If you are a fan of films like Food Inc. then this one will likely deliver. I have yet to see it and to be honest I was a little unsettled after watching the trailer and developed a strong desire to become a vegetarian. However, it looks as though there are some positive messages. Click on the below link to see the trailer or visit the promo site www.freshthemovie.com.

Last night I had a dream. I dreamt that kids’ favourite orange snack was carrots instead of cheetos. Oh dare to dream I say! That being said 50+ carrot growers have unveiled a marketing plan with the hopes of doing just that. The goal is to take a piece of the $18 billion generated by the salty snack industry. Feasible? Hard to say but I support the campaign 100%. Imagine a world with refrigerated fruit & veggie vending machines in schools. It’s a feasible concept. Freshvending.com has such machines as well as packaged fruit like apple slices. Schools may be unable to afford such machines but I can think of a few global food and beverage companies that could!

Carrot sticks, apples slices, baby tomatoes…the list is endless and all dietitian approved. I’m just a little unsure of the slogans for the carrot campaign:

- “The original orange doodles” and just in time for Halloween…here comes “Scarrots”!

I’m not exactly sure when my latest favourite product was launched and it really doesn’t matter as I’ve found it now.

Almond Breeze Unsweetened beverages

These beverages are low in calories, fat and contain 0g sugar. How often do you see 0g sugar on a label?! The sweetened siblings contain evaporated cane juice and it’s the 2nd ingredient in the list. Removing this 1 ingredient lowered the calories by 50% from about 90 calories to 40 in 240mL. The ingredient list is also quite clean with 11-12 ingredients of which 4 are vitamins and minerals. The main components of these products are purified water and almonds. Sounds pretty healthy and it is. Almonds contain about 80mg of calcium per 1/4 cup or 60mL, which doesn’t make them an amazing source of calcium but the company fortifies these beverages to ensure they supply a little extra. There’s 200mg of calcium per 240mL, providing 20% of your daily intake. In case you were wondering, milk contains 300mg or 30% of your daily intake.

How do they taste? They definitely aren’t sweet (duh) but I think they have a really pleasant overall flavour. Vanilla tastes like vanilla and chocolate like chocolate. This is achieved by using natural options like cocoa and natural vanilla flavours. I really dislike some of the artificial flavours that companies use especially banana as it  reminds me of that liquid antibiotic I was given as a kid. I have great respect for companies that keep it natural. It’s harder than you think! For instance, an artificial chocolate flavour could be a lot cheaper than using cocoa since such flavours are often sold in very concentrated forms that require very small amounts in a product formula.

What do I suggest you do with these products? Drink them straight, mix with cereal, bake muffins or cake, add to tea or coffee (I’m currently drinking Earl Grey with a little shot of the vanilla variety). Basically you can use them anywhere you use milk or soy. The only downside is that the nutritional content doesn’t make them a complete nutritional substitute for milk or soy. It’s low in protein and doesn’t supply the same variety of vitamins and minerals. However, it does make a nice alternative if you have allergies or intolerances to milk/soy , if you are looking to switch it up a or cut back on some calories.

I noticed yesterday that Loblaws in Toronto has these products on sale and hopefully it’s in other provinces – they’re selling 2 for $4. Give ‘em a try!

Grilled sardines are sooo much better than canned! I learned my lesson.

After an intense workout last night I couldn’t eat dinner fast enough. There was absolutely no way I could wait 20 minutes to cook so I opened my cupboard. I found a can of sardines. They were in my cupboard for times like these since they are a good source omega 3 fats and the soft bones supply calcium and Vitamin D. I’ve eaten sardines before but never out of a can, it has only been at restaurants in their whole form grilled to crispy perfect.

I opened the can and was far from impressed, the shiny silver skin looked slimy swimming in a tomato mixture. I attempted to pick up a piece but the fish slid off my fork and the entire spine of the fish separated from the meat.

My next step was to taste the fish and after 1 bite my taste buds gave a resounding “boooo”. It’s such a shame when seemingly tasty food is processed/prepared in a way that makes it less edible. I’ve also found this to be true with baked treats, yes even I have cookies from time to time. Bakeries, cafes and restaurants entice us to purchase food that looks very attractive. I find that the taste rarely matches the appearance and I end up feeling a little frustrated and unsatisfied. It’s truly buyer’s remorse for my taste buds.

What I’m trying to say is that the appearance of food doesn’t always reflect the taste. Chefs can spend hours designing/creating beautiful dishes but if the taste falls short so does the food experience. I also recognize the impact of one’s environment on the food experience. There’s a chance I don’t even like the taste of sardines but enjoyed them because they were served to me at a beachside restaurant in Spain with the sun on my face and ocean breeze in my hair…

My food experience last night was unpleasant but I will eat sardines again, just NOT out of a can.

Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon. ~Doug Larson

I bought a talking refrigerator that said “Oink” every time I opened the door.  It made me hungry for pork chops. ~Marie Mott

I refuse to spend my life worrying about what I eat.  There is no pleasure worth forgoing just for an extra three years in the geriatric ward.  ~John Mortimer

I have a great diet.  You’re allowed to eat anything you want, but you must eat it with naked fat people.  ~Ed Bluestone

So many people spend their health gaining wealth, and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health.  ~A.J. Reb Materi, 

Food is like sex:  when you abstain, even the worst stuff begins to look good.  ~Beth McCollister

I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol.  ~Author Unknown

Inside some of us is a thin person struggling to get out, but they can usually be sedated with a few pieces of chocolate cake.  ~Author Unknown

I’ve decided that perhaps I’m bulimic and just keep forgetting to purge.  ~Paula Poundstone

You have to exercise for a week to work off the thigh fat from a single Snickers. ~Einstein?

I keep trying to lose weight… but it keeps finding me!  ~Author Unknown

I never worry about diets.  The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond.  ~Mae West

I’m on a seafood diet.  I see food and I eat it.  ~Author Unknown

I’m allergic to food.  Every time I eat it breaks out into fat.  ~Jennifer Greene Duncan

If you really want to be depressed, weigh yourself in grams.  ~Jason Love

When I buy cookies I eat just four and throw the rest away.  But first I spray them with Raid so I won’t dig them out of the garbage later.  Be careful, though, because that Raid really doesn’t taste that bad.  ~Janette Barber

I’ve been on a diet for two weeks and all I’ve lost is fourteen days.  ~Totie Fields

A diet is the penalty we pay for exceeding the feed limit.  ~Author Unknown

Stressed spelled backwards is desserts.  Coincidence?  I think not!  ~Author Unknown

Granola bars are chocolate bars in disguise, this variety lists sugar and forms of sugar a whopping 9 times in the label...does that sound healthy to you??

Since I’ve worked within the food industry for much of my career I have an appreciation for all of the hard work that many (certainly not all!) companies are doing to improve the nutrient content of their products. But I do have a beef…I do not believe that the addition of “healthy ingredients” turns an otherwise unhealthy product into a healthy one. Take for instance Quaker’s new granola bar, Dark Chocolate Chunk with fibre and omega 3. Is this variety healthier than the other granola bars made by Quaker? Marginally at best. In my opinion granola bars are mini-chocolate bars in disguise and adding fibre or omega 3 to a Mars bar does not turn it into a healthy food choice. The new Quaker bars contain 300mg of omega 3. Sounds like a good amount, right? It is a good amount in theory but you must consider the source. There are 3 types of Omega 3 fats and they are not all equal as far as health benefits go. They all seem to help with reducing inflammation that can be associated with certain disease but it’s DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) that has been linked to improving brain development in babies and reducing the risk of heart disease in adults. DHA is found in fish and algae but not in flaxseed. In these granola bars, the source of omega 3 is in fact flaxseed. I’m not saying that flax is a bad type of omega 3 but it’s a different kind called ALA (alpha linoleic acid) and there is little research to support that this type is as beneficial to our health as DHA. The part that really gets my blood boiling is the fact that some people may not be aware that there are multiple types of omega 3 fats. The company may not have made a blatant claim by saying ‘eating this bar will help prevent a heart attack’ but they are essentially piggybacking on media stories that make such strong statements.

If nothing else I hope you think twice before purchasing these types of products. If you want to benefit from nutrients like DHA omega 3 then go to the natural source and in this case it’s fatty fish like salmon and mackerel. As for me, I’m going to write another blog about the family of omega 3. Check back soon!

I thought it would be impossible to eat well on just $1 per day but California blogger Jeffrey Strain did it! Check out his journey here. He did it by taking budget shopping to a whole new level. The most impressive accomplishment was that he didn’t live on cereal for a month. He managed to eat a varied diet and he didn’t supplement with food banks supplies.

Do you think you could do it?

The catering companies say they will improve their health and safety practices but there doesn’t seem to be any indication that the FDA shut the facilities down. I also wonder how the facilities were able to reach such dire states. It just goes to show that inspectors SHOULD visit all venues that serve food to the masses. I hope that this is not the case with Canadian airline caterers but then again I can’t remember the last time I was served food other than a few unhealthy fried snacks.

For more info, check out an article here. Also, if you want to see a somewhat bizarre site go to www.airlinemeals.com – there are images of food served on all major airlines..of course Singapore Air, the top rated airline, appears to serve some of the best looking food. Although, if you’re lucky enough to sit up front you are guaranteed to be served something better than mystery meat!

If you aren’t familiar with the term, let me explain. Firstly, a calorie is defined as energy expenditure – specifically the amount of energy required to change the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1°C. Negative calories refers to very low calorie foods like celery that require the body to burn more energy (in the form of calories) than the sum of calories in the food. It would make total sense except that the energy required to break down food is accounted for in our BMR – basal metabolic rate. This takes into consideration all of the body’s energy requirements at rest. The thermic effect of food aka energy required to digest food is included in the BMR and is considered to be about 10%. How does this apply to celery? In simple terms, one cup of celery containing about 20 calories will contribute the following to your daily caloric intake post digestion;

20 calories – 20 x 10% (thermic effect of food) = 18 calories

As you can see the calculation doesn’t result in a negative number. Go ahead and eat celery but don’t expect miracles.