Monthly Archives: February 2011
Meal Replacers vs Real Food
| February 27, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Real Food |
Meal replacers have become very popular over the years. They are quick and easy. And don’t forget their promises of weight loss. We will do a lot for a promise of weight loss. But do these shakes work? Yes, most will if used right. But it has nothing to do with some magic ingredient in the shake, most are pretty much just a lot of soy and/or fat free dairy, sugar and other processed ingredients. It’s has to do with the fact that when people drink these for a meal they are likely greatly reducing their calorie intake. So you will lose weight but there are some major problems with this weight loss plan.
Problem #1
Most people don’t want to drink shakes for meals for the rest of their life. They can get pretty boring. This is the problem with all diets, they work until you get tired of them and quit. People think they will diet, lose the weight, and stop the diet. Problem is they go back to their bad eating habits and gain it all back.
Problem #2
The ingredients in these are terrible. Here are the ingredients for a Slim-Fast Optima Ready To Drink, Cappuccino Delight.
Fat Free Milk, Water, Sugar, Canola Oil, Gum Arabic, Calcium Caseinate, Cellulose Gel, Coffee Powder, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Potassium Phosphate, Soybean Lecithin, Cellulose Gum, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Mono and Diglycerides, Carrageenan, Maltodextrin, Sucralose (a Nonnutritive Sweetener), Dextrose, Citric Acid and Sodium Citrate. Vitamins and Minerals: Magnesium Phosphate, Calcium Phosphate, Sodium Ascorbate, Vitamin E Acetate, Zinc Gluconate, Ferric Orthophosphate, Niacinamide, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Thiamin Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Chromium Chloride, Biotin, Sodium Molybdate, Potassium Iodide, Phylloquinone (Vitamin K1), Sodium Selenite, Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12) and Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3).
It would take forever to go over all of the ingredients so we will look at some key ones. Fat free milk sounds like a diet food right? One problem when a food says fat free that means they have added sugar to replace the fat and sometimes other fake ingredients. We need fat in our diet, even saturated, we don’t need sugar. Full fat dairy in moderation has been shown to have health benefits.
Sugar, yes more sugar in a diet drink. I love sugar, more than I should but I know it has to be in moderation. Twice in the first two ingredients of your meal is not moderation. Plus there is also high fructose corn syrup, a fake sugar that is linked to all kinds of health problems. And Sucralose another fake sugar.
Canola oil, soybean lecithin and several other ingredients in this drink are GMO. There are a lot of corn ingredients in here as well, which are also GMO.
Another highly popular product is Herbalife. Let’s look at one of their popular product’s ingredients. This is for the Formula 1 Nutritional Shake Mix.
Isolated soy protein, fructose, corn bran fiber, powdered cellulose, natural and artificial guar gum, potassium chloride, calcium caseinate, di-calcium phosphate, rice fiber, soy lecithin, canola oil, carrageenan, medium chain triglycerides, dl-methionine, fructooligasaccharides, magnesium oxide, licorice extract, Aminogen enzyme blend, citrus pectin, psyllium husk, honey powder, ginger root, ascorbic acid, vitamin E acetate, licorice root, hawthorne berry, gotu kola, dandelion root, parsley, papaya, ferrous fumarate, niacinamide, zinc oxide, copper gluconate, vitamin A, palmitate, calcium pantothenate, papain, bromelain, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, thiamin mononitrate, vitamin D3, folic acid, biotin, chromium amino acid chelate, chromium asportate, sodium molybdate, chromium nicotinate, sodium selenite and cyanocobalamin.
Isolated soy protein is a highly processed soy that has been linked to cancer. It’s also GMO. And this is not the only soy in this drink there is also soy lecithin. Also not the only GMO ingredient, it contains forms of corn (such as corn bran fiber) and canola oil.
Fructose, guess what that is, sugar!
At least this one has some good things like hawthorne berries, licorice root, papaya and a few others but look how far down in the ingredients they are. They aren’t main ingredients and there are better ways to get these things.
We often think in terms of weight loss when it comes to food but not all skinny people are health and not all people with extra weight are unhealthy. So much more comes into play when it comes to health. I like to follow a simple rule from Michael Pollan “eat food, not to much, mostly plants.”
Food science is a new science and it seems like we are told different things by different people and it’s always changing. One day we should be eating low fat and the next it’s high protein. Eating shouldn’t be so hard or take up so much of our time. Eating fresh, real foods is a great way to reclaim your health.
So what are your thoughts on fad diets, meal replacers and real food?
Disclaimer: I have lots of friends that swear by these products and even sell them. Just like when I write about processed food this isn’t a shot at people who eat this stuff. This is just information from things I have learned and what I believe.
Photo credit: Clean Wal-Mart
What Products I Use
| February 26, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Green Living |
I’m always getting asked what products I use so I thought I would list some of them here. This would be a good starting point if you are switching to non-toxic products. However, remember we are all different so what works for me may not work for you, don’t give up just try another product.
Personal Care Products
Toothpaste: Rose of Sharon Acres Tooth Chips
Mouthwash: Miessence Certified Organic Mouth Wash
Shampoo: Anti-Body
Conditioner: Dr. Bronner’s Hair Rinse
Body Soap: Several, haven’t picked a favorite yet.
Handsoap: Dr. Bronner’s Shikakai Soap
Lotion: Soap For Goodness Sake French Lavender Shea Butter
Cosmetics
Foundation: Everyday Minerals
Concealer: Everyday Minerals
Blush: Everyday Minerals
Eye Shadow and Liner: Everyday Minerals
Lipstick: Everyday Minerals
Lipgloss: Honeybee Gardens
Lip balm: Honeybee Gardens
Mascara: Honeybee Gardens
Nail Polish: Honeybee Gardens
Cleaners
All Purpose Cleaner: Homemade
Liquid Dish Soap: Homemade
Dishwasher Detergent : Seventh Generation powder
Laundry Soap: Soap nuts
Floor Cleaner: Homemade
Toilet Bowl Cleaner: Homemade
Veggie Wash: Biokleen Produce Wash
Stain Remover: Biokleen Bac-Out
Did I forget to list anything? What do you use?
Another Health Update
| February 26, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
I’m finally starting to feel up to writing again so there should be posts up again soon! My chiropractor and doctor both said I have whiplash. I just finished a week (going everyday) of treatments with the chiropractor. I will be going three days a week for awhile. It’s helping a lot but I still have a long way to go. I just hope I have no chronic problems from this.
Thanks for all the kind words and thoughts and prayers.
Also until I get a post up on here, check out my first post at GoodBlogs.
Taking Back Urban Homesteading
| February 21, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Gardening |
By now you may have heard the Dervaes family (the Path to Freedom people) have trademarked the terms “urban homestead” and “urban homesteading.” They are sending letters to bloggers, libraries, and more telling them to stop using the terms or they must give them credit. Facebook pages using the terms have even been shut down!
The Dervaes have been playing victim and saying it’s better them than some company trademark the terms. But if they really were just trying to save it from companies couldn’t they still let bloggers and such use the term without sending them cease and desist letters and making them add a trademark?
This past week Crunchy Chicken posted a blog about the trademarks and it got the blog world pretty worked up. There is now a Facebook page called Take Back Urban Home-steading(s) (the weird spelling is used to keep it from being shut down). There is also a petition to cancel the trademarks.
In addition to all of the above today is a day of action, the goal is to blanket the web with the terms urban homestead and urban homesteading. If you have a blog join in and let’s tell the Dervaes that these terms belong to all of us! If you have backyard garden, compost rotting in your backyard, make your own pretty much everything, then you have as much right to use these terms as anyone!
You can read more of the blogs being posted today over at Crunchy Chicken’s blog.
A Long February
| February 13, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
So far this has been a very long month. I got sick with the flu the end of January and was very ill. That turned into asthma which has me on my second round of steroids. Now that my asthma is getting much better my husband and I were in a car accident today. We are okay, I’m quite sore and in need of a chiropractor but nothing serious.
We were driving on a busy road and this lady just pulled right into the side of our car. She said someone waved her forward and I guess she didn’t look for herself. Thankfully my husband has a fast reaction time and went into the spin and took us over the curb and not into the cars next to us. And thankfully we got mostly hit on the backdoor and just a little bit on my door. I still did slide around a lot, enough my phone that was in my hand went flying into a cubbyhole.
Let this be a lesson, ALWAYS look for yourself before pulling into traffic. Don’t trust some other driver. Our less 6 month old car is badly wreaked and I’m in a fair amount of pain because of it. And I know we are lucky that, that’s all. So if I’m not around much for awhile it’s because we are dealing with this mess.
Homemade Cheese Bread
| February 11, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Real Food, Recipe |
I love fresh homemade bread but sometimes I don’t have time or the energy to make yeast bread. Thankfully this bread is a quick bread and super easy. So next time you want some homemade bread with dinner give this a try.
- Preheat oven to 400′ and lightly grease loaf pan.
- In large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cheese, garlic, and parsley. In another large bowl beat egg, milk and oil. Stir flour and cheese mixture into the egg mixture, stir until moist. Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake for about 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.
Slaves and Valentine’s Day
| February 10, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Green Holidays, Human Rights |
What does Valentine’s Day have to do with slaves? Sadly gone are the days of homemade gifts and now it’s all about flowers flown in from South America, chocolate’s from the Ivory Coast, and cheap stuffed animals from China.
Those flowers from South America are often picked by women and child that are forced to work and abused. 1-800-Flowers is one company that is using flowers from South America. Change.org has been asking people to demand they offer Fair Trade flowers. You can read more about this on Change.org.
And those cheap stuffed animals may also be being made by force labor. China’s record on worker rights is very poor.
So what can you do to have a nice Valentine’s Day without supporting unethical business practices?
For chocolates look for Fair Trade options. Some brands include Divine Chocolate, Equal Exchange, Endangered Species Chocolate, and Sjaak’s Organic Chocolates. Big box stores are even starting to carry some Fair Trade brands.
Gifts from the heart are also a great way to have a more ethical and also greener holiday. A nice home cooked meal, homemade cards, and other homemade gifts can be more memorable, cheaper, and better for the planet. Remember to make the day about love and not stuff.
What are your plans this Valentine’s Day?
Media That Matters
| February 10, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Human Rights |
New Sponsor: Motherlove
| February 9, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Review |
I want to introduce you to RHGG’s latest sponsor, Motherlove. Motherlove is a company makes safe products for mom and baby. They have many herbal breastfeeding support products, natural baby care products, pregnancy support products and more.
My favorite Motherlove product is the Green Salve. It comes in glass and can be used for all kinds of things. It’s great for dry skin (I’ve been using it on my raw nose from having been sick), bug bites, rashes, and more. The best part about this product is it’s made of 100% certified organic ingredients.
Be sure to go “like” Motherlove on Facebook and check out their products.
Disclaimer: I was given a sample of the Green Salve to review. Motherlove is also a sponsor of the site. I am not paid for my views on the products and these are my honest feelings on the company.
Groupon Tibet Ad: Win or Fail?
| February 7, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Human Rights |
If you were on Facebook or Twitter during the Superbowl you likely have heard a lot about this ad. The Elephant Journal said “I’d love to see similar “humor” inspired by other genocides. Oh, wait, no, I wouldn’t.”
The Wall Street Journal said about the ad “It’s not clear yet whether Groupon sought controversy for its Super Bowl commercial to gain publicity, but either way the venture capital-backed daily deal site sure got it.”
I personally found it terribly disrespectful and tasteless. Some are saying it’s fine because they ask you to donate to the causes on their website but does that really make it okay to make light of others pain? What about all the money they spent on the ads? What could that have done for these causes?
Thoughts?
