… what to eat on the road? That’s the question.

I love road trips, loooong road trips. Having just driven here to NYC from San Diego through the breathtaking vistas of Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota I was appalled at the multitudes of heavy weight/obese people filing in and out of the fast food eateries abounding along the Interstates. Why was I at these travelers’ ‘watering holes’? I wasn’t. But because I didn’t prepare our travel cooler the way I usually do with the delicious abundance of homemade and natural goodies, I had the opportunity to scout out the local supermarkets and groceries often side by side with the eateries. That was eye opening. And many of these people were not on the road but local residents. It saddened me that so many people have so little regard for their health that they allow obvious ill health to become perceived good health simply because everyone starts looking the same from eating the same — the herd mentality. Those spare tire midriffs used to be associated with a small segment of our society. Now it’s the norm on or off the road. For here, for now I’ll stick to ‘on the road’.

Somehow in the car foods that you might not ordinarily think that much about as staples, become not only important but even more delicious especially when you bring your favorites. A long picnic on wheels. A chance to have your favorite natural sandwiches, snacks, and munchies mostly made by you and the kids. Flexibility is the key so some junk food is also fun. Sometimes you stop at Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve become junkies. We reach for it in happy times, in depressing times, at all times. Not only in the form of those shimmering white crystals, but also in the chemically engineered equivalents in sweets, drinks and desserts designed to bring that comfortable warm, relaxing glow at the end of a meal, dunking in our coffee, enhancing our soft drinks, a midday or after school energy boost, snacks that replace real food, and that stress releasing melt of alcohol/sugar at the end of the work day. Reaching for it is so matter-of-fact that most of us never give a thought to the fact that we’ve become sugar addicts, addicted to the ‘pure’ form and all additives containing all the scientifically engineered chemical forms that we and our children cannot live without. But the most insidious effect on us, besides the well known publicized physical calamities of obesity, ADD, diabetes…, is on our psyche, our mental state, our inability to cope with life’s twists and turns whether self made or not. Our dependence on it makes us victims of the worst side effects, the diseases of unhappiness and depression. It’s a vicious cycle: physical disease = depression/depression = physical disease. That cycle has to be broken.

Refined sugar is responsible for creating an imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain. Mental and emotional disorders are now linked to sugar consumption. Hence, “Sugar Blues”. How do you usually ‘stop’ it? Reach for more sugar. And so we have the 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM coffee/tea breaks with caffeine, a perfect partner for sugar also in the soft drinks that your kids have with their sugar fix – uppers and downers harmoniously together ‘to get you going’. In one form or another it is in just about every processed food and drink that is manufactured. Put this in perspective. We are hooked and have become numb, used to having our ‘down’ times, taking mood elevators to numb us even more so we can ‘cope’. That’s not coping; it’s drugging which brings even more depression.

Refined sugar is a refined carbohydrate which is extremely hazardous to your health. It enters the bloodstream very rapidly creating an ideal environment for developing addictions. It’s a fast energy booster and mood elevator, an addictive drug often compared to other heavily addictive substances like heroine and opium. It should also be included in the DEA’s ‘most wanted’ list. Natural sweeteners and sugars, on the other hand, are more complex and enter the bloodstream slowly. They’re not chemically refined and are closer to whole foods, containing their own nutrients that feed the body; they don’t rob or deplete it.

Simple to say: “Stop eating sugar.” So tough to do. I know. When I was about Read the rest of this entry »

We are our Children’s Keepers, especially for food, probably lifelong, at least, as far as I’m concerned. We need to cherish them. Choosing their food is unarguably the single most important legacy we can give them. They are our responsibility regardless of what age or stage of life they’re in. First we teach them, and then we become their resource. They mimic us, learn from us, teach their children consciously and unconsciously what we teach them. We have a generational responsibility, an ancestral obligation, so we better get it right. Our food choices for them will be our progeny’s inheritance in their DNA. It’s an awesome and delightful adventure of exploring food tastes and quality to give them the irreplaceable tools of good judgment. And that’s what natural/organic food gives us, good judgment from good health. Their food is not just what goes into their bellies. It becomes them, their bones, blood, organs, brain, behavior, social interaction, choices in school, choices in life, partners, jobs…. Their judgment will guide them in decisions for themselves, their families, their communities, the world.

Let’s stop conceptualizing about the preponderance of diseases increasingly afflicting our children. And let’s start addressing them. Every aspect doesn’t have to be dissected under a microscope. Go to the root, the reason. It’s not complicated and doesn’t require BS’s, MA’s, PhD’s or any other degrees. Just basic common sense: natural/organic is good – chemicals are bad; in-season is best, out-of-season is next best. Cooking from scratch is good; prepackaged is bad. Now how much simpler can that be?

Simple, basic, uncomplicated. And what’s even simpler and basic, our children follow our example. So parents, you become their resource now. You set the example now. Realize your children are growing and need a full spectrum of nourishing foods, but please make it all real food, not chemically enhanced alternatives. Laboratory technology does not belong on our dinner tables, in our kids’ lunchboxes, or in their growing bodies and lives. Let them see you making wise choices in whole grain, vegetable & fruit shopping and preparations. From scratch, use all the spices and exotic seasonings necessary for the tastiest treats without resorting to anything prepackaged. Cultivate their awareness of a real taste for life by helping them ‘chews’ their tastes for food.

Yes, it takes more time. And that’s only part of the point. That time is love, and that’s the most important part. Let them know they’re worth it; they’ll feel how much you care… and don’t complain about it. Enlist their help in the kitchen. Ask their opinions: “What do you want in this honey?” “Let’s try something new….REAL FOOD — natural/organic. You choose. Let’s have fun!” I don’t have to script this for you. Honestly, if you spent as much time in the kitchen as you spend watching just TV commercials waiting for your next imagined health calamity, you’d have meals for a week fit to arm and protect your kids from not only those commercials, but from all the dishonesty rampant in the commercial food hype on every supermarket shelf. You’ll arm them with naturally high health, strong, in-tune intuition, and an awareness of the deepening, ever widening potholes that their good judgment will be able to change into a smoother road and a smoother world for their children, your grandchildren.

I direct you to an interesting NYTimes article in the Thursday February 26, 2009, ‘ThursdayStyles’ section, E1, front page, “What’s Eating Our Kids? Fears about ‘Bad’ Foods” by Abby Ellin. No comment here but an interesting read. You judge.

Here are a couple of links for more information on whole grains:

http://www.wholegrainscouncil.org http://www.ific.org/publications/fa…