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I was speaking to the owner of a reasonable sized baker, not one of the franchised varieties about gluten free bread. Mr baker informed me that while there is plenty of talk about people buying gluten free bread, other than those people who suffer from Celiac Disease disease, those people being financially constrained would generally go for the cheaper option.

Upon showing me his recipe for gluten free bread, it had all the good stuff in there, potato & rice flour, eggs, yeast and some other ingredients but nothing artificial. The interesting fact was the ingredients list of the “pre made” gluten flour that he users when some of the more exotic flours are unavailable. Using all the good ingredients makes the bread relatively more expensive than a cheaper pre mixed “Bakers flour & Bakers yeast” varieties.

It contained several preservatives that were “potentially unsafe” such as E282 Calcium Propionate or another chemical (which I can’t remember) that is also potentially unsafe, that is an extract from bleached timber (referenced my my “additives” iphone app).

Nutrition Application from iphone

Using this premixed variety was cheaper than using all the non chemical based ingredients. From his own observations people who were suffering from financial hardship would seek cheap food alternatives. As funds were very limited to buy wholesome foods. a cheaper alternative and would resort to the highly manufactured, highly processed breads that contained very little nutritional value with heaps of chemicals and additives to aid shelf life, colour, consistency, flavour and taste.
Why pay $3 -$4 for a loaf of bread from a good bakery with healthy ingredients when you can go to one of the big supermarkets and pay under $2.

Unfortunately our modern societies has heaps of additional costs that we incur on an ongoing basis, such as our monthly mobile phone and internet bills, upgrading electronic devices regularly, flat panel TV’s, computers, computer software, kitchen appliances, clothes, the latest shoes, eating out, takeaway etc, costs that weren’t there 50 years ago.

Ultimately something has to give and unfortunately it’s our health with the cheapest food option being the only solution to save $$$ but if this a high price to pay for your health??

With energy drinks, caffeine and other stimulants consumption on the increase, are re we turning into a sleep deprived overworked society?
With the latest revelations about The AFL’s acceptance of caffeine loading by AFL players, is this setting a good example for those who look up to these players for inspiration.

Unfortunately energy drinks represent the strongest beverage growth segment worth a staggering $593 or 23% of the impulse market in 2009, with only soft drinks representing occupying the number one spot for highest market share according to Neilsen data

Just look at the growth in coffee on recent years, the good old international roast has been replaced with a cappuccino or latte on the way to work. Even McDonalds, not to miss out on the coffee revolution has European style coffee at there drive throughs and restaurants. (I’m yet be be convinced you can produce a great coffee from a manual)

The most disturbing trend are the number of children consuming energy drinks like there having a soft drink. Suddenly the regular 250ml energy drink such as V and Red Bull has grown in size.
Not to be out done Coke Cola released there own brand called “Mother” to appeal to the youth market, with a mega can at 500ml at a whopping 32mg caffeine per 100ml or 160mg of caffeine.

The real concern is that consuming this level of caffeine on a regular basis is not great for your health. The promotion of these products are so wide spread that even when you fill up at your local petrol station there are advertisements for these types of products.

The most disturbing part of our over reliance on stimulants is why.
Are we trying to gave it all, family life, friends, the McMansion, all the conveniences of modern life, mobile phones, home computers, video games, Internet accounts, stuff, new cars, long stressful hours in the office to pay for this stuff or the time spent using these new acquisitions.

Well something has to give and it’s your health, so are we on stimulant over consumption mode to squeeze more onto the day?

It’s amazing what people are eating in the mornings, especially what they are feeding their children given the high levels of childhood obesity and increasing rates of Type II diabetes.

While I was in the Melbourne CBD, I was given this brochure and mini packet of Sultana Bran.

While kids are kids and getting them to eat a healthy breakfast is difficult enough, is giving them a sugary breakfast cereal the answer?
When I was a kid we had branded kids cereals which was ok given that we didn’t consume any more highly processed foods sugary foods during the day or evening. Fast forward a few years and the average kid is surrounded by a huge range of confectionery and other purported healthy muesli bars etc.

What is more disturbing is that the marketing is very cleverly pitched at parents by making the notion of connecting more with their teenage children amusing over a bowl of Sultana bran.

With an average serving based on 45grams, it contains 12.8grams of sugar or 28.4%, so with your average growing teenager need more than a teenee weenee pack, the amount of sugar consumed is quite high at 28% of the recommended daily intake if 90grams or 2 servings is consumed.

What is needed is a more coherent strategy with advertising standards and a simplified food labeling system. This will help to quickly identify those products that are high in salt, sugar and fats by removing any confusion and incorrect emphasis on fats and then neglecting the sugar or total energy content.

Finally drinking water fountains are being introduced across Melbourne.

While the bottled water industry would rather consumers drink bottled water, drinking tap water in Melbourne or any other capital city in Australia is perfectly safe and what’s more the water generally tastes great.

While it may be seem daggy and a bit tight arsey to refill your water bottle, it’s actually the smarter way to keep hydrated without consuming any unwanted toxins that are leech from the walls of the plastic bottled water, plus it saves you $$$.

With the price of bottled water being higher than petrol/litre, why do we keep handing over money to buy our water? With mortgage stress, that is where more than 30% of your household income goes towards the mortgage, why do we still spend our hard earned cash on something we almost get for free?
(10cents for hundreds of litres)

It’s always in the news how expensive fruit and vegetables are however if you look at the 10 year increase in fruit & vegetable prices verses fast food/takeaway food prices, the increase have been about the same.

For the current quarter ending in March 2010 from the same quarter 10 years ago, the CPI for fruit and vegetables increase by 58% from a base of 122.50 to 193.70 while Fast food increased from a base of 128.70 to 201.60 or an increase of 55.8%.

So while the perception of fast food being cheaper than fruit and vegetables, statistically the increases haven’t been as dramatic. If however you base the cost of fruit and vegetbles purchased from one of the 2 major supermarket chains, there is a hefty premium price to be paid.

The prices of fruit and vegetables in Australia are controlled by only 2 major corporations: Coles and Woolworths with a combined market share of 80% According to a PriceWaterhouseCoopers report last year. Most disturbing is this has increase from 30% in 1975 so what does this really mean, well we pay higher prices for our fruit and vegetables.

The bottom line is to support your local green grocer or fruit and vegetables markets such as Prahran, Preston and Victoria market where for $10 (the price that Coles users in there advertisements), you can buy a couple of bags of fruit and vegetables and cook up a very healthy meal.

A great recipe is Chicken, Shitake and Chinese broccoli at $4.45/serve, if you take out the chicken and purchase the ingredients from your local market, the price will come in under $2.50/serve.