"Good Health" Makes a Bad Decision

The front of the old bag (Mickey, left) compared to the new bag (Monster, right). Click to enlarge.

If you, like me, are always looking for ways to sneak vegetable-like substances into your picky-eater’s diet, please note this massive bait and switch from “Good Health” with their “Veggie Chips.”

SOME VEGETABLES AND ALL VITAMINS HAVE BEEN REMOVED AND A CANCER WARNING HAS BEEN ADDED 

I repeat.  

SOME VEGETABLES AND ALL VITAMINS HAVE BEEN REMOVED AND A CANCER WARNING HAS BEEN ADDED 

And yes: I know. Dehydrated vegetables are no substitute for fresh ones. But the struggle to get my kid to the fresh variety is very real, y’all. So whenever we opted for a processed food for snack time, we turned to things like Good Health Veggie Chips because their nutritional profile blew away the competition. They were loaded with actual dehydrated vegetables and herbs; and since throwing a bunch of vegetable powder into a processed snack doesn’t pack the nutritional wallop of eating fresh veggies, they previously added a host of vitamins to help mimic the impact. In fact: their previous formula included nine types of dehydrated vegetables and herbs (I’m not counting “dehydrated potato” in that number for obvious nutritional deficits) and six different vitamins.  

So when I saw they were marketing a new monster-shaped chip just in time for Halloween but didn’t shout “new recipe!” on their packaging, I wrongly assumed the fun shape was the only thing that was different. We were running low and I was looking for “healthy” Halloween-themed treats for my lone trick-and-treater, so I eagerly threw them into my cart without a second thought.  

The back of the old bag (left) compared to the new bag (right). Click to enlarge.

Until I got them home, that is, and I realized the word “veggie” was suspiciously missing from the small-type description in the lower left-hand corner of the bag. So I flipped the bag over and realized the “ingredient” list was significantly shorter on the new packaging. Normally I’m all for processed foods having as few ingredients as possible, but not when the ingredients are a variety of vegetables and vitamins. So I looked more closely and was pretty appalled.  

The new formula has three fewer dehydrated vegetables/herbs (I’m giving them a pass on the missing “dehydrated garlic,” as the new formula replaces it with “garlic powder”). It’s missing beets, carrots and broccoli and ALL SIX ADDED VITAMINS.  

They’ve also added a few things, including 62% more fat, rice flour, potassium chloride, potassium citrate and citric acid. And last and certainly not least: a cancer warning. Yes, that’s right: a cancer warning.  

There’s a lot to unpack here, and I will admit now: although I primarily write in the healthcare space and am no stranger to related research, I’m not a doctor, scientist or nutritionist. But when I see the presence of more fat AND a cancer warning tied to acrylamide – a chemical that can form in some foods due to high-temperature cooking – I can’t help but wonder if there’s a connection. The presence of more oil/fat leads me to believe the new formula is being fried at a higher temperature (and thereby introducing an unsafe chemical into the finished product). 

It’s worth noting that many potato chips and fries (and even some coffee) are required by the state of California to include an acrylamide warning due to high cooking temperatures. But it’s also worth noting that the previous formula didn’t require such a warning, and the need to include one now, to me, is an enormous contradiction to the brand name: Good Health.  

As for the potassium chloride and potassium citrate: these are sometimes used as salt substitutes and to regulate acidity, respectively, and aren’t necessarily alarming. But this formula also still includes “salt” and the exact same amount of sodium as the previous recipe, which leads me to believe they felt the flavor was lacking and wanted to add more “salt-like quality” without increasing sodium levels. This results in a negligible amount of potassium (2% of the RDA) appearing in each serving, which can be a good thing. But with the appearance of potassium in the new formula comes a reduction in the amount of iron from 2% to zilch. So in a way, it’s a wash.

In any event, it seems these additions are intended to make up for what the new formula was otherwise lacking. We haven’t tasted them yet – in fact, we plan on returning them – but after I realized these chips were markedly different from the originals, I took a peek at online reviews and noticed a remarkable decline in ratings between the old and new formula. Seven months ago, every Target reviewer gave Good Health Veggie Chips 5 out of 5 stars. But starting about three months ago – presumably about the time these were introduced – the ratings dropped. 50% of all ratings since then have been 1 out of 5 stars, with one reviewer calling them “oily and gross” in comparison to the prior version. Multiple reviewers comment on the texture, with one noting: “The [previous formula] felt more like baked chips, while these monster ones are more air-y and feel like they're fried.”

If this reviewer is correct about the change in cooking method, that would certainly explain the addition of a cancer warning. I plan on reaching out to the company to confirm and will update this story once I know more, but given the timing of the new chips’ release, I didn’t want to delay sending this alert out to regular buyers.

My hope here is that these monster chips – as difficult as their cuteness is to resist in the days leading up to Halloween – are a temporary thing. That once Halloween passes, they’ll go not just with a different design, but also return to their original formula. But whether this is a short-or-long-term recipe, the fact remains: to market them as the same chip is deceptive at best.

If this is a long-term switch, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a cost-saving measure. But I think Good Health might find their sales negatively impacted by this move, with the previous formula’s nutritional value having been the reason many of us chose them over other brands. For me, this deceptive switch has significantly damaged their brand, and I suspect it will have a lasting impact on their sales. In which case: saving up-front now might cost them in the long run.

Mis-Lead: Toxic Metal Continues to Find Its Way into Children's Products

Nothing says “sweet dreams” quite like a lead-laced sleeping bag.

Nothing says “sweet dreams” quite like a lead-laced sleeping bag.

One of the most upsetting things for me, as a first-time parent, was realizing my daughter’s first-ever sippy/straw cup contained lead paint. I’d spent HOURS looking for the perfect cup — one that stored her drink in glass (because of all the gross chemicals that leach into water from plastic); had a silicone straw (for the same reason); and yet was encased to prevent breaking if thrown or dropped. So when I discovered a cup from a “green” company that ticked all of those boxes, I felt like I’d hiked to the top of a parenting Everest. 

That bubble burst in a (not-so) glorious fashion a few months later when a friend sent me an article that confirmed the unthinkable: the demarcations on the glass portion of said sippy cup were done with lead paint. And the silicone straw? It contained cadmium. 

I was livid. Frustrated. Upset. How was this even possible? Isn’t lead paint — particularly for items INFANTS will come into contact with — banned? Would there be a recall? Was the company — which sold and continues to sell many of its products at Whole Foods — going to issue a massive apology, be completely ashamed, and explain away the matter as a manufacturing error? 

The answers astounded me: there would be no recall. Having lead paint on a surface infants and toddlers drink from is somehow still legal (there are certain restrictions, but they’re a joke, particularly when you consider the amount of lead that is safe for babies and toddlers is ZERO). 

Worse yet, even though the company (Green Sprouts) offered to replace the glasses with “paint free” ones for free, there was no real apology (and certainly not a recall). Rather, they explained it away as “within legal limits.” And I say again: NO AMOUNT OF LEAD IS “SAFE” FOR ANYONE, LEAST OF ALL SMALL CHILDREN. Even small amounts of lead exposure, particularly for infants and toddlers, can cause intellectual disabilities, brain damage, kidney failure and possibly death. 

Lead paint should have gone the way of dinosaurs, blast into extinction by the meteor of public awareness. But instead: it persists — presumably because it’s dirt cheap — and even companies with “green” in their name and mission continue to use it with reckless abandon.

Skip ahead two years. I’m at Walmart looking for a camping chair for my daughter when I stumble upon this adorable rocket ship sleeping bag from Ozark Trail (Walmart’s own line of outdoor gear). It feels soft, like cotton, and since my daughter is currently obsessed with all things pertaining to space, it seemed like the perfect purchase. I was trying to figure out what the lining was made out of when I instead found a tag indicating the sleeping bag (for some inexplicable reason) contains lead and “can be harmful if chewed.”

All of the anger I felt two years ago came flooding back. Like many three-year olds, my daughter still puts WAAAYYY too many things in her mouth, and the odds of her eventually suckling on her sleeping bag are pretty high. So while on one hand I’m grateful they at least had the wherewithal/legal foresight to mark the bag with this disclaimer — our sippy cup manufacturer gave no such notice — I’m still beyond upset that lead is still widely used in consumer goods, particularly those made for children. 

This. Is. Not. O. K. 

So how do we make it stop? We could storm the legal bodies that set the limits (namely the CPSC, in the case of consumer goods), but no one really seems to listen to anyone unless money is exchanging hands. And let’s be honest: whether out of necessity or simply the desire to save, the vast majority of consumers are more likely to roll the dice on a cheaper product, rather than invest in a more expensive item that has been rigorously tested and certified to not contain harmful materials. Such products do exist in some consumer categories, but they are cost-prohibitive for many families (infuriating when you consider lead shouldn’t be allowed in any products regardless of price tag, and no companies should allow it under the flag of “well, it meets [lackluster] government regulations”) .

So what is a consumer to do?

For starters, look closely at product labels. If it has a “contains lead” warning, don’t buy it. If it includes a warning about how it doesn’t meet safety requirements for the state of California — the state with the strictest regulations — don’t buy it. Companies make merchandising decisions based on sales. If we keep buying it, they’ll keep making it. If we don’t buy it, they’ll eventually stop. It’s economics 101.

And if you buy something with no such warning label that is later determined to contain anything unsafe: raise a stink. Call them. Write them. Demand they do better, and stop buying them until they do. 

Because contrary to many idioms, “love” isn’t the universal language — money is. And until we start speaking with our wallets, products containing lead and other harmful materials will continue to find their onto store shelves.

CREATING A BABY REGISTRY: Bottle Basics (Part 7 of 7)

Much like diapers, some bottles will work great for one kid, but not for others. This is another item where stocking up on one brand beforehand could backfire. Or maybe not: babies are unpredictable beasts. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a perfect angel who’ll be chill with anything you put in front of them. If that’s unlikely to be you, read on.

Questions to Consider When Adding Bottles To Your Registry

  1. What sort of breast pump are you using? If you’d prefer to save on bags by pumping directly into a bottle, which brand of bottles will fit your breast pump without needing a special adapter?
  2. Do you want glass or plastic? Both have their pros and cons. Glass is heavy and breakable but less likely to leach potentially toxic chemicals; plastic is a leach risk, but it's lighter for transport and safer when dropped.
  3. Do you want bottles that can be useful beyond the bottle-feeding years? If so, look for brands that offer sippy cup adapters, straw adapters, caps for storage, etc.
  4. 4 oz or 8 oz? That's honestly a question I still can't really answer. We registered for both but there was only a small window – as my daughter approached one-year-old – where we used the 8 oz bottles. But I have friends who had the reverse problem: they only used 4 oz bottles for the newborn stage. It will depend on your child, as well as at what age and how often you will use bottles.

What did we get?
We stocked up on Life Factory bottles – motivated primarily by a desire to avoid the chemicals in plastic – but when I returned to work and bottles were about to become part of our daughter’s daily life, she didn’t want to touch the Life Factory nipples. It was too late to return them, so I wound up using those to store pumped breast milk (the tops fit my Medela breast pump perfectly), though we had to try multiple other brands to find one our fake nipple-averse daughter would drink from.

We eventually found a winner in Avent, which has more “lifelike” nipples and – as luck would have it – also has a glass option. Avent also offers straw sippy cups that fit any of their bottles. I just wish they sold the straw sippy cup tops separately from the plastic bottles, and that the straw that goes into the bottle was silicone instead of plastic. We wound up building a Frankenstein's monster for a straw sippy cup, using our 8 oz. glass Avent bottles, the top from the Avent straw sippy cup and the silicone straw that came with this cup. I'm still waiting for the perfect, non-toxic sippy cup to be designed and kinda wish I had the means to patent and produce one, because I have a pretty nifty design in mind.

 

 


If we could do it all over, what would we get?
Avent and Life Factory both have their pros and cons. If I'd known my kid would reject Life Factory nipples for 3-4 weeks, I would’ve only purchased Avent bottles, nipples and caps – and an adapter for my breast bump. But if Life Factory works for your child, I’m a fan of that brand: they fit Medela pumps nicely; we still use them with these caps today to store milk and leftover food; and they offer nifty sippy cup adapters to help increase each bottle’s lifespan. Plus, I love that each one already comes in a silicone sleeve to make it easier for little hands to hold onto (and to help prevent glass from breaking should it be thrown to the ground in a fit of infantile rage). Avent doesn’t offer that (you can, however, buy a Velcro sleeve – a sleeve my daughter was pulling off by eight months).

CREATING A BABY REGISTRY: Car Seats & Strollers (Part 5 of 7)

When my husband and I were looking for a stroller, we wasted a lot of time and energy finding the "right" one before we realized we had neglected one key qualifier: our limited trunk space. Once we realized car size was something we needed to be more cognizant of, we wound up basing our decision solely on that and later regretted our decision.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

Will the stroller fit in my car trunk?
We have a small car and quickly realized our favorite strollers wouldn’t fit. Side Note: Props to the staff at Buy Buy Baby for letting us try so many. Their assistance was of truly heroic proportions, and we highly recommend a visit to their store (there's almost always some sort of coupon to help make car seat/stroller purchases less painful).

What sort of surface will we use the stroller on?
Is your home surrounded by a gravel pit? How bumpy are your sidewalks? How OK are you with seeing your newborn child’s head bouncing up and down as you attempt a leisurely stroll? Point is: if you anticipate mostly smooth surfaces, you can choose pretty much any stroller. If the road to your home is lined with chunky gravel and uneven sidewalks, you might want to limit your search to strollers with inflatable tires – and ignore all of those hard plastic “wheels.” Inflatable tires can go flat if you run over a nail, sure, but they handle bumps far more smoothly. Those hard plastic wheels, on the other hand, are a first-time (i.e. worrywart) parent’s nightmare.

This photo depicts a parenting fail: the car seat is touching the front seat. Once we realized the error, we had to move the car seat to the passenger side, which rendered our front passenger seat completely useless for anyone over 5'5.

This photo depicts a parenting fail: the car seat is touching the front seat. Once we realized the error, we had to move the car seat to the passenger side, which rendered our front passenger seat completely useless for anyone over 5'5.

Once the car seat is installed in the backseat, do we still have legroom in the front seat?
The answer to this question, for us, was a resounding “no.” And I say again: get thee to a Buy Buy Baby or comparable store. The people there are amazing, and will assist as you try out car seat after car seat.

Does your diaper bag fit into the stroller's storage compartment? How about groceries?
Some strollers have ample storage. Others: not so much. But whether you’re just trying to get in some steps or run a series of errands, a large storage compartment can come in handy. Unless your diaper bag is made out of clouds, do you really want it draped over your shoulder for a 45-minute walk?

What are the safety ratings for the car seat?
You can find out here. Keep in mind, too, that car seats expire (typically within five years of its manufacture date). If you're buying a car seat second hand, make sure it isn't set to expire before you're done using it.

Do I want to jog with my stroller?
If the answer is "yes," that will definitely impact the type of stroller you get. Keep in mind, though, that you shouldn't jog with your baby until they can hold their head up. Restrictions will vary by model, so you'll want to pay close attention to those before jogging with your baby in tow.

Don't let this photo fool you: the Chicco Bravo Trio Travel system does not work well on sand (we had to carry it to this location for our daughter to see the lake). Plus, the tray shown here must be ordered separately.

Don't let this photo fool you: the Chicco Bravo Trio Travel system does not work well on sand (we had to carry it to this location for our daughter to see the lake). Plus, the tray shown here must be ordered separately.

WHAT WE GOT
We have a Chicco Bravo Trio Travel System along with the optional tray (why you have to purchase the tray separately is beyond me). The car seat was great (we got it primarily because of the safety ratings). The stroller we weren’t as happy with. It has a nice-sized compartment for your diaper bag, groceries, etc. And it’s one of few strollers that we could fit in our trunk. But the hard plastic wheels aren’t so great on gravel, sand and bumpy/patchy sidewalks. Our driveway is gravel, so just getting our newborn to a sidewalk was a pain those first couple months (I kept imagining her underdeveloped brain rattling up against her skull with every bump). Sadly, we weren’t thinking about driveway surfaces, sidewalk conditions and mushy brains when we decided on a stroller. Please: learn from our mistake.

IF WE COULD DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN, WHAT WOULD WE GET?
In hindsight, we wish we’d gotten just the Chicco KeyFit 30 Car Seat, a Bumbleride Indie stroller and a car seat adapter (Bumbleride was one of few highly-rated systems with inflatable tires that was rumored to fit into our Matchbox car). But Bumbleride was out of our price range, which is why we decided against it (a decision we regretted from the very first moment we attempted to take our baby for a walk). If you won’t encounter much gravel, the entire Chicco Bravo Trio Travel System is decent for the price. And the car seat, if memory serves me, is one of the best rated.

CREATING A BABY REGISTRY: The Not-So Essentials (Part 4 of 7)

THE NOT-SO-ESSENTIALS: THINGS WE GOT BUT LATER REALIZED WE DIDN’T NEED

We use an Ubbi, which does a great job trapping odors but is a bear to open, for cloth diapers. And a (too small) simpleshuman for disposables. If we could do it all over again: we'd likely get a larger simplehuman for both.

We use an Ubbi, which does a great job trapping odors but is a bear to open, for cloth diapers. And a (too small) simpleshuman for disposables. If we could do it all over again: we'd likely get a larger simplehuman for both.

Trash Cans Made Just for Diapers
I know these are tremendously popular and frequently appear on registry “must-have” posts elsewhere, but we quickly determined ours to be unnecessary. We opted for an Ubbi – mostly for aesthetic reasons – but friends who have tried both Ubbi and Diaper Genie have since told me they prefer their Diaper Genie. Ubbi can be difficult to open when you have your hands full of poo, whereas Diaper Genie offers a foot pedal for hands-free opening. Beyond that, we realize that when our daughter is no longer wearing diapers, the Ubbi will be useless. We’ll try to sell it, but ultimately we wish we’d just purchased a high quality trashcan with a foot pedal – something that would be easy to open, trap odors, and have a lifespan beyond the 2-3 years your child is in diapers. ­We use a simplehuman in our kitchen and think it would’ve worked well in the nursery, too. If only we’d known.

 


A “Messenger” Diaper Bag
We got a really cool Timbuk2 diaper bag that seemed to be plenty big, but ultimately it was uncomfortable to carry and didn’t seem to have pockets in the right places (it was often bulging every which way and barely buckled when fully packed). We regularly wished we’d gotten a more back-friendly backpack system like this, but we'd already exceeded our bag budget and wound up just using various backpacks we already had.

A Sound Machine Just for the Nursery
A small portable one is cheaper, and you can use it on the road AND at home. Plus, you’ll likely want an air cleaner for baby’s room; those make plenty of white noise and serve a dual purpose.

Baby Powder
We registered for baby powder because, well, who doesn't? But after seeing all of those reports about it causing cancer, we haven’t opened a single one – and our daughter has been just fine without it.

Car Seat Add-Ons
We registered for – and received – car seat head support, strap covers and an arm cushion. Luckily, we realized soon thereafter that car seat add-ons aren't recommended unless they are manufactured by the same brand as the car seat itself. Otherwise, all of those safety ratings for your car seat are rendered null and void, because they haven't been crash tested with those add-ons. So we returned the head support and strap covers but kept the arm cushion (thinking it wouldn't impact safety). We ultimately wished we'd returned the arm cushion too, as it only comes in handy if you're carrying with the nook of your arm. If you want to use your hand, it becomes nearly impossible (and at times dangerous) to grip. 

Wipe Warmers
Huh? Unless you live in Antarctica in a heatless hut, I don't understand why you'd need these. Keep your wipes out of the refrigerator, and you should be good to go.

Poorly Designed Baby Albums
It's so easy to design digital albums through a printer nowadays, but there's something to said for crafting that first baby book by hand. It's fun to have an envelope to store away that first lock of hair, a special sleeve for their hospital bracelet, etc. So while I recommend creating a book by hand using "real" photos, keep in mind the size of the photos you will be printing. We made the mistake of buying a super cute album with one massive design flaw: the area for photos is square but smaller than 4x4, and we have a horrible time cutting down photos to fit without compromising the image.