Pillsbury is always on top of their seasonal marketing game with their sugar cookies. You know the ones with the snowmen, Christmas trees, pumpkins, etc. If your kids see them on the shelf, there’s a high chance that they’ll be begging you for some, and at least one of the packages will end up in your shopping cart.
Kids can be really great negotiators, but before you give in so easily, do us a favor and read the ingredients. They’re alarming and not good for your kids. Let’s review just a few reasons why.
We preach the importance of reading the ingredients here at Wake Up and Read the Labels. Way too often we’re persuaded into thinking something is healthy or not as bad for you as another option, but many times, it’s actually worse! Let’s read the ingredients in the Pillsbury Christmas Tree Seasonal Sugar Cookie, shall we?
Holy moly, these ingredients are NOT good. The only ingredients that are okay seem to be water, eggs, baking powder, and salt. The rest are doing nothing to help your kiddos.
Oh, look! They’ve added vitamins to the flour, so it has to be healthy, right? In this case, it’s quite the opposite. We wrote in detail how bad enriched wheat flour is for you. In simple terms, the wheat is stripped of all vitamins and nutrients, and when consumed, it breaks down like sugar in your body. There’s nothing nutritional about it.
Canola oil comes from the canola plant, which was bred by genetic modification from the rapeseed plant. It is highly refined and processed, and studies link it to chronic inflammation and many other diseases. Since it comes from a plant, it can also be considered a vegetable oil.
Artificial flavors can be summed up into just being a bunch of unnecessary added chemicals. Many of them are banned in other countries because of the health risks associated with them. Titanium Dioxide, Potassium Bromate, and Azodicarbonamide are just a few examples of additives that are banned in other countries, but allowed in the United States.
These added food colorings are in so many of the products that we consume, and it’s a real shame. Studies link artificial food dyes to ADHD, asthma, depression, and even tumor growth. Even with this information, products that are heavily marketed to children are full of these chemical additives.
Do your kids a favor and say no to these cookies. We have to advocate for their health because the food industry sure isn’t doing anything to help. They’re looking to put your money in their pockets despite whatever their products are doing to your kids.
With ingredients like these, there are too many health risks involved. Some may be immediate, and some may not show up until later in life.
Cheap ingredients = unhealthy products = more money for big food companies. Don’t give in! Your kids need your support.
Just because you say no to the Pillsbury Seasonal Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies, it doesn’t mean that you and your kids can’t enjoy a yummy treat! Give these simple, quick two ingredient cookies a try.
Frosting
Frosting
Wake UP’s Clean Sugar Cookies
Watch this video for a tutorial on how to make these delicious, two ingredient “sugar” cookies!
While your kids may not be ready to hear “no” when it comes to getting rid of their favorite foods that contain these harmful ingredients, it’s also important to teach them the reasons why.
Listen to Wake Up and Read the Labels podcast episode, Teaching Kids to Find Power in Their Food with Haley Scheich, for even more ways to help your kids choose a healthier path.
Haley dealt with overcoming her own health issues, and she wanted to make sure she was teaching her children this important information, too. She and her husband wrote a book, My Super Hero Foods, to help other parents and kids learn the power of clean eating.
Listen to the podcast, and check out their book! We owe it to our kids and their future.