The Healthy Tales

Posts Tagged ‘food’

So a few weeks ago, I was on a blog that promoted coupons and free samples. I love free samples because they are free and provide me a little mail to open each day. One of the samples posted was for 1 free Bear Naked grain-ola bar. I love Luna and Pria bars and thought this one would be the same so I filled out my information and selected the chocolate cherry variety to receive.

My granola bar came this week and I was excited to give it a try. I brought it to work with me as my mid-afternoon snack figuring it would be healthier than the Zapps chips we keep in the audit room. That thought held steady until I opened the bar and started eating it. I flipped the wrapper around and was shocked to see 230 calories, 10 grams of fat, and 33 grams of carbs – only 4 grams were fiber. I think I would have been better off sticking with those chips! 5 Weight Watcher points, gone!

On to taste, as I mentioned, I selected the chocolate cherry flavor. Unfortunately, the bar tasted more like banana bread and I don’t recall finding any chocolate or dried cherries mixed into this bar. This bar is nothing like the old Luna Chocolate over Cherries bar so if you were a fan, don’t waste your money on this as a replacement.

There was a variety of nuts and grains throughout the bar. I was happy to see bits of pecans as you don’t see those everyday in granola bars. The rest of the ingredients though, sigh. The bar might be natural but syrup, molasses, canola oil, sunflower oil, etc adds up and also makes for a bit of a sticky bar. Yes, this bar is soft unlike the other bars that I have mentioned before so while you could take it on the go and avoid crumbs, you have to keep it in the wrapper or risk it falling about or gumming up your fingers. That could be a plus or a minus depending on where you are running to.

Overall, while I thought the taste was fine, I would not buy a box of these bars at the grocery store. The nutritional ingredients are just way too high in calories and fat and with only 22 weight watcher points per day I can’t afford to spend 1/4 of them on this one product. Also, I want my chocolate and cherry flavors!

Earlier this week, British researchers released a study in which they concluded that organic food is not healthier than conventional food. What does this mean? In short, that there are no additional health benefits or nutritional benefits for you to pick the more expensive organic items in the grocery store over the mass grown food.

I have to admit I am a little surprised in the findings. For many years, I have read articles and news releases making claims that organic food was much healthier and provided additional vitamins and minerals. I just assumed they were correct. These researchers though not only did scientific tests on the food, they also combed over more than 162 other studies and their results. Everything pointed to the same thing – these foods are all equal.

So what do you think? Will you quit buying organic food? Did you ever buy organic food? Does any of this matter to you?

Personally, I did buy organic produce and milk for a while but have since stopped. With the rising prices, something had to change so I decided organic would be one of many things to change. I figure if I watch the processed food and wash my produce thoroughly, I can cut down on chemicals and pesticides without having to pay the extra money for organic.

Article below courtesy of Yahoo! News.

Wed Jul 29, 12:29 pm ET

LONDON (Reuters) – Organic food has no nutritional or health benefits over ordinary food, according to a major study published Wednesday.

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said consumers were paying higher prices for organic food because of its perceived health benefits, creating a global organic market worth an estimated $48 billion in 2007.

A systematic review of 162 scientific papers published in the scientific literature over the last 50 years, however, found there was no significant difference.

“A small number of differences in nutrient content were found to exist between organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs, but these are unlikely to be of any public health relevance,” said Alan Dangour, one of the report’s authors.

“Our review indicates that there is currently no evidence to support the selection of organically over conventionally produced foods on the basis of nutritional superiority.”

The results of research, which was commissioned by the British government’s Food Standards Agency, were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Sales of organic food have fallen in some markets, including Britain, as recession has led consumers to cut back on purchases.

The Soil Association said in April that growth in sales of organic products in Britain slowed to just 1.7 percent in 2008, well below the average annual growth rate of 26 percent over the last decade, following a plunge in demand at the end of the year.

(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; editing by Simon Jessop)

Memorial Day is upon us.  For many that means a fun picnic or barbeque outside with friends and family.  It is a great way to welcome in the summer and start hanging out outside more.  I love a good barbeque, treats, and ice cold beer.  The only thing I don’t love is all of the calories that I tend to consume when I attend a barbeque.  There is something about being outside and hanging out where I don’t think twice about eating a hot dog, a hamburger, and BBQ sausage links.  Then add on a serving of baked beans and some type of dessert.  Hello!  What am I thinking here.  Talk about food and calorie overload.

This year I am not sure what Mike and I will be doing.  We are heading to San Antonio to celebrate his buddy’s graduation from college and we are undecided as to whether we are staying for a part-day in San Antonio on Monday or heading back Sunday night.  I think if we head back Sunday I am going to plan a barbeque style dinner but using a George Foreman grill and sticking with either hot dogs or hamburgers and leaving the sausage in the freezer.

I read on HungryGirl this morning that Boca burgers work well on the grill so I might give that a try for my burger.  Save a few calories while enjoying an old favorite.    I might also try making the diet coke cake again.  It turned out pretty well last time even though I left off the cool whip icing.  I think I’ll add the icing this time around.

So what are you doing to prepare for the food challenges of a holiday weekend?  Are you cutting back, pigging out, or keeping everything in moderation?