Incredible.

I know the main focus of this blog is to learn more about nutrition, but I have to slightly stray because I found an INCREDIBLE recipe that needs to be shared, especially with chocolate lovers. Now, having said that, this recipe is still health conscious, so don't worry!

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)

Lavender

Lavender is a gorgeous plant with a handful of benefits to the human body. There are varvarieties of this plant, which makes it always abundant. Many varieties of lavender species have bunches of buds that are a shade of delicate purple at the tip of their thin stem. Other species are yellow, thin and sparce looking - not as asthetically pleasing. The ones that are used most commonly in medicinal purposes are English lavender, as seen on the left. To help recognize it in person, notice the stems are thick, and the upper portion is triangular from all the small flowers blooming. But enough about appearances, what is the English lavender plant good for?

(Image taken from ebfarm.com)

It is used mostly as an oil. I believe they do this so you can directly apply it and make that wonderful smell a bit more potent. In my book, Solve it with Supplements, they discuss lavender as relieving anxiety and depression, promoting better sleep, deterioration of concentration, treating IBS, insomnia and acne, may reduce agitation in people with severe dimentia, and eliminating harmful pathogens and yeasts. The website I primarily used in research corrolates with my book on many of the positive aspects of lavender. They add on to this list by saying it is a pain reliever, lowers high blood pressure, and benefits muscle relaxation. Not to mention, lavender can even be used as a disinfectant!

Random Fact: Lavender was used to scrub the floors of the hospitals in World War 1 to get rid of the harmful bacteria that came from blood.

Chemical Components in Lavender that help it DO WORK:

Linalyl Acetate: This chemical component helps lavender relieve anxiety and promote muscle relaxation in the body. It does this by reducing levels of a neurotransmitter that excites the brain, simultaneously boosting the neurotransmitter that does the exact opposite - a calming sensation brought to the brain. In muscle relaxation, linalyl acetate activates the nitric oxide pathway which will bring more oxygen to the muscles, allowing them to "breathe" easier.

Limonene: Limonene is a terpene found in many citrus fruits, and is commonly used as an additive of flavor in fruit juices, icecream and pudding. It's found naturally in lavender and it has a gastric acid neutralizing affect, meaning it will aid in intestinal discomfort (specifically IBS - Irritable Bowel Syndrome).

Coumarin: Coumarin is where lavender's pleasant odor comes from. It is a compound that helps the body's blood vessels open more efficiently and help control spasms (because you are more relaxed). The odor of lavender in studies has corrolated to better sleep, relief of insomnia and an over-all more relaxed state of the body.

Tannins/Rosmarinic Acid: Tannin is a derivative of Rosmarinic Acid, which means it gets all of its benefits from rosmarinic acid. This acid has a higher antioxidant agent than that of Vitman E. It prevents cell damage caused by free radicals, which means it helps prevent cancers and diseases from forming. Rosmaric Acid also has anti-inflammatory agents that can help relieve asthma and arthritis. One nutrient-making company, Vitiva, claims that addition of this acid to foods will improve its shelf life.

Perillyl Alcohol: "A variety of mechanisms are proposed to explain perillyl alcohol's chemopreventative and chemotherapeutic effects. One such mechanism is that it promotes "apoptosis," a self-destructing ability the cell has when its DNA is severely damaged. In cancer, these cells lack this self-destructing ability, resulting in abnormal cell growth. 10 In one report, liver tumor formation was not promoted by perillyl alcohol, but its growth was inhibited by this apoptosis mechanism by enhancing tumor cell loss.38 In another report, the rate of apoptosis was more than 6-fold higher with perillyl alcohol treated pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells than in untreated cells (Somara Botane)."

As I said earlier, lavender is most commonly used as an oil, but of course that's not the only way you can take it. They have capsules in nutrition stores, bath salts, soaps, teas, candies and even chewing gums. Two years ago, I went to Italy, and spent a night in Assisi. When I was there, I bought lavender candies because I had never seen them before. They were so delicious! It tasted just like the smell with a tint of sugary sweetness.

If you'd like to cook with lavender, which I suggest you try, you can add a pinch of dried lavender to your dish. It goes great with lamb, roasted chicken, mash potatoes, among others. Be creative! You can also buy honey-lavender, which is made by the bees of the Mediterranean. It holds all the healthy benefits while being sweet and savory. You can drizzle this on your fruit or yogurt. Sometimes, I like grabbing whole wheat pita pockets, and drizzling honey inside. It's a perfect snack!

Scrumptious Strawberries

I don't know about you, but I looooove strawberries. They're tart and sweet, have amazing texture, are small in size, and are beautiful when ripe. And, like any other fruit, they're packed with health benefits, some which I was unaware of. For example, what inspired this specific blog is what I had learned from health cook Ellie Krieger's cookbook, The Food You Crave: "Although strawberries taste sweet, they have one of the lowest sugar contents of any fruit and are packed with vitamin C and fiber. Just 1 cup of strawberries has more vitamin C than a medium-size orange!" (I thought oranges were the kings of Vitamin C, but apparently, strawberries got them beat!)

So, what kind of benefits do strawberries entail? Well, for one they're heavy in flavonoids which are linked to the prevention of cancer and cardiovascular related diseases.

Flavonoids: These are also called bioflavonoids, and its an antioxidant and nutrient found in plants that will give it its color. The health benefits they provide really have to do with its antioxidant properties, in that it triggers enzymes that can fight disease and tooth decay. It's also linked to preventing the flu, which is important since it's flu season right now! (information taken from http://www.wisegeek.com/)

Strawberries are unique in that they have ellagic acids. These acids is a phonelic compound that inhibits the promotion of cancer cells and arrests the growth in persons with a genetic predisposition for the disease. If you're more interested in ellagic acids, I suggest you go to http://www.egallic.net/.

Along with Vitamin C, strawberries are strong in Vitamin B which a soluble form of folate, or folic acid which occurs naturally in food. Its main purpose is the promotion and maintenance of new cells, specifically red blood cells. That helps your immune system! Here's other nutrients:

Potassium: helps the kidney function efficiently.

Magnesium: The body contains about 25 mg of magnesium. Over 60% of all the magnesium in the body is found in the skeleton, about 27% is found in muscle, 6% to 7% is found in other cells, and less than 1% is found outside of cells - so you never want to be low on your magnesium intake!

Omega 3 fatty acids: These help in fighting diseases, like the cardiovascular diseases and cancers.

Riboflavin: This works with Vitamin B in the promotion of new cells. Defficiency in this can cause anemia, among other problems.

Okay, so now on to the fun part! Incorporating strawberries into your diet in a fun way! Ellie Krieger, whom I mentioned earlier, is one of my favorite people. She's a registered dietician (my dream job) and has a TV show on Food Network. I love cooking from her, so I'm going to give you some of her amazing strawberry recipes!

Breakfast: Chocolate and Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients: 3 eggs
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

Meal: Strawberry and Mozzarella Salad

Ingredients:
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

(These recipes were taken from www.foodnetwork.com, where you can find loads more just like it. Also, www.eatingwell.com has a lot of recipes too!)

The Wonders of Ginseng

Ginseng is one of the most commonly used medicinal herbs in the world, and that is no wonder. Ginseng actually is the cultivation of many species of a plant called Panax, which is Latin for "all illness". Its roots are a tan color, and can sometimes resemble the likes of a baby. This is what caused ancient herbalists to believe that it could cure human symptoms and would use it for nearly every ailment. Using ginseng to that extent is not a practice that has been forgotten. In fact, the Chinese believe it not only brings good health, but also wisdom.

(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!

Nutrition Labels

I'm going to start off the first official blog with what I personally consider a major issue. If you want to be more aware of what you put in your body, the first logical place to look before you buy a product is its nutrition labels. I'm talking about the white box found on the side of the container filled with loads of scientific words, numbers and percentages. The purpose of this blog is to get you to understand all that so-called "mumbo jumbo", because believe it or not, not just the number of calories is important to know!

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!

Welcome!

Are you intrigued by the health benefits or the harm-causing aspects of certain foods? Do you want to know exactly what the term 'monosaturated fat' means, what it does and how you would use it? Can you efficiently read Nutrition Labels on the sides of your cereal boxes? Or do you simply love food? If you said yes to any of these questions (you'd be crazy if you didn't say yes to my last question), you've found the right blog for you.

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!