[blparent] Meals and snacks

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

What you suggest is a perfectly reasonable solution.  Using a fruit
puree with plain gelatin helps with the sugar issue, though the gelatin
will still contain synthetic properties.

Sugar substitutes like Equal and Sweet and Low are not good in large
quantities, and studies are showing they may be detrimental to our
health, but Splenda is made from cane sugar and does not contain the
chemical properties  that are bad health wise.  There is nothing wrong
with real sugar as long as it's not consumed in large quantities or
being used in unhealthy foods.

Many boxed foods like sugar-free Jell-O use sweeteners like Equal, but
there are some products using Splenda instead.  Sugar-free Jell-O
contains only 10 calories in a serving size, though, compared to sugar
Jell-O which has 80 calories in a serving size.  This is a huge
difference, and the carbs in sugar products like regular JELL-O derive
predominantly from sugar.  Carbs containing large amounts of sugar are
more difficult for the body to break down, meaning the endocrine system
is working over-time to break carbs down and distribute them properly,
making it easier for the body to store extra fat that's not necessary-
it's not the good fat.

This being said, JELL-O has no nutritional value and is full of
synthetic products.  Fruit would obviously be the best choice, or cube
fruit to put in JELL-O so it has some nutritional content.

If eating a serving size of regular JELL-O, which a box only has 3
servings, you eat 80 calories that do nothing for the body but break
down to create unnecessary fat.  It's a completely pointless snack.  You
could choose something much healthier with the same caloric intake, but
with nutritional value that will digest into your system and use the
right kind of carbs.

One of the biggest problems with real sugar is that most products
containing it have high caloric contents.  Especially with today's
eating trends, foods with high caloric and fat content need to be
monitored and used sparingly.

Sometimes it's a matter of choices.  For example, regular soda and 100%
juice have real sugar, but the 100% juice (not juice beverages like
Sunny D or CapriSun) is the healthier choice because the sugar is
processed differently and the product does not contain as many synthetic
properties as soda and juice beverages.

Using real sugar in dishes like the apple salad I posted are not bad,
but Splenda is the healthier option, and it's not the same as other
sugar substitutes.  I've studied nutrition and food science and use to
be a fitness instructor and dancer so this is a topic I find
interesting.

Ross and I are actually looking into organic farming, not for commercial
purposes, but we feel organic food is a better option.  My cousin and
her husband built a self-sustaining farmhouse with recycled materials,
so everything in the house, walls, floors, doors, counters, etc., comes
from existing buildings, and  It is energy efficient including the
bathrooms and electricity.  .  They went through a three-year process to
cleanse the land before planting crops.  This was the first year they
put products on the market.  They also keep chickens for fresh eggs,
though her husband is vegan so he doesn't eat any product coming from an
animal.   My cousin is also a lawyer, and her husband is a musician, but
they hope to generate a small income from their crops eventually.

We don't want to go that crazy, but we're investigating the
possibilities.  For now, we shop at the whole foods market for our dairy
and produce.  We'd like to purchase organic, non-genetic-enhanced meat,
but it's so expensive.

Anyway, just wanted to distinguish the difference between Splenda and
other substitutes, and using cane sugar as opposed to products like
Splenda.

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog for Live Well Nebraska.com at
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/

Message: 11
Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:00:13 -0500
From: "Brandy W" <branlw at sbcglobal.net>
To: "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [blparent] Meals and Snacks
Message-ID: <F31CDAEE93C643D7B359E58A511F5654 at Brandy>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
	reply-type=original

This is great, but please remember that Sugar free isn't good at all as
that 
sugar is replaced with artificial sugars. You can make jello with fresh 
pureed fruit and a clear jello mix and have a fruit mixed in and not
fake 
sugar.

Bran