Inside Your Food

It’s Cranberry Season!

I was shopping today and noticed that fresh cranberries are in stock at my local grocery stores. Freshly made cranberry sauce was a staple at my house growing up every Thanksgiving and Christmas. Turkey without the cranberries and dressing was not a meal! My mom always made cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries. There was never any canned jellied cranberries on our table. I always enjoyed it when I was younger, but over the years I stopped eating the cranberry sauce because I have tried to cut back on sugar and it takes a lot of sugar to sweeten cranberries. Cranberries have health benefits such as helping fight against urinary tract infections, especially in children. They contain flavonoids and polyphenolics that promote cardiovascular health and they are filled with Vitamin C. For awhile, I ate craisins but after reading the labels and researching I realized that I was just eating sugar. The dried cranberry is really just the skin of the berry after all the juice has been removed so the benefits of the whole cranberry are mostly lost. Then they dump huge amounts of sugar in the mix to make it sweet. I still use craisins occasionally in salads or I sprinkle a few on my oatmeal. This year, I was feeling a little more nostalgic and decided to try my hand at making fresh cranberry sauce. The post below has several very simple recipes that look good and that sweeten the cranberries with natural fruit or honey rather than sugar. I know I am going to try it. I hope you will too…

Go Crazy with Cranberries! | Skinny Ms.

Trying to go light this holiday? Try our homemade cranberry orange sauce or our cranberry melange. Try our cranberry applesauce and our cranberry chutney, too!

Healthy Benefits of Real Maple Syrup

Even though real maple syrup has a high sugar content, it is still lower than corn syrup and certainly tastes much better. Also, if you are going to be consuming sugar, you may as well get some benefits from it. Real maple syrup contains manganese, zinc, small amounts of calcium, potassium, iron and other vitamins. Since it is made naturally, your body can process it better than the artificially made sweeteners which do more harm to your body than good. So the next time you make waffles or pancakes or just want to sweeten your oatmeal, try some real maple syrup with health benefits instead of store bought syrup which usually contains corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, flavoring and color with a higher sugar content and no benefits at all. Read the article below for more information…

Health Benefits of Maple Syrup | Suite101

Maple syrup is made from boiling the sap from sugar maple trees, evaporating the water. It takes 40 gallons of sap make one gallon of maple syrup. Maple syrup was first discovered by Native Americans, and has since …

Honey Bees Produce Blue and Green Honey!

Bees Produce Colored Honey — Bees Eating Colors!

In France bee keepers where confused when their bees began producing blue and green honey. It seems that after some research, they discovered that the bees had found a biogas plant that processes waste for Mars. You guessed it. They were eating the waste from M&Ms. We all know how brightly colored those candies are. Fortunately, they won’t be selling it. Below is the article as reported by ABC news and a video from the BBC News…

M&M’s Blamed for Green & Blue Honey in France (Update …

Honeybees in France are producing unusual-colored honey. Their sweet tooth may be to blame.

Feeding Cows What?

I recently ran across an article saying that some farmers are feeding their cows candy and junk food because of the drought we have had this year and the high price of corn. I was a little skeptical at first and couldn’t believe my eyes but as I researched it more, I found quite a few articles on this topic. It appears that this has been going on for quite some time. They are feeding them candy, pastries, ice cream sprinkles and other out of date or unsellable foods. This is so crazy it is almost funny but since it is true, I am left feeling quite disturbed. If the cows are eating these things, than the milk and meat we eat have to be tainted with artificial colors, corn syrup, and all kinds of other things I don’t think I want to know about. I rarely eat meat, and after reading the article below, I don’t think I will start eating it any time soon. If you want to get the full scoop on this, read the article below…

Some U.S. farmers now feeding their cattle gummy worms …

(NaturalNews) The cost of genetically-modified (GM) corn and soy feed for conventional cattle is surging so high, and availability plunging so low, as a result of persistent drought conditions and resultant crop failures that …

Start Your Fall off With Good Healthy Fall Flavors

Healthy Fall Eating — Assortment of Pumpkins

With the arrival of fall, we have tailgate parties, Halloween, school fundraiser sales and Thanksgiving. Don’t fall into the trap of eating to much of the wrong foods. There are many delicious fall produce such as apples and several different squash and pumpkins. All of these are so good for you and you can be versatile with them. You can makes soups as well as desserts with these delicious fall foods. Below is an article on some ideas for fall produce as well as a recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies…

Choose good foods during season’s ‘eating frenzy’ – Healthy Living

BY DONYA CURRIE. Fall brings some wonderful fresh foodsto the table, from apples to butternut squash to pumpkin. But it also can present some nutritional land mines, such as the Halloween candy already stacked

Tasty Tuesday: Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tasty Tuesday: Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies … I have a wonderful recipe that will let you indulge in that sweet treat without all of the unnecessary calories and fat that come with your “regular” cookie recipe.

on store …

The Dangers of Food Dyes

There has been a lot of talk about artificial food dyes, but unfortunately, not enough. We can’t seem to make any headway in the USA on banning any of them. While most European countries have banned them or they have to put a warning label on products that contain them, we in America just go about merrily adding these petroleum based colors to, it seems, just about everything. Even if the item isn’t a bright color, be sure to read the label because you may see it in there. Most “egg bread” is yellow because of food dye, not because of the eggs used in it. There are many studies that I have read that show that these dyes can trigger ADD and ADHD as well as metabolism changes, cancers and many more problems. Read the following article below and find out all about what the dyes are and what they do. Hopefully, you will never look at the brightly colored foods you are eating the same again…

The Colorful Truth about Fake Food Dyes

Here’s the take-away, in case you had a lot of food dye before you sat down to read and now find yourself unable to focus: Synthetic food dye is made from toxic petroleum that is harmful to the brain and body – whether or not the reaction is visible. Fake food dye is ANY … Many dyes have been banned in the United States because of their danger, but nine are still in use that raise red flags. Other developed … And don’t forget to check that jar of pickles. Science shows …

Why We Should Drink Lemon Juice

Health Benefits of Lemons — Fresh Lemons

Who would think a small little piece of fruit like a lemon could have so many health benefits. I don’t usually drink lemonade because I have to add to much sugar to drink it. However, I do enjoy warm water with fresh lemon juice with a little honey to sweeten it. My whole body seems to function better when I stay on a regular diet of lemon juice. I also enjoy mixing lemon juice with extra virgin olive oil and pouring it over my salad for my salad dressing. Lemons are loaded with Vitamin C which helps boost your immune system. Lemons also aid in your digestion and weight loss. Below is an article that lists at least 10 reasons by we should make lemon juice part of our daily routine. Also, be sure you are using real fresh lemons and not the bottled lemon juice…

Warm Lemon Water’s Health Benefits | Healthy Cancer Chick

Sufferers of chronic rheumatism and gout will benefit by taking lemon juice, also those who have a tendency to bleed, uterine hemorrhages, etc.; rickets and tuberculosis. In pregnancy, drinking lemon juice regularly will help to …

The Nutritional Benefits of Bananas

Nutritional Information on bananas — Bunch of Bananas

Bananas seem to be a staple in our home. I like them when they still have a little green tint to them but my husband likes them when the peel starts to turn brown. That works great for us because once they are to ripe for me they are just right for him. If they are to ripe but I am needing an extra lift, I like to mash it and add a little nut butter for a healthy snack. I read a lot about the benefits of berries and apples and an assortment of other fruits, but I rarely see many articles on the health benefits of bananas. Bananas are low in calories, about 100 calories for an average size banana, low in fat and are about 70% water which helps to clean your large intestine. If you have ever participated in an athletic event, you can always count on finding bananas before or after the event. They give you a quick boost of energy so they make a great snack to eat on the way to a workout. Check out the article below for more benefits and nutritional facts about bananas…

Bananas: understanding the health benefits and nutrition facts …

Can you name a ready-made food which is easy to chew, gets digested equally fast (so that it is a boon to the elderly and to infants), is rather inexpensive,

All About Orange Juice

Orange juice is probably the most popular juice that people drink for breakfast. It is tasty, and has plenty of vitamin C as well as other vitamins such as iron, potassium and magnesium, to name a few. It can also be helpful in managing arthritis and is good for your immune system. However, it is important to be careful not to drink to much. Unless you squeeze your own juice from fresh fruit, most orange juice has added sugar. Personally, I rarely drink juice of any kind because I prefer to eat the fruit, but when I do drink orange juice it is usually just a small glass or I dilute it with water. That still gives me some of the nutrition benefits from the oranges. Also, when buying orange juice be sure to buy real orange juice and not an orange drink. That is just orange flavor and sugar. Even though orange juice is fairly high in calories and sugar, it is a good substitute for sodas which are loaded with sugar but no nutrition. Posted below is a good article outlining all the benefits and nutrition of orange juice…

Orange Juice Calories And Benefits | Diet x Nutrition

Orange Juice Calories and Nutrition Facts. drinking orange juice 300×199 Orange Juice Calories And Benefits. Drinking Orange Juice. Orange juice has vitamins and minerals in great amount. That is why; this becomes most people’s favorite …

Raw Honey

I have never really eaten much honey. Maybe because growing up it was not something we usually had around the house. As I have gotten more concerned about what I put into my body, I have found many benefits of honey, not all of them just to eat. Since honey is loaded with the B vitamins as well as vitamin C, iron, magnesium and several other vitamins, it makes sense to use it in place of refined sugar which has no benefits at all. It also helps with digestion. If you don’t like the taste of honey, it works to soothe sunburn and helps acne blemishes disappear. I have posted two articles below because I thought both of them had a wealth of knowledge and information. I hope you enjoy learning about all the benefits of honey and the types of honey available…

7 Bee-u-tiful Benefits of Raw Honey | Lehman’s Country Life

countrylife.lehmans.com9/18/12

We think that certain quantity of raw honey is a great thing to have on your list of preparedness items for food and medicine.

What is Raw Honey?

www.benefits-of-honey.com3/15/08

What is so special about raw honey? And what are the different forms of honey? How different are they — comb honey, liquid honey & cream honey?