‘Tis the (cold and flu) season, and it’s time to stock up on immune boosting foods like oranges, garlic and Kellogg’s Cocoa Krispies.

Yes, that’s right. Kellogg’s is claiming that all the vitamins they’ve sprinkled onto their sweetened, processed puffs will help your child’s immune system. It’s boldly emblazoned across the box, so it must be true!

Vitamins aside for a moment, has anyone forgotten the negative immune impact of sugar? I haven’t, but one wonders if Kellogg’s is exercising some selective memory techniques. The second ingredient on the Cocoa Krispies label (quickly followed by high fructose corn syrup), sugar raises the body’s general acidity, making you more prone to illnesses of all kinds.

As for vitamins: the best ones come from whole foods sources like…well, like oranges and garlic. In order to get the necessary nutrients your body needs, you can eat actual, whole foods or take vitamins from brands such, as New Chapter, ,that derive their supplements from actual food extracts (with a small dose of probiotics to help you digest them better). The vitamins you’ll find in Cocoa Krispies, on the other hand, tend to have the bad habit of washing away in the milk.

Conclusion? Cereal is not medicine, particularly the cracklin’ candy sort. Opt for serving your tots a hot, yummy bowl of real, organic whole-grain oatmeal with fresh, organic fruit for a true immunity boost this season.

The post Marketing FAIL: The Cocoa Krispies Immunity Boost appeared first on EcoSalon.

I live in Arizona, a hot and arid land, not generally thought of as a farmer’s paradise, and especially not a place that would produce any highly nutritious, medicinal food that could feed the world. But it can.

Like other arid landscapes around the world, Arizona is rich in mesquite. Yes, you’ve heard of mesquite barbecue and mesquite honey, and this is the tree from which those products come. Mesquite’s rock-hard seed pods were stone ground by native Sonoran people and eaten as a staple for centuries before anyone showed up with wheat, rice or grocery stores.

Because of its sweet, caramel-like flavor and high nutritional value, I’ve been using mesquite powder in my smoothies and desserts for a while now. Mesquite’s sweetness comes from fructose, which makes it ideal for diabetics, and people who want to avoid gluten can bake with mesquite flour.

Benefits of Mesquite:
High in protein.
Good quantities of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron and zinc.
Rich in the amino acid lysine.
An ideal sweetener for diabetics (it is fructose based).
Can be used as a gluten-free flour for baking.

Not to mention, this humble tree grows like a weed, thrives in poor soil and needs very little water.

So why aren’t there more mesquite orchards in our dry southwestern states? Simply because there hasn’t been a demand. Most mesquite powder comes from South America, but I was thrilled to find locally grown mesquite at my town’s farmer’s market. The Arizona Mesquite Company might be the only commercial mesquite orchard in the country.

So give this incredible desert food a try and better yet, buy it American.

Image: kretyen

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