Balance of Food

Companies that switch out HFCS for sugar do good, but do we need so much sweet?

If sadness abounds when one of your favorite food items switches from sugar to high-fructose corn syrup, what is the reaction when, amazingly, a favorite food item goes from HFCS back to sugar?

I had stumbled upon this low-fat Italian salad dressing that had sugar (why are we putting sugar in our dresssings anyway?). But fairly recently, the dressing took the HFCS plunge and I had to give it up. Very sad.

But there was a recent victory to celebrate, and I rarely single out specific products, but kudos to Miracle Whip for going back to sugar.

My family grew up on Miracle Whip in lieu of mayonnaise. And so I followed along well into my adulthood. I subconsciously avoided the product when I started going in-depth into getting rid of HFCS. I used it rarely or not at all for awhile.

When I started doing the runs to Canada, one of the first products I would buy was Miracle Whip, sometimes even getting the "Calorie-Wise" version. Calorie-Wise is like their equivalent of low-fat, perhaps a countrywide desire to have more accurate labeling. Wish our labels in the U.S. were as "wise."

But Kraft, makers of Miracle Whip, went through recently and changed some of their products from HFCS to sugar (sorry, Oreo lovers, not that product).

For the first time in years, I bought a Miracle Whip product in the United States. I got the regular version and brought it back home.

I was in the mood for a BLT, and the "new" Miracle Whip was the end piece to the puzzle. The taste test proves it, the improvement is made for the better.

Besides the obvious health concerns, products made with sugar taste much better (to me) than those with high-fructose corn syrup. It also felt less heavy, something you want in a mayonnaise-type product.

In the transition process, I checked out the label for the Canadian version: the Canadian Miracle Whip had glucose/fructose AND sugar. That can't be good. Turns out that glucose/fructose is HFCS. This changes my perspective on the Canadian runs.

I should have been more suspicious that glucose/fructose wasn't a good thing, but perhaps, I was naive that Canada would do something that unappealing. The U.S. has been pressing Mexico to carry HFCS (Thanks NAFTA), but I haven't seen the stories about our neighbors to the North.

There is more prevalent use of HFCS in the U.S. than glucose/fructose in Canada, but both countries use it way too much, and in products that don't need a sweetener, sugar or otherwise.

Do we need a sweetener in hot dog buns, salad dressings, mayonnaise, and countless other products? And is that why we have worse obesity in North America than in most of the world?

As dangerous as HFCS (& glucose/fructose) is, the better question might be "can we find a way to have a food policy that doesn't treat sweeteners as a filler to reduce costs and make it harder for people to give up those foods?"

Eating well 12 months of the year reduces the yo-yo cycle

Summer is unofficially officially over; for some, given the weather, summer never really kicked in. But we did have a summer, where likely you ate the best and worst of what was there.

Summer is the season where we look forward to eating the best of nature, whether we grow it ourselves or visit a farmers market or go to a friend's barbecue. And summer is also the time where we indulge in foods we likely should have said "no" or at least stop before you did.

If you fall into patterns and situation eating, the end of summer is a great time to reassess what you like about what you're doing and what you don't.

I have prided myself on enjoying meals straight from farmers markets on vacation, yet on my trip to Halifax, I also had a beaver tail, a blueberry style donut, and much fried seafood.

Think of it as your "back to school" agenda. When you were a child, you prepared for the new challenges for the upcoming year. Did you finish the summer with loose pants? Tight pants? Eating pants 24-7?

New Years Day is seen as the symbolic start of the year, but for your stomach and taste buds, Labor Day is as good a time as any to see where you are and where you want to be.

Hopefully, you are in pretty good shape at this point, since the temptation to exercise has hit its peak and may go downward from here. Being too cold is a common excuse to not go outside and get in an extra walk, and that same cold weather is also a good reason to eat that second piece of pumpkin pie.

In traveling to Quebec, I regale my friends and acquaintances with stories of poutine, a dish common to Quebec of French fries with Quebec cheese curds and brown gravy poured on top. I usually joke that this dish is popular in the Canadian province since it gets so cold up there.

But what once was necessary survival, using our fat to get through the winter, is now not doing us much good, no matter how cold it gets.

Autumn/fall is the time to rethink the cold mentality. Farmers markets are likely still going on where you live. Stock up on fresh food, and maybe take the long way to get those food items to sneak in some extra exercise.

We bemoan being in the middle of winter, New Years Day, and complaining that we need to lose 10-15 pounds. Want to be in a better frame (of mind or otherwise)? Start now doing just a little bit better, and you could be one of those in January who says, "Well, 2-3 pounds might not be so bad to lose."

It's not fun to hear, but eating a better diet isn't just for bathing suit season or New Year's resolutions. You have to put in 12 months of work to get year-round success. The up and down yo-yoing is what gets us into trouble in the first place.

How petite should your 'petit dejeuner' be?

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day" is the tired cliche we've heard since childhood. What may be new is the importance of what and how much to eat for the morning meal.

In French, petit dejeuner means breakfast. This means tiny. But we certainly don't think in those terms when it comes to breakfast.

On my last excursion to Montréal and Quebec City, I got an opportunity to experience the two sizes of breakfast. I chased down bagels at St. Viateur all three mornings I was there in Montréal. Yes, I tried the Fairmount. By regular bagel standards, the Fairmount was pretty good. The onion bagel I purchased was cold but pretty light. But it couldn't sit in the same room as the St. Viateur. Each sesame bagel I bought was hot, smelled wonderful, and was amazingly light. My only complaint at St. Viateur was not being able to get butter.

On the morning that I got the Fairmount, I still went over to St. Viateur.

In Montréal, I truly had a petit dejeuner. Since I was moving pretty quickly, I needed energy and one bagel was enough without being too much.

By contrast in Quebec City, I stayed at a bed and breakfast. I had crepes with maple syrup the first morning. I added blueberry yogurt and a small glass of orange juice. That morning, I felt weighed down.

On Day 2, I went a protein route with fried eggs, bacon, toast, and blueberry yogurt. I had initially used one bread slice for toast, then added another. I felt I had enough carbohydrates, but the protein wasn't ideal. Better than Day 1, but still didn't feel great.

On Day 3, I had crepes with bacon. I got fewer crepes because I got the bacon. With the blueberry yogurt and milk, I had the best of those days, but they weren't as energy efficient as one light sesame bagel in Montréal.

You could easily argue that the Quebec breakfasts wouldn't work because I wasn't used to having so much food. True, but is it better to eat tons of food to start your day or just enough to get the motor running?

I have tried huge amounts of food for breakfast and smaller amounts as well. I know what works well for me.

When I was in Montréal in 2002, I stayed at a bed and breakfast. Back then, I ate what I wanted, so I looked forward to eating a lot at breakfast. And those breakfasts were good, but now they would seem too much.

So why did I stay at a bed and breakfast in Quebec in 2009? I wanted to test my theory. And I know which breakfast worked for me: Montréal all the way.

My petit dejeuner experiences in Paris were small and beautiful. And they gave me plenty of energy.

The truth is that unlimited food can be too tempting, speaking from personal experience. And unlimited to start the day is more than I can handle. Even as much as I ate in Quebec, I cut myself far short of what I would have done under 2002 rules.

So I know now that bed and breakfasts won't do me much good any more. But if I do stay there, I will have to limit my intake if I want to be at my best.

A White House year-round farmers market would boost healthy eating

_{Toronto's St. Lawrence Market is proof that a year-round farmers market is viable in a colder climate. (photo by me).}

Years from now, we may look back at Barack Obama's time in the White House, and not call it the Obama Administration, but the Organic Administration.

The references in speeches to eating better. The references from the First Lady about improving diets. The first modern-definition organic garden on the White House grounds. Now Barack Obama is talking about a White House farmers market.

One of the things that we’re trying to do now is to figure out, can we get a little farmers’ market—outside of the White House—I’m not going to have all of you all just tromping around inside—(laughter)—but right outside the White House—(laughter)—so that—so that we can—and—and—and that is a win-win situation.

It gives suddenly D.C. more access to good, fresh food, but it also is this enormous potential revenue-maker for local farmers in the area. And—and that—those kinds of connections can be made all throughout the country, and—and has to be part of how we think about health.

Though this was an offhand suggestion, the logical assumption is that average Washingtonians (or tourists) could buy organic produce from the White House garden. As President Obama points out, the farmers market could be a boost for area farmers, not just in DC but in neighboring Maryland and Virginia.

Even without the help of the president, farmers markets are enjoying great popularity, especially at this time of year.

The other unspoken element is whether the market would be year-round. It's easy to be in love with farmers markets in August, but what about February? Except for warmer weather climates, year-round farmers markets aren't in vogue. Washington can get rather cold in the winter.

Having a year-round market, especially one endorsed by the White House, can go a long way to making year-round markets more of a reality, even in colder climates, of eating fresh all 12 months. Good habits are easier to keep without huge long breaks in between.

This is absolutely true in the northern climates. But it is possible to have year-round farmers markets in cold climates. Here are a few I have personally experienced.

Milwaukee has a year-round farmers market in its downtown area. It's even an easy walk from the train and bus station. True, you won't find much fresh fruit in February; however, there are plenty of locally produced food items.

Toronto's St. Lawrence Market would be the blueprint for how to do a year-round indoor market. Take a nice older building, preferably with two levels, and make it fun to explore all the hidden nooks full of food. The market is on the east side of downtown, and open Tuesdays-Saturdays.

On my most recent vacation, I discovered the Marche Jean-Talon in Montréal and the Marche de Vieux Port in Quebec City. The Montréal market has permanent structures on the outside parameter and a structure in the middle, some with year-round established businesses and some of the area for outdoor use by fruit and vegetable vendors. The Quebec City market is a permanent indoor year-round structure.

Having been to the Saturday market inside and outside the Ferry Building at Market Street in San Francisco last November and December 2007, there is a joy to fresh food in the middle of what would be cold back home that is very emotionally pleasing. While my only trip to Pike Place Market in Seattle was in summer, it's very easy to imagine getting lovely fresh food on the day before Christmas Eve.

Given Obama's desire for a White House farmers market, perhaps he can use some political muscle and get a year-round farmers market in an area he is very familiar with: his hometown of Chicago.

Chicago's history with food, its central location within the region, and its strong need for farmers' crops -- all lend itself to having a year-round market. Yet the Windy City doesn't have one. 

The highly popular Green City Market has tried to embody the spirit of a year-round market, experimenting with an indoor version, at first, during the fall, and then year-round this past winter -- though the market ran 2-3 Saturdays a month in a nature museum. Despite the limited opportunity, people flocked to the site.

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, known for decorating the city with beautiful growths in flowers, is much more ambivalent about beautiful growths in produce.

Getting a year-round farmers market near the White House would send a strong message of Obama's spirit toward eating better food. Getting a year-round farmers market in Chicago may be beyond the reach of the power of even President Barack Obama.

Colbert weighs in on the politics of sugar

On last night's "Colbert Report," Stephen Colbert was in a "panic" over a sugar shortage. But we aren't really running out of sugar.

The current sugar crisis is political in nature, as explained by Colbert's guest Marion Nestle, NYU professor and author of the book "Food Politics."

But in Colbert's comedy, he did touch on one serious question: what if we had no sugar?

Can you imagine an America with no sugar? Juice would contain nothing but 10% juice. And we'd all be eating uncarmalized apples. 

If we had less sugar, we might be able to enjoy foods without them being too sweet. The juice line is particular was hilarious, because we sell "juice cocktails" that are mostly water and high-fructose corn syrup (or even sugar). Juice is sweet.

I was on the plane back from Quebec when I was offered beverages. I asked what kind of juice they had. The flight attendant said orange and cranberry. I was excited to hear that they had cranberry; after all, it wasn't easy to find. I asked if it was 100% cranberry juice, and she got this look on her face. Turns out it was cranberry juice cocktail. The standard for that had become a juice cocktail was "juice." Not in my world.

As Americans, we could use less sugar, and more sugar, instead of high-fructose corn syrup. Politics on sugar shouldn't be the dominant force, people's health should win out.

Making fruit and fiber part of your vacation plans

Traveling and food go well together for the stomach, but not always other parts of the body. One difficult task in traveling is getting enough fruit and on a related note, fiber.

If you are used to eating fruit and high-fiber foods at home, finding those when you travel can be more difficult in more ways than one.

When you travel, finding grain- and vegetable-related carbohydrates doesn't take much skill. And when you do find fruit, it usually comes in a small glass of orange juice. Nice, but there isn't a lot of fiber in a glass of juice.

Finding whole wheat spaghetti is nearly impossible; finding regular spaghetti is easy. Again, a lack of fiber.

But traveling in summer is a great opportunity to check out the farmers markets where you are traveling, connect with local growers, and walk away with fruit and fiber for your vacation and your health.

And when traveling outside summer, consider even a nearby grocery store to stock up.

On this trip, I hit two well-known markets in these communities: in Montréal, the Marche Jean-Talon; in Quebec City, the Marche de Vieux Port. (In French, marche means market.)

Though the perception is that Montréal and Quebec City are very cold cities, they do get a rather nice summer. And despite their deserved reputations, both cities have a year-round market.

The fruit and vegetable vendors were in the open-air section, roofs but no walls, in the center of Marche Jean-Talon, located on the north side of the city. The market is just west of the Metro stop (named Jean-Talon), so you don't even need a car.

In Quebec, the structure is enclosed and located near the train station, a decent walk away from the center of Old Quebec.

The province is also known for its mushrooms, a good source of fiber. Even if you aren't into fruit or if it's less than ideal weather for fruit, there are other farmer-friendly sources.

My main conquest from Montréal was bleuets, or blueberries. I even got a container with a handle, convenient for traveling. I got a pint and made that last several days, even traveling by train from Montréal to Quebec City. And even after several days with rough treatment, they lasted very well.

On my last day in Quebec City, I had a nice little picnic consisting of a small Caesar's salad from a local grocer, small tomate (tomatoes) from the market in Quebec, and the remaining blueberries from Montréal. It was the most delightful meal I have had since Paris.

Food can get expensive when traveling. For about the same price as a McDonald's meal, I ate very well with lots of fiber as well.

Traveling usually involves getting out of routines. Especially when you are trying to be good, keeping those routines is rather important. Taking time from seeing the sights isn't high on most travelers list. Though in both cases, the markets became part of the fun.

I got to work on my French, see how two cold cities have vibrant year-round farmers markets, and how they use their markets to accent other sources of food, from meat to wine to crafts. Yes, in the province of Quebec, seeing wine for sale in a farmers market is pretty normal.

And even if you are traveling to less international-focused locales, you can find local fun and keep more regular -- by adding a little fruit and fiber to your vacation fun.

Digestions from Paris: Better if good food is also convenient

I promised I would check in with another reflection on Paris. The news has delayed this latest chapter.

In the last chapter, I noted that quality food was cheap. What I didn't note was that quality food was plentiful.

The good news is that there are many more options for quality in food than we've seen in recent years. But there are still two barriers to more people buying higher-quality food: money and convenience.

In Paris, money might be an issue but convenience is no excuse. Finding quality food is not difficult in Paris -- baked goods, meat, fruits, vegetables -- really good stuff and easy to find. There are lots of places to get food. I saw a fruit/vegetable stand in a Metro station. Walking down the streets, you can see chicken roasting as you walk by.

They say there are more restaurants per capita in Paris than just about anywhere. But the fresh food is all around, too.

And that food is really, really good. The highest quality of food in the U.S. still pales in comparison to what I had in Paris. I grew up on strawberries in Southwestern Michigan, even bending down to pick them myself (and eating them fresh off the vine). However, the strawberries I had in Paris were better.

The cheese was better. Both tarts I had were better than anything resembling them that I've ever tasted. Even two American icons -- the McD's hamburger and Coca-Cola -- tasted better in Paris.

When I went to Paris, I wanted to find out whether the theory was true from the French woman who said if we eat like the French, you won't get fat. But given the quality difference in food, you pretty much have to live in France to eat like a French person.

But if the food is so good, why are the French so diligent about portion control. Well, we eat lots of crap in the U.S. because it doesn't fill us up. High-fructose corn syrup "works" in soft drinks because with it, we never feel truly refreshed.

When the food is really good, a little bit goes a long way. I never got mega full in Paris, and I ran around the city a lot, but never got the in-between meals hunger or the late at night hunger.

For a number of sociological reasons, our best fiood in the U.S. will never reach French standards. It would help if we could set a higher standard, if for nothing else, to increase the quality of the bottom of the barrel.

Digestions from Paris: Good bread is very easy to find and cheap, too

This is one of several observations from my recent trip to Paris. Enjoy!!

Marie Antoinette may or may not have said "Let them eat cake." But the historical background behind that statement, whether true or not, is that the French citizens couldn't even afford bread.

That was in the late 1700s. In 2009, bread -- amazingly good bread -- is very easy to find. When you hadn't been to Paris before, you hear lots of advice. One message I kept hearing was that eating in Paris is expensive. For dinner, this can be true. But for petit dejeuner (breakfast) and dejeuner (lunch), great meals could be had rather cheaply.

Finding a boulangerie in Paris is not difficult to do. I had a rather nice one around the corner from where I was staying. I was on the Right Bank about 2-3 blocks from the Seine. But in all different kinds of neighborhoods, freshly baked goods were always nearby.

On my first morning in Paris, I got a brichelle (sp?) covered in chocolate chips. I paid 1.15E (euros). Along with fresh strawberries from a fruit and vegetable shop across the street, I had an ideal breakfast. I paid a few E for the strawberries, but they lasted a couple of days. So I likely had a breakfast for about 2E that I'm not sure I can find here in the States.

If you want to play the romantic part and gather a picnic lunch, again, cheap bread was easy to spot. In my last full day in Paris, my lunch featured a stellar sesame baguette. It was huge, could have easily split this among 4 people for a couple of E. I saw a few groups splitting food in some fashion among friends. Truthfully, I saw young people with bags from McDonald's. But there were plenty of substantial meals in those gardens and parks for about the same price as those McD's meals.

In the United States, cheap food is along the lines of "you get what you pay for." In Paris, you get quality for very little money. Perhaps it's because a revolution helped introduce that mantra among the French people. If that is what it takes, then by all means, let us eat cake. 

Getting past New Year's "resolutions" to a better way to eat

So did you make New Year's Resolutions? And have you broken them already?

The brand new year always inspires us to be better human beings, especially when it comes to eating and exercise. And by now (well in this case, January 13), you have "messed up" at least once.

But the path to better eating and exercise doesn't rest in the first couple of weeks in January, especially with this year's extra-cold weather in many parts of the North in the U.S. This is a year-long excursion to learning to do better -- mistakes are part of the process.

I could have resolved to work out more and lose 10-15 pounds. But I didn't. I do need to do those things, but I want to have a little fun with it. The more fun I have, the more likely I am to do it.

So when I use the weights to build arm muscle, I watch TV to keep me motivated. And I am trying to cook and eat some new dishes in 2009.

I have resolved in the past to cook more with seafood. So far, I made a tomato sauce with whole baby clams and clam juice. It was pretty good but I know what I did wrong -- this is how you learn.

I am also making my own trail mix. The first batch involves Cheerios, walnuts I got from San Francisco, and dried strawberries.

Next, I want to cook scallops. I haven't done this yet, but I will. It's a desire, not a resolution.

I know I want to try different food adventures this year, so I don't even have a full list of what I want to do in 2009. All I know is that I want to be less afraid.

Will I be more successful? Depends on what the goal is. I really do need to lose the weight, but figure that if I can do so in a more relaxed environment, the results may speak wonders.

I signed up for a healthy eating class, the details of which I will note later this month. Even though I may know a lot, it never hurts to get a refresher course and listen to multiple opinions.

January gets the pressure: too much food over the holidays, cold weather, and let's not forget eating holidays such as the Super Bowl (and my birthday). But February-December, eating better and exercising more count just as much. Makes it that much easier to find the true balance of food.

Can you be a localvore in a colder climate?

_{picture taken by me in Southeast San Francisco in late November}

Those who praise the idea of localvores, or eating local, are most likely found in a warmer climate. And it makes complete sense, especially at this time of year.

The variety and quality of foods are astoundingly better in warmer climates. For those of us who have been buried in snow and cold, we are a little jealous.

The billboard (above) is located in the rougher area of San Francisco on the southeast side, designed to improve nutrition in poorer areas.

But it is easier in California and warmer climates to "eat more fruits and vegetables." When I've traveled out to the West Coast, food does taste better. And this is true, especially in the wintertime.

I visited the San Francisco farmers market while out there in late November and early December. At one of the stands, a young woman asked me if I wanted to try a strawberry. Strawberry? My mind did not compute. A strawberry after Thanksgiving?

Fortunately, my mouth said, "yes, please." Boy, that was good. At home, fruit meant apples or apples or possibly apples. But here was this beautiful juicy strawberry.

So those of us who live in colder climates have said that we don't want to go several months without strawberries. And so we import them and other fruit and vegetables, often from faraway places. Carbon footprints aside, the taste doesn't match up: a California strawberry tastes better in California than it does in Michigan, especially in winter. 

Short of all of us moving to better climates, how should we approach fruits and vegetables? For those who can fruits and vegetables, there is the opportunity to enjoy the fresh bounty, even if the growing season is short.

I did freeze Michigan blueberries, and that lasted until the end of December. They didn't taste as good as they did in July, but at this time of the year, they were juicy by comparison.

But for most people, the combination of bad weather limits exercise and the lack of interesting produce causes us to skip a plate here and there. Mix in the temptation to eat more carbs to keep warm, and you have potential disaster.

I have been thin in the Midwest and I have been, well, larger than I want to be in this region. I do envision that if I ever moved out to the West Coast, I would eat better and get more exercise. But people in the Midwest and the Northeast do stay in shape; you just have to work much harder at it. 

Do you struggle in the colder climates? Have you moved to a warmer climate and seen your approach change? Should those in colder climates try to become localvores? Let us know in the comments section what you think.