Sunday, September 14, 2008

Eat This -- Not That

The other day the kids and I were wandering Target, doing a little shopping. SportyGirl, always looking for ways to be healthy, found this book, Eat This Not That! For Kids! I was a bit skeptical, but after thumbing through the pages (and seeing the lovely discount coupon) decided to pick it up.

To say it was an eye-opener for both the kids and myself would be doing a disservice.

I've been a faithful label reader for many years now, but usually stopped at calories, fat, sodium, fiber and vitamins. I didn't pay all that much attention to sugars in the ingredients.

Since I read this book, I do now... and wow.

I was looking at the ingredients of a very popular granola bar. It's package says that it is 100% natural and an excellent source of whole grain. Natural ingredients don't always mean healthy. Out of the first eight ingredients, FOUR were sugar-based: Sugar (2nd), Honey (6th), Brown Sugar Syrup (7th), High Fructose Corn Syrup (8th).

I'd highly recommend the book. A perfect way for kids to learn to make good, or at least better choices in the world of prepared foods. Lots of pictures, current information and easy to understand. It's realistic about busy American family eating habits. There's a version out there for adults, too. I might just look it up.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks! This sounds like just the thing for Grasshopper, who is beginning to show an interest in makeing the best food choices. I'll go out and get it ASAP.

Adventure Boy has always been inclined toward healthy eating,but Grasshopper has been a little less avid.

GeekGoddess said...

Cool! Look for it at Target. It was one of their "Bookmarked" books at 20% off. I originally linked to Amazon out of habit, but you can just stop by Target and save yourself the shipping costs!