PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

Mountain Bread Wraps (8 per pkt) :  These wraps are available at your local supermarket and are available in various types- Rye, Oat, Corn, Barley, Wheat and Rice. On the back of my current packet it also states that they are available in Tomato/ Basil, Oregano, Spinach, Chia & Spelt. I am particularly interested in the Chia & Spelt but, to date, have not come across them.
The Rye contains 70% Rye Wholemeal flour, Wheat Flour (flour, folate, thiamin). Filtered Water & Iodised Salt. They are yeast & dairy free, cholesterol free & have no eggs. However, they are NOT wheat or gluten free.
At least there are no nasty colours or preservatives. They have a short best before date but this is a good thing & they may be frozen. Look out for them when they are on special & stock up to add variety to your children's lunch box.

                                                                             

Kellogg's LCMS Split Stix Yoghurty

The television advertisements for LCM's are largely based on the premise that LCM's are an essential part of your child's lunchbox - your children will be so excited to open up their lunch box & find this item!
 With a list of 24 ingredients, 5 of which are a form of sugar, & 3 forms of MSG (Barley Malt Extract, hydrogenated soybean oil & flavour),  I believe that these 'food like products' with a long shelf life have no place in our children's diets.
I would be interested to know what exactly is in the 'yogurt flavoured compound' (8th on the ingredient list).  This compound makes up a high percentage of the product, namely 27%. & really sounds suspect.
One of the preservatives, 472e, (Diacetyltartaric and fatty acid esters of glycerol)- that's quite a mouthful!- has been linked to headaches, high blood sugar levels, & eye irritation in sensitive people. The JECFA  (Joint FAD/ WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives) is still evaluating this preservative yet it's in a product directly marketed to appeal to children.
Please pass the word around to your friends who have children.
                                                                             

The Lipid Hypothesis

Take a few minutes out of your busy day to view this You Tube clip which talks about the bio-chemist who ignored data from countries where people consumed saturated fats & had no heart disease & chose to only publish data that fitted his views on fats and heart disease.
I did post this clip up last year but some of you may have missed it as you may have only recently accessed my blog.

Butter guilt

I have been  upset & disgusted for quite some time over the new Meadow Lea advertisement in which they try & make mother's feel guilty about feeding their children a 'real food', namely butter. It's about time the 'lipid hypothesis' became main stream knowledge. (I will re post the You Tube clip this week that I featured last year).
I have never put margarine on my table & never will.  A thin spread of butter rather than a spread of vegetable oils ( these cause macular degeneration of the eyes), plus preservatives & in some cases, colour,  is a far better choice to include on toast & in children's lunches.
A study conducted by researchers from Auckland University in New Zealand & published in the journal 'Intelligence' compared the IQ of children consuming margarine to those consuming butter over a considerable time period.
After adjusting for other factors that might influence IQ, the researchers found that those children eating margarine daily scored 3 points lower on IQ tests by the age of 3 and half than children who consumed butter. By the age of 7 yrs., the average IQ scores of some margarine eaters were 6 points below those of their peers!  Reason enough to NOT FEEL GUILTY!  
  There are typically 2 ingredients in butter- cream & salt.

In case you wondered, the ingredients for MeadlowLea are:

Vegetable Oils 65% (containing 52% Canola & Sunflower Oil), water, salt, <1% (emulsifiers (soy lecithin, 471), preservative (202), food acid (lactic)), milk solids, maltodextrin, natural colour (beta-carotene), vitamins A & D, flavour.

School Lunches

The 2013 school year is about to start so I have decided to focus on the products best avoided in the school lunch box. Each week I will also feature a 'safe eating' idea, recipe or product.
This morning I was reading about the effects of a commonly used bread & bread products preservative, namely Calcium Propionate (282). I would highly recommend that if you have either restless, irritable, or children who lack the ability to concentrate, remove this preservative from their diet for 2-3 weeks & take note of any  improvements in their behaviour and concentration levels.

You can find this preservative in some brands of wraps (Mission), numerous supermarkets breads & bread rolls, store piklets, pancakes & finger buns, manufactured breadcrumbs, and sausage rolls (both frozen & those available in school tuck shops).

 In recent years both Bakers Delight & Brumby's responded to consumer demand & produced loaves & rolls that do not contain 282. This has been keenly marketed by both franchises & is pleasing to see that at least now consumers have a choice.
Mission wraps also have Preservative (200)which has been linked to behavioural problems & Asthmatics should avoid.

Australia Day Recipe

Firstly, I would like to wish everyone a Happy & Healthy Australia Day/ Weekend.
Here's a recipe to tempt your taste buds- just made these semi-dried tomatoes last night & I can't wait to have them in my salad today.  They take such a short time to prepare (max 10 mins) & the oven does the work for you! The slow cooking intensifies the flavour. I enjoy them far more than the traditional sun dried tomato.

Ingredients
1 kg Roma tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil
 dried Italian herbs & basil
fresh oregano or basil (additional/ if desired)

Method
1. Prepare a large oven tray lined with baking paper.
2. Turn oven on to 120 degrees.
3. Wash tomatoes & either halve or quarter. Place cut side up on baking tray.
4. Sprinkle tomatoes generously with Extra Virgin olive oil. Sprinkle evenly with dried herbs.
5. Place in oven & allow to cook for 3 hrs.
6. If using additional  fresh herbs sprinkle them over tomatoes after first  1 1/2 -2 hrs.
7. Turn oven off & leave in for an additional 20 mins.
8. Remove, allow to cool, then pack in layers on baking paper in an airtight container.
Enjoy! Absolutely delicious!

Subway Smoothies

After reading the ingredient lists on-line I have come to the following conclusions in regard to Subway Smoothies. The best choice is the Banana- there are no artificial colours & no preservative (202). However, it was disappointing to see that there is only 5% banana & flavour (MSG) was the 12th (last) ingredient.
Although the mango has a higher % fruit content, it not only has 'flavour' added but also preservative 202 which has been linked to behavioural problems.
The strawberry smoothie has the highest %  fruit juice/ puree content,  but unfortunately contains colour 162- beet red which contains sodium nitrate. On the positive side though, at least it doesn't contain preservative 202.

A bit of a 'mixed bag' as the saying goes! Probably a much better idea to make our own using a high percentage of fresh, seasonal fruit.


                                                                         

Subway (cont)

Subway Vegetables, Condiments & Cookies: there are 2 vegetables I would recommend that you avoid. Firstly, ( according to their web site),  the Jalapeno Pepper and Pickles both  contain Tartrazine (102)- a suspected carcinogen & coal tar dye. Secondly, the pickles contain Sodium Benzoate (211). See previous post on this preservative.

Condiments: the 'better' choices of condiments seem to be the sweet chilli sauce & tomato sauce. Good to see only 5 ingredients in the tomato sauce- however, sugar & salt are number 2 & 3 respectively, & 'natural flavours' 5th! But, at least there is no artificial  preservatives.  Preservative 202, 211 & 220 are present in all the other sauces.

Cookies: As was mentioned a few days ago by two of my readers both the Chocolate Chip & Double Chocolate Chip cookies contain the solvent Ethanol. This is so disappointing to see in a product marketed to our children. No surprises in the M & M cookies though, as the cheap coal tar dyes  (102,110, 129,132, 133) are still in our M & M's. In the U.K. Nestle has removed these dangerous dyes from their Smarties range. Here's hoping our government food regulator (FSANZ) will do the same very soon for all our confectionery, cordials, jellies, yogurts, icecreams etc.
(Smoothies- to be continued tomorrow).

                                                                        

Subway (cont)

Subway bread (cont): I can see the need to actually go into a local subway store & a) check out the breads offered  & b) analyse the ingredients with a keener eye for detail! I must admit I missed the sugar component in the Honey Oat bread (it is listed as part of the Honey Oat topping). Pity they just don't use honey instead.
There are 2 other suspicious ingredients in this bread, i.e. 'honey powder' & 'molasses powder' which I will have to investigate further. I suspect that they may can contain a form of MSG.
It is also disappointing to see that the Multigrain bread does not use whole grain wheat but with no obvious forms of MSG I thought this was the better of what is available. However, from some comments I have been informed that this is not even in store!


                                                                     





My analysis of the 'meat' has revealed the following:
1. The majority contain sodium nitrate (250); except for the 'chicken-like' products, roast beef, turkey & Veggie Patty  (if offered).
2. I use the term 'chicken-like' as the amount of real chicken ranges from 94% - 72%.
3. There is hardly any meat that does not contain 1 or more forms of MSG in it, except the turkey & veggie patty.
4. All contain Hydrolysed Vegetable Protein except the Chicken Breast Patty. ( will check if this is actually available but it still contains another form of MSG ! (Soy Protein Isolate).
5. Salt is very high on the ingredient list as is sugar, Maltodextrin, Soy Protein, & Whey Protein.
(to be continued).

Subway ingredients

Firstly, I would like to say that it was pleasing to find a comprehensive list of the ingredients of  the Subway rolls & wraps on the Internet.  Today I will discuss the breads & wraps. Tomorrow I will discuss the  meat/ poultry/ seafood components. Condiments, cookies & smoothies will be my 3rd post.

On a positive note none of the Subway breads contain the Preservative 282. Congratulations Subway!  However, the wraps contain both 282 & 200. According to their web page the wraps may also contain traces of sulphites. So it's probably best to avoid the wraps if you have asthma or a hyperactive child.

The Multigrain & Honey Oat Breads are the better choices in the bread department. Honey Oat is the only bread that does not contain canola oil; it is 9th on the ingredient list for the Multigrain bread.  On the other hand, Multigrain contains no caramel whereas Honey Oat Bread has caramel (150) listed as the last ingredient. Avoid the Italian Herbs & Cheese bread as it contains 2 forms of MSG.
Both the Wheat bread and the White bread have Canola oil (6th ingredient). Wheat bread also has added sugar & Caramel (150c).
N.B. refer to previous post on Macular Degeneration to learn about the dangers of Canola Oil.