Most people agree that we have an obesity problem in this country.  In fact, it’s become such a growing concern that the First Lady has made it one of her top priorities.  There are a lot of different reasons for this, but probably at the forefront is the type of foods that we eat, and the quantities that we consume!

Many adults today grew up during the “Clean Your Plate Club” days.  That is, if they didn’t eat everything on their plate, there were consequences.  We can all remember the familiar saying: “Clean your plate, there are starving children that would love to eat that food!”  The obvious learned behavior from such conditioning was to keep eating until all your food was gone, even if you were already full.

When we fast forward to today, and repeat those same behaviors with our children, there’s no wonder why obesity has become such a serious issue.  The portion sizes that are being served in restaurants today have grown dramatically.  At most fast food restaurants you have the option to “Super Size” your meal.  There is the growing popularity of the “all you can eat buffets” (hey, you have to get your money’s worth, right?).  And of course, the rise in the number of discount warehouse clubs advising us to “buy more and save,” certainly hasn’t helped.  In fact, when you consider the waste from leftovers or items that get freezer burn, are you really saving money by buying the larger packages anyway?

Much of the problem with trying to control your portions is that if there is a large package of food available in your home, you are more apt to go back for seconds (or thirds).  How many times have you opened a bag of Oreo’s and put two on your plate, only to find yourself back in the bag minutes later?  How about that favorite bag of chips?  The intentions are good, but the will power is weak.  Not only do we end up eating too much, but the guilty feelings afterward can create a downward spiral that only perpetuates itself.

One way to help with this is to look at companies like TopLine Foods who specialize in helping you control your portion sizes.  We individually package each piece of chicken, steak, seafood, and yes, even cheesecake!  If you and your spouse want chicken, you can prepare two 6-ounce chicken breasts and have no leftovers and no temptation of eating more when you really don’t need it.  In order to win the obesity battle and put yourself in control of your portion sizes, you must surround yourself with the right tools.

If you’d like to try our food and portion control packaging for free, simply go to our website www.ToplineFoods2u.com and click on the meat cleaver in the upper right hand corner.  Fill out the form for the “Free Gift Box”, and we will schedule a time to bring you some samples and explain how our program can help you and your family (AZ only).  You have nothing to loose except those extra inches!

Starting today, we are launching our Name That Product game. It will be a fun way of learning what ingredients are in what we’re eating. These first few weeks will be a test run and based on your demand, we will continue to play the game. Simply hit “like” or share your comments with us.

But enough of that. Let’s get started. Below are the ingredients of two products. Cast your vote and see if you can identify both of them. Good luck!

To see the correct answers, click here.

I had breakfast this week with a friend of mine who’s daughter was diagnosed at an early age with Autism. Because of that and thousands of hours of research, he started a Non-Profit organization called Prevent Autism Today  (www.PreventAutism.org). We started to discuss some of the  actions that people could take to prevent autism and not surprisingly many of them had to do with the type of foods that you eat and feed your kids; things like eating organic foods, avoiding cow milk, no wheat products, less antibiotics, no pesticides (see his site for a complete list). This is  especially important when their little bodies are developing.

He brought up some good points that really opened my eyes to how fast this disease has been increasing. In the 1970’s, about 1 in every 10,000 kids was diagnosed with the disease. In 2008 the number was 1 in 150. The most recent statistics say that 1 in 91 kids will get autism, and even  scarier, 1 in 58 boys will get the disease.

Because the disease is relatively new and because the FDA typically moves very slowly when they don’t have factual data to back up their claims, there are a lot of theories why these numbers are skyrocketing. What we do know, is that 30+ years ago, we didn’t have this problem. So to prevent autism, it seems logical to go back to what we were doing before the start of this outbreak. Much of what has changed has been the addition of pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, corn based products (high fructose corn syrup) into our food. At TopLine Foods we believe that staying away from products with these additives in them will help you and your family stay healthy!

We are currently working on a menu that will help families who are trying to prevent autism or control autism. This menu will be easily labeled to identify the products that are gluten free, antibiotic free, casein free, corn free, & egg free, so if avoiding these are important to you, shopping would become very simple (plus home delivery). If this is important to you, please email us at info@ToplineFoods2u.com so we can commit more resources to publishing a quality menu quickly.

I’m a firm believer that where there is smoke there is fire.  So when I start seeing products advertising “no High-Fructose Corn Syrup” there must be a reason why.  So far this month, two nationally published magazines have published articles on High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), Consumer Reports and Nutrition Action magazines.  Both are analyzing the facts about the sugar substitute and the results are concerning.

Fructose is naturally found in food like fruits and honey.  However, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a highly refined clear liquid that is made from corn starch and is anything but natural.  Introduced in the early 80’s, food manufactures fell in love with it because of its long shelf life and relative low cost.  A popular debate revolves around how the body processes HFCS compared to sugar.  Some believe that when you eat HFCS it travels straight to the liver which turns the sugary liquid into visceral fat.  Unlike other carbohydrates, HFCS does not cause the pancreas to produce insulin; which acts as a hunger quenching signal to the brain.  As a result we eat food that is stored as fat and we never feel full.

Here is a challenge; if you are not typically a label reader, try it the next time you go to the store.  You’ll typically find HFCS in cola’s, ketchup, yogurt, salad dressings, relish, and alarmingly many low-fat diet foods.  If HFCS, fructose, or modified corn starch appears within the first five ingredients, put it back!

We’re not saying that HFCS is the sole reason for obesity.  Americans have developed many bad eating habits along the way.  They facts are whether you eat a ton of HFCS or a ton of natural sugars the results will be the same; obesity, high blood pressure, increased risk of heart disease, and higher triglycerides.  But what you can do is make smart decisions when you are at the grocery store so the foods that make it into your home will be healthy.  So, you saw this coming, TopLine Foods does not sell any product that contains HFCS, so you can spend your time doing other things rather than checking labels at the store.

P.S.  Did I mention that we also deliver it to your door!!! 

We had a new fish supplier stop out this week who catches all of their salmon and halibut fresh out of the Alaskan waters.  We started talking about the different types of salmon and what the major differences were.  What we learned actually had a lot of common sense.

Salmon lives naturally in the ocean.  This is where God intended the fish to be.  So when we try and farm raise the fish, it losses much of the nutrients that it naturally gets from its diet in the ocean.  As with much of our food, the more we start messing with it and changing it, the more dangerous it becomes to our health, common sense.

So what about river caught salmon?  The picture of a fisherman with a pole and their fishing boots looks very natural.  The biggest problem with river caught salmon is by the time the fish reaches the river, it is basically swimming up the stream to die.  They are generally older fish and tougher skinned (looks what happens to most of us as we get older!).  Plus you never know what chemicals could be in the water from pesticides or any other pollution.  Makes sense to me!

With all that being said, most experts agree that the freshest, cleanest, healthiest, most tender salmon will almost always come from the ocean.  Be sure whatever type of fish you are buying that you are buying wild caught seafood (we’ll save the topic of mercury levels in farm raised fish for another day)!

Oh, did I mention that TopLine Foods offers a complete line of wild caught seafood including: salmon, tuna, swordfish, halibut, and sea bass?  We even deliver it to your door with a smile! 

Lately there have been lots of studies centering around the debate of organic food, as people have speculated that eating organic foods is not as healthy as they are advertised to be.  Sales have grown among organic food since the federal government began to deem foods as organic, which has led to the increase of the products within many grocery stores among the nation.

It is now just beginning to be established that the root of the unhealthy eating habits of Americans circle around our affinity for soda and sugary sweets.  Our love of refined sugars and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is leading many in our nation to poor health.  While organic food can be better for you in the long run, it is because they are “REAL’ wholesome ingredients, rather than those ingredients contained within many of the fatty foods we ingest everyday.

Our health as a nation will increase over time as we begin to shift to more nutrient dense foods that are organically raised and contain little if any added preservatives.

Additionally, producing organic foods also aids the environment as much less land, water, and chemicals are used to produce this type of food. So Organic is Green and Green is Good!!!

Welcome to TopLine Foods Healthy & Organic Blog! Our mission is to bring you interesting facts and tips about organic and natural food choices and preparation. We want to become your first destination as a useful responsive resource for healthy living information, so feel free to send us comments and questions.
We spend far too much time, money and unhealthy energy on less-than-adequate fast foods, sodas and other items. We spend too much time being angry, unhappy and frustrated about what we have not accomplished yet. Not nearly enough do we relax, release, and appreciate all that we have already and the truth that as long as we’re here, we have possibilities. Life is an adventure.
Join us as we strive to Eat Right, Save Time & Live Life!!!