Tag Archives: protein

Tiny Tip Tuesday: Eat Eggs

August 19, 2014
Super yummy, beautiful eggs.

Super yummy, beautiful eggs.

Unfortunately, over the years, eggs have been a much maligned food.  Due to their yolk’s high cholesterol level, doctors and other health professionals have advocated limiting their consumption, particularly for people with high cholesterol.  These recommendations are unfortunate because eggs offer many health benefits and their impact on cholesterol is not clear cut.  Eggs are a significant source of Vitamin A, Selenium, Folate, B vitamins and phosphorous.  Even though  their yolks contain 212 mgs of the 300 daily recommended mgs of cholesterol, over 70% of people show no cholesterol response to egg consumption and the other 30% of people (called hyper responders) showed a minimal increase in LDL and total cholesterol.   These studies show, however, that eggs change the LDL particles from the small, dense particles associated with heart disease to large LDL molecules.  People with predominately large LDL particles have a lower risk of heart disease.  In fact, some studies have actually shown egg consumption can increase HDL (the “good” cholesterol) in some people.  Egg yolks are also an excellent source of complete protein (6 grams of protein per large egg and they contain all of the essential amino acids) and they contain 100 mgs of choline, an incredibly important nutrient used to build cell membranes and by the body to produce the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine.  Studies have also shown eating omega-3 enriched eggs can reduce triglycerides by 16-18%.  Even though it was hard for me to let go of all the “knowledge” I had about limiting eggs due to their cholesterol count, once I started really examining the studies,  eggs gained a regular place in my family’s breakfast rotation.  You can’t beat their nutrient density compared to their cost!!  If you are interested in adding eggs to your diet but have a history of high cholesterol, talk to your health care provider about a recommendation for a healthy number of eggs to include in your diet.

Photo found on flicker under Creative Commons license.  See more beautiful photos by Woodley Wonder Works here.

Post shared on Fat Tuesday.

Filed Under: Blog, Health Information

Tiny Tip Tuesday: 3 Tips for Balancing Blood Sugar

June 3, 2014
Easy tips to help regulate blood sugar.

Easy tips to help regulate blood sugar.

What happens in your body when you eat a big blueberry muffin and wash it down with a giant soda?  Essentially, your body goes into sugar overload.   Your pancreas detects this infusion of sugar, triggering a release of insulin to help cope with the excess sugar.  Insulin, a hormone produced by the body, is responsible for regulating  the level of sugar in our blood.  The more sugar in our bodies, the more insulin our pancreas releases.  Insulin helps store the sugar in the liver and muscles as glycogen (to be used later for energy) and in fat cells as triglycerides.

When we down that white flour blueberry muffin combined with a sugary drink, our body struggles to get the insulin to sugar balance right.  If we load our body with sugar on a regular basis, the body begins to overcompensate for these blasts of sugar by dropping our blood sugar level down lower than it was before we ate the sugar.  This is commonly called a “sugar crash” but the technical name is hypoglycemia.  Our body responds to this crash by craving sweets or feeling hungry. When we respond to these cravings by eating more sugar, the whole process begins again.   Once we are caught in this cycle of crashing and then sugar consumption, we may feel shakiness, grouchiness, trembling or weakness if we go too long without eating.  Most people will feel temporary symptom relief when they eat.  My sister refers to this feeling as being “hangry” – feeling grouchy and short tempered until she gets some food.  Fortunately, there are some steps to take to avoid this blood sugar roller coaster ride.

  1. Limit the amount of sugar you eat.  This includes all forms of sugar- processed carbohydrates, white sugar, agave, honey, sodas, date sugar, muffins, ice cream, cookies, candy or any other food that tastes sweet.
  2. Eat complex carbohydrate rich foods with a protein and/or healthy fat.  Combining a carbohydrate rich food with a protein or fat will slow the digestion of the carbs down, giving your body more time to process the sugar.  An apple slathered with nut butter or whole-wheat bread with avocado and turkey are good examples of healthy combinations.
  3. Eating small, frequent meals.  When we eat on a regular basis, it helps our bodies have a steady source of energy to avoid the peaks and valleys of blood sugar regulation.  Aim to eat every 3-4 hours.

 Photo by Nimish Gogri.  To see more beautiful photos by Nimish go to flickr. (Text on photo added by me.)

Filed Under: Blog, Health Information

Tiny Tip Tuesday: Protein for Vegans and Vegetarians

May 20, 2014

 

Photo by rusvaplauke with text added by me.

Photo by rusvaplauke with text added by me.

My vegan and vegetarian friends say they are always asked about how they get their protein.  However, recent research has pointed to the fact that it is easier than you think to get your protein needs met even without eating meat.  Protein, along with fat and carbs,  is one of the three macro nutrients that are essential for life.  You have protein in every cell in your body.  Protein is composed of amino acids.  Non- essential amino acids can be made by your body but essential amino acids must be obtained through food or supplementation.  Proteins are lumped into two categories- complete and incomplete.  A complete protein contains all nine of the essential amino acids in the correct ratios.  Incomplete proteins either lack some of the essential amino acids or the amino acids aren’t in the correct ratios the body needs.  However, a protein can be made complete by combining more than one incomplete protein.  Conventional wisdom use to state that to make a complete proteins the incomplete proteins had to be eaten in the same meal.  It is now known that  as long as you eat your incomplete proteins within 24 hours, they will combine to make a complete protein.  Below is an easy list to help you form complete proteins.  Simply eat food from two or more of the different categories in a 24 hour period and you will get all the amino acids needed to form a complete protein.

GRAINS : barley, corn  meal, oats, rice pasta, bulgar, wheat, amaranth, spelt,  quinoa, millet or other whole grains.

LEGUMES:  beans, lentil, peas, peanuts or soy products.

SEEDS & NUTS:  sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds, pecans, nut butters or other nuts and seeds.

VEGETABLES:  leafy greens, broccoli, corn, mushrooms, carrots, yams or other vegetables.

Added to REal Food Forager, Gluten Free Homemaker, Rock My Vegan Socks and Urban Naturale,

 

 

 

Filed Under: Blog, Health Information

Dark Chocolate Covered Seed and Nut Bars

May 14, 2014
Finished bars all ready to eat.

Finished bars all ready to eat.

It has suddenly gotten amazingly hot and sunny here in the Pacific Northwest.  I LOVE IT!  I am a total sun girl- everything seems better with a little  sun!  The only bummer is our house gets incredibly hot as the day goes on.  As the mercury rises, trying to avoid further heating of  the house with cooking becomes a consuming obsession.  Imagine my joy when I came upon these amazing raw seed and nut bars from This Rawsome Vegan Life while surfing Pintrest (you can find me here on Pintrest).

All the yummies that make up these awesome bars.

All the yummies that make up these awesome bars.

 

These bars have everything you could possibly need for a little pick me up in a busy day.  Healthy sugar from organic dates and raisins, omega-3’s from chia seeds, walnuts and flax seeds and protein from all those seeds and nuts.   Pumpkin seeds further contribute to the omega-3’s but they also give a much need boost of zinc (read here about the benefits of zinc.).The medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) in the coconut oil provide a blast of increase energy expenditure compared to the same amount of calories from longer chain fats.  And, of course, I couldn’t resist adding a dark chocolate covered topping to increase my antioxidant exposure.  (Read more about the benefits of dark chocolate here.

Dark chocolate squares melting in double broiler.

Dark chocolate squares melting in double broiler.

I put the dark chocolate squares on the stove in a makeshift double broiler while I started the grinding of the seeds and nuts in the food processor.  After the nuts and seeds resembled a course crumb, I gradually added the raisins and dates.  Mixing this all together required some time, with multiple stops to scrape down the sides of the food processor.  I used roughly 2 tbs of coconut oil but you will have to judge the stickiness of your own dough.  The moisture content of the dates and raisins seems to impact how sticky the dough becomes.

All the ingredients before being ground.

All the ingredients before being ground.

 

Melting chocolate for the topping.

Melting chocolate for the topping.

Bars with melted chocolate ready to go to the fridge to harden.

Bars with melted chocolate ready to go to the fridge to harden.

Finished bars.

Finished bars.

These were super easy to whip up and so tasty!  I think they might be my new favorite bar!

Print
Dark Chocolate Covered Seed and Nut Bars

Ingredients

  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1/3 cup chia seeds
  • 1/3 cup ground flax seeds
  • 1/3 cup hemp seeds
  • 1/4 cup cacao nibs
  • 1/4 cup coconut flakes
  • 3/4 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1 cup dates
  • 1-2 tablespoons melted coconut oil, if needed
  • 4 Dark chocolate squares for topping.

Instructions

  1. Melt dark chocolate over double broiler on the stove.
  2. Put all ingredients except raisins, coconut oil and dates in food processor.
  3. Process until you have a course crumb mixture.
  4. Add raisins and dates.
  5. Process until dough starts sticking together.
  6. Add coconut oil as needed to help with sticking.
  7. Put dough in parchment lined pan.
  8. Use your hands to press to uniform depth throughout the pan.
  9. Pour melted chocolate over top of bars.
  10. Spread chocolate.
  11. Put bars in fridge for about an hour.
  12. Once firm and chocolate hardens, take out and cut.
  13. Store in fridge.
  14. Enjoy!
http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/dark-chocolate-covered-seed-and-nut-bars/

Share a link to your favorite bar recipe!

This post was shared with Gluten Free Homemaker, A glimpse Inside, Homespun Oasis, The Nourishing Gourmet, Rock My Vegan Socks, Food Renegade,  Today’s Creative Blog  and Live Laugh Rowe..

Filed Under: Blog, Snacks

Tiny Tip Tuesday: Eat Breakfast Like a King

April 15, 2014
Photo by Ali Arsh.

Photo by Ali Arsh.

Recent research has offered support to the old adage “Eat breakfast like a king. Lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. ” A study published in  Obesity randomly divided 50 overweight and obese woman into two groups.  Each woman received a total of 1400 calories divided throughout the day.  The first group, the Breakfast group  received the majority of their calories in the morning (700 calories for breakfast, 500 for lunch and 200 for dinner).  The second group, the Dinner group, received the majority of their calories for dinner (200 calories at breakfast, 500 for lunch and 700 for dinner). The only difference between the two groups was the timing of the bulk of their calories.  The results were astounding.  While both groups lost a significant amount of weight, the Breakfast group lost twice as much weight and showed a significantly greater reduction in their insulin levels and fasting glucose levels.  The Breakfast group also had a 33.6% decrease in their  triglyceride levels while the Dinner group’s triglyceride levels increased by almost 15%.  The Breakfast group also reported feeling more satiated throughout the day than the Dinner group.

What can we learn from this study?  Researchers for years have pointed to the importance of eating breakfast.  It is well documented that people who eat breakfast have more energy throughout the day, are better able to stay focused and tend to eat less throughout the day.  Traditional Chinese Medicine believes the body is most focused on digestion during the morning hours so consuming the majority of your nutrients during this period means your body will receive optimal nutrition.  Of course, the quality of the breakfast is important.  Sugary cereals, white bagels with cream cheese or waffles loaded with syrup are going to spike your blood sugar and then lead to a energy crash.  Be sure to add some protein and maybe a healthy fat to the start of your day.  This fat or protein will help anchor your carbs, slowing digestion and keeping you feeling full longer.  Good choices for breakfast include:

  • A whole wheat bagel with nut butter and banana.
  • A bowl of oatmeal, quinoa and other grains with ground flax seeds and berries.
  • Eggs of any kind served with sprouted whole wheat toast and a fresh fruit.
  • Chia seeds combined with almond milk, chopped nuts and fruit.
  • If you are going to have a cereal, try to choose one with the fewest grams of sugar possible.  Mix it with a full fat organic Greek plain yogurt or whole organic milk, chopped nuts and some fresh berries.

All of these options offer a complex carb combined with a healthy fat and a significant source of protein.  These breakfasts will help you have a healthy start to your day and could be one of the first steps to helping you control your eating throughout the day.  Controlled, mindful eating can be an important component of weight control.

This post was shared with She eats and Richly Rooted.

Tell me about your favorite go to breakfast options.

 

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Filed Under: Blog, Breakfast Faire, Health Information