Dropping the sugar is another matter.
Photo by GH
More fun and fitness
Showing posts with label sugar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sugar. Show all posts
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Fun, food and fitness
Before my morning walk to 'The Centre' I like to eat a hearty bowl of porridge, minus the two scoops of brown sugar I was allowed (as a boy) to pile on top before delivering newspapers in Norwich.
I think the porridge habit is related to my Scottish genes.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Malt-flavoured Muffets - the search is on but...
I need help.
Quaker Co. may not make malted Muffets anymore because people have been lured away from their wholesome goodness (I know what I’m talking about) by every kind of sugar-coated cereal under the sun.
["I can find the blue ones; I want brown ones": photos GAH]
Sorry, I lied.
I’m certain, right now some guy in a lab coat is constructing a new breakfast cereal from bran or oats or wheat or corn or cheap, left-over beet greens and six kinds of sugar and high-fructose corn syrup and thereby banishing my round and malty shredded wheat to the trash bin of life in the morning.
It’s just not fair.
However, I could be wrong. (But I doubt it).
["Little round bales of shredded wheat - no sugar added. Years ago they were not wrapped in paper either. Cardboard was used as a divider inside the box. Mothers used the cardboard for grocery lists. Then we ate it. Nothing was wasted in the 1950s."]
If you ever spot malt-flavoured Muffets (they might be in a brown box) please let me know.
I’d like to buy a lifetime supply.
Oh, where are they?
.
Quaker Co. may not make malted Muffets anymore because people have been lured away from their wholesome goodness (I know what I’m talking about) by every kind of sugar-coated cereal under the sun.
["I can find the blue ones; I want brown ones": photos GAH]
Sorry, I lied.
I’m certain, right now some guy in a lab coat is constructing a new breakfast cereal from bran or oats or wheat or corn or cheap, left-over beet greens and six kinds of sugar and high-fructose corn syrup and thereby banishing my round and malty shredded wheat to the trash bin of life in the morning.
It’s just not fair.
However, I could be wrong. (But I doubt it).
["Little round bales of shredded wheat - no sugar added. Years ago they were not wrapped in paper either. Cardboard was used as a divider inside the box. Mothers used the cardboard for grocery lists. Then we ate it. Nothing was wasted in the 1950s."]
If you ever spot malt-flavoured Muffets (they might be in a brown box) please let me know.
I’d like to buy a lifetime supply.
Oh, where are they?
.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
My Point of View: Pt 2 “Is the Money Out There?”
According to Canada’s Debt Clock, in the time it takes me to type the rest of this sentence and for you to read it our country’s debt will grow by about $20,000.
[Please click here for reference and link to Debt Clock]
Okay, so I’ll try to type faster in the future.
Yes, debt is growing here in Canada, and around the world (and when I say ‘around the world’ try to picture a giant vice squeezing the planet between its jaws and making our eyes bug out), but are we completely helpless?
As I suggested in a previous post - no.
I think the money is out there and there are likely many brilliant ways to pay down debt that experts have long over-looked.
E.g., local and federal governments could create a wider revenue stream from the water bottling and retail process, a $100 billion per year industry.
Call it a luxury tax and stand back and watch while it accomplishes three worthwhile things.
One. It will help governments pay down crushing debt loads.
Two. It will likely spur many people to drink less water out of plastic bottles.
Three. Fewer plastic bottles translates to lower recycling costs.
Can you think of another product that could have a wider revenue stream flowing back to government coffers that would accomplish worthwhile things along the way?
Let me help you.
What’s round, black and white, sweeter than honey, and can go from your hand to your mouth and then hips in 30 seconds?
You got it. An Oreo cookie.
The cookie and cracker industry is so huge it makes more money per year than you can imagine.
People in the US bought $266.5 million worth of Oreos last year alone. (I suspect Canadians spent about 10 times less, but it’s still a significant amount of money to spend on one type of cookie out of dozens of brands).
$317.2 million was spent on Chips Ahoy! and $172 million on Oreo Double Stufs, again using US figures.
Top spot, however, was taken by private label brands, which earned $589.6 million.
[Please click here to see if your favourite cookie was in the Top Ten.]
While wondering how governments would fare if they got their hands on some of that dough I came across the following details:
Cookie producers have adjusted cookies formulas to enable their customers who have food allergies to be able to indulge in their sweet tooth without affecting the taste.
(They’re so helpful!)
A survey conducted by Impulse Research for the Downtown Cookie Co., in New York, has found that 53 percent of adults surveyed prefer chocolate chip cookies over other varieties. The second most popular variety was peanut butter...
(Nothing but health and goodness for North Americans, eh?)
Categories of branded products that reported loses were pasta, fresh bread, frozen pizza, crackers, and ready-to-eat breakfast cereal. Cookies posted a slighted gain.
[Please click here for many more cookie details.]
Why, cookie sales are almost bullet proof, aren’t they?
Not only would governments have a pretty sweet time paying down debt with cookie dough, a slightly higher cost might reduce the number of times we feed our aforementioned sweet tooth, thereby reducing the amount of weight we carry on the aforementioned hips and our health costs at the same time.
That’s what I call a triple whammy.
Of course, most of us know why cookies sell so well. They taste so darn good, don’t they?
And what do cookies have in common with hundreds upon hundreds of other items we eat and snack on more than we really should?
For one thing, sugar.
Sing along with me:
Sugar in the morning,
Sugar in the evening,
Sugar at supper time.
Pay more tax on sugar
We’ll save more than a dime.
A healthy tax or revenue stream linked to sugar would restore the health of countless government budgets, save countless millions in health care and dental costs alone, and spur manufacturers to reduce the sugar content in 61,497,872 food items.
And don’t tell me we can’t afford to pay an extra dime for a can of Coca-Cola.
***
Please click here to read Part 3 "Is the Money Out There?"
One more cookie fact:
Sales of cookies and crackers are showing slight gains from a year ago (2008) despite tightening household budgets.
Can Canada pay off the national debt?
It would be as easy as eating a cookie.
.
[Please click here for reference and link to Debt Clock]
Okay, so I’ll try to type faster in the future.
Yes, debt is growing here in Canada, and around the world (and when I say ‘around the world’ try to picture a giant vice squeezing the planet between its jaws and making our eyes bug out), but are we completely helpless?
As I suggested in a previous post - no.
I think the money is out there and there are likely many brilliant ways to pay down debt that experts have long over-looked.
E.g., local and federal governments could create a wider revenue stream from the water bottling and retail process, a $100 billion per year industry.
Call it a luxury tax and stand back and watch while it accomplishes three worthwhile things.
One. It will help governments pay down crushing debt loads.
Two. It will likely spur many people to drink less water out of plastic bottles.
Three. Fewer plastic bottles translates to lower recycling costs.
Can you think of another product that could have a wider revenue stream flowing back to government coffers that would accomplish worthwhile things along the way?
Let me help you.
What’s round, black and white, sweeter than honey, and can go from your hand to your mouth and then hips in 30 seconds?
You got it. An Oreo cookie.
The cookie and cracker industry is so huge it makes more money per year than you can imagine.
People in the US bought $266.5 million worth of Oreos last year alone. (I suspect Canadians spent about 10 times less, but it’s still a significant amount of money to spend on one type of cookie out of dozens of brands).
$317.2 million was spent on Chips Ahoy! and $172 million on Oreo Double Stufs, again using US figures.
Top spot, however, was taken by private label brands, which earned $589.6 million.
[Please click here to see if your favourite cookie was in the Top Ten.]
While wondering how governments would fare if they got their hands on some of that dough I came across the following details:
Cookie producers have adjusted cookies formulas to enable their customers who have food allergies to be able to indulge in their sweet tooth without affecting the taste.
(They’re so helpful!)
A survey conducted by Impulse Research for the Downtown Cookie Co., in New York, has found that 53 percent of adults surveyed prefer chocolate chip cookies over other varieties. The second most popular variety was peanut butter...
(Nothing but health and goodness for North Americans, eh?)
Categories of branded products that reported loses were pasta, fresh bread, frozen pizza, crackers, and ready-to-eat breakfast cereal. Cookies posted a slighted gain.
[Please click here for many more cookie details.]
Why, cookie sales are almost bullet proof, aren’t they?
Not only would governments have a pretty sweet time paying down debt with cookie dough, a slightly higher cost might reduce the number of times we feed our aforementioned sweet tooth, thereby reducing the amount of weight we carry on the aforementioned hips and our health costs at the same time.
That’s what I call a triple whammy.
Of course, most of us know why cookies sell so well. They taste so darn good, don’t they?
And what do cookies have in common with hundreds upon hundreds of other items we eat and snack on more than we really should?
For one thing, sugar.
Sing along with me:
Sugar in the morning,
Sugar in the evening,
Sugar at supper time.
Pay more tax on sugar
We’ll save more than a dime.
A healthy tax or revenue stream linked to sugar would restore the health of countless government budgets, save countless millions in health care and dental costs alone, and spur manufacturers to reduce the sugar content in 61,497,872 food items.
And don’t tell me we can’t afford to pay an extra dime for a can of Coca-Cola.
***
Please click here to read Part 3 "Is the Money Out There?"
One more cookie fact:
Sales of cookies and crackers are showing slight gains from a year ago (2008) despite tightening household budgets.
Can Canada pay off the national debt?
It would be as easy as eating a cookie.
.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Lunch with Gordie: Probiotic just sounds so blinkin’ positive, eh
Sure, I had toast with PB for breakfast and toast with PB and bananas for lunch (should I have written ‘toast w PBB?’) but that doesn’t mean I’m hooked on PB.
I’m just lazy. (I could have had ham and eggs but after turning on the heaters in the workshop I felt I wanted something quick).
And I grabbed a 100g container of Activia probiotic yogurt for dessert and caffeine free peppermint tea to drink.
(The tea is made by Tetley, is called Revive, and after I drink I feel so... revived. From what, I’m not sure. Sorry, I digress).
While waiting for the toast to pop I read the ingredient list on the yogurt label, though I felt sure I really didn’t need to worry about anything because ‘Activia’ coupled with probiotic makes it sound like I’m eating the healthiest food known to man.
But - does 13g of sugar sound high to you?
And I read 13g of sugar is only 5% of our daily requirement (i.e. 260g of sugar). Does that sound right to you?
To me, it sounds very high (it makes Activia taste like candy, not yogurt) and I’m glad I have a hockey game this afternoon.
***
I’m also glad I turned the heaters on in the shop.
Time for work.
.
I’m just lazy. (I could have had ham and eggs but after turning on the heaters in the workshop I felt I wanted something quick).
And I grabbed a 100g container of Activia probiotic yogurt for dessert and caffeine free peppermint tea to drink.
(The tea is made by Tetley, is called Revive, and after I drink I feel so... revived. From what, I’m not sure. Sorry, I digress).
While waiting for the toast to pop I read the ingredient list on the yogurt label, though I felt sure I really didn’t need to worry about anything because ‘Activia’ coupled with probiotic makes it sound like I’m eating the healthiest food known to man.
But - does 13g of sugar sound high to you?
And I read 13g of sugar is only 5% of our daily requirement (i.e. 260g of sugar). Does that sound right to you?
To me, it sounds very high (it makes Activia taste like candy, not yogurt) and I’m glad I have a hockey game this afternoon.
***
I’m also glad I turned the heaters on in the shop.
Time for work.
.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Grocery Store Blues: ‘Tis the season to make oatmeal fa-la-la-la-la
On Sunday morning, the first day of autumn, and the day after my son’s wedding, several family members and friends met at Hellen’s Diner for breakfast.
(It’s off Highway 35 near Fenelon Falls. Ask me for directions).
A few leaves were turning colour and I caught the smell of oatmeal in the outside air.
Once inside the diner I noticed our group dominated the small space.
I was greeted nervously.
“How many more are coming?” Hellen asked, wide-eyed.
“Maybe a few more, but we’re all easy to get along with.”
Normally, I’d order a good-sized and meatless breakfast but fall and winter are my oatmeal seasons.
Unfortunately, oats weren’t on the menu, and because I seldom eat manufactured cereals (one reason; 6 types of sugar in Kellogg's Muslix) I instead ordered and enjoyed two eggs, beans and toast.
This week I’ll walk over to Quarter Master in the Village to pick up bulk breakfast supplies for the next few months; rolled oats, dried currants, cranberries, raisins, cornmeal, cream of wheat, bran, almonds and walnuts.
I like to make oatmeal you can stand on.
Is it on your menu?
.
(It’s off Highway 35 near Fenelon Falls. Ask me for directions).
A few leaves were turning colour and I caught the smell of oatmeal in the outside air.
Once inside the diner I noticed our group dominated the small space.
I was greeted nervously.
“How many more are coming?” Hellen asked, wide-eyed.
“Maybe a few more, but we’re all easy to get along with.”
Normally, I’d order a good-sized and meatless breakfast but fall and winter are my oatmeal seasons.
Unfortunately, oats weren’t on the menu, and because I seldom eat manufactured cereals (one reason; 6 types of sugar in Kellogg's Muslix) I instead ordered and enjoyed two eggs, beans and toast.
This week I’ll walk over to Quarter Master in the Village to pick up bulk breakfast supplies for the next few months; rolled oats, dried currants, cranberries, raisins, cornmeal, cream of wheat, bran, almonds and walnuts.
I like to make oatmeal you can stand on.
Is it on your menu?
.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Grocery Store Blues: The daily dance with salt and sugar continues
At lunchtime yesterday I poked my head into the fridge to see if anything would speak to me.
(“Hey, I’m that leftover soup from 6 days ago. Wanna live on the edge?”)
I noticed a bit of spaghetti sauce. Two days old.
Pasta it is, I said to myself.
I was starving so I bumped up the amount of sauce by adding more sauce, plus mushrooms, green pepper and onion.
I know there is sugar in Hunts Thick and Rich sauce (7 grams of glucose-fructose and/or refined sugar per 125 ml or 38 g per can), too much for my taste, so I like adding veggies to lower the ratio.
Once the pot of sauce was on the burner I grabbed PC spaghettini from a side cupboard.
I wondered if the directions still included one about adding salt to the water even though most Canadians know there is too much salt (and sugar) in just about everything we eat.
[Did you know? Windsor Salt now adds sugar to their boxes of salt. Sweet!]
Instruction 1 read (in part):
“Bring water to a boil. Add 15 ml of coarse salt.”
I said, fugettabouttit.
There’s way more than enough salt (and sugar) just in the sauce.
Way way more.
**
Is the salt shaker still on your kitchen counter or table? Does it need to be?
Do you like sugar in your salt?
.
(“Hey, I’m that leftover soup from 6 days ago. Wanna live on the edge?”)
I noticed a bit of spaghetti sauce. Two days old.
Pasta it is, I said to myself.
I was starving so I bumped up the amount of sauce by adding more sauce, plus mushrooms, green pepper and onion.
I know there is sugar in Hunts Thick and Rich sauce (7 grams of glucose-fructose and/or refined sugar per 125 ml or 38 g per can), too much for my taste, so I like adding veggies to lower the ratio.
Once the pot of sauce was on the burner I grabbed PC spaghettini from a side cupboard.
I wondered if the directions still included one about adding salt to the water even though most Canadians know there is too much salt (and sugar) in just about everything we eat.
[Did you know? Windsor Salt now adds sugar to their boxes of salt. Sweet!]
Instruction 1 read (in part):
“Bring water to a boil. Add 15 ml of coarse salt.”
I said, fugettabouttit.
There’s way more than enough salt (and sugar) just in the sauce.
Way way more.
**
Is the salt shaker still on your kitchen counter or table? Does it need to be?
Do you like sugar in your salt?
.
Monday, September 8, 2008
The Grocery Store Blues: Ocean Spray Craisins too sweet by half
Crap. I’m up a pant size and my son’s wedding is just around the corner.
So, this morning I bought a new pair of pants for my suit, size 35 waist, and when I returned home made salad and soup for lunch.
Okay, I know about salad dressing. Lots of fat in many cases.
[Photo link: Obesity and cancer]
But I didn’t know how much sugar was in the Ocean Spray sweetened dried cranberries I sprinkled over my lettuce.
Nutrition facts:
In a 40 gram serving (or 1/3 cup) there are 26 grams of sugar.
When Ocean Spray proclaims that Craisins are “the sweetest way to eat a cranberry” they aren’t kidding.
No wonder they call them Craisins. After 14 grams of cranberries soak up 26 grams of sugar they are - legally - no longer cranberries.
And what’s a craisin?
Some manmade hybrid that’s sweeter than raisins by a long shot.
Ocean Spray should add:
The fastest way to shoot syrup into your butt
Instead they say - Fat and Cholesterol-Free
Whoop-dee-doos... I got the sugar blues.
.
So, this morning I bought a new pair of pants for my suit, size 35 waist, and when I returned home made salad and soup for lunch.
Okay, I know about salad dressing. Lots of fat in many cases.
[Photo link: Obesity and cancer]
But I didn’t know how much sugar was in the Ocean Spray sweetened dried cranberries I sprinkled over my lettuce.
Nutrition facts:
In a 40 gram serving (or 1/3 cup) there are 26 grams of sugar.
When Ocean Spray proclaims that Craisins are “the sweetest way to eat a cranberry” they aren’t kidding.
No wonder they call them Craisins. After 14 grams of cranberries soak up 26 grams of sugar they are - legally - no longer cranberries.
And what’s a craisin?
Some manmade hybrid that’s sweeter than raisins by a long shot.
Ocean Spray should add:
The fastest way to shoot syrup into your butt
Instead they say - Fat and Cholesterol-Free
Whoop-dee-doos... I got the sugar blues.
.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Sugar in the Morning: PC white grape juice slams cranberry cocktail
News update:
I moaned and groaned something fierce yesterday about the amount of sugar that was in my bottle of cranberry cocktail.
And well I should. 35 grams of sugar in a 250 ml serving (63 per 450 ml bottle) is way out of line.
Farther still out of line is the PC white grape juice I just had with my lunch. (I diluted it with lottsa tap water).
37 grams of sugar per 250 ml serving or 269 grams per bottle (1.82 L).
We have a winna!!
Can you beat that?
[Click here for yesterday’s posts and moans and groans]
.
I moaned and groaned something fierce yesterday about the amount of sugar that was in my bottle of cranberry cocktail.
And well I should. 35 grams of sugar in a 250 ml serving (63 per 450 ml bottle) is way out of line.
Farther still out of line is the PC white grape juice I just had with my lunch. (I diluted it with lottsa tap water).
37 grams of sugar per 250 ml serving or 269 grams per bottle (1.82 L).
We have a winna!!
Can you beat that?
[Click here for yesterday’s posts and moans and groans]
.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Cranberry Juice. Cranberry cocktail. Harmony Restaurant. Heart Attack.
Relax. I didn’t have a heart attack while drinking cranberry cocktail at the Harmony Restaurant.
But next time I’m offered juice I’ll ask if it’s real juice or counterfeit cocktail.
450 ml of cranberry poppy-cocktail contains 63 grams of sugar and I wouldn’t be surprised if most of it is high fructose corn syrup, the cause of much of the fat in this great wide land of ours.
And in your cheeks, hips, waist, thighs, breasts, upper arms and butt.
[Grandson Jack asking, “That’s five times as much sugar as we need... right?”]
Did I miss anything?
Oh yeah. I think my love handles are full of the stuff.
(It’s definitely time for me to hit the recumbent bike. Hockey season starts in two months and my team needs me - really needs me.)
At the aforementioned restaurant I poured a small amount of my cocktail over a glassful of ice and later took home the rest. So did 3 of my 4 companions.
We drank the rest with lots of water while swimming in the afternoon.
Conclusion: Sugar in the morning, sugar in the evening, suga at suppa time is more than an innocent love song.
.
But next time I’m offered juice I’ll ask if it’s real juice or counterfeit cocktail.
450 ml of cranberry poppy-cocktail contains 63 grams of sugar and I wouldn’t be surprised if most of it is high fructose corn syrup, the cause of much of the fat in this great wide land of ours.
And in your cheeks, hips, waist, thighs, breasts, upper arms and butt.
[Grandson Jack asking, “That’s five times as much sugar as we need... right?”]
Did I miss anything?
Oh yeah. I think my love handles are full of the stuff.
(It’s definitely time for me to hit the recumbent bike. Hockey season starts in two months and my team needs me - really needs me.)
At the aforementioned restaurant I poured a small amount of my cocktail over a glassful of ice and later took home the rest. So did 3 of my 4 companions.
We drank the rest with lots of water while swimming in the afternoon.
Conclusion: Sugar in the morning, sugar in the evening, suga at suppa time is more than an innocent love song.
.
Sugar in the morning, sugar in the evening, suga at suppa time!
Geez, if I’d wanted a heart attack while eating pancakes I would have asked for one.
I wanted blueberries with my blueberry pancakes, nothing more.
Oh, yeah. And a glass of cranberry juice because that’s what the server at the Harmony Restaurant north of Fenelon Falls said she was serving.
But when the juice arrived it was actually cocktail and I’m smart enough to know there’s a difference - just not how much of a difference.
After reading the nutritional facts label and discovering how much sugar was in the bottle of cocktail, however, I figure the difference is somewhere between good health and a coronary.
[Closing in on a coronary bypass?]
I exclaimed in front of others, “What the heck? That’s a lot of sugar.”
Close your eyes and guess. Just take a stab.
How much sugar in a 450 ml bottle of cranberry cocktail?
10 grams? 20? 30? 40? 50? 60?
Someone might say, “Sixty? Get real, granddad.”
Yeah? Try this.
The label said 35g per... 250 ml serving.
Quick. Go grab a calculator. I’ll wait.
Stay tuned.
.
I wanted blueberries with my blueberry pancakes, nothing more.
Oh, yeah. And a glass of cranberry juice because that’s what the server at the Harmony Restaurant north of Fenelon Falls said she was serving.
But when the juice arrived it was actually cocktail and I’m smart enough to know there’s a difference - just not how much of a difference.
After reading the nutritional facts label and discovering how much sugar was in the bottle of cocktail, however, I figure the difference is somewhere between good health and a coronary.
[Closing in on a coronary bypass?]
I exclaimed in front of others, “What the heck? That’s a lot of sugar.”
Close your eyes and guess. Just take a stab.
How much sugar in a 450 ml bottle of cranberry cocktail?
10 grams? 20? 30? 40? 50? 60?
Someone might say, “Sixty? Get real, granddad.”
Yeah? Try this.
The label said 35g per... 250 ml serving.
Quick. Go grab a calculator. I’ll wait.
Stay tuned.
.
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