Ultimate Challenge Update

The Ultimate Challenge is underway and I have already failed not once or twice but several times. It is incredibly difficult to get away from things that are Made in China. Like ridiculously difficult. I used to think High Fructose Corn Syrup was hard to get away from but it is simple compared to how ubiquitous Made in China products are.

But I am trying. I am aware and I am making an effort to seek alternatives whenever and where ever possible.

Made in China means dollars to human rights abusing Communist dictators who are very much bent on world domination.
Made in China means money leaving the US forever. It means supporting another country's people at the expense of my own. Made in China is simply untenable in the long run.

This idea of avoiding Made in China goods is not new. There's a book A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy and numerous websites dedicated to buying American.

But cutting out HFCS from our diets was absolute cake compared to how difficult it is to get off of the Made in China teat.

Next Ultimate Challenge post will include some Made in USA products that I already use and maybe some requests to find some domestically produced alternatives to Made in China stuff I have to use (I wonder how much more expensive a Made in USA iPhone would be?).

Want to join the challenge? It is as simple as leaving a comment and making the effort to keep more money in the US and send less of it to China.

Put These Foods on Your No-Buy List for 2010

5 Foods You Should Avoid in 2010 via Change.org.

The 5 are:
Factory-farmed meat
Seafood on watch lists
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Foie Gras
Out-of-season produce

Of the five listed, the last was one that made me pause and think for a little bit as to why. Of course, the linked article explains it more clearly but the skinny is that the cost and damage incurred by transporting produce an average of 1500 miles from farm to fork is just not sustainable. Eat locally, eat in season.

Regular readers will be aware of my war against HFCS and how much worse for you it is compared to plain old sugar. Granted neither is great for you but HFCS poses a much longer term health risk by vice of the body's inability to effectively process it and the fact that HFCS does nothing to satiate the consumer (that is, you don't get full after eating something loaded with HFCS which means you will tend to eat more than you need or should and end up fat).

I'm not sure why Foie Gras is on the list really, it is an insanely expensive delicacy that most people on the planet have never tasted and will never taste. But it is some seriously nasty stuff even if it tastes great (I don't know because I wouldn't eat it even if I could afford it).

The factory farmed meat makes sense to avoid even if you don't find the factory farming process to be like hell on earth for animals. It is unsanitary (as in chickens with Mad Cow Disease unsanitary) and perpetuates what amounts to torture before consumption.

It is hard to eat properly all the time and I don't think anyone expects perfection in consumption but it pays to be aware of and try to limit the ingestion of foods that do you more harm than good.

No HFCS - Friday Ingestion

I think today will be the last day I post every little thing I eat. Not only because it makes for a boring post but because I spaced it for most of yesterday and had a tough time remembering what I did eat.

The good news is that I started today weighing 179 pounds so, without too much effort on my part I've whittled three pounds off my body in about a week. And that's without multiple long bike rides as I've only been able to get one ride in this week of any consequence.

On to the food diary.

Breakfast:
Kyani Sunrise
Coffee with Italian Sweet Cream creamer

Later:
Two slices Double Fiber Wheat Bread with
Chipotle Hummus spread on them

Lunch:
Turkey meatball sub with string cheese and garlic parmesean marinara sauce
Half a can of Santa Cruz Organic Lemonade (the fizzy kind).

Dinner:
Steak with spicy spices grilled
Sauteed fennel with garlic
Amaranth cooked in vegetable broth
Simple Limeade, two glasses
Margarita
Smooze Coconut Mango partially frozen popsicle thingie

No hfcs at all today, I don't think. Plus, tonight's dinner was gluten free as well. I feel pretty good although I'm rather full.

Late night snack:
Pina Colada yogurt with granola - yes, I was pissed to realize that the pineapples in the yogurt get a dose of HFCS.

So, dammit, I did actually ingest some HFCS today. Not much but some.

Thus endeth the publicized portion of the experiment. Posting everything I eat doesn't make for good blogging.

Current weight: 181, it was a big dinner.

No HFCS - Thursday Ingestion

Breakfast:
Kyani Sunrise
Coffee with Italian Sweet Cream creamer
Everything Bagel with butter

Lunch:
Drawing a blank on what I had for lunch.

Dinner:
Salmon burger with jalapeno and artichoke topping
Cous cous with dried fruit and feta

Late Night Snack:
Double fiber whole wheat bread with some jalapeno and artichoke topping on it

No HFCS - Wednesday Ingestion

Third day of the experiment. My weight fluctuates, as always, but seems to be trending downwards. I don't know if this is so much a result of the removal of hfcs from my diet or just my being more aware of what I'm eating. Either way, I'm happy to be moving the scale back towards my natural weight of around 170.

Breakfast:
Kyani Sunrise
Coffee with Creme Brulee flavored Coffeemate
Sara Lee Everything Bagel with butter

Lunch:
Al Pastor burrito from Tacos Morenos in Santa Cruz with fresh hot salsa. These things are the freakin' bomb!
Water
And I had the rest of the bottle of Mexican Coke when I got home.

Dinner:
Turkey sandwich on double fiber wheat bread with mozzarella, tomato and avocado topped with dijon mustard.

Evening snack:
I admit it, I fell a little off the wagon and did eat some ice cream. I'm not perfect but I did make sure I took the time to really enjoy it.

Weight: 179

No HFCS - Tuesday Ingestion

Day two of my week of trying to avoid the toxic goo that is high fructose corn syrup.

Morning:
1 ounce shot of Kyani Sunrise
Banana

No Pop Tarts anymore, aside from the HFCS in them, they are also made with hydrogenated oils which we are also working to cut out of our diet.

Late Lunch:
Angel Hair pasta with butter, garlic and parmesean
Broccoli salad with apples, raisins, sunflower seeds and a poppyseed dressing.

Dinner:
White Cheddar Mac & Cheese with pangko crumbs mixed in
Coconut ginger rice with cilantro on top (which was just so-so, it was an experiment).
Mexican Coke - made with sugar and not HFCS.

Evening Snack:
Fuji apple
Almond butter
3 Kyani Sunset Omega-3 gelcaps

I almost (corrected that, it had said "also" but I hadn't cracked yet) cracked and ate some ice cream tonight but it had the nasty hfcs and even some of the good ol' corn syrup. But I was good, I stayed strong and had an apple with the almond butter (which is another new experiment food as the CostCo Skippy Peanut Butter contains hydrogenated oils). Overall, I had a pretty good day. I wish I'd gotten a ride in or a workout but it wasn't in the cards. Hopefully tomorrow will work out a little better.

Weight: 180.5

No HFCS - Monday Ingestion

Morning:
1 ounce Kyani Sunrise
1 - 2 ounces Coffeemate Creme Brulee non-dairy creamer
Coffee

What I didn't eat:
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts - hmm, maybe these should be renamed Brown High Fructose Corn Syrup Cinnamon Pop Tarts?

Morning Snack:
Carrot sticks
Celery sticks
Cheddar cheese squares
Ham rolls
Turkey rolls
Wheat thins - damned things have HFCS in them, ARGGGG!
Apple wedges
This seems like a lot but I had just a couple of pieces of each

And I just found out that Wheat Thins contain HFCS so I've already busted out of my experiment challenge. Which kind of sucks but I'm going to keep on anyway.

Lunch:
Caprese salad of homegrown tomatoes, avocado, mozzarella cheese, basil and some spices along with a dash of balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Afternoon Snack:
Butter Snap Pretzels dipped in
Chipotle Hummus

Dinner:
BBQ chicken
Madras Lentils with
Tortilla chips
Cuba Libre - Rum and Diet Coke with two lime wedges.

The only failure here is that the BBQ sauce does contain HFCS. Though, in my defense, I started marinating the chicken breast like four days ago, well before this no HFCS experiment had become a reality. Still, I'm a little bummed that I have ingested HFCS twice today without wanting to.

Scary how pervasive the stuff really is.

Late Evening Snack:
Apple slices
Almond butter.

Exercise today: 10 mile mountain bike ride on the slough paths.
Weight: 181.5

Reflections: I'm annoyed that, despite my efforts, I ingested two food stuffs containing high fructose corn syrup. But an unforeseen benefit of this experiment is that I'm much more cognizant of what I'm eating and am pretty sure I ate less today than I did yesterday.

An Intellectual Poison Challenge

Just as the gooey nastiness that is High Fructose Corn Syrup is nearly impossible to avoid, so are crappy lead-tainted products from China. I haven't been totally successful in eliminating HFCS from my diet but I am far more aware of its insidiousness and near ubiquitousness. And knowing, as they say, is half the battle.

Anyway, here is a challenge that I believe may even be more difficult than avoiding HFCS. The challenge is to avoid buying products with the label Made in China on them.

Care to join me on this little retail experiment? Pledge in the comments.