Author: mkokopelli

mkokopelli https://mkokopelli.wordpress.com With a BA in Creative Writing, I have always had a passion for telling a story. When I graduated from UNCW, the job market was scarce so I pursued my other love, photography. I managed a photography studio for 3 years before starting my own company, M&M Photography. As luck would have it, one of my clients worked for the Charlotte Observer and asked me to join her team in launching their new mom website, MomsCharlotte.com. During this time, I had a baby and after learning some disturbing things about big name baby shampoo, I started researching children’s products and eventually family products. I began a blog, Mkokopelli, as a side project to document all of the things I was learning and to share my knowledge with other concerned parents. Mkokopelli led me down many exciting roads as I got to work with amazing companies and organizations. I began freelancing for several big named eco-friendly businesses including Inhabitots, Stonyfield, Franklin Goose, Earth Mama Angel Baby, The Baby Grocery Store, Juice Beauty, rocklovepeace, and Sacred Pregnancy. After having my second child, I decided to focus my talents on social media content as well as video editing. My current clients are a multi-billion dollar real estate company based out of Dallas, TX and a NC therapist who specializes in Transformative Insight Imagery. When not writing, I enjoy hiking, traveling, photo journalism, poetry, reading, nature, politics, activism, and painting.

Day 9 No Sugar Challenge

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After a week of 15 grams of fructose a day, I’ve lost 5 pounds! I am now 170.0 lbs. I honestly wasn’t expecting these kind of results in 1 week. And I wasn’t expecting to crave sweets so much!! I’ve been eating homemade fruit (plain) yogurt pops and frozen grapes for my night time cravings, but I need chocolate. I’m going to have to bake something with xylitol this week to see how that tastes. But I’ve read the cravings will subside and everything will taste too sweet. I hope so!

This is what I found out about xylitol:

  • Xylitol is a natural five carbon sweetener that can be extracted from plant (fruit, veggies, or birch) materials
  • Xylitol is a naturally occurring carbohydrate
  • An average size adult create up to 15 grams of xylitol daily during normal metabolism in their bodies
  • Xylitol is only slowly absorbed and partially utilized
  • Xylitol is a specific molecule (so no fructose molecule)
  • Xylitol extracted from one source is exactly the same as Xylitol from any other source
  • Xylitol can cause gas, bloating, and upset stomach
  • Low-glycemic
  • Xylitol compares about 1:1 in recipes
  • Xylitol absorbs moisture, so you might have to adjust recipes

Have any of you tried Xylitol before? Any tips for making brownies? 😉

Day 4 Sugar Challenge

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Today has been super busy, so I haven’t had the time to research Xylitol. But it is on my list of things to do tomorrow! Hopefully I’ll have some recipes to share. 🙂 But for research, I had to post today’s weight and it is 172. I’m blown away. 3 pounds since Sunday… I truly wasn’t expecting this at all. And this momma has been too busy to work out or even go on a walk! I can only imagine the results if a exercise routine was added.

Cravings today have been pretty bad. All I want is a piece of chocolate, maybe some cake, or frozen yogurt… yummm…

Day 2 and 3 on the Sugar Challenge

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So since I am behind, I’m going to combine my 2 days to catch up. 🙂 My posts will not be long, unless I learn something new and important!

Day 2.
I didn’t weigh in because my old scale seems to be off. Tomorrow’s mission is to get a new one while E is in art. Today I realized frozen grapes are excellent for sugar cravings. Though I only had a half of a cup to get only 6.2 grams of fructose. I was also told to research more on Whey Low and Birch Xylitol. I was really bummed about learning honey, agave, and brown rice syrup were made with the fructose molecule. 😦 That was my backup plan… serious sugar withdrawal is hitting.

Day 3.
Went to Target to pick up a scale. Opened it in the parking lot so I could get a reading before I ate lunch. Didn’t work! Glad I took the chance of looking crazy to see my weight or I would have been mad when I got home. 😉 Got a new one and weigh in is at 172. So not sure that I’ve dropped 3 pounds in 2 days or if the old scale was off.

Today I’ve had a hard time with cravings. I’m drinking my coffee in the morning, no sugar. Yuck. And only water with a splash of lemon during the day. I loved having chocolate after dinner, but tonight I had a homemade frozen yogurt strawberry ice pop. Didn’t get rid of my craving. Had chicken for dinner and used hot sauce to flavor instead of ketchup or lemon juice. I will have to look up sugar free chocolate recipes. Anyone know of any?

If you are interested in the challenge, here are some starting tips:
Dr. Lustig recommends that everyone get rid of ALL liquid sugar and drink only water and milk. Milk does have sugar, but that is lactose. Lactose is a disaccharide containing glucose and galactose that occurs naturally in milk. Glucose is good.

He also says to make sure you eat your carbs with fiber. Especially sugar carbs! In the 70’s when food manufacturers started cutting fat from foods, they also cut fiber. Fiber is essential to our diets and most Americans are not eating enough. In the early 1920’s it was said they ate 100 grams of fiber a day!! We now usually get 12 grams according to Lustig. Here is a chart from the Mayo Clinic on high fiber foods- which may vary depending upon the brand:

Fruits Serving size Total fiber (grams)*
Raspberries 1 cup 8.0
Pear, with skin 1 medium 5.5
Apple, with skin 1 medium 4.4
Strawberries (halves) 1 1/4 cup 3.8
Banana 1 medium 3.1
Orange 1 medium 3.1
Figs, dried 2 medium 1.6
Raisins 2 tablespoons 1.0
Grains, cereal & pasta Serving size Total fiber (grams)*
Spaghetti, whole-wheat, cooked 1 cup 6.2
Barley, pearled, cooked 1 cup 6.0
Bran flakes 3/4 cup 5.3
Oat bran muffin 1 medium 5.2
Oatmeal, quick, regular or instant, cooked 1 cup 4.0
Popcorn, air-popped 3 cups 3.5
Brown rice, cooked 1 cup 3.5
Bread, rye 1 slice 1.9
Bread, whole-wheat or multigrain 1 slice 1.9
Legumes, nuts & seeds Serving size Total fiber (grams)*
Split peas, cooked 1 cup 16.3
Lentils, cooked 1 cup 15.6
Black beans, cooked 1 cup 15.0
Lima beans, cooked 1 cup 13.2
Baked beans, vegetarian, canned, cooked 1 cup 10.4
Sunflower seed kernels 1/4 cup 3.9
Almonds 1 ounce (23 nuts) 3.5
Pistachio nuts 1 ounce (49 nuts) 2.9
Pecans 1 ounce (19 halves) 2.7
Vegetables Serving size Total fiber (grams)*
Artichoke, cooked 1 medium 10.3
Peas, cooked 1 cup 8.8
Broccoli, boiled 1 cup 5.1
Turnip greens, boiled 1 cup 5.0
Sweet corn, cooked 1 cup 4.2
Brussels sprouts, cooked 1 cup 4.1
Potato, with skin, baked 1 medium 2.9
Tomato paste 1/4 cup 2.7
Carrot, raw 1 medium 1.7

 

Lustig also says to wait 20 minutes before your second helping. This gives your hormones the chance to register what your body has consumed and whether or not you are full or need more.

He also says to buy screen time. That means for every 30 minutes you watch TV, spend 30 minutes being active. Whether you take a walk, clean the house, run, jog, do yoga, whatever movement you can do other than sitting still.

Have you thought about taking the challenge? Or have you already? I’d love to hear sugar free ideas that satisfy sweets cravings.. This is harder than I thought!

Sugar Challenge Day 1 (Read Intro post first)

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Make sure you read the Intro post first so you know what’s going on. 🙂

Day 1- May 1, 2011 (I’m writing a day behind and copying my journal notes)

I am a active mom to a 4 year old, but I work from home. So at least 4-6 hours a day- 6, sometimes 7 days a week are spent sitting on my couch on the computer. I try and do yoga once a week and I do a lot of power walking when we are “shopping.” We don’t actually buy things, but we browse to check out what’s on the market. So, for research purposes, I will not change my activity levels in the next 100 days that can alter the results.

Yesterday’s weigh in was at 175 pounds. OK, gulp, really hard to type and admit that number. But, to test this theory, it needs to be out there. I have been a weight shifter my whole life. Weighing 110 for 6 years in my adult life, then gradually increasing and decreasing. I was down to my ideal weight last April, but I sprained my ankle and since then, the pounds have packed back on. Though, I eat all organic, mostly non-processed foods that are healthy. I am really interested to see what the lack of sugar will do to my body, mind, and waistline.

My Day 1 revelation was that it would be nearly impossible to not eat any sugar products (besides fruits and veggies). I changed my goal to limiting myself to 15 grams of FRUCTOSE a day as long as it’s paired with fiber. ( I will explain this in an upcoming blog) This will also mean a higher intake of fiber. I will also have to learn recipes for ketchup and other sauces to modify.

I had also planned on using agave, honey, and brown rice syrup as my sweeteners, but found out they have the fructose molecule in their makeup. So, I need a new backup plan for sweeteners.

I also need to learn how much fructose is in veggies and other foods we eat regularly.

I would love to hear any suggestions for the experiment, any recipes, or ideas!! This is going to be a long 3 months! But I’m anxious to see the results.

The 100 Day Sugar Challenge Intro

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My new years resolution was to give up high fructose corn syrup for 2011. When I made the resolution, I honestly didn’t do any research beforehand. I just knew it was bad and wanted to ditch it to become more healthy. After making the resolution, I began reading articles about sugar in general. Turns out regular sugar is basically the same thing as high fructose corn syrup and they could both be toxic to our bodies.

 

High fructose corn syrup made its debut in America in the late 70’s as a “healthful alternative” to sugar. This is around the time nutritionists said that we needed to cut fat from our diets. Food companies started the low-fat craze and added lots of sugar (low in fat, high in calories) while taking out most of the fiber to make their products taste better.

 

Sucrose, also known as refined sugar (brown or white), is a 50/50 carbohydrate mixture of the molecule fructose and the molecule glucose. High fructose corn syrup is a 55/45 molecule mixture with more fructose than glucose. It doesn’t matter the amount of fructose, its processed in your body the same way. Also honey, agave, brown rice syrup, maple syrup, and 100% fruit juice all are made with the molecule fructose. Even though they are healthier choices, they can’t fool your liver into thinking they aren’t fructose. 😦

 

Robert Lustig, the leading expert in childhood obesity at the University of California San Fran School of Medicine gave a lectured called, ” Sugar- The Bitter Truth,” which has made its way to Youtube with over a million views. (I highly encourage you to find an hour and a half to watch the video. It is truly eye opening and entertaining.) Lustig claims that the human body metabolizes fructose in a way that is harmful- just like alcohol without the high. He even makes a hard hitting statement in the video saying you wouldn’t give your child a beer because you know it’s poison. Fructose even shares 8 of the 12 chronic exposure effects as ethanol- hypertension, myocardial infraction, dyslipemia, pancreatitis, obesity, hepatic dysfunction, fetal insulin resistance, and habituation- if not addiction.

 

Lustig also describes fructose as “isocaloric but not isometabolic.” This means that our bodies process starch carbs one way and sugar carbs in another. So if we eat rice that has 100 calories and eat a candy bar that has 100 calories, our bodies will process them differently and metabolic consequences aren’t the same. Starch carbs can actually be metabolized throughout your whole body which gets turned into glucose and then becomes energy. Fructose can only be metabolized in the liver which converts most of it into fat.

It is said Americans consume 63 POUNDS of sugar in a year! If you drink one 20 oz. coke a day, you will have consumed 26 pounds of sugar in a year just from soda.
Lustig also says that fructose doesn’t stimulate leptin or ghrelin. Both are hormones that tell your body that you need more or less to eat. That’s why you are still hungry after devouring a box of chocolate or even when your kids eat a pb&j.

Here are some other facts about sugar:


*Raises Triglycerides . If you eat high levels (think 2 sodas a day with no other sugar) your triglyceride levels will double causing you to gain weight.

*Causes Metabolic Syndrome. Metabolic Syndrome is when your body ignores the action of the hormone insulin, also known as becoming insulin resistant. Your body releases insulin when you eat something to control your blood sugar. Fructose doesn’t appropriately stimulate insulin when you eat like it does with other foods.

*Can lead to Diabetes.

*Can cause Liver Disease. Since the liver does all of the work metabolizing fructose and turns it into fats, we are getting fatty livers. This is also called hepatic dysfunction, also known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

*Hypertension. Fructose creates uric acid (a toxic waste our bodies create and can cause kidney stones and gout) that blocks the enzyme our bodies need to make nitric oxide.

*Causes Advanced Glycation End Products. You know when you make barbecue chicken and the sugar crusts into a brown layer? That’s what sugar is doing to our arteries and is causing heart disease.

*Other sugar implications are: Preeclampsia, cancer, Alzheimer’s, kidney disease, obesity, elevated LDL (low-density lipoprotein), and inflammation.

This information was hard to process for a sugarholic like myself. I love sweets. But I am also overweight. I am eating healthier than ever, and yet I’m 35 pound heavier than I’d like to be. After doing my sugar research I decided to take a 100 day challenge. Over the next 100 days I will only eat 15 grams of fructose a day. After day 1, I learned it was impossible for me to give up 100% sugar (other than fruits and veggies) because sugar is truly hidden in everything.

Join me on my blog to see what I learn over the next 100 days!

 
If you are interested in the subject, you can find articles at Dr. Mercola, New York Times, Science Daily, and of course watch Dr. Lustig’s video.


Thanks to Dr. Mercola, I have a great cheat sheet below on the levels of fructose in fruits since I will need to feed my sweet tooth somehow. 😉

 

Fruit Serving Size Grams of Fructose
Limes 1 medium 0
Lemons 1 medium 0.6
Cranberries 1 cup 0.7
Passion fruit 1 medium 0.9
Prune 1 medium 1.2
Apricot 1 medium 1.3
Guava 2 medium 2.2
Date (Deglet Noor style) 1 medium 2.6
Cantaloupe 1/8 of med. melon 2.8
Raspberries 1 cup 3.0
Clementine 1 medium 3.4
Kiwifruit 1 medium 3.4
Blackberries 1 cup 3.5
Star fruit 1 medium 3.6
Cherries, sweet 10 3.8
Strawberries 1 cup 3.8
Cherries, sour 1 cup 4.0
Pineapple 1 slice
(3.5″ x .75″)		 4.0
Grapefruit, pink or red 1/2 medium 4.3
Fruit Serving Size Grams of Fructose
Boysenberries 1 cup 4.6
Tangerine/mandarin orange 1 medium 4.8
Nectarine 1 medium 5.4
Peach 1 medium 5.9
Orange (navel) 1 medium 6.1
Papaya 1/2 medium 6.3
Honeydew 1/8 of med. melon 6.7
Banana 1 medium 7.1
Blueberries 1 cup 7.4
Date (Medjool) 1 medium 7.7
Apple (composite) 1 medium 9.5
Persimmon 1 medium 10.6
Watermelon 1/16 med. melon 11.3
Pear 1 medium 11.8
Raisins 1/4 cup 12.3
Grapes, seedless (green or red) 1 cup 12.4
Mango 1/2 medium 16.2
Apricots, dried 1 cup 16.4
Figs, dried 1 cup 23.0

EPA Pick 5 for Earth Day

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Did you make your Earth Day 2011 pledge yet? If you have, I have another fun resource for Earth Day actions- the EPA’s Pick 5 campaign. The EPA has created a list of environmental actions under the categories- water, air, land, energy, waste, and advocacy. You go through each category and choose actions that you would like to accomplish and then you register your Pick 5 to show up on a map so you can see all of the actions going on around the world!

Don’t stop by just picking your 5! Have your kids join in on the fun. The EPA has a place for your kiddos to submit their artwork of their Pick 5 and it is published on the site plus their Facebook page! This is a great opportunity to talk to your children about helping keep the planet clean and how they can help. They can also learn more about each action that they plan to take.

The EPA has an excellent Kids page so they can play games and learn more about environment. It’s never too early to start teaching how to be eco-friendly so it becomes second nature for them. Ella is 4 and is in charge of keeping all lights off in the house in rooms we aren’t in, turning off the tv when we leave a room, taking items to the recycling bin, picking up litter from the street, and this is from her mouth when I asked what she does to help the environment- “shopping at Franklin Goose so we don’t buy junk.”

If you make a pledge with the EPA’s Pick 5, copy and post below! I would love to see your actions. :)

Earth Day Contest!!!

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Here is the press release for the amazing Green Our Earth Contest!! Good luck everyone! 🙂

ECO-FRIENDLY COMPANIES JOIN TOGETHER TO REWARD CHILDREN & FAMILIES FOR TAKING GREEN ACTION ON EARTH DAY

In celebration of Earth Day this month, eight award-winning manufacturers of eco-friendly children’s products have announced a first-of-its-kind-collaboration to galvanize green action on Earth Day.

Green-Our-Earth-2011 Contest
For the month of April, green deeds will be celebrated on the collaborative www.Green-Our-Earth-2011.com website and social media channels with a special contest. Participants will receive discount codes to all eight participating company websites and be entered into a raffle to win hundreds of dollars worth of earth-friendly prizes. Winners will be announced on May 1st.

Parents, children and families are invited to send a photo and/or written description of what they are doing to “Green our Earth.”

“It doesn’t matter what it is,” says Goel. “Perhaps it is recycling a can or cardboard box, using organic paper, carpooling, planting a tree, using a re-usable container, riding a bike, spreading the word or even building a solar-powered project or writing local government to promote the creation of a park. We invite YOU to tell US!”

Green Companies Work Together to Cross Promote Products
In response to consumer demand for quality, affordable, green and safe products for their children numerous small companies have sprang up with similar earth conscious values. Unlike the typical business model of the past where companies compete fiercely as they vie for the same customer, these eight companies have decided to work together to promote their products to each other’s customers.

The shared beliefs to inspire imagination and promote the use of recycled, re-usable, organic and fair trade materials are the driving force behind the founders of the participating companies. These companies produce a wide range of children’s products that include eco-friendly toys & dolls, fair trade musical instruments, USA-made wooden blocks, all natural art supplies, stainless steel lunch boxes, eating accessories, eco-coated tablecloths and more.

“As a consumer, I have purchased from all of these companies, so I thought that people who like our products would likely appreciate theirs! Being small companies, we’re not always easy to find, so by working together and sharing our customers I feel we can ultimately reduce the number of products produced without concern for the earth and place safer, earth friendly products into children’s hands. If we accomplish that, we all win!” says Barbera Aimes, founder of ImagiPLAY.

The idea sprang from Malini Goel, founder of Global Green Pals who decided to reach out to this exclusive group of companies leading up to Earth Day. “I am a huge fan of the participating companies because it just goes to show that these change-makers can be successful in business and do the right thing at the same thing,” says Goel. My Grandfather once said, ‘Use your education as broom to clean up Mother Earth and find like-minded people to do it.’ And here we are doing just that – companies and customers working together to promote earth stewardship”.

The sponsors of this year’s “Green Earth 2011” campaign include:

ImagiPLAY – designs and produces high quality toys that connect with nature, have eco-friendly sources, hold educational value, and inspire children’s imaginations. www.imagiplay.com

Global Green Pals™ – a line of award-winning, eco-friendly educational dolls including “Clean Air Kate” and “Recycle Kyle” that come with “green tips” for kids. Dolls are stuffed with 100% post-consumer plastic PET bottle stuffing and are made with organic cotton while the company also gives back to 1% for the Planet. www.globalgreenpals.com

Eco-kids® – a family business that produces handmade art supplies using non-toxic, all-natural ingredients including eco-dough, eco-paint and more. Their motto: creative play the natural way! www.ecokidsusa.com

Mimi the Sardine –makes earth- and family-friendly, playful eating accessories for children, along with beautiful eco-coated tablecloths. Fabrics are spill-resistant, machine-washable, meet the Oeko-Tex 100 standards, and are made with organic cotton. www.mimithesardine.com

Kids Konserve – a company that is greening the way lunches and snacks are packed. Using waste-free lunch kits and eco-cool reusable lunch/snack products, Kids Conserve teaches kids to re-use rather than throw out foil, plastic baggies and the like. www.kidskonserve.com

Uncle Goose – the maker of fabulous blocks that are handcrafted in the USA using renewable forest wood and non-toxic colors, including Uncle Goose’s famous alphabet and number blocks. www.unclegoosetoys.com

LunchBots – makers of stainless steel lunch, snack, and bento containers that are completely plastic-free and aim to reduce waste and the impact that plastic has on our environment through the use of the highest quality 18/8 stainless steel. www.lunchbots.com

JAMTOWN –carries a wide variety of hand-crafted, indigenous musical instruments that bring the joyful experience of hands-on music and art to children, families, and music lovers of all ages. www.jamtown.com

A Billion Acts of Green

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Friday will be the 41st Earth Day celebration! This year’s Earth Day theme is A Billion Acts of Green. Earth Day Network has a goal to reach a billion pledges of green acts before the global Earth Summit in Rio in 2012!! As of today, they have over 80 million pledges! According to the site, “ A Billion Acts of Green is the largest environmental service campaign in the world that inspires and rewards simple individual acts and larger organizational initiatives that further the goal of measurably reducing carbon emissions and supporting sustainability.”

You can pledge your act of green in the following categories:

  • Green Schools and Education
  • Advocacy
  • Energy
  • Transportation
  • Sustainable Development
  • Conservation and Biodiversity
  • Recycling & Waste Reduction
  • Water

No matter what you pledge to do, however big or small, it counts that you are doing your part.

PlanToys Earth Day

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PlanToys is one of my favorite toy companies and we have quite an obsession. E has the train set, eco trains, Helicopters and Planes, Terrace Dollhouse with tons of accessories, Eco Home, Blocks, Vegetable Gardens, Stable, Clock, Abacus, the Kitchen Set, Cutting Fruit, Beverage Set, Tea Set, Breakfast Menu, Drum, Tie Up Shoe, and I probably could go on. There is a reason behind the madness… PlanToys is a top quality toy manufacturer that truly believes in sustainable toy making!

Not only do they use non-toxic materials, they practice the 3 R’s- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Their factory is set up to reduce waste and save energy by using solar power and biomass technologies. They reuse materials- even down to their rubber trees. And they have even introduced new ways to recycle paper and other materials.

If you aren’t familiar with PlanToys, all of their products are made with organic rubberwood from rubber trees that are no longer producing latex. They also use:

  • non-toxic glue that is formaldehyde free
  • water-based dyes
  • soy ink is used for all printed materials
  • recycled and recyclable material
This month PlanToys is celebrating their 30th anniversary!!! In honor of Earth Day and their birthday, Franklin Goose has decorated all of their window’s with PlanToys displays.

Franklin Goose will also be having kids come to the store for a PlanToys arts and craft day on the 21st. If there are leftovers, kids can do the kits on Earth Day at the Richmond, VA store as well. The PlanToys Earth Day kit includes coloring sheets, a PlanToys ruler, pencil, and pencil pouch!

PlanToys has lots to celebrate about! They just released a large line of new toys. They got in so many cool new things, I don’t know where to begin! I am in love with them all! PlanToys knows my slight PT obsession, so they sent me some new items to try out. 🙂

We got to try the Memo N Matching Seasons Game and we love it!

You get 4 playing cards that have 4 picture squares printed on them relating to the season. You are given 16 wooden game pieces that match the pictures on the cards. You can turn the pieces upside down and flip them over to match your season. Up to 4 players can play and whoever fills out their card first, wins! It’s a great preschool game or quick game for older kids. It is perfect for explaining the season change to younger kids!

We also got to try the Cash Register and BBQ Grill.

The Cash Register comes with 10 wooden “coins” that fit into the working pop out drawer. There is also a abacus at the top of the cash register to help count the coins. The silver button pops open the drawer to add or take out coins. Once the drawer opens a bell sound is made. This is a great little toy to have around when playing market. Ella loves to “charge me” for our tea parties now.

The BBQ Grill is an adorable accessory to the kitchen set. I love the wooden coals that go under the grill! The set comes with block shaped food that attaches to the 2 wooden BBQ sticks, 3 coals, and a tong for coal insertion. It is small, so it’s very easy to store when not in use. We put it on top of the PlanToys stove when in use and store on the mircowave.

I can’t wait to try out some of their other new items like the Balancing Scale, Caterpillar Telescope, Mountain Tunnel, and Build a Robot! What are some of your favorite new PlanToys?

Thanks to PlanToys for sending us the review products! They are awesome. 🙂 Remember- these are only my opinions and thoughts.