Introduction to JungleGrub and Organic Nutrition

Hi and welcome to the JungleGrub News!  This is our first official post and we thought it would serve everyone best if we used this fist article to provide a little background on who we are and why we do some of the things we do.

The Launch

JungleGrub snack bars were launched in March 2007 and made their debut at the Natural Products EXPO in Anaheim, CA. It was a fantastic show with terrific energy! It was the first time we saw a true public reaction to the product – from taste to packaging to ingredients – and the response was overwhelming! The taste surprised nearly everyone. It was rewarding to watch lots of folks take a sample, eating as they walked away, only to turn around to come back for more! A few busy vendor representatives in nearby booths snacked on them all day – every day of the show! They never got tired of them.

Some of the greatest compliments came from fellow vendors (competitors) who were clearly impressed with the product and the company! It was wonderful to see all our hard work appreciated and validated! An owner of a small chain of stores in California walked over to Steve at the beginning of the show and said, “I have been in this business for 35 years, and you are going to do well…very well.” For the next 2 days he kept showing up at our booth snack on the bars, and he brought his family/friends by to taste the product. (He turned out to be our first customer!)

Why kids?

We have kids, we love kids, and we think kids should eat well…and like what they eat! Some of the early inspiration for the creation of healthy snack foods for kids came from doing our own searching for healthful products for our children.

All children have a sweet tooth to some degree…it is part of what makes us human and should be part of our balanced diet. Sugar is important to our diet it just needs to be available in moderation. Today’s challenge is to keep our kids on a healthy path in a modern world where artificial sweets to satisfy those cravings appear around every turn. That’s why we created JungleGrub! We want to provide high quality foods to satisfy kids’ natural sweet tooth…while balancing the sweetness with protein for sustained energy. Each 100-calorie bar has about 4 g of protein and JungleGrub comes in two flavors: Berry Bamboozle and Peanut Butter Groove.

Why organic?

The USDA organic logo is an easy way for parents to quickly evaluate a product. USDA Certified Organic labeling ensures the ingredients in the foods are of high quality and do not contain artificial sweeteners or chemically modified additives. “The U.S. Department of Agriculture has put in place a set of national standards that food labeled "organic" must meet, whether it is grown in the United States or imported from other countries…when you buy food labeled "organic," you can be sure that it was produced using the highest organic production and handling standards in the world.” Organic farming is more sustainable and gentler on the Earth than non-organic farming, and supporting organic agriculture teaches our children appreciation for our Planet!

For more information on USDA organic visit: www.ams.usda.gov/nop/Consumers/brochure.html

Why SB-19 compliant?

According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, “In the past 20 years, the prevalence of overweight has more than doubled among American children and tripled among adolescents. Concern has been raised about the nutritional quality of foods and beverages sold in schools outside of federally regulated meal programs. The good news is that many schools are making changes that make healthy choices the easy choice for students.” Dozens of schools across the country have made drastic changes to improve the quality of the food offered to their students: http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/nutrition/Making-It-Happen/index.htm.

California introduced a state-wide initiative called Senate Bill 19 (SB-19) signed October 14, 2001 sets standards for number of calories, and amounts of fats and sugars allowed in foods sold at elementary schools as snacks. JungleGrub was created with the goal of providing kids with a healthy and delicious snack, and proudly meets the standards for school snacks!

-no more than 35% of its calories from fat

-no more than 10% of its calories from saturated fat

-no more than 35% sugar by weight

When I first read these criteria I thought, wow that does not seem very restrictive, once we started development our JungleGrub I began to understand the challenge. Healthy foods are important for our children to obtain a balanced diet, but they have to enjoy the taste or they simply won’t eat it. It took nine months to develop the taste of JungleGrub. The kids had the final say throughout the process. If they didn’t like it, we reformulated it.

Taking a closer look at some of the items offered at school snack bars I became more aware of how far off these foods were from the SB-19 requirements. For instance a Snickers Candy bar has 46% of calories from fat and 49% sugar by weight (based on a 57g size bar) and a Skippy’s Snack Bar, Peanut Butter and Marshmallow, has a whopping 77% of its calories from fat.

Here is a great website to view the nutritional panels of most foods: http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/

Why 100-Calories?

JungleGrub Snack Bars were formulated as nutritious snacks, not as meal replacement bars. The ideal snack size for kids is 100-200 calories. JungleGrub provides just enough to satisfy their hunger yet is small enough not to over-extend their daily calorie intake. JungleGrub is striving to do right by kids to give them what they need to maintain balanced energy between meals and a ….. fun snack bar with the sweetness and taste kids naturally crave! During the  development of JungleGrub we paid close attention to how much the kids chewed eat bite. We wanted them to chew just enough so they would feel satisfied when they were done. That’s why our bars are softer than most snack bars yet firm enough so the kids feel like they actually ate something when they are done with the bar.

 While none of us want to count calories every day, it is still a good way to control weight gain. You can start with your snack foods; they are easy because you can read the label to find the calories per serving. Keep your snacks between 100-200 calories and try to eat things made of whole grains or real fruit, it will keep your blood sugar level giving you more energy and avoiding the need for a nap.

It is well known that being overweight, which is influenced by poor diet and inactivity, is clearly associated with an increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, joint problems, and in general, poor health condition. (http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/nutrition/facts.htm). http://www.cdc.gov/pednss/pdfs/PedNSS_2003_Summary.pdf

People of all ages are on a quest to find ways to eat delicious foods, but limit their calorie intake to prevent or reverse weight gain. Lately, even the large food companies have been working hard to make their snack items “fit” into 100-calorie packs to help consumers control calorie intake. Although this may be effective at helping portion control, the quality of the 100 calories is important too (http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/100-calorie-snacks)! Many of these packages contain just simple sugars and fats with very little protein (crackers or cookies) “empty” calories. JungleGrub was formulated to provide 4g of protein in each 100-calorie bar to provide a balanced snack that leaves you feeling satisfied!

Comments

[Sports Nutrition India]

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[Steve]

LOL?