There are few things in life that get me riled up than something negative about children! Sure, many years ago, I would have picked a fight, argued or simply demeaned anyone who disagreed with me or looked at me cross-eyed. But as I get older, I have learned to keep my anger in check, and this keeps my stress level(ultimately keeping my blood pressure on an even keel)down without fear of shortening my life.
I have been blessed with an immune system that astonishes me every day.(For example, ALL cuts, bruises and even colds and the flue are gone in 1 or, at the most, 2 days). It is eerie actually.
I have never had any sustained medical issues, for my body truly has "healed thyself".
I have also been able to dodge diabetes, which is frighteningly gathering steam in today's world and it isn't too difficult to figure out why.
For example, go to the pancake syrup of your grocery store and take a look at your choices.
You have 1 choice of flavor.....MAPLE!!! Sticky maple. Don't get me wrong, I adore the taste of maple, but we have more different kinds of salts on the shelves of our supermarkets!!!! Crazy? Of course!
Now take a look at all the maple ingredients and nutritional boxes of each. If they are regular syrups, the very first two ingredients are sugar or corn syrup. I have also seen a couple with the first THREE ingredients being SUGAR, CORN SYRUP and HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP!!!
And if it is diet syrup, I don't even want to give the time of day to what the processed, GMO or "scientifically altered" ingredients are.
THIS is the world we live in and there is enough blame to go around as to why our children are suffering from a host of man-made self-inflictions! It is either processed or loaded with sugar!(Even as I am typing this, I can feel my ire elevating because there are so many steps we can take to help curb life-long illnesses....IF WE WANTED TOO!)
We have gotten away from food that is tasty. I blame the rise of this to a number of factors. From celebrity chefs, Robert Irvine to name one,(who actually PROMOTES the use of salt by using it before, during and after preparing a dish) to manufacturer's who use sugar and corn syrup as the primary ingredients in anything sweet simply because it is cheap! This too, is insane. But this insanity pales in comparison to what I see and now have experienced first hand.
This monetary "bottom line" has such a strangle hold that it clouds judgment and health. I constantly read and hear that people and businesses are striving to feed our children a more balanced and healthy diet, be it in restaurants, fast food or schools. I see some attempts being made but these fruitless attempts have ceased because of the cost. I truly do understand this as a factor, don't get me wrong. But there are 2 things that I don't understand.
1. Why can't someone use some intelligence in order to prepare meals that are healthy for our children, don't cost any more money and if needed, worked into recipes, meals and preparations so that students have no idea that they are eating healthy?
What am I talking about? Take gravy for example. See my recipe at the end of this post for a super simple gravy that is tremendously flavorful, costs the same as the fat-laden brands offered in our schools and is by far the healthiest gravy one can make. This is just one example! I could spend 1 week, yes ONE WEEK, sitting at a desk and completely transform a school breakfast or lunch menu into something that would be tremendously flavorful, nutritious, healthy and abide by ALL restrictions that are in place for school cafeterias.
2. "It costs too much money." It costs too much money! Let that sink in for a minute. While you are thinking about it, ask yourself another question. If you had a choice of spending $1-$2 dollars more per GALLON of pancake syrup that had NO SUGAR in it for school breakfasts, would you? I am not talking about adding boat loads of aspartame or other fake sugars, but just a pinch of natural stevia if needed, with most of the sweetness coming from the fruit and berry juices of the real fruit and berries in the syrup. That equals 3 cents more per 2-ounce pc of syrup per child...TOPS!
On top of it all, I am constantly hearing the desire of most people in the industry that they want to do something about our children's health. But the slow-paced, often dismissive, nature of the feed-back I have encountered, along with the very first question "How much?" that precedes these apathetic, disinterested and rhetorical "airs" leads me to believe that these same people WANT others to think they are interested in our children's health for the praise they receive from their peers and media, but do not put their money where their mouths are. Which is a shame because it is the youngsters mouths that we should be paying attention to!
I will not stop trying to convince school departments everywhere to, at the very least, try something new that is healthy! Give our children a taste of something that HAS taste, rather than sugar. Give my, for example, syrups a try. If the children don't like them, then at least they tried . I don't care one way or the other what the children decide. Offering them a choice is what matters to me!
I even heard one school official tell me(along with a couple retail outlets) that they weren't interested because nobody has asked for flavored syrups before, therefore there is no interest.
Nobody has asked for them because it isn't being offered. Looks as if the dumbing down can be rightfully attributed to some adults.
Am I writing this simply to get people to buy my products and am I self-promoting? Of course not! Try other syrups and food items that are healthy. I just don't care one way or the other! I have products that are truly healthy and delicious and try to offer them at a price that EVERYONE can afford because I want as many children to taste them as possible. I tell this to ALL the stores that carry my products, along with the promise that they will NEVER be sold for more than $5 a jar. I will eat the profit myself if that is what it takes!!!!
To wrap this up(yes, nothing gets me going more than a complete and utter lack of our children's health by those who make decisions that directly AFFECT our children's health)let me just say that those of you who are in charge of determining what is best for our children in the lunch room and are trying to think of any and all reasons NOT to help our children eat healthier, SHAME ON YOU!
Those of you who are saying what you think others want to hear, but don't back it up with action...SHAME ON YOU!
Those of you who determine what is best for our children but are unwilling to take a little time to offer healthy yet great tasting alternatives in schools simply because a minute increase in cost....SHAME ON YOU!
1(15-ounce)can low sodium, fat free beef or chicken broth*
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables of your choice, thawed see NOTE
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Warm up the broth in the microwave or stove top until hot, but not scalding. Place in a food processor or blender with the last 2 ingredients and puree, on high, until you can no longer see even small bits of vegetables, about 30 seconds.
You can either strain the bulk from the vegetables from the liquid or leave as is. There will not be more than a teaspoon, if any.
Place mixture in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring almost constantly. Once boiling, remove from heat and serve.
* If you are using bouillon, use enough to flavor 2 cups water.
I have been blessed with an immune system that astonishes me every day.(For example, ALL cuts, bruises and even colds and the flue are gone in 1 or, at the most, 2 days). It is eerie actually.
I have never had any sustained medical issues, for my body truly has "healed thyself".
I have also been able to dodge diabetes, which is frighteningly gathering steam in today's world and it isn't too difficult to figure out why.
For example, go to the pancake syrup of your grocery store and take a look at your choices.
You have 1 choice of flavor.....MAPLE!!! Sticky maple. Don't get me wrong, I adore the taste of maple, but we have more different kinds of salts on the shelves of our supermarkets!!!! Crazy? Of course!
Now take a look at all the maple ingredients and nutritional boxes of each. If they are regular syrups, the very first two ingredients are sugar or corn syrup. I have also seen a couple with the first THREE ingredients being SUGAR, CORN SYRUP and HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP!!!
REALLY!?!?!?!
And if it is diet syrup, I don't even want to give the time of day to what the processed, GMO or "scientifically altered" ingredients are.
THIS is the world we live in and there is enough blame to go around as to why our children are suffering from a host of man-made self-inflictions! It is either processed or loaded with sugar!(Even as I am typing this, I can feel my ire elevating because there are so many steps we can take to help curb life-long illnesses....IF WE WANTED TOO!)
We have gotten away from food that is tasty. I blame the rise of this to a number of factors. From celebrity chefs, Robert Irvine to name one,(who actually PROMOTES the use of salt by using it before, during and after preparing a dish) to manufacturer's who use sugar and corn syrup as the primary ingredients in anything sweet simply because it is cheap! This too, is insane. But this insanity pales in comparison to what I see and now have experienced first hand.
This monetary "bottom line" has such a strangle hold that it clouds judgment and health. I constantly read and hear that people and businesses are striving to feed our children a more balanced and healthy diet, be it in restaurants, fast food or schools. I see some attempts being made but these fruitless attempts have ceased because of the cost. I truly do understand this as a factor, don't get me wrong. But there are 2 things that I don't understand.
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| The label from our apple cider syrup...compare to ANY other syrup! |
1. Why can't someone use some intelligence in order to prepare meals that are healthy for our children, don't cost any more money and if needed, worked into recipes, meals and preparations so that students have no idea that they are eating healthy?
What am I talking about? Take gravy for example. See my recipe at the end of this post for a super simple gravy that is tremendously flavorful, costs the same as the fat-laden brands offered in our schools and is by far the healthiest gravy one can make. This is just one example! I could spend 1 week, yes ONE WEEK, sitting at a desk and completely transform a school breakfast or lunch menu into something that would be tremendously flavorful, nutritious, healthy and abide by ALL restrictions that are in place for school cafeterias.
2. "It costs too much money." It costs too much money! Let that sink in for a minute. While you are thinking about it, ask yourself another question. If you had a choice of spending $1-$2 dollars more per GALLON of pancake syrup that had NO SUGAR in it for school breakfasts, would you? I am not talking about adding boat loads of aspartame or other fake sugars, but just a pinch of natural stevia if needed, with most of the sweetness coming from the fruit and berry juices of the real fruit and berries in the syrup. That equals 3 cents more per 2-ounce pc of syrup per child...TOPS!
On top of it all, I am constantly hearing the desire of most people in the industry that they want to do something about our children's health. But the slow-paced, often dismissive, nature of the feed-back I have encountered, along with the very first question "How much?" that precedes these apathetic, disinterested and rhetorical "airs" leads me to believe that these same people WANT others to think they are interested in our children's health for the praise they receive from their peers and media, but do not put their money where their mouths are. Which is a shame because it is the youngsters mouths that we should be paying attention to!
I will not stop trying to convince school departments everywhere to, at the very least, try something new that is healthy! Give our children a taste of something that HAS taste, rather than sugar. Give my, for example, syrups a try. If the children don't like them, then at least they tried . I don't care one way or the other what the children decide. Offering them a choice is what matters to me!
I even heard one school official tell me(along with a couple retail outlets) that they weren't interested because nobody has asked for flavored syrups before, therefore there is no interest.
THIS IS INSANE!!
Nobody has asked for them because it isn't being offered. Looks as if the dumbing down can be rightfully attributed to some adults.
Am I writing this simply to get people to buy my products and am I self-promoting? Of course not! Try other syrups and food items that are healthy. I just don't care one way or the other! I have products that are truly healthy and delicious and try to offer them at a price that EVERYONE can afford because I want as many children to taste them as possible. I tell this to ALL the stores that carry my products, along with the promise that they will NEVER be sold for more than $5 a jar. I will eat the profit myself if that is what it takes!!!!
To wrap this up(yes, nothing gets me going more than a complete and utter lack of our children's health by those who make decisions that directly AFFECT our children's health)let me just say that those of you who are in charge of determining what is best for our children in the lunch room and are trying to think of any and all reasons NOT to help our children eat healthier, SHAME ON YOU!
Those of you who are saying what you think others want to hear, but don't back it up with action...SHAME ON YOU!
Those of you who determine what is best for our children but are unwilling to take a little time to offer healthy yet great tasting alternatives in schools simply because a minute increase in cost....SHAME ON YOU!
It's Just That Simple!™
Amazing Gravy
1(15-ounce)can low sodium, fat free beef or chicken broth*
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables of your choice, thawed see NOTE
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Warm up the broth in the microwave or stove top until hot, but not scalding. Place in a food processor or blender with the last 2 ingredients and puree, on high, until you can no longer see even small bits of vegetables, about 30 seconds.
You can either strain the bulk from the vegetables from the liquid or leave as is. There will not be more than a teaspoon, if any.
Place mixture in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring almost constantly. Once boiling, remove from heat and serve.
* If you are using bouillon, use enough to flavor 2 cups water.
NOTE: Use 1 cup vegetable broth instead, but increase the cornstarch to 1 1/2 tablespoons.
