Stevia

 

If you have a sweet tooth (as we all do) but don’t want to pile on the sugar into every beverage and dessert you have, try switching to stevia (a healthy sugar substitute). It is just as sweet, minus the guilt.

Stevia is made from a plant, so there is nothing carcinogenic or unhealthy about it. In fact, it has been used for decades and since it does not affect blood sugar, it is completely safe for diabetics.

Stevia has zero calories and zero grams of sugar. Some people think it has a slight licorice taste to it, but personally I have found that this is only true of certain brands out there; try Stevia Supreme for the most ‘sugary’ type taste. A little goes a long way (it is 250-300 times as sweet sugar) so use with a slight of hand.

For baking, I use about 1 teaspoon of stevia for every cup of sugar in the recipe, but the exact amount varies for every brand. Stevia does differ from sugar in the way certain instances. For example, when sugar is heated it caramelizes, allowing you to make gooey caramel or that crunchy shell on top of a crème brulee. Because of the different molecular structure, stevia does not cook the same way and no many how many times you try, you will never get caramel. However, (breathe a sigh of relief) sky is the limit when experimenting with different cookies or cakes (you will find some sweet recipes with stevia here).

Stevia is available in a liquid and a powder form and personally I have both. The ‘powder’ packets are everywhere from my car to just about every purse I own, and the liquid is used in my coffee or tea everyday. As stevia is becoming increasingly popular, I have started to notice it popping up in more and more products I find at the grocery store; check out Zevia, an all natural stevia sweetened soda for a sugar free treat. The grape flavor is most always stocked in my fridge.

 

Cooking Classes

What to Eat Before and After the Gym

 

We all go to the gym with the intention of being as healthy as possible and looking as great as we can. Maybe meeting the person of our dreams there does cross our mind, but first two reasons are usually the main reasons. Get the most out of your strenuous workouts by providing your body with proper nutrition before and after your sweat session.

If you are in that ‘weight loss’ frame of mind, you may be reluctant to eat at both of these times. It makes sense to think that no calories in plus extra calories burned results in weight lost. While that math may make sense, take into account that if you are not eating your body will not work as efficiently and it will start to burn muscle as a way of compensating for lack of fuel. I know there are those people who are just not a fans of eating before a gym session, and I always tell them to try to get something, even if it’s small, in your stomach for your body to work off of. To wake up and go to the gym without eating is not uncommon, but remember that after sleeping for 8 or so hours, your body is kind of in a shut down, fasting mode. If you work out without waking your metabolism up with food, your body may slow down even more, as a defense mechanism. Start your metabolism going even before you hit the gym so you will burn fat, instead of muscle.

To be simple, similar snacks can be eaten before and after working out. Try and eat a slightly larger portion after your workout, and be sure to eat it in that 1-hour window after your workout ends, while your body is sill burning calories at a elevated rate. The ratio of your meal should be 40/30/30, meaning 40% of it is protein, 30% is complex carbohydrates, and 30% is fat.

Some examples of what I like to fuel my body surrounding my exercise are:

½ a protein bar before, ½ after. I like ThinkThin bars, Zone, or CarbRite bars.

A cup of Greek yogurt mixed with a scoop of no-sugar whey protein powder.

A protein shake (whey powder, ice, almond milk or coconut milk, and any extras you like i.e. unsweetened cocoa powder, instant coffee, frozen fruit) and a handful of almond.

Egg white sandwich with the bread being a hearty, complex carbohydrate such as a multigrain English muffin.

Healthy Breakfast Cereals

I know mornings are rushed and sometimes it is hard enough to grab breakfast (let alone grab something healthy), but I’ve said it before and I will say it again, no breakfast equals diet suicide! These are a few of my favorite ‘healthy’ cereals that I have found so far (though I am always on the lookout for more). A box of Special K Protein Plus is pretty much a staple in my cupboard; it is a high protein, low sugar choice that only has 9 net (or ‘impact’) carbs per serving (but for those of you who are avoiding gluten stay clear, as it is almost pure gluten). If you are more of a granola lover, try Galaxy Granola, it is delicious, natural and, unlike most other granola, it is not full of sugar. Or, you could cut out all the excess and just go with plain old oatmeal. There is a never ending list of healthy toppings you can sprinkle on top to keep your taste buds from getting bored (a current favorite misture of mine is pumpkin pie spice, stevia, and walnuts).  I am a fan of Ezekiel in any form, and this 4:9 cereal is no exception. Don’t be afraid of its high calorie content per serving, this 100% flourless, sprouted whole grain option is absorbed as complete protein in your body. So even on those rushed mornings where you spend a few extra minutes fixing your hair, (or just give up and throw on a hat) remember that you can still have time for breakfast.

1. Special K Protein Plus

2. Hi.Lo

3. Galaxy Granola

4. Kashi Go Lean

5. Ezekiel 4:9

Speed Up Your Metabolism

Looking for a couple quick and easy tricks to speed up your metabolism? Try:

Eating More Cayenne Pepper: If you can endure the heat, sprinkle this in a stir-fry or on top of your meats. It speeds up your metabolism by slightly raising your body temperature. But be warned, just a little bit of this spicy pepper goes a long way.

Eating More Cinnamon: This spice helps control your insulin levels, which in turn, directly affect how much fat your body stores. Mix it in yogurt, granola, or throw some on top of popcorn with some stevia for a sweet treat.

Garlic: Yes, it may wreck havoc on your breath (and love life for that matter), but besides doing good things for your metabolic rate, it lowers cholesterol, fights cancer, and boosts your immune system. Eat some and swear off kisses for a day or force some upon your significant other because two garlics, well, they cancel each other out.

Drinking More Water: Your metabolism needs water to work efficiently and drinking water also helps you shed excess bloat. Aim for eight glasses a day, or for an even more precise number, half your weight in oz. For an example, if you weigh 150 lbs. drink 75 oz. a day.

Drinking Green Tea: A study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that green tea helps you burn more calories throughout the day and there are countless different flavors and varieties out there, so find some that you love and embrace your inner ‘zen’.

Eating Fiber and Protein: Your body requires the most energy (meaning it burns the most calories) when it’s breaking down and digesting foods rich in fiber and protein.

Sleeping: When you sleep your body produces a hormone called melatonin (which assists your metabolism). Further, when you miss sleep, your body produces a hormone called cortisol, which slows metabolism and causes your body to store fat. The moral of the story is, when you can, sleep in. This may just be my favorite (and the easiest) way to help your body function well.

Gluten-Free: Diet Trend or Healthier Alternative?

A few years ago if you mentioned a gluten-free diet to anyone, you probably would have seen a lot of shrugs and raised eyebrows in return. Well those times are long gone. Thanks to the celebrities who glamorize this style of eating, ‘gluten-free’ has turned into a full on movement that seems to have everyone looking twice at the source of their carbs. Gwyneth Paltrow praised it on her blog, Elizabeth Hasselback wrote a book exclaiming she ‘couldn’t live without this diet’, while Victoria Beckham, Rachel Weisz, and Zooey Deschanel are all vocal about strictly cutting gluten out of their lives. It is not hard to see how people might want to emulate this hot new trend among Hollywood A-listers, and these days it is hard to find a restaurant or coffee shop in southern California who’s menus do not include some ‘gluten-free’ options. But is this diet that is taking the country by storm actually the healthier choice, or are we being blindly influenced by the media?

As with any diet, there are pro’s to this one, especially for people with Celiac disease. As many as 1 in 100 people have Celiac disease, although 95-97% of them are undiagnosed. In addition, it is estimated that 20 million Americans are gluten sensitive, a milder form of the gluten-intolerance known to those with Celiac. One good thing about the gluten free craze is that it has brought a lot of light to the harmful effects that gluten can have (if you are in fact gluten sensitive or intolerant) causing many people to get tested and finally, diagnosed.

Celiac disease is an auto-immune digestive disorder that causes damage to the small intestine and is triggered by the consumption of gluten. This damage (caused by the protein found in gluten) prevents the body from properly absorbing nutrients and fat, and often leads to weight loss. The lack of vitamins, resulting from this malabsorbtion, can potentially cause damage to the brain, nervous system, and various organs. The only treatment for Celiac is a lifelong diet that excludes gluten. This disease is hard to diagnose because its symptoms, including abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, unexplained weight fluctuations, fatigue, and headaches, can be caused by a number of other ailments. Manifestations are generally seen within 20 minutes of consuming gluten and because they are often dismissed or attributed to other conditions, it unfortunately takes an average of 11 years for a person to be properly diagnosed.

Often people will praise the ‘G-Free diet’ as the cause of their weight loss. However, this may not be because of the lack of gluten, but rather because of a new awareness of caloric intake. People tend to be more conscious of what they are putting into their bodies if they make a committed decision to stick to a regimented eating plan. The gluten-free diet will also cause people to pay special attention to all of the carbohydrates they are consuming, likely resulting in eating less carbs all together.

Because adopting this diet is a current trend of celebrities, it is frequently assumed that gluten free equals health and fitness. There are, however, some negatives that may go along with the diet that can easily be overlooked thanks to its famous promoters.If you’re not careful, going gluten free can actually cause an increase in your weight. When you remove gluten from food, its texture will change. Mass-produced gluten-free products can easily have twice the amount of fat, carbs, and or sugar as those with gluten, in order to get a similar texture. If that’s not enough, many ‘gluten-free’ foods are lacking in vitamins and minerals compared to their regular counterpart. One may think he or she is making the ‘healthy’ choice, while unknowingly consuming nutritionally inferior foods.

According to the Nielsen Co., the sale of these gluten-free products is estimated to become a $2.6 billion dollar industry by next year. ‘Gluten-free’ products are already two to three times more expensive then foods made with wheat, oats, etc. and sales are still on the rise. This craze shows no signs of slowing down and while it does have positives, don’t assume that you are bettering your health by switching to gluten-free. Basically, if you’re body can tolerate gluten, stick to eating as much unprocessed foods as possible, as that is always the healthiest route.

If you want to experiment with making the switch to ‘gluten-free’, or just try to cut down a little on the gluten that you consume, you may initially feel confused about where you are supposed to get carbohydrates. Don’t worry, as soon as you start looking, you’ll find there are gluten-free options everywhere (just try to make sure that they are as natural and unprocessed as possible). Products made with corn, quinoa, buckwheat, almond flour, and black or brown rice are all great (slow-digesting carbohydrate) options. If you start buying products such as corn tortillas, brown rice pasta, and wild rice, you’ll find your desire for those starchy ‘white’ carbs will diminish naturally.

Some of my favorite gluten-free options:

Johann’s Bakery

Food For Life

Trader Joe’s Brown Rice Pasta

Flour Power

Eating a scone or a muffin as a late night snack can be very soothing. It is not hard to see why these types of food are labeled ‘comfort foods’. However, knowing that you just ate a bunch of carbs late at night while your body is already burning food at a slower rate is not as comforting. For those times when carbs seem like your only friend, try tricking your body and replacing the white flour in your recipes with some healthier options. There are so many different varieties of flour out there, but because white flour is the most popular in American (and is recommended in the majority of recipes that call for ‘flour’) people can easily accept that as their only option. That is hardly the case, experiment with different types of flour (or flour substitutes) to get the comfort feeling that carbohydrates provide, along with the comforting feeling you are taking care of your body.

1. Oat Flour: This low-gluten option is very inexpensive and easy to find; the ground up oats take your body longer to break down making it more nutritious than traditional white flour. I find it works well for hearty cookies or bars, and it will keep you full for longer. Recipe coming soon.

2. Almond Flour: I got inspired with this flour after spending a lot of time drooling over the recipes on Elana’s Pantry. With almonds being a constant favorite among healthy eaters, it is not hard to see this low-carb and gluten-free options appeal. This ‘flour’ is just ground up raw or blanched almonds and happens to be the main ingredient in all my crusts. Recipe coming soon.

3. Pamela’s Gluten Free Baking Mix: This one is a staple among many gluten-free dieters and it tastes exactly like white flour. The only downfall here is it’s a bit pricey (just under $20 for a 4 lb. bag) so use sparingly! Recipe coming soon.

4. Coconut Flour: Another gluten-free option, this high fiber flour is made from just dried, ground up coconut meat with most of the fat removed. When using this naturally sweet alternative, add a little extra liquid to whatever you are cooking, as it tends to dry out baked goods a bit. Recipe example here.

5. Peanut Flour: I only recently discovered this flour and have been pleasantly surprised with it’s mild peanut flavor and high protein content (1/4 cup has 12 g!). I love it for desserts, but recently started incorporating it into Asian inspired dishes and stir fries. Recipe coming soon.

6. Ground Up Flax Seeds: Although it is not technically a flour, it is a wonderful flour substitute, as it full of fiber and contains lots of healthy omega-3 fatty acids.I wouldn’t use this and nothing else to replace white flour in a recipe; if something calls for 1 cup of white flour, I would use use about 1/3 cup of ground up flax seeds at the most, and 2/3 cup of another type of (healthy) flour. Recipe coming soon.

7. Buckwheat Flour: Gluten-free and high in protein, zinc, and vitamin B, this complex carbohydrate is actually made from a seed, not a grain. Try making your own version of buckwheat pancakes instead of ordering them for $15.00 at a restaurant! Recipe coming soon.

8. Brown Rice Flour: Made out of ground rice and yet another gluten-free option, this has a higher nutrient content then white rice flour. I find it pretty easy to buy brown rice noodles at almost any supermarket, making a cheap and nutritous dinner well within your reach. Recipe coming soon.

9. Quinoa Flour: Quinoa is the highest protien dense grain around and contains all 12 of the essential amino acids, so it is not hard to understand the supirior nutrional value this flour offers verses the typical white flour. Though this flour is wonderful in tortillas, pancakes, or waffles, you can not make yeast breads that rise, as quinoa lacks any elasticity properties. Recipe example here.

List of Go-To Blogs

I am always on the lookout for new blogs filled with interesting, wholesome recipes so when that urge to whip up a healthy dish strikes, I don’t have to look too far for inspiration. If you find a recipe you like while searching the sites below, do not be afraid to make substitutions so it fits your preference or dietary restrictions i.e. coconut oil instead of butter, stevia or agave instead of sugar, or almond flour instead of wheat. I love seeing food prepared in a way I have not necessarily thought of before, then playing around with the idea, and finding my own unique creation. Do you have any inspired ideas of your own?

These are a few of my current favorites blogs. Enjoy:

http://www.elanaspantry.com/

http://www.kalynskitchen.com/

http://cookeasyvegan.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/

http://www.thespunkycoconut.com/

http://www.realfooddigest.com/

{pictured above our Elana’s Peppermint Patties made with coconut oil and agave}

{Gluten-Free Goddess’ Raw Zucchini Pasta in a Vegan Curry Sauce }

{The Spunky Coconut’s Blueberry Coffee Cake}

Chocolate Lovers Rejoice

It is no secret that chocolate has a pretty bad reputation. When someone wants to lose weight, it always seems one of the first foods they cut out their diet is chocolate. Something this good has to be bad for you, right? Wrong (chocoholics breath a sigh of relief)! So how did this ‘super food’ get such bad press? To understand this, we should start thinking about chocolate in two separate categories. Category #1 is ‘candy’ chocolate, and category #2 is ‘real chocolate’ or the kind you want to incorporate into your diet.

Candy chocolate is basically what it sounds like and is responsible for that all of the negativity. It is the all too common chocolate that is found everywhere (Hersheys, M&Ms.. you get the drift). This, I repeat, this chocolate will not give you any of the benefits that ‘real chocolate’ will give you. Candy chocolate is filled with refined sugar, milk products, bad fats (sometimes even animal lard!) chemical preservatives, corn syrup, and waxes. The cocoa bean in this chocolate has also been altered by having been subjected to high heat from the roasting process it endures. There are so many chocolate flavored substances out there, that it is entirely possible to consume a chocolate candy that contains little to no true chocolate! So there is the sad truth; we take this delicious, extremely healthy product, and stuff it full of chemicals and waxes to make it cheaper and in turn, rid it of its healing properties.

Ok so now that we have looked at, and become depressed over chocolate #1, let’s get excited and uplifted over chocolate #2. Get ready for this little fact: raw cocoa has one of the highest antioxidant value of any food in the world, beating out green tea, red wine, and acai berries. What? Yes. The kind of cocoa (or chocolate) you are going to want to consume should be raw and organic (look for those two words when reading labels). Similar to oil, when you heat up cocoa, it loses some of it’s health benefits, making ‘raw’ the preferable choice. The heating process destroys the natural flavanols found in chocolate (which are phytonutrient compounds that support your heart). So like a macho man eating his steak, lets keep it raw.

{pictured above are raw, organic cocoa beans}

Raw cocoa contains hundreds of chemically identifiable compounds, including:

• Dopamine (the same chemical released during sex, or at least good sex)

• Epicatechins (antioxidants)

• Magnesium

• Serotonin (anti-stress)

• Tryptophan (anti-depressant)

• Phenylethylamine (PEA, same chemical released when falling in love)

If you cannot get raw and organic chocolate, dark chocolate is your second best choice. Although it may taste good, milk chocolate and especially white chocolate offer very little to you besides tighter pants.

My Favorite Products:

Xocai Chocolate

Sunfood Chocolate

Naviats Cocao