DoctorOz: Your Boxed Mac and Cheese Has Phthalates in It | Dr. Oz | S9 | Ep 3 | Full Episode

The headlines are disturbing. Chicken washed with chlorine. Banned chemicals in boxed mac and cheese. Now, we settle it for good. First, chicken. Is it safe to eat? Three of the biggest chicken producers in America answer these allegations about chlorine. And... It's my number one side dish. Boxed mac and cheese. There might be dangerous chemicals. The powder involves quite a few things. Coming up next... Are you ready to save some lives today? This year, we're leading the charge on a movement that you all started. You're going to love this show because you started a movement and we're going to be talking about it today. You demanded more trust, truth, and transparency about what's really in your food. It's your food deconstructed. And today, we're deconstructing... Are you ready for this? American chicken. You like that? This is something you all adore. You enjoy it. But lots of questions. So, let's deconstruct this chicken. To get started, I'm going to get you into some scary headlines because they're coming out of Europe calling American chicken Franken-chicken and dangerously chlorinated. But what's the truth? Today, we're going straight to the source. For the first time ever, we've got Tyson, the number one chicken producer in the world on our stage. We also have Purdue, the number one producer of organic chicken. And Bell & Evans, who is the very first chicken producer in America. They are all coming together under one roof here to answer your biggest questions about the chicken you feed your family. How's that for transparency? You like that? Right in front of you, they'll be here talking to you. Now, these women over here serve their chicken... How are you guys? They serve your family chicken all the time and you don't know what to believe, if I'm understanding correctly. So, throw out a couple questions, things you've been hearing, things maybe bothering you. You want to go first? Sure. I heard that the chicken's being chlorinated and washed in chlorine. I want to know if that's true and if it is true, is it harmful? Yeah, why would they chlorinate chicken? Right. It comes up. Go ahead. I hear that American chicken is illegal in Europe. Is that true? American chicken. All right, so I've heard these headlines as well. Folks, Americans consume more chicken than any other meat. So, we have to get to the bottom of this and I'm sure there are many more questions. As many as people up here will have that many questions. So, I'm going to start off with these first two issues and we'll get to the rest as we go along. The editor-in-chief of Cook's Illustrated, Dan Sousa, is here. And he's going to help me deconstruct commercial chicken grown in America into its parts. So, what exactly is the average consumer, the average mom, feeding her family when she gives them chicken? All right, well, so we've got this beautiful chicken here and there are some things that you would expect to be in there, right? So, let's first take a look at what you are adding to it. So, you might add some butter. It helps it brown on the outside. Some spices give it a really nice flavor. Maybe a little bit of lemon, right? So, we know that's going in because we're putting it in. Pretty innocent. But the truth of the fact is that inside the chicken when you buy it at the supermarket, there's already a lot of stuff in there. And that's what we're going to take a look at next. These are all the items you find. So, they're not quite as pretty. We're going to break them down a little bit. So, the first thing is chicken feed. So, what you end up eating and what this chicken tastes like has a lot to do with what it eats. Most commercial chicken eats a diet of corn and soy meal. But there can be a lot of other things in there as well. So, that's one thing. Next up, we have this kind of salt water right here. And this represents chicken broth, spices, these solutions that they pump inside of chicken. Next up, we have antibiotics. And so, antibiotics are given to a lot of chickens, not all of them, to either treat or even prevent diseases. So, you'll find some traces of antibiotics. And then finally, this last one here, they can have traces of chlorine. Let's go to this chlorine because there were two questions we just took about there. You know, this chlorine issue has become very loud because there's a big backlash about American chicken and the chlorine bath it apparently gets before packaging. Please explain to us, show us first of all what it is and then explain why they do it. So, this right here, we're seeing an immersion bath here that can have some chlorine or antimicrobials added to it. So, when you have a lot of birds right after slaughter in a water bath, you need to add some things to it or you spread a lot of bacteria. So, that's why they do either this here or spraying them. So, the other option other than a water bath like this is air chilling which some producers do. There's no chlorine involved in that because they're basically hung. The birds are not touching and they go into a very cold room. So, in general, you get a different product from that. We'll talk about that a little bit more. So, just to be clear, the only reason that the birds are being put in the water bath is to cool them down. Exactly. And the only reason the chlorine is added is to make sure that water bath is clean. Exactly. So, the question then becomes and what you're actually over there asking me about is, is it safe? Does it matter if we take this chicken for a bath in chlorinated water? So, I had my medical unit research this and here's what they found. You'd have to eat about 5% of your body weight in chlorine washed chicken in one day to be exposed to harmful levels. So, let me put that into perspective. If you're a 150 pound person, right, you'd have to eat 7 pounds that's this much chicken in one day. Now, you might think of this as a challenge and maybe you think you might be able to do this. This is a lot of chicken. And I think most of us probably couldn't pull that off. And I also learned that even if you were to eat this much chicken, the side effects of the chlorine are pretty subtle. I mean, you don't want to have them, but you know, a little nausea, not feeling well, but not specific things that make me all that concerned. So, I'm not personally that worried about the chlorine. So, deconstruct this for me. Why is this making headlines all over Europe? So, what it really boils down to is I think a lot of Europeans are afraid that what this chlorine bath does is it gives kind of a free pass to farmers to use any practices they want and then when it goes into the bath, it'll kind of all get washed off. Whether or not that's true or not, I think that's where the fear really comes from, that it's kind of a band-aid on a bigger problem. So, the bottom line for me is that the headlines that I'm reading about don't match the story that we have been following because it does seem like American chicken is getting a little better. Take a look at this. We looked into the anti-American chicken headlines and it turns out most are coming from overseas, specifically Great Britain. But it might just be a trade deal scare tactic that has nothing to do with your health. That's because the story about American chicken has gotten a lot better. Fortune Magazine reports that commercial chicken sold at stores like Kroger, Wegmans, and Costco is not only safe, it's now similar to the fancy chicken you find at Whole Foods, only cheaper. And last year, more than one U.S. chicken producer pledged to remove antibiotics from their birds. We sent food journalist Mark Schatzker deep into Maryland chicken country to see for ourselves how one of the top four producers, Purdue, is changing the way they raise their chickens. Hey Mark. How are you? Good. Welcome to the hatchery. Vice President Bruce Stewart Brown told us Purdue no longer uses antibiotics at their hatcheries. One of the reasons that chicken companies might have used antibiotics was the fact that the eggs coming into the hatchery were dirty. So how do you get cleaner eggs? With baby wipes, of course. You take a baby wipe and just wipe that organic material off. It helps this egg stay clean and it helps all the rest of the eggs from getting contaminated from that egg. So you guys must go through a ton of baby wipes. We've got to be the biggest user of baby wipes in the United States. Hours after hatching, the chicks are shipped to a farm where they are raised. TV cameras are almost never allowed in commercial chicken operations, but Purdue made an exception for us. How do you keep these guys healthy? One of the big things is better food. We're doing things like probiotics and herbal remedies like oregano and yucca and it helps them stay healthy. Another way Purdue keeps their birds healthy? By upgrading their farm equipment with things like chicken ramps. All these things, the windows, the enrichments, are around enhancing activity and we think chickens that move more are healthier. Kind of like people. It is like us. You move around more, you're healthy. You like that baby wipe insight? It's so shocking. So when we come back, three of the biggest chicken producers in America, Purdue, Tyson, and Bell & Evans, they're all appearing together for the first time ever to answer your questions. Stay with us. Ivanka Trump is here. Is this a real brain? It's a real brain. What? Revealing how she's fighting for you. How do you close a wage gap this large? All new Oz. That's coming up tomorrow. Following the recent alarming headlines about how American chicken is chlorinated and unhealthy, we decided to go straight to the source for answers. For the first time ever, and I mean ever, some of the biggest names in chicken are appearing together right here. They're going to be answering you. It's our Chicken Summit. Joining us is Dr. Scott Stilwell who oversees food safety and quality assurance for Tyson Foods. Jim Perdue, the chairman, well, who else would he be chairman of? Perdue. And Scott Seckler, the owner and president and chairman of Bell & Evans Chicken. Before we get started, I want to thank you all. I know it takes a lot to get here. It might be a little uncomfortable. It's definitely unconventional. I'm sure your publicists are back behind the stages. They're chomping on their nails. But what we're doing today is really important because I think if we hear from you, it will make us very comfortable about the most common meat that we're all eating. My one request is that we don't use corporate speak. We actually speak the way we normally speak so everyone can be on the same page when we're done here. Fair enough? You can interrupt me. You can interrupt anybody you want. Mix it up. I'm going to give you each a chance to answer these allegations about chlorine and what it might be doing to our chicken. So, Dr. Stilwell, you want to go first for Tyson Foods and we'll come down the lane. Certainly. Thank you for having us this morning. Appreciate the invitation. Chlorinated chicken is a term that has been used, but there needs to be some historical perspective. The use of chlorinated water in poultry processing was actually written into the regulations in the early 1970s. Just recently, in the fall of 2014, that regulation was modified to allow other alternatives. So, the industry has used chlorinated water to process poultry products in the past. We're moving away from that. There's a lot less chlorine being used today than there has been historically. I think it's important to note that when you look at the amount of chlorine residue in poultry products as opposed to what a typical consumer gets in their morning shower, it's trivial. Mr. Perdue? I think today, for us anyway, there's a lot more things like acetic acid, peracetic acid that are to try to increase shelf life and reduce bacteria. And chlorine is used to clean equipment and that sort of thing. But as far as touching the chicken, I think there's not much of it happening anymore. And Scott from Bell & Evans, why is it being a big deal then? Well, I've been a vendetta against chlorine all my life. You know, chlorine has been abused, overused. And, you know, the largest amount of chlorine is actually used in the water chillers. And what happens is the chickens absorb all that chlorinated water, and my chickens don't come in contact with chlorine and soak in chlorine. So I'm happy for that and I think our customers love it too. Mr. Perdue, if one major producer can do it, are the other ones interested in following suit? Is there a benefit of cutting out the chlorine? Well, we have both air chilling, as Scott says, and we also have water chilling. In water, there's not chlorine in the water. We're using peracetic acid, basically vinegar, something that's acidic, which does the same job without using chlorine. Got it. And what about antibiotics, if I can go there? Now, Bell and I, but you guys have always raised your chicken without antibiotics. Tyson Foods has pledged to take out the antibiotics. I think, Jim, you already did take out the antibiotics. And I must say, I'm a little worried about antibiotic resistance, which I guess most of us are aware of now, that we use most of the antibiotics in America on livestock. And I think getting it out of the food supply is at least theoretically a good idea, and probably practically as well. And Scott, you mentioned earlier that you've had antibiotic-free chickens for decades. How do you deal with that? We learned a long time ago if the chickens and animals aren't under stress, you don't need antibiotics. And I haven't had a sick flock of chickens in eight years. From getting rid of the stress. Getting rid of the stress. Putting those walkers in there, putting windows out. It's the same issue with people, or dogs, or pets, or animals. It's about stress. If you have stress management in place, you don't need all this stuff. I love these metaphors. The chickens move, they're healthy, same as us. One of the big issues that the viewers continue to write to me about is factory farming. When we see labels on our chickens now, things like free-range, what does that really mean? Does that mean these chickens are out there in a grassy knoll parting it up? Explain what that word means. Free-range is a terminology that you have to get approved to be free-range. Getting outside, getting exercise, getting off their breast and walking is healthier for the bird. That's another reason you don't have to use antibiotics. Getting out in a pasture or going up a ramp or going on a bale of hay, all these things help them be more active. That's a healthier chicken. Those are real meaningful things Today in America, if it says free-range, do you know what percentage of the time the chicken actually goes out to play in the free-range? Do we know those numbers? There's not a precise number because it depends a great deal on what the external environment is like. We have a limited amount of organic production as well so we've got some free-ranging access to the out-of-doors. Chickens naturally don't want to go out-of-doors a lot because of the risk of exposure to predators like foxes and hawks. As Scott previously mentioned, that stress associated with those concerns, we believe that the interior, internal environment is actually better for them and reduces stress. The science is a bit mixed on those two issues right now. You all keep taking some questions from our viewers? Let's come on over here. I know Danielle, you had one. We'll get you started. Go ahead. I often go shopping for chicken and I see that it says it's 100% all-natural. What does that actually mean? And if so, what's the difference between that and why is it cheaper for all-natural versus organic? Do you want to take that for Tyson Foods? All-natural means minimally processed and no artificial ingredients. Organic has a whole host of additional requirements. And those requirements are very well detailed in the National Organic Program. Let me take a question from Rita on Facebook. She's asking, I heard some companies plump their chicken with salt solutions or broth. Is this true? Jim, for Purdue, do you want to take that one? Yeah. This is something that started a few years ago, where chicken will be needle injected with 15% salt water. And we don't do that. We do rotisserie chicken in the supermarket if it has a flavor like Italian flavor or barbecue will be injected if that's what the customer is requesting. And going back to the word natural, you can actually put the word natural on injected chicken. I don't consider that natural to have 15% injected water and call it natural. So before we go, I've got one question. We have one sentence to answer it on purpose. It's like haiku. If a consumer wants a big, giant food company to move, how do they give feedback? How do they ask the question in a way that will get it answered? Scott, you want to start? At Tyson Foods, all of our retail packaged products have an 800 consumer relations number that they're welcome to call. We've staffed that and messages can be left 24 hours a day. They're professionals. They know everything about our products and our services. If there's a request to change something, they can ask that individual and that individual will get that request to the appropriate people. Jim, people want to change what you're doing. How do they ask the question? We get about 5,000 contacts a month. We have a senior management meeting every month and we'll listen to recordings of people either asking questions or complaining about something. That's how we change what we're doing by listening to the consumer. Something my dad taught me many, many years ago. Scott from Bell & Evans, should they do it as a video, as a letter, as a phone call? What's the best way? I have a lot of direct contact. I've been demoing all my life. Every food store I've ever opened, I was there for several days and demoed and talked to people. Today you can come to our Bell & Evans website and we've got the whole story of all of our years of how we got to where we are, what we do today, what we're changing today. We just opened up the first certified organic hatchery in the world last week. But if they can ask you a question, they go to that site and ask it there? All right. Thank you all for being here. When you come back, my own take on American Chicken and whether I'll be putting it on my dining room table. Stay with us. It's my foremost belief that the foundation of your health isn't found in your doctor's office. It's in your kitchen. That's why for the last nine years, we've used this show to help create greater transparency in the food industry. It's a movement that you have made your own and lent it your power. You've lifted your voices and voted with your wallet. And because of you, Chicken in America is healthier than it has been in a long, long time. Today, our truth, trust, and transparency movement had a major victory, with three major food industry execs coming right here to talk directly with you, the consumer, face-to-face. You see your power now. I was really impressed by the candor of our guests, and I want to thank Tyson Foods, Purdue, and Bell & Evans for showing up and being so forthright with their answers. We titled this show In Defense of American Chicken, because when there are scary fake news headlines out there about what you all eat, it makes all of us less informed. Chicken in America is certainly safe to eat. It's a good lean protein, and I want to see you continue to serve it to your families. But I am calling on the American chicken industry to keep going. There is still more progress to be made. Every food label should mean exactly what you think it does. And every single producer should ban antibiotics in their birds. So keep voting with your pocketbook and demand the best and healthiest food, because they will listen. We'll be right back. Coming up, we're going behind the headlines about chemicals in boxed mac and cheese. My daughter Daphne is helping me investigate the truth. This whole show is about trust, truth, and transparency in your food. And now, we are deconstructing, are you ready for this, boxed macaroni and cheese. After a new report made a lot of you uncomfortable with America's favorite comfort food. Now, my daughter Daphne has been covering the story from the beginning, so take a look. As a mom, we are all familiar with that box of mac and cheese. Kids can't get enough, and that means one less thing for busy parents to worry about. So that's why recent headlines about chemicals called phthalates found in boxed mac and cheese have moms everywhere concerned. Phthalates are potentially harmful chemicals used by manufacturers to soften plastic, not something you want in your mac and cheese. But a scientific study by the Coalition for Safer Food Processing and Packaging found phthalates in 10 different boxes of mac and cheese. To be fair, the study also found phthalates in 19 other popular cheese products. But the chemical was four times higher in boxed mac and cheese, and unfortunately even in my favorite organic mac and cheese. Now, chemicals in food aren't immediately cause for alarm. What's important is the amount of chemical and whether it's high enough to harm you or your children. So today, we're deconstructing mac and cheese, letting you know what, if anything, you need to worry about. I'm joined now by food expert author, mother of two and a half, we're waiting, we're waiting, and my daughter, Daphne Oz. I gave her this assignment because she's been following the story from the moment it broke. So what was your initial reaction? I think pretty much like every other mother that saw those headlines, it sent alarms going off in my head. And I wanted to investigate more. Is it something I need to stop buying or is it something that's okay? And that's our responsibility as, you know, as parents, we take care of the kids. Without anything getting in your way, and this started to get people upset. So, phthalates. It's a scary, chemically sounding word. So that's why I think these headlines got a lot of attention. But let's go into them. First of all, phthalates are banned, they're banned from children's toys and child care products in the U.S. Because they've been linked to endometriosis, obesity. And here's what gets more serious. Genital birth defects in infant children. So they don't develop the way they're supposed to develop. And then they can also, unfortunately, have learning and behavioral problems as these children get older. And that's why there are so many questions about these being in one of the most beloved foods in our country. So, we've got a lot of moms over here in the audience. We brought them down to the stage to ask a bit about mac and cheese. So, Daphne, take it away. Hi. Paula, right? You have the mic. Yeah, I'm curious. What kind of role does mac and cheese play in your life? Well, it's a staple in my family. You know, I try and give my daughter fresh vegetables, fruit. Sometimes I throw the white flag up and I say, okay, macaroni and cheese it is. This way I know at least she's going to eat something. But now, hearing this, it's upsetting. I love that you call it the white flag. And it is. It's delicious and kids love it. And there are a lot of reasons that we go and turn to that. And it is scary to hear something like that it might not be the best choice. Yes. But we're going to find out, actually. Thank you so much. And Sophia, right? Hi. How are you? I'm well. How are you? So, what would happen if you found out that you couldn't buy mac and cheese anymore, you wouldn't want to? First and foremost, economically, because it's so inexpensive. I can go in, it's really quick, cook it, and my son is fine. It's my number one side dish. But just hearing this, knowing that I'm feeding my son something potentially harmful, it scares me. So, we do these deconstruction segments because we feel if you actually have transparency, if you really know what's going on, the truth, you can decide for yourself. And a lot of times it gets rid of the fear. So, let's do that today. So, we sent Daphne to deconstruct the box of mac and cheese. So, come on over here. Thank you, guys. And this is a pretty simple little example of how food in America sometimes surprises you, not always in the best ways, but sometimes it's better than you think. So, when you open a box of mac and cheese, what do you find? You have plain macaroni noodles and you have powdered cheese. The powder, well, it involves quite a few things. It involves nonfat milk, or milk fat, rather. Whey, lactic acid, paprika, spice, but then you have food coloring, and sodium tripolyphosphate. Oh, that's an easy word to spell. I feel like this isn't always the case. Like, there are definitely healthier versions of mac and cheese that don't involve some of the more toxic preservatives or food coloring or what have you. But one thing I don't see, and I don't see it in the healthier versions either, are phthalates being added as an ingredient. It's a byproduct of the manufacturing. It's an inadvertent addition. And that's what's scary is how do we, A, know if it's in our food, how do we track it, and how do we avoid it? That's why I wanted to cover this story. And is it important? So up next, how do the phthalates actually get into the mac and cheese, and are there enough of them there to take it off the menu for good? Up next, we step into my food lab to find out. Ever since a new study came out about surprising levels of phthalates being found in boxed mac and cheese, a lot of you have become uneasy serving your favorite comfort food. So today, we're deconstructing mac and cheese. Let's start with how the phthalates got into the box to begin with because they weren't in the ingredient list. So phthalates look like this. And plastics are soft and made flexible with these chemicals. And because they're in lots of plastics, they make their way into things like conveyor belts, right, plastic lid containers, plastic wrappings, the kind you see at the milk counter, right, all these different plastics have phthalates in them. And phthalates can sometimes slip into the food just by being next to them. But they can get into food in less obvious ways as well. Take your family's milk. The cows aren't milked with hands anymore. They're milked with machines with plastic tubing. Guess what? When the warm, fresh milk travels through these tubes, phthalates, these little chemicals, can leach into the milk. Later, that milk is turned into cheese and the butter, yogurt, ice cream or mac and cheese powder and then it's put onto supermarket shelves. That's how the phthalates probably get in there. No one's doing it on purpose. But now to get to the bottom of whether or not you and your family are in any real danger, my daughter Daphne is in with our food lab experts. Two of the leading folks on phthalates. Yes, indeed. So Daphne, what do you got here? Well, we are lucky to be joined by toxicologist Gary Ginsberg. Thank you for being here. Hi. And health home expert and phthalate activist Maya James. So Maya, actually you've done some of your own testing and you believe the problem might stem from how the cheese is powdered. Can you talk to us a little bit about that? Sure. Yeah. As Dr. Oz mentioned, we know it's in dairy most likely from the way that he showed the tubing that is used to milk cows. I've actually tested milk straight out of the cow, fresh milk and then tested that same farm's milk once it came out of the tank after it had been processed through the tube and indeed it was significantly higher. So we know that that's one source of contamination. However, the powdered mac and cheese has even higher levels than that. So there's some additional contamination happening after the milk has been turned to cheese and then before the cheese is turned to powder. My hunch, and I don't know this, but I'm guessing that something about the way it's ground is on some kind of a plastic piece of machinery and that's making powdered cheese and mac and cheese even worse than natural cheeses that the study looked at. Interesting. That's my suspicion. You reached out to the FDA. Yes. Here's what the FDA had to say. I'm going to read it so that I don't mess anything up. There must be sufficient scientific information to demonstrate that the use of a substance in food contact materials is safe under the intended conditions of use before it is authorized for those uses. So what I think that is saying is basically that they've done their own independent testing. The companies or the FDA has had to approve that the items that are coming in close contact with food are not creating harmful byproducts. But I think that they are continuing to monitor it and I think that's a great byproduct of this conversation is that we are having more oversight so we try to limit the potential contamination. So I reached out to Kraft as well and they have some of the products that were listed in that report. Here's what they said. We do not add phthalates to craft mac and cheese. The trace levels found in the one limited test of mac and cheese are well below any level of concern. Hundreds of servings of mac and cheese would need to be consumed daily over an entire lifetime in order to exceed levels determined as safe. So Garrett, we know phthalates in high quantities can be dangerous but break this down for us. You were very respectful in this area. Is there enough phthalate in mac and cheese for mothers like Daphne, in fact any of us, to be concerned? No. In that one box, in that one serving a day of mac and cheese, there isn't enough for you, the mom, your children, because it's a small percentage of what your child might get overall. For example, crawling around on the floor, just in the house dust in your floor, could be more of an exposure than in that one box of mac and cheese. You're kidding. Oh, from plastics and residuals. Just from the household furnishings and the PVC flooring and perhaps that shower curtain. So no, in that one box, in that one serving a day, there isn't enough phthalates for that. So Daphne, putting it all together, you've been studying this, what do you think? We keep serving Philo, little John, and whatever we call the next little one. Sugar for now. Yeah, you know, this conversation makes me much more comfortable with the fact that I can keep getting my mac and cheese, I can keep it in my pantry for when I need it. But look, I think that as parents, having the awareness of this topic be this high is only good for our kids. It's only good for us as parents. It makes our jobs easier to be able to have these candid conversations and thank you both for your work on this topic and I think it will make for a safer product down the road as well. So let me take a slightly different tack and only say, I don't want people being nervous when they don't need to be. So personally, personally, I agree with Dr. Ginsberg, I'm not really concerned about phthalates and boxed mac and cheese. I know it's a staple that moms need and frankly, you guys have enough stuff to worry about. So this one, you should take off your list for now. I do think it'd be great if we can figure out what's going down and try to help on that but it's not a deal breaker. There are more important things to focus on. If you want to think outside the box, however, coming up next is Daphne's speedy make-at-home mac and cheese. So you don't need to use the box. We're going to see if it matches up. We'll be right back. Ivanka Trump is here. Is this a real brain? It's a real brain. Wow. Revealing how she's fighting for you. How do you close a wage gap this large? All new Oz. That's coming up tomorrow. Daphne's back with a recipe for the speediest make-at-home mac and cheese with a special healthy ingredient. What is it? Mmm. Butternut squash. Oh yeah. You know, you look at that box mac and cheese and part of what's so alluring about it is that delicious yellow cheesy cook and that creaminess of the sauce that it comes with. So I wanted to recreate that in a really healthy way with the butternut squash. It's the right color. So this recipe can be prepped ahead of time. It's making so fast that we will not miss the convenience of the pre-packaged kind. So to make things interesting, I'm going to challenge Daphne. We've asked Sophia from our bite club to join us again. Hey Sophia. Where's she at? Getting ready. She's going to be making box mac and cheese to see which one of you finishes first. Sophia, make it as fast as you can. When you're done, come out and join us. Daphne, the first step. Okay, so here's the first thing. You're going to take some, well we have our elbow noodles boiling in some salted water. So butternut squash, there are two techniques you can do here. If you have a little more time and you want to develop a little more caramelized flavor, you can roast the butternut squash. Now, the great thing is you can buy it already cubed. That's what I've done for this recipe as a time saver. Bought it cubed and then cooked it with a cup of whole milk and a cup of chicken broth. And you're going to cook that on the stove just at a low, medium until the butternut squash is fork tender. And then you take that blend and you puree it. And by the way guys, make a ton of this because this goes great in soups. It's great as the base of a sauce. And of course, it's great as the base of this mac and cheese. And when you have all of it done, you're going to individually portion it and freeze it. And this will last for months in your freezer so that you're ready to go. How's it going over there, Sophia? She's a Russian pro! So, obviously, once you're ready to get cooking on your mac and cheese, you bring your butternut squash puree, which is just the puree of that butternut squash with the milk and the chicken broth. And you're going to bring it to room temperature and then melt it And check this little sneaky trick out. I have about two tablespoons of butter cooking in here. Oh my goodness. Let me grab that little bit of plastic. And look at this. No cleanup. All right? Super easy. Then here's where we're going to add that little bit of the feeling of the indulgence of the mac and cheese that we're used to, which is just some shredded cheddar, yellow cheddar cheese. And I'm going to stir that in. As the sauce is heating, it's going to melt that cheddar. Noodles are ready. Can I get them? Yeah, please. Dump them into the colander. I have it in the sink for you. Thank you. He's a great sous chef. Look at you go. This is what I usually do at home. I'm in charge of boiling water. There. Okay. You start small. I'm going to add it. Oh, she's here. Oh, girl. You're back. That looks delicious. Okay. So what I just added a little salt, a little pepper, and a little bit of grated nutmeg. And now you see that delicious cheese melted through. Let's go ahead and add this sauce over top here. So we're less than a minute behind. Okay. And you guys know how to stir. I'm going to go ahead and bring out this delicious swap so we can actually give it a taste. Oh, we're Dr. Oz. Go at it. There we go. Okay. Here's the finished product. Really creamy, really delicious. Let's give this a taste. So here, grab a spoon over there. Yeah. Let me give you a... Okay. Get in there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What do you think? It's delicious. Isn't that great? I'm so happy. Guys, for the extra minute, I think it's worth it. Look at this. Look how cheesy that sauce looks. Do you think your kids would ever notice that? Notice it. You'll notice it, which is what matters. Thank you for doing this, Daphne. Thank you so much. Thank you. Daphne's got a fantastic book out called The Happy Cook. Check it out. We'll be right back. Look at her. It's really good, right? Ivanka Trump is here. Is this a real brain? It's a real brain. Wow. Revealing how she's fighting for you. How do you close a wage gap this large? All new Oz. That's coming up tomorrow. You're in the world today. And do you ever notice it's the hate-filled voices that often ring the loudest? Well, that's because moments of true kindness are usually quiet. And offerings of generosity may make no sound at all. So we want to start broadcasting those stories of positivity loud and clear to give you something to feel good about. This is a good story to start off with. Take a look. Three years ago, while driving his family to church, Chris Wright noticed an empty car on the side of the road. A little later, he saw a woman walking with a gas can. Feeling compelled to help her, Chris returned to the woman, drove her to a gas station, and then back to her car. Before he left, he gave her all the money in his wallet. Forty dollars. Fast forward to 2017. Chris's mother, Judy, was suffering from Parkinson's disease. To help her, his family hired a few nursing aides. One aide in particular stood out, Tundi Hector. She always went the extra mile, even coming in on her days off to help. At first, neither Tundi nor Chris recognized each other. But then Tundi recounted the story of a stranger who helped her after her car ran out of gas. At that moment, Chris and Tundi both started crying and embraced one another. Chris and his family were moved by Tundi's dedication, staying by Chris's mom's side until the moment she passed. To honor Tundi, Chris quietly started a fundraising drive to fulfill her dream of going to nursing school. And then he surprised Tundi with the results. So Tundi, you have a gift. A lot of people believe in you and want to see you become a nurse. So, here's a start. Oh, no! You're so good to me! Oh, my God! Y'all did it, man! You did it! Unbelievable. Chris was able to raise almost $37,000 for Tundi. This is a story of strangers coming together to bless each other's lives. Nursing assistant Tundi, you're here, and so is Chris. Thank you for doing it. I gotta say, nursing assistants are unsung heroes in the workplace. Yes. And you do so much good, and often folks don't quite know how you fit into the puzzle, but they certainly wouldn't know that you were a nursing assistant if they were driving by on the road. So, Chris, she's so appreciative of what you've done that she wanted to do a little something for you. Yes. To return the favor. You wanna take it away, Tundi? Tell Chris what you got for him. Well, Chris, I know you love golf, so we got with Dr. Oz, and we came up with something. We think you're gonna like it. Well, I know for a fact you'll like this, because I golfed. The folks at Cobra Puma Golf sent over a golf set, everything, frankly. Shoes, outfits, clubs. All set for you. The clubs are sweet. I tried to get another set for myself, but they wouldn't go for it. That's awesome. Thank you so much. You're welcome. So I was so impressed that all you cared about was thanking a higher power and a man that you appreciated that I thought we'd do a little something for you. Now, I know what it's like to go through health school, and you're gonna have to keep careful notes, and I want you to keep up with everybody. So I went over to my buddies at Acer Computers. Okay. All right? Okay. Before you do anything, they want you to have a coffee cup. Okay. They want you to have this. Okay. This is a computer, their state-of-the-art laptop, that's gonna make it easy for you. This notebook is there to make sure that you stay up with going on. I don't want any subpar work in nursing school. No, no, no, no. We don't want that. I wanna be the best. You wanna be the best. Now, you got two sons, right? I do. Are you gonna be able to share this computer with them? They'll try and take it, but I won't let them. I won't let them. We don't wanna have a fight in the family, do we? We don't wanna have a fight. No. And the guys at Acer Computers went one better. They got your sons' computers, too. Oh, my God! Oh, Dr. Hans, thank you so much. You're awesome. Maybe Chris can help me carry him home. You can help me carry him. But then I thought, you know, computers are great, you keep up with the score work, but you are such an attractive woman. I want you to look your best. Well, thank you. So we went up to our friends at Fig's Scrubs, the hottest scrubs out there. Okay. And all you guys worked so hard that I thought maybe we'd give you a couple weeks' worth, a couple months' work. And you know what the guys at Fig said? What? No. We're gonna give you a lifetime supply of scrubs. And they're right there. Go check them out. Oh, my God! I love this. Look at us. Oh, my God. Thank you so much. I have great regard for you. I do. You are very kind to say that. Thank you. But here's the thing. We could spend the whole time now looking at colors, but you seem a little overwhelmed. I am. In a good way or a bad way? In a good way. So the people at Fig's loved your story so much, they actually wanted to be here in person. Oh. Is that okay if they express their appreciation to you? That's fine. So they got a little token of appreciation for you. Okay. And I've got Heather Hess in here. Hi, Heather. Hi, Tunde. Hi. What do you got for this beautiful woman, Tunde? Thank you, Tunde. Not only do we want to give you the best scrubs, because we make the best scrubs, we are so... Honestly, when I heard your story, I was so motivated by you. Our whole team was motivated by you, and you're amazing. We want to help you continue to do what you do best and serve others. So what we decided to do is give you one more gift. Okay. One more gift. You ready? Can you do that? I'm ready. One more gift. I'm ready. Besides a lifetime supply of scrubs. The cup's not overflowed yet? Oh, it's already overflowed. I'm holding on. Tunde, we want to thank you for all your hard work. We're giving you 20 scrubs. You deserve it. I'm proud now. That's so awesome. I'm proud of you. So what does this mean to you? Thank you. Thank you so much. What does it mean to you to have this? It means a lot. I have my boys, and my boys are important to me. I try to give them the best future that I can. And as a single mother, I do the best that I can. And I know education is what's going to make them great. Hallelujah. God bless you. Thank you, everybody. Thank you so much. Remember, everybody, happy and healthy starts at home. Yes. Thank you so much.