Scouts to "blame" for making our nation obsese

[Nomad]

Film at 11
The other day, on the way to the gym (LOL!), I put on the radio, and there was this woman (a disgruntled Scout mom would be my guess) saying that we should boycott the Girl Scouts of the USA and their cookie sale because they are to blame for making our US Citizens obese. The only good point I believe she had was that she said that some of the cookies still have transfats in them. Other than that, I think what she is doing/saying/encouraging is pathetic.

The radio show had a guy on to dispute her thoughts. He commented on how the girls sell the cookies to raise money, the cookie sale teaches marketing skills, the entire program teaches leadership and other valuable skills. He also said that folks should read the portion size and calorie content on the box and that it did NOT say on the box that one box equals a portion. I use to work for the Girl Scouts and I know we use to encourage folks to freeze the boxes.

I think if I were still working for them, I would tell everyone that the transfats will be removed next year (and mean it). I would also probably sell water bottles with the GS logo on them alongside the cookies for those folks who absolutely do not want to buy cookies. And I would also encourage folks watching their weight, to buy the lower calorie cookies and to pay attention to portion size. I would also mention buying a few boxes and freezing them...spacing them out over a few months. One more thing...they might consider doing those 100 calorie packs next year.

HOWEVER, I don't think boycotting is the answer. Helpful suggestions...yes...meanspiritedness....NO!

I know I personally, when I don't feel like I have personal control, I have actually given our local troop money for one box, not taken the box and asked them to give it to charity/someone in need. In other words...strictly a donation.

Bottom line: If you are watching you weight, I would encourage you to either make a donation and not take home a box or take home one box of the lower calorie cookies and pay close attention to portion size.

Any thoughts?

Off soapbox .... sorry! LOL!

 

[SRL]

My daughter is a Girl Scout and I ate three boxes of cookies last week single handed. In fact, I was just about to start a new thread entitled "I need a redo" because I really need to get back on track.

I don't think boycotting cookie sales is the answer. The food isn't bad, my discipline--or more aptly lack thereof--is the problem.

I think they did do 100 calorie packs this year here--Cinnamon somethings.

 

[tiredmommy]

That would be "CinnaSpins". I'm eyeing 4 boxes right now. Let's see that's 100 x 5 packets = 500 calories. 500 x 4 = 2000 calories. I'm okay if I only eat the cookies and drink water today, right?

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Everyone is looking for someone to blame or sue for something! Geeze!!

Have a cookie, it won't kill you - unless like TM you decide to go on the cookie diet!

Sharon

 

[Marguerite]

I'm totally off cookies, have been for ages. I must admit, if I were feeling obligated to buy cookies I would then have them in the house; not good.

We don't have cookie sales like this. Or maybe we do, and they never knock on my door; if we do, they're perhaps a much smaller campaign here in Australia. We do get all kinds of fundraisers though, for a lot of organisations. Smaller organisations are freer to make changes. It would be more difficult for the Girl Scouts to switch from cookies because there is too much already wrapped up in it. To change would bring in more costs which would have to be budgeted for and which would, for a while at least affect profits. A pity.

The Aussie classic is a lamington drive - it's what we used to do when I was in Girl Scouts (only in Australia, we call it Girl Guides). We used to have sessions where the whole troop, and mothers, would fill a kitchen with willing hands. Either someone would bake large slabs of sponge cake or someone would buy it - stale, preferably. Too fresh, and this doesn't work because everything crumbles.
To make lamingtons - first cut the sponge cake into cubes about fist-sized. If you really want to be fussy, cut these cubes in half and sandwich the halves with whipped cream or frosting.
Then you make a pot of chocolate icing mix, with chocolate, icing sugar and hot water. I think we used to use cocoa, sugar and hot water. It needs to be syrupy and fairly warm. You take a piece of cake with two forks, dip it into the pot of chocolate, then let the worst of the drops pour back into the pot. You then drop the still warm cake into a tray of desiccated coconut and roll it to coat it completely. Then put the lamingtons to cool on a cake rack.
husband says when he was in Scouts they made a rack with bird wire, about half inch square mesh, in a large frame. They put the cake pieces on that and submerged a whole rack at a time in the chocolate syrup. He said they used to make about a thousand lamingtons in half an hour. Then spend another hour cleaning up! Delicious, though.
We'd take advance orders for lamingtons before the "Lamington Drive". Then came the delivery. But that was how it worked for us, an Aussie tradition.

There are healthier alternatives to cookies and lamingtons, as fundraisers. Instead of getting yourself covered in syrup or ordering stuff, there are other ways to fundraise with food.

The pasta drive - We hunted around for a product people buy anyway. And in a house with kids, people buy pasta, especially filled pasta like ravioli or lasagne. Once we had a product, we then found a business prepared to sell wholesale to us. If we could find a sample in a shop somewhere so we knew the product was good, it helped. We then did a deal with the business - supply us wholesale, and we will promise to sell at slightly more than retail so as to not undercut them.
We then chose a handful of likely products, ones which we felt would be the most popular. Next step was to put out a brochure listing the retail prices of these products in an order form. The products would be delivered on a certain date, "leftovers will be eaten". Delivered frozen.
We got the order forms back (with the money), we collated all the information, rang through the orders and got organised for delivery with plenty of plastic shopping bags, and riggers gloves on to handle the frozen produce.
When the delivery arrived, we paid the delivery bloke with money from the orders already collected (and passed the profit to the treasurer) and assembled the orders. Any not collected - never more than one or two - sometimes we'd deliver them, or someone would put it in their freezer for later collection. Or maybe someone would buy any uncollected past and if the customer who forgot to pick it up, wanted their money back - we had it for them.

We found that with about ten orders (not many) we'd made several hundred dollars PROFIT. We did it once a month, it made a fair bit of money with a lot less hassle. In good months we might get 30 orders and make a very healthy profit indeed, even though people were still paying very competitive prices.

And they had a seafood lasagne to die for!

Marg

 

[Shari]

fat or not, i love gs cookies. If I overeat on them, thats MY problem!!! but don't take my cookies away...i look forward to this time each year.