Ezekiel Bread Stuffing

You will need about a loaf of Ezekiel bread for this recipe. I usually cut it up in one-inch cubes and put it in a bowl to dry out overnight. If you are not stuffing your turkey and baking the stuffing in a casserole dish, you might want to moisten the stuffing with a little organic chicken stock. If you are stuffing the turkey and there is leftover stuffing, you can bake that in a smaller casserole dish, again moistened with some chicken stock.

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf of bread cubes
• 5 celery ribs, including leaves, chopped
• 2 large yellow onions , diced
• ½ cup butter (at least–we sometimes just keep adding more)
• 2 teaspoon poultry seasoning (This is flexible, depending on how much seasoning you prefer. I like a lot of seasoning so this is the bare minimum and not nearly enough for me!)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Melt the butter in a large pan, and then saute onion and celery in over medium heat until soft.
3. Season with poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper, and then toss the bread cubes with your hands.
   
4. The stuffing is now ready to stuff the turkey or bake in an oiled casserole dish. As I said, if you’re not putting it in a bird, you can moisten with chicken or veggie stock. I often put some extra dabs of butter on top before covering with foil and popping it into the oven.
5. Bake for around 30 minutes, remove the foil, and bake for another 5 minutes or until the top is browned.

To your health,

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This means that by the time your organic coffee reaches your cup it would likely no longer qualify as “organic,” and definitely not as Good Stuff.

(By the way, did you know that coffee is a superfood?)

Written by John Goss, Healthy Home Director

Problem #1: Toxins in Coffee Growing

Coffee is one of the most intensively sprayed crops in the world. This is because coffee is no longer grown in the shade (where the plant evolved and thrives). It is now grown in ways that allow for maximum production, but that requires the use of large amounts of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and chemical fertilizers.

This is not only bad for us as consumers, but is also quite detrimental to the people who live and work in coffee-producing areas.

Here are just three of the pesticides commonly used on coffee beans:

1. Methyl Parathyion is one of the most vile pesticides ever created, and is toxic to a wide swath of all living things–including humans.
2. Endosulfan is toxic to most animals and takes a very long time to break down in the soil.
3. Chlorpyrifos has been banned for household use in the U.S. as it can cause birth defects.

All of the above, and more, can show up in your morning joe.

The solution to this problem is pretty simple: buy only certified organic coffee beans.

Problem #2: Toxins in Coffee Roasting

Organic coffee beans are a great start to a healthier cup of java, but it is important that the roasting process be free from harmful chemistry, too.

Roasting equipment needs to be cleaned on a regular basis to avoid chemical solvents showing up in your cup.

Flavoring agents are commonly used immediately after the roasting process, sometimes to mask the taste and smell of old or bad beans. Flavored coffee should be avoided as they are synthetic and often contain preservatives that are definitely not Good Stuff!

The solution here is a little more complicated: Find a roaster that is dedicated to a non-toxic process. (This is easier said than done—it took us a year to find one!)

The Worst Stuff: Coffee Pods

The environmental damage caused by coffee pods (AKA “k-cups”) can’t be overstated. In fact, their founder, John Sylvan, has said that he regrets inventing the pod!

Traditional coffee pods are neither biodegradable nor recyclable, and a whopping THIRD of American households have a k-cup brewer in their homes.

Equally concerning: coffee pods are made of plastic, and the hot water that passes through them increases the leaching of endocrine disruptors into your coffee. While k-cups are free of BPA, they’ve still tested positive for estrogenic activity.

To make matters worse, the top of coffee pods are usually made of aluminum, a heavy metal linked with a range of health problems.

Problem #3: Toxins in Coffee Bags & Packaging

Once the coffee beans are roasted, they go into a bag. These bags almost always contain plastics and other chemicals that can convey even more toxins to your beans.

Coffee bags typically have a lining of polypropylene to keep the coffee oils from making the bag unsightly.  Simple brown paper bags may fool you by looking like they are made entirely of paper when this is basically never the case.

Polypropylene, while relatively inert, is the single most abundant micro-plastic found in all the waters of the world (and in seafood…and in every one of us!).
The effects of micro-plastics from this type of plastic are only beginning to be understood. Studies have found that polypropylene particles may stimulate the immune system, but human studies are lacking.

Some coffee beans come in glassine bags (pictured above). This seems better than plastic because glassine is essentially wood pulp. Unfortunately, glassine is almost always bleached with chlorine or other chemicals that stay in the paper fibers and are leached into the coffee beans.

We’ve solved this one for you! Until recently, there have been no alternatives to standard coffee bags, but we finally found a new, non-toxic, environmentally safe alternative. More on this below,

Problem #4: Toxins in Coffee Water

Obviously, brewing coffee starts with water. If you use typical municipal water you are adding chlorine, fluoride, and potentially substances like lead, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and others to you morning cup. Not only are these toxic, but they can also negatively affect the taste of your coffee.

The solution here is easy: We highly recommend using a robust water filtration system. Pitcher type filters are better than nothing, but true filtration essentially eliminates a very wide swath of biological agents and chemical toxins. Learn more about choosing a water filter here.

Problem #5: Toxins in Coffee Brewing Equipment

This Frankfurt coffee brewer is entirely free of plastic, so there’s no opportunity for endocrine disruptors to leach into the coffee.

Water is a potent solvent that breaks down many substances. Hot water is an especially intense solvent, and it extracts substances far faster than cold water does.

Whether you like cold-brew or hot, pour-over, drip, espresso, French press, or a plug-in brewer, it is a good idea to avoid brewing equipment that is composed of certain plastics, metals, or coatings that could introduce unwanted substances into your cup.

More specifically, you’ll want to avoid coffee brewers with plastic parts that come into contact with water. Also, avoid aluminum, nonstick surfaces, and any low-fire ceramics.

The good news is that there are several great ways to brew without any toxins. We like stainless steel filtration rather than plastic, paper, or even cloth. Stainless steel is rugged, easy to clean, imparts no flavor, and lasts almost forever—making it an Earth- and wallet-friendly choice.

As for coffee dispensers, cups, and storage, we like stainless steel, glass, and most ceramics. Medical grade silicone seals are acceptable and better than plastics.

The solution here is to vet your coffee accessories carefully. We have a selection of Good-Stuff approved, plastic-free brewing, storage, and dispensing solutions here.

Problem #7: Toxins in Coffee Cup

You may already know that styrofoam cups can mess with your hormones, especially when the liquid inside of them is hot! But even paper to-go coffee cups can be a problem, from the coating on the inside (polyethylene) to the glue at the seams–which partially dissolves when the coffee is poured into the cup. Moreover, wax-coated paper cups cannot be recycled because of their petroleum-derived paraffin coating.

Coffee lids made with #6 or #7 plastic likely contain BPA. The last few times I’ve ordered a to-go coffee I’ve noticed the lid is printed with a #7, and of course you’ve got hot liquid passing through this on it’s way to your mouth (like in the picture of Maia above!).

The solution here is to bring your own reusable coffee mug when stopping at a Starbucks. I like this one and this one.

Problem #8: Toxins in Decaf Coffee

If you are a drinker of decaf coffee, you have one more thing to worry about. There are three major decaffeination techniques, only one of which is Good Stuff.

1) Methylene Chloride Process (MCP)
Also known as “direct decaffeination,” MCP is the most common decaffeination technique. MCP decaffeination uses the solvent methylene chloride (commonly found in things like paint stripper), and it leaves behind trace amounts of this toxin. According to Consumer Reports, even small doses of methylene chloride can cause “coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. At higher doses, it can cause headache, confusion, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and fatigue, and has been found to cause liver and lung cancer in animals.” It’s true that the amount of methyl chloride that remains in decaf coffee is restricted to not exceed 10 ppm, but I definitely want my coffee free of this decidedly Bad Stuff.

2) Swiss Water Process (SWP)
In this method, beans are soaked in near-boiling water, which extracts both the flavor oils and the caffeine from the coffee. The water is then separated into a tank, where it is forced through charcoal filters to remove the caffeine. The beans are then reintroduced to the swill, which reabsorbs the flavor. Since no chemicals are used, there’s nothing to worry about in terms of toxins with SWP decaf coffee. Unfortunately, coffee drinkers often find that bright, lively coffees can end up being rather flat after the SWP. (The term “Swiss water” is a branding term, by the way; there is not actually water from Switzerland used in this process.)

3) Mountain Water Process (MWP)
In this process, water from the glaciers of the mountains of Mexico is used to decaffeinate coffee in a similar manner as SWP. The water is used to float the coffee oils and caffeine in a solution, then the solution is filtered to remove the caffeine, and finally the the water soluble oils are returned to the coffee beans to restore the flavor. The big difference with MWP is that the resulting coffee tastes better. Coffee connoisseurs say that MWP decaf taste very close to premium regular coffees.

The bottom line if you drink decaf coffee: make sure it’s water-processed .

Introducing….Coffee, Not Chemicals

After a year of research and a lot of false starts (mostly around the bags!), we were so excited to launch Coffee, Not Chemicals in 2019. Our coffee bags are certified nontoxic and 100% compostable. This means that our coffee is not only non-toxic but also a zero waste product.

Why We Think Coffee, Not Chemicals Is the Best Stuff:

Our coffee is made of certified organic coffee beans that are fresh roasted in a dedicated non-toxic roastery. Each bag has a roast date.

Our packaging is certified non-toxic by an independent testing facility. This means that the bags, the valve, the labels, the ink, and even the adhesives are nontoxic and 100% compostable.

The packaging is free of BPA, phthalates, fossil fuel by-products, and bleach.

Coffee, Not Chemicals has gotten only 5-star reviews from our customers, and most people who order a bag decide to subscribe to keep it coming uninterrupted.

You guys asked (and asked and asked) for a decaf version. It’s here! And it’s Mountain Water Processed of course.

Please comment below with questions or comments about your own favorite coffees or brewers!

Stay sane,

P.S. What if coffee is something that you love but it doesn’t love you back? Coffee is delicious and I love the ritual of it after breakfast, in the afternoon, or after dinner. But caffeine makes some people, my wife included, agitated and impatient, and it can disrupt sleep or cause indigestion. Even decaf can sometimes bother some people’s stomachs. Suzanne recently discovered MUD/WTR, and it’s taken the place of her morning latte. It is full of superfoods, and is soothing, warming, and gives a little lift without any of the side effects that she experiences with coffee.

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The post Toxins in Coffee: 8 Sources of Harmful Chemicals in Your Morning Brew appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

1. Leafy greens

Why they’re super: You’ll probably find dark, leafy greens on anyone’s list of the world’s healthiest foods, and for good reason. Greens are a great source of vitamin A, vitamin C, and calcium, as well as several antioxidant-rich phytochemicals.

How we get ours: Sakara Life is Maia’s favorite way to get in all her greens. It’s a great way to cleanse or include more plant-based meals into your diet. Plus, Sakara meals include plenty of other superfoods like quinoa, nuts, and avocado. Use code XOMAIA for 20% off your first Sakara order. You can also incorporate more greens on your own, and you can find all my recipes and tips on getting those greens here.

2. Tea

Why it’s super: You’ve probably heard that green tea is incredibly good for you–it’s teeming with antioxidants. But other varieties are worth sipping, too. Drinking tea may reduce your risk of cancer and heart disease, among other benefits. White tea is a great option for those of you who are sensitive to caffeine.

How we get ours: Pique Tea Crystals. This brand has been a game-changer for Maia and me because of both the convenience (you just empty the packets into hot or cold water) and the delicious taste. Pique cold-extracts their teas to preserve the maxium polynutrients. The tea is then screened for toxins, and Pique even offers caffeine-free versions. Use code GIMME5 for 5% off your first order at Pique.

3. Chocolate

Why it’s super: Raw cacao is often cited by health and nutrition experts as a super food, due to a very high concentration of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants in the form of polyphenols called flavinols. The list of antioxidant health benefits derived from cacao is extensive, from lowering one’s risk of heart disease and diabetes, to improving gut health and circulation, to reducing inflammation, blood pressure and “bad cholesterol” and even extending to cognitive improvements. Raw cacao is high in magnesium, calcium, iron, potassium and phosphorus. Raw cacao is also high in fiber and a good source or protein. 

How we get ours: Villakuyaya Organic Dark Chocolate. I love to have a square of this chocolate every day! Villakuyaya is an Ecuadorian woman-owned company offering a variety of delicious and organic cacao-rich products.

4. Fish

Why it’s super: Fish is a great source of protein and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. The best varieties (high in healthy fats and low in heavy metals) are salmon, herring, trout, and small fish like sardines and anchovies.

How we get ours: Nutrition for Longevity. Of course you can cook your own fish, but we love Nutrition for Longevity’s pescatarian meal delivery program, too. These meals aim to help you lower cholesterol, control your blood sugar, maintain gastrointestinal health, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancers, and aid in healthy weight management. All meals are low in sugars, have high quality protein, and are rich in healthy fats. Use code GIMME20 for $20 off first trial box and $40 off first subscription order.

5. Olive Oil

Why it’s super: The many health benefits of olive oil have been known for a eons, but more recent studies have shown why some olive oils are far superior to others. High-quality olive oil contains oleocanthal, a natural anti-inflammatory agent, and oleacein, a potent antioxidant. Some of the benefits of these polyphenols include reduction of “bad” cholesterol, lowering of blood pressure, and protection against cancer.

How we get ours: Olea True. When we reviewed olive oils, Olea True was the clear winner, due both to how it is sourced as well as the lab-testing they do for potency. There is a saying among olive oil connoisseurs that rates oils by their “cough value.” Good oil should make you cough once, and better oil will make you cough twice! I have had that experience for the first time when eating Olea True; it makes me cough! This means that it’s very high in polyphenols, the antioxidant phytochemicals that some feel are responsible for the success of the “Mediterranean diet,” and which give high-quality olive oils their peppery kick.  Whatever oil you choose, it’s best to eat it raw on salads, steamed vegetables, dip for bread, or even as a supplement to preserve the maximum antioxidants.

6. Coffee

Why it’s super: While coffee isn’t for everyone, its health benefits are actually well documented. Coffee drinkers enjoy benefits that include an improved ability to process sugar, longer life expectancy, and a reduced risk of heart failure, Parkinson’s disease, colon cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s, and a variety of other ailments.

How we get ours: Coffee Not Chemicals. While coffee itself deserves to be included in any list of super foods, it also is unfortunately often contaminated with toxins. These environmental chemicals make their way into your morning cup from the way coffee is grown to the way it is processed and even to the way it is packaged. Coffee Not Chemicals is grown organically and processed in a toxin-free roastery. It’s also the only coffee packaged in nontoxic/100% compostable bags. It’s freshly roasted within one day of shipping, and gets rave reviews for flavor. (More on detoxing whatever coffee you drink here.)

7. Turmeric

Why it’s super: Curcumin, the active component in turmeric, has truly incredible antioxidant properties. Studies show it provides a significant benefit to patients with colon cancer, degenerative brain disease, heart disease, arthritis, and many other illnesses. The only bad news is that curcumin is poorly absorbed. Fortunately, consuming it with piperine, a natural substance found in black pepper, enhances its absorption by 2,000 percent!

How we get ours: Golde Turmeric Superfood Latte Blend. We love this blend because it includes turmeric and black pepper. It also contains coconut, which is rich in good-for-you fats. If you prefer caffeine, we also carry Golde’s matcha version (and matcha is a super food in its own right!).

 8. Mushrooms

Why they’re super: According to the NIH, “mushrooms are significant as a medicinal food.” They possess antioxidant activity and can help lower blood pressure and “bad” cholesterol. Like other super foods on this list, mushrooms contain phenolic compounds and act as anti-inflammatories.

How we get ours: Mudwater.  We love simply eating mushrooms, and we posted a great kid-friendly shiitake mushroom recipe in here. Believe it or not, we also love to drink our mushrooms. Mudwater’s powder contains chaga, reishi, and lion’s mane mushrooms in addition to other super foods like cacao, turmeric, and black tea. This is our favorite morning drink, and with a bit of frothed oat milk, it tastes like a cross between hot chocolate, coffee, and chai.

This list of my personal top eight super foods is not exhaustive–there are certainly more foods that we consider super. Please share your own ideas below!

To your health,

P.S. When it comes to super foods, we should not neglect our pets! Most “kibble” style dog food really isn’t healthful for dogs. Dogs should be eating a raw food diet with meat, fruit, and vegetables. BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) was recommended by both our breeders and our veterinarian, and both of our dogs have enjoyed exceptionally good health.  We get so many compliments on how their shiny coats and trim physiques, and we think it’s at least in part because of their healthful, raw food diet. P.P.S. Are you wondering if there’s a place for vitamins or supplements in your diet? Here is our take.

P.P.P.S. One item that is maybe a super food–if you drink the right kind and in moderation–is wine.

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I didn’t think that by September we would still be dealing with Covid-19 and be somewhat quarantined, but here we are. Because of my age (69) and my husband’s age (66), we have been mostly only leaving home to take our daily walks.

There’s so much we can’t control right now, but I have been focusing on keeping my immune system strong. Hopefully, this will decrease my chance of becoming infected with the coronavirus, and if I do get sick, perhaps I’ll recover more quickly.

If you’d like to do the same, and especially if your kids are physically returning to school, the following strategies will help keep immune systems in top shape. (Maia shared seven more tips here for making schools safer.)

#1. Eat All the Greens

You’re probably sick of hearing me talk about green veggies, but hear me out one more time. Greens actually directly influence your immune system.

You may have heard that getting your gut bacteria healthy is one of the most important things we can do for health and immunity. Well, in addition to strengthening the blood and respiratory system, greens also promote healthy intestinal flora.

Smoothies, green juices, salads, sandwiches, and even many snacks are  great ways to add greens into your family’s diet. Some of my grandchildren’s favorites include:

• Romaine lettuce spears drizzled with olive oil (we use Olea True for a double immunity boost), fresh lemon squeeze, and a little sea salt or grated parm.
• Kale chips with a variety of seasoning and spices.
• Green cabbage is great in the form of sauerkraut, which several of my grandchildren love, and which has the added benefit of probiotics.
• Yogurt or keifer fruit smoothies with mild greens (such as romaine and/or spinach).

A Word of Caution on Spinach

Spinach, swiss chard, and beet greens are best eaten in moderation because they contain oxalic acid, which depletes calcium from bones and teeth. The best way to avoid too much of these (probably not a problem for most parents!) is to simply feed your child a variety of greens. If you find your child loves spinach (as one of my grandchildren does), you can cook it with something rich like tofu, seeds, nuts, beans, butter, or oil. This will help balance the effect of the oxalic acid. If you use spinach in a smoothie, try to throw in some nuts or seeds.

One great way to get kids interested in eating greens is to allow them to grow them. If you don’t have a garden, there are many greens you can grow in small planters. Herbs are easy to grow in containers and are full of antioxidants and you can chop them finely and add to children’s food.

I find that if I buy herbs, they often rot in the fridge before I use them. Instead, I have a small kitchen herb garden with parsley, basil, thyme, cilantro, and rosemary and I just clip a few for added greens if I have nothing else in the fridge. Children don’t seem to mind parsley, thyme, or basil if I add only a small amount to their meals.

#2. Add Alkaline-Promoting Foods to Your Diet

Your body needs both acid-forming and alkaline-forming foods to function optimally. It’s overwhelming to try to figure out ratios and which foods are more acid forming and which are alkaline forming, and there are entire books written on this subject!

Unfortunately, you can’t really intuit if a food is acidic or alkaline—it has nothing to do with the actual pH of the food. (Citrus fruits, for instance, are acidic in nature, but citric acid actually has an alkalizing effect to the body.)

Here are a few simple tipes to make your family’s diet more alkaline:

1. Fruits and vegetables are the most alkaline-forming foods. So, if your child is eating acid-forming foods like protein (especially animal protein), starch (especially wheat and other refined grains), or sweets, be sure to include some alkaline foods for balance.
2. Nuts tend to be acidic. Almonds are the one exception, which is why many people consider them to be the healthiest nut.
3. Grains are mostly acidic, with a few exceptions. Buckwheat, quinoa, and millet are alkaline, so you can rotate these into your child’s diet. Need recipe inspiration? My grandkids love these buckwheat pancakes, and my friend Marybeth kindly shared an amazing millet burger recipe here.
4. Sugar of almost all kinds is acidic. Some experts say that raw honey is alkaline forming, so you might explore using this instead of maple syrup.

The real trick here isn’t to worry about serving acidic foods, but rather to balance them with alkaline foods. For example, if you’re serving crackers and cheese for a snack, you might include include sliced cucumber. If breakfast is cereal with milk (note: plant milk is less acidic than animal milk, and raw is less acidic than pasteurized), you can slice a banana or strawberry on top or toss in a handful of raisins. Pasta can we topped with  finely chopped fresh basil or parsley. A grilled cheese with tomatoes is a great combo.

If your kid refuses anything green, just give them some sliced fruit to go with their chicken nuggets! Or, you could try the weird but delicious snack my grandma used to serve: sliced green pepper with peanut butter, chilled in the fridge. You get the idea!

#3. Eat With the Seasons

When I was trained in Macrobiotic nutrition, I learned the importance of eating seasonal foods. Doing so supports a healthy immune system in several ways, including the fact that in-season produce packs more nutrition than produce that is left to ripen on a truck.

Perhaps most importantly, the freshest fruits and vegetables taste better, so kids are more likely to eat them. A visit to your local farmer’s market will reveal what’s currently in season in your area, but here are a few quick examples from the Northeast, where I live:

• Asparagus taste the best here in the spring, when it’s in season.
• I only eat fresh strawberries at the end of May when they are growing here in PA. (Note: Frozen berries are a great because they are frozen at the height of ripeness–we eat these all winter!)
• Kale is the best in the fall and winter when it gets cooler.
• Zuchini and summer squash in the summer is a great way to try an alkaline pasta dish. (Of course some kids will protest but there’s also zucchini pancakes and zucchini “crab” cakes.)

#4. Sleep More

We all know how important a good night’s sleep is for our immune system. You also probably know that screens can disrupt sleep. Even watching TV can suppress the release of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. It is best to avoid screens of all kinds at least 30 minutes before bedtime, but this can be hard for kids who like to read before bed on tablets. The Kindle Oasis is the (expensive!) model with blue-light blocking capabilities.

Another tip for better sleep: Kids should avoid caffeine (even chocolate!) in the afternoon or evening. Maia’s son Wolfie loves kombucha, which is made with black tea, so she avoids letting him drink this before bed.

Finally, even older children benefit from a mellow bedtime routine to help them wind down. And you can still read to your older kids before bed, a habit that I like to think is responsible for both of my grown children loving to read so much.

#5. Peaceful Meals

I think how you eat can be just as important as what you eat. Positive states of mind are alkaline forming, and feeling angry or stressed creates acidity in the body.

Having peaceful family meals right now is certainly a daunting task, but simply avoiding stressful topics during dinner can help.

When I was a child, we started every meal with a prayer. I didn’t keep that practice in my own family, but I now realize that it was a great habit for health!

If you don’t want to lead your family in a formal “grace,” perhaps just create a ritual before family meals that promotes peacefully. How about simply holding hands and expressing gratitude for the food and those who prepared it?

#6. Movement & Sunshine

Children’s bedtimes are so much easier when they get fresh air and exercise during the day. If you don’t believe me, try it. They will fall asleep easier and sleep more soundly, I promise. (Lots of daytime movement will also make kinds hungrier, and a good appetite is crucial for getting children to eat more veggies.)

My years as a Waldorf teacher taught me that kids should get outside every day regardless of the weather. All you need is sunscreen, sun hats, and rain gear, winter hats, a warm coat, and mittens to enjoy whatever the day brings.

I admit that it’s so hot here in Pennsylvania in the summer that it’s hard to get outside daily. My solution is a long walk in the very early morning, or later in the evening.

Another benefit of being outside: vitamin D. Many of us our deficient, and the best way to increase your levels of vitamin D is a few minutes of direct sunlight (when you’re not wearing sunblock!).

Kids really thrive in nature, and sometimes we just need to help them notice it. I love to talk about the seasonal changes of plants with my grandkids, and to observe the weather, look for interesting insects, gather objects from nature and make an indoor nature or seasonal table! My grandkids love this book to get excited about nature.

Please share your own ideas for keeping immunity strong as we head into this challenging fall.

To your health,

Suzanne Weaver-Goss, Certified Holistic Health Coach

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Here are 8 things that are helping me stay semi-sane:

1. Home improvement projects. Since we are rarely leaving the apartment these days, I’ve been inspired to improve the inside! I splurged on these organic sheets, have been filling my home with air-purifying plants, and upgraded a few of our rugs to less toxic versions (current fave). I’ve also been doing some organizing and deep cleaning, room by room, and this activity prompted me to publish an All-Purpose Cleaner Guide.
2. Cooking. You probably know by now that I’m not much of a cook. Mostly, I find it pretty tedious, which is probably why I made New York City my home. Sun Basket takes the pressure off a few times a week, and I’ve also gone back to my old favorite cookbook for delicious, easy, vegetarian meals. If you’re cooking more than usual (and I assume you all are!), our Cookware Guide might be of particular interest right now.
   1. Not cooking! Just yesterday, I started Nutrition for Longevity meal delivery and it is so, so delicious! It’s a unique concept of pre-made breakfast and lunch and then ingredients and recipe for a simple dinner. You can use code GIMME20 for $20 off your trial box or $40 off a subscription. So far, I’m into it!For a true detox, you could also try Sakara’s Healthy Body Project , which is a four-week transformative program that includes Sakara meals, at-home fitness classes from The Sculpt Society, health coaching, and $250 in luxe gifts, including a pair of sneakers from APL. You can choose to start May 4, 11, 18, or 25. Code XOMAIA will get you 20% off this or any other Sakara meal program.
3. Squeezing in fitness. The reality is that it is VERY hard for me to muster the discipline to work out for a full hour at home. To compensate, I’m forcing myself do a session every day, but typically it’s just 20 or 30 minutes. I’m working my way through the free trials of all the online programs you guys have recommended. So far, that’s been Tracy Anderson, Melissa Wood Health, and now Yoga Glo. Next, I’ll do The Class, and then I’ll likely stop the trials and sign up for my favorite. Let me know if I’m missing an amazing one! In terms of equipment, I purchased some basic ankle weights on Amazon, and am still using wine bottles for hand weights. I did a little research on yoga mats, and decided on this brand as the best non-toxic one on the market. I love it, and would highly recommend.
   
4. Giving back. A good way to stop feeling sorry for yourself is by an act of generosity. There are so many vulnerable groups right now, and I’ve been particularly worried about the many women I know who are employed as domestic workers and are ineligible for unemployment benefits. I’ve chosen to donate to this incredible organization, and would love to hear from you about how you’re giving back–if you are fortunate enough to be able to do so.
5. Trying to keep us well. I feel more peace of mind when I’m doing basic things to keep us safe. My husband is an essential worker, so we are not entirely quarantined, and doing lots of hand-washing, wearing masks when we go out for groceries, and trying to remember to take our elderberry syrup (it’s back in stock, you guys!). Here’s a list of natural substances that kill coronavirus.
6. Getting outside. I know many of you have nice big yards, but my fellow apartment dwellers must know my pain! Even moments on our roof, watering our little carrot garden, brighten my mood. We drove about an hour outside of the city earlier in this week for a 3-mile hike and I’m determined to make that a weekly activity.
7. Trying new beauty products or treatments. Wellll, the truth is, I’m not exactly making myself more beautiful during this time. You might argue the opposite, in fact. The new habits I’ve taken on during quarantine include not shaving my armpits (something I’ve always wanted to do–it must be the Vermonter in me!) and giving no-poo another shot. Picking at my face and chewing my cuticles have become my number 1 and number 2 hobbies. One thing I have done is add this raved-about product to my simple skincare routine. I’ve also thought about dying my hair, and started looking into safer options for that. My initial research lead me to conclude that Garnier’s Olia line is perhaps the safest, although still far from truly Good Stuff.

Will you reply to this email and let me know how you’re staying sane through this? I don’t always have time to reply, but I do read every single message!

Stay sane,

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I set out to perfect the perfect recipe at home, and what follows is my version.

You can make this drink this with or without caffeine, and either way reap the health benefits, all without any dairy.

Health Benefits of Tumeric Latte:

Curcumin, the active component in turmeric, has strong antioxidant properties, and studies show it provides a benefit to patients with the following conditions, among many others:

• Metabolic syndrome
• Colon cancer
• Degenerative brain disease
• Heart disease
• Arthritis

Studies show that curcumin’s causes an anti-inflammatory reaction that’s as effective as that caused by popular drugs, and without side effects.

Curcumin is poorly absorbed, but consuming it with piperine, a natural substance found in black pepper, enhances its absorbtion by 2,000 percent!

Cinnamon reduces levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides.

Hemp seeds are rich in a number of vital nutrients, such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron and zinc.

Tumeric Latte Ingredients:

• 2 cups almond milk
• shot of espresso or concentrated coffee (optional)
• 1 tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• Pinch of black pepper (helps with turmeric absorption, as mentioned above)
• Honey (optional)
• Hemp seeds (optional)

Instructions:

• Heat almond milk in a pan while stirring. If you want, add a shot of espresso or concentrated coffee to the warm almond milk.
• Stir in turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, and black pepper and whisk to combine. You can also add a few teaspoons of honey. Take your milk frother and froth for a couple minutes until you reach your desired froth level.
• Garnish with cinnamon and hemp seeds.

Let us know in the comments if you tried this recipe or if you have your own favorite recipe variation.

To your health,

P.S. If you’d like more specific nutritional help, you can always contact me about setting up a complimentary health coaching call.

Shop This Story

Milk Frother

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Almond Milk

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Coffee

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Turmeric Powder

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Cinnamon Powder

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Ground Ginger

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Black Pepper

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Honey

Hemp Seeds

Buy now from Thrive Market

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Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer (AKA “Nana”)

Happy New Year! If you’re feeling a little sluggish and weighed down from the festive season, I’m right there with you! But I don’t believe that you need to go drastic after indulging during the holidays. A simple cleanse is enough to reset your body and get back to normal.

As always, I’m more interested in what you can add IN to your diet rather than what you might want to eliminate. Here are three things I’m adding into these first days of 2020.

1) Greens, greens, and more greens.

Leafy greens contain several crucial nutrients, like pyridoxine, folic acid, niacin, riboflavin, and thiamin. This time of year kale tops our list, since it even grows in the snow. Here are some wonderful ways to use kale.

2. Whole grains like quinoa or millet.

Quinoa contains almost twice as much fiber as most other grains, and fiber relieves constipation, lowers cholesterol and glucose levels, and aids weight loss. According to Donna Gates, author of The Body Ecology Diet, millet doesn’t feed pathogenic yeast like candida, and it acts as a prebiotic to promote important microflora in our inner ecosystems, provides serotonin to calm and soothe moods, and helps hydrate the colon. We love this millet burger recipe.

3. Morning liver tonic of warm water, lemon juice, and a touch of cayenne and turmeric.

Lemon is alkaline (good), tumeric is a powerful liver cleanser, and cayenne helps speed up metabolism. In general, drinking plenty of spring water (un-chlorinated, un-fluoridated) is key to healthy digestion. Here is some help with choosing a good filter.

BONUS: Take five minutes each day to do nothing but sit and breathe deeply. Good, deep breathing is key to a healthy immune and digestive system

To your health,

P.S. If you’d like more specific nutritional help, you can always contact me about setting up a complimentary health coaching call.

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The 2019 Gimme the Good Stuff gift guide is in the works, but first can we talk about the other holiday? The one in November that we all celebrate?

Here are some of the ways you can make this year’s Thanksgiving healthier and saner:

1) Two of the best sides: There are two recipes that we’ve been making since I was born, and each is healthful and super yummy. We shared my dad’s top-secret cranberry sauce recipe and my mom’s favorite simple maple yam recipe on our blog.

2) The healthiest, easiest main: Thrive Market will delivery an organic oven roasted turkey to your door–or a bunch of other organic meat options, like ham, ribeye, or scallops–as part of their Build Your Own Holiday box program. And Butcher Box is giving away free turkeys with your first order.

3) A hangover-free buzz: The holidays are a great time to enjoy some healthy, organic wine. I wrote about what to look for in wine in this post, and for the holidays I ordered this Thanksgiving Collection from Dry Farm Wines. The collection is specifically selected to pair well with Thanksgiving foods, and, like all of Dry Farm’s curated wines, every bottles is lab-tested to be sugar-free, carb-free, low-sulfites (and never added sulfites), organic or biodynamically grown, hand-harvested, made in small batches, and free of all additives. You have to order by November 10th (that’s Sunday!) to make sure you have this wine by Thanksgiving.

4) Safer cookware. A few of my favorite stainless steel items are listed below, or you could shop Xtrema’s 20% off Thanksgiving sale for my favorite “less-stick” cookware.

Stay sane,

Thanksgiving Essentials in Our Store:

Stainless Steel Dutch Oven

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Reusable Silicone Bags

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Toxin-Free Coffee

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Frankfurt Pour-over Coffee Brewer

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Rose Hand Soap

Stock your guest rooms with some luxury that’s still toxin-free!

Toxin-Free Roasting Pan

Whatever you’re roasting, make sure it’s in a stainless steel pan.

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Overall Best Healthy Cereal

Food for Life Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Crunchy Cereal packs the most nutritional bang per spoonful. (Read more about this brand under Good Stuff below.)

Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer (AKA “Nana”)

As a child of the 50’s, I ate cold cereal for breakfast on most mornings. We could help ourselves and my mom was free to do other chores.

My father thought boxed cereal was great because as a child of the Depression era, he had to eat porridge or oatmeal every day. He often commented how fortunate we were to have tasty cereal!

When we ran out of cold cereal, we took white bread, sprinkled sugar on it, and poured milk over it. (It’s amazing we all survived, although I did seriously clean up my diet in my twenties).

A Short History of Sugary Boxed Cereal

Sugar was introduced to cold cereal in the 1950’s, and pretty soon every brand was named “Sugar This” and “Sugar That.”

Sugar Smacks had the distinction of having the most sugar by weight of any cereal on the market when it debuted in the early 1950s. Fifty-six percent of the cereal was sugar (this shows you how far things have come!). The Eisenhower Era also gave us iconic cereals like Frosted Flakes, Cocoa Puffs, and Alpha-Bits.

When I had my children in the 1980’s, I had just rejected eating any sugar (the Sugar Blues book was popular back then) so I switched breakfast cereal to healthy porridge. Rice, millet, oats, and other whole grains were cooked into a hot whole grain breakfast with soy milk.

My son would visit his cousins and ask for something “cold and crunchy with cow’s milk.” There were a few cereal brands that didn’t have added sugar but they were hard to find–Erewhon’s Crispy Brown Rice, Oatios, and Kellogg’s Nutri Grain cereal were our three favorites, but the they all have since been discontinued. Today, sugar has crept back into cold cereals even the organic, “healthy” ones.

Healthiest Granola

Butterfly Bakery of Vermont Granola

This organic granola from Butterfly Bakery is handmade in Vermont, and sweetened with just pure maple syrup. It packs other nutritional powerhouses, too, like quinoa and coconut oil.

$11.99 — or subscribe and save up to 5%Buy Now

Healthy Cereal Guide

We set out to find the healthiest cold cereals to write this guide, because we know our readers want the convenience without compromising their health.

Ultimately, when you go for convenience, you are often compromising your health, but I think the key is to keep those compromises to a minimum and make sure that at least 80% of your food fresh, whole, and organic.

Healthiest O Cereal

Cascadian Farms Purely O’s

With just three ingredients, and only one gram of sugar, this is our favorite brand of O.

A Problem with “Healthy” Cereal: Extruded Grains

Our Healthy Baby Puffs Guide offers details on what’s wrong with pretty much all boxed cold cereals, which is the process of extrusion. The bottom line is this: extrusion–mixing grains with water and processing that paste through a special device (plus high heat) to produce a desired shape–compromises the integrity of the grains’ nutrients, breaks the bonds of fatty acids, inactivates enzymes, and increases the glycemic index of the food.

This is one reason that really no cold cereal can be considered truly Good Stuff when compared to, say, a bowl of oatmeal.

Healthiest Gluten-Free Cereal

Arrowhead Mills Organic Maple Buckwheat Flakes have five grams of sugar, but still have a short list of ingredients.

Buy from Thrive Market

How to Find Healthy Cereal

Just like everything else, label-reading is important when shopping for healthy cereal. When categorizing popular brands for this guide, we considered:

• Number of grams of sugar per serving. We wanted less than five.
• Type of sugar used. We gave preference to brands that use healthier sugars like palm or date.
• Type of fat. We don’t like canola oil or soybean oil.
• The number of ingredients. Less is usually better, although there are some exceptions to this.
• Quality of ingredients. We dinged brands for fillers like “modified corn starch,” and gave preference to brands that contain all or mostly organic ingredients.

Of course, some of this can be subjective; I know that some people aren’t comfortable with any extruded grains at all. This guide is obviously not for them.

Healthiest Crispy Rice Cereal

Barbara’s Brown Rice Crips

Just one gram of sugar per serving.

Is There Arsenic in Healthy Cereal?

You’ve probably heard that rice, and particularly brown rice, is often contaminated with arsenic. This is unfortunately true, and so we gave extra points to those cereals that don’t contain rice.

Of course, many of our Good and Okay cereals do contain rice, so just consider eating these in moderation, especially if there is a lot of rice in your diet otherwise.

Best Healthy Cereal for Paleo Diets

Thrive Market Brand Coconut Flakes are a favorite among paleolites.

Buy from Thrive Market

The Good Stuff

The Okay Stuff

The Bad Stuff

The Sneaky Stuff

The Granola Problem

Above, you’ll see one brand of truly healthful granola, listed as Good Stuff. Unfortunately, most brands of granola you find in health food stores contain a lot of either cane sugar or cane syrup. This includes:

• Cascadian Farm Organic Granola
• HempYeah! Granola
• One Degree Granola
• Back to Nature Granola
• Kind Granola (also contains canola oil)

To your health,

P.S. You’ll notice in this post that I’ve linked a variety of a lot of these cereals to be purchased at Thrive Market. If you aren’t familiar with Thrive, I encourage you to give it a try. It’s a Costco-meets-Whole Foods-meets-Amazon model, with hard-to-find healthful foods delivered–for free–at steeply discounted prices.

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1. Beech-Nut organic varieties / 2. Happy Baby / 3. Sprout / 4. Plum Organics / 5. Ella’s Kitchen / 6. Once Upon a Farm / 7. Peter Rabbit Organics / 8. Serenity Kids / 9. White Leaf Provisions

Soon after Felix turned one, he finally started enjoying foods other than breast milk.

Unfortunately, by this point I was pretty burned out from preparing and then throwing away homemade pureed fruits and veggies that he refused to eat. With Wolfie I was way chiller and basically did baby-led weaning.

But back to 2010, when I discovered squeezy fruit/veggie baby food pouches sold everywhere.

Baby food pouches are much easier to handle than jars of food, and both my kids still enjoy them in packed lunches on occasion. In addition, they are probably more nutritious than jarred foods (more on this below).

My Favorite Baby Food Pouches

I’m partial to the 100% organic White Leaf Provisions baby food pouches because they are biodynamic. You’ll read more about this brand below, under “The Good Stuff.”

$99.95 — or subscribe and save up to 5%Buy Now

A lot of you have asked about the recent studies on heavy metals in baby foods. Here’s the bottom line, in my opinion: If you avoid rice-based baby food and anything with fruit juice concentrate, you’ll eliminate most of the risk. Here’s a 2021 update.

The Problem with Baby Food Pouches

My only real issue with baby food pouches is that they are made of plastic.

All of the brands mentioned below use the same basic materials for their pouches, which is a combination of BPA-free polypropylene (this is the part that touches the food, and what the spout is made of) and foil.

Fortunately, polypropylene seems to be the safest type of plastic, and is probably non-toxic, but from an environmental perspective, it’s not ideal

Glass Jars Versus Plastic Baby Food Pouches

Safety & Nutrition

1. According to the companies that use them, plastic pouches “better protect flavor and nutrients, and require lower, shorter heat times, one of the effects of which means we can naturally preserve…products without adding additives and preservatives.”
2. Although pouches are free of BPA, substitutes for the chemical may be toxic as well.
3. While glass is always the safest material, the lids of jarred food may contain BPA.

Environment

1. Pouches are roughly ten times lighter than a classic glass jar, so they require that much less energy to produce and ship.
2. Pouches cannot be recycled, but they use more than 75 percent less materials than traditional baby food containers.
3. The spouts on the pouches are #2 plastic, which is recyclable.

The Good Stuff

Beech-Nut Baby Food Pouches

Beech-Nut recently went organic, and I assume this is a result of consumer demand–so, nice job! Beech-Nut makes mixed fruits, veggies, and some that just one ingredient like organic carrots or organic sweet potatoes.

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Happy Baby Food Pouches

Many Happy Baby/Happy Tot blends contain vegetables and grains, including salba (a type of chia seed). The salmon used by Happy Baby is wild Alaskan. Note that some other Happy Baby snacks contain sugar (the yogurt snacks and some of their frozen kids’ meals). Happy Baby food pouches are widely available in grocery stores as well as on Amazon.

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Sprout

Sprout doesn’t use sugar in any of their pouches; and none of Sprouts products contain starchy fillers. I love that their grain blends contain actual whole grains (i.e., cooked quinoa instead of quinoa flour). Sprout also avoids all fruit concentrates. While Sprout offers a range of meat blends, they also have a Plant Protein line for those who prefer only vegan options, with vegetable-based proteins from organic chickpeas, lentils, and beans.

How to Get Some
Sprout pouches are available in many grocery stores, as well as on Amazon.

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Plum Organics Baby Food Pouches

Felix always seemed to prefer the Plum flavors to all other brands, his favorite being the mango and pear. Some of the newer flavors include grains–such as oats and brown rice–or organic meat and dairy.

Water is often the first ingredient in Plum’s pouches, and it’s a little sneaky that the “grains” are actually grain flours (i.e., millet flour, oat flour, etc.) (One other bone I have to pick here: Some of Plum’s other toddler snacks contain sugar.)

How to Get Some
Plum Organics pouches are widely available in grocery stores, as well as on Amazon.

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Ella’s Kitchen Baby Food Pouches

I like that the cardboard outer packaging (when you buy Ella’s in bulk) is 90 percent recycled and 100 percent recyclable. Some newer varieties include grains, yogurt, vegetables, and/or meat–honestly, pureed Vegetable & Lentil Bake in a pouch sounds pretty gross to me, but it’s definitely healthful! I love that even Ella’s cookies and biscuits for older kids are free of sugar.

How to Get Some
Here in New York, I can find Ella’s Organics in my neighborhood grocery store or at Whole Foods. They are also available on Amazon.

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Once Upon a Farm

You’ve probably heard of this one, since it was co-founded by Jennifer Garner. I’m happy to say that Once Upon a Farm is legit Good Stuff!

What makes these blends unique is that they are cold pressed to lock in the nutrients, which means Once Upon a Farm pouches are always refrigerated.

How to Get Some
You can buy Once Upon a Farm pouches in select grocery stores and on Amazon.

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Peter Rabbit Organics Baby Food Pouches

These were Felix’s favorite baby food pouches, and the apple/grape was his favorite flavor. Peter Rabbit never dilutes its purees with water, but some flavors contain juice concentrate in addition to fruit purees.

How to Get Some
You can buy Peter Rabbit Organics pouches in select grocery stores and on Amazon.

 

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Use code GIMME15 for 15% off.

Serenity Kids

This new line of Paleo-inspired baby food. They use organic vegetables and grass-fed and pasture- raised meats. All blends are free of hormones, antibiotics, GMO’s, gluten, fillers, grain, dairy, corn, allergens, eggs, and nuts. I personally don’t think babies need to be eating meat at all but if you disagree, this is probably the best line there is! Use code GIMME15 for 15% off.

Buy now from Serenity Kids

2021 update after the recent news about heavy metals in baby food: Serenity Kids is verified by the Clean Label Project, which has a very thorough and transparent vetting process. They even publish a 165-page document detailing the exact methodology they use for testing and the thresholds used. Dr. Hopkins verified that Clean Label Project sends all samples off to third party lab sites for testing.

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White Leaf Provisions

White Leaf Provisions is my favorite line of baby food pouches–and the only brand we’ve chosen to carry in our online store. The reason?

White Leaf baby food pouches are even better than organic (although it IS organic), because they’re also Biodynamic. Biodynamic farms are built to integrate every living organism within the system, and aspires to transform and maximize the health and vitality of the farm’s every aspect. A biodynamic farm aims to produce everything on the premises, including seeds, fertilizers, natural control agents for pests and even feed for livestock.

Choose from a range of fruit and veggie blends–all of which are free of concentrates and fillers.

$99.95 — or subscribe and save up to 5%Buy Now

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The Bad Stuff: Less Healthy

The Sneaky Stuff

Baby-Led Weaning

Proponents of baby-led weaning argue that babies should skip purees all together and go straight to “real” food as soon as they are ready to begin eating solids. There are tons of resources on baby-led weaning, and one good place to start is here.

Read our review of
frozen baby food.

Read our review of
jarred baby food.

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Sakara’s take on a falafel is one of my favorite lunches.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably gotten sick of my stories about my Sakara meals. (Sakara is a plant-based, organic meal-delivery service). They are so delicious and obviously very healthful, that I find myself wanting to snap a picture of every one.

Sakara Versus the Others

Of course, Sakara isn’t the only organic meal delivery program game in town. I haven’t tried any of these other ones, but if you have, please comment below.

• Hungryroot
• Provenance Meals
• Urban Remedy
• Factor 75

Weekly Easy Cleanse: My Version

Normally, I am not a big “cleanse” person, simply because I don’t have the necessary resolve to, like, drink nothing but lemon water with cayenne for more than maybe half a day, max.

Still, I’ve recently decided to structure my weeks so that they always start with a short, easy cleanse. This means I don’t feel bad about the inevitable weekend indulgences because I’ve spent three days loading myself up with tons of greens, healthy fats, and fiber, and avoiding animal foods, gluten, or alcohol.

I’ve also added intermittent fasting to my routine. The goal is to go 16 hours without eating, but at a minimum I can make it 12 hours each day–I stop eating by 7:00 p.m. and don’t eat again until 7:00 a.m. I’ve found that I can make it to 9:00 a.m. fairly easily (14 hours), but I haven’t quite gotten to 16 hours yet!

Weekly Easy Cleanse: Your Version

My mom likes to top her eggs with tons of greens and serve them with a side of red sour kraut.

Obviously, doing this via Sakara makes it a REALLY easy cleanse because I just have to open up my fridge, but there’s no reason you can’t adopt the same guidelines and simply prepare the meals yourself.

In fact, you don’t even have to do the same easy cleanse I do–perhaps for you, “cleansing” means just giving up red meat for the beginning of the week, or sugar, or starting each day by drinking lemon water instead of a latte.

Or maybe you don’t eliminate anything, but rather focus on adding certain foods IN for the beginning of every week. You could vow to eat green veggies with every meal–spinach in your omelette, a hearty salad for lunch, and a side of broccoli with dinner.

The point is to be intentional about a change in your food intake that you know will make you feel better.

Sakara’s Take on Bibimbap

What I Eat Monday Through Wednesday: Easy Cleanse

As much as I love Sakara’s delivered breakfasts, I am making my own for the moment because of the cost of having all three meals delivered. 

The quick cheat to eating like you’re on Sakara even if you’re not is that you don’t eat any wheat, dairy, meat (including fish), sugar, or processed oils.

1) Easy Cleanse Breakfast

I start my morning with Sakara’s Beauty Water (these will be included with any Sakara plan you order). Next, I make a a smoothie with their Life Source Powder, or I’ll just make mom my’s Miracle Energy Smoothie. I also have a cup of this green tea.

Easy Cleanse Smoothie Recipe

I’ve tried a bunch of Sakara’s smoothie recipes, but my favorite combo is Life Source Powder mixed with this almond milk, half a banana, this almond butter, and a splash each of Olea True and organic vanilla.

2) Mid-Morning Caffeine

A second cup of green tea.

Sakara’s Clean Boutique offers a range of healthful snacks

3) Easy Cleanse Lunch

Sakara or Provenance. (If you’re not buying Sakara, make yourself any lunch that doesn’t contain wheat, sugar, dairy, vegetable oils, or meat, and don’t forget to load up on good fats and protein like avocado, nuts, and beans.)

4) Easy Cleanse Afternoon Snack

Something from Sakara’s Clean Boutique, or homemade popcorn with ghee, black pepper, and nutritional yeast. Sometimes I’ll also have Sakara’s beauty tea in the afternoon (I like it much better than their detox tea.)

5) Easy Cleanse Happy Hour 

Kombucha mocktail–guava kombucha, lots of fresh lime, and seltzer, poured over ice. I drink this while preparing dinner for my kids (here’s what they eat) and listening to a podcast or watching reality TV on my iPad.

What I Eat Thursday Through Sunday: Wheat, Cheese, and Booze! 

It’s probably important to note that I am not crazy strict with any of this. It’s just not in my nature to be regimented, so some weeks I follow this more closely than others, depending on how I feel and what kind of social plans might crop up.

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Written by Suzanne (AKA “Nana”)

Children seem to move through “food kicks.” They’ll eat a particular food for a while and then a week later they suddenly stop liking it. Or sometimes they’ll hone in on a particular food and will eat only that.

My grandsons Felix and Theo both go through stages where they want only waffles for breakfast, and their parents try to find the healthiest frozen organic waffles on hand for busy mornings.

What’s Wrong With Frozen Organic Waffles?

Unfortunately, even the organic varieties for frozen waffles (by Van’s, Nature’s Path, Earth’s Best, etc.) aren’t really The Good Stuff, because they all contain sugar, in addition to a bunch of other not-so-healthful ingredients, like canola oil, sunflower or soy lecithin, and soybean oil.

Organic frozen waffles are never 100% whole grain, either. And they certainly aren’t made of sprouted flour, which if you’ve read my blog posts you know I love (it actually digests like a vegetable!). More on sprouted flour in a minute.

Don’t Fight It

When Felix visits me, he requests waffles every single morning. He never tires of them! My goal is always to steer away from food battles with kids, and if there is something that they really enjoy, I’ll try to make the healthiest version possible.

Waffles are actually much easier to make than pancakes (the iron does the work for you!), and one way to make really healthful waffles is to use sprouted flour.

Using sprouted flour means your waffles digest as a vegetable.

What’s Amazing About Sprouted Flour

Sprouted flour is obtained by milling seeds of grain (grass) that have germinated into living plants. Because it is made from the entire grain, including the bran, germ, and endosperm, sprouted flour is a nutrient-dense source of nourishment that digests as a vegetable rather than a starch!

If you would like to read more about the health benefits of sprouted flour, I love Janie Quinn’s cookbooks.

(Sprouted flour can sometimes be hard to find, but here’s one that’s on Amazon).

Here’s How to Make Easy, Healthful Waffles

When Felix and I make our waffles, we start with the sprouted flour and then we have whatever fruit is in season with our waffles. Until the spring berries start arriving, we use apples with a little cinnamon.

I use organic eggs and for Felix, who eats dairy, I use plain yogurt and a little melted ghee or butter for the wet ingredients. I have made them with almond milk and coconut oil too and they are just as delicious. (I will provide the full recipe below.)

For toppings, you can just use fresh fruit (sometimes I use frozen blueberries in the winter) and/or you can use a little maple or honey.

I like to pile my waffles with fresh fruit and a little yogurt; Felix prefers his plain with a little maple syrup and his fruit on the side.

Felix loves mixing ingredients, beating the eggs, and adding the liquid to the dry. But, part of the fascination with waffles for kids is the waffle iron and this beautiful waffle that forms from a large spoonful of liquid. Felix loves watching for the green light that signifies his waffle is ready.

When Maia uses this recipe, she doubles it, pops half the waffles in the freezer in these bags, and then has easy frozen organic waffles that are seriously healthful on hand.

Felix’s Sprouted Waffles

I often top my sprouted waffles with plain yogurt, blueberries, peaches, and just a bit of maple syrup.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• ½ cup yogurt (if you are avoiding dairy you can skip this and add water or almond milk)
• 1/2 cup water or more if needed
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted or coconut oil melted
• ¼ cup maple, agave, or honey (I skip this, because Felix likes maple syrup on top, but if you want a sweeter waffle you can add this)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup of sprouted flour
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the yogurt, water, butter, sweetener if you are using it, and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Mix the dry ingredients and add to the wet, mix until blended.
2. Follow the waffle iron instructions for cooking. Adjust the consistency of the batter by adding more water or flour if needed. Serve with fruit and/or maple syrup.

What About Boxed Waffles?

Maia recently discovered this amazing brand of waffle mix. It contains mostly just almond flour (so is gluten-free), as well as coconut sugar and flour. And the waffles it makes are shockingly white and fluffy!

A Note on Waffle Irons

If you want to use a Good-Stuff approved waffle iron, you’ll go for a cast iron one like this. Otherwise, it’ll be a toxic nonstick variety, but I admit that we use the Bad Stuff in this case (this one) simply for the convenience.

Be well,

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That said, if a Dry Farm Wine subscription isn’t in your budget, you can:

P.S. Here’s that link again for the penny bottle from Dry Farm. 

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Written by Maia, President

Growing up, my mom did most of the cooking in our exceedingly health-conscious kitchen.

At Thanksgiving, she delegated a share of the labor–grate this daikon radish, rinse these aduki beans, scrub this large hubbard squash that will serve as our turkey, roll out this cardboard-like pie crust made of sprouted spelt and ghee–but most of the recipes were her own.

One exception, and one of my favorite parts of the meal, was my dad’s cranberry sauce, which he has perfected over the years and now is a standout dish that my own children, the first of whom dubbed my father “Meep,” request often.

My parents do now eat meat, and my mom (Nana) still delegates certain tasks to Meep–brine this pastured organic Amish turkey that I’m too grossed out to touch after all those vegetarian years–during the hectic preparations of the annual Thanksgiving meal we enjoy together.

Even my husband loves Meep’s healthy cranberry sauce, despite the relentless teasing about how my family eats and the fact that he weirdly likes the canned stuff—which you know you shouldn’t eat, right? (Not just because of the high fructose corn syrup but also because of the BPA–and worse–in the can lining.)

Here’s how you can easily enjoy Meep’s cranberry sauce with a few fun variation ideas.

Healthy Cranberry Sauce Ingredients

• 4 cups fresh organic cranberries
• 1 quart organic apple cider
• Optional: Real Vermont maple syrup, chia seeds, and more (as you’ll see below)

Healthy Cranberry Sauce Directions

• Rinse the cranberries and put them into a heavy-bottomed sauce pan.

• Add enough apple cider to almost cover the cranberries (cranberries float so this is something of an estimate).

• Cover and bring to a low boil/simmer. Shortly after they boil, the cranberries will start to split and pop. This is good!

• Continue to simmer until the cranberries are mushy and the cider has reduced and thickened. This can take anywhere from half an hour to an hour and a half, depending on how much cider you used.
• Cover and remove from heat if you want an unsweetened version, which is how Meep prefers his, in fact.

Here is Meep’s cranberry sauce last year, just behind my glass of rose champagne, which has become another happy tradition.

Here is what Meep told me about sweetening the sauce:

There are two ways to properly sweeten your sauce. The first and slower way is to continue adding cider. As it boils down, your sauce will grow sweeter. The second and quicker method is to add small amounts of Vermont maple syrup until you achieve the desired balance between tart and sweet. Never add white or brown sugar!

He adds:
There are all sorts of herbs/spices/fruits that can be added to exotify (nice word, eh?) your sauce. They include: 

• Ginger
• Organic lemon (juice and/or rind and/or zest)
• Nutmeg
• Cayenne if you’re a hottie! (Careful…Don’t over-do it.)
• Organic orange (juice and/or rind and/or zest)

Okay, I’m feeling generous, so I’ll let him take it away here with more ideas/political rantings…

This basic recipe provides a pretty thick sauce when cooked down enough, but some folks like their cranberry sauce to really stand at attention on the plate (weirdos). If that’s your thing, try adding a tablespoon or two of chia seeds. Just stir them in as you are removing your concoction from the heat.

Cover and let them sit for a few minutes…you’ll have cranberry “frog eggs” in no time…and this is of course super good for you.

Unless you are a member of congress, this recipe is difficult to screw up. (Don’t worry… each congressperson gets his/her own private Monsanto lobbyist to cook their Thanksgiving meal for them…and those folks are really good at cooking stuff up!)

On that note, happy Thanksgiving from us weirdos at Gimme the Good Stuff!

Stay sane,

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Thanksgiving is one of my favorites holidays.

What better way to spend a day than cooking and eating with loved ones?

Full disclosure: I always buy one bottle of expensive French champagne, which makes the day all the more enjoyable!

For many years, our Thanksgiving meals did not include turkey. My vegetarian phase during the ‘80s and ‘90s inspired us to create imaginative and (usually) delicious “turkeys” crafted from tofu, seitan, or sometimes a hubbard squash!

In recent years I’ve purchased organic, pastured turkeys from our Amish friends. While all those years of vegetarianism left me with only rudimentary meat-cooking skills, turkey is pretty simple to prepare. I always make stuffing using sprouted bread and lots of onions and celery. Because Maia and I don’t eat much turkey, I make sure to have lots of vegetables—usually brussel sprouts, salad, green beans, and sweet potatoes or yams.

The highlight of this year’s meal for me was the yams, so I’ll provide my preparation below.

Maple Yams

Yams and sweet potatoes are among my favorite vegetables. They provide plenty of sweet taste all on their own, but for a special dish on a holiday I make them even sweeter and richer. This recipe is my healthier adaptation of the traditional Pennsylvania Dutch Thanksgiving dish of candied sweet potatoes–a classic where I grew up in Lancaster, PA.

Ingredients

• 6 medium sweet potatoes
• pinch of sea salt
• About ¼ cup of butter or your choice of fat (olive oil or coconut oil or whatever you enjoy)
• About ¼ cup of maple syrup or maple sugar or to taste (the classic Amish recipe calls for ¾ a cup of brown sugar!)

Directions

• Cook the whole sweet potatoes by covering with water and simmering at a medium temperature.
• Once cool enough to touch, remove the peels and cut the potatoes in half lengthwise.
• Heat the butter or oil in a skillet or frying pan. Add maple syrup and stir. Add ½ to ¾ cups of water and bring to a boil.
• Lay sweet potato halves in syrup and cook slowly, using a metal spatula to turn halves so both sides brown evenly.

Makes 6 servings

Be well,

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Written by Maia, Founder & President

All medical experts emphasize that humans, including pregnant and lactating women, are best able to obtain our essential nutrients through our diets.

So before even thinking about which prenatal vitamins are the best, women should familiarize themselves with which foods provide the highest levels of the most essential pregnancy nutrients.

I’ve been working on our Healthy Prenatal Vitamin Guide for months, with the help of a brilliant scientist (not my husband, although he’s also a brilliant scientist!).

When said scientist, Michael, submitted a 40-page document of his research and opinions on all prenatal nutrients as well as which vitamin brands are the best, I quickly realized I’d have to break this post into multiple parts.

So consider the primer that follows an introduction to what nutrients are most important during pregnancy. If you’d like to simply trust Michael and me (assuming that you eat a well-rounded diet), you can ignore this post and look for our recommended brands in the Healthy Prenatal Vitamin Guide that will be published next week!

The 7 Most Important Nutrients During Pregnancy

There is overwhelming consensus from the medical community that deficiencies during pregnancy of a specific handful of nutrients are linked with various health complications.

Those who may become pregnant should ensure that they are getting adequate levels of folate, iron, calcium, and vitamin D.

In addition, there is emerging data to support a growing list of other nutrients that are also particularly important during gestation and should therefore be taken into account; these include choline, omega-3 fatty acids, and probably vitamin A.

The seven sections below will look at each of these nutrients in more detail.

(You will of course find plenty of data to support the importance of ALL essential nutrients during pregnancy. That said, our goal when researching for the Healthy Prenatal Vitamin Guide was to identify the most important items to be added in supplement form to ensure proper fetal development.)

#1: Folate

Folate is a type of B vitamin that aids in the production, repair, and functioning of the body’s red blood cells and DNA. It’s also essential for preventing certain types of anemia.

Folate is a vital nutrient during pregnancy in order to prevent birth defects of the brain, spine, and spinal cord. These defects–otherwise known as neural tube defects (NTDs)–threaten the neural tube of the embryo, from which your baby’s spine and brain develop.

One study showed that women who took folic acid for at least a year before getting pregnant cut their chances of delivering early by more than 50 percent.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, NTDs affect about 3,000 pregnancies each year in the United States. Because NTDs occur at such an early stage of fetal development, many women don’t even know they’re pregnant yet by the time the defects have already taken place—which is why you should start thinking about folate as soon as you are ready to try to conceive!

How much folate do you need when pregnant?

Women should start taking 400 micrograms of folate every day for at least a month before they become pregnant, and 600 micrograms every day during pregnancy.

Folate vs. Folic Acid

Folate is naturally found in foods and folic acid is synthetic and added into foods or vitamins. Our bodies need folate more than folic acid because your body naturally absorbs more of the synthetic folic acid than it does of the natural folate found in foods. You’ll learn more about this in our Safe Prenatal Vitamin Guide, but the bottom line that the best supplement will have food-derived folate, rather than folic acid.

What are the best dietary sources of folate?

Legumes, asparagus, eggs, leafy greens, beets, citrus fruits, brussels sprouts, broccoli, nuts and seeds, beef liver, wheat germ, bananas, avocado, fortified grains.

Can pregnant women get sufficient folate via their diets?

In addition to eating a diet full of folate-rich foods, the best way to guarantee you’re getting enough folate during pregnancy is to also take a prenatal vitamin containing around 400 micrograms of folate. (You’ll learn which ones we like best in the upcoming Prenatal Vitamin Guide, but this is my favorite.)

Can too much folate be toxic?

Despite several websites warning us about the risks of excessive folate intake, there’s actually very little risk of toxicity effects from folate, especially folate that’s derived from food.

#2: Calcium

During pregnancy, your growing baby needs calcium for bone density and healthy teeth. The human body also depends on calcium to support muscle movement and nerve-brain interaction.

How much calcium do you need when pregnant?

Pregnant women should aim for around 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day, which is the equivalent of three eight-ounce glasses of milk.

What are the best dietary sources of calcium?

While dairy products are some of the best known carriers of calcium, there are certainly others to consider. Foods like kale, salmon, dried figs, sardines, orange juice, and bok choy are additional options to include in a calcium-rich diet.

Can pregnant women get sufficient calcium via their diets?

During pregnancy, the body becomes even better at absorbing calcium. Because of this, additional supplementations often aren’t necessary, although many doctors will recommend calcium supplements for women who consume few or no dairy products.

Can too much calcium be toxic?

Too much calcium during pregnancy may be bad for both you and your baby. The Food and Nutrition Board recommends a calcium tolerance upper intake level of 2,500 milligrams for pregnant women above the age of 19.

#3: Iron

Iron distributes oxygen from your lungs to the rest of the body via the bloodstream.

There are two forms of dietary iron. Heme iron (which comes from meat and seafood) and non-heme iron (which comes from plant-based sources).Around 50 percent of pregnant women don’t get enough iron while pregnant, and low iron levels can result in low birthweight or premature babies.

How much iron do you need when pregnant?

When pregnant, you need about twice the amount of iron as you did before you were expecting in order to make extra blood for both you and your baby.Pregnant women should get around 27 milligrams of iron per day.

What are the best dietary sources of iron?

Dried beans, dried fruits, eggs (especially egg yolks), iron-fortified cereals, liver, lean red meat (especially beef), dark red meat, oysters, poultry, salmon, tuna, and whole grains.

Can pregnant women get sufficient iron via their diets?

Getting enough iron from food when you’re pregnant can be difficult, especially if you are a vegetarian. Iron supplements can help ensure you get enough iron every day, and you’ll learn more about the best supplements in our upcoming Prenatal Vitamin Guide.

Can too much iron be toxic?

Although accidental iron overdose is a significant concern for young children, it is not much of a risk for adults. It is much more likely that you’ll struggle with anemia during your pregnancy than with excessive iron intake, so look for around 18 milligrams of iron in your supplement.

#4: Vitamin D

Vitamin D works in conjunction with calcium to support healthy bones, cell division, metabolism, and immune function for a growing baby.

The best way to get vitamin D is by exposing your skin to sunlight. How much vitamin D your skin produces produced when exposed to sunlight depends on the where you live, the color of your skin, and how much bare skin is exposed.

How much vitamin D do you need when pregnant?

Pregnant women are recommended an average 600 International Units (IU) of vitamin D intake per day.

What are the best dietary sources of vitamin D?

Fish (tuna, mackerel, sardines, and salmon), orange juice, beef liver, egg yolks, spinach, white beans, kale, and okra, and fortified milk are great sources of vitamin D. Additionally, because vitamin D and calcium work in conjunction, eating foods that are rich in calcium (such as dairy) will also support better absorption of vitamin D.

Can pregnant women get sufficient vitamin D via their diets?

There is well-published concern that most of us suffer from vitamin D deficiencies, particularly those of us in northern latitudes. One glass of fortified milk will only contain somewhere between 50 and 100 IU.

Can too much vitamin D be toxic?

Vitamin D toxicity is extremely rare, and almost always occurs from high amounts of supplements. It is almost impossible to get too much vitamin D from sunlight or food.

Nutrient #5: Choline

This lesser-known vitamin supports healthy brain and spinal cord development. Gestational supplementation of choline has been linked with decreased risk of neural tube closure pathology. In one study, supplementation of more than two times the recommended daily intake during the third trimester of pregnancy was associated with improved cognitive function in babies tested up to thirteen months of age.

How much choline do you need when pregnant?

Pregnant woman need around 450 milligrams a day of choline.

What are the best dietary sources of choline?

Beef and chicken liver, fish (scallop, salmon, cod, and shrimp), egg yolks, wheat germ, peanut butter, brussels sprouts, and broccoli.

Can pregnant women get sufficient choline via their diets?

Choline has recently come under the spotlight because a study published in 2015 found that some 90 percent of Americans are deficient in choline and as few as six percent of adults over age nineteen are meeting recommended guidelines for choline.

Combine this with the fact that as recently as 2016 the vast majority of top-selling prenatals did not contain any (or only contained extremely low) amounts of choline, and you can understand why in 2017 the AMA voted in favor of recommending that all prenatal supplements should contain choline.

Can too much choline be toxic?

The upper limit of choline intake is 3,500 milligrams per day. Excessive intake over time can lead to heart disease or liver damage, but it would be hard to get this much from diet alone.

Nutrient #6: Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega fatty acids are crucial for the nervous system development of a fetus, and are important components of the phospholipids that form cell membranes of every cell in the human body. Unfortunately, omega-3 deficiency can lead to a variety of complications, most notably preeclampsia and preterm labor.

Importantly, omega-3 (ALA, EPA, and DHA) and omega-6 fatty acids cannot be synthesized by the body. They are therefore considered “essential nutrients,” because they must ultimately be consumed as part of our diet.

This also means that any and all omega-3 and -6 fatty acids present in the developing fetus must be transferred via the placenta from the mother, which is why it’s crucial that the mother’s diet contains sufficient levels for both herself and her developing baby.

DHA is particularly important because of its extremely high concentration in the brain and retinal cells, comprising 97 percent and 93 percent of the Omega-3 fatty acids in each of these organs, respectively.

How much omega-3 do you need when pregnant?

According to the NIH fact sheet, the adequate intake for total omega-3 fatty acids is 1.4 grams (1,400 mg) for pregnant women.

Both the Environmental Protection Agency and The ACOG recommend that pregnant women consume twelve ounces (340 grams) of seafood per week from low-mercury species.

What are the best dietary sources of omega-3s?

Seafood (shrimp, salmon, trout, tuna, scallops, herring, and sardines), nuts and seeds (flax seed, chia seeds, walnuts), plant-based oils, eggs, yogurt, juices, and milk.

Can pregnant women get sufficient omega-3s via their diets?

While omega-6 fatty acids are abundant and readily available (just one teaspoon of corn oil is enough to supply the recommended omega-6 daily requirement–most Americans eat ten to twenty times that much per day), omega-3 fatty acids make up a much lower proportion of the modern American diet.

There is a general consensus among medical professionals that pregnant women in the United States and Canada do not get enough omega-3 fatty acid, specifically DHA. This is due to several factors–the primary issue being inadequate consumption of marine-based food.

The recommended two servings of marine food per week will provide an average intake per day of 100 to 250 milligrams total omega-3 fatty acids, and of that, 50 to 100 mg of DHA. For women following this recommendation, the remaining 200-250 mg recommended DHA will have to come in supplement form.

Frustratingly, it looks like the benefits of omega-3/DHA supplementation during pregnancy is really not that well supported. Yes, several studies have linked adequate intake of fish during pregnancy with a variety of benefits, but well-controlled, randomized trials looking at omega-3 supplementation (as opposed to just eating fish), have been largely disappointing.

Can too much DHA be toxic?

When it comes to omega-3s, it’s important to be mindful of mercury levels that can come along with it. Here is a convenient quick reference sheet from the FDA on marine-based food options to choose and avoid based on mercury levels.

Bottom line on omega-3s during pregnancy:

I think a sound recommendation is that found in the NIH factsheet: “It seems safe to conclude that pregnant and nursing women should be advised to eat fish to benefit from naturally occurring omega-3 fatty acids, to avoid fish with high levels of mercury and other contaminants, and, if possible, to choose fish with high levels of EPA and DHA.”

#7: Vitamin A

Vitamin A plays an important role in immune function, vision, reproduction, and communication between cells. It’s also a key building block of the protein rhodopsin, which absorbs light in the retina.

One main concern resulting from vitamin A deficiency is xerophthalmia, which is the leading form of preventable blindness in children.

How much vitamin A do you need when pregnant?

770 micrograms is the recommended daily intake of vitamin A for pregnant women.

While the recommended intake levels of vitamin A are slightly higher for pregnant women than they are for the general population, vitamin A deficiency is extremely rare in the United States and is really only a problem in parts of the developing world.

What are the best dietary sources of vitamin A?

Dairy, fish (especially eel and tuna), eggs, meat (especially liver), carrots, yellow squash, sweet potato, broccoli, pumpkin, and cantaloupe.

Can pregnant women get sufficient vitamin A via their diets?

Two forms of vitamin A are available in our diet: preformed vitamin A (retinol and retinyl ester) comes from animal sources and provitamin A carotenoid (beta-carotene being the most important) are plant-derived.

Can too much vitamin A be toxic?

Preformed vitamin A (retinol) can build up in the liver and become toxic at high doses. This condition is called hypervitaminosis A. During pregnancy (particularly the first trimester), excessive retinol intake can also result in teratogenic birth defects.

Hypervitaminosis A can happen due to prolonged excessive intake, but is more commonly the result of consuming excessive retinol in supplement form, or from consuming large amounts of food with extremely high retinol levels, such as certain types of liver.

It is important to note that the toxic effects of vitamin A are associated with animal-derived or synthetic retinol and synthetic retinol rather than plant-derived or synthetic beta-carotene.

In other words, you don’t  have to worry about vitamin A toxicity from beta-carotene, whether it is food-based or synthetic, but you DO have to worry about excessive intake from animal sources, or in supplements containing synthetic retinol

Bottom line on vitamin A during pregnancy:

Women in north America are very unlikely to be vitamin A deficient and should not have difficulty obtaining sufficient vitamin A through a healthy diet. On the other hand, supplemental vitamin A in the form of food-derived beta-carotene can give you piece of mind that you’re not at risk of being deficient, while also not putting you or your baby at risk for hypervitaminosis A.  Our advice is to look for a prenatal supplement containing vitamin A in the form of food-based beta-carotene.

Phew! You guys, I know that’s a lot. We will be publishing our Healthy Prenatal Shopping Guide next week, and we will try to make it as simple as possible!

Stay sane,

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Are you worried about pesticides in organic oatmeal? We have been fielding a lot of questions about Roundup in oat products since news of EWG’s study on glyphosate broke the other day.

The thing that’s troubling my readers most is the headline that glyphosate was found in some of the organic product samples tested. I’m not worried about this, and I don’t think you should be either.

Why I’m Not Worried about Pesticides in Organic Oatmeal

Although 5 of the 16 organic samples tested positive for traces of glyphosate, none of these samples exceeded EWG’s limit of 160 parts per billion.

For example, while Bob’s Red Mill organic rolled oats averaged 12.5 ppb of glyphosate, Bob’s Red Mill conventional rolled oats averaged more than ten times that much (150 ppb, which is still slightly below EWG’s limit for safety).

And again, it’s important to remember that 70% of the organic brands had NO glyphosate detected in them (and 100% were below a concerning level).

By contrast, almost 70% of the conventional samples of oat products exceeded EWG’s safety limit for glyphosate residue (and only 4% of the conventional brands had no glyphosate detected).

Some of these brands WAY exceeded safe limits of glyphosate: Quaker’s Instant Oats averaged a whopping 700 ppb, and even Barbara’s Multigrain Spoonfuls had 320 ppb.

(By the way: the safe limit for glyphosate set by EWG is 100 times lower than that set by the EPA.)

Bottom Line: Pesticides in Organic Oatmeal

I admit it, this new study is super depressing when I think about:

1. The pesticide load to which the average American child is exposed, from the food they eat to the lawns they play on;
2. The body burden of people who work with Roundup and other pesticides daily (like this guy, about whom I am sure you’ve all read);
3. The health of the communities whose water is contaminated by agricultural run-off;
4. The tremendously negative impact glyphosate and other pesticides have on the environment.

But here’s a small silver lining: this study offers convincing evidence that organic products–even highly processed ones from big brands like Kashi or Cascadian Farms–really are NOT contaminated with pesticide residues.

What We Can Do

For now, all we can do is vote with our dollars and support the companies selling organic foods, with confidence that these products really are worth the extra cost. (I would also argue we should vote with our actual votes to make sure we have good guys running the EPA!).

Stay sane,

P.S. The timing of this report on oat products just made my job a little bit easier, since I am finishing up our Healthy Boxed Cereal Guide this week. I was debating putting regular old Cheerios under “The Okay Stuff,” since the ingredients aren’t so bad. Learning that Roundup contamination in Cheerios exceeds EWG’s safety limit by nearly five times makes my decision easy on this: Cheerios are Bad Stuff.

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Written by Maia, President & Founder

We all grew up hearing that we should “eat more fruits and veggies.” Now, as parents, we often go to great lengths to get a “rainbow of color” into our kids’ diets.

Most of us struggle with this—when it comes to vegetables, my kids will only consistently eat broccoli and asparagus, so it’s hardly a rainbow!

As many of you know, there is a dark side to fruits and vegetables.

Conventionally grown produce is often laden with agricultural chemicals. This includes toxic pesticides that the government has yet to ban, despite incredibly strong scientific evidence of harm to human health.

(For more on this, check out “Poison Fruit,” Sharon Lerner’s recent article about Dow Chemical’s efforts to prevent the government from banning chlorpyrifos, a widely used pesticide linked to autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Warning: Don’t read before bedtime—you may be too angry and scared to sleep!)

The good news is that there are simple (and affordable!) steps you can take to reduce the pesticides in your diet.

How to Reduce Pesticides in Your Family’s Diet

1. Buy organic produce—where it counts.

I know, I know…organic produce is often more expensive—like, much more expensive—than conventionally grown fruits and vegetables.

I don’t recommend that you blow your monthly budget on organic fruits and vegetables. Instead, spend your fruit and veggie dollars strategically by using the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists.

Buy Organic to Reduce Pesticides

EWG’s 2016 Dirty Dozen List

Strawberries

Apples

Peaches
Nectarines

Celery
Grapes
Cherries

Spinach

Tomatoes

Sweet bell peppers

Cherry tomatoes

Cucumbers

These lists guide you to buy organic versions of the fruits and vegetables that tend to have the highest levels of pesticides, and buy conventional versions of the cleaner ones.

These changes matter. Switching to more organic produce has a positive effect on pesticide levels in the body, and this effect happens in a matter of days, according to research by Chensheng Lu and colleagues.

2. Wash produce wisely to reduce pesticides.

My clients ask me all the time how they can wash fruit to reduce pesticides in their kids’ diets.

Short answer: you can’t simply wash (or peel) away pesticides, but simple washing methods still matter.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) says that washing produce is not the best way to reduce pesticide exposure. Their pesticide risk rankings are based on tests of fruits and vegetables “as eaten,” or washed and peeled as appropriate for the specific type of produce. The EWG says that pesticides can be in the whole fruit, not just on the outside.

That said, you should still wash produce before eating it. Here are some tips:

1. Use cold, running water (soaking or dunking just re-exposes produce to the stuff you’re trying to wash away).
2. Scrub the surface of root vegetables and other firm-skinned produce.
4. Dry with a clean cloth.
5. Peel when appropriate, and remove the outer leaves of leafy produce.

What about fruit and veggie washes and DIY tricks like soaking produce in a vinegar solution to reduce pesticides?

I don’t generally think it’s worth the extra expense or effort. Store-bought produce washes often have sketchy ingredients, although this one is safe.

As for vinegar as a way to reduce pesticides, it has to be used in a pretty high concentration (like 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water) to kill some microbes, and I couldn’t find compelling evidence that it reduces pesticide levels better than washing with water alone.

Unless you are dealing with a compromised immune system, the tips I offer above are the easiest and most effective ways to get your produce clean.

3. Filter your water.

Because agricultural chemicals have been so widely used for many decades, they are present in our environment, including our drinking water. This is one of the many reasons that I recommend that people use a comprehensive water filter in their homes.

4. Lose shoes at the door.

You’ve probably heard me say this before, but one of the simplest things you can do to decrease the toxic load in your house (and keep it a little cleaner!) is to make sure that everyone removes their shoes at the door.

Otherwise, you’re tracking in all kinds of gross stuff, including chemicals used in gardens, farms, lawns and parks; animal feces; lead-contaminated dust; etc.

If you have dogs or other indoor-outdoor animals, wipe down their paws at the door.

These habits are especially important if you have rugs and carpets (toxins can linger in the fibers for years, even if you clean diligently) and if you have young children who spend a lot of time on the floor.

Stay sane,

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The post 4 Simple Ways to Reduce Pesticides in Your Diet (and Home) appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

“…It’s not only wine that sings
Olive oil sings too
It lives in us with its ripe light
And among the good things of the earth
I set apart
Olive oil…”
-Pablo Neruda-

How to Pick the Healthiest Olive Oil

For decades we’ve known about the benefits of the “Mediterranean diet” (fresh fruits and veggies, fish, whole grains, red wine, and olive oil). Modern science tells us that of those foods, olive oil appears to have perhaps the biggest impact on our health–but not just any olive oil!

Yes, we should always buy organically grown, extra virgin oils (EVOO), but that is far from the whole story when it comes to selecting the healthiest olive oil.

Read on for tips on buying the healthiest olive oil, our very favorite brands, and how to eat it to ensure you’re enjoying all of the health benefits this super food offers!

High Phenols Mean the Healthiest Olive Oil

What we should really be seeking in our olive oils is those that have high levels of health-producing high-phenolic compounds. Two of the very best are oleocanthal, a natural anti-inflammatory agent, and oleacein, a potent antioxidant.

Some of the benefits of polyphenols include:

• Reduction of “bad” cholesterol.
• Treatment of inflammatory conditions, such as asthma.
• Lowering blood pressure.
• Protection against cancer. 

As you can tell, high-phenolic olive oils are not only food, they are also medicine. But polyphenols degrade over time, so the higher the parts per million (ppm) of polyphenols is at bottling, the more polyphenols will remain in the bottle over time.

Optimally, you want olive oil that is less than one year old, but when properly stored (cool, dark place–but not the fridge), you could stretch that a bit if the ppm is very high to start with. The oil should also be bottled in dark glass to discourage UV degradation.

How to Identify High-Phenol Olive Oil

High-ppm olive oil has a pleasant peppery after-taste. If your olive oil has absolutely zero peppery burn to it, it’s likely that it has very low polyphenol levels, and is thus not the healthiest olive oil (although still not harmful).

There is an age-old custom of tasting the olive oil and seeing if it’s a one-cough, two-cough, or three-cough olive oil. Sensors found mainly in the human throat—but not the mouth—latch on to a chemical found in high-ppm olive oils. Coughs can indicate high phenolic content. This “cough test” is probably the easiest way to tell if the oil you’re eating has a high phenol level.

It is important to note that phenolic content will vary from year to year from the same manufacturer. However, if you buy a good quality brand of olive oil, it should have high polyphenols. Some olive oil manufacturers publish their ppm scores and/or harvest dates either on the bottle or online. These are typically the healthiest olive oils.

Is the Healthiest Olive Oil Filtered or Unfiltered?

There is one last consideration to keep in mind when selecting the healthiest olive oil–and this is filtered versus unfiltered oil. Unfiltered oil retains minute particles of the fruit in the oil. These particles can contain certain beneficial nutrients. But those particles of fruit also rot, causing the oil to lose polyphenols much more rapidly than filtered oil might.

Bottom line: if you can get very, very fresh unfiltered olive oil, you may gain some health benefits. But if you, like most of us, don’t have access to super fresh oils, it’s probably better to stick with filtered oils.

The Very Healthiest Olive Oil

Our pick for the absolute best, healthiest olive oil is organic Olea True. With 800 to 1,300 ppm of polyphenols, Olea True blows away the competition, and have test results from just last month that show the incredibly high levels found in this oil.

$30.00 — or subscribe and save up to 5%Select options

The Best Stuff

The Good Stuff

In addition to Olea Blue, there are a few other small brands that are doing it right. We’ve listed the polyphenol levels next to each one so that you can compare them more easily. Each of these is organic and extra virgin.

Apollo

Polyphenol Level: 500 to 800 ppm

Buy directly from Apollo

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Sister Julie’s

Polyphenol Level: 600-800 ppm

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OlioCru

Polyphenol Level: 500-600 ppm

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Living Tree

Polyphenol Level: 400-800 ppm

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McEvoy Ranch

Polyphenol Level: 350 ppm

 

 

 

The Okay Stuff

The Sneaky Stuff

The above categorizations are the results of our own in-house research. It is by no means an exhaustive list. There are thousands of olive oil manufacturers in the world.

One good way to sample a wide variety of quality olive oils is to join the Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Club.

Does the Healthiest Olive Oil Taste Good?

Because flavor is subjective, we are not reviewing for it in this guide. We have tried almost all the oils in the Good Stuff categories, and although each has a unique flavor, they are all pretty yummy! I admit that when I taste an oil with no peppery aftertaste these days, I just don’t want to eat it! I’m ruined from working on this guide for the last several months and becoming exposed to so many delicious oils.

We look forward to hearing your feedback as you try the healthiest olive oils and enjoy the benefits!

To your health,

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By Suzanne, Chief Health Officer, holistic health coach, and resident grandmother

This new year, instead of making the usual resolutions that we’ve given up on by the end of January, we decided to break it up by dividing some big goals into manageable chunks. Each month, we will invite you to overhaul one aspect of your life to reduce toxins, improve health, and increase your peace of mind. Our promise is that these changes will be easy to implement, and we hope will help you avoid the typical resolution overwhelm.

Happy January! This month, let’s work on improving your diet in a super easy way—by simply upgrading the foods you already love, including sugars, fats, packaged snacks, and even wine!

Read on for ways to enjoy better health with zero deprivation.

Resolution #1: Upgrade the sugar you eat.

I never tell my health coaching clients to give up sugar because it’s just too hard! But what I do tell people—and which I’ve seen be highly effective for my clients—is upgrading to a higher quality sugar.

First, be sure to stock your pantry with healthier sugar options for any baking you do at home. For example, replace white cane sugar and brown sugar with coconut sugar, maple sugar, date sugar, maple syrup, or honey. I’ve found that you can always reduce the amount of sugar called for in recipes without sacrificing taste. Sometimes, you can skip sugar entirely and simply use bananas or dates.

If you do decide to eat sugary desserts when you are out of the house, it’s of course critical to limit your intake. Try to take one small bite and savor it, share a dessert with a friend, and be ok with leaving it on the plate after a couple of bites.

Resolution #2: Upgrade the fat you eat.

By now you know that some fat is healthful. The bulk of your fats will ideally come from plant sources, like nuts, seeds, olive oil, avocados, and nut butters like almond butter, cashew butter, and sun butter.

If you choose to eat dairy fats, they should be kept to a minimum, and they should be upgraded to organic and grass fed. I prefer ghee (clarified butter), which in Ayurvedic philosophy is considered a health food. Ghee is especially good for sautéing, since it has a higher smoke point than butter.

When it comes to vegetable oils, the healthiest are olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, and toasted sesame oil (as flavor in Asian dishes). Avoid canola, soybean, sunflower, and safflower oils, which are highly processed and almost always genetically modified.

Olive oil is not all created equal. You’ll want to choose high-grade organic extra virgin olive oil and only use it raw, since once you cook it, the healthful compounds are killed. If you want to use olive oil for cooking, purchase an organic extra virgin that isn’t as expensive as the higher grade ones. For the absolute best olive oil, we recommend Organic Olea Blue, which has the highest levels of anti-inflammatory oleocanthal.

Resolution #3: Upgrade your booze.

I like beer and wine, as well as the occasional cocktail. When I decide to indulge in alcohol, I like to buy high quality beers from small breweries like they have in Vermont, or very high quality organic wine.

I have always preferred white wine, but studies show red is a little healthier, so I’ve been working to find reds that I like (namely, ones that don’t feel harsh or hot on my throat). Since I always buy organic grapes (they are a Dirty Dozen produce item, after all), I’ve always been concerned about the wine that isn’t organic.

I tried some organic wines over the years, and the only one I found that I liked was Bonterra Organic Chardonnay, and even that wasn’t incredible. I was very excited to find Dry Farm wines, a wine subscription service that I delivers only organic, biodynamic, low-sugar wines.

I love both the reds and whites I’ve received from Dry Farm Wines, ordered their red bottles and and really loved the taste of the red wines which are organic and sourced from small traditional vineyards. All of Dry Farm’s wines are imported, because all United States wine is contaminated with Roundup (the Monsanto weed killer). Because the high-quality wines sourced by Dry Farms are lower in alcohol than conventional wines, you’ll feel better after a couple of glasses.

Resolution #4: Upgrade packaged snacks.

Most healthy eating plans tell you to give up packaged foods, and this is very good advice! However, this month, I encourage you to simply upgrade your snacks. Some of my favorites are:

-roasted seaweed snacks (great source of bioavailable iodine, polyphenol antioxidants may lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of breast cancer). Be sure to look for the seaweed snacks that don’t have canola oil and are prepared with no oil or olive oil.

Buy now from Thrive Market

-Most small packaged yogurts, even the organic varieties have too much sugar to be healthy. I find that it’s better to buy whole fat plain yogurt because just having milk fat adds lots of flavor and you need less sugar. You can add fruit or you can get the Wallaby Organic Greek Yogurt that is sweetened with honey. Check our Safe Yogurt Guide for more on which yogurt is Good Stuff. 

-Popcorn is a great, whole-grain snack for older kids (because of choking risk I am more cautious

with younger ones), but sometimes we don’t have time to make it in our hot air popper. On those days, I love LesserEvil’s Himalayan Pink Popcorn, which contains just popcorn, coconut oil, and Himalayan sea salt.

Buy now from Thrive Market

For more ideas go to Maia’s blog Healthy Packaged Snacks for Kids.

Resolution #5: Go green.

One of the easiest and most effective ways to up the nutritional content of your food is to simply add greens to whatever you are eating as often as you can.

Buy pre-washed greens,and keep spinach, mixed greens, arugula, or micro greens in your fridge and toss some high grade olive oil on your greens with some fresh lemon or high grade balsamic vinegar. I live to chop basil and fresh parsley on all kinds of meals for extra greens. I never have eggs without adding greens. Make January the month that you eat greens everyday.

Stay sane,

P.S. You’ll notice in this post that I’ve linked a variety of ingredients to Thrive Market. If you aren’t familiar with Thrive, I encourage you to give it a try. It’s a Costco meets Whole Foods meets Amazon model, with hard-to-find healthful foods delivered, for free, at steeply discounted prices. We’ve partnered with Thrive to get you $60 off your first three orders.

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The post January: Upgrade Your Favorite Foods appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Maia, President & Founder

I hope you all are having a wonderfully relaxing holiday break! I always enjoy the week where my kids have lots of new stuff to play with from Christmas, and stop asking for screens!

If you’re like me, you’re also spending this week getting organized–from new toy storage systems to winter gear organization to getting your various resolutions or intentions for 2018 set up for success.

One thing I’m doing this week is getting organized for packing healthful lunches for my kids once school starts again.

I would love to hear about some of your go-to healthy or sort-of healthy lunch ideas for kids. If you need inspiration, below is a week of real lunches I packed for my kids. They aren’t all as perfectly healthful as I might wish, but this is my reality as I try to #staysane! Please share your own ideas in the comments!

Day 1:

• Bean and cheese quesadilla on a sprouted tortilla
• Clementine
• Applesauce cup
• Carrot
• Raisins
• Flavored water

Day 2:

• Bean and cheese quesadilla on a sprouted tortilla
• Veggie/fruit strip
• Applesauce cup
• Carrot sticks
• Sliced strawberries
• Sliced peppers
• Guacamole

Day 3:

• Sprouted bagel with cream cheese
• Carrot sticks
• Homemade trail mix (O’s cereal, raisins, etc.).
• Roasted seaweed snack

Day 4:

• Roasted seaweed snack
• Gummy bunnies (not Good Stuff!)
• Roasted pumpkin seeds
• Carrots and shell peas
• Clementine
• Bean and cheese quesadilla on a sprouted tortilla
• Granny smith apple
• Cheddar cheese
• Greek yogurt

Day 5:

• Banana
• Homemade trail mix (O’s, raisins, roasted almonds)
• Sliced cheese
• Blackberries
• Spelt pretzels
• Spiralized carrots

(On this day, they were also getting school lunch, which was a hamburger, so this was a smaller lunch).

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Dried Cranberries

Whole O’s Cereal

Fage 2% Greek Yogurt

Annie’s Fruit Snacks

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Cabot Seriously Cheddar Snacking Cheese

Stay sane,

P.S. You’ll notice in this post that I’ve linked a variety of ingredients to Thrive Market. If you aren’t familiar with Thrive, I encourage you to give it a try. It’s a Costco meets Whole Foods meets Amazon model, with hard-to-find healthful foods delivered, for free, at steeply discounted prices. We’ve partnered with Thrive to get you $60 off your first three orders.

If you liked this post, sign up for our newsletter to be alerted when we publish new content like this!

The post 5 Days of Healthy Packed Lunches appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Maia, President & Founder

A new employee of mine, Casey, recently made the crazy decision to volunteer to make a gingerbread house with my kids. So on Friday evening, Casey came over, along with a couple of our other friends, a couple bottles of red wine, and big plans of making a healthy and delicious gingerbread house.

The video below shows the highlights of the experience, which lasted all of one evening and then the whole next morning, too!

Below the video you will find more detailed instructions.

While the final result isn’t a picture-perfect beauty like the houses I’m seeing all over Instagram these days, my kids had a blast, I retained my sanity, and the many cookies they ate were actually pretty healthy. So over all, I am calling this a win! Thank you, Casey!

TO MAKE THE DOUGH

Instructions:

1. Take your dough out of the refrigerator and place in between two fresh sheets of parchment paper, making sure the templates are smaller than the parchment. Roll out dough to about 1/4″, making sure the parchment is not causing any wrinkles in the dough.
2. Using a piece of cardboard and a ruler, cut out panels for your house. This dough can make enough for a house that’s 9″ tall at peak of the roof, 8″ in length, and 5″ wide, but this part of the design is up to you. Extra dough can be used for gingerbread  en, trees, and so on. For our house, we cut two matching panels for the roof, two matching panels for the side walls and two matching panels for the front and back of the house.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, with the rack in the center. Bake your house pieces on a greased cookie sheet for about 12 minutes. Dough should just be browning on the edges and firm to touch in the center. Remove from oven and let cool on drying rack. Repeat process for all sides of the house, making sure not to place dough onto hot cookie sheets. (Sheets can be cooled by running under cold water.) You’ll want to let the panels cool all the way before constructing the house.
4. To construct the house, use lots of icing to hold pieces into place.

Healthier Decoration Ideas:

Stay sane,

P.S. You’ll notice in this post that I’ve linked a variety of ingredients to Thrive Market. If you aren’t familiar with Thrive, I encourage you to give it a try. It’s a Costco meets Whole Foods meets Amazon model, with hard-to-find healthful foods delivered, for free, at steeply discounted prices. We’ve partnered with Thrive to get you $60 off your first three orders.

If you liked this post, sign up for our newsletter to be alerted when we publish new content like this!

The post How to Build a (Sort of) Healthy Gingerbread House appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

The season of “school bugs” is upon us. Are you already fed up with runny noses, coughs, and stomach bugs?

In my last post I shared five strategies for staying healthy during the school year and promised that I’d follow up with some specific food tips. When it comes to staying healthy and recovering from illness, you really can’t ignore the importance of diet—for adults and kids alike.

But first I have to confess that I struggle with giving broad nutrition tips because people can be so different. In my decades-long learning about nutrition, I’ve learned over and over again that there is no single diet that’s optimal for everyone. And even if you find a way of eating that works really well for you, it will probably change with the seasons of the year and the seasons of life!

However, there are some basic things that apply to everyone, or at least the vast majority of us. Here are my top four eating tips to avoid cold-weather illnesses:

1. Eat More Warm Foods

Have you noticed that as fall sets in, you’re less excited about raw salads and frozen smoothies? Cooked foods are often easier to digest, especially in the cold months, when our bodies want to slow down. The better you digest your food, the more nutrients you derive from it. You can’t beat a good soup or stew for a satisfying and nutritious meal this time of year.

Tip: Outwit picky eating by packing a lot of veggies into a soup or stew, and pureeing it a little (or a lot!).

2. Eat More Probiotic Foods

Bitters can help ease stress-related digestive troubles.

These days we hear a lot about “gut health.” The more experts learn about the complex landscape of the gut, the more we understand that what goes on “down there” can affect everything from mood to weight to immunity.

You can help your gut keep you healthy by eating a variety of probiotic foods like sauerkraut, yogurt (dairy or vegan), and other fermented foods. For my favorite, super-simple sauerkraut recipe, plus info on probiotic supplements, check out this post.

Tip: Give your digestion an extra boost with Urban Moonshine Digestive Bitters. (Usually I take some before a meal, but if I’ve eaten too much (Thanksgiving!) or dined on something’s just not agreeing with me, I’ll take some after the meal.)

3. Eat Less Problematic Foods

When we eat foods that don’t agree with us—foods to which we have a dietary sensitivity, and/or foods that are just hard for us to digest—we add unnecessary stress to our bodies.

You can reduce the burden on your body and help your immune system be at its best by avoiding problematic foods, whatever they are for you. This can be a really individualized thing. I won’t say that everyone should avoid gluten or dairy, because they’re not problematic for everyone, but if you’re not sure, try going without for a while, and see how you feel.

Tip: Pretty much everyone can benefit from avoiding foods that contain pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, and GMOs. Buy organic whenever you can.

4. Eat Less Refined Sugar

Maple sugar is my go-to sweetener, but I still use it sparingly!

Too much sugar can suppress our immune systems and feed unhealthy bacteria in the gut. But if you’re like most of us, cold weather increases your cravings for sweet things. The fact that sweets surround us from Halloween through the December holidays doesn’t help!

Unless you have a specific health problem, you don’t have to give up sweets altogether. I simply recommend that you be mindful of your sugar intake. Whether you’re an adult or a kid, sweets should be a treat, not a dietary staple. For healthier sweets, focus on fruit and natural sweeteners (like maple syrup or honey).

Tip: For healthy dessert recipes and inspiration, check out my posts on gut-friendly desserts, holiday cookies to bake with kids, and shockingly delicious baked apples.

What are your go-to foods for keeping yourself and your family healthy through the cold months of the school year? Please share in the comments below.

Here’s to a healthier fall and winter,

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The post 4 Eating Tips to Avoid Fall Illnesses appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Maia, President & Founder

In an effort to avoid serving my kids macaroni and cheese twice a day, I came up with what I think is a more healthful–but equally yummy and tasty–quesadilla recipe.

Sometimes I make this in the morning (or the night before) to go in their school lunch, because it’s even tasty cold. When I serve these for dinner, I gussy them up with avocado and greens (and salsa for the grownups).

Why are these quesadillas healthier? For one thing, the tortillas I use are sprouted. And of course beans offer protein and iron. I try to keep the cheese to a minimum, and you can definitely add veggies to the degree that your kids will tolerate them–we’ve done baby kale and sliced bell peppers.

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Do you have a go-to, healthyish lunch that you like to make for your kids? Please share your recipes in the comments!

Stay sane,

P.S. Here’s a link for $60 off at Thrive Market (where you can get these ingredients). Thanks for supporting the brands that support Gimme the Good Stuff!

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The post Healthy Go-To Quesadilla Lunch appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

It’s that time of year again! The newness of back-to- school is wearing off, and my grown children have started to complain about how hard it can be to pack healthy, tasty lunches for their own kids.

I remember getting discouraged when my kids were young. At one point, all they wanted for their lunches was bagels and cream cheese…every single day!

If you’re in a lunch rut, too, read on for some inspiration and practical tips. You can pack healthy lunches (day after day) without losing your sanity. Below are some of the simple solutions I developed over the years, plus some things I’ve learned from my kids now that they’re packing lunches for my grandkinds!

I often prep these quick quesadillas the night before.

1. Go light on the packaged snacks.

There are a lot of healthier packaged snacks out there today. They’re better than Twinkies and corn syrup-filled “fruit” snacks, but they still shouldn’t be the foundation of a lunch. Instead, build the meal around something like dinner leftovers, a sandwich made with healthy bread, or our favorite make-ahead quesadillas (Ezekiel tortillas + shredded cheese + refried beans).

2. Avoid plastic containers.

Don’t pack healthy food in toxin-leaching plastic containers, plastic wrap, and plastic bags! Instead, choose glass containers, stainless steel containers, silicone containers, or beeswax-coated wrap. Check out our favorite water bottles and sippy cups here.

3. Combine sweet and savory tastes.

A satisfying meal is one that includes a balance of sweet and savory tastes. It’s easy to pack these tastes into a lunch. For example, if you include something savory or salty like meat or tamari tofu cubes, balance it out with something that’s moderately sweet, like fruit, a homemade cookie, or a bar. Classic combos like apples and cheese are great, too.

4. Remember the rainbow.

Including a “rainbow” of colorful fruits and veggies boosts nutrition and satisfaction. Plus, color is fun for kids. I don’t mean that you have to include all colors every day. Packing a couple of colorful foods per lunch is fine

—think carrots and blueberries or purple grapes and cucumbers.

5. Get the kids involved. 

Kids can help prepare part or all of their lunches. This boosts their independence, helps them appreciate their food, and can help overcome picky eating. For example, Maia lets her boys mix up their own batches of DIY trail mix by setting out bowls of various seeds, popcorn, nuts, and dried fruits (the kids especially love juice-sweetened dried cranberries).

Or, if all else fails, be boring! Simple is good. Don’t let fancy lunchbox Instagram feeds overwhelm you. Your kids don’t need a five-course meal. Find something well rounded that works for them (hello, sandwich and fruit!), and pack the same thing every day until it’s time to move on.

Need more ideas?

Here are some of our favorite healthy and delicious lunch items to keep on hand:

• It sounds weird, but green pepper slices are delicious dipped in peanut butter, almond butter, or sunflower seed butter (a.k.a. “sun butter,” a good option if nuts aren’t allowed).
• Cheese and apple slices are a classic combo. Squeeze lemon juice or orange juice on the apple slices to keep them from turning brown.
• Blanched veggies, such as cooked green beans and sugar peas, are a hit. Maia’s kids also love these real baby carrots 
• These homemade veggie-filled dips are great with crackers, as sandwich spreads, etc.
• Leftover whole-grain pancakes or waffles can be made into wraps or sandwiches or cut into fun shapes with cookie cutters.
• Smoothies and yogurt stay fresh in insulated containers like these.
• Hard-boiled eggs are filling and tasty as is or which a pinch of salt and

pepper.

What are your go-to solutions for packing healthy and tasty lunches for your kids?

Please share in the comments.

To your health,

P.S. You’ll notice in this post that I’ve linked a variety of ingredients to Thrive Market. If you aren’t familiar with Thrive, I encourage you to give it a try. It’s a Costco meets Whole Foods meets Amazon model, with hard-to-find healthful foods delivered, for free, at steeply discounted prices. We’ve partnered with Thrive to get you $60 off your first three orders.

If you liked this post, sign up for our newsletter to be alerted when we publish new content like this!

The post 5 Simple Ways to Pack Healthy, Yummy Lunches appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Maia, President & Founder

Did you guys catch me on The Dr. Oz Show yesterday? I was invited to speak about phthalates in macaroni and cheese. Whether or not you saw the segment, I thought you might want to hear my thoughts on the scary headlines.

Real Quick: Here’s What Phthalates Even Are

The chemical compounds know as phthalates (pronounced f-THAL- lates) are used to make plastics flexible and as lubricants in cosmetics.
There are many types of phthalates, among them di-(2- ethylhexyl) phthalate, aka DEHP, which is the type that was found in the highest concentrations in boxed macaroni and cheese (FYI: you won’t see any phthalates listed on a label).

Why Should You Worry About Phthalates?

The effect of phthalates has been observed since the 1940s, and phthalates are now widely known to be endocrine disruptors, aka chemicals that interfere with the function of hormones. You can find plenty of studies to support the claim that phthalates contribute to a range of health problems, including abnormal sexual development, reproductive birth defects, premature breast development, and increased waist circumference and insulin resistance.

Phthalates in Mac and Cheese: What and How?

Back in July, a study on high phthalate levels in boxed macaroni and cheese grabbed headlines everywhere. Specifically, DEHP was found to be present in an average of 295 parts per billion in the powdered cheese tested (including organic brands, none of which were disclosed).

I wasn’t surprised by this, although I do feed my kids boxed mac and cheese at least once a month (this one, because the shells are whole wheat). Why wasn’t I surprised? Well, for one thing, we know that dairy in general is contaminated with phthalates, probably from the tubing used to milk cows.

Last year, I sent some samples of milk to a lab to test for DEHP. The results showed that milk fresh out of the cow had ten times fewer phthalates than the milk in the tank of that same farm (in other words, the milk that had gone through the plastic tubing used for milking).

Still, the mac and cheese study showed something even more striking: compared with cheese in its natural state (a block of cheddar, say), the powdered variety contained four times as much DEHP. My best guess is that whatever equipment is used to turn the cheese into powder is introducing even more phthalates—the total concentration is still relatively small, but not small enough in my opinion. (I did look into the pouches that the cheese comes in as a possible source of exposure, but they don’t contain DEHP).

Should We Stop Buying Macaroni and Cheese?

So in light of all of this, should we all stop feeding our kids boxed macaroni and cheese? Well, if health is your only concern then the answer is “yes, of course,” just like we should never eat ice cream or get a manicure.

Macaroni and cheese isn’t a health food and shouldn’t be confused as such, even if you’re buying the organic variety. But the truth is, I don’t really think boxed mac and cheese is a major mode of phthalates exposure for most of us; unfortunately, this class of chemicals is just so prevalent, that we are all being hit from all angles.

Where Else You’ll Find Phthalates

In addition to your mac and cheese, you’ll find phthalates almost anything that smells nice (from shampoo to air fresheners to laundry detergent), nail polish, insect repellent, carpeting, vinyl flooring, the coating on wires and cables, shower curtains, raincoats, some plastic toys, your car’s steering wheel, tap water that’s been tainted by industrial waste, and in the pesticides sprayed on conventional fruits and vegetables.

In fact, about a billion pounds of phthalates are produced every year, and ninety-five percent of us have detectable levels of phthalates in our urine.

So, you can see that these suckers are pretty much impossible to avoid. But that doesn’t mean there is nothing you can do!

Choose only 100% essential oil-based air fresheners.

The Five Best Ways to Avoid Phthalates

If you want to cut your family’s exposure to DEHP and other phthalates, you might try to:

1. Cook at home. Making your own mac and cheese will reduce exposure to phthalates, as will cooking more from scratch and eating less out of packages.
2. Get rid of dust. When I chatted with the toxicologist before we filmed for Dr. Oz, he said that when it comes to phthalates, as well as other chemicals, his number one concern is household dust. Keep your house as dust free as possible (ideally by using a wet mop or HEPA-sealed vacuum).
3. Stay away from fragrance. When it comes to cosmetics or cleaning products, the word “fragrance” or “parfum” on a label almost always means phthalates. Avoid products with these words in their ingredients list. And always use only natural air fresheners in your home.
4. Know your plastics. Plastic packaging with recycling codes 3 and 7 may contain phthalates or BPA. Look for plastic with recycling codes 1, 2, or 5. And definitely don’t heat meals in plastic.
5. Ditch hand-me-down toys. Happily, several types of phthalates have been banned from children’s toys, teethers, bottles, and feeding products. But these laws only took place in 2009, so chuck old toys that are made of soft plastic (think rubber duckies, not Legos).

Phthalates in Mac and Cheese: Bottom Line

So, to sum it all up, here’s how I feel about DEHP in your macaroni and cheese: Because of the ubiquity of phthalates in our environment, eating mac and cheese once a week or so probably won’t pose an increased health risk. Still, this is a reminder that more you can cook at home, the better. And, if you really want to avoid phthalates, keep your home as dust-free as you can.

So, basically, I’m saying we moms should all cook and clean more. Some feminist I am! But seriously, I do believe that by tackling the big sources of exposure (when it comes to phthalates, I’d say that’s dust and fragrances), we can relax a little on all of the stuff that’s so much harder to control, and still significantly reduce our exposure to phthalates and other environmental toxins.

Stay sane,

P.S. If you’re looking for a quick, straighforward way to detox your home of the worst stuff, here’s an e-book to consider.

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The post Phthalates in Mac and Cheese: Should We Panic? appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

After staying with us for nearly a month this July, my grandkids left me three reminders of their visit: fingerprints smudged on the glass of my deck doors, jars of (dead) lightening bugs on the picnic table, and half-full boxes of popsicles in my freezer! That pretty well sums up the summertime, doesn’t it?!

Popsicles are a must-have on hot afternoons, and last month, Maia and I set out to find the healthiest fruit popsicles. You’ll see what we discovered under the Good, Okay, Bad, and Sneaky Stuff tabs below.

Before I jump into that, I want to make a quick plug for DIY: the healthiest fruit popsicles are those you make yourself!

Healthiest Fruit Popsicles Recipe

Homemade popsicles are my favorite in the summer because there are so many fresh fruits available. First, you need to buy a nontoxic popsicle maker.

Next, you need to choose your fruit and puree in a blender (this is the one we use).

I use 2 cups of fresh or frozen organic berries. You can use raspberries, strawberries, or blueberries, or a blend of them. A banana will lend natural sweetness. I also add some freshly squeezed fruit juice; orange makes the popsicles sweet, but lemon or lime can be fun, too.

I then add one additional cup of water. Other add-ins can include plain yogurt or kefir, or some greens (we’ve found romaine lettuce or spinach to be the mildest in flavor). If you want to add a little raw honey or maple syrup, you can, but if you’re using ripe fruit it should be sweet enough, especially if you include banana.

Once you have your blend, just pour and freeze (and drink what’s left as a delicious smoothie!).

Healthiest Fruit Popsicles: Store-Bought

In terms of store-bought fruit popsicles: the bad news is that we found only one brand that we can really call Good Stuff and you can find easily. Just yesterday, after we’d already written this up and shot the video, we happened upon another brand in Whole Foods that is also Good Stuff, but seems to have limited availability.

One issue with most store-bought brands is that they don’t use organic fruit; this is particularly concerning when the fruits included in the popsicles are among this “Dirty Dozen.”

Here’s a video of us discussing some of the popsicles that we review in this guide, as well as discussing issues like “fruit juice concentrate” and what “sugar free” popsicles really are. I hope this video makes choosing the healthiest fruit popsicles easier.

The Good Stuff

The Okay Stuff

The Sneaky Stuff

The Bad Stuff

I hope you have a wonderful August full of delicious fruit pops! Please share your favorite recipes or brands below!

To your health,

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The post Healthy Fruit Popsicle Guide appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Maia, President & Founder

Can you believe it’s already time to start thinking about back-to-school? I think some of you have may have even already started?! Talk about waaaaah!

In my kids’ public school in Brooklyn, teachers collect money at the beginning of the year to pay for supplies, which makes life easier for sure.

All I have to buy in anticipation of school this year (besides clothing) is lunch packing gear. Of course, this category of supplies can be confusing (as well as expensive!), especially if you’re like me and trying to avoid plastic.

Below is a curated list of the best plastic-free (or at least ALMOST plastic-free) lunch packing supplies I’ve found.

Eco-Friendly Lunch Box

Padded and insulated, this Petit Collage lunchbox easily wipes clean (I use these wipes), so it doesn’t get stinky and gross. The interior mesh pocket is perfect for holding utensils and ice packs. And it’s free of BPA, PVC, and phthalates.

Sandwich Wrap

Bee’s Wrap, made of beeswax and organic cotton, has been a revelation for our family–we no longer need plastic wrap! This genius sandwich wrap allows you to build a sandwich, fold in the corners and, and wrap the string around the wooden bee button. Bee’s Wraps can be washed and reused for years.

$10.99Buy Now

Bento Box

For kids who don’t want their foods to touch, a stainless steel bento box keeps lunch items separate. 

$28.99Buy Now

Stainless Cube

I love not having to worry about squished sandwiches when I use this stainless steel Solo Cube, which is also great for storing leftovers.

$19.99Buy Now

Insulated Thermos

When you’ve got picky kids like I do, you have to get creative with lunch-packing. How about oatmeal with chia seeds and a touch of maple syrup? Thermos’s Foogo container keeps foods warm (or cold) for lunchtime.

Silicone Snacker

These have been a go-to in our house for years. I fill them with berries, leftover pasta, or yogurt, and the cup collapses down when empty so it takes up very little room.

$10.00Buy Now

Ziplock Alternative

These patented, award-winning silicone bags are eco-friendly, environmentally safe, and long-lasting.

$9.99 – $21.99Buy Now

Foldable Spork

This spork features a deep bowl shape to make it easy to eat stews, but also tiny tines that can grab something like a carrot easily. The companion organic cotton pouch makes it easy to stow cleanly when on the go. 

$10.00Buy Now

Lunch Pod

My boys love these little pods in their lunch boxes. Usually, they will find shelled edamame or pistachios inside, but sometimes it’s something more exciting, like cookies or chocolates.

$12.99Buy Now

Snack Cubes

These cubes are the easiest way I have found to store small amounts of leftovers–they go straight into the fridge and then into a lunch box the next day (think fruit salad, guacamole, or roasted veggies). They also are a great way to store and freeze breastmilk; and for all of you wondering, my kids were weaned before they started kindergarten so no, I am not packing breastmilk into lunch boxes. 😉

$6.00 – $6.50Buy Now

All-In One 

I haven’t splurged on this PlanetBox kit yet, but I see them around my neighborhood and am tempted! 

Straw & Sports Bottle

These are the only bottles we’ve had–one can take you all the way from infant to adult if you want it to (you simply switch out the top). For school-aged kids, I go for either the straw or the sport top (both of which are made of silicone, not plastic). 

$19.00 – $26.00Buy Now

Please feel free to share your own favorite lunch-packing supplies in the comments below!

Stay sane, and have a wonderful rest of your summer!

P.S: Shop all non-toxic lunch packing supplies here.

The post Plastic-Free Lunch Packing Supplies for School appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

–By Suzanne (“Nana”), Certified Holistic Health Coach

Many of my health coaching clients are moms, and they often ask me about encouraging their kids to eat more healthfully—and in particular about the challenge of getting little ones to eat vegetables!

As a mother and a grandmother, I have lived this challenge myself. Children have different needs and taste preferences just like adults do, so it’s important to respect these while still not allowing them to only eat processed, sugar-laden foods (this is especially tempting these days as there are so many options for organic, “natural” junk food!).

I have four adorable grandsons: Felix (age 7), Theo (6), Wolf (4) and Lincoln (2) (my granddaughter, Charlotte, is just a week old so she’s not eating yet!). The boys are very different eaters. Felix has broadened his tastes, Theo is very picky, Wolfie is the most picky, and Lincoln eats everything!

The list below features some of the ways I get all of these boys to enjoy veggies.

Here are ten easy ways to get your kids to eat more of the Good Stuff from the Vegetable Kingdom.

1. Kale Chips. If not for this crunchy, flavorful snack, I doubt Felix would have ever tried kale. I make mine in a dehydrator,  but an oven works fine, too. Here are our recipes for both kinds. You can add nutritional yeast—which is full of B vitamins—for a cheesy flavor.
2. Salads. Yes, even my picky grandsons will try salads if I make them the right way! You can experiment with mincing the veggies really small or even grating them to make them easier to chew. I love grating raw beets (skin removed) turnips, and carrots into salads to add an extra veggie boost. Try adding sweets like berries, apples, or any dried fruit to the salads. I also make a simple salad dressing with olive oil, lemon, sea salt and a little maple syrup, and kids seem to love it. Felix loves romaine spears with olive oil (we only use Olea Blue for an extra nutritional boost), grated parmesan cheese, and lemon juice.
3. Sweet Potato “Fries.” What child doesn’t love French fries? Sweet potatoes, full of fiber and beta carotene, are more nutritious than their white cousins, but even regular potatoes, if sliced and baked instead of fried, make a great snack or side dish and are certainly better than the greasy alternative you’ll get in a diner. Theo loves to dip his in ketchup, but be careful of the sugar content in ketchup, and always opt for a natural brand that doesn’t contain corn syrup. (I have recently made my own ketchup with this recipe to avoid eating sugar.) Here’s our recipe for sweet potato “fries.”
   
4. Crunchy Shiitake Sticks. Shiitake mushrooms are known for their immune-boosting and cancer-preventing properties, and they are also a great source of iron. Slice the tops off of the mushrooms, and then cut the tops into matchsticks pieces. Coat with olive oil and sea salt and roast in the oven at 350 degrees. The result is a delicious crunchy snack or side dish that will be a huge hit with both adults and kids. Here are just some of the health benefits of shiitake mushrooms.

5. 

   Got Greens? Illustration by Graham Goss

   “Green” Smoothies. All of my grandsons love smoothies, if your child resists a smoothie if it has a green color you can experiment with different ingredients to change the color.  I make sure to include plenty of antioxidant-rich berries so the finished smoothie is purple or blue. What the children don’t see is that I add spinach and baby romaine for added greens, neither of which changes the taste of the smoothie (kale will, by the way). You can add banana, dates, and frozen mixed berries to the blender with a little water, and for added protein I add hemp seeds, flax seeds, or chia seeds. I love giving the boys veggies for breakfast or dessert! I keep a bag of mixed berries, a bag of wild blueberries, and frozen bananas in my freezer at all times. (I let the bananas get really ripe because they are then more antioxidant-rich, peel and chop them, and put them in a freezer bag). Here are some of my smoothie recipes that will please even super picky eaters!

6. Buttery Winter Squash. There are so many varieties of squash, all of them rich in cancer-inhibiting carotenoids, and many of them quite delicious. Delicata is my favorite for kids because it is especially sweet. You can slice it into sticks and bake it as is, and it’s a great finger food. A little butter and maple syrup make it especially decadent, but some children will eat it even without. Other kid-pleasing squashes are butternut, buttercup, and acorn.
7. Romaine Lettuce Wraps. Maia’s created this for Felix because he loves goat cheese and would eat it by the log if she let him. Instead, she wraps romaine lettuce leaves around the soft cheese and rolls it up for a tasty finger food. Despite its mild flavor and relatively light color, romaine is actually a super healthy green—full of folate and vitamin K. If you cook with meat and want to add protein you can add chicken or ground beef. I often dice cucumbers and grate carrots to put in the wrap as well.
8. Shell Peas. These can be challenging to find, but if you can find them fresh and in season, kids love to shell them, discover the tiny peas, and eat them raw. And did you know that peas are high in protein? If you want to cook the peas, just have the kids shell them and steam them and add a little ghee or butter. I also sometimes add fresh pea to a pot of brown rice at the very end of it’s cooking time (this is especially delicious with a little tamari added).
9. Mini Peppers. Most grocery stores sell bags of mini organic red, yellow, and orange sweet peppers. They are so sweet that the kids love them–Wolfie was reluctant to try them, but we encouraged him by doing a blind taste-test game where he guessed which color he was eating. You can make a dip, although my grandchildren just eat them plain. (Here is a dip that I love.)
10. Roasted Seaweed. When Maia and Graham were little, I would buy Nori sheets and roast them on the gas range or wood stove for a snack. Things have changed and become so much more convenient for busy conscious moms like us! Roasted seaweed is great when the kids want a salty snack, and here is one that I like because it is made with extra virgin olive oil rather than sunflower oil like other brands.

These are some of my favorite ideas for kid-pleasing healthful snacks. If you have any questions about preparation or would like other ideas, email me at suzanne@gimmethegoodstuff.org and we can schedule a 30-minute Healthy Eating Strategy Session.

Be well,

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The post 10 Ways to Get Your Kids Off Junk Food and Demanding Vegetables appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

When we polled our readers on which food they wanted us to review next, yogurt was the winner (olive oil was a close second, and we will be reviewing that in the fall).

Finally, after more than a month of researching and testing yogurts, we can tell you who is Good, who is Bad, and who is Sneaky. We were surprised by the results of our research, and I think you will be too!

I had no idea what a big job reviewing yogurt would be! There are dozens of brands of “healthy” yogurt on the market, and within each brand there are a range of varieties, from Greek to drinkable “smoothies” to squeezy tubes marketed to kids.

And I didn’t even get into reviewing goat or sheep milk yogurts (although I will make a recommendation for each, below).

Here’s the video where we look at a bunch of these brands, and taste-test the vegan ones. You’ll be shocked to see which yogurt has the most sugar (hint: it’s the most popular “healthy” yogurt in the store!)!

Can Vegan Yogurts Be Good Stuff?

Because I know we have a large number of vegans in our readership, I did look at five vegan yogurts, which you’ll find reviewed under the Good, Okay, Bad, and Sneaky tabs.

In general, I try to follow a semi-vegan diet, but I’m also committed to not eating food-like substances. I prefer to eat real food that is grown, gathered, and cooked and not made in a lab.

I find it especially difficult when the “food” in question is imitating products made from animals (be it dairy or meat).

Unfortunately, all plant-based yogurt options have processed additives to give them the right consistency, and they all contain processed sugar (lactose in dairy is naturally sweet).

Best Vegan Yogurt

Kite Hill Almond Milk Yogurt (Plain)

In addition to its low sugar content (just 5 grams per serving), we also thought Kite Hill was the tastiest of the vegan yogurts we tried.

What Exactly IS Yogurt and Should We Eat It?

First things first: Do you know what makes yogurt, yogurt? Yogurt is a cultured or fermented milk product that is soured and thickened by adding specific lactic acid-producing cultures to milk. (Btw: Sour cream is soured cream with a different group of cultures added).

Yogurt has been touted as a health food for as long as I can remember. Pediatricians often recommend yogurt as a good source of calcium for babies and kids. And indeed, if done right, yogurt can be full of probiotics, calcium, protein, and other healthful nutrients.

But yogurt can also have lots of sugar and other questionable ingredients, so like with most products, you have to know how to read a label when perusing the yogurt aisle in your grocery store.

Best Healthy Yogurt Overall

Maple Hill Creamery Plain Greek Yogurt

Maple Hill’s plain Greek yogurt is full of nutrients, low in sugars, and comes from milk from organic grass fed-cows. If you like a little more flavor, add a bit of maple syrup or fresh fruit.

Probiotics: All Yogurt Has Them!

While doing the research for this guide, I came across tons of articles that claimed that if yogurt is pasteurized, it won’t contain any live/active cultures. This is technically true, but doesn’t apply to any yogurt you’ll find in the United States, because the cultures are always added AFTER the milk is pasteurized.

I couldn’t find a single brand of yogurt that didn’t contain at least two live cultures (although some contain as many as five or six, which is obviously even better!).

All yogurt will have Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophiles, and in higher quality yogurt you may also see Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Bifidus, and others.

The big deal with probiotics is that they help maintain the balance of bacteria needed to boost the immune system and promote a healthy digestive tract. Healthy bacteria, such as the probiotics found in healthy yogurt, are your gut’s first line of defense. (By the way, yogurt isn’t the only place—and definitely not the best way–to get probiotics, but that’s a topic for another day!)

Best Flavored Healthy Yogurt

Wallaby “Purely Unsweetened” yogurts

This new line of whole milk yogurts contain no sweeteners at all. Choose from blueberry, mixed berries, strawberry, or peach.

Wallaby has discontinued this line.

Is Greek Yogurt Healthier?

Greek-style yogurt is everywhere these days, and some of you probably think it’s much tastier than regular yogurt. But is it healthier? In a word: yes.

To make yogurt “Greek,” the whey is strained off (whey is the milk’s watery component after the milk has curdled). This is why Greek yogurt is denser and richer.

Here are the key differences between Greek and regular yogurt:

• Protein: Greek yogurt has almost double the protein of regular yogurt.
• Fat: Unless you’re eating the nonfat varieties, Greek yogurt has about three times the saturated fat of regular yogurt.
• Sodium: Greek yogurt contains about half the sodium of regular yogurt.
• Carbohydrates/Sugars: Greek yogurt contains roughly half the carbohydrates (sugar) of regular yogurt (since much of the lactose is strained off, and lactose is where the sweetness comes from), but remember that adding sweeteners to either one will increase the carbohydrate count.

What About Kefir?

Kefir is more than just “drinkable” yogurt; it has as many as three times as many probiotics as yogurt does, and up to 20 different kinds of cultures added. Of course, flavored kefir is full of sugar, so stick to plain (adding your own sweetener if you wish).

One to try: Maple Hill Creamery Plain Kefir

Goat & Sheep Milk Yogurt

There is good evidence that goat and sheep milk are both healthier for humans than is cow milk: they each have more protein and calcium as well as certain vitamins.

Some experts argue that goat or sheep milk products (including yogurts) are easier to digest and less likely to cause inflammation than cow milk products. (If you’re curious about goat milk baby formula, Maia wrote about that here).

One goat milk healthy yogurt to try:Kabrita Goat Milk Yogurt Pouches. Even the fruit (and veggie!) flavors don’t contain sugar.

(Kabrita offers my readers 10% off with code GIMMEKABRITA)

Buy Now from Kabrita

One sheep milk healthy yogurt to try:Black Sheep Yogurt from Old Chatham Sheepherding Company. Just make sure to choose plain.

How to Shop for Healthy Yogurt: Organic, Grass-Fed, and Plain

When eating dairy products in particular, I believe that it’s super important for the products to be organic. Of almost equal importance is how the cow that produced the milk was fed—ideally, this will be what it evolved to eat. Look for “grass-fed” or “pastured” on your dairy products.

“Grass-fed” refers to what an animal eats (grass) and “pasture-raised” or “pastured” refers to where the animal eats (on a pasture).

Pasture-raised cows may have their food supplemented with grains, but at least they are eating some grass, which cannot be said for conventionally raised dairy cattle. Grass-fed cows produce yogurt richer in omega-3 fats and CLA (a cancer-fighting fatty acid named conjugated linoleic acid).

Is Low-Fat Yogurt Healthier?

When buying yogurt, you also will have to choose between full-fat, whole milk yogurt, low-fat yogurt, or nonfat yogurt. This is a personal choice and also depends on your philosophy on eating dairy fat.

Personally, I try to limit how much dairy I eat, and I find that I’m able to eat much less if I go for the full-fat version. When it comes to yogurt in particular, the full-fat is tastier and richer, and sometimes as little as a couple of tablespoons can be a satisfying snack.

I also find that low-fat and nonfat yogurts need sweetness to be satisfying, whereas I can enjoy plain whole milk yogurt. That said, low-fat and nonfat yogurt can be a perfectly healthful part of your diet, too.

For kids, I do think whole milk yogurt is the best way to go, unless your pediatrician tells you otherwise.

Best Baby/Kid Healthy Yogurt

Siggi’s Tubes of Icelandic yogurt contain less sugar than any other flavored yogurt that’s marketed to kids.

Bottom line: What to Look for in Healthy Yogurt

1. Organic (it’ll have a higher nutrient value and no pesticide residue).
2. 100% grass-fed. (Here is a website that can help you find local grass-fed dairies in your area.)
3. Unsweetened plain (and then add your own natural sweetener if you like). Maia bought these and sometimes we make our own squeeze tubes, using plain yogurt and unsweetened jam.
4. Greek-style yogurt is even better than regular, although regular plain yogurt can still be Good Stuff.
5. The more active strains of cultures, the better (look for at least three).
6. Get yogurt from non-homogenized milk if you can. Homogenization is the process that breaks down the fat in milk so that it doesn’t separate—so homogenized dairy products aren’t in their natural state.
7. Ideally, you’ll avoid additional additives like gellan gum, xantham gum, and “natural flavors.” The best healthy yogurt will just contain dairy and probiotic cultures.

A Note About Stonyfield

Stonyfield makes dozens of different yogurts, and unfortunately I can’t slap a label as either Good Stuff or Sneaky Stuff on this brand as a whole. Some of Stonyfield’s are definitely Good Stuff, but others are waaayyy Sneaky.

The best Stonyfield: Stonyfield’s grass-fed, organic Greek plain yogurt is among the best of The Good Stuff. With just 7 grams of (naturally occurring) sugars, tons of protein and calcium, and seven probiotic strains, yogurt doesn’t get much more healthful than this one.

The worst Stonyfield: Stonyfield’s drinkable yogurt has more sugar than ice cream, packing a whopping 39 grams. Their o’Soy vegan yogurt is similarly egregious, with 22 grams of sugar.

And now finally, without further ado, here is what I uncovered for Good, Okay, Bad, and Sneaky Stuff brands of yogurt.

The Good Stuff

The Okay Stuff

The Bad Stuff

The Sneaky Stuff

Whew! I know this is a lot of info. Tell me: are there brands you love that I didn’t recommend above? What are your favorite yogurts?

To your health,

P.S.  Are you interested in making your own yogurt? We have made our own in past years with success, but as I’ve gotten busier with grandkids and this business, I find I just don’t have the time! If you are interested in making your own yogurt, here is the recipe we’ve used.

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Written by Maia, President & Founder

My kids are big snackers, and they probably get it from me: I often skip dinner entirely (not good, I know!), and then spend the rest of the evening snacking—a bowl of cereal, some grapes, toast, or maybe if I’m feeling ambitious, a sliced cucumber with some feta cheese, drizzled with Olea Blue.

I try to encourage my kids to sit down to three meals a day and keep snacking to a minimum, but this is often not realistic. My mom’s most popular post ever is this one, which provides “recipes” for ten super simple, truly healthful snacks for kids. I know this list has been a game-changer for many of us, but what about those times when we don’t even have time to slice a carrot, let alone make kale chips? For modern mommas, there are simply a lot of instances when we need packaged snacks–whether it’s for handing out in the car or stroller or throwing in a lunch box.

Here’s a round-up of my ten favorite, totally guilt-free, packaged snacks. These aren’t just Okay Stuff in my opinion–they are truly the Good Stuff, making me feel great if my kids eat any of them as part of their dinner!

1: Brami Snacking Lupini Beans

With no weird oils or preservatives, Brami’s lupini beans are a Mediterranean snack with more protein and fiber than most beans and nuts (and without the soy concerns of edamame).

2: SeaSnax Roasted Seaweed

Not only are the SeaSnax brand seaweed snacks organic, but (unlike the Trader Joe’s version) they use olive oil instead of canola. Sea vegetables are a great source of minerals, including magnesium, iodine, calcium, selenium, potassium, and zinc.

Buy now from Thrive Market

3: Ruby Rockets Veggie & Fruit Pops

My kids always request Ruby Rockets when they are sick, and I’m happy to oblige. Available in three delicious flavors, Ruby Rockets are the only popsicle I’ve found that doesn’t contain any added sugar, and are packed with hidden veggie purees (not just juice!)–from organic beets to sweet potatoes.

4: Wallaby Organic Greek Yogurt

Since my kids won’t eat completely plain yogurt, I’m always on the lookout for the healthiest flavored version. Thus far, I’ve been unable to find a brand that contains zero sugar, so we like Wallaby’s organic honey variety.

5: Larabar Minis

My kids would live on ZBars if I let them, but those are decidedly sneaky (with lots of sugar, soy, etc.). I love the Larabar Minis for kids: they are made of just nuts, dates, and fruit and happen to be crazy tasty (especially the cherry pie one, FYI). For more on energy bars, check out our Healthy Nutrition Bar Guide.

6: Nature’s All Foods Freeze-Dried Strawberries

When you don’t have fresh fruit on hand or you don’t feel like washing and slicing it, these organic freeze-dried strawberries are the perfect solution to toss in your bag. They are expensive, yes, but are also much healthier than any other “fruit snacks” out there.

Buy now from Thrive Market

7: LesserEvil Buddha Bowl Himalayan Pink Popcorn

Popcorn is a great, whole-grain snack for older kids (because of choking risk), but sometimes we don’t have time to make it in our hot air popper. On those days, I love LesserEvil’s Himalayan Pink Popcorn, which contains just popcorn, coconut oil, and Himalayan sea salt.

Buy now from Thrive Market

8: Rhythm Superfoods Beet Chips

Rhythm’s beet chips DO have sunflower oil (which is better than canola or soy, but not as good as olive, coconut, or avocado), but I don’t consider that much of a compromise if it means watching my kids take down an entire beet in a sitting.

Buy now from Thrive Market

9: The Good Bean Chickpea Snacks

Loaded with folate and protein, The Good Bean’s line of roasted chickpea snacks also contain safflower/sunflower oil, but are a delicious alternative to chips or crackers.

10: Plum Kids Organic Fruit Mashups

Yes, getting your kids to eat whole fruit is ideal, but I like Plum’s Mashup pouches because they don’t contain juices–just purees of organic fruits and berries. What’s more–the plastic used in these pouches is the safest kind out there. For

Please share below which packaged snacks are your go-tos for kids!

Stay sane,

P.S.: You’ll notice in this post that I’ve linked a bunch of snacks to Thrive Market. If you aren’t familiar with Thrive, I encourage you to give it a try. It’s a Costco meets Whole Foods meets Amazon model, with hard-to-find healthful foods delivered, for free, at steeply discounted prices. (And our readers get a free jar of avocado mayo when they join via the link I just provided, since I have an affiliate account with Thrive).

P.P.S.: Wolfie isn’t a huge carrot eater, but when I buy the baby ones in little individual bags, he suddenly loves them. It just goes to show you how much my kids love any and all packaged foods!

P.P.P.S: I recently started ordering healthy snacks from Cub Pantry, and I’m a fan! Use code GIMME20 for 20% off your first box.

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The post 10 Healthiest Packaged Snacks for Kids appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

Bread has gotten a bad name in recent years due to the popularity of low-carbohydrate diets, grain-free diets, and gluten-free diets. While some of the criticism of wheat and bread is well deserved—I wouldn’t call most of what you see in the grocery store Good Stuff–I have found that for many people, totally giving up bread in order to be healthy is not necessary (and definitely not fun!).

Read on for what’s bad about most bread and my top picks for healthy bread.

What’s Wrong with Most Bread

A lot of bread, especially sliced sandwich bread with a long shelf life, includes unhealthy ingredients and additives. For instance:

• Highly refined flour—you’ll even find this in some “whole grain” loaves.
• Lots of added sugars, including high-fructose corn syrup—have you ever noticed how sweet some packaged breads are?
• Cheap, low-quality oils, such as soy and canola, even in brands that you think may healthy bread.
• Artificial preservatives—this enable a long shelf life, but I’d rather freeze or refrigerate my bread!
• Artificial colors to make bread look browner (because that’s healthier, right?) or yellow (hello, potato bread!), etc.
• Cellulose fiber, which is sneakily added to up the fiber content in “healthy” bread and is often sourced from wood in a chemical-laden process. I’d much rather get my fiber from real whole grains!
• Industrial bread production involves a lot of other additives that we’d never use in our own kitchens, including dough conditioners (which are as gross as they sound).

What is Healthy Bread?

After all these decades of watching bread evolve, here is my definition of healthy bread: Healthy bread is made from real, whole-food ingredients–sprouted when possible. Be wary of ingredients that you don’t recognize.

My favorite healthy unsprouted breads are the sourdough ones with flour, water, and salt as the only ingredients.

Whatever kind of healthy bread you choose, consider some of my favorite toppings and spreads: nut butters (like almond and peanut), seed butters (like tahini, which goes great with honey!), and organic butter or ghee.

The Good Stuff

The Bad Stuff

The Sneaky Stuff

To your health,

P.S. You’ll notice in this post that I’ve linked a variety of ingredients to Thrive Market. If you aren’t familiar with Thrive, I encourage you to give it a try. It’s a Costco meets Whole Foods meets Amazon model, with hard-to-find healthful foods delivered, for free, at steeply discounted prices. (And our readers get a free jar of avocado mayo when they join via the link I just provided).

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The post Healthy Bread Shopping Guide appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

To prepare this healthy mayonnaise shopping guide, I went to some local stores to check out the mayonnaise selection. I was amazed by the variety of mayo products—I found vegan mayo, Paleo mayo, light mayo, organic mayo, etc.

The fact that mainstream brands like Hellmann’s are now offering organic “healthy” mayonnaise and versions prepared with higher-quality eggs and oils shows how much consumer interest there is in healthier foods–and this is great news!

More good news: there are some good and okay healthy mayonnaise options available, including ones you can buy at most grocery stores. (Spoiler alert: Buy organic mayo, and skip “light” versions.)

The bad news? Of all the brands I looked at, only one is really, truly Good Stuff. As I ranked these mayos from most to least to least healthful, I realized that there needed to be extra categories for this review. So, you’ll see below that we’ve got Best Stuff, Good Stuff, Okay Stuff, Sneaky Stuff, and Bad Stuff to help you pick a healthy mayonnaise. 

My Top Pick for Healthy Mayonnaise

As you’ll see below, the Best Stuff when it comes to mayonnaise is Primal Kitchen Mayo: It’s the only brand to use only avocado oil for fat, there are only six ingredients, the eggs are organic, and it comes in a glass jar.

Get a free jar from Thrive Market

You know I’m a big fan of making things from scratch, so you probably won’t be surprised to hear that the healthiest and most delicious mayo is made in your own kitchen. If you’d like to try making your own mayo—it’s actually really simple!—check out the recipe at the end of this post. But don’t worry, I’ll also give you my thoughts on all the store brands.

What is mayo?

In its traditional form, mayo is a simple condiment. It’s a combination of:

• Oil
• Egg and/or egg yolk
• Acidic ingredients like lemon juice or vinegar
• Other flavoring ingredients (salt, mustard, etc.)

The best store-bought mayo products have ingredient lists that are very close to this one. The worst products have a several more ingredients, including highly processed and sketchy ingredients (see below). Vegan mayo products, because they don’t contain egg, have other ingredients to make up for it.

Runner Up: Surprise!

Believe it or not, Hellmann’s Organic Mayonnaise is the second-best mayo I could find. The primary ingredients are organic, and they use organic soybean oil.

What’s wrong with most mayonnaise?

Ask people what’s unhealthy about mayo, and most will tell you it’s because mayo is “high in fat.” It’s true that traditional mayo has a lot of fat in it—oil is the primary ingredient. But there’s more to the story. Most conventional mayo products contain:

• Poor-quality oils: The worst thing about most mayo is not the number of fat grams per serving, but rather the quality of the oils. Canola and soy are the most common oils you’ll find on mayo ingredient labels, because they are cheap and neutral in flavor.I’m wary of canola oil because non-organic canola is usually genetically modified. Even organic canola oil is the product of a lot of processing, involving chemicals and high temperatures that can compromise the fatty acids, even hydrogenating some.And soybean oil worries me because unless it’s organic, it is most likely from genetically modified plants. (Because there is so much controversy concerning vegetable oils, when preparing food at home, I use only olive, coconut, avocado, or toasted sesame oil and sometimes butter or ghee.)
• Poor-quality, conventional eggs: Eggs and egg yolks are another key ingredient in mayo. Cheap, non-organic eggs are problematic because conventionally raised chickens are typically exposed to higher levels of agricultural chemicals, environmental toxins, hormones, and antibiotics.Sadly, most chickens are raised in terrible conditions. Although “free range” and “cage free” sound good, those terms don’t necessarily mean that chickens have a better life or their eggs are any healthier than those from more confined animals.
• Preservatives keep mayo from spoiling. That’s a good thing. What’s not good is that a lot of conventional mayo contains concerning preservatives like potassium sorbate and calcium disodium EDTA.
• You will find highly processed starches and added sugar (including high-fructose corn syrup) in a lot of mayo products, especially light and vegan versions.
• “Natural” flavors are often anything but natural. They are usually highly processed and can have a lot of concerning additives that are not listed separately.
• Plastic jars and squeeze bottles are best avoided because plastics often leach unhealthy chemicals, including hormone disruptors and carcinogens.

Best Vegan Mayonnaise

Follow Your Heart Organic Vegenaise is the best choice for those of you looking for an egg-free mayo, although it contains soy. (They do have a  soy-free version using safflower oil, but nothing is organic in that one).

Healthy mayonnaise ingredients

Fortunately, not all store-bought mayo is Bad Stuff. When you look at the ingredients in good mayo products, you’ll see a relatively short list of familiar, whole-food ingredients.

As I mentioned before, when you’re shopping for mayo, look for organic and non-light versions.

Glass should be the first choice for food storage.

Here are the ingredients I found in healthier versions of store-bought mayo:

• Healthier, organic oils: The best oils I found in good store-bought mayo were avocado oil and olive oil. Other vegetable oils aren’t ideal, but because mayo is a condiment, you’re probably not eating a ton of it. Soybean oil is okay if it’s organic.
• Organic eggs: If you’re eating animal products like eggs, you should look for organic versions to reduce your exposure to agricultural and environmental toxins. The very best eggs are from organic, pasture-raised chickens.
• Preservatives like rosemary oil are much better than the highly processed ones you’ll find in most conventional mayo products.
• Real flavoring ingredients like salt, herbs, and spices are preferable to vague “natural flavors.”
• Glass jars are better than plastic containers because glass won’t leach any substances into your food.

You’ll notice below that I’ve linked a bunch of products to Thrive Market. Thrive is a Costco-meets-Whole-Foods-meets-Amazon model, with hard-to-find healthful foods delivered, for $1.95, at steeply discounted prices. I encourage you all to give it a try! (And Thrive has agreed to give you a free jar of Primal Kitchen Mayo when you do.)

The Best Stuff

Primal Kitchen Mayo is my new favorite healthy mayonnaise.

We have the Paleo trend to thank for this product. I like that there are only six ingredients, the only oil used is avocado oil, the eggs are organic, and it comes in a glass jar.

When I told Thrive how much I love this mayo, they offered a free jar to my readers who try Thrive, with this link.

Get a free jar from Thrive Market

.

The Good Stuff

The Okay Stuff

The Sneaky Stuff

The Bad Stuff

Yummy Home-Made Healthy Mayonnaise

I made up my own recipe from looking at two different cookbooks in my kitchen:

1. The Nourished Kitchen by Jennifer McGruther
2. Mediterranean Paleo Cooking by Caitlin Weeks, Nail Boumrar, Diane Sanfilippo

Ingredients:

• 4 egg yolks, room temperature (get the highest quality eggs you can find—I like pastured, organic eggs)
• 1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon finely ground unrefined sea salt
• 1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice or 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups organic extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Put the lemon juice, egg yolks, and salt in a food processor. Pulse the ingredients for about 10 seconds.
2. With the food processor running, very slowly add the olive oil in a thin, continuous stream.
3. When the mixture thickens, stop adding oil. You may have some oil left over. If the mixture becomes too thick, add a few teaspoons of water until it reaches the desired consistency.

You can keep this healthy mayonnaise in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to one week. Mayo can last for a couple of months if you ferment it.

To your health,

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The post Healthy Mayo Shopping Guide appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Maia, President & Founder

As a health-conscious mom of two picky eaters, I sometimes resort to sneaky tricks to “get some nutrition” into my kids. I put chia seeds in their oatmeal, a single romaine leaf in their smoothies (they can always taste kale if I try that!), and pureed veggies in their pizza sauce. I wish they would just take down a big pile of steamed squash on their own, but until that day comes, I do what I gotta do!

My newest trick is to drizzle their food with organic Olea True, a super-premium, high-phenol organic olive oil. I like it because it’s wholesome, delicious, and so easy to sneak into things.

My husband, a foodie and scientist, likes Olea True because it’s what organic olive oil should be—super flavorful and healthful.

I recently sat down with Olea True’s founder, Faye Logothetis, to pick her brain on olive oils in general, and what makes organic Olea True (formerly called Olea Blue) so special.

The olive oil section at the grocery store is so huge—I never know what to buy, but I usually go for something that’s organic, extra virgin, and not too expensive. Am I on the right track? Where does Olea True fit into all of this?

Thanks to the “Mediterranean Diet,” which was popularized in the 1990’s, we think of olive oil as a health food. That’s why you see so many olive oil products on the market. Eating olive oil is incredibly beneficial to our health, but not all olive oils are created equal. In fact, most of them are of weak flavor and questionable quality.

Olive oils are usually a mixture of low-potency oils sourced from large producers in Spain, Italy, and Greece. This is even true of a lot of “extra-virgin olive oil,” which is supposed to be the gold standard for quality and health benefits. Our branding is around the concept of “going beyond extra virgin” to help consumers look at EVOO in a new way.

What makes organic Olea True different is its potency in antioxidants (also called phenols) and the purity of our oil. It comes from the early harvest of specific varieties of organic olives grown on small, carefully selected, family-owned farms in Greece.

We look for farms with mature olive trees and optimal soil conditions. We then have a third party perform nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) testing to ensure that our oils are pure and have very high levels of beneficial compounds.

Is that what gives Olea True its great flavor?

Yes. Thanks to all of these factors, organic Olea True is very flavorful—people who have had the pleasure of tasting a high-quality olive oil know that unique, pleasant peppery flavor. It also has high levels of certain phenols, the compounds that are responsible for many of the health benefits associated with olive oil. This year’s crop of Olea True contains up to ten times more phenolic compounds than the average extra virgin olive oil and we label our bottles with the amount of phenol content. I can’t say this about a vast majority of other olive oil on the market. That’s why we’re doing what we do!

I thought that olive oil is healthy because it’s a “good fat.” What are these phenols you’re talking about?

When trying to explain the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet in general, and olive oil in particular, many experts have given the credit to the monounsaturated fats in olive oil. But there’s so much more going on!

Olive oil has many active compounds, including a phenolic compound called oleocanthal. Based on scientific studies, oleocanthal has anti-inflammatory properties that could help protect against premature aging, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, and even some cancers.

That’s why I’m drizzling this stuff on my kids’ food, and Daylon and I enjoy it on our salads. Do you have any more tips for how to get more Olea True into kids’ diets?

In our house, we use organic Olea True to make salad dressing, and we often add a teaspoon per serving to smoothie recipes.

When we have guests over, we serve it in little bowls alongside fresh, crusty bread.

Adults and older kids can also take a teaspoon straight from the bottle. However you do it, eat organic Olea Blue raw, because higher temperatures reduce the potency of the active compounds.

What about the farmers who produce your oils?

Fair trade is a core part of our mission. We believe that the Greek farmers and communities responsible for the best olive oil deserve to be well compensated for their work.

We pay farmers premium prices for their premium oil. By creating a market here in the U.S. and forming long-term relationships with farmers, we are building a business that they can count on and proudly expand their product.

Stay sane,

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The post My New Favorite Nutrition Marvel: Olea True Organic Olive Oil appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

When I was a young mother there was no such thing as healthful bars of any kind, let alone nutrition bars! These days, there are a million different ones available at health food stores, drug stores, and even gas stations. Different bars fit different diet trends: Paleo; high protein/low sugar; athletic fuel (high carb); gluten free; whole foods; raw foods; macrobiotic; etc. It’s amazing how much the bar market has evolved since the 1970s, when I started paying attention to food and nutrition!

People of all dietary needs and preferences have come to rely on bars as an easy way to get some nutrition while on the run. My son, Graham, is a personal trainer. Through talking with him and spending time at the gym myself, I’ve learned that a lot of fitness-oriented people love bars. And I see why—if you eat the right bar after a workout, you feel great.

Since nutrition bars are so popular, we asked you, our readers, which bars you wanted us to review. Then I went and did some ingredient research and taste testing. If bars are a regular part of your diet (and/or your kids’), read on to learn which ones are Good Stuff, Okay Stuff, Sneaky Stuff, and just plain Bad Stuff. (Oh, and if you want to make bars yourself, here’s my favorite recipe.)

Primal is the energy bar that I eat most often.

My Top Pick for Best Nutrition Bar

I eat Primal Kitchen bars most often, but my pick for the best bar for most people is actually Larabar. The ingredients are super basic, and even my grandchildren love them.

Buy Primal Bar now from Thrive Market
Buy Larabar now from Thrive Market

Bad Bar Ingredients to Avoid

As you probably guessed, there’s a lot of questionable stuff out there in the nutrition bar world. Here are some of the ingredients that raise red flags for me:

• 

  Primal is the energy bar that I eat most often.

  Soy ingredients are popular in many nutrition bars as a source of protein (like soy protein isolate) and product-enhancing additives (like soy lecithin). Soy is problematic for many reasons: non-organic soy is likely genetically modified; many soy ingredients are highly processed; soy can be estrogenic; soy can be difficult to digest; and soy is a common allergen. I avoid soy except in some traditional forms, like tempeh and miso, and I recommend that you avoid the more processed, modern versions of it, especially if they’re not organic.

• Non-organic dairy, eggs, and meat, which are all sources of ingredients you can find in many bars, are problematic because conventionally raised animals are typically exposed to higher levels of agricultural chemicals, environmental toxins, hormones, and antibiotics.
• Peanut plants are really good at taking up toxins from soil, so non-organic peanuts (and ingredients derived from them, like peanut butter and peanut flour, which you’ll find in many bars), are usually more toxic than their organic counterparts.
• Casein and casein derivatives (like calcium caseinate and sodium caseinate) are cheap, highly processed and readily available sources of milk-derived protein. They can be contaminated from the source (see non-organic dairy, above) and processing. Also, high levels of these proteins can interfere with mineral absorption in the body.
• Added sweeteners, like corn syrup, are often highly refined, meaning they add sugar without any redeeming nutrients.
• Maltodextrin is a common carbohydrate in mainstream sports nutrition products because it’s technically a complex carb, but can be absorbed quickly, giving the body an energy boost. It’s also cheap and readily available. I don’t like it because it’s highly processed, can be derived from problematic sources (like wheat or corn), acts like more refined sugars in the body, causes digestive problems in some people, and can actually have dehydrating effects (which is exactly what it’s not supposed to do).
• Artificial sweeteners like sucralose (Splenda) have a lot of negative research data against them, and the ones that have been around the longest tend to have the worst reputation. But there’s also “evidence” to defend their continued use in foods. I know people who are sensitive to artificial sweeteners– they get headaches from even the smallest doses—and that’s evidence enough for me to avoid them and suggest that you and your kids do the same. Like sugar alcohols (below), artificial sweeteners are also problematic because they can make sugar cravings worse– because you aren’t digesting real sugar, your brain isn’t getting satiety cues, so the sugar craving rages on.
• Sugar alcohols like xylitol, maltitol and erythritol are supposed to be safer, more natural alternatives to artificial sweeteners—they provide sweetness with few calories and are derived from natural sources. But of course you can’t have your cake and eat it, too! Sugar alcohols are often highly processed, can cause digestive problems and headaches, and they can backfire by perpetuating sugar cravings. They can also induce an insulin response just like regular sugars.
• Added oils are often of poor quality, and one of the more common oils—canola—is extra problematic. Non-organic canola is usually genetically modified. Even organic canola oil is the product of a lot of processing, involving chemicals and high temperatures that can compromise the fatty acids, even hydrogenating some.
• “Natural” flavors are often anything but natural, even if they’re organic! They are usually highly processed and can have a lot of concerning additives that are not listed separately. Be especially wary of bars with flavors that are trying to mimic other foods, like cookies, cakes, and pies.
• Added vitamins and minerals are common in bars that are trying to seem more nutritious than they really are, and they’re usually of unknown origin and quality. Many added nutrients can’t even be absorbed by our bodies. You’re best off getting vitamins and minerals from whole food sources. (Here’s more on my feelings about vitamins.)

Good Bar Ingredients to Look for

Look for bars that contain superior sweeteners, like coconut sugar.

The best bars are basically those you could make in your kitchen with ingredients that are readily available at your local grocery or health food store. When I was reviewing ingredients, I looked for:

• Real, whole foods like nuts, seeds, and meat (popular in some of the Paleo friendly bars).
• Organic and non-GMO ingredients, especially when it comes to peanuts and animal-based ingredients.
• Carbohydrates from whole-food ingredients like grains, nuts, and fruit.
• Added sweeteners should be as unrefined and high-nutrient as possible, like coconut sugar and honey.

What’s the Healthiest Kind of Protein in Bars?

Protein ingredients are tricky because even natural ones tend to be highly processed. Ideally, the protein in your diet is from whole-food sources like organic meats, dairy, nuts, seeds, or beans, so you don’t need bars as a major protein source. That’s my two cents. But I know that some people are on high-protein diets or are trying to use high-protein bars to recover from workouts. So here are my tips for finding the best protein ingredients in nutrition bars:

–>For animal-based proteins, look for organic meat and cold-processed whey. Beef collagen (a.k.a. gelatin) is an increasingly popular animal-based protein right now. You’ll find it in Good Stuff like the bars from Primal Kitchen. Collagen tends to be easy to digest and has a lot of potential health benefits. The best stuff currently available is from grass-fed cows in Brazil. (I do I wonder if the cows are 100% grass fed, if their food is organic, and what kind of processing is involved to extract the collagen from the bones and other tissues, but that’s a topic for another day!)

–>For plant-based protein, skip soy-derived protein, even if you’re not allergic or sensitive to soy; even organic soy protein isolate is highly processed. Protein from sprouted brown rice is a good choice if you’re not concerned about the arsenic controversy and can tolerate grains. Pea protein is also popular, and it doesn’t raise any red flags for me. One bar company, Grow Protein, is using protein from watermelon seeds; I call these bars Good Stuff.

You’ll notice below that I’ve linked a bunch of ingredients to Thrive Market. Thrive is a Costco-meets-Whole-Foods-meets-Amazon model, with hard-to-find healthful foods delivered, for free, at steeply discounted prices. I encourage you all to give it a try!

The Good Stuff

The Okay Stuff

The Bad Stuff

The Sneaky Stuff

Here’s the scene at my desk right now. The Primal Kitchen bar gives me a nice pick-me-up in the afternoon.

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The post Healthy Nutrition Bar Guide appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

I like to bake cookies with high-quality, natural ingredients, so writing this guide was a challenge! I know that Maia and many of you are busy moms who don’t have time to bake, but still like to offer your kids cookies from time to time. Who doesn’t love a cookie-and-milk or cookie-and-tea break?

I don’t call most store-bought cookies Good Stuff because I’m concerned about many of the ingredients, from highly refined flours and sweeteners to heavily processed, low-quality oils and sketchy additives. (At home, I usually bake with sweeteners like maple sugar, coconut sugar, or honey. For fat, I prefer butter or coconut oil .)

My Top Pick for Healthiest Cookies

As you’ll see when you read my full review below, I am hooked on Rickaroons, and if you’re going to eat cookies, this is the brand to get.

So, in my quest to find some Good Stuff, I went to the healthy food section of my local grocery store and bought lots of brands of cookies. I evaluated them based on ingredients and, yes, taste! I found one brand I call Good Stuff, several cookies I call Okay Stuff (especially if you’re not eating them all the time), and a bunch that are Sneaky and Bad.

Bad Ingredients in Most Cookies

Some cookies I looked at didn’t contain a single ingredient I would call Good Stuff. But there are a few major types of ingredients that I’m most concerned about, with sweeteners and fats being at the top of my list.

Sugars

The problem with many cookies is that the sweetener is not only highly refined white sugar, but also high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). High fructose corn syrup is an industrial food product, far from a “natural” substance. HFCS is cheaper than sugar because of government subsidies and therefore it’s often a sweetener of choice in the standard cookies that you buy at the grocery store. I’m not alone in my dislike of HFCS. The Mayo Clinic says, “As use of high-fructose corn syrup has increased, so have levels of obesity and related health problems.”

Fats

My other major concern with most store-bought cookies is the type of fat used. Partially hydrogenated oils (vegetable, soybean, cottonseed, etc.) are a source of unhealthy trans fats. These oils are used widely in fried and packaged foods because they’re cheap and they greatly extend a food’s shelf life. Unfortunately, they’re really bad for us.

Trans fats raise the risk of heart disease by raising LDL (“bad cholesterol”) and lowering HDL (“good cholesterol”). Human milk contains trans fat if the breastfeeding mother consumes it; the more she eats, the higher the concentration of trans fat in her milk and in her baby’s blood. Trans fat is implicated in cancers of the breast and prostate, diabetes, infertility, Alzheimer’s, obesity (even with similar caloric intake), depression, and other maladies.

Partially hydrogenated oils have been banned in several countries (such as Denmark and Switzerland), states (California), and cities (Calgary, New York City, and others).

You’ll still find them in lots of packaged cookies!

Note: Be wary of packages that say “0g trans fats (per serving).” This does not mean that the food is trans-fat free. It just means that there is a half gram or less of trans fat per serving. (Thanks, labeling laws!) If you look at the ingredient list, you may still see partially hydrogenated oils listed. And even though the amount may be relatively small, trans fats are bad and can add up in our diets—this is especially true for kids.

Another popular fat that I’m not a fan of is canola oil. The vast majority of canola oil (if it’s not organic) comes from genetically modified rapeseed plants. Canola oil is the product of a lot of processing, involving chemicals and high temperatures that can compromise the fatty acids, even hydrogenating some. Health researcher and author Sally Fallon calls canola oil a “newfangled fat” because it’s only been part of our food system since the 1970s. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like being a guinea pig, so I avoid canola oil.

Of course there are more cookie ingredients that raise red flags for me. You’ll see more below in the Okay Stuff, Sneaky Stuff, and Bad Stuff.

So Are There Good Cookies?

Short answer: Yes!

Cookies can be Good Stuff, but should be enjoyed as a special treat. You already know that I’m biased in favor of cookies made at home with high-quality, wholesome ingredients (here are my favorites, but you don’t have to come to my house to get Good Stuff cookies. I did find some store-bought cookies that I call Good Stuff and Okay Stuff.

(You’ll notice in this post that I’ve linked a bunch of ingredients to Thrive Market. Thrive is a Costco-meets-Whole-Foods-meets-Amazon model, with hard-to-find healthful foods delivered, for free, at steeply discounted prices.)

The Good Stuff

The Okay Stuff

The Sneaky Stuff

The Bad Stuff

To your health,

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The post Healthy Store-Bought Cookie Guide appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Maia, President & Founder

Last year, when this same dinner-making fatigue occurred, I decided to sign up for some meal kit delivery services. I tried Blue Apron and Hello Fresh, and even though I canceled both, it wasn’t because they didn’t live up to their promises. Indeed, not having to think about what I was going to make was luxurious, the meals were easy to prepare, and it was almost always delicious. The problem was not one ingredient included in these services was organic.

The quality of the ingredients wasn’t at the level of any of the stuff that I would buy at the grocery store, which made the whole exercise seem silly–after all, the point of cooking at home rather than ordering take-out is mostly about the healthfulness of the meal. (The cost is actually less of a consideration–a trip to Whole Foods for dinner ingredients sets me back more than ordering a pizza!)

With Hello Fresh and Blue Apron, I worried that the chicken stock had MSG, that the tomato sauce had high fructose corn syrup, and that the ground beef was pumped full of hormones.

Green Chef: An Organic Meal-Prep Option

Here’s my set-up for making some huevos rancheros.

I want to hear from you! Comment below if you’ve tried Green Chef or other meal-prep delivery services and let me know what your experience was.

Stay sane,

P.S. In case you skim blogs like I do, here’s your link for free meals from Green Chef.

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The post Green Chef Meal Kit Delivery Review appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Maia, President

Some of you asked for the recipe for our homemade ice cream cake that I mentioned in the newsletter. Here are the details!

For my son’s seventh birthday, he requested an ice cream cake with candy on top. We live near a candy shop, and we let him choose the aquatic-themed gummies that went on top of the cake (nothing about this candy was remotely Good Stuff, besides the joy it brought him and his brother).

The cake itself wasn’t actually that bad, especially when you consider what’s in a Carvel ice cream cake! We followed this recipe, with the following alternations:

1. We used Blue Marble ice cream (which is organic…and $8 a pint!). You could also choose Alden’s Organic ice cream, or better yet, make your own ice cream and completely skip the white sugar. Here’s a truly easy recipe for making ice cream.
2. For the cake’s middle cookie crumble layer, we got natural chocolate wafer cookies (like these), and used this recipe to make our own chocolate shell. (The cake recipe calls for Magic Shell, which surprisingly didn’t include anything THAT terrible, other than lots of sugar and some soy lecithin. Still, I wanted to make an organic version with higher quality coconut oil.)
3. As for the icing, it was just whipped cream with a little maple syrup. Felix wanted it to look like the ocean (since the candy he chose was under-water themed), and my husband was worried that we wouldn’t be able to get natural food coloring that would be the right color. I proved him wrong, though, and a mere $20 later, I had some natural food coloring that really worked!

If you’re keeping track, you’ve probably realized that this cake cost nearly $100 to make! If you’ve attempted a homemade ice cream cake, comment below on lessons learned and what you spent:).

Stay sane,

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The post Healthy(ish) Homemade Ice Cream Cake appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

Bread has gotten a bad name in recent years due to the popularity of low-carbohydrate diets, grain-free diets, and gluten-free diets. These days, gluten is basically a dirty word! While some of the criticism of wheat and bread is well deserved—I wouldn’t call most of what you see in the grocery store Good Stuff–I have found that for many people, totally giving up bread in order to be healthy is not necessary (and definitely not fun!).

I do think that there is such thing as healthy bread, and many people can include healthy bread in their diet. For health reasons, I have always been a promoter of whole grains rather than processed grains, so I don’t recommend eating a lot of bread. However, I’ll admit that I’m a bread lover. I eat specific kinds of bread sparingly and mostly avoid the white stuff. Good bread enjoyed with yummy spreads and toppings leaves me feeling healthy and content.

Read on for what’s bad about most bread, my top picks for healthy bread, and a fabulous recipe for super-delicious, super-nutritious bread that just happens to be gluten-free.

What’s Wrong with Most Bread

Have you ever looked at the label on a loaf of bread? Almost all of the bread you’ll find in most grocery stores, delis, and restaurants is a far cry from bread in its simplest and healthiest form. This is true for many organic breads, too.

A lot of bread, especially sliced sandwich bread with a long shelf life, includes unhealthy ingredients and additives. For instance:

• Highly refined flour—you’ll even find this in some “whole grain” loaves.
• Lots of added sugars, including high-fructose corn syrup—have you ever noticed how sweet some packaged breads are?
• Cheap, low-quality oils, such as soy and canola.
  
• Artificial preservatives—this enable a long shelf life, but I’d rather freeze or refrigerate my bread!
• Artificial colors to make bread look browner (because that’s healthier, right?) or yellow (hello, potato bread!), etc.
• Cellulose fiber, which is sneakily added to up the fiber content in bread and is often sourced from wood in a chemical-laden process—I’d much rather get my fiber from real whole grains!
• Industrial bread production involves a lot of other additives that we’d never use in our own kitchens, including dough conditioners (which are as gross as they sound)

For a fascinating dive into the best and the worst of bread, check out the bread chapter in Michael Pollan’s book Cooked.

Bread: Some Sneaky Stuff

Here are some breads that SOUND like they could be healthful, but that contain those yucky ingredients I just mentioned:

• Pepperidge Farm Whole Grain
• Sara Lee 100% Whole Wheat
• Thomas’ 100% Whole Wheat
• Udi’s Whole Grain Bread
• Vermont Bread Company Organic Multigrain Bread (although this is the best of this list!)

The Evolution of “Healthy Bread”

So what is healthy bread? Well, it’s an ever-changing story. In the 40 years I’ve been following the health and wellness field, I’ve witnessed the evolution of what is considered to be “healthy bread,” and I’ve ridden every wave.

In the 1970’s, homemade whole wheat bread became popular as part of the backlash against Wonder Bread. Later, the standard for healthy bread shifted to bread made from freshly ground flour (and I bought a stone grinder, of course!). Then, yeast was out and sourdough was in. By the late 1990’s, flour made from soaked and sprouted grains was the key to healthy bread. (That’s when I started eating Ezekiel Bread and baking with sprouted flours.) Most recently, “healthy bread” is gluten free.

During all of these progressions, bakers and bread companies have produced bread that is healthy based on the standards of the day. All of these evolutions have been good, but it can be confusing for the consumer. Is bread healthy if it’s made with whole-grains? If it’s organic? If it’s thinly sliced? Sadly, not necessarily.

My Top Picks for Healthy Bread

After all these decades of watching bread evolve, here is my definition of healthy bread: Healthy bread is made from real, whole-food ingredients–sprouted when possible. Be wary of ingredients that you don’t recognize. My favorite unsprouted breads are the sourdough ones with flour, water, and salt as the only ingredients.

Bread can come in a lot of forms—store-bought, homemade, sandwich-style, moist and cake-like. Here are my top picks for different kinds of healthy breads:

• Traditional breads from local bakeries: In Vermont, where we lived for many years, there are many bakeries that make traditional European-style sourdough breads baked in a brick oven. Such bakers source their grains or flours very carefully and generally use top-quality i
  

  We even use Ezekiel’s buns for our burgers.

  ngredients. To me, these are the very best breads if you can find them (and if you don’t have issues with gluten).

• Sprouted whole-grain breads are great because they’re more nutritious and easier to digest that regular sandwich bread. Ezekiel Bread is my favorite in this category because it’s widely available and comes in a variety of flavors, from sesame to cinnamon-raisin. Because it’s made from whole grains and legumes, it’s a great source of complex carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and many vitamins and minerals. I like their sliced loaves because I can toast the slices easily and use it like any normal sandwich bread. It’s great for kids’ lunches.
• Manna Bread’s sprouted bread comes frozen in moist, dense loaves. You can find it in natural food stores or the organic section of some grocery stores. It is cake-like; in fact, their carrot-raisin loaf reminds me of carrot cake! Because of its dense consistency, it is better for a side dish or snack than a sandwich. There are a variety of flavors, from sweet to savory. I thaw mine and store it in the fridge. Aside from the fact that it’s delicious, I like that Manna Bread is made from sprouted grains, has simple ingredients, and is organic. It’s also yeast-free.
• Gluten-free bread made from real ingredients. Beware: Most gluten-free breads are not healthy. They tend to be made from highly refined carbohydrates and include many additives to make up for the lack of gluten. The good kind of gluten-free bread is made from normal, whole foods, like nuts and seeds. My favorite gluten-free bread is Sarah Britton’s famous “Healthy Loaf of Bread,” which is included at the end of this post.

Whatever kind of bread you choose, consider some of my favorite toppings and spreads: nut butters (like almond and peanut), seed butters (like tahini, which goes great with honey!), and organic butter or ghee.

Good Bread-Making Flours

For those of you who like to make wheat-based bread at home—it’s such a simple and fulfilling activity, and kids love it!—you can make your favorite loaf more nutritious and digestible by using sprouted flour. Organic Spelt Sprouted Flour is what I keep in my kitchen for making pancakes, waffles, muffins and even cake.

Another sprouted-flour bonus is that some individuals with gluten sensitivities can tolerate wheat that has been soaked, sprouted, or fermented.

A Healthy Bread Recipe

The gluten-free bread recipe below is adapted from one of my favorite blogs, Sarah Britton’s My New Roots . This recipe launched her into the blog stratosphere. It is not traditional bread because it’s not made with flour and leavening. It’s yummy and full of Good Stuff.

Check out Sarah’s blog and book. Her recipes are wonderful (and mostly vegan), and her photographs are stunning.

Healthy Loaf of Bread

Adapted from My New Roots, by Sarah Britton

Ingredients

Dry ingredients:

• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup flax seeds
• 1/2 cup almonds or hazelnuts
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 4 tablespoons psyllium seed husks
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Wet ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 ½ cups water
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil, ghee or butter

Directions:

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.
2. Whisk the wet ingredients together in a measuring cup.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until everything is completely soaked and the dough becomes very thick.
4. Put dough in a parchment-lined baking pan and smooth out the top with the back of a spoon.
5. Cover the loaf and let it sit out on the counter for at least 3 hours or overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the loaf on the middle rack of the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan, place it upside down directly onto the oven rack, and bake for another 30-40 minutes. The bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped.

Let the bread cool completely before slicing. Store leftovers in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Or store wrapped in the wonderful Bee’s Wrap that we sell in our store here at Gimme the Good Stuff.

To your health,

P.S. You’ll notice in this post that I’ve linked a variety of ingredients to Thrive Market. If you aren’t familiar with Thrive, I encourage you to give it a try. It’s a Costco meets Whole Foods meets Amazon model, with hard-to-find healthful foods delivered, for free, at steeply discounted prices.

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Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

These days, there is a cult-like enthusiasm for high-protein diets (hello, Paleo). Carbs are getting a bad rap, some of it well deserved. I meet many clients who limit their intake of grains in the name of health and weight control. I am all for limiting simple carbohydrates like refined sugar and heavily processed grains. Simple carbs cause unstable energy and add a lot of calories but few nutrients to our diets. However, I do think that there is a place in our diet for complex carbohydrates.

Are you looking for more energy but don’t want to rely on sweets or caffeine to fuel you? Try eating some whole grains, especially at breakfast (see the recipe at the end of this post for one of my favorites).

Humans and whole grains: we go way back

As humans ceased to be hunter-gatherers and settled down into farming communities, they were able to cultivate grain crops. Whole grains became a central element of the human diet. Quinoa, millet, sorghum, amaranth, teff, freekeh, chia seeds, farro, spelt and Kamut are all ancient grains. (The latter three are not gluten-free, but some people with gluten or wheat sensitivities can tolerate them.)

Across the world, grains were staples in the human diet. In the Americas, it was corn. In India and Asia, diets were built around rice. In Africa, people ate sorghum. In the Middle East, they used wheat to make pita bread, tabouli, and couscous. In Europe, corn, millet, wheat, rice, pasta, dark breads, and even beer were considered health-providing foods. In Scotland, oats were a staple food. In Russia, they ate buckwheat (kasha). People living in these communities—on all continents—had lean, strong bodies.

Whole grains are nutrition powerhouses

Whole grains are an excellent source of nutrition. They contain essential enzymes, iron, dietary fiber, protein, vitamin E, and B-complex vitamins. Some are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Because the body absorbs whole grains slowly, their complex carbohydrates provide sustained and high-quality energy.

Ancient grains for modern life

Obviously, our lifestyles have changed since our ancestors settled into farming communities. We move less, eat more, stress more, and sleep less. Most of us are not laboring to produce our own food and we don’t need to sit down to a huge “farmer’s breakfast.” But we do need energy and nutrients, and whole grains are a great source.

Each person can gauge the amount of whole grains they eat, with how they feel. When I was a young mother and very active all day, I could eat a lot of whole grains. Now as an older woman who leads a more sedentary day, I eat fewer whole grains. I go to the gym most mornings, and take a walk in the afternoon. But I’m no longer running around after children all day, which requires a special kind of energy.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy whole grains is at breakfast. I am always looking for new things to make for breakfast when my grandsons stay here. (If it were up to them, we would eat these sprouted spelt waffles every day.) Last week I tried something different, and they loved it. Tell the kids you’re making a “breakfast sundae,” and let them add the toppings!

Apple & Rice Hot Cereal

Modified from The Chopra Center Cookbook

Ingredients

This recipe is a guide; make it with whatever ingredients you have on hand. Enjoy for breakfast, snack, or even dessert!

• 2 1/2 cups milk of your choice (I love making my own almond milk)
• 1 cup brown basmati rice, or whole grain of your choice
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 3 whole cardamom pods
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup apple juice
• 3 large apples, unpeeled and cubed
• ¼ cup currants
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon toasted coconut
• 1/4 cup roasted walnuts

Directions:

In a 2 quart saucepan, bring the milk and rice to a boil; add the cinnamon stick and the cardamom. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes at the lowest possible heat. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring the apple juice to a boil; add the apples, currants, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Simmer for 5 minutes, adding more juice if necessary. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and maple syrup.

Place the rice in a serving bowl or individual bowls. Spoon the apple mixture over the rice and drizzle some of the juice on top. Garnish with toasted coconut and walnuts.

Be well,

P.S. You’ll notice in this post that I’ve linked a variety of ingredients to Thrive Market. If you aren’t familiar with Thrive, I encourage you to give it a try. It’s a Costco meets Whole Foods meets Amazon model, with hard-to-find healthful foods delivered, for free, at steeply discounted prices.

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Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

Today it’s 70 degrees here on the East Coast! The spring green onions are starting to peek out of the grass. My grandson and I took a long walk and we were delighted to find lots of little purple crocuses, one of my favorite spring flowers. It’s only March, but spring is coming, and you can feel it in the air. The strength of the sun has increased and the songbirds are more exuberant. They too notice the return of the light and the slow thawing.

The crocus in my yard!

Springtime Eating

You may notice that you have a desire for lighter food as the weather warms. This is a sign that your body recognizes the seasonal change and wants to make adjustments. Spring is a great time of the year to incorporate more fresh foods into your diet.

Kimberly Snyder, author of The Beauty Detox Solution, explains that fresh, raw foods help boost health and beauty. (If you want a great detox book and lots of information about how to create beauty from the inside out, Snyder’s book is an awesome resource).

Raw foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds tend to be higher in nutrients than cooked foods, and they have more digestive enzymes. Still, Snyder doesn’t recommend a diet of 100 percent raw foods. Instead, she encourages you to increase the amount of raw food that you eat. One of the easiest and most delicious ways to do this is by enjoying fresh juices and smoothies.

Fresh Juice

I love fresh juice, especially as part of my first meal of the day. You can make juices from any combination of fruits and vegetables. Fresh herbs and spices, like mint, ginger, and parsley, are also wonderful. My favorite juice combination is apple, celery, cucumber, and kale.

The easiest and most effective way to make juice is with a juicing machine. There are many good juicers on the market. I use this one from Breville.

Smoothies

Smoothies are also great because they have all the nutrients of juice, plus fiber and protein. My husband, Maia’s dad, loves smoothies because they pack a lot of nutrition into your diet without requiring much time in the kitchen. A good smoothie can be a meal in a glass!

I love Kimberly Snyder’s Glowing Green Smoothie, posted below. It’s full of fruits, green veggies, and even herbs.

(Previously, I shared the recipe for a super simple and yummy hemp seed smoothie, which is another household favorite. This is my go-to smoothie for a healthy dessert or an afternoon pick-me-up. It has cacao nibs, dates, and bananas. For my smoothie recipes that kids love, check out this post.)

The Best Blender

Having a very powerful blender is key to making great smoothies. A good blender will grind up anything—even cacao nibs—into a rich, smooth drink. We love our Blendtec, which is a true workhorse. Unfortunately, there are no plastic-free blenders available, so for now we just transfer our smoothies into glass water bottles as soon as they are blended.

Recipe: Glowing Green Smoothie

(From The Beauty Detox Solution, by Kimberly Snyder)

As you can see, that there are lots of fruits and veggies in this recipe. I don’t always use the exact ingredients listed here, as I like to play around with what I have on hand. All ingredients should be organic, if possible.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
• ½ head of large bunch or ¾ of small bunch spinach (I do a handful)
• 3-4 stalks celery
• 1 apple, cored and chopped (I use this tool to quickly core/chop apples).
• 1 pear, cored and chopped
• 1 organic banana
• juice of ½ lemon

Optional ingredients: These herbs may add strong flavors, but they’re great for cleansing

• ½ bunch cilantro (stems okay)
• ½ bunch parsley (stems okay)
• Ice in place of some of the water, if you like your smoothies colder.

Directions:

1. Add the water and chopped head of romaine and spinach to the blender.
2. Starting the blender on a low speed, mix until smooth.
3. Gradually moving to higher speeds, add the celery, apple, and pear.
4. Add the cilantro and parsley if you choose.
5. Add the banana and lemon juice last.

Be well,

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Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

As a health coach, I hear a lot of excuses (most of which are valid!) for why people don’t eat more healthful food. But lack of time and money is by far the most common. My clients say, “I don’t have time to shop and cook, and healthy food is so expensive!” Sound familiar?

Recently, football superstar Tom Brady’s personal chef was interviewed about Brady’s organic, mostly plant-based diet. Brady has been outspoken about how his healthy lifestyle keeps him playing football at peak performance well into his late 30’s. (That’s ancient by NFL standards!).

When I brought this up with my clients, I heard a lot of comments like, “Of course he can eat healthy—he’s a pro athlete and his wife is the richest model in the world!” Trust me, I get it—it would be wonderful if all of us could have a personal chef in our kitchens, whipping up healthy meals all day, every day. But since that’s not practical for most of us (at least not yet—keep chasing those dreams!), here are some pro tips to help you eat like a healthy superstar. They’re quick, cheap, simple, and—yes!—delicious.

Tip #1: Cook Once, Eat Twice

When you cook a meal, prepare more food than usual and use the leftovers later. This doesn’t take much extra time, but it will save you a lot of time later. Foods like whole grains and beans (soaked and cooked) re-heat very well; just add freshly prepared veggies. Steaming and water sautéing are the healthiest ways to re-heat food. Salads can be eaten again later if you leave the greens un-dressed and keep the salad covered in the refrigerator.

Tip #2: Make a Maia Bowl

This Maia Bowl features quinoa + lentils + chia seeds + feta + chickpeas + avocado + pea shoots + tahini + lemon juice

Maia is a mom of two active boys, so she’s always looking for ways to make daily life easier. What we now call the Maia Bowl was inspired by the Buddha Bowl, a dish of quinoa, beans, and veggies. Maia starts her bowls with whatever she has on hand. Grains, beans, nuts, seeds, veggies (and even fruit!) are all fair game. She then adds a homemade dressing and sometimes goat cheese or feta, and, voila—an awesome lunch or dinner is born! Maia’s go-to dressings are olive oil + lemon juice + Himalayan salt + maple syrup, or tahini + tamari + water + lemon juice.

Here’s a Maia Bowl from this week: leftover brown rice + edamame + chia seeds + dried cranberries + walnuts + goat cheese + tahini dressing. The Maia Bowl can change with the seasons. In the summer, add fresh fruit and more raw greens and veggies. Yum!

Tip #3: Use Healthy Condiments

A simple dinner of grains, beans and steamed vegetables comes to life with a few good condiments. Condiments allow each person to season the meal to their own taste. In addition to flavor, many offer health benefits (for example, umeboshi vinegar aids digestion, and fats from oil and ghee help the body assimilate nutrients from vegetables). I keep a lazy susan in my kitchen filled with various condiments.

Right now, these include: healthy, flavorful oils (plain olive oil, chipotle olive oil, toasted sesame oil, hot pepper sesame oil); ghee (clarified butter); vinegars (red wine vinegar, umeboshi vinegar, brown rice vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and a fig balsamic vinegar); gomasio (sesame salt); tamari; dulse flakes; roasted tahini; cinnamon; fresh ground pepper; and Himalayan sea salt.

Tip #4: Keep Healthy Staples on Hand

Healthy cooking and eating is easy when you have the right foods at your fingertips. 

Here are my favorite healthy staples: garlic, onion, shallots, ginger, root vegetables (white potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips, etc.), grains (quinoa, brown rice, millet, buckwheat, rolled oats, etc.), sprouted spelt flour, dry beans, crushed tomatoes, arrowroot powder, baking powder, and baking soda. The fridge is stocked with nuts and seeds and some dried fruit. In addition to the condiments on the lazy susan, I keep miso and mustard in the fridge. My spice cabinet is filled with my favorite dried herbs and spices.

With staples like this on hand, you can just pick up a few greens and some type of animal protein (if you like), and you have the makings of a healthy, delicious meal.

(You can get all of these ingredients for way under retail at Thrive Market, by the way.)

Tip #5: Use Simple Recipes

Find a few go-to recipes that have only a few ingredients and don’t require much prep time. When I was busy mom of young children, my go-to simple meal in wintertime was split pea soup (see recipe, below). It is one of my favorites because it is so easy to make (just four ingredients plus water), kids love it, it’s warming, and it’s healthy! What more could you want?

Tip #6: Bond with Your Crock Pot

Maia and I have many jokes since I moved to the suburbs in Pennsylvania, where crock pots are wildly popular. However, my son, who is a personal trainer and committed to eating healthfully, has recently been preparing some delicious and nourishing meals for his busy family using a crock pot. If you need some ideas there are lots of crock pot cook books out there. The one my son, Graham, is using now is called Cooking Light Slow Cooker. I love the idea of putting something together in the early morning and having a warm dinner to come home to. If you are looking to invest in a crock pot, this is the one I have and love.

My Fave Split Pea Soup Recipe

I like Edison’s organic split peas.

(From The Book of Whole Meals, by Annemarie Colbin)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup green split peas
• 1 large carrot
• 1 medium onion
• 1 tablespoon of miso

Directions:

1. Wash and drain the peas and put in a 6-quart pot with 6 cups of water.
2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer.
3. Cut the carrot into chunks, peel the onion and cut into quarters; add both to the peas.
4. Simmer for one hour, or until the carrot is soft.
5. Mash the carrot pieces with a fork against the sides of the pot until the green soup is orange flecked. Add a pinch or two of sea salt and simmer for five more minutes.
6. In the meantime, dissolve the miso in 2 tablespoons of water. Remove soup from heat and add the miso. (Don’t boil the miso; it will destroy the enzymes.)
7. Enjoy as is or top with croutons made from Ezekiel bread. Kids love croutons and they can help you make them: Cut bread into chunks, and toast in a frying pan with a little olive oil or avocado oil.

I hope these tips have shown you that healthy eating is easier than you thought. However, if you still feel overwhelmed or stressed about what to cook and eat, then consider working with me as your health coach. Coaching offers personal support, structure, and accountability. My coaching clients gain confidence in choosing and preparing healthy meals for themselves and their families. Making healthier choices means having more energy to meet the demands of modern motherhood. If you’re curious about coaching, contact me for a free, 30-minute consultation. We’ll focus entirely on you and your unique health concerns.

Be well,

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The post You Don’t Need a Personal Chef to Eat Like a Superstar: 6 Tips for Healthy Eating! (Plus a Soup Recipe) appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

My six-year-old, Felix, is allergic to peanuts. Due to very low Ieg levels in his blood, we are hopeful that he may outgrow it, but it still really sucks to have to worry about it for now. (Also—what about the protective effects of long-term breastfeeding?!) I am probably as concerned about the psychological effects of a food allergy as I am about the possibility of an anaphylactic reaction, so I was relieved when my two-year-old, Wolfie, tested negative for peanut allergy.

Our allergist told us to start feeding Wolfie peanuts as much as possible to prevent the development of a future allergy (he’s at a higher risk because of Felix). Unfortunately, Wolfie is not a fan of peanut butter, so this proved difficult.

Baby Food: Finding the Good Stuff

Right around the time we found out that Woflie wasn’t allergic to peanuts, I happened to hear from a woman named Zoi Maroudas, who founded a baby food company called Bambino’s. She wanted us to review her baby food for possible inclusion in our Safe Baby Food Guide.

After looking into Bambino’s products–and receiving samples, which we fed to my 6-month-old nephew, Lincoln–I deemed Bambino’s organic frozen food the Good Stuff (see our Safe Frozen Baby Food Guide for more on this baby food as well as other brands that get our approval).

If you can’t prepare your baby’s food fresh (which I rarely did, after so much was refused and thrown away!), frozen is the next best option. It’s definitely better than the purees you’d get in pouches or jars. And Bambino’s is about as good as it gets.

Cookies for Allergy Prevention?

What intrigued me most about the Bambino’s lineup wasn’t any of the organic vegetable, fish, or high-quality meat options. It was something called peanut mani.

Zoi says these cookies contain the exact amount of peanut recommended to prevent peanut allergies in children. You’ve probably seen the headlines that Israeli children rarely suffer from peanut allergies, and the theory is that it’s because of early exposure to peanut snacks called Bamba.

Intuitively, this theory makes sense, and I would encourage all parents to introduce nuts early (after, of course, checking with your pediatrician). Bambino’s peanut mani are also Good Stuff because they are organic and are lightly sweetened with oranges and carrots instead of sugar. The idea is that you give your child one cookie each day starting at four months old to help prevent the development of a peanut allergy.

Zoi has offered to include a free gift for orders—for peanut mani as well as frozen baby food–made by my readers. Just you code GIMMEGOODS when checking out.

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Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

There is so much information out there about how to eat for weight loss or for improving your health. It can be overwhelming. When I work with health coaching clients, I start with one simple idea: Instead of focusing on what not to eat, I tell them to add in more Good Stuff so that you begin to crowd out the Bad Stuff. The more healthy food you eat, the less room there is in your diet for unhealthy food.

So what’s the Good Stuff when it comes to food? My top pick is leafy green vegetables. Think spinach, kale, collards, Swiss chard, dark lettuces, parsley, etc.

Related post: Kale Chips for Picky Kids!

Most diets do not include enough greens—and in my opinion, you should aim to have greens with every meal. Learning to cook and eat greens is an essential and easy way to create good health. Greens help to develop healthy intestinal flora, strengthen the immune system, and boost your respiratory function. They are especially good for city dwellers who rarely see fields of green in open countryside. In Asian medicine, green is related to the liver, emotional stability, and creativity.

Nutritionally, greens are high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, zinc, and vitamins A, C, E, and K. They are packed with fiber, folic acid, chlorophyll, and many other micronutrients and phytochemicals.

Don’t worry—you don’t have to live on salads in order to eat enough greens! Here are five creative (and delicious!) ways to get your greens! And if you need more ideas, I recommend this book to my clients for information about and recipes using greens.

Eggs topped with greens and a side of red sour kraut.

5 Easy Ways to Eat More Greens

1. Add greens to your breakfast. Try eggs with greens, a side of greens, or add greens to your smoothie. Stay tuned for my favorite green smoothie recipe, coming to this blog soon!
2. Include greens in your lunch and dinner, even if it’s just chopped parsley on top of your fish.
3. Enjoy steamed greens as an easy side dish. For flavor, add a little sea salt, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, or balsamic vinegar.
4. Add greens to your sandwich. One of my go-to favorites is Ezekiel bread with peanut butter or almond butter and fresh greens. It’s surprisingly delicious!
5. When you eat out, always order a leafy green salad. This may mean ordering an extra plate, which adds to the bill (#eatinghealthyisexpensive). I comfort myself with the notion that health care is expensive, and by spending money on healthy food, and I am instead investing in my health!

Whenever possible, choose organic greens. Experiment with new, seasonal varieties from the farmers market or grocery store. At the end of the day, before your evening meal, take stock of how many greens you have had. If you’ve come up short, add more greens to your dinner. The simple resolution to eat more greens will boost your health in the new year, without asking you to give anything up!

Boost Your Resolutions with Health Coaching

Want some help starting the New Year with a healthier lifestyle? Working with me as your health coach can be the difference between succeeding in your goals and having another year of failed resolutions. I recently hired a personal trainer, and I must say that I am working out way harder and more often than I would on my own!

This is the perfect time to partner with me to identify and achieve your health goals. I am offering 50% off my private health coaching services for the first five people who sign up between now and January 31st. My three-month program, normally priced at $1,500, includes one-on-one weekly phone sessions and email and phone support between sessions. This three-month program is $750 at the discounted rate. I also offer a one-month program for people who are curious about health coaching but not ready or able to commit to a longer program. Normally $500, this month-long program also includes weekly, one-on-one sessions, and is $250 at the discounted rate. Want to learn more? Contact me for a free 30-minute phone call where we will discuss your goals and whether health coaching is for you.

Be well,

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Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

If you’re like me, you haven’t finished your Christmas baking yet! It’s not too late to make some delicious and healthful gingerbread men with your kids or grandkids. Below is my own recipe, which I adapted from one in Real Simple. 

Good Stuff: Blackstrap Molasses

Organic, unsulphured, blackstrap molasses is the healthiest molasses, which is why I use it in this recipe! Blackstrap is much more nutritious than light or dark molasses–it contains significant amounts of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, potassium, and selenium.

Blackstrap molasses is also processed three times to remove the sucrose, which results in that dark brown color; it is the most dense sweetener in terms of minerals. Even though many sugars have been removed from the syrup, the sugars that remain are caramelized during the three rounds of heating.

Be sure to purchase unsulphured blackstrap molasses; sulfur dioxide used in food processing contributes to acid rain, and may present health risks as well.

I like Plantation Organic Unsulphered Blackstrap Molasses.

Old-Fashioned Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients

• 5 to 5 1/2 cups of flour, preferably sprouted wheat
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon of sea salt
• 2 teaspoons of organic ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon organic ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon organic ground cloves
• 1 cup unsalted organic butter (or coconut oil)
• 1 cup of maple sugar (or coconut sugar or palm sugar)
• 1 large organic egg
• 1 cup organic unsulphured blackstrap molasses
• 1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract

Directions

1. Combine the flour, baking soda, sea salt, and spices in a large bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, maple sugar, and egg on medium until smooth. Add molasses and beat until mixed, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture 1 cup at a time, blending until smooth.
2. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half, flatten into disks, and wrap in beeswax wrap (or plastic). Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 1 week.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. On a floured surface, roll each disk to 1/8 inch thick. Have your kids use gingerbread cookie cutters to make shapes.
4. Transfer cookies to a unbleached parchment paper-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart.
5. Decorate, if desired, with raisins and carob chips.
6. Bake until firm to the touch, about 12 minutes. Cool slightly before transferring to a cooling rack.

The Importance of Unbleached Parchment Paper

Most parchment paper is bleached so that it looks white rather than brown. Unfortunately, bleached paper leeches dioxins, which are linked to reproductive and immune system problems, and are probable carcinogens. Always opt for unbleached parchment paper.

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Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

If you’re a regular reader, you know I dabble with a Paleo diet. While I am not a big meat eater, I do like Paleo baking recipes because they don’t include wheat flour or other grains, so they are good for many of my clients who are avoiding these ingredients. Paleo recipes also don’t include white sugar—something we all should avoid!

If you’re looking for a way to get your kids to try squash, below is a recipe I’ve modified–the original recipe is a Pumpkin Cranberry Muffin from the Practical Paleo Cookbook, and it calls for canned pumpkin. I never use canned pumpkin for several reasons. I prefer to not use canned food because of BPA, and canned pumpkin also has no flavor. I prefer to buy pie pumpkins and bake them, which is admittedly more work, but it just tastes so much better! Moreover, I am always cooking winter squash this time of year and I often have leftovers. It can be substituted quite easily.

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• ¼ cup cooked squash or pumpkin (any winter squash could work, but buttercup is my favorite)
  

  Buttercup squash is my pick for this recipe.

• ½ cup butter or (melted coconut oil if you want to be more Paleo)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup grade B maple syrup (I cut the maple down a little because my squash was so sweet!)
• ½ cup coconut flour
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (I didn’t have this so I made my own version with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice)
• ½ cup fresh cranberries

Directions

Whisk the eggs, squash, butter or coconut oil, vanilla extract, and maple syrup together in a large bowl. Sift coconut flour, baking soda, sea salt, and spices together. Gently fold in the cranberries.

Scoop ¼ cup of batter into the muffin tins. I use stainless steel muffin tins and oil the tins. The cookbook recommends lining the muffin tins with natural parchment paper. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

Be well,

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Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

Okay, this a trick question, but it’s one we are asked a lot. The rice cereal that is best for your baby’s first food is…none.

Our readers often ask why we haven’t done a Safe Product Guide on rice cereal for babies. Most pediatricians still recommend rice cereal as the first food, because it’s gluten-free and almost never causes an allergic reaction. And readers think, surely there are brands that are Good, and also Sneaky ones that could be uncovered and then avoided?

It’s true that if you are going to start your baby on rice cereal, some brands are better than others (I would opt for this one if pressed), but more importantly, any boxed, ready-made rice cereal is highly processed and really unnecessary as a first food. Here’s why:

1. Most rice cereals are made from white rice. Dr. Alan Greene, who was a guest with Maia on The Dr. Oz Show last year, says that white rice cereal is nearly the same as pure sugar, metabolically speaking.
2. Many manufacturers add thickening agents like flour and starches to their rice cereals.
3. Many health practitioners recommend not giving babies any grains until they are at least a year old, as grains can be hard to digest.
4. There are concerns about arsenic in rice and rice cereals.

What about brown rice cereals or homemade rice cereals?

If you really want to feed your baby a boxed rice cereal, you should definitely opt for one made from brown rice. These certainly are a better bet, especially if they are made with organic brown rice. However, for the reason stated above, I always recommend skipping the boxed stuff and making your own brown rice for your baby to keep nutrients intact. There are a couple of different ways to make a rice cereal.

1. You can grind your rice before cooking it, making it cook faster and yielding a great texture for a baby. A recipe for this method can be found here.
2. Soak your rice instead of grinding. This is my preference because soaking rice (and other grains) limits phytic acids and increases digestibility (click that link to learn about phytic acids and why you’d want to remove them). Of course, if you soak the rice first, you will not be able to grind it, but that’s okay! Below is my recipe for homemade brown rice cereal for a baby. You can also try other whole grains for a homemade cereal—quinoa or millet both work well.

Homemade Brown Rice Baby Cereal

1. Measure ½ cup of organic brown rice (or quinoa or millet) and rinse under cold water using a fine mesh strainer.

2. Soak grains for one to eight hours to soften, increase digestibility, and eliminate phytic acid. Drain grains and discard the soaking water.

3. Place rice with 1 ½ to 2 cups of water in a pot and bring to a boil.

4. Reduce heat and cover and simmer until the water is absorbed, about 45 minutes (or the suggested amount of time, depending on the grain you chose), without stirring during the cooking process.

5. When it is finished you can mash it further by putting it through a baby food mill or even with a fork. You can then dilute with water, breastmilk, or formula before feeding to your baby.

Oatmeal can also be made by soaking and adding extra water when cooking to make it creamier and even easier to eat and digest for a young baby.

What about foods other than grains?

Some of our readers don’t eat grains at all, and naturally plan to keep their babies on grain-free diets. There are plenty of alternatives for first foods, and Dr. Greene argues that we should NOT be starting kids on grains at all, considering our obesity epidemic.

In any case, for a six-month old baby, I would start with fresh fruits and vegetables and then as they get older, move to homemade whole grains. Here are some good options:

• Pureed fresh fruits (dried fruit that’s been soaked, stewed, and mashed is also quite sweet and tasty).
• Fresh vegetables of all kinds (steamed and then mashed).
• Sweet potatoes (boiled or steamed and mashed).
• Winter squashes (butternut, buttercup, delicata).

Some moms like to feed babies simple foods like avocado and bananas, both of which require only mashing. While this is fine, keep in mind that these are tropical foods and not local for us in the Northern latitudes. I believe they are fine to eat occasionally, but I do like to eat organically, seasonally and locally as much as possible. So for this time of year, apples, pears, and maybe some frozen berries or dried fruits would be my choice.

As your baby grows and gets used to eating, you may put a small portion of your own food into a separate dish for the baby, mashed as needed.

Below are some great baby food books that I’ve consulted since becoming a grandmother!

• Feeding the Whole Family: Recipes for Babies, Young Children, and Their Parents, by Cynthia Lair
• Super Nutrition for Babies: The Right Way to Feed Your Baby for Optimal Health, by Katherine Erlich
• 201 Organic Baby Purees: The Freshest, Most Wholesome Food Your Baby Can Eat! by Tamika Gardener
• The Amazing Make-Ahead Baby Food Book: Make 3 Months of Homemade Purees in 3 Hours, by Lisa Barrianngon PhD

Be well,

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The post What is the Best Rice Cereal for Babies? Which Rice Cereal is Good Stuff? appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Maia, President

(First, read my disclosures page.)

When I recently read some posts on social media that lauded companies that aren’t using BPA in the linings of their cans, I couldn’t help but wonder…what are these companies using instead? So one of my staffers spent the last couple of weeks calling the makers of products that come in BPA-free cans—she asked questions about the materials they use, and then I did some digging about the safety of these materials.

Are any of these canned goods truly Good Stuff, or is it just a bunch more Sneaky Stuff?

Here’s what I found out.

What Is Bisphenol-A?

For those of you who still aren’t sure what BPA stands for or is or why it’s scary, here’s what you need to know:

1. It’s bad. BPA stands for bisphenol-A, and it’s a plastic-softener that is an established toxin. BPA exposure is linked to things like asthma, sexual dysfunction, breast cancer, and obesity.
2. It’s everywhere. BPA is pervasive—it’s in hard plastic, on receipts, and even in recycled toilet paper. It’s also in the lining of most cans (where it’s used as an epoxy resin). It’s also used in containers that store food and beverages, such as water bottles. BPA is particularly prone to leaching when heated (during pasteurization) or when it comes in contact with acidic foods.
3. Small amounts matter. You don’t need to be exposed to large amounts of BPA in order for it to be toxic. In fact, low-level exposure may actually be worse than high-level!

Related post: Are Tetra Paks Nontoxic and Safe?

What About BPA Replacements?

So clearly we don’t want BPA touching our food, particularly food that’s acidic (like tomatoes). But consumers usually aren’t aware that many BPA-free products contain a different bisphenol, such as bisphenol S (BPS), which may actually be worse than BPA, bisphenol B (BPB), bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE), bisphenol F (BPF), or bisphenol F diglycidyl ether (BFDGE). For this reason, I tell my clients to avoid all plastics as much as possible when it comes to food storage and preparation.

But what about canned foods from companies that advertise their packaging as BPA-free? What are they using instead, and is it safe? Here’s the deal…

Companies Using BPA-Free Cans…What Are They Using Instead?

• 

  Glass should be the first choice for food storage.

  Amy’s told us that their BPA-free can liner is proprietary, an answer that I never like to hear!

  • What Amy’s uses instead of BPA: The most we could get out of them is they use an “acrylic polyester blend.”
  • My take: Any company that won’t disclose specific materials or ingredients is Sneaky in my book. Moreover, while acrylic and polyester aren’t highly toxic ingredients, they are types of petroleum-based thermoplastic, and as such release plastic vapors. I would rather they not touch my food.

• Farmer’s Market Foods said their cans are free of BPA and BPS.
  • What Farmer’s Market Foods use instead of BPA: “Several versions of polyester, polyester powder, and modified polyester.”
  • My take: This answer is a little vague to bring much comfort, although as stated above, polyester is a less toxic type of plastic. While I would probably choose this brand over say, Goya, it’s definitely not Good Stuff.

• Bionaturae cans do not contain any bisphenols (BPA, BPS, etc.).
  • What Bionaturae uses instead of BPA: A polyester plastic coating.
  • My take: See my comments above on polyester (it’s Sneaky Stuff, basically). I do love the Bionaturae strained tomatoes in the glass jar, and will continue to buy those.

• Crown Prince Seafood advertises some of their products as coming in BPA-free cans.
  • What Crown Prince uses instead of BPA: Vinyl organosol lacquer.
  • My take: Yikes. Vinyl is really bad stuff, linked with cancer. In addition, some epoxies made from vinyl organosol contain other bisphenols (such as BADGE). This is definitely Sneaky Stuff.

• Muir Glen is one of the brands I have bought for years, somehow implicitly trusting them.
  • What Muir Glen uses instead of BPA: Vinyl triazine.
  • My take: See my comments above on vinyl. I am unable to find much information on vinyl triazine specifically, but as I stated above, vinyl is Bad Stuff, making Muir Glen Sneaky.

• Westbrae Natural calls their coating “food-grade epoxy.”
  • What Westbrae Natural uses instead of BPA: Polyester and/or acrylic.
  • My take: See my comments above (under “Amy’s”).

• Wild Planet Foods has been promising us an answer on what exactly they use in their cans for weeks. I will update this post when we get the list from them.
  • What Wild Planet uses instead of BPA: All we know at the moment is that “different cans contain different materials.”
  • My take: For now, I am calling Wild Planet Sneaky Stuff, especially because a few years ago they discovered that their fish contains trace amounts of BPA, despite not using it in their cans. Presumably, it was introduced at some point during the manufacturing process.

The Good Stuff

There was only one brand of all of the ones we researched that qualifies as Good Stuff: Eden Organics, which has been quietly using BPA-free lining since 1999. Instead of using BPS, vinyl, acrylic, or polyester to line the cans for their beans, Eden chose the more expensive “baked-on oleoresinous c-enamel,” which is a form of plant resin. Unfortunately, this enamel doesn’t work well for acidic foods, so Eden’s canned tomato products should be avoided, as those linings contain BPA.

You can buy Eden beans on Thrive for wholesale prices:

• Eden Organic Kidney Beans
• Eden Organic Black Beans

So What Should You Do?

I have been working to eliminate my family’s exposure to BPA in our home—my logic is that we eat in restaurants enough to get our fair share there, where I have no control over which canned products are used to make our meal.

Here’s how you can reduce your family’s BPA exposure from canned foods:

1. First, you’ll want to prepare your food from the freshest and least processed/packaged possible source. Dried organic beans will be much less likely to be contaminated with hormone disruptors than will their canned cousins. Along the same lines, fresh pastured chicken from a local butcher will be better than chicken packaged in plastic. You get the idea.
2. When choosing things in packages, glass is my first choice. Keep in mind that the plastic lids used to seal glass jars do contain BPA, so I don’t scrape the extra tomato sauce off the inside of the lid anymore!
3. When I do buy canned beans, I always choose the Eden Organics brand. When it comes to tomatoes, I try my hardest to get only the kind in glass. If that’s not an option, I’ll go for the Bionature cans, since Eden cans contain BPA and Muir Glen contains vinyl.
4. Instead of canned tuna, I am opting for this kind for the time being.

Stay sane,

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Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

I work a lot with clients on getting a handle on their cravings, whether they are cravings for sweets, alcohol, salty, crunchy, or creamy foods, to name a few.

The Wisdom of Cravings

I learned in my training as a holistic health coach to honor our cravings and think of them as a critical piece of information that can help us understand what our bodies needs. The body is smart. It tells you when you are not feeding it properly.

Our bodies are always seeking balance in homeostasis: when we get too hot, we sweat to cool ourselves; when we are too cold, we shiver to raise body temperature. Cravings can be seen as the body, emotions, or spirit giving us information about what we need.

A sugar craving is simply the body asking for energy. How we feed the body, whether it’s with food or something intangible, is a choice that we have.

Why You Might Want Sugar or Creamy Treats

Perhaps we are craving sweets because we have been eating too much salty or heavy food and we need to eat lighter. We can reach for something sweet, or we can increase our vegetable intake, which will have a cooling and relaxing effect on our body.

Perhaps we don’t have enough sweetness in our personal lives. We might need to nourish ourselves by spending time in nature or by enjoying the sweetness of a close relationship.  Someone once told me that creamy cravings are your emotional self telling you that you need a hug. Sometimes that’s all it takes for me!

I often go for sweet and creamy treats, but I know that ice cream isn’t good for me. Sugar taxes my nerves and I especially don’t do well with the coldness. I know that when I get these cravings, I need to adjust something else to limit them; sometimes, I just want to give into my craving and not have it tax my health.

A Healthy Creamy, Sweet Treat: Tapioca

To help manage my craving, I often enjoy tapioca pudding, one of my favorite creamy treats. In the summer, I eat it with fresh berries, but when the weather gets cooler and berries are out of season, I like it served warm with vanilla and a few nuts ground on top. As soon as the weather grows cooler, I increase my fat intake, and nuts are one healthy way I do that–walnuts are my favorite.

Adapted from John Robbins’ cookbook May All Be Fed: Diet for a New World, my tapioca recipe below is a family favorite. You can use whatever milk and natural sweetener serves you the best.  Tapioca satisfies those cravings for creamy and sweet and yet is light and quick and easy to make. You can serve it warm or cold, plain or topped with fresh fruit.

Ingredients & Directions

• ¼ cup natural sweetener (I use maple syrup)
• ½ cup granulated tapioca
• 3 cups of milk (I have used almond, soy, coconut, or cow’s milk)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

In a medium saucepan, combine the sweetener, tapioca, milk, vanilla, and salt, and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring until thickened. Transfer to a serving bowl and add more sweetener, if you want it sweeter. Cover and refrigerate or consume warm, which is how I like it when the weather is cool.

Be well,

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The post How to Manage Your “Creamy” Cravings (with Hugs & Tapioca!) appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

If you’re a regular reader, you know how much I try to avoid processed sugar. I am very busy, and I like to keep my energy level consistent and high throughout the day, without resorting to caffeine. In the summer, I will sometimes have an ice cream cone, and even less often I will order a dessert in a restaurant. As a health coach, I advise my clients to limit their sweets, and to focus on including more sweet vegetables in their diets and lighter food in general to avoid cravings.

All this said, there are definitely times when I just want (need!?) something sweet. In particular, I like to make desserts to enjoy with my grandchildren. Kids are so active and can burn off sweets much faster than adults can. Also, I am a person who likes to have a snack between meals especially during the day. I don’t snack in the evening, but generally get a hunger pang between breakfast and lunch and then sometimes another between lunch and dinner! I don’t eat large meals and am more of a grazer, but everyone is different, and I advise people to listen to their hunger messages of and honor them. Some people feel better eating bigger meals and then not eating for five or six hours, whereas I need nourishment about every three or four hours, even if much of that nourishment comes in the form of small snacks. I look for recipes that will satisfy my sweet tastes but not totally compromise my health.

My daughter Maia has also been requesting recipes for healthy lunchbox treats, so I was motivating to expand my repertoire of healthy snacks!

I turned to fellow health coach Terry Walters for inspiration, and as usually her cookbook, Clean Start, did not disappoint. These energy squares are easy to make, and my grandchildren love them too! They are a perfect snack or healthy dessert for the lunchbox, too. Try them out and let me know what you think!

Energy Squares

You can your favorite toasted nuts, seeds, or dried fruit for your own unique creation!

Ingredients

• 1 cup nut butter (I used almond, you could use cashew, peanut, or sunflower)
• 1/3 cup brown rice syrup
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 ¼ cups crispy brown rice cereal
• ½ cup toasted almonds
• ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• ¼ cup flax seeds
• ¼ cup organic dark chocolate chips (can use carob chips or lighter chocolate chips or skip and use raisins or dried fruit instead)

Directions

1. In a medium pot over low heat, whisk together nut butter, brown rice syrup, and maple syrup. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. In separate bowl, combine rice cereal, almonds, coconut, and ground flax. Fold dry ingredients into nut butter mixture until all ingredients are incorporated.

3. Rinse 8X8 inch baking dish in cold water to prevent sticking.

4. Spoon in batter, sprinkle with chocolate chips and press firmly and evenly into dish.
5. Refrigerate for 45 minutes or until firm. Remove from refrigerator cut into squares and store in airtight container. Makes approximately 36 bite size squares.

Be well,

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Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

 We all know that what you eat is critical to maintaining a healthy weight. Experts often contradict each other in terms of what the ideal diet is, and I have experimented with many dietary theories over the years and I have found that no single plan is right for everyone all of the time.

We all can agree, however, on the wisdom of limiting processed foods and sugar, and one trick that has worked for many of my health coaching clients is including an abundance of sweet vegetables into meals to reduce sugar cravings later on. There are many to choose from: onions, beets, squash, and sweet potatoes are among my favorite.

If you are dealing with extra weight around your middle, I share with you the five tips below that can help you battle the “muffin top”—not through what you eat (although of course that is critical!) but by WHEN and HOW you eat.

1. Eat your biggest meal when the sun is highest in the sky. In other words, make lunch the largest meal of your day. Americans are so used to eating their big meal in the evening, and I remember when Maia lived in Spain for a semester during college and she noted that she was served a light breakfast (often just a piece of toast), a hearty large midday meal (paella or fish with veggies, etc.), and a very light dinner (sometimes just a cold soup and some fruit). This is one reason that Europeans tend to be more slender than Americans!

2. Don’t eat after 8:00 PM. Your digestion is not as robust in the evening, so besides eating a light dinner, ideally you’ll avoid eating at all after 8:00 PM.  Good digestion helps you absorb more nutrients from the food you are eating, which makes you feel more satisfied and less likely to snack between meals.

3. To speed up metabolism, slow down when you eat. My clients are always shocked by how well this trick works! Take your time when you eat, and make your meals an event. Set the table nicely and don’t eat on the run or while watching television. This will result in eating less, better digestion, weight loss, and less midriff bulge.

4. Honor your hunger. I tell my clients to never wait until they are ravenous to plan their meal. Start planning when you first start getting the hungry twinge and make a choice that will enhance your health goals and give you energy.  When we are ravenous we make unhealthy, convenient choices and eat quickly. This can be detrimental to digestion and our awareness of our satiety, and contributes to extra weight around the middle.

5. Fast for 12 hours a day. You’ll experience better health and weight loss by giving yourself at least 12 hours each day without food or drink (water is okay). As I’ve suggested in the previous tip, I typically don’t eat anything after 8:00 PM—I then try to hold off on breakfast until 8:00 the next morning.  Also, I like to break my fast most mornings with water and fresh squeezed lemon to help my body detoxify.

Be well,

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The post It’s Not Just WHAT You Eat: 5 Tips for Reducing Midriff Bulge by How and When You Eat appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

If you are looking for an activity to do with children on a summer weekend, picking fresh fruit is a wonderful choice!

Even picky eaters usually eat fruit, but for those who won’t, this is a fun activity nonetheless and may encourage your picky eater to try some of the antioxidant-filled, vitamin-rich Good Stuff! The best part is that going to pick fruit connects children to where their food comes from, and connects them to nature, which we continue to learn is critical to mental health (have you seen the latest studies?).

Here in Pennsylvania, I have taken my grandsons to pick strawberries, blueberries, peaches, wild raspberries, and apples. Unfortunately, we missed cherries this year but those are fun to pick, too. Wherever you live, you can find out what fruit grows in your local area and explore this wonderful activity with your child.

A few years ago we spent a month in Vermont, and Felix, then 4, wouldn’t eat blueberries (although he will now)–and still he loved picking us a pint each morning for breakfast! Eventually, he grew brave enough to try some.

Blueberry picking

Here are a few simple ways to get your picky eaters picking fruit!

1. You don’t need a garden to grow berries. You can grow something in your garden or even a small container. I have planted strawberries in a pot on my patio, and blueberry bushes are great even in a small yard.
2. Plant a fruit tree. I have Asian pear trees and cherry trees in my small suburban yard.
3. Visit a strawberry or blueberry farm where they offer pick your own. Lots of people go apple-picking, but berry-picking is even more kid friendly, especially when it comes to toddlers.
4. Hunt for wild fruit. Raspberries or blackberries are the easiest to find, and part of the fun is driving to the country and searching for them. My grandsons and I recently discovered a new wild raspberry patch while on a walk near a river. If you ask around, someone will be able to tell you where you can find wild fruit for the taking. The wonderful thing about wild fruit is that it is not sprayed with pesticides and herbicides, so I don’t worry about my grandsons eating the berries right off the bush.
5. Visit a local organic orchard during its season. Here in Pennsylvania, we have lots of orchards to visit, but the tricky part is finding an organic one. Organic apple orchards are fairly easy to find, but now that peach season is upon us, I have been unable to find a place to pick organic peaches! Your best bet may to be to talk with various orchards and try to find someone who is aware of the problems with pesticides and works to manage pests with the least amount of pesticides possible. A bonus to asking your farmers about their pest control: the more consumers demand healthy, safe produce, the more the market will respond!

Along with the fun of collecting the fruit can be various harvest and preparation activities. Baking, canning, freezing, and eating your gatherings all can be fun and educational. Here is a favorite healthful raspberry dessert recipe to celebrate almost the end of raspberry season!

Be well,

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The post A Cure for Fruit-Averse Kids: Picking Wild or Locally Grown Fruit appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

This post will soon appear as a guest blog for Crohns.net.

Desserts are challenging for anyone who is concerned about their health, and especially for someone with gut issues! That said, dessert at the end of the meal can be a lovely ritual for a holiday or special occasion, and add a feeling of completeness to a meal.

What’s Wrong with Dessert?

For people with digestive problems, sugar can be problematic, as it feeds the unhealthy bacteria in our guts. This includes—to some degree—natural sugars like those found in fruit. Moreover, anything that is difficult to digest should be avoided if you have an unhealthy gut—this includes grains (including flour), nuts, and dairy. You can see how coming up with desserts without any of these ingredients can be challenging!

Desserts for People with Digestive Problems

Unless your gut issues are particularly severe, it’s probably unrealistic to think that you’ll never eat dessert, and there are ways to enjoy a little dessert occasionally without dire health consequences. Having said that, each individual needs to assess his health, and consult with a health practitioner to determine how strict or wide his diet can be. There are times when a strict therapeutic diet is necessary only for a limited time, and if you have healed to the point of being able to experiment with food, or you are on a particular maintenance diet that’s working for you, the three desserts below may be okay, as they are much easier on the digestive system than typical desserts.

Ways to Curb Sugar Cravings

If you want to avoid craving desserts in the first place, here is a strategy I often recommend to my private health coaching clients: try adding sweet vegetables to your meals and be cautious with salty condiments. Macrobiotic theory suggests that overly “yang” meals (including those that are very salty) will increase one’s craving for sweets (which are “yin”). You can read more about this theory of staving off cravings by balancing the yin and yang in your diet here. At one point in the pinnacle of my healthful cooking days, I used to serve sweet potatoes for dessert! (My grown children love to tell this story.)

When You Really Need Something Sweet

If you have tried to stave off your cravings for dessert to no avail, and you want to go easy on your gut, here are three of my favorite desserts for this time of year when blueberries are in season. Berries are much lower in sugar than most other fruits, so they are a better bet for people with digestive problems.

Blueberry Crumble

Ingredients:

• 2 pints of fresh blueberries
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 cup of almond meal/almond flour (if you cannot tolerate almond meal you can substitute brown rice flour)
• ¼ cup chopped macadamia or walnuts (if you cannot tolerate any nuts skip this)
• ¼ cup organic grass fed ghee, butter, or organic coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup, coconut palm sugar (or skip this if you are avoiding all natural sweeteners)
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 pinches of sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Place the blueberries in a 9” by 9” inch baking dish and squeeze half the lemon juice over the blueberries.

3. In a bowl, combine the almond meal/flour (or whatever flour you’re using), macadamia nuts (or whatever nut you are using, if any), melted butter, ghee, or coconut oil, remaining lemon juice, maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt.

4. Spread the topping evenly over the blueberries, and bake until the fruit is well cooked, bubbly, and the topping is golden brown, around 30-45 minutes.

Vanilla Tapioca with Blueberries

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup natural sweetener (maple, coconut sugar, or stevia (for stevia adjust to ¼ tsp whether liquid or powder)
• ½ cup granulated tapioca
• 3 cups of almond milk or coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 pint of fresh blueberries (you can substitute any fruit that you can tolerate)