Starting from Scratch: Avoid Junk Food When Possible
Would you mind tasting this? It’s my second book, Starting from Scratch, and I want to get readers’ thoughts on flavor and texture before it goes in the oven. Starting From Scratch picks up where Finding Life’s Secret Sauce left off, with a focus on how to fit healthier eating and cooking into your crazy, busy schedule. We’ve all developed our own systems and solutions in the kitchen, and I would love to sprinkle readers’ real-life tips throughout my book. I will publish book excerpts on my blog weekly, encouraging you to dish out your advice in the comments section. I’ll include helpful comments in the book, crediting you and/or your blog, and send you free copies of the book. Also, I’m consulting an expert blogger(s) for each section of the book – for this excerpt, it’s Georgie Fear, a Registered Dietitian who writes at Ask Georgie.
I’m always giving my husband, Rob, a hard time about the Tostitos he eats each evening when I’m cooking dinner. I try to convince him to eat a healthier alternative, or better yet, wait another five minutes until the meal is ready. Every time he nose dives into a bag of junk food, our six year old, Luke, wants to follow. Until recently, that is.
Unhealthy tales
One evening before bed, I read Luke a book called, The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food. It’s a wonderful portrayal about how the Bear family eats too much junk food and everyone starts gaining a little too much weight. So Mom sticks the Choco-Chums and other “bad stuff” into the freezer and puts everyone on a healthy diet. Father Bear even split his pants in the interim, proving that better food and exercise was just what the doctor ordered.
The book has made quite a lasting impression on Luke, for some unexplained reason. Now, when Rob is eating junk food, Luke reminds him that he “needs to stop before Mommy has to sew up his pants.” He actually scolded Rob recently for buying some Cheeze Nips at the grocery store by saying, “Dad, you’re not supposed to buy junk food.”
Where to learn more about nutrition
If you are too old for Berenstain Bears books, there are other useful places to turn for dependable and accurate information. Here are a few ideas.
Take a class. Not everyone wants to take the time and trouble to learn the nutrient make-up of every food available, but you might be interested in some high level information. Courses offered by local restaurants, markets and community colleges are a great avenue to learn the basics.
Read a book. There are an amazing number of books available for all of your nutrition needs – from why you should be vegan to how to cope with a gluten-free diet. There are cookbooks to suit everyone’s tastes and literature that advocates low fat, high protein, no sugar, no meat and no-white diets.
For a really superb tool, Georgie recommends Marion Nestle’s book What to Eat. It’s understandable to a public audience (you don’t need a science degree to “get it”) yet it’s not watered down. Most of all, it’s arranged in sections of the grocery store; right where knowledge meets action.
Talk to a nutritionist or other health professional. Particularly if you have diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, allergies or other health issues, it may be vital to speak with someone who can provide specific dietary guidelines. I had to do the same when I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome years ago.
That said, you don’t necessarily need to have a “problem” like diabetes or a weight issue to get a good understanding on the basics of nutrition. Just ask Georgie.
Follow USDA guidelines. I’ve heard about food guidelines since I was a child, though I could never actually repeat the recommended number of servings for each food group. The food pyramid has changed over the years and will actually change again in 2010. In fact, the current pyramid, called MyPyramid, is not terribly useful, according to Georgie.
A better alternative may be to use free information provided by the USDA, available in print or online.
A new classification system
If all else fails and you can’t remember the guidelines, then just divide food into Luke’s classification system: Sweets (categorized as such because they are my family’s unhealthy addiction), Junk Food and All Else. Just try to eat as many of the All Else’s as possible.
Then try to decipher a food label as best you can. Stay tuned next week to find out how.
About Georgie
Georgie Fear is a Registered Dietitian and New Jersey native. She received her undergraduate degree in Nutritional Sciences from Rutgers University and completed her dietetic internship and clinical training at Cornell University. She currently works as Sports Nutritionist for Rutgers University Athletics, and teaches many fitness and nutrition classes at the university and other health and medical establishments around Central Jersey. A lifelong athlete, Georgie is a marathon runner, triathlete, and avid rock climber. Her educational style is science-based, informative, and full of practical tips that work in the real world. She specializes in nutrition for sports performance, weight management, chronic disease prevention, and healthy cooking.
I just found your blog and I absolutely love it. This is great information 
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As always I love your posts…they are always so imformative! I am tweeting this!
Uhh… Daddy was eating vegetables the other night and nobody wanted any. Stick that in your pyramid.
Of course, Junk Food is a challenge because it is marketed and packaged much better than other wholesome choices. To combat the packaging issue, my advice is that you can select wholesome alternatives, e.g. trail mix, but make sure to take the larger package and subdivide into snack bags in advance. Those individual snack bags go into the lunch boxes, briefcases, duffel bags, etc. Of course, if you have a really picky individual that can’t get over the packaging issue, you can always buy special colorful containers that can be personalized to each individual, i.e. special containers for their special snacks.
Since you are the marketing expert, I’ll leave it up to your expertise as to how to overcome those messages!
very informative! thank you for finding my blog
I just found your blog and I absolutely love it. This is great information