Eat Out Eat Well

food for fun and thought

Frosted Flakes: Do They Really Put A Tiger In Your Tank?

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I was having breakfast with a five year old who insisted on taking an individual box of Frosted Flakes from a display. Of course she would, the little box is designed to appeal to a child.

I’m not a cold cereal lover, but I have been known to grab a handful or two of those sugar coated flakes when they are sitting in front of me (without milk – it destroys the crunch).

Because I haven’t had a box of Frosted Flakes in front of me for a long time and I like to think of myself as an informed adult, I picked up the cute little royal blue box with Tony the Tiger on the front to read the nutrition and ingredients labels.

What a shocker.  I knew that Kellogg’s Sugar Frosted Flakes of Corn was not nutritionally stellar – but what a shock to read the front of the box hype and then to look at the labels.

Sugar Frosted Flakes

The cereal, first introduced in 1952 as Sugar Frosted Flakes, is described as sweet and crunchy and “packed with 10 essential vitamins and good-for-you grains that give you the great-tasting energy you need.”  The tagline reads: “It’s what fuels you up so you can play, prep and be your very best.”

Take a peek at the nutrition label.  Notice the amount of protein and fiber (or, essentially, lack of).  How much sugar is there? Look at the ingredients label.What are the first five ingredients?

My youngest son once ate an astonishing double digit number of little boxes of Frosted Flakes, without milk, at summer sleep-away camp – a story first told to me by his brothers and validated by the counselors.  Can you imagine what his behavior must have been like that day on a massive sugar overload from breakfast cereal? No wonder the camp changed its breakfast policy – and its breakfast foods!

Is it time to change your breakfast?

Need To Work Off Some Extra Calories?

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According to Health Day TV there are some great outdoor ways to burn off a few of those extra calories you consumed – perhaps the ones left over from an indulgent 4th of July barbecue.

For each hour of activity (caloric burn varies somewhat with your size and effort):

  • Golf, walking with your clubs:  330 calories
  • Leisurely bicycling under 10 miles per hour:  290 calories
  • Bicycling over 10 miles per hour:  590 calories
  • Leisurely walking:  280 calories
  • Jogging at a 12 minute per mile pace:  590 calories
  • Swimming slow freestyle laps:  510 calories
  • Hiking:  370 calories
  • Yard work:  330 calories

Happy 125th Birthday Statue of Liberty!

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125 years ago the Statue of Liberty was given to the people of the United States by the people of France in recognition of the friendship they formed during the American Revolution. The Statue of Liberty’s symbolism represents freedom and democracy along with international friendship.

The Statue was a joint effort between America and France.  Americans  built the pedestal and the French people were responsible for the Statue’s design and manufacture and for its assembly in the United States.

Happy 125th Birthday Lady Liberty and Happy 235th Birthday America

Have Some Oil With Your Cereal And Toothpaste

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Sunday’s New York Times had a great piece on how “oil oozes through your life.”  The article points out that whale oil used to be the go to energy source in the 18th and 19th centuries, but more than a century ago petroleum became the major source of fuel. Oil is abundant and with some laboratory effort it can be turned into more things than you can imagine.

Here’s An Oil Breakdown:

From a typical barrel of oil:

  • about 46% is becomes gasoline
  • 40% becomes jet and fuel oil
  • 2% morphs into petrochemicals (like polyethylene and benzene) used in everyday products,
  • the remainder used for other things.

Although the 2% sounds like a small amount, it oozes into an awful lot of stuff.  Even though oil prices have risen and many businesses try to cut down on their use of petroleum based materials, there aren’t many alternative options to expensive, but versatile, petroleum. And, farms and groceries depend on fuel for shipping.  Many foods are grown with petroleum based fertilizers.

 

Oil Is In More Products Than You Think

Here’s some examples of how oil seeps into the food we eat and the medicines we take:

  • Vanilla ice cream: “Vanillin,” an artificial vanilla flavoring (check your ice cream labels) is often petroleum derived.
  • Preservatives: BHA or BHT – you guessed it, from oil – make an appearance in your cereal, meat, gum, beer, and baked goods to help keep colors bright, flavors flavorful, and fats from going rancid.
  • Vitamins, pain relievers, and capsules for your medicine: Guess what – Excedrin has propylene glycol (so does engine coolant), and the capsule shells for many medications that are meant to dissolve in your stomach often hail from petroleum.
  • Toothpaste: Brands like Crest are made with propylene glycol which serves as a binding agent (and an antifreeze in other forms).
  • Oh, and if you play golf:   that dimpled little ball that you might love or hate is made from materials that are 90% petroleum based!