Moved from the Budget Board: anyone else eliminating High Fructose Corn Syrup

[gonemousin']

I was at Whole Foods this morning so I checked. They have corn syrup by Wholesome Sweeteners. The ingredients are organic corn syrup, organic glucose syrup, natural vanilla flavor and salt.

That glucose syrup always makes me wonder....

I do have a suggestion for your pecan pie though. Instead of the corn syrup, use golden syrup - Lyle's is the brand I've always used. If you have a Cost Plus World Market near you, they usually carry it. Or you might be able to order it online.

This was actually suggested to me by some British and Bermudian friends.

Thanks for checking and for the tips! I really appreciate it!

 

[IluvKingLouis]

I second the Golden Syrup, my mother, who's European (Swedish) used it in alot of her baked goods and in her red cabbage.

 

[IluvKingLouis]

I don't think corn starch is as evil as HFCS, but I'm trying to eliminate as much corn as possible.

In the Kosher section, you can buy potato starch. I hear it behaves the same in recipes.

I keep wanting to buy King Corn, but I'm afraid it will turn me off of ALL corn forever.....and I just love fresh corn on the cob!

 

[happycampers]

I don't think corn starch is as evil as HFCS, but I'm trying to eliminate as much corn as possible.

In the Kosher section, you can buy potato starch. I hear it behaves the same in recipes.

I keep wanting to buy King Corn, but I'm afraid it will turn me off of ALL corn forever.....and I just love fresh corn on the cob!

The film didn't turn me off of corn itself. The fact that sulfuric acid is used in making HFCS really turned me off to that. Then learning the ways cows are raised to eat corn when they were created to graze on grass has made me want to find a local grass fed beef source. The nutritional differences were very surprising to DH and I. Another surprising thing in the film was when they analyzed the hair samples of the two guys who were farming the acre of corn and making the movie. The source of the carbon was primarily corn. (I think that is in a clip on the movie's website too.)

 

[wowsmom]

I second the Golden Syrup, my mother, who's European (Swedish) used it in alot of her baked goods and in her red cabbage.

It's also verrrrrrrry good on vanilla ice cream.

Hmmm...I wonder if we have any vanilla ice cream..........

 

[girlegirl7101]

Hello All! I just found this tread and its so interesting! I am thinking about trying to cut this out, because it seems like my 3 yr old is starting to act like a wild animal. So my Q is what are the many names of hfcs? like is fructose or corn syrup solids the same? I am checking the chocolate chex that I have sitting here. So please give me a list of the different names of this stuff. Thanks again

 

[bumbershoot]

I tend to confuse things b/c we have to avoid more than most, so I'll try to reply to you and be very obvious about what is HFCS and what is the extra stuff.


HFCS also goes by "glucose-fructose syrup", and Blue Sky even calls it "high fructose corn sweetener". There's a possibility that "glucose syrup" is HFCS, but when I looked it up I only saw it linked to plain old corn syrup.



The extras that we have to avoid, along with HFCS, are regular corn syrup, and corn syrup solids. For us, it's possible that cornstarch and even dextrose (which is a sugar that comes from corn) should be avoided. We are lucky that powdered sugar doesn't cause issues, b/c it is "cut" with cornstarch. But DS doesn't react to that, thank goodness, b/c we let restaurants put that on pancakes and waffles when we can't use their pseudo-maple syrup. It's even possible DS should avoid corn altogether, but he's not willing to eat corn anymore to test it. He hates his "dragon" episodes and is willing to give up *anything* to avoid them, even though he's not even 4.


Watch out for the extracts, by the way, in case you do much baking. The artificial ones tend to have HFCS, and even a better, real vanilla and almond that I found had corn syrup in them. So now I have to buy the spendy organic extracts, to make sure they don't have crazy-making ingredients.


Corn is a toughie for sensitivities! Even before DS arrived I knew about it (why it took me over 3 years to figure it out is beyond me), because my best friend's good friend has 3 daughters. They are ALL, including the mom, sensitive to corn (and wheat, gluten, and some other things, which cause them physical distress). When they have corn, they behave in out of control ways. The oldest girl has a diagnosis of ADHD, and the others would, if they were given corn. The mom is similar. When they don't have corn, all but the oldest are fine (and the oldest's ADHD behaviours are far worse when she has corn).

Avoiding corn products is a PAIN. So if you can get things under control by just avoiding HFCS, I am glad for you! The "kid" foods at Disney are not allowed for DS b/c of the three big ones he has to avoid. (Uncrustables have HFCS, by the way) Most ice creams, BREAD, just all sorts of things have HFCS and the others in them... We actually eat mainly organic (while checking labels to make sure), because it makes it much easier to avoid them.


Good luck!!!!

 

[girlegirl7101]

wow! Thanks for the reply, this is going to be tough! I went to costco and it seems that you just have to take baby steps to change over your buying habits. I am kind of bumbed cause the BBQ sauce we bought has it... I am going to have to have to check out trader joes and check all the sauces at foodmax or winco.

 

[abeyst]

I've been reading this thread and asking questions, and I'm so thankful for all of you who give us great advice (especially for the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 27th time)

What a learning process this is! There could be a college course for all this stuff!

We've started the process slowly. It's too overwhelming for me to try and switch all foods all at once. We don't have a Whole Foods or similar store near us, so we have to do A LOT of reading while we shop!! I've decided just to focus on HFCS-free first. Trying to do no corn starch and no corn syrup is nearly impossible. (We started sodium-free items months ago) Baby steps!! We've gone organic on school snacks, chips, and a few other items. The rest is fresh meat, fruit and veggies.

The kids griped at first about 'organic', but once they tasted it they liked what I bought. Thanks to y'all for so many great food suggestions! They're reading labels with me at the store, and DD even told her teacher the other day when she was serving snacks (fruit snacks) that she can't have corn syrup LOL!! They eat regular foods at school and at their dad's, but at my house they have to pick snacks that are HFCS-free.

Luckily they don't have any reactions like some of your kids' (I feel for you), so I don't have to be so strict with what they eat other place. I will say that I've noticed a definite change in their moods, their appetites, and their interest in participating in shopping and cooking dinner. It's been a great family activity while it's making us healthier!!

I've noticed my cravings have dropped DRAMATICALLY!! It has evened out my moods, too, as I'm less likely to snap at someone. I generally feel so much better.

So THANK YOU again to all of you!

 

[abeyst]

I have a question: do any schools in your area serve healthy or organic foods for hot lunch? Ours doesn't, but I wondered if anyone's tried to talk with your child's school about the affects of HFCS.

 

[Mouseless2Long]

Don't know if anyone here watches TV during the day, but Whoopi Goldberg has been talking about this very subject quite a bit on the show she's on every day (don't know if I'm allowed to say the name of the show). Hopefully, this will help bring this topic to a broader audience and to more folks' attention!

I never knew about this until I started reading this thread and now I'm obsessed with trying to find foods without it or making more homemade foods. What an eye opener this has been!

 

[gardengirlco]

I have a question: do any schools in your area serve healthy or organic foods for hot lunch? Ours doesn't, but I wondered if anyone's tried to talk with your child's school about the affects of HFCS.

It's not a lot, but once or twice a month, our school district serves meals using natural beef from local farms in what they call the Farm-to-School program. They've also served granola and cracked wheat cereal from local farms during National School Breakfast Week, as well as offered organic greens from a local farm at the salad bar. I think it's great that they support the local farms and give the kids the healthier choices.

 

[wowsmom]

I have a question: do any schools in your area serve healthy or organic foods for hot lunch? Ours doesn't, but I wondered if anyone's tried to talk with your child's school about the affects of HFCS.

I'd say "not really" for our schools...although they do have a vegetarian choice available daily. I know my middle schooler has a few more choices and some of them are healthier...there are always salads, plus sometimes there are sandwiches from a deli that we know bakes their own french bread.

Mostly, since my kids aren't allergic to HFCS, I just make sure there is none of it in the house and don't worry too much (yet) about what they eat at school.

 

[bumbershoot]

wow! Thanks for the reply, this is going to be tough! I went to costco and it seems that you just have to take baby steps to change over your buying habits. I am kind of bumbed cause the BBQ sauce we bought has it... I am going to have to have to check out trader joes and check all the sauces at foodmax or winco.

Glad I could help.

BBQ sauce is a HUGE annoyance. We don't eat meat, but hubby loves the taste of BBQ sauce, and enjoys having it around for dipping purposes and some sandwiches. Not to be able to use it has been a bummer for him.


I've mentioned it before here, and I'll mention it again...if you have a Safeway grocery store around, their O Organics line throughout the store (I even noticed they had organic turkeys at Thanksgiving, which cracked me up for some reason) is really great.

But the other stores are developing their own lines of organics, too...Albertson's has one and I keep seeing an ad for another big grocery store. We have Fred Meyers out here, and they are part of Kroger, and the FMs are really great with health food areas where you can pick up "safe" things.

The mainstream stores are really picking up on this, so if you can chat with your grocers let them know what you want, and let's hope this continues!

 

[Dukland]

I am just subscribing to this thread. There is a lot of great info here!

 

[gonemousin']

Watch out for the extracts, by the way, in case you do much baking. The artificial ones tend to have HFCS, and even a better, real vanilla and almond that I found had corn syrup in them. So now I have to buy the spendy organic extracts, to make sure they don't have crazy-making ingredients.

Just an FYI on vanilla extract...(I apologize if it's been mentioned earlier in the thread!)...BJ's Wholesale Club sells two kinds of pure vanilla extract - McCormick (which has the evil HFCS in it!) and the BJ's brand Berkley & Jensen, which does NOT have HFCS in it!! And it's significantly cheaper than the cruddy McCormick - like $7 versus $13 or something like that. I do a ton of baking, mainly due to my DD's allergies to preservatives and HFCS, so I was thrilled to find cheap pure vanilla without HFCS.

My DD's allergy to HFCS is not behavior related like others (although now that I don't consume it, I find MYSELF far less crabby, LOL!) - my DD actually gets severe stomach pains and cramping. It's dibilitating pain for her. The gastric symptoms aren't productive (no dysentery), but they stop her dead in her tracks and takes hours to pass. The poor little chicken is only 4 years old, so I fear a lifetime of this is ahead of her and I'm hopeful that these dog gone food manufacturers change back to cane sugar.

 

[IluvKingLouis]

Anyone up for a recipe challenge? I can't find a recipe without Worcestshire sauce or ketchup, so I think I'm going to try to come up with my own and I'm challenging myself to do it with simple indgredients.

So far I'm thinking, tomatoe sauce, brown sugar, apple juice (or pineapple juice), a squeeze of dijon, pepper, cayenne pepper, dribble in some molasses.

One of my recipes includes ginger, allspice and mace.....I might play around with those spices as well.

BBQ sauce seems to be the biggest bug-a-boo, so I thought it would be fun if we could put our collective brains together and come up with a simple recipe.

 

[Rogue26]

I was in Trader Joe's the other day and they have a "Kansas City" style BBQ sauce that has no HFCS. It's sweetened with molasses. There were very few ingredients in it. $2.99 for a pretty good sized bottle. I'm going to try it next time. Their new "Fearless Flyer" was out and it had quite a few things without HFCS, we are also going to try their yogurt. Don't know how many of you have Trader Joe's near you, it's 40 minutes from us, but worth the trip.

 

[NHWX]

I think Bullseye has a BBQ sauce without HCFS too. I saw it at the store and it said "No HCFS" right on the bottle's neck label.

NHWX

 

[donnajon]

GoneMousin' - have your daughter tested for the H. Pylori bacteria. It is actually quite common and causes severe stomach pain. My DD8 has it. 98% of the people respond to treatment (double course of antibiotics for two weeks and an antacid) but of course, my kid would be one that didn't respond. She has to be scoped on Tuesday. A blood test will show if she has it.
Funny story today about DD8 and HFCS. Yesterday, the neighbor's kid was pulling on our hose and broke a pipe so we had to cut the water off until we could fix it. I then couldn't cook so we went out to eat. I usually send leftovers to school but didn't have any so the kids had to eat in the cafeteria today. DD asked the lunch lady if the food had HFCS in it. She told her most of it didn't but the soup did. DD asked her why she was serving kids HFCS when it wasn't good for them. She said the lady didn't have much of a response!