photo: Forbes

Mars, the candy maker, not the planet, is trying to do its share to help America lose some weight. While it won’t go to the extreme of making Kale Kandy bars, the company announced last week that it will be discontinuing its King size Snickers Bar (540 calories) by the end of 2013.

In fact, Mars will be discontinuing all chocolate products with more than 250 calories (A regular bar has 280 calories). Additionally, Mars will reduce Sodium by 25% in all its products within the next 3 years.

Should we applaud?

We were going to, but then realized that the replacement product is actually 440 calories!  You see, the new “2ToGo” product will have 2 bars, each with 220 calories. The package will be resealable, so you can “save one for later.”

Yeah right. Show us the man, woman, or child who will stop at one bar. Snickers are tasty, to Mars credit, and we have no doubt that people will be wolfing the 440 calorie snack in one sitting. On the bright side, that’s still 100 calories less than the King size bar.

Two additional suggestions for Mars on the health front:

1. While we applaud you for the brave 2007 decision to stop advertising to kids under the age of 12, how about raising that to kids under 16? High-schoolers are highly impressionable too.

2. Get rid of the artificial colors in M&Ms. They mess with our bodies.

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We were recently contacted by Nature’s Path, maker of organic cereals, granolas, and other goodies. The  Love Crunch Granola line has undergone a makeover and we were sent a sample for review. From the company:

Like all Nature’s Path products, Love Crunch Granolas are USDA certified organic, which means they do not contain artificial preservatives, additives or synthetic pesticides.  Love Crunch Granolas also bear the Non-GMO Project Verified Seal, which helps shoppers recognize products that meet rigorous genetically modified organism (GMO) avoidance practices. 

 We tasted the Dark Chocolate and Red Berries flavor. It was scrumptious. Here’s the list of benefits, according to Nature’s Path

Dark Chocolate & Red Berries (the original flavor) – is the perfect marriage of flax granola, strawberries, raspberries, coconut and dark chocolate chunks that has 14 grams of Whole Grains per serving, no cholesterol, low sodium, no trans fat and is an excellent source of ALA Omega-3.

This is certainly an appealing product line from a taste and philanthropy perspective (each purchase helps the Bite4Bite food bank program).

Could it also be the perfect marriage of nutrition and flavor?

What you need to know:

The ingredient list looks good:

Rolled oats*, evaporated cane juice*, soy oil*, spelt*, dark chocolate chunks* (evaporated cane juice*, chocolate liquor*, cocoa butter*, soy lecithin*, vanilla*), flax seeds*, dried coconut*, cocoa*, freeze-dried berry blend* (freeze-dried strawberries*, freeze-dried raspberries*), rice starch*, sea salt, natural chocolate flavor, sea salt, natural vanilla flavor, tocopherols (natural vitamin E). *Organic. Contains soy. Produced in a facilty that uses dairy, peanuts and tree nuts.

It’s a more decadent granola, and would make a sweet snack or yogurt topping. But as a cereal you might want to watch the serving size. The company is positioning it as a “premium” granola and using the FDA serving size established for snacks (30 g – a little over ¼ cup), rather than for a cereal.

If it were considered a cereal, the serving size is supposed to be 55 g (required for heavy/dense cereals, like granola), which would be a more reasonable, but still small, ½ cup for this product. Take a look at the pictures of a single 30 gram serving. Does that look like the amount you would consume for breakfast?

A 30 gram serving carries only 140 calories. But if you use the 55 grams FDA guideline – the number would be 270 calories. Although you may think this is high, all granolas are over 200 calories, especially if they contain nuts and seeds that are high in fat (healthy fat). Chances are they will keep you fuller for a longer time compared to puffed cereals.

Although none of the 4 flavors are particularly high in calories or fat, neither are they a good source of fiber… all because of the 30 g (1 oz) serving size. Eat more and you get more of everything, of course. The sugar count for the small serving is 1.5 tsp, but consuming the 55 gram serving size bumps it up to 3 teaspoons.

Now on to other labeling considerations.

Omega-3 Claim: Despite the claims on two of the four granola flavors “Excellent Source of ALA OMEGA-3″, there is no “recommended daily value” for ALA omega-3 fatty acids and no allowed claim regarding ALA omega-3 content (“excellent source”). ALA omega-3 (from plants/nuts rather than fish) is very poorly converted to DHA and EPA (the most valuable forms of omega-3) in the body.

Allergens: FDA requires foods containing grains related to wheat, such as spelt (which contains gluten), to declare the presence of wheat, which this product neglects to do. For example, the Dark Chocolate and Red Berries flavor only declares that it “Contains soy.” All allergens must be listed when the “contains” statement is used.

The “may contain” or “processed in a facility that also processes…” statements are voluntary, unregulated and not the same as declaring actual ingredients that are one of the 8 major food allergens. All these granolas should state that they contain wheat.

Bottom line:  This is a tasty treat, it is organic, and has a good ingredient list. When consumed in a standard FDA portion size (55g/2 ounces) the calories and sugar are above what we’d like to see.

What to do at the supermarket:

When considering a granola, make sure to check the serving size before reading the calorie and nutrient info. It should be 55g, not 30g. If it’s not, do the math and try to visualize your portion size at home to estimate your actual intake.

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image: Fodoro.com

Valentine’s Day is a big annual chocolate-fest, driving about 5% of annual chocolate sales. As with wine, chocolate is much more than a food, it is an art form.

And in the past few years, chocolate has become synonymous with health benefits. “It’s got antioxidants,” and that automatically makes it good. Right?

What you need to know:

Chocolate comes from cocoa beans. The beans are bitter and full of antioxidants called phenols. These phenols have been shown to reduce blood pressure. So far so good.

The chocolate most of us buy and consume bears little resemblance to the cocoa beans, which undergo significant processing before becoming your 3pm pick me up snack.

For starters, it is not bitter. That’s because most chocolates undergo an alkalization process (also known as Dutch process) to remove the bitter flavor. This, of course, removes a substantial percentage of the healthy antioxidants.

Most chocolates people buy are “milk chocolate”. Less than on third of these products actually comes from cocoa beans. The rest is milk and sugar. It has been shown that the milk actually negates some of the antioxidant activity.

That’s why experts recommend switching over to dark chocolate, which must contain at least 35% cocoa mass. The higher the cocoa mass, the more health benefits, and the less sugar.

But even dark chocolate is high in sugar and saturated fats. Take Green & Black’s 85% Dark Chocolate. It’s one of the top rated chocolates on Fooducate. But it still grades low overall (click here to see how low). That’s because a single serving (12 small squares weighing in at 1.5 ounces) has 250 calories and 60% of your daily value for saturated fat. It’s also got 2 teaspoons of sugar in it.

UPDATE: Turns out there is a fair amount of acrylamide in chocolate according to Dr. Michael Lustgarten, a scientist at Tufts University.

Bottom Line: Nobody ever died because they didn’t eat enough chocolate.

So enjoy chocolate for its great taste and to bond with your Valentine.  To increase its health benefits: eat a much smaller serving than recommended on the package. That means half an ounce instead of 1.5 ounces. Unfortunately – and this comes from personal experience – we doubt that following this recommendation is humanly possible.

What to do at the supermarket:

Learn to enjoy the pleasures of dark chocolate – 70% or higher cocoa content.

Practice self restraint and portion control – only one or 2 squares a day.

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Just when you thought the everything bacon trend was over, fast food chain Jack in the Box is introducing the Bacon Milkshake. For a limited time only, of course. Yes, it’s for real. Not the bacon, the shake. Well, the bacon shake, but it has nor real bacon, even though you’d be inclined to think it is.

According to Jack, the shake is

Made with real vanilla ice cream, bacon flavored syrup, whipped topping and a maraschino cherry.

 (highlighting, for dramatic effect, by us).

What you need to know:

First, the nutrition atrocity: A regular size (16oz) Shake tallies up at 773 calories (this is JUST the dessert folks). It has 28 grams of saturated fat and 2 whole grams of trans fat. It’s 75 grams of sugars are the equivalent of 19 tsp. That’s right – NINETEEN TEASPOONS OF SUGAR!

Now, what exactly does “bacon flavored” syrup mean? Or to paraphrase the nice elderly lady from the 80′s Wendy’s commercial – “Where’s the Bacon?”

Answer: certainly not in the milkshake. Here’s what the bacon syrup is made of:

Pure Cane Sugar, Water, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Salt, Sodium Benzoate And Potassium Sorbate (To Preserve Freshness).

And this is the ingredient list for  the Ice Cream Milk Shake itself:

Milk, Cream, Sucrose, Skim Milk, Corn Syrup, Whey, Stabilizer (Sodium Caseinate, Cellulose Gum, Mono-and Di-glycerides, Disodium Phosphate, Non-Fat Dry Milk, Carrageenan, Guar Gum, Sodium Citrate, Polysorbate 65, and Dextrose), Natural and Artificial Vanilla, Annatto Extract.

So the real vanilla ice cream is actually composed of artificial and natural vanilla. Spare yourself and do not look up some of the “stabilizers” listed such as Polysorbate 65.

Conclusion: This product is just plain wrong. On so many levels. Which is why it will be a big hit.

Our $0.02 – If you want to enjoy bacon flavored food – eat real bacon. Even add some to your dessert if the greasy, salty, sweet combo is your turn on. But for goodness sakes, don’t eat pseudo foods just because the word Bacon has been plastered on their name.

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This is a guest post by Lisa Cain, PhD, a.k.a Snack-Girl

So, you like to bake – but you have a problem. Yes, I know that problem well.

You bake a couple dozen cookies and then they stare at you from wherever you have put them. Haunting you…… Just one more, you say, as you eat two more.

I have this rule about baked goods that I only eat ones that I have baked (or that someone I know has baked). These keeps me from eating stale, terrible, supermarket cookies when I see them.

This rule has helped me drop some unnecessary pounds and now I savor my baked goods. BUT, if I have them around I can’t stop eating them.

So, with the help of a reader’s comment, I came up with this handy method of having my cookies without overindulging. Check this out:

I put my finished oatmeal raisin cookie dough into an ice cube tray! And, then I froze them and dumped them out into a freezer bag. Now if I want a fresh baked cookie, I heat up my oven, get out a baking sheet, and bake a reasonable number for my family.

This would be even better if I had a toaster oven because I wouldn’t have to heat my whole oven for such a small load.

I put on my apron when my children get off the school bus and pretend I have been baking all afternoon. Take that – Martha Stewart!! HA! I look like super mom as I serve them fresh baked cookies.

I need a cape (and some cool tights and maybe a pair of kickin’ leather boots).

Try this oatmeal raisin cookie recipe – it is super delicious and fast to make.

How do you deal with the too many cookies problem?

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe
(makes 20 cookies)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup raisins

Soften butter in microwave (or leave out of the fridge if you remember). Mix butter, sugar, and egg in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until combined. Place cookies in ice cube tray and freeze (about 5 hours). When frozen, take out of tray and put in freezer bag.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Place frozen cookie on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until light brown. Enjoy!

For one cookie = 73 calories, 2.9 g fat, 10.6 g carbohydrates, 1.5 g protein, 0.7 g fiber, 21 mg sodium, 2 PointsPlus

Lisa Cain, Ph.D. writes about healthy snacks on Snack-Girl.com. She is a published author, mother of two, and avid snacker.

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This is a guest blog post by Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD

Getting your fruits and vegetables may be the last thing on your mind on Superbowl Sunday. Don’t give it another thought. These winning munchies are so delicious that your family and friends may forget they’re good for you, too. Serve the dips with baked snack chips or toasted whole wheat sandwich wraps broken into chips.

All recipes appear in MyPlate for Moms, How to Feed Yourself & Your Family Better, by Elizabeth M Ward, MS, RD

Snack #1: Salsamole

Makes 2 cups.

Simple, nutritious, and delicious. Use as a dip or sandwich spread.

1 cup fresh tomato salsa

1 cup fresh guacamole

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Instructions: Combine all ingredients in medium serving bowl.

Per serving (1/4 cup): 94 calories; 6 grams carbohydrate; 3 grams fiber; 8 grams; 1 gram saturated fat; 2 grams protein; 229 milligrams sodium; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 20 milligrams calcium.

Snack #2: Mango and Black Bean Salsa

Makes 2 1/2 cups.

High in fiber, and pretty to look at, this salsa tastes even better the next day.

2 cups diced fresh mango

2 cups black beans, rinsed and drained, if canned

1/2 cup diced red onion

1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped, seeded jalapeno pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons lime juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions: In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients.

Per serving (1/4 cup): 69 calories; 14 grams carbohydrate; 4 grams fiber; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 3 grams protein; 199 milligrams sodium; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 10 milligrams calcium.

Snack #3 Crispy Chickpeas

Makes 4 servings.

Beans are the vegetable with the most protein and fiber, which makes them a perfect snack.

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients, tossing to coat beans completely.

3. Spread beans in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.

4. Bake for 20 minutes. Stir beans, and cook for another 20 minutes. Allow beans to cool before eating.

Per serving: 185 calories; 24 grams carbohydrate; 5 grams fiber; 8 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 5 grams protein; 314 milligrams sodium; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 30 milligrams calcium.

Elizabeth M. Ward, M.S., R.D. is an award-winning author of several books, including her latest, MyPlate for Moms, How to Feed Yourself & Your Family Better. She writes about nutrition and health for WebMD.com, USATODAY.com, and Men’s Fitness.

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Fuel for your car and body

This picture was taken at a Shell Gas Station in the San Francisco area. Just a friendly reminder from the convenience store inside to fuel up on sugars and fats as you’re fueling your car.

While automobiles can consume only one type of fuel, humans are a much more complex machine. We can ingest a wider variety of inputs and convert them to energy. However, just like tainted fuel can mess with your car’s engine, so can the ingredients and nutrients in some of these treats.

It’s all in the proportions, of course.  A tiny amount of impurity in  gasoline won’t affect your car. And a candy one in a while won’t dent your overall health. Unfortunately, we have too many opportunities in the day to load up on the unhealthy fuels for our body. A gas station is just one of them.

Where do you get “pitched” to fuel up on candy and sugary drinks?

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It’s always interesting to see what commercials will air during “The Biggest Loser”. Last night, Pop Tarts grabbed our attention with their new “Wildlicious” line of toaster pastries:

Buckle up and unwrap a fusion of fruit flavor. Cherry, orange, strawberry, raspberry and blueberry-flavored fruit filling. Bright yellow frosting, orange icing drizzle and multi-colored sprinkles on top.

Bright Frosting…Sprinkles…Fusion of Flavors…yummm….

Naturally we decided to investigate.

What you need to know:

A serving is one pop tart. It has 200 calories. For just one pastry, not two, keep in mind. The sugar count is almost 4 teaspoons (15 grams or 30% of the calories). The fiber is very low – less than 1 gram (we need 25 grams per day at least). But that’s not surprising because the main ingredient here is highly refined wheat flour, stripped of all its whole grain nutrients:

Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Folic Acid), Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Soybean and Palm Oil (with TBHQ for Freshness), Dextrose, Contains Two Percent or less of Wheat Starch, Glycerin, Cracker Meal, Salt, Dried Cherries, Dried Apples, Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Citric Acid, Corn Cereal, Gelatin, Malic Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Xanthan Gum, Modified Corn Starch, Modified Wheat Starch, Soy Lecithin, Red 40, Color Added, Turmeric Extract for Color, Yellow 6 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Vitamin A Palmitate, Niacinamide, Reduced Iron, Yellow 6, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamin Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Folic Acid, Blue 1.

After flour, the second, third, and fourth(!) ingredients are sugars.

Ingredient number 5 is oil, preserved with TBHQ, which is a problem ingredient: TBHQ (tertiary butylhydroquinone) is an antioxidant used to keep oils from going rancid. It is a petroleum derivative. Yummy. The food industry pushed the FDA for years to get it approved as a preservative despite the fact that ingestion of large doses (a thirtieth of an ounce) can cause nausea, delirium, and ringing of the ears.

Additional goodies include trans-fat (that’s from partially hydrogenated soybean oil) and artificial colors galore.

Click on the image to see the full analysis of this product on our brand new website.

Sorry, Kellogg’s. Instead of new Pop Tart flavors using the tried and true recipe for nutrition disaster, how about Pop Tarts 2.0? Something that can maintain the brand you built without slowly killing us? Use whole wheat, ditch the artificial colors, lower the sugar, add substantially more fruit. Come on, your food scientists can figure this out…

What to do at the supermarket:

If you need your toaster pastry fix, try whole grain options with less “evil” ingredients. Amy’s and Trader Joe’s for example. But know that in general these are not the greatest way to start the day.

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To counter our processed-food bashing and ensuing depression, we like to showcase healthy, tasty recipes here on Fooducate.

With the Superbowl coming up, you may be tempted to Dorito-fy your household. STOP! We want to show you how easy and fun it is to prepare finger foods that are both tasty and healthy. If you’d like to submit a recipe for consideration, please comment below or email info at fooducate dot com. We’ll publish one or two of the best recipes ahead of the big game.

Here’s an interesting and easy recipe from professional chef Dave Schy. Visit his website New Taste, for step by step pictures of this and other great recipes.

Today – Persimmon-Avocado Nachos using baked blue corn tortilla chips

Here’s what Dave says:

I recently demonstrated this recipe at a Farmers Market and it was a hit. I actually saw my friend, Chef Andie doing a very similar version at another farmers market the week before and “borrowed” the idea from her, with her permission.  

2     Persimmons
1     Avocado, large or 2 medium size
1     Jalapeno
1/2  Red Onion, medium-small one
1/4  Cup Chopped Cilantro
3    Tbs. Lemon or Lime Juice
1/2  tsp. Dark Chile Powder, maybe a bit more
1/2  tsp. Ground Cumin
1/2  tsp. Salt

5     Blue Corn Tortillas
2     tsp. Olive Oil

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Wash and dry the persimmons.

Peel the onion and cut in half.

Wash and spin dry the cilantro.

Cut jalapeno in half; mince one half and cut the other half into thin round slices.

Rub a few drops of oil onto one side of each tortilla.

Stack the tortillas and cut them into quarters.

Place tortilla quarters onto a half sheet pan.

Bake in the oven for 8 minutes.

Remove from oven and turn each chip over.

Bake for another 8 minutes.

Remove and let cool on the same sheet pan.

Cut persimmons into 1/4 inch thick round slices.

Cut persimmon slices into a small dice.

Small dice the onion and avocado.

Mince the jalapeno half.

Chop the cilantro.

Gather and measure spices.

Place all fresh ingredients plus spices into a mixing bowl and toss together.

Place a large spoonful of the salsa onto a chip.

Garnish with a jalapeno slice and serve.
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We visited New York this week and were happy to see that at least one local government in this country is willing to face up to the big money that is junk food. The latest subway ad campaign is calling out a growing (pun intended) problem – the increase in portion sizes over the last few decades.

Here’s and example of how far we’ve come along (an we mean that in a bad way). Monster cookies being served at Starbucks and other snacking opportunities. (see more examples) Sure they’re tasty, but why 3 times the size of the USDA serving size?

What to do at the supermarket:

If you are eating real food yet still gaining weight, one of the things to take notice when at the supermarket is the serving size on the nutrition label. Many people look at the calorie count, and are happy to see low numbers. But what they don’t notice is that they are consuming twice or more than the stated serving size as an eating portion. Which means twice the calories, twice the fat and sodium, etc..

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