Tag: Food

Spotlight on Breakfast Drinks

In todays post I am looking at Breakfast drinks.

Last week I wrote about the food industry and processed foods. I mentioned that the industry as a whole was driven by profit and questioned what was in our food.

During the week I was doing some research into ‘Energy drinks’ and a friend asked about ‘breakfast drinks’. So, after our discussion and a bit of research later, this is what I came up with.

I decided to do a comparison between an Up ‘n’ Go breakfast drink and a homemade smoothie.

Let’s look at the Up & Go ingredients

Choc Ice, 250ml Breakfast drink

Filtered water, skim milk powder, cane sugar, wheat maltodextrin, soy protein, vegetable oils (sunflower, canola), vegetable fibre, hi-maize™ starch, corn syrup solids, fructose, cocoa (0.5%), oat flour, mineral (calcium), acidity regulator (332), flavours, vegetable gums (460, 466, 407), stabiliser (452), salt, vitamins (C, niacin, A, B12, B6, B2, B1, folate).

Labelling laws in Australia require the ingredients to be listed in order of quantity. So the first ingredient, therefore the most, is water. Followed by Skim milk powder.

Then there is the third most ingredient, the first of the sugars ‘Cane Sugar’.

Followed by another sugar -Wheat maltodextrin, made from wheat starch. Maltodextrins are considered equivalent to sugar but not as sweet.

Then there is Soy protein, Vegetable oils, Vegetable fibre, Hi-maize™ starch and Corn Syrup solids.

Corn syrup solids are made from concentrating corn syrup, a liquid sweetener made from corn. Studies show that the body metabolises corn syrup and corn syrup solids in the same way, and they may contribute to health issues such as obesity, diabetes and liver disease.

Then there is more processed sugar, in the form of fructose. Commercially Fructose or fruit sugar is frequently derived from sugar cane, sugar beets, and corn. The primary reason that fructose is used commercially in foods, besides its low cost, is its high relative sweetness.

Then there is the cocoa, oat flour and the added vitamins, minerals and chemicals required to keep the product on the shelf.

This product is advertised as a ‘healthy’ breakfast option.

I think that we can make healthy breakfast drinks at home. Using fresh ingredients. I have done the research on a quick, Choc-Banana Smoothie, a home made ‘Breakfast Drink’ alternative.

To be fair, this comparison uses Pauls Smarter White milk (as the Up n Go uses skim milk powder).

The Numbers

Milk 250ml Banana 50g

Raw Cacao Pwdr 10g

 TOTAL Up n Go  250ml
Calories 162 44.5 47 232.5 196
Total fats – g 9 0.15 1.9 7.05 3.8
Sodium – g 110 0.5 110.5 161
Potassium – g 179 179 514
Protein – g 8 .55 2.1 12.65 8.3
Total carbohydrates – g 12 11.5 5.3 31.8 29.7
Dietary fiber – g 1.3 1.3 4
Sugars – g 12 6 0.2 18.2 19.2
COST .50 .24 .40 1.14 1.53

For the record, 50g of banana, is approximately ½ an average banana and 10 g of Cacao is a generous tablespoon. Now, I know that the homemade version has 36.5 extra calories and some extra fat. It does however have a little less sugar and more protein.

The most important thing to remember about this comparison though is that the homemade recipe uses 3 real food ingredients. You can also choose to reduce your chemical footprint by buying Organic ingredients.

You will also have some ingredients left over to use in other ways.

Now the choice is yours, but I hope I’ve got you thinking about what you and your family eat.

Till the next post,

Live Clean n Prosper

Food and the Food Industry

Today I’m going to write about the ‘food industry’.

Scott and I watched a documentary this week called ‘Food Inc.’

‘Food Inc.’ exposes America’s industrialised food system and its effect on the environment, health, economy and workers’ rights. It’s also driving a campaign to encourage people to become actively involved in fighting for  a healthier food supply.

The documentary explains how in the space of a few generations the food system has been transformed.

From humble farm origins to a highly efficient commercial entity. A business controlled from seed to supermarket by a small number of large multinational corporations.

So, how relevant is its analysis to the Australian context?

There is a common lesson. Control of the food system by large corporations supported by government policies driven by the almighty dollar, has resulted in a food system that is a commercial success, but at what cost to public health.

Australia’s processed food is in the hands of 10 big players, and that is not taking into consideration the control that Woolworths and Coles have in the industry.

The food manufacturing industry is Australia’s largest manufacturing sector, accounting for $111 billion and almost one in six jobs. Its peak body, the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC), wields enormous power.

The AFGC

The AFGC aims to shape a regulatory environment that increases the profitability of the food and beverage sector. Its approach generally involves a seat at the policy table arguing that food industry regulation is unnecessary or flawed.

It uses three main tactics to do this.

First, it pre-empts government regulation by introducing its own voluntary schemes.

Like many self-regulatory schemes, there is no formal sanctions for non-compliance, and relies instead on peer pressure and companies’ fear of damage to their reputations.

Then, there are the initiatives focusing on the exercise side of the energy imbalance equation that is leading to population-wide weight gain. Given a choice, the food industry would prefer us to move more, rather than consume less.

The AFGC’s third tactic is to influence policy, and it seems the efforts are paying off. Parts of its wish list came closer to being granted in the recent federal budget. This included cutting funds to the National Preventive Health Agency and National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health.  (Source – http://theconversation.com)

So what does this mean in regards to our food? If the AFGC is only interested in increasing the profitability of the food industry, how healthy is our food?

Foods subjected to processes such as high levels of heat, light, and/or oxygen, suffer nutrient and vitamin losses. These are then replaced with manufactured vitamins and nutrients. There is plenty of information available about the chemicals used to make some foods look better and last longer. There is not yet a lot of information available about the long-term effects of some of these chemicals on the human body.

How many times have you gone to the supermarket and picked up products to read the labels and not been able to understand anything on them.

Real Food

A wise man once said, ‘real food doesn’t have ingredients, real food is ingredients.’

Real food is food that has not been processed at all or food that looks similar to its original state. There are some foods that require processing such as flours, milks, butters and cheeses.

In an effort to know what we are consuming, we try to buy very little in the way of ‘processed’ foods. It is easier to understand how different foods affect your body when you know what you have eaten.

Until the next post,

 Live Clean n Prosper

Chocolate & Cacao

Today’s post is about Chocolate and Cacao.

Those people, who know me, know I like my chocolate. I have always claimed that it is good for us and it is. Specifically it’s a raw cacao chocolate has health benefits.

Cacao can refer to any of the food products derived from cacao beans – the seeds or nuts of the cacao tree. These include cacao nibs, cacao butter, cacao paste and most commonly, cacao powder.

This is my favourite chocolate recipe.

Raw Chocolate bar

for (approx.) 200gram block

* 100g Cacao butter

* 50g Cacao powder

* 33g Liquid sweetener (Rice malt, Maple, Agave syrup)

* tiny pinch of Himalayan Pink Salt

Melt butter on a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.

(The original recipe instructs to put the melted butter into a blender or processor with the other ingredients to mix. I think this wastes too much, so I do it differently.)

Once the butter is melted, I then add syrup, cacao powder & salt to the bowl. Take the saucepan off the heat and mix. I use a stick blender to mix the ingredients together while the mix is still in the bowl, over the hot water.

Once mixed, I pour the chocolate into a lined rectangle cake tin with other ingredients such as chopped mint, nuts, dried berries or ginger.

I then put it into the freezer so it’s ready to eat in approx. 20 to 30 min.

Cacao v Cocoa, what’s the difference?

Raw cacao powder is made by cold-pressing un-roasted cacao beans. The process keeps the living enzymes in the cacao and removes the fat (cacao butter).

Cocoa looks the same but it’s not. Cocoa powder is raw cacao that has been roasted at high temperatures. Sadly, as a result, roasting changes the molecular structure of the cocoa bean. This reduces the enzyme content and lowers the overall nutritional value.

Recent studies reveal that 60% and 90% of the original antioxidants in cacao are lost through common “Dutch processing”. Dutch processing was originally developed to reduce the bitterness, darken the colour, and create a more mellow flavour to chocolate

Here are 5 reasons to enjoy Raw Cacao’s chocolatey deliciousness.

  1.  Raw Organic Cacao has over 40 times the antioxidants of blueberries.
  1.  Source of Iron

It is the highest plant-based source of iron known to man, at a whopping 7.3mg per 100g.  This compares to beef and lamb at 2.5mg, and spinach at 3.6mg. As the iron in cacao is all plant-based, research revealed that to get the maximum benefits you’ll want to combine it with some vitamin C. Think oranges or kiwifruit.

  1.  Full of Magnesium for a Healthy Heart & Brain

Cacao is among one of the highest plant-based sources of magnesium.  Magnesium is important for a healthy heart, and helps turn glucose into energy enabling your brain to work with laser-sharp clarity and focus.  The reason why you might turn to a bar of chocolate in the afternoon.

  1.  Loaded with Calcium

Raw Organic Cacao has more calcium than cow’s milk, as much as 160mg per 100g vs only 125mg per 100ml of milk.

Interestingly, research also shows that dairy inhibits the absorption of antioxidants from raw cacao.

and finally

  1.  A Natural Mood Elevator and Anti-Depressant

It is a great source of 4 scientifically proven bliss chemicals – serotonin, dopamine, anandamide and phenylethylamine.  These chemicals are associated with feelings of wellbeing, happiness, and as a result, alleviate depression.

See, it is good for you.

Till next post, 

Live Clean n Prosper.