Category Archives: Nutrition
The Secret Ingredient In Your Orange Juice
The Secret Ingredient In Your Orange Juice
Written by KristenM
Original Article: http://www.foodrenegade.com/secret-ingredient-your-orange-juice/
Do you buy orange juice at the store? If you do, I’m sure you’re careful to buy the kind that’s 100% juice and not made from concentrate. After all, that’s the healthier kind, right? The more natural kind? The kind without any additives? The kind that’s sold in the refrigerator section so it must be almost as good as fresh-squeezed orange juice?
If I’m describing you, then you’re either going to hate me or love me by the time you’re done reading this post. The truth is, that orange juice you feel so good about buying is probably none of those things. You’ve been making assumptions based on logic. The food industry follows its own logic because of the economies of scale. What works for you in your kitchen when making a glass or two of juice simply won’t work when trying to process thousands upon thousands of gallons of the stuff.
Haven’t you ever wondered why every glass of Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice tastes the same, no matter where in the world you buy it or what time of year you’re drinking it in? Or maybe your brand of choice is Minute Maid or Simply Orange or Florida’s Natural. Either way, I can ask the same question. Why is the taste and flavor so consistent? Why is it that the Minute Maid never tastes like the Tropicana, but always tastes like its own unique beverage?
Generally speaking, beverages that taste consistently the same follow recipes. They’re things like Coca Cola or Pepsi or a Starbucks Frappuccino. When you make orange juice at home, each batch tastes a little different depending on the oranges you made it from. I hope you’re hearing warning bells in your head right about now.
The reason your store bought orange juice is so consistently flavorful has more to do with chemistry than nature.
Making OJ should be pretty simple. Pick oranges. Squeeze them. Put the juice in a carton and voilà!
But actually, there is an important stage in between that is an open secret in the OJ industry. After the oranges are squeezed, the juice is stored in giant holding tanks and, critically, the oxygen is removed from them. That essentially allows the liquid to keep (for up to a year) without spoiling– but that liquid that we think of as orange juice tastes nothing like the Tropicana OJ that comes out of the carton. (source)
In fact, it’s quite flavorless. So, the industry uses “flavor packs” to re-flavor the de-oxygenated orange juice:
When the juice is stripped of oxygen it is also stripped of flavor providing chemicals. Juice companies therefore hire flavor and fragrance companies, the same ones that formulate perfumes for Dior and Calvin Klein, to engineer flavor packs to add back to the juice to make it taste fresh. Flavor packs aren’t listed as an ingredient on the label because technically they are derived from orange essence and oil. Yet those in the industry will tell you that the flavor packs, whether made for reconstituted or pasteurized orange juice, resemble nothing found in nature. The packs added to juice earmarked for the North American market tend to contain high amounts of ethyl butyrate, a chemical in the fragrance of fresh squeezed orange juice that, juice companies have discovered, Americans favor. Mexicans and Brazilians have a different palate. Flavor packs fabricated for juice geared to these markets therefore highlight different chemicals, the decanals say, or terpene compounds such as valencine.
The formulas vary to give a brand’s trademark taste. If you’re discerning you may have noticed Minute Maid has a candy like orange flavor. That’s largely due to the flavor pack Coca-Cola has chosen for it. Some companies have even been known to request a flavor pack that mimics the taste of a popular competitor, creating a “hall of mirrors” of flavor packs. Despite the multiple interpretations of a freshly squeezed orange on the market, most flavor packs have a shared source of inspiration: a Florida Valencia orange in spring. (source)
Why aren’t these flavor packs listed as ingredients?
Good question! As with all industrial foods, it’s because of our convoluted labeling laws. You see, these “flavor packs are made from orange by-products — even though these ‘by-products’ are so chemically manipulated that they hardly qualify as ‘by-products’ any more.” (source) Since they’re made from by-products that originated in oranges, they can be added to the orange juice without being considered an “ingredient,” despite the fact that they are chemically altered.
So, what should you do about it?
First off, I must ask: Why are you drinking juice?? Juice removed from the fruit is just concentrated fructose without any of the naturally-occurring fiber, pectin, and other goodies that make eating a whole fruit good for you. Did you know, for example, that it takes 6-8 medium sized apples to make just 1 cup of apple juice? You probably wouldn’t be able to eat 6-8 medium apples in a single sitting. (I know I can barely eat one!) But you can casually throw back a cup of apple juice, and you would probably be willing to return for seconds. That’s why fruit juice is dangerous. It’s far too easy to consume far too much sugar.
So, my first piece of advice is to get out of the juice habit altogether. It’s expensive, and it’s not worth it.
My second piece of advice is to only drink juices that you make yourself, and preferably ones that you’ve turned into a healthy, probiotic beverage(like this naturally-fermented lemonade my own family enjoys). Sally Fallon Morrell’s Nourishing Traditions cookbook (pictured at right) has several lacto-fermented juice coolers that are pleasant, albeit expensive. (I especially like the Grape Cooler, Raspberry Drink, and Ginger Beer.) Want to make juicing easier?See here for where to buy juicers and Vitamix blenders.
And finally, opt out of the industrial food system as much as you can. If you learn anything at all from this post, it should be that you never know what’s in your food unless you grow it, harvest it, or make it yourself. Second best (and more practical for many, including myself) is to pay somebody I trust to do it — like the farmers at my Farmer’s Market, the cattle rancher I buy my annual grass-fed beef order from, or the chef at my local restaurant who’s willing to transparently answer questions about how he sources ingredients and what goes into the dish I’m ordering.
11 Amazing (scary) Facts about the McDonald’s McRib
It might be one of the 11 amazing Facts but the fact that the human body can process this as food is amazing. Read this article by Dina Spector and Kim Bhasin | Business Insider – Mon, Dec 17, 2012 12:02 PM EST.
The McDonald’s McRib is back, hitting restaurants nationwide today. The legendary boneless pork sandwich, famously molded to resemble a rack of ribs, is both a feat of modern engineering and shrewd marketing.
It garners almost as much attention for its pseudo-meat shape as its impermanence on restaurant menus.
The barbecue-sauce-smothered sandwich was supposed to return at the end of October, but was pushed back to help boost end-of-the-year sales.
Better late than never.
1. The McRib came about because of a shortage of chickens.
In a 2009 interview with Maxim, Rene Arend, McDonald’s first executive chef and inventor of the Chicken McNugget, explains that the McNugget was so popular when it was first introduced in 1979 that demand quickly outstripped chicken supply.
The legendary pork sandwich was developed out of necessity. Franchises that didn’t have the Chicken McNugget needed a new hot-selling product — and that’s when Arend scrambled back to the test kitchen.
2. The McRib was inspired by Southern BBQ.
Flickr/Southern Foodways AllianceRene Arend modeled the McRib after the barbecue-sauce-slathered pork sandwiches he ate during a visit to Charleston, South Carolina.
The decorated French-trained chef, who oncewhipped up fancy culinary creations for the Drake Hotel, is also credited with coming up the unique shape of the sandwich.
Although the McRib doesn’t contain a single bone, Arend suggested the meat be patterned after a slab of ribs instead of the classic round patty.
3. The McRib is a product of “restructured meat technology.”
Rene Arend came up with the idea and design of the McRib, but it’s a professor from the University of Nebraska named Richard Mandigo who developed the “restructured meat product” that the McRib is actually made of.
According to an article from Chicago magazine, which cites a 1995 article by Mandigo, “restructured meat product” contains a mixture of tripe, heart, and scalded stomach, which is then mixed with salt and water to extract proteins from the muscle. The proteins bind all the pork trimmings together so that it can be re-molded into any specific shape — in this case, a fake slab of ribs.
4. The whole process from fresh pork to frozen McRib takes about 45 minutes.
Director of McDonald’s U.S. supply chain Rob Cannell explained how regular pig gets transformed into the famed McRib in an interview with Maxim: “The McRib is made in large processing plants—lots of stainless steel, a number of production lines, and these long cryogenic freezers. The pork meat is chopped up, then seasoned, then formed into that shape that looks like a rib back. Then we flash-freeze it. The whole process from fresh pork to frozen McRib takes about 45 minutes.”
5. The entire McRib sandwich contains about 70 ingredients — including a flour-bleaching agent used in yoga mats.
Flickr/Calgary ReviewsAs it appears out of the box, the McRib sandwich consists of just five basic components: a pork patty, barbecue sauce, pickle slices, onions, and a sesame bun.
But, as recently reported by Time magazine, a closer inspection of McDonald’s owningredient list reveals that the pork sandwich contains a total of 70 ingredients. This includes azodicarbonamide, a flour-bleaching agent often used in the production of foamed plastics.
The entire sandwich packs a whopping 500 calories, 26 grams of fat, 44 grams of carbs, and 980 milligrams of sodium.
6. The McRib debuted in 1981, disappeared in 1985, and has resurfaced from time-to-time since 1994.
Depending on where you read, McDonald’s introduced the boneless pork sandwich sometime between 1981 and 1982. The fast-food concoction vanished in 1985, only to reappear as a limited-edition item in 1994.
The McRib has become something of a legend for its on-and-off appearances on McDonald’s menus. The fleeting nature of the sandwich has generated a cult-like following.
7. Individual restaurants can actually order the ingredients for the McRib at any time.
The McRib pops up at McDonald’s locations across the country sporadically. It’s so random because the individual restaurants are able to offer the McRib whenever they feel like it. The practice has even inspired websites devoted to tracking McRib availability across the nation.
8. McDonald’s keeps the McRib scarce because the sandwich’s entire brand relies on it.
McDonald’s has always known about its customers’ weird obsession for the sandwich, and its marketing completely leverages the McRib’s scarcity. Take its “Save The McRib” campaign in 2010, where it encouraged McRib fans to go online and sign a petition to keep the sandwich around for a while longer.
But a strategy like that only works with something that’s as popular as the McRib is. If you make an unknown item scarce, nobody’s going to care.
9. It’d be incredibly difficult for McDonald’s to create more McRib-esque products, because that cult-like following is so hard to replicate.
McRib lovers are fanatical, but it wouldn’t be this way if the phenomenon hadn’t had decades to marinate in the hearts and minds of its fans. A wholly devoted fanbase for a new product would take years to develop, and even then, there’s no guarantee that it would work.
McDonald’s struck gold with the McRib, and it doesn’t want to do anything to affect its brand. Even now, by offering the McRib nationwide twice just a year apart, it’s walking a fine line. At what point will consumers get sick of it?
10. There’s also speculation that the McRib is really just a big commodity trade by McDonald’s.
The Awl’s Willey Staley argues that whenever the sandwich springs up, hog prices are almost always in a trough.
Here’s more of his argument on why McDonald’s behaves like a trader: “Fast food involves both hideously violent economies of scale and sad, sad end users who volunteer to be taken advantage of. What makes the McRib different from this everyday horror is that a) McDonald’s is huge to the point that it’s more useful to think of it as a company trading in commodities than it is to think of it as a chain of restaurants b) it is made of pork, which makes it a unique product in the QSR world and c) it is only available sometimes, but refuses to go away entirely.”
11. Animal rights group sues McRib meat supplier over inhumane treatment of pigs.
Not everyone is ecstatic about the return of the McRib. Last November, the Humane Society of the United States filed a lawsuit against Smithfield Foods, the pork supplier of McDonald’s McRib meat, claiming the meat distributor houses its pigs in unethical farm conditions.
A 2010 undercover investigation by the animal rights group shows pigs crammed into gestation crates covered in blood and baby pigs being tossed into carts like rag dolls (WARNING: the video contains some pretty graphic content).
Original Article: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/11-amazing-facts-about-the-mcdonald-s-mcrib-170212930.html
Motivation Morning 12/1/2012
Motivation Morning 11/30/2012
How healthy is your shake?
So do you know what is in your health shake? Can you say that it is as healthy as this?
Thanksgiving is over but the holidays are just beginning
Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus…
As the Thanksgiving weekend comes to a close one big hurdle is out of the way but not by far are we in the clear. As Christmas, Hanukkah and other celebrations approach, there will many parties and other opportunities for holiday treats to tempt us.
So the real question is how do we fight off these temptations and make sure that we aren’t falling off the band wagon?
Here are a few things that have helped me during the past Holidays, Birthdays, Anniversaries, etc…
1. Set Goals – The first and most important thing is a goal. Goals are our ultimate reason why we so almost anything in life. If we know where we are going it is much easier to stay on the path.
2. Commit – It is one thing to commit but to really take it to the next level share your commitment with those around you, post it to Facebook.
3. Accountability Partner/group – Having someone to report your progress will help you keep you on track, just knowing that you have to report to someone is motivation not to eat that one sugar cookie or that piece pie.
4. Keep moving – Not only does working out help us stay on the path but you get to eat more food when you exercise.
5. Food Journal – We often don’t know how bad or good the foods are that we are putting in our bodies. By keeping a food diary, we are able to see not only what we are putting in our bodies but also how we feel when we are eating the correct ratios of food. You can either is a classic book form diary or use your Smart Phone or computer to track using a program like myfitnesspal.com or Calorie King.
6. Eat your food. Many people will cut their calories to an extreme level (FYI.. sometime a 500 calorie deficit is extreme) which deprives the body the fuel that it needs to run correctly. Eat enough food and take a multi-vitamin.
7. Plan, Plan, Plan – one of my favorite sayings is “If we fail to plan, we plan to fail.” When a choice is placed in front of us, we have to make a decision of what to do and if we have cravings at that point it is hard to make the right choice, but if we have taken the time to decide what we should do before we are presented the choice we are much more likely to choose the healthier choice.
So what is your goal, do you have someone to share your food and exercise goals with? Do you have your workouts planned? Are you tracking you food?
Are you ready for the Holidays?
October’s Success Story
Challenge Group Update
I want to give a shout out to Janel (TurboFire) week 10, Erica (Insanity) week 4 and Ryan (P90X) week 2 for their continued progress.
And I want to send out a congratz to Adam, Zepuur “Z”, Ben, Cynthia, Barbie, Elizabeth, Steven, and one more person??? As the will all be starting Insanity on the 3rd of December, additionally Dave is also going to be starting P90X.
I have a P90X/Power 90 group starting on the 7th of January and I already have 2 people committed so the spots are filling up quickly, I will also be starting a other groups so get your spot now by messaging me. If you want to start earlier contact me and we will get you started.
Last days of Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale
Instead of giving something that won’t be used, why not give the gift of health!
This is a amazing deal for you, a friend or a loved one. Don’t wait this ends when either they run out of stock or at 9 PM Pacific Time/Midnight Eastern Monday the 25th.
To order click here: http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/holidayoffer?referringRepId=96438
Beachbody
Gregory Short
www.coachgshort.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/gshort76
Motivation Morning
Time to get back on track!!
- Start Now – Recommit today!
- Drink Water – This will help flush all the crap out
- Plan each meal – Fail to plan, Plan to fail
- Eat!! Your body needs food everyday even the day after over eating.
- Revisit your food journal
- Remind yourself how far you have come
- Move – Get the endorphins flowing
- Don’t let a bad day turn into a bad week.
- Vegetables – low calories and it will fill you up!
- Rinse and repeat
Over eating this Thanksgiving?
So this afternoon I will be headed to the in-laws to partake of some delicious food but how do we keep from over eating? Here are some tips that hopefully help you not blow the past weeks of working out.
1. Drink water throughout the day, and before you eat dinner. This will help the body realize that it is full.
2. Time yourself and wait 20 minutes before you go back for seconds. The body takes 15-20 minutes to realize that you are full.
3. Eat a salad and I don’t mean a fruit salad with yogurt. I mean a green salad with lots of veggies.
4. Drink a Shakeology a half an hour before dinner. Shakeology is low calorie and has things like Chia seed that will help fill the stomach, plus it will help you get your daily vitamins.
5. Plan, plan, plan and be mindful. Like I said if you fail to plan, you plan to fail but you still need to watch what you are snacking on as a handful here and there easily becomes 600-700 calories!!
What tips do you have that is going to keep you from over eating today?