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Across the road from where we run our boot camps in Northcote, I came across this sign promoting the supermarket brand and that patronising these stores a will lead to the generation of funds for school sports.

It’s disturbing that our Australian school system has become reliant on large corporations to generate additional income to manage the shortfalls from what is available from the government.

The shortage of funds available to the public school sector has led to other forms of fundraising activities involving large corporations, typically this involves the school canteen whereby selling highly processed, fatty and sugary food is given precedence over healthier choices.

Unfortunately it’s all the bad food that should be consumed infrequently that tends to have the highest profit margin which in turn leads to greater income generation.

A recent report titled “Education at a Glance” produced by the Organization for Economic Development and Co-operation painted a very appalling situation in regards to Australia’s school funding reputation.

Compared to other countries, Australia ranks 26 out of a total of 28 countries in regards to the proportion of public versus private government funding. When compared to other countries for example the US where 99.8% of government funding is allocated for the public education system, only83.1% is invested in public schools.

This places enormous stress on the public school system to source additional funds from other willing participants who wish to expand their brand recognition and increase revenue of their products.

While it can be argued that supermarkets sell a range of food products, including junk food etc, it is instilling from a very young age the association with sports where one buys their food. As parents wish to support the school to generate additional funds, they will be encouraging friends and family members to participate in the program, similarly they will be trying to purchase the maximum amount of products from the supermarket.

While supermarkets dominate the food distribution landscape, (Back in 2007 this was a staggering 79% combined market share between Coles and Woolworths) we need to educate the next generation that there are other options out there when purchasing fresh fruit and vegetables.

Children who develop brand recognition as children go on to be come consumers in their adult life, they establish a loyal customer for life.

There are numerous examples of whereby the these large corporations have established lifelong customers through the early branding initiatives, one example is the money tins that were freely given away by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in the 70s. Once a relationship and association has been established from a young age, the child will go on to become an adult customer.

This is a worrying trend that will not go away as schools are constantly seeking alternative forms of fundraising, fortunately the confectionery companies fundraising boxes has been banned from many schools.

With more and more parents experiencing fussy eating issues with their children, maybe it’s time for parents to take control.

Nowadays the dinner table resembles an a la carte restaurant, whereby the parent will prepare different meals for every child including their spouse.

While this may be viewed as achieving a positive outcome for the children as they are eating their preferred diet, it has led to a situation whereby the kids at dictating what they’re actually eating.

I’ll be very surprised if the children’s special dietary requests included green vegetables and fruit.

Ultimately the parents need to take some ownership of teaching their kids to eat particular foods that may be not to their satisfaction. A recent study by the University of California, San Diego, found that children that experienced the fussy eating syndrome were linked to weight gain and conversely fussy children become fussy eating adults.

While the children may experience genuine allergies to certain food types, parents need to take control of the children’s nutrition is not vice versa.

Part of the process involves the parents educating the children about correct nutrition, what they should be eating and the frequency.

Well I may be saying what my parents used to say to me, but “when I was a kid” my mum exclusively cooked meals from scratch, not relying on any processed ingredients or pre-made food.

While granted some of the meals may have fallen into the high rotational production lists, it did teach me the basics of nutrition in a wide variety of foods.

Not taking the easier option of only eating what satisfied my taste buds established life long eating habits.

As an adult I find that I’m just as comfortable eating a bowl of steamed vegetables as I am eating an exquisite meal in a fine dining restaurant.

I had an interesting experience talking to a couple gentlemen at a conference yesterday about the need to add lots of sugar to thire coffee, while I myself was not squeaky clean in this department, I decided many years ago to stop adding sugar to my coffee.

Initially I found that the coffee was not as palatable, in time I learnt to appreciate the flavors and textures of the coffee without being tarnished or influenced by the sweetness of sugar.

Conversely now if I consume coffee with 3 to 4 sugars, I find it hideously sickening, the idea being is that our taste buds to adapt as too they adapt as a young adult.

If you learn to eat all those undesirable vegetables and other food groups as a child, in time to gain an appreciation for food and are less likely to be very discerning with your food consumption.

While there additional pressures on parents these days with high mortgages long working days and less time for family life, what the family eats as a whole needs to be addressed.

My local bicycle shop was unable to remove my seat post so they used a can of Coke poured down the bottom bracket to unseize the seat post.

The worrying thing is that we are consuming this beverage which has high acidity properties, enough that it will dissolve years of road grime and sweat. The real question is what are the effects on our body of consuming this product on a long term basis?

Over the years I have heard anecdotally that pouring coke down your drain unblocks it or using Coke to loosen wheel nuts on your car or remove the corrosion from battery terminals. While I dismissed this as an urban myth or one of those story we have against large multi national conglomerates, I was truly surprised there was some truth behind it.

A client of mine who worked for a big beverage company mentioned that the handling of one of the key ingredients of their soft drink, E211 or sodium benzoate used protective clothing when handling the drums that contained this chemical. It was treated as a hazardous material and required the necessary OH&S procedures in place to remove the risk of contamination and harm.

The ingredient in Coke is Phosphoric acid which is widely used in the food industry. Unlike fruit as oranges that are naturally acidic, the production of Phosphoric acid is a highly involved process that starts with mining the raw ingredient phosphate from phosphatic ores mined around the world.

A good friend of mind who survived cancer attributes one factor to reducing the amount of acidic food that he consumed. While there is much conjecture about whether a diet low in acidic foods stops or reduces the growth of cancer cells, it’s one treatment that is worth investigating further. Even now there are companies that are selling water that is high in alkaline that has the opposite effects of acid within the body, once again this is an area that requires further research and testing.

It’s been interesting 2 weeks with two major junk food brands going into receivership.

Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Baskin-Robbins ice cream both went into receivership. While the poor performance can be attributed to high occupancy and distribution costs, there has to be some correlation to doughnuts, ice cream and unhealthy food generally becoming unpopular.

Krispy Kreme commenced operations in Australia seven years ago to great fanfare with massive free doughnut promotions while Baskin-Robbins has been in Australia since 1991.

It’s interesting that other junk food franchises around the world have been introducing healthier menu items in response to the unpopularity of energy dense, fatty and sugary food.
McDonald’s for example have introduced salads and apples in an attempt to maintain sales levels in a world where obesity is a new threat to the human lifespan.

Like many processed food brands on the market, are using chemicals and cheap fillers is always an easier option to maximize the taste, great bulk in the product and to give an appealing appearance while having a reasonable shelf life.

I first remember seeing a Krispy Kreme franchise at the Singapore international Airport, I asked for the ingredients listings and was handed a cardboard box as there wasn’t any printed information available. I was absolutely amazed with the lack of the normal stuff you’d Aspect in a doughnut, eggs, flour, yeast, not 50 odd chemicals.

So with an ingredient listing as long as your arm including: Calcium Sulfate, Ammonium Sulfate, Calcium Dioxide, Monocalcium and Dicalcium Phosphate, Diammonium Phosphate, Sodium Stearoyl-2-Lactylate then maybe having these no longer available isn’t such a bad thing:))
P.S Don’t forget the trans fats contained within these products, something not necessarily volunteered on the nutritional panel.

Looking for a healthy alternative? Well why not try an organic food box.

With many providers now supplying organic fruit and vegetable boxes, there is no excuse for not having the time to get to your local green grocer – because now you don’t have to.

While supermarkets are getting onto the organic bandwagon, this alternative not only supports local growers but reduces the food miles that pile up getting the produce from the farmer’s door to you.

With many options available, ranging from delivering farm produce to your home to organic fruit and vegetable boxes delivered to nominated drop off points, you have the opportunity to enjoy this great food.

I’ve gone with CERES who only supply fruit and vegetables that are in season. This not only cuts down on carbon emissions from cool room storage but gives you a much more earthy produce

For example, with the snow peas the texture and imperfections in the husk really stood out. When compared to conventional snow peas, these organic peas look more natural, being far from perfect but more aligned with how nature intended them to look and feel.

There was also a significantly improved taste difference and, most importantly, numerous studies also show they have a higher nutrient composition and density in comparison to more popular commercially grown varieties.

But lets not forget the orange. While it may look like a mutant from mars, it would have to rate as one of the tastiest oranges I have ever consumed. Yes a very big call!

The great thing about receiving a variety of fruit and vegetables is trying out something that we normally would not consume, mmmmm, turnips.

Finally, while I was camping over the weekend, settled in the fresh air and peaceful surroundings of a local creek, I cooked a very yummy stir fry using all the remaining vegies including asparagus, mushrooms, turnips, coriander, cauliflower and onions with a little soy and sesame sauce, very yummy indeed.

So try out an organic food box today!