Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Incredible.
A little story before I spill - I volunteered to make a snack for the next meeting of a group I'm involved with. I wanted a recipe that is easy to make, tastes great and doesn't leave me feeling guilty. I know that dark chocolate is very good for the body, and is even suggested to have often in your diet. I'm not sure of all it's benefits (hey, good idea for a blog!), but I do know that cocoa powder is loaded with antioxidants and is low in fat. So who did I turn to but Ellie Krieger! Enjoy the recipe and make often.
Triple Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients: 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (or regular whole-wheat flour)
1/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
2 ounces good quality dark chocolate (60-70%), coarsely chopped
2 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup pecans (optional)
Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, mash together the butter and sugars with a fork until well combined. Add the oil and egg and beat until creamy. Mix in the vanilla.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix well. Stir in both chocolates and, if desired, the pecans, and mix well. Using a tablespoon, scoop the batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until the cookies are just set (about 12 minutes).
Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool. Store the cookies at room temperature in airtight container, where they will keep up to four days.
- Makes 24 cookies
- Per serving: 11o calories, 6 grams total fat, 2 grams monosaturated fats, 1 gram polysaturated fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fats, 1 gram protein, 13 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber
(Recipe taken from Ellie Krieger's only cookbook, The Food You Crave)
Friday, February 20, 2009
Lavender
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Scrumptious Strawberries
1 1/4 cups nonfat milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
8 slices of whole-wheat sandwich bread crusts removed
1 (8-ounce) container strawberries, hulled and sliced
4 teaspoons bittersweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray
2 teaspoons confectioners' sugar
Directions: In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla. Set aside.
Place 1 tablespoon of ricotta in the center of 4 of the pieces of bread and spread around slightly. Top with about 6 slices of strawberries and a teaspoon of chocolate chips. Cover each with another piece of bread to make a "sandwich".
Spray a large nonstick skillet or griddle with cooking spray and preheat. Carefully dip each of the "sandwiches" into the egg mixture until completely moistened. Then place on the skillet and cook over a medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until the outside is golden brown and the center is warm and chocolate is melted.
Transfer to serving places. Top with remaining strawberries and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.
Per Serving: Calories 270; Total Fat 8 g; (Sat Fat 3 g, Mono Fat 2 g, Poly Fat 0 g) ; Protein 15 g; Carb 38 g; Fiber 5 g; Cholesterol 170 mg; Sodium 390 mg
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 heart romaine lettuce, torn or cut into bite-sized pieces (3 cups lightly packed)
1 8-ounce container of strawberries, hulled and sliced
3 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese diced (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons
Directions
In a small bowl whisk together the oil, vinegar salt and pepper. Place the lettuce in a large bowl and toss with half the dressing. Place the lettuce onto 4 salad plates.
Toss the strawberries with the remaining dressing and place 1/4 of the berries on top of each mound of lettuce. Top each with cheese and sprinkle with the basil.
Per Serving: Calories 150; Total Fat 12 g; (Sat Fat 3.5 g, Mono Fat 5 g, Poly Fat 1 g) ; Protein 6 g; Carb 7 g; Fiber 2 g; Cholesterol 15 mg; Sodium 320 mg
Excellent source of: Vitamin A, Vitamin C
Good source of: Protein, Vitamin K, Calcium, Manganese
Sunday, February 15, 2009
The Wonders of Ginseng
(picture taken from LiveHealthJournal.com)
Curing every little ailment that can come to the human body is a loaded promise, and... well, ginseng does not live up to this promise, but how can you blame it? It makes up for it with an impressive list of ailments it remedies! Here are brief descriptions of just a few.
Breathing: Why people tend to think ginseng is the "cure all" is because it aids the body in processing oxygen more efficiently. It allows you to breathe easier and relax more, thus creating a more positive and lively energy about you. That energy can promote higher concentration levels and will improve physical performance. It can also imrpove your immune system. For me, having a lot of energy prevents me from getting sick. Think about some of the times when you've gotten sick - Were you lagging in energy? Or were you really stressed out?...
Stress: Ginseng can be considered an adaptogentic herb, which means it is a "strengthening substance that brings back the balance to the body no matter what's the direction of imbalance. Examples are Siberian Ginseng and Jiaogulan (Hagy, 2007)". Basically, whether you are healthy or not, ginseng aids in protecting your body from stress. This is beneficial because when your body stresses, the muscles tighten which is probably where most of your energy is going to instead of fighting off harmful bacteria. Also, everyone functions better under minimal stress.
Type 2 Diabetes: Ginseng helps balance blood glucose levels, which is very important for people with Type 2 Diabetes. According to a study discussed in Solve it with Supplements, 36 individuals diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes took 200 mg of ginseng daily and found improved glucose levels, among other things (physical performance and concentration). Ginseng will help blood glucose levels to nondiabetics as well.
Mental Ability: Solve it With Supplements discusses several studies in which ginseng improved mental function, cognition (such as being able to spot errors more efficiently) and memory enhancement. My personal input as to why this happens goes back to breathing easier and being relieved of stress. Your body performs much better in every aspect under minimal stress and optimal energy.
(Taken from that lovely book, Solve it With Supplements, here is a list of more specific ailments ginseng can target but hasn't been necassarily proven: gout, fibromyalgia, ADHD, alcohol intake (drunkenness), menopause, cardiovascular diseases, and fertility.)
So now that you know a bit more about ginseng, here are some ways you can take it. It comes in several varieties such as capsules, powder and fresh or dried root. Dried unprocessed ginseng root is known as white ginseng, and steamed root is known as red ginseng. It can be expensive since it takes approximately five years to harvest the plant. What makes a ginseng product top notch is their ginsenocide (an ingredient found only in Panax) content. An excellent ginseng product would have 4-5% ginsenocide content, so be aware of that before you purchase.
I went to Vitamin Shoppe's main website , which is a store found all around the country, and typed in ginseng to see what kind of products they offer. There are a variety of capsules offered, from Ginseng Complex (which is a blending of different country's ginseng), to specific Ginsengs. They also offer a decaffinated Green Tea infused with ginsen, and small bottles of liquidated ginseng. It just depends on what you like!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Nutrition Labels
I've posted here a picture of a nutrition label taken from Kashi's cereal, GoLean (delicious, by the way). We're going to use this as a general reference. I'm also taking most of my information from the US FDA's (Food and Drug Administration) official website. They are the ones who administer these labels, so they're an extremely credible source. I'll leave a link to the website at the end of the blog.
Where to begin? I know my eyes immediately look for the word 'calories', but that is actually not where you should first look. The number of calories presented is actually the number per serving, not the entire box. So the answer to the question is to begin with the Serving size and Servings per container. The rest of the information on the label pertains to these crutial numbers! According to our Kashi GoLean, the serving size is 3/4 cup and there are about 10 servings in the box. (My goal is to actually adhere to the number of servings, but with Kashi, it's so hard to do! It's too good!)
You still can't look at those calories numbers yet until you've defined what a calorie is. With a little help from http://www.righthealth.com/, I can give you a quick definition. Calories are the amount of digestible food energy (foods that give your body energy) available. So, when they say the daily recommended amount of calories is 2,000, all that means is on a typical day your body needs 2,000 calories to expend the right amount of energy. (Most nutrition labels are based off a 2,000 calorie diet). So, looking at our Kashi GoLean, we will get 120 calories for every 3/4 cup, and 10 of those calories will come from fat. Not so bad!
Now we're getting into the lesser known material: the nutrients. The FDA website splits this into two sections. The first section begins at Trans fats and ends at Sodium. These are the nutrients we consume the most, yet are the ones we should cut down the most as well. It is recommended by health officials that you keep these nutrients to a minimum if you want to keep a nutrionally balanced diet. This is because an over abundance of trans fats, cholesterols and sodium increases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and even certain cancers. [A random side note that I find pretty interesting is that restaraunts in New York and California have officially banned the use of trans fats in cooking. Texas, unfortunately, is one of the states that refuses to jump on this healthy bandwagon.] So, what you should look for in this section is small numbers. On our Kashi GoLean, we have one gram of total fat, no saturated fat or cholesterol and 35 mg of sodium. It seems like this is a pretty good choice so far... But there is also the second section of nutrients to consider which the FDA says are the ones we need more of, but don't eat enough of. The first one to look at is Dietary Fiber which promotes a healthier digestive system. You would want a good number on this one, especially if you're looking to drop a few pounds... I'm sure you can figure out why... Next on our label is Soluble Fiber (typically found in citrus, oats, beans, barley, among others) and Insoluble Fiber (whole wheat breads, cereals and vegetables). These also aid in preventing heart disease, and maintain a healthy digestive system. We have one gram of Soluble Fiber and 9 grams of Insoluble Fiber.
This label does not go into detail of its vitamin content, but typically labels will display the Vitamin A and C, Calcium and Iron content. Vitamins have an array of amazing benefits (that might be a great blog in the near future...), so you know you should have a reasonable amount of those.
I know you see the percentages next to all these numbers. They're called the Daily Value Percentages. In order to understand that, we need to go to the Footnotes box at the end that begins with *Percent Daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. This is required to be put on all boxes and the information does not change, so pay attention! The data here represents the levels of intake we should take for each substance, and they base it off either a 2,000 or 2,500 calorie diet. If you're looking to eat healthy and maintain your weight, keep to these numbers. However, if you're looking to lose weight, your goal should be to stay right below these numbers, and increase the amount of dietary fiber intake. It looks less like a jumble of numbers now, doesn't it?
You may be thinking that sticking to these numbers may be a hard task. That's where the percentages come in. They tell you the percent of each of those substances you're getting for the day with one serving. So by eating one serving of Kashi GoLean, you will have had 40% of the amount of dietary fiber you should eat for the day. That's almost half! I love Kashi.
That's basically the jist of those nutrition labels and what you should be looking for. If you're still confused about any of this or would like a deeper explanation, visit the FDA website I told you about earlier: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/foodlab.html . They break things down a bit deeper than I did. They have more examples, and pictures to examine, too. And a side bit - if you haven't tried Kashi GoLean, GET A BOX. It's so delicious, and as we've learned, good for you too! It has so much flavor that I prefer it without milk!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Welcome!
My name is Anna and I am a Nutrion Sciences major, and I answered yes to all of those questions. Food is almost something we all take for granted. We need it to survive, yet we as the general public are not so well informed on the unbelievable amount of ways it can affect us. There are foods you can eat or drink that can give you more energy, more focus and more drive without the use of supplements (where do you think those supplements come from anyway? Food!). There are foods that can relieve anxiety, stomach pains, even acne. And the great thing is, most of these foods are ones you are aware of.
My goal here is to introduce you to some of the wonderful aspects of foods and how it can affect you in a good way. I am going to do this by introducing a food, or a prominent mineral. Then, I will explain how it affects you, or why you need to eat it. Finally, I will give you fun and interesting ways of eating the food, so you can get right to work! I'm also going to leave great websites and CookBooks for you to look at when you're not spending all your time here (because once you get interested, you're hooked. Trust me.) I'm all about making you happier and healthier through the best way possible: FOOD!