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6
Jun
2013
 Healthy Snacks: Seeds & Peas



Yes, I did just suggest snacking on seeds and peas. But, it is just the nutrition the body needs! Did you know that legumes are one of the main foods that Americans are not getting enough of? And it is sad because there is so much fiber, nutrients, vitamins, and minerals you can easily get from them.

Anyway, I picked up these dried and puffed peas from Whole Paycheck the other day. They are pretty expensive–about $3.99 for one package (there are 4-5 servings in a bag).

world peas snack

World Peas Ranch Flavor Peas! I thought I would never eat something ranch flavored again, haha. I really do hate ranch doritos, but have a secret love for ranch dressing (don’t worry, I buy the yogurt ranch dressing only).

Nutrition Facts: About 100 calories per serving, 2 grams fat, 4 grams protein, 14.5 grams carbohydrate.

dried peas snack

A good alternative to these would be to make your own, but with chickpeas! You can easily roast chickpeas, and they crisp-up making them just as tasty of a snack (and just as healthy). You can buy them here on Amazon for about $0.50 cheaper than Whole Foods ;-)

Another one of my new favorite snack finds are these raw flax seed crackers by Raw One:

raw flax crackersI absolutely love these! And no, I am not paid to write this. I paid my $4 for a package at Whole Foods (only store you can likely find them at). You can also order them online in bulk for a little cheaper at Amazon here.

The ingredients are completely clean–just flax seed, spices, lemon juice, and that’s about it! One serving is about 40 calories, and pure fiber (2 grams) goodness. An added bonus is that you get all of the healthy omega 3 fats from the flax (about 3 grams per serving).

I purchased the Rawrito flavor (again, like Doritos haha), and dipped them in this Greek yogurt dip from Dannon.

greek yogurt onion dip

Or, you can eat some with your lunchtime salad, with soup, or just plain! The flax crackers would be harder to make yourself unless you have a food dehydrator. You can try this recipe from the Rawtarian or Your Daily Vegan.

Do you have any seed or pea snacks that you like?

2
Jun
2013
 Watercress: The Next Super Green



I used this Rachel Ray recipe for making polenta topped with watercress greens, and I discovered how much I like watercress (and not to mention, it happens to be a very healthy green).

watercress and sausage

I tweaked my recipe my only making rounds of polenta, and not a big bowl of polenta. I served the meal on top of a bed of watercress greens and then cooked mushrooms, onions, sausage, more watercress, and added parsley on top.

watercress

Photo from Ulterior Epicure

 

To me, watercress tastes somewhere in between arugula, spinach and kale. Think of it as a combination of all three–somewhat peppery like arugula, but great texture like spinach. If you like the two, you will love watercress as well!

Health Benefits of Watercress

You don’t hear much about this aquatic weed. But, it is in the same cruciferous family as broccoli, cabbage, radishes, and turnips. Anyway, watercress is said to have potent anti-cancer properties. The antioxidants in watercress may help to prevent cellular damage, including prevention of DNA damage.

Additional benefits may include: lower blood pressure, improved digestion, improved lung health, detoxifying, reduced headaches, and diuretic effects.

Fun fact: Many say that watercress acts as a mild stimulant.

Ready to make a meal with watercress? Here are some recipe ideas I want to try next:

21
May
2013
 Healthy Movie Theater Snacks



Mysterious movie theater popcorn. Even though many theaters have made changes to cook with canola oil and get rid of the partially hydrogenated oils (unhealthy trans fats), movie theater popcorn can not possibly be healthy. Right?

First, I like to know exactly what I am eating. The fact that the information is scarce is a red flag. If they are not willing to display the ingredients, it makes me think the popcorn is still unhealthy. You have to call or write to your local theater to find out the ingredients, and then, if you state you have an allergy or food intolerance, they will tell you what you need to know.

Seriously? They tell you the calories (as if that is supposed to help you figure out if it is “healthy”), but not the ingredients.

movie popcorn calories

Anyway, all that I know is some movie popcorn might still have trans fat, and if it doesn’t, then it probably still contains plenty of byproducts: likely MSG and/or diacetyl. You may remember when diacetyl was in the news for possibly causing lung disease and/or Alzheimer’s. However, this study was done on the workers in the popcorn factory.

Conclusion: I still do not eat movie theater popcorn because I don’t trust it, and there are plenty of other healthy options.

The AMC theater that I went to sold all kinds of healthier alternatives including hummus, fruit chips, pop chips, and Odwalla bars:

movie hummus

healthy movie snacks

My sister got this teeny tiny pack of chocolate raisins (yes, a slightly healthier choice). Good for portion control, but bad for the wallet ;-)

movie candy

I still did not purchase any of these “healthier” choices. I snuck in my own popcorn. Sorry, but I don’t like the movie theater choices ;-)

I brought in this white cheddar popcorn:

healthy cheese popcorn

The ingredients are very simple: popcorn, canola oil, whey, maltodextrin, cheeses, salt.

Mr. Cyclist thought I was ridiculous sneaking this in, but then he did enjoy it as well.

30
Apr
2013
 Brown Rice Triscuits vs. Whole Wheat Triscuits



A few years ago, I stopped buying most big brand crackers including Triscuits. The main reason was I realized all the crackers were made with a vegetable oil like soybean oil (which is pro-inflammatory). Plus, they usually contain some processed ingredients even if the first ingredient says “whole wheat”. Whole wheat doesn’t mean healthy all the time.

brown rice triscuit cracker

brown rice triscuits

Well, now Triscuit decided it would follow along with the brown rice health fad. Even though brown rice is gluten free, the crackers are not gluten free.

I did a comparison of the two. As you can see, the generic, original, reduced fat version is on the right.

are brown rice triscuits healthy

New Triscuit negatives: soybean oil, sugar, yeast extract (basically like MSG), lower fiber, lower protein, somewhat small serving size for the calorie level

Triscuit positives: Brown rice as first ingredient, contain some sweet potato, sodium is lower

Generic original reduced fat cracker negatives: higher sodium, TBHQ preservative, still contains some vegetable oils

Generic positives: More simple ingredients, less oils used, larger serving size for the calories, more fiber, more protein, more iron, cost about $1.00-0.70 less.

One big problem I have with the new Triscuit is that it seems like all they were trying to do is make an addictive cracker. Once you open the box, it is hard to stop. Probably because yeast extract is an addictive taste additive. I do like that they were trying to go a little more natural and use more brown rice. But, the third ingredient is still some type of white wheat!

In conclusion, I will very seldom buy these crackers, or any type of cracker like this because I still know there are healthier cracker options out there. However, I still like the Triscuit brand for trying to be better than the rest of the big brand crackers.

For now, it will be back to my Mary’s Gone Crackers!!

mary's gone crackers

7
Mar
2013
 KIND Bars



In honor of National Nutrition Month, KIND sent me a box load of treats last week. So sweet of them!

kind bars shipment

They included a lot of their bars and a few bags of granola. As you know, I generally don’t buy granola because I figure I can make my own cheaper and healthier.

But, I absolutely loved their granola. It turned out to be a breakfast treat. I enjoyed it because it wasn’t too high in sugar and the calories weren’t outrageous. Most contain about 5-6 g sugar per 1/3 cup serving.

I like some of their bars–mostly only the ones with 4 grams of sugar. These ones are all nuts compacted into a bar with some type of flavor like vanilla extract.

My favorite was the vanilla almond:

vanilla almond kind bar

Eating it in the car before I go to the gym! 7 g protein and 5 g fiber. Love that.

Overall, I have pretty good things to say about KIND products, except double check your ingredient label. Like I said, try to choose the flavors that have the least amount of added sugar (4-6 g is pretty good).

Thanks KIND!

12
Feb
2013
 Avoid Sugary Granola by Making Homemade Granola



I really love granola, but I know it can be quite sugary if you buy it packaged from the store. So, I just make it at home with the right ingredients and less sugar! I think it tastes better from home anyways.

Did you know 1/4 cup serving of granola can be over 200 calories?! A lot of that comes from the oils and sugars.

healthy granola

Simple and Healthy Granola

Makes about 9-10 servings. One serving= about 1/4-1/3 cup= 160 calories, 7 g fat, 23 g carbohydrates, 6-7 g sugar, 3 g protein.

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2-3 cups oats
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
  • pinch of ground nutmeg and ground cloves
  • 4 packets stevia or stevia/xylitol blend
  • 3- 3.5 Tbsp. real honey
  • 1-2 tsp. molasses
  • 1/4 cup olive oil or canola oil (or coconut oil for those of you who prefer that)
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
  2. Combine the dry ingredients, then stir in the wet ingredients. Stir for 1-2 minutes until the oats are well coated.
  3. Empty the contents onto a baking sheet. Spread out evenly. Bake for 18-20 minutes, and stir half-way through.
  4. Let cool, and then store in an air-tight container.

Simple as that!

lower sugar homemade granola

If you have ground flax seed, toss some in. It creates a nice nutty flavor. Or, you can always add some nuts, seeds, or dried fruit!

I prefer to make mine simple so that I can eat it in the morning with some almond milk and fresh fruit.

By the way, I discovered this new almond milk:

so delicious protein almond milk

Here are the ingredients: ALMOND MILK (WATER, ALMONDS), PEA PROTEIN, RICE PROTEIN, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, MAGNESIUM PHOSPHATE, CARRAGEENAN, NATURAL FLAVOR, LOCUST BEAN GUM, KOSHER SEA SALT, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, VITAMIN D-2, L-SELENOMETHIONINE (SELENIUM), ZINC OXIDE, FOLIC ACID, VITAMIN B-12.

It’s only 40 calories per cup, but has 5 grams of protein total. This comes from pea and rice proteins. 5 grams is better than zero or one gram if you are looking to add more vegetable-based proteins to your diet.

The only negative is that the protein almond milk contains carrageenan which many say has negative effects on the body. For now, I am not going to worry about it. There are many other things I look to avoid, and this is not going to be one of my battles.

Overall, I enjoy the flavor of this unsweetened almond milk better than other unsweetened milks! I don’t usually buy almond milk.

31
Jan
2013
 My First Juicer



I was lucky enough to get a NutriPro Juicer from Bella for free! I have never owned a juicer, but was thinking about getting one. I always just figured I wouldn’t use it much.

nutripro masticating juicer

Even though I received a free juicer, all words written are my honest true thoughts.

Anyhow, if you are new to the juicing world, there are two types of juicers out there: centrifugal and masticating (chewing) juicers.

The NutriPro I got is a masticating juicer meaning that it “chews” through the food slowly. This is also known as the “cold press” method which supposedly preserves more enzymes and nutrients. We are not sure exactly how many nutrients are lost in the centrifugal juicers–it may be insignificant.

fresh carrot juice

Overall, I love my juicer, and it is fun to watch it crush foods. Sometimes it gets stuck if you put in a chunk of carrot that is too large. It seems to do about average as far a the yield that it produces. Mr. Cyclist thinks it may be a little low yield.

It is fairly easy to clean and dishwasher safe, and very quiet compared to other juicers I have heard.

fresh green juice

This is my standard juice that I make: 3 leaves of kale, half a small cucumber, 2 stalks celery, 1 small-medium apple, 2 lemon slices. Then, I add some wheat grass in between (if I have some ready and grown).

wheat grass for cats

Lemon (the cat) loves wheat grass, too!

You can read more about the NutriPro at my post on Diet-Blog.

Do you have a juicer?

29
Jan
2013
 Move More with an Exercise Ball as Your Chair



I have been sitting on this exercise stability ball for over a month.

exercise ball as desk chair

No one has really noticed. Except my coworkers no longer come into my office as much except to do a few crunches. I don’t think they like sitting on the ball as much as I do. I think they find it slightly annoying which it can be at times.

Week 1: My back hurt after the first full day of sitting on the ball. After that, my back felt fine. It seemed like it just took an initial adjustment to be able to sit on the ball all day.

After that, I had no back issues. Please keep in mind that I do not sit on the ball for 8 hours straight. I get up, go sit at another desk area, or just move to a different location in the office for a little bit. But, the majority of the time I am at my desk.

exercise ball office chair

Why did I do this?

I noticed my posture was starting to get worse the longer I had a “desk” job. I have been sitting for most of the day for 2.5 years now, and it has definitely taken a toll of my posture. I also wanted to be able to move a little more in my day. Anything I can do to try not to be sedentary is a bonus.

I have also started to do yoga more frequently, and this has helped tremendously with my posture.

The Verdict

Please do not follow my suggestions (do this at your own risk) because I know many exercise physiologists and chiropractors might say the exercise ball is a terrible idea for a desk chair, and say that you need more support. I do agree, that the ball leaves you craving a real chair with a nice back to lean against. But, overall the ball has strengthened my back, helped me move more, and kept me a little entertained!

Guess what else I got this week?

glass water bottle

A new glass water bottle! LOVE it. From Lifefactory, but purchased at Whole Paycheck.

I use glass because I swear you can taste the plastic of plastic water bottles even if they are BPA free.

23
Oct
2012
 Easiest Crock Pot Chicken BBQ



When you think of BBQ, many think it is unhealthy because of the meat, the high sodium content, and the sugar from the sauce. I have been making this recipe over the past few years, and health-ified it!

I made the chicken in a crock pot, added about 1/2 a bottle of Williamson Brothers Chipotle BBQ sauce (only 4 g sugar per serving!), a few splashes of Italian dressing, 1-2 spoonfuls of brown sugar, and a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce.

Then, I let it cook for about 5-6 hours on low.

So, this makes this BBQ fairly healthy. The meat is very lean (made from chicken breasts) and the sugar is reduced. The only negative is that the sodium is still significant. I made sure not to add any extra salt.

I put my BBQ on top of this sprouted bagel half:

These bagels are made by French Meadow Bakery (I found them in my local Kroger). I love them–they remind me of an Ezekiel style bread. Much healthier than any bagel you can get at restaurants. Plus, they have about 5 to 10 grams of fiber per bagel!

Anyway, we also had a side of grilled asparagus (even though they are not really in season right now… just wanted to eat the little stalks!).

7
Oct
2012
 Tasty Atlanta



I was unable to go to FNCE this year with my fellow Dietitians. Definitely going to try to go to the Texas FNCE next year.

So, the least I could do was go to a food festival–Taste of Atlanta!

One of the first things I spotted was this sign:

Reese’s peanut butter cup doughnut… let me just look. And what happens?

Don’t freak out. Yes, I ate a baby doughnut. I am only human. The sad thing is that it wasn’t amazing. This one I would rate as not worth it.

Next, Mr. Cyclist got some tasty bites:

Delicious chips and cheese dip from Lime restaurant that just came to Atlanta. It was one restaurant that we discovered and decided we would frequent in the future.

Mr. Cyclist got some shrimp jambalaya while I ate some baklava.

This baklava was my favorite part of Taste of Atlanta. I have always loved baklava. The texture is moist, yet crunchy. The honey and walnuts are warm and delicious. And I love phyllo dough (insert guilty face here).

More tasty bites. Beet salad with some type of cheese and truffle oil (I think):

Creamy shrimp and grits with hint of sausage:

After feeling a little full, we decided to walk around Atlanta for a little while. And we stumbled across this crazy thing:

It’s a massive mushroom!! Kinda gross.

Walked back to Taste of Atlanta for a few more bites, and this guy:

Great flavor from the grill. But, the artichoke was a little inedible except for the inner most leaves.

We got loads of free chickpea chips and popcorn from Smart Food.

Beautiful sunny day!

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