Food Additives Affect Children’s Health & Behavior

Posted on 08/18/2012 by Christy

Have you ever wondered whether our children’s diet is affecting their health…or maybe even the way they feel or behave? Do you assume that certain children can “handle” food additives just fine just because they aren’t overweight or diagnosed with a behavior disorder or medical condition?

I encourage you to view the 5-minute video overview below that details the improvements experienced by children at one elementary school when their parents and school administrators worked together for 2 full weeks to eliminate food additives (colorings, flavorings, flavor enhancers, preservatives, etc.) from their diets.

Would it surprise you to know that some of the benefits reported by the children and their parents and school staff included: increased attention skills, decreased impulsiveness & behavior problems, less difficultly falling asleep at night, decreased bed wetting, fewer headaches & skin rashes, and improved mood and anger control (leading to improved relationships with peers and family members)? Even children who appeared initially to have “nothing wrong with them” were better behaved during the 2-week trial diet.

Please view the following video; and if you would like assistance with reducing the amount of food additives in your child’s diet, check out our “Eating Additive-Free Natural Cookbook & Grocery Shopping Guide” we have created to help ease your transition!

How to Make Chipotle Sweet Potato Hashbrowns

Posted on 07/12/2011 by Christy

This is one of my favorite creations of all time! Makes a great morning snack…goes great with eggs for breakfast…or with grilled meat (especially burgers) for dinner! (The Chipotle powder is a bit expensive, but a little goes a LONG way, so it lasts FOREVER!! Plus it adds SO much flavor that I’d pay any price!)

For more great recipes and all of the grocery shopping tips you need to ensure that you select the most additive-free versions of all ingredients needed to make this recipe (and all of my recipes), check out my book “Eating Additive-Free“!

How to Make ADDITIVE-FREE Grilled Chicken w/ Pasta

Posted on 06/12/2011 by Christy

This dinner is simple, tasty and won’t break the budget! See below for recipe and grocery selection tips….

Grilled, boneless/skinless chicken thighs – Sprinkle both sides of meat with garlic powder, sea salt, and black pepper. Throw on the grill! Sometimes we add onion powder, too!

Don’t use those pre-made grilling seasonings from the store – most are full of additives and mystery ingredients! Stick to whole, real herbs and spices. But still ….check the labels for surprise ingredients – for instance, “garlic salt” often contains much more than just garlic and salt!

Make sure the chicken you buy is free of any additives, solutions or broth! If there’s no ingredients label on the package…be sure to ASK the butcher….assume nothing!

Garlic butter noodles – Cook whole wheat angel hair pasta according to package directions (the only ingredient listed should be “whole wheat”). For every 8 ounces of noodles, you’ll need 1/2 stick butter and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. While noodles are draining in a strainer, melt butter in the pan and then stir in the garlic powder. Return noodles to the pan and toss to coat. Add sea salt and pepper, to taste. Yum! 8 ounces of pasta yields about 4 servings (as long as they’re not as huge as MY “serving” shown here). 🙂

Check the ingredients on your butter!! At most, the ingredients should read, “cream (or “cultured cream”) and salt.” Many varieties add “natural flavor,” especially if the butter is unsalted, so beware. And, please tell me you’re not eating margarine!!! That’s a whole other blog post in itself!

Freshly sliced cucumber (or veggies of your choice). Actually, I’d recommend something more colorful like carrots, tomatoes or bell peppers to make the plate more interesting, but all I had on hand were cucumbers!

Give it a try and comment below to let me know how you like it!