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How Well Do You Know Health Food Brands?

FitSugar — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:00:00 -0700

There are so many companies out there making wholesome, healthy food. If you do the grocery shopping or spend a lot of time reading labels, I'm sure you know all the good brands. Let's see how well.

Question 1 of 10

Which company makes this cereal?

Who Owns Organic Food Brands?

FitSugar — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:45:00 -0700

When buying organic and natural-food brands, such as Kashi and Naked Juice, you may think you're supporting small, independent companies. But often these brands are actually owned by major conglomerates: Kellogg, in the case of Kashi, and Pepsi for Naked Juice.

I was excited to find this very cool chart in the latest issue of Good magazine, which breaks down most of the major natural brands by their corporate owners. For the details, read more.

Some of these definitely did not surprise me: I figured that Morningstar Farms had a corporate owner, and I've read before that Muir Glen is owned by General Mills. However, I had no idea that the Heinz subsidiary Hain Celestial owned so many small companies! Westsoy, Casbah, Shariann's, and more. Check out the entire chart here.

I'm not suggesting you should avoid these brands just because they have corporate owners. But it might help you decide where to put your money if there are certain companies whose policies you disagree with. I'm curious, does corporate ownership affect your buying habits?

Source

Can You Name the Healthy Brand?

FitSugar — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:00:32 -0700

In my household, I do the lion's share of the grocery shopping. It's fine with me, because I love reading labels and trying out new foods. With all this research I have become rather familiar with my favorites brands. If you're like me, I'm sure you know all the healthy brands too. Take this quiz to see just how well you know them.

Question 1 of 8

Which company makes this cereal?

Food Review: Forze GPS Shakes and Bars

FitSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:00:46 -0800

I'm typically wary of fitness drinks with gold packaging; they remind me of the weird muscle-building brands I see at the gym. But when I read the label on Forze GPS shakes and bars, I was intrigued.

This line of snacks, including chocolate and vanilla shakes and four flavors of energy bar, is described as a "weight management tool designed specifically for athletes." They promise to activate your appetite control signals, so they can be used as a between-meal or pre- or post-workout snack. Hear what I thought about their taste and the results.

Your Healthy Food Swaps

FitSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:00:27 -0800

Since decadent foods like ice cream, baked treats, and fried foods tend to be high in the calorie department, it's good to have a few healthy food swap ideas up your sleeve. Here are some shared by fellow FitSugar readers.

"Avocado instead of mayo . . . sure it may have fat in it but it's healthy fat and tastes delicious. Hummus instead of cream in sauces and soups . . . adds a ton of flavor and protein." - mamasitamalita
"I use balsamic vinegar (not vinaigrette) on my salads without any oil. It gives the same powerful flavor kick but for a lot less calories." - laellavita
"Replace ranch dressing on my salad with cottage cheese." - genipher85

For more great ideas, keep reading

Kids Think Food Tastes Better With McDonald's Name

FitSugar — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 15:45:00 -0700

I just found out about this fascinating study led by Dr. Thomas Robinson, the director of the Center for Healthy Weight at Packard Children's Hospital and associate professor of pediatrics and of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. Talk about serious credentials.

He had 63 children, ages 3 and 5, sample five foods: chicken nuggets, a hamburger, French fries, baby carrots and milk. The chicken nuggets, hamburger and French fries were all from McDonald's; the carrots and milk were from a grocery store.

Each food was divided into two portions: one wrapped in a McDonald's wrapper or placed in a McDonald's bag and the other in a wrapper without the McDonald's logo.

Want to know what the kids had to say about the carrots? Then read more

The kids thought the food branded with the McDonald's name tasted "better," even though the foods were exactly the same! Apparently kids do judge a food by its cover. That seems like early brand recognition, too early in my book.

With further investigation, Dr. Robinson found that 1/3 of these children ate at Mickey D's more than once a week, and more than 3/4 of them had McDonald's toys at home. The children had about 2-3 TVs in their homes, and more than half the kids had TVs in their rooms.

It's no wonder kids are "lovin' it" - McDonald's spends a ton of moolah advertising to kids. It's really not fair since kids don't understand the persuasive nature of advertising, and they don't realize that eating foods high in sugar and fat can cause childhood obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and adolescent heart disease.

McDonald's responded by saying they are dealing with the problem. Hmm. Here's an idea. How about you stop advertising your unhealthy, far-from-nutritional food to kids?! Or better yet - why just advertise the healthy stuff you do sell? Oh, a mother can dream, can't she?

I do believe that parents should be monitoring what their kids eat, and teach them how to make healthy choices. If kids ages 3 and 5 years are learning to dine regularly at McDonald's, they are going to make the same choices once they are older. By then, health problems will have begun their course, and those unhealthy eating habits will be tough to break. Now is the time, when kids are young, to instill ways to eat and stay healthy.

Source

Snickers Energy Bars?

FitSugar — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 03:30:06 -0700

Clif, Balance, and Luna are a few of my favorite brands when choosing energy bars, but the popular packed-with-peanuts candy bar company wants to get in on the action too with their Snickers Marathon bars. I know what you're thinking. Snickers? Making energy bars? Yep. They were designed to give good tasting energy to active, healthy people, and they come in three varieties - Energy, Nutrition, and Protein.

I find it ironic that the ingredients couldn't be found anywhere on the entire website. Wouldn't health-minded people want to know what they're eating? Seems a little sneaky. Then when I did some research, I discovered these bars contain corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup - just what I expected from a food that has Snickers on the label. The website did include the nutritional labels, so to see how these bars measure up, read more.

	Calories	Sat. Fat (g)	Chol. (mg)	Sodium (mg)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Sugars (g)	Protein (g)
Energy: Multigrain Crunch	220	2.5	5	210	31	3	17	10
Energy: Chewy Chocolate Peanut	210	3	5	200	26	5	15	13
Energy: Chewy Peanut Butter	210	3	5	240	25	4	15	14
Nutrition: Dark Chocolate Crunch	150	2.5	5	140	22	7	9	11
Nutrition: Honey & Toasted Almond	150	2	5	125	22	7	10	10
Protein: Caramel Nut Rush	290	5	5	190	40	10	22	20
Protein: Chocolate Nut Burst	280	3	5	340	37	11	18	21

I was wondering, have any of you tried these Snickers Energy bars?

Fitsugar Roundup

FitSugar — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 05:50:10 -0700

Feeling sleepy? These seven foods could be zapping your energy.
If you love going for a run, take this quiz to see what you know about this popular sport.
Calling all vegetarians. These foods are high in iron.
Test your smarts on these healthy brands.
Stop the Press. Cindy Crawford has cellulite.
Is there such a thing as too many trips to the ladies room?
Do you wear rings when you work out?
One of Anna Paquin's healthy habits is to avoid unhealthy habits.
What do you know about your anatomy?
Avoid the Freshmen 15 with these tips.
Ice cream just got healthier.

Food Review: Clean Cravings Gluten-Free Crusts

FitSugar — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:00:00 -0700

I experimented with a gluten-free diet in college for a variety of reasons. My strongest memory from that period of my life was missing pizza. Crust was a digestive curse. Now if Clean Cravings and its line of crusts had been around, things could have been much different. The brand has created a line of crusts made without wheat, gluten, dairy, casein, yeast, soy, corn, sugar, peanuts, or nightshade vegetables. For folks with food allergies, this is a blessing.

To see how Clean Craving mini crusts taste and their caloric content, read more.

	1 5-inch crust	1 5-inch crust (rosemary)
Calories	160	160
Total Fat (g)	1.5	1.5
Saturated Fat (g)	0	0
Cholesterol (mg)	3	2
Sodium (mg)	280	290
Carbs (g)	34	34
Fiber (g)	3	3
Protein (g)	2	2
Calcium (mg)	2 %	0 %
Iron (mg)	6 %	4 %

These crusts have a satisfyingly moist and chewy texture, and they're full of nutty flavor with subtle sweetness. Use them to make pizza, top them and serve as appetizers, make sandwiches, cut and toast them and serve with dip, or eat them on their own. As far as gluten-free foods go, I've tried my fair share, and these really do taste good. So far, my favorite way to eat them is to smear on a layer of pesto, sprinkle some mozzarella cheese, and add a slice of tomato. Pop it in the toaster and this savory snack tastes warm and chewy with a hint of crispiness. You can buy a three-pack of five-inch minis for $5.99, or a single 12-inch crust for $7.99 - definitely not cheap, but to avoid stomach cramps and still eat tasty foods, I'd say they're worth it.

Fast Food Salad Breakdown

FitSugar — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:37:50 -0700

Chances are, you're doing some traveling this Summer and toting along healthy on-the-go snacks. But there's always a chance you'll find yourself hungry on the road with no choice but fast food.

Thankfully, many fast food chains are selling surprisingly healthy salads, but beware: fat and calorie bombs also abound. Of course, you're best off avoiding creamy salad dressing and opting for vinaigrettes: one pack of McDonald's Newman's Own Low-Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette has 40 calories and 3 grams of fat, while the brand's creamy Southwest dressing has 100 calories and 6 grams of fat per packet. If you opt for the creamy kind, try cutting the portion in half. Find out which salads have the most health appeal and which ones to avoid when you read more.

Food	Serving Size	Calories	Fat (g)	Saturated Fat (g)	Sodium (mg)	Sugar (g)	Carbs (g)	Protein (g)
Arby's Market Fresh Santa Fe Salad With Popcorn Chicken, No Dressing or Tortilla Strip	12.1 oz	415	17	5	806	6	37	25
*Arby's Market Fresh Martha's Vineyard Salad, No Dressing or Almonds	11.6 oz	273	9	4	609	17	25	22
*Burger King TenderGrill Chicken Garden Salad, No Dressing or Croutons	10.3 oz	240	9	3.5	720	3	8	33
McDonald's Bacon Ranch With Grilled Chicken, No Dressing	11.3 oz.	260	9	4	1,010	5	12	33
*McDonald's Caesar Salad With Grilled Chicken, No Dressing	11 oz.	220	6	3	890	5	12	30
Quiznos Flatbread Chopped Salad With Roasted Chicken Honey Mustard and Dressing	1 salad	1,070	71	13.5	1,770	15	69	37
Taco Bell Fiesta Taco Salad, No Shell	1 lb 0.8 oz	460	23	9	1,520	9	41	23
*Wendy's Garden Sensations Mandarin Chicken, No Almonds, Noodles, or Dressing	11 oz.	180	2	0.5	630	12	16	24
Wendy's Garden Sensations Homestyle Chicken BLT With Croutons and Dressing	14.7 oz.	780	53	14	1,740	14	42	37

* FitSugar pick