Let them eat cake (and Ice-cream too)

I'm back from a busy weekend of cake, more cake and ice cream.

I came out of this weekend with 2 new pieces of knowledge:

1. I am in complete denial that my little girl could already be 1 year old,
   
2. I gained some really cool knowledge about ice cream that I want to share with you.

Ice cream is a perfect of example of my theory that we should only ever eat quality food. If we demand quality great-tasting food, I beleive that ultimately this food will not only taste better, but also be better for us (AND, since there is way less quality food out there then there is crappy food-like products, we end up eating less - which is a good thing).

When it comes to ice cream, I beleive that Haagen Dazs is pretty much the cream of the crop. In the ice cream world Haagan Dazs is the premium brand. It tastes great, but you also pay a lot of money for it.

In fact, it is so expensive that on Friday, when I was out buying ice cream for Brier's first birthday party, I by-passed the Haagen Dazs and went right for the less expensive stuff.

Then, I got curious.

I read the ingredients on the less expensive stuff...this was what was in the vanilla flavor:

Milk Ingredients, Modified Milk Ingredients, Sugar, Glucose, Mono and Diglycerides, Locust Bean Gum, Cellulose Gum, Guar Gum, Carrageenan, Natural and Artificial Flavours.

Now to compare, this is what is in the vanilla flavor from Haagen Dazs:

Cream, Skim Milk, Sugar, Egg Yolks, Natural Vanilla.

I'm sure you can spot the differences.

• 11 ingredients versus 5
• Ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen versus some things that don't even sound like food.
• Cream as the first ingredient in ice-cream, versus milk ingredients
  

So it becomes apparent pretty quickly that the premium ice-cream has food ingredients, while the cheaper ice-cream as food-like ingredients.

But, what about Calories?

Well, the Haagan Dazs KILLS the cheaper ice cream, providing 270 Calories versus 120 Calories per half cup. So if you are watching what you eat and trying to lose weight, this is where it gets interesting.

After all, we all know that a tablespoon full of the good stuff is way more satisfying then an entire bowl of the cheap stuff..but why is that?

Well, The next time you buy ice-cream, look at how it is sold..Ice-cream is not sold by weight, it is sold by volume. So you will buy 2 quarts of ice-cream, not 2 pounds of ice-cream.

And herein lies the mystery of premium quality ice-cream.

The small 500 ml container of Haagen Dazs weighs almost as much as a entire quart of one of the cheaper products.

Haagen Dazs ice-cream is very calorie dense because it contains much less air than the cheaper brands, which is why it does not need all of the extra stabilizers that the cheaper ice-cream contains (Mono and Diglycerides, Locust Bean Gum, Cellulose Gum, Guar Gum, Carrageenan).

The cheaper brands try to get as much air into their ice-cream as possible so that they can fill a big container with less product, ultimately saving money.

So by sticking to your guns and only eating the premium stuff, you end up eating a lot less additives, you get a better tasting product, made from real food ingredients and you get roughly the same calories PER GRAM, with a whole lot more satisfaction.

Demand quality in the foods you eat, and you will end up eating a lot more food and a lot less food-like products. You will also end up eating less often, so even if the quality stuff has more calories, it should all even out in the end.

BP

PS- If you don't think you can lose weight while still enjoying cake and ice-cream at summer birthday parties then you need to check out Eat Stop Eat.

Obesity and Corporate Identity

Obese people make Corporations happy. If you are overweight you are part of a select consumer group. And, you are a target of new found "corporate identities".

Take this article I found in this morning's nutraingredients.com newsletter.

Making a head start in this area, Nestlé Research Center (NRC) has announced a new collaboration with General Electric (GE) Global Research to gain access to GE's cutting edge technology.

"Through this collaboration with GE we have the opportunity to use cutting-edge diagnostic tools to increase our understanding of how nutrition and lifestyle choices impact body composition and metabolic health," said Prof. Peter van Bladeren, Head of Nestlé Science and Research.

"With this knowledge, Nestlé can continue to deliver science-based nutritional products to improve and enhance the quality of peoples' lives."

Nestlé is in the midst of transforming from a general food company into a health, nutrition and wellness company. Such a transformation is heavily reliant on R&D and the current annual spend of the company is reportedly almost €1bn.

What interests me is the second last sentence.

Nestlé is in the midst of transforming from a general food company into a health, nutrition and wellness company.

This is a very big, very successful food company that is now officially making the transition into health, nutrition and wellness.

It looks like (in the eyes of the corporate world), the days of "food" are over. We are now entering the era of "nutrition".

"Food" was ice cream being bought because of the flavor. "Nutrition" is ice cream being bought because of the added protein, polyphenols and green-tea extract.

This is a prime example of why the simplicity of 'eating less' to lose weight and improve health will probably never catch on. The complexity of 'eat differently' has far better economic ramifications for big business.

In the battle of simple (like the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle) versus complex (Obsessive Compulsive Eating), only one of these styles creates a need for new product development, innovation in food processing, increased need for marketing and PR and a label claims with a 'good for you' message. Which is precisely why complex is so appealing to big business.

Unfortunately for big business, it is Simple that works best when it comes to food, health and weight loss.

Find the easiest, simplest way to eat less and enjoy the foods you eat. This is the key to weight loss and health.

BP