
The
ads promoting high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) that are airing on TV irritate me to no end and I know they bother a few of you as well. The
controversy surrounding the ad campaign, which is estimated to cost around $20 to $30 million, continues to grow. The basic premise of the ads is that HFCS is natural since it is made from corn (they don't mention how processed the syrup truly is) and that it is just like sugar.

When I started reading food labels, way back when, I must admit that I thought high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) was made out of fruit, because of the "fructose," as well as corn. Now that I have been schooled over the years, I know that this sweetener is made from cornstarch that goes through a serious amount of processing.
The Corn Refiners Association has started the
sweet surprise ad campaign to try to reclaim consumers' hearts and dollars.

The
Corn Refiners Association is fighting back. They are sick and tired of their favorite ingredient high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) being maligned by the liberal press. They have hired a PR agent and an ad team to teach you that HFCS is not only good for you, it is natural as well.

Lately we've been receiving a lot of tea to try at the office. We've also been witnessing a lot of beverage companies swapping the
high-fructose corn syrup in their drinks for pure cane sugar. So it comes as no surprise that the latest rising beverage on the market is
TeaZazz, a carbonated tea made with sugar that markets itself as a healthier hybrid soft drink.

In what's become a growing trend among soda manufacturers,
Thomas Kemper has recently reformulated their soda recipes and updated packaging. Instead of using
high-fructose corn syrup, the new beverages are naturally sweetened with pure cane sugar.
I tasted three — Black Cherry, Root Beer, and Ginger Ale — of the company's five sodas and was pleasantly surprised by the results.

It seems like every food company is getting on the health kick these days. They're advertising products that are "made with whole grains," or "low in sugar," or "fat-free." It's easy to believe the printing on the packages, but I'm sorry to tell you that food companies are using all their marketing resources to sway you to buy their product.

It was a hot day and I found myself grocery shopping. When I am with my girls, even when they are behaving themselves, I employ the "get in, get out" strategy: Take a grocery list, shop the perimeter, placate with a bagel when necessary, pay for the food and get out of the store. It was a hot day, so the three of us lingered, a little too long, in the frozen food section.

Nutri-Grain Bars - they sound healthy. I bet you know this, but just because a food has the word "grain" in it, doesn't mean it's a healthy whole grain. Along the same line, the word "Nutri" on a box doesn't actually mean the product's nutritious.