Monday Mention... Re-visit Food Traditions

 

          A while back I wrote a post http://whole-food-living.blogspot.com/2013/10/food-traditions-and-their-benefits.html  about making food traditions with your family ( that could be or include your cousins, nieces, nephews, sisters, friend etc.) so I thought in this New Year I would re-visit the idea. My children are getting older and sometimes what we once did is not possible anymore so we are starting to create different ones. Like my oldest son who is now married and expecting their first child, has come up the last couple years on Christmas morning and I've made us all a big breakfast. So that is fast becoming our tradition and as my granddaughter arrives I'm sure there will be more exciting and new ones that will be handed down. I've also started years ago, since my oldest son left the nest, cooking him a meal to take home on the days when he comes to visit through out the year.
          You don't have to be a person who loves to cook or even enjoys being in the kitchen. Don't let feeling like it has to be a " Martha Stewart" kind of thing hold you back.There is always "Google and Pinerest" to help with ideas and there are awesome things at the grocery store, specially shops, or even your farmers market that would work just fine. It's never to late to start and traditions are not only for the holidays. So do what makes you happy and with love and there can be no result other then it's "a good thing."

Wednesday " Word"... Sugar

I came across this article http://www.foodmatters.tv/content/5-more-reasons-to-quit-sugar  and it brought sugar back to my attention. Talking about "Sugar" can not be mentioned enough. It is a very subtle and seductive ingredient in our food. I wrote about it earlier this year http://whole-food-living.blogspot.com/2014/02/thursday-3-tips-to-cut-down-on-sugar.html but I thought it worth mentioning again with the holidays approaching. Sugar is a hard thing to avoid and with Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas coming one month after the next, the choices are difficult.

A good tip to help bring awareness to the sugar that your consuming on a regular bases, is to read the label and just notice the amount of sugar per serving. And maybe go a step further and write down on a piece of paper for one day the amount of sugar and then add it up. This is not meant for a guilt trip, only to bring awareness, because we can't begin to change what we are not aware of.

Here are a few words to look for when reading a food label - looking for sugar:

• white sugar
• brown sugar
• raw sugar
• high fructose corn syrup
• corn syrup
• corn syrup solids
• malt syrup
• maple syrup
• pancake syrup
• fructose sweetener
• liquid fructose
• honey
• molasses
• anhydrous dextrose
• crystal dextrose

~ Look for more tips and ideas in the coming months to help with your  "sugar awareness"