Category Archives: processed food

Whole Food Plant-Based diet and processed foods

The O Word!

very fat

My last post mentioned the O word – Obesity. It even sound ugly!

The dictionary calls it “the condition of being grossly fat” and goes on to list synonyms like grossness, flabbiness and corpulence. Then there are the less obnoxious synonyms: stoutness and portliness. Finally, there is chubbiness which sounds downright cute after reading all the others! Honestly, none of them sound very appealing! (more…)

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Eat Local

nola eat local
Every June, here in New Orleans, we have the Eat Local Challenge. Participants agree to eat food that grown or caught within a 200 mile radius of New Orleans. This year we decided to give it a try.

For people who eat very few packaged foods this would seem like an easy task. I went into it confident that it would not be a problem. On day three we ran out of coffee. . .oops! It was either cheat or go without coffee. . .any guesses on what happened here? A couple of days later I was in Costco and headed for the produce section intent on getting avocados and onions. I got them in the cart and then remembered the challenge. . . (more…)

Posted in additive-free food, Farmers Market, fresh veggies, New Orleans, processed food, Whole Food Plant-Based nutrition | Leave a comment

A New Record

obesity Last semester I took a class in Childhood Obesity. I spent fifteen weeks studying the policies and practices around childhood obesity. In the end  I concluded that the problem isn’t childhood obesity; it’s adult obesity. For every overweight/obese child there are three overweight/obese adults.

This idea was validated last week (Jun3 22, 2015). The Journal of American Medicine (JAMA) released a new analysis on weight in America. The conclusion? We’re fat and getting fatter.  The study found that in the population of those 25 and older 75% of men and 67% of women are overweight or obese.

Worse yet, for the first time Americans who are obese outnumber those who are overweight.  30% of women and 40% of men are overweight while 37% of women and 35% of men are obese.

Despite all the diets, the information campaigns, the warnings and social pressure to be thin we are getting fatter. Researchers blame our lifestyle, processed foods, inactivity and technology. And Lin Yang, the chief researcher for the study says “This is a wake-up call to implement policies and practices designed to combat overweight and obesity.” Unfortunately, she is resoundingly silent about what those policies and practices might be.

After weeks of studying food policy, years of studying nutrition and watching a few documentaries: Forks Over Knives, Food Inc, Fed up and Supersize Me, I have some ideas about where we need to start.

Over the next couple of months I will be writing and talking food policy and how to create change. Feel free to contribute to the discussion — your ideas and comments are wanted and appreciated!

Posted in environment, Food Additives, GMO foods, John McDougall, processed food, T. Colin Campbell, Whole Food Plant-Based nutrition | Leave a comment

2013, The Obesity Epidemic and Plant-Based Nutrition

“This is another fine mess that you’ve gotten us into, Stanley.”

In case you were culturally deprived when you were young, that quote is a rather famous accusation voiced frequently by Ollie in the Laurel and Hardy comedies. About the only thing that I never heard Oliver Hardy blame Stan Laurel for in those movies was his weight. Obesity was not viewed as a national health crisis in the twenties thirties and forties, hunger was closer to home for a lot of our population.

The weighty have always been among us. They have never been as dominant in numbers as they are today. Along with the new fat epidemic comes symptoms of ill health that worry us (a lot) when we exhibit them. Added to that are diseases like cancer, heart disease and diabetes; all common problems related to the obesity. (more…)

Posted in additive-free food, diabetes, excitotoxins, Food Additives, plant based diet, processed food, weigh loss, Whole Food Plant-Based nutrition | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Year of Being Vegan: 2012 Lessons Learned Part 4

I have always been a plant-based eater; a vegetarian. Over the last year David and I decided to become vegans. It has been an incredible learning experience! Between now and the end of the years I will share some of the things I learned.

Advanced Label Reading

I was shocked at the things that end up in “healthy” vegan foods. I guess this is really an expansion on unhealthy vegan diet choices.

I started reading labels many years ago when I quit sugar. Over the years I had gotten a little sloppy about really reading labels. I would check for sugar content and if there wasn’t any that seemed good enough. When David discovered that he was wildly reactive to MSG in all it’s forms, I started examining labels again and was shocked at all the forms of MSG that end up in our foods. Follow through on the two MSG links in this paragraph to get more info. (more…)

Posted in additive-free food, diary-free food, Food Additives, GMO foods, processed food, vegan, vegetarian, Vitamins, Whole Food Plant-Based nutrition | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Year of Being Vegan: 2012 Lessons Learned Part 3

I have always been a plant-based eater; a vegetarian. Over the last year David and I decided to become vegans. It has been an incredible learning experience! Between now and the end of the years I will share some of the things I learned.

fat cookMany “Healthy” Vegan Recipes are NOT!

The decision to be vegan meant David gave up meat. And we gave up cheese and eggs. Meal planning became a challenge. I spent a couple of hundred dollars (all of it on used bookstores) and many hundreds of hours pouring over menu plans and recipes.

My biggest take is that many vegan recipes do not fit my definition of healthy food. Many of them contain ingredients that I wouldn’t eat on a bet: (more…)

Posted in additive-free food, diary-free food, environment, Food Additives, gluten-free food, GMO foods, plant based diet, processed food, Protein, Soy, sugar-free food, vegan, vegetarian, Whole Food Plant-Based nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Holiday Red and Green Salad

While I know how important fresh veggies are, I am not ready to go to a raw food diet. . . I know cooked veggies are good, but the heat does kill some of the phytonutrients. Simply put, fresh is always better. My question is: how many salads can you eat without dying of boredom. Which means, of course, that I am always trying new ideas and combinations to keep myself entertained. (more…)

Posted in plant based diet, processed food, salad, sugar-free food, vegan, vegetarian, Whole Food Plant-Based Diet Food Categories | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Luxury Problems

weightlossI have a big-time luxury problem! You see instead of “spring cleaning”, we do “fall cleaning”. Most of the spring is devoted to getting the garden in shape. If the house suffers, it’s not like we spend much time inside between March and October. We are, however indoor, a lot, between November and February. So it is either clean up or sit and look at clutter all winter. I, personally, hate clutter!

One of my life “rules” is about changing closets with the season. Each spring and fall I sort and discard clothes:  if I haven’t worn it, it goes! This year I added the caveat that if it didn’t fit it had to go as well. Recently, David and I spend a lot of time looking like we are wearing someone else’s clothes. They are way big and don’t come close to fitting. A lot of them were marginal last year but this year they are just flat out ridiculous! So out with all the XL and a lot of the L size clothes. (more…)

Posted in additive-free food, Cote Home Grown Fare, diary-free food, Food Additives, gluten-free food, plant based diet, processed food, vegan, vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Where’s the Salt Shaker

salt shakerOne of my greatest morning pleasures used to be reading the New York Times online. In our present political silly season. . . not so much! But every now and then, there is a piece that tickles my funny bone. The latest one was in the science section and called Some Restaurants Reduce Salt but Critics Call Moves Unnecessary.

The piece reported on the new table top salt shaker holders – see picture.  In an effort to cut down on the unhealthy effects of sodium the company has replaced salt shakes with these little signs.  If you have trouble reading it it says: (more…)

Posted in excitotoxins, Food Additives, GMO foods, processed food, Resturants | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Corny or Not

Yesterday checked out the Trader Joes frozen food section.  And there they were!  Soy corndogs. My mouth immediately began to water.  I LIVED on those things my first year in college.  Never mind that by the time summer came I had gained 40 pounds. I pretty much gave them up. But there they were and my conditioned response kicked in.

I checked the price – $2.50 for 4 of them (63 cents each).  Not exactly what I would call cheap but for a treat, why not? (more…)

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