Obsessed with Homemade Popsicles

It all started with old overripe bananas that I put in the freezer for "later use". It was a natural progression from making and freezing my own baby food. It was love at first bite....

100 Calorie Comparison Chart

When you eat fruits and vegetables in place of other foods, you get MORE! Why? Because they are high in fiber and water and the volume (per calorie) is greater when compared to other foods. This chart gives you a better idea of how eating certain kinds of food really adds up fast. Not saying you should eat 100 cucumbers instead of a balanced meal, but eating fruits and veggies should be a part of every kids diet.

Chart and more great info courtesy of Fruits & Veggies More Matters.

Toy Food

If you can eat it, someone has created a plastic or plush version of it. I'm astounded at what people have created, and how much fun your little one would have pretending with these cute ideas...

Awesome Fun Food Ideas From Yumterest!

You've heard of Pinterest, right? Well, when there's a good idea that catches on there's always spawns with unique niches. Queue in Yumterest..like a Pinterest but exclusively for food. Here are a few of my favorites, that hopefully inspire you to add more fun to your families lives. Enjoy!

 Waffle and Banana Icecream cone for breakfast.

 Rainbow stack of pancakes would make any kid happy! A little food coloring (with hidden flax seed) never hurt anybody.

 Whole wheat monkey sandwich with almond eyes. Not sure how they did the cutouts.

 This is an absolutely adorable take on a fruit salad...and fairly easy to create. Be sure to take a picture before it gets dismantled!

 Looks really detailed, but it's just a cherry tomato cut in half and an olive ...some chives. GREAT IDEA!

 Bugles, I think they're called with cheese sticks and bologna or ham eraser tip. Think of how cool your kid will feel when he brings these into the class party?!

 Another simple take on a typical breakfast food. Just add toothpicks and marshmallows for eyes. Edible markers can be found at Michaels or online.

...and last but not least, what kid doesn't love a puzzle and playing with his food. Make sandwiches interesting and interactive using whatever bread and filling your normally give to them!

ICECREAM SHAM - Breyers is not all natural anymore.

I remember growing up, that Breyers was branded as "ALL NATURAL". There were only 4 natural ingredients familiar to the everyday consumer: Sugar, Vanilla beans, Sugar, Cream....and maybe Strawberries. A simple ice cream that stands apart from the 20 other varieties of other icecreams out there in the freezer section. Now that I'm all grown up, I seek out Breyers because of the legacy memory of it being wholesome. 

The other day I paid the extra $ so that I could feel good about what I was eating/buying. I saw the Breyers label and instantly (without reading any labels) bought it and served it to my family. I'm angered enough to actually write about it, because I don't want anyone else to be fooled. I might as well have paid the cheapest amount for whatever store brand was out there, because I was still putting these horrible ingredients into my body and still paying a premium for it:


1. Mono and Diglycerides
2. Corn Syrup
3. Guar Gum
4. Carrageenan


The thing that made me super mad, was the ever so slight deception. Consumers are used to trusting a brand for what it stands for, and then suddenly it's not what you expect. I just want transparency, so I can decide what is best for myself.

When researching when Breyers suddenly changed, I found this exerpt on another concerned consumers blog:

"I went to their website and noticed that they had also sold their soul to Unilever Corporation, a huge conglomerate with a corporate mission to buy up all the unique brands with good reputations and followings, and turn them into mass-produced crap while wringing out as many bucks as they can until people notice. Now I recommend that people don't buy Breyer's ice cream.

I thought the only thing Unilever made was the soap I use?

I quickly emailed Breyer's about it, and got a response from Unilever saying they had added gum to improve quality! Cutting through the corp-jargon, I noticed that what they were really saying is that they were trying to boost profits by reducing quality control in their distribution network, and after the ice cream started to melt and refreeze, turning icy, they decided to add gum to cover up the issue. Saying as much in my response, I got back a rather haughty reply saying "At Breyers were proud of our all natural heritage!!"

I wrote back, noting that it was fitting that she had used the word "heritage" — something they (Unilever) had inherited from the previously-great Breyer's Ice Cream company, and which they were proceeding to thoroughly destroy. Do you remember the old Breyer's Ice Cream commercials? They usually featured a young child, trying to read the ingredients in a competitor's ice cream. Confronted with phrases like "soy lecithin", "potassium sorbate", and "sodium nitrate", the child struggled. When handed a box of Breyer's ice cream, he was able to quickly and happily read off the ingredients: milk, cream, sugar, and strawberries.

I couldn't find the ones I remember, but I found this one, which is older, but gives the idea:

I included in that same letter a copy of the ingredients list from one of Unilever's new ice creams selling under the Breyer's name:

Ingredients: milk, skim milk, sugar, corn syrup, cream, maltodextrin, whey, cellulose gel, mono & diglycerides, guar gum, cellulose gum, natural flavor, carob bean gum, carrageenan. caramel swirl: sugar, water, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, non fat milk solids, butter, salt, molasses, pectin, soy lecithin, sodium citrate, natural flavor, lactic acid, potassium sorbate. waffle cone pieces: fudge coating (sugar, coconut oil, cocoa powder, nonfat milk powder, whole milk powder, anhydrous milkfat, soy lecithin, vanilla), waffle cones (unenriched wheat flour, sugar, corn starch, palm and/or soybean oil, bamboo fiber, soy lecithin, natural flavor, soy flour, salt), natural flavor....holy crap!

I asked her if that's something they are proud of. I never got a reply.

UPDATE: Also, under Unilever, Breyer's ice cream contains milk from cows injected with Monsanto's rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone). Milk from cows injected with rBGH has been linked to cancer, which is why it's banned in most countries. (It's not banned in the US because of political corruption.) rBGH also causes deterioration of the health of the cows, such that they suffer debilitating diseases, become lame, and often must be euthanized.

Is that what the major manufacturers of our food think America wants? I don't.

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Tell your friends! Don't buy Breyers anymore, or at least if you're going to...don't be fooled thinking you're eating all natural when you're not! Moral: Double check your labels, and don't think that brands that you've been trusting for years are the same as they've always been!

If you have the time, here's a recipe to make your own.

The Truth Behind the Shell - Taco Bell Nutrition Facts

What is in your taco bell taco? Are they really that bad for you? Should you be concerned about feeding them to your kids?

Ok, so I read the headlines and listen to the "oats" in the meat and "only 88% of it's meat is actual meat, what's the rest?" hype, so I had to do the research myself. what I found out isn't so bad, because a lot of other products we find in the grocery store use these same ingredients and practices...they just aren't widely shown to the public. 

The company is actually trying to be more transparent about what is in their food, by creating a clickable FAQ of sorts that is free for public consumption (excuse the pun) on their website. It actually goes into detail about certain ingredients, which is pretty respectable. Of course everything is worded with a heavy handed marketing approach and to make it seem like they're your friend. Maybe the same vague speech writers who help politicians with their campaign speeches.

Here's an example:

Q: What are the other 12% ingredients in your meat?

A: They do have weird names – perfect for tongue twisters! But these ingredients are completely safe and approved by the FDA. They're common ingredients also found in food items at your grocery store.

Each ingredient helps make our Seasoned Beef taste great. Many of them are items you might use at home such as salt, peppers, and spices. Ingredients like oats and sodium phosphates help make sure the texture is right.

Read their meat FAQ.

Here is a comparison chart of the meat found in Taco Bell food vs. what you can find in the grocery store. Everything looks pretty comparable except for the sodium level, but our American palette has become pretty acustom to salty foods. In fact, we're probably so used to if there was no salt added we would probably complain that it was too bland. A few things to note: You get 2 grams of fiber with the Taco Bell meat because it contains the oats! 

 You know how some fast food places have opted to put their calorie counts on their menus. I know they really sway my opinion when choosing what and how much to eat. Since I know that I should only consume about 2k calories a day, I can gauge in my head what my items should total to. If you frequent "The Bell" quite a lot than the online nutrition calculator is a handy tool to educate you about making decisions that are good for you. It's well designed, easy to use and free for anyone to use.

All in all, I don't think Taco Bell is as bad as some of their fast foodie counterparts. If you make sensible choices, it's a quick and cheap way to feed your family. For example, instead of ordering four items filled with cheese, sourcream and flour tortillas for your child you could try two of their fresco tacos and a cup of water. That would fill them up with a balanced meal of meat, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and corn tortilla shells which provide some fiber. Don't forget that these businesses are just catering to what the consumers want. Without their customers, they wouldn't be in business.

Day in the Life of a Kid Living with Type 2 Diabetes

About 1 in every 400 children and adolescents has diabetes. Carlos is a 14 year old kid that finds out he has type 2 diabetes. Take a journey through the eyes of a teenager who is learning to manage this disease. See how high blood sugar levels, contribute to causing the body to not create enough insulin in this 6 minute video.



I think it would be pretty important to create curriculum in schools that address this disease while kids are still in Elementary School. Preventative information is always better than trying to fix the problem after it's already gotten way out of control.

Cost of Diabetes

• $174 billion: Total costs of diagnosed diabetes in the United States in 2007
• $116 billion for direct medical costs
• $58 billion for indirect costs (disability, work loss, premature mortality)

Are you at risk? Do you think someone you care about could be? It's time to educate yourself and others.

To read more about Type 2 diabetes, visit Kids Health.org.

Play FOOD FURY, an interactive game that teaches kids about healthy eating choices.