, Elana’s Pantry ( these were supposed to be Vegan, but I used butter)

Star Butter Cookies, Elana’s Pantry

Paleo Pecan Sandies, Elana’s Pantry

Chunky Monkey Muffins, Primal Cravings cookbook

Sorry, there was a lot more food on the table, but no cards with links on them:(  I’ll do a better job monitoring that next year I promise!

The Cauliflower Soup Recipe:

2 leeks, including 2 bunches of greens, roots trimmed

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1 celery rib, with extra leaves, coarsely chopped

2 tbsp finely minced garlic

2 tsp curry powder –   this ingredient surprised me bc I tasted NO hot spicyness at all

2 tsp ground ginger

6 cups chicken or vegetable broth (more if necessary)

Juice of half a lemon

1 head cauliflower, cored and broken into florets

1 cup half and half

salt and pepper to taste

Cut leeks in half lengthwise. Wash to remove dirt.   Pat dry and thinly slice crosswise.   (2) Heat oil w the butter in heavy pot over low heat. Wilt the leeks and celery w leaves until softened, 10 minutes, add garlic during the last 5 minutes.  (3)  Stir in the curry powder and ginger, cook over low heat to permeate the vegetables, 1 minute.  (4) Add broth, lemon juice, and cauliflower florets. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the cauliflower is very tender, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly. (5) Puree in a food processor until very smooth, adding half and half though the feed tube.  Add extra broth for desired consistency. Season w Salt and Pepper.   Sprinkle with crystalized ginger or sliced scallions.

 

Category: Cooking, RWF / Tags: , , , , , ,
 
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