Friday, October 25, 2013

Halloween.... the Holiday I Hate!

Go ahead, call me a party pooper!  But with all the research that shows the harmful impact sugar, fat, and artificial colors/flavors/sweeteners have on our kids, you would think we could revamp Halloween to something that would not cause illness, obesity and hyperactivity!

Yes, let's dress up and play games but can we choose Healthier snacks, or donating the money spent on useless candy to the poor instead!  Can kids go around and collect donations for the Maryland Food Bank or any worthwhile cause? Not only are we hurting our health, we are wasting our money and supporting the industry that is bringing us down as a nation!

The more candy and junk we buy the more we are telling the companies to keep making us sick; keep making us fat; keep making us hyperactive, depressed and dumb!  Please WAKE UP and stand against this!
I am not saying never to enjoy desserts or candy, but can we at least buy what is All Natural (if that's even possible!)? The better choice is to make it from scratch with your kids.  They will appreciate it that much more when they see the work that goes into it.

Here are some alternatives to all the garbage we give out on Halloween.  And YES, I do give out some of these for Halloween:
Dried Fruit Leather or gummies
Dried fruit
Oranges or clementines with Jack-o-Lantern faces on them
Z-bars or other fruity bars
Trail mix packets
Gum with xylitol sweetener
Bags of Natural organic chips or crackers
Applesauce
Carrot stick packets or other veggie packets
Air popped popcorn

OR nonfood items
crayons
chalk
temporary tattoos
stickers
glow sticks or wrist bands
pens, highlighters
toothbrushes
whistles
fake money
spider rings
book marks
glow in the dark anything
coupons for smoothie or frozen yogurt shops
Any of your Dollar Store favorites

Just think of how much candy ends up getting thrown away every year anyway.  What a crazy waste of money when we have people in the rest of the world starving for food.  Take the kids to a soup kitchen or go to World Vision website and sponsor a child.  Do something positive this year for Halloween that will make the world and your family and neighborhood HEALTHIER, Not Sicker!!

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

I CAN'T BELIEVE I ATE THE WHOLE THING!


     Some of you may remember this funny 1972 advertisement for Alka-Seltzer. I can't believe I ate the WHOLE thing!  


     Today's discussion, however, is not about consuming a huge amount of food like the man in the commercial.  Rather, I'm talking about eating foods that are whole, as in unrefined.  Whole foods found in nature are complete and nutritious just as they are out of the ground or off the branch.  When we refine a food we are taking away much of what makes it healthy in the first place.  Yet those foods tend to be the most popular. Think white bread, white rice, potato chips, and all forms of sweet drinks, candy and desserts.


     For example, when we take a whole grain and refine it into a white flour we remove the germ, the bran and the vast majority of nutrients and fiber.  Manufacturers then add in some synthetic "man made" vitamins and call it "Enriched".  HA! Joke's on us!! I'd say it is really DEPLETED! Over time this leaves our body empty of all it needs and we become malnourished, lowering our immune function, thereby more susceptible to mental, emotional and physical diseases.

     Then, to make matters worse, companies often stick in a wide variety of chemical additives and preservatives.  Now the food has gone from something that leaves us malnourished to something that is downright toxic!  Think Caffeine, Monosodium glutamate (MSG), artificial colors, sweeteners, and preservatives. To stay healthy we must neutralize the toxins and get them out of our bodies.  Doing that takes lots of energy and many of our own vitamins and minerals, leaving us all the more depleted and open to injury and illness.

     To maintain vibrant health we want to eat a well rounded diet that includes 7+ servings of fresh fruits and vegetables a day, 3 or 4 servings of plant proteins like beans and legumes (or optional fish or lean animal protein), a small amount of healthy fats like raw unsalted nuts & seeds, olives, avocados or coconut, along with some whole grains such as quinoa, brown rice, barley, oats, etc.  Eating real food found in nature will keep us full of energy and vitality.  We will think clearly, feel happy, look great, have less pain and have a dynamic immune system. 

     Can I challenge you to start eating more healthy whole foods? Let's spend our energy and nutrients on healing and growing rather than on flushing out toxins. 

      Let me know one more healthy food you are going to add into your menu this week.