A little less conversation, a little more action...

How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live. --Henry David Thoreau

La la la la la…pretending I’ve never been gone…la la lala la….

Is 50 too old to develop ADD? Seriously, it’s like I can only concentrate on one thing at a time. No multi-tasking for me. If I’m putting all of my energy into reading and writing about healthier eating, I am putting NO energy into actually doing it. If I’m focusing on losing weight and getting back on track, I simply cannot find the time to write about it.

If I’m obsessed with my HUGE FREAKING PORES, I cannot be bothered about my lumpy thighs.

Bizarre.

Anywho, the good news is I am, indeed, about 95% back on track. The weekends can still use some tweaking, though. The bad news is I am writing this instead of planning my meals for next week.

See what I mean?

After almost passing out while driving the other day (I have self-diagnosed that as a blood sugar issue) I decided to quit screwing around and get serious. And wow, do I ever feel better since I did. I’m trying to stay in a 1200 calorie per day range but the main thing I’ve done is cut out most processed foods. Once you do that, everything else pretty much takes care of itself. Funny how that works.

Also funny is that I just said I cut out MOST processed foods - but I wanted to tell you about two things that I have recently discovered. Both in the processed category. (Picture a smiley face here.)

As a basically lazy person, wasting time every morning until the last possible moment, I hate to have to spend too much time on my lunch. Yes, I know I can do it the night before, but let’s get real.

My niece turned me on to StarKist tuna salad in a pouch. Tuna Salad. In a pouch. As in mayo and onions already included.

I had no idea there was such a thing. My first thought on seeing something like this would have been “ewwww, gross” but she assured me it was good - and even bought one for me. Such a thoughtful girl. And it IS good. And only 90 calories. So now I have that for lunch every day (I like the albacore) together with my second find:


Arnold’s Sandwich Thins. Yes, I know everyone else has already tried these. But I have never been able to find them until recently. So cute – and the perfect size for the tuna salad. One hundred calories of deliciousness. (And gluten. I’ve decided to work on slowly eliminating the dairy first and THEN worry about the gluten…but this is actually the only gluten-containing food I’ve been eating and it doesn’t seem to be bothering me.)

This combo is perfect for the lazy. Although it just occurs to me that it would be even easier if I would just take all five pouches for the week and the package of bread to work with me on Monday morning. Then I wouldn’t have to be bothered with schlepping them every single day.

Since I’ve been snacking on raw vegetables in the afternoon, I am buying those pre-washed and pre-cut. Makes things a lot easier. (I totally would never have made it as a pioneer woman. Never.)

Thoughts of getting back to exercising are tumbling around in my head. But that’s an obsession for another day…and I still have my Huge Pores to think about.

Gluten-free dumbass in denial

As you know, because I whine about it all the time, I feel perfectly shitty 99% of the time. The other 1%? Moderately poopy. The point is, I never feel GOOD. For a long time I attributed that to my thyroid issues. But lately, I’ve been trying to pay more attention to what I eat and how I feel when I eat it.

My conclusion? Gluten. That pesky little protein found in wheat, barley, rye and usually oats. I already knew any type of baked goods affected me badly, causing bloat, weight gain and general misery. And, while I hated to admit it, my beloved Quaker (crack in a box) oatmeal practically put me into a coma. I decided a two-week gluten-free trial was in order.

So I bought a book. Gluten-Free Living for Dumbasses Dummies. And I learned things. Things like autoimmune disorders, such as Hashimoto’s Disease (which I have), are often a symptom of a gluten intolerance. As is a Vitamin D and B12 deficiency (both of which I have). And other symptoms I had also pointed to a gluten intolerance:

Fatigue
Headaches (including migraines)
Inability to concentrate
Hair loss
Low blood sugar
Night blindness

And those are just the symptoms that apply to me. If you read the entire list, you would be convinced that YOU are gluten-intolerant, too.

I learned that most people with gluten allergies or intolerances will not ever be diagnosed. Because doctors don’t usually test for it. That there will be 1 diagnosis for every 140 cases. Don’t ask me how they know that if the other 140 aren’t ever diagnosed, but that’s what they say.

Focusing on all the foods that are naturally gluten-free, such as meats and seafood, fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, rice, and most dairy, I made a list and went grocery shopping. I decided not to go crazy with buying gluten-free baked goods, such as bread, because I wasn’t really even sure if this was my problem. And for two weeks, I could live with corn tortillas if I needed a sandwich.

It was not all that difficult. I didn’t notice anything dramatic in the way I felt. I ate yogurt mixed with rice and raisins for breakfast instead of oatmeal. I ate a bowl of rice chex with skim milk for a snack. I ate refried beans with cheese and corn chips. Steak and potatoes. Salads. It was not bad.

Still, I lasted only four days. Why? Beer. I caved when we went bowling and they did not sell anything gluten-free. I was weak. But an interesting thing happened when I had that beer. Absolutely nothing. No bloating, no abdominal pain, no gas, no headache. It was the first time in that whole day that I DIDN’T feel bad. I had eaten a gluten-free, sugar-free protein bar that afternoon (Think Thin brand…it was gross) that made me nauseous. And it wasn’t just because it was nasty.

Here is where the dumbass in denial part comes in. That bar contained dairy. As did the yogurt with my breakfast. As did the cheese (and lots of it) on my refried beans at lunch. I was living large in the gluten-free dairy department.

And I’m allergic to casein, a milk protein. Tested and diagnosed two years ago, it is an undeniable fact. One which I choose to ignore. I keep eating it because doing so doesn’t send me into anaphylactic shock or anything. So it must be okay, right? It must be something else making me feel bad. Anything else. Dear God, please. I CANNOT GIVE UP CHEESE.

Sigh. I must give up cheese.

Time to face the facts and deal with them, I guess. So now I will buy more books that will teach me how to live dairy-free (and I might still stay off the gluten…unless it comes in beer) and I will focus on foods that are naturally dairy-free. And I will try to remember that going dairy-free is probably good for me even if I wasn’t allergic to it. And maybe I’ll feel better.

But I don’t like it. No sir, not even one little bit.

They had me at "donut"

It’s rare that I come across a piece of fruit that I think is cute. So cute that I have to buy it. But that’s really the only reason I bought a couple of donut peaches the other day. Because they were cute. So cute that I bought them even though they weren’t organic – despite the fact that peaches are reportedly one of the worst fruits to buy conventional. Guess I felt the need for a little dangerous living.

Have you seen these? They’re nothing like your standard fuzzy, drippy peach. They’re kind of flat-ish and low-fuzz and the flesh is white. Because of the shape, they easily break in half and you can pop the pit right out. Kind of like an avocado.

To me, the consistency was like that of a soft pear and it kind of tasted more like a plum than a peach. Having never had them before, I couldn’t tell you where these were on the ripeness scale. Under ripe? Over ripe? Just right? Don’t know, but they were at least fun to eat.

I have this long-standing fantasy in which I buy a large box of donuts and, while sexily dressed in pink pajama pants and one of Mr. Jelly Belly’s oversized t-shirts, I lounge on the couch all day eating donuts and watching trash television - until I can no longer stand the ecstasy of it all and fall into a happy sugar coma. But, like all good fantasies, this one will never see the light of day. But maybe I can improvise with a dozen donut peaches and a Golden Girls marathon.

Somehow, I just don’t think it will be the same.

Dairy-free Grandma

I am always jealous whenever people talk about the great food products they are able to buy at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. I don’t have either of those anywhere near me and my Kroger is The Worst Ever. I hate grocery shopping in general and the lack of variety there has always frustrated me.

Until now.

I dragged myself into Kroger this morning and was shocked to see they had finally finished their remodeling and added an organic section. It’s no Whole Foods, of course, but it’s better than nothing.

It was perfect timing for me, because my 16-month old grandson was coming over for the afternoon. I like to have snacks for the kids but he’s difficult because he’s severely lactose-intolerant. I gave him some vanilla almond milk last time he was over (he loved it), but that’s hardly a snack worthy of grandma’s house, right? His 7-year old sister loves strawberries and ice cream sandwiches, so I always have those around for her. Her brother gets in on the strawberry action, but no ice cream for the poor little guy.

But look at the dairy-free treasures I found! First off, Tofutti Cuties snack-sized ice cream sandwiches. Available in 12 different flavors, but I stuck with vanilla:

Then I spotted Rice Dream Ice Cream, so I grabbed a pint – again, in vanilla:

But life isn’t all about ice cream, so I also picked up some Stoneyfield Farms Soy Yogurt:

After lunch, I let him try the ice cream sandwich. Having never had ice cream, he didn’t quite know what to make of it at first. Then he scarfed the rest of it down. (I didn’t try it, but I took a big sniff and it smelled exactly the same as any other ice cream sandwich.) So I packed all that up and sent it home with him. Dairy-free or not, I don’t need the temptation.

I know all of this is not very exciting for those of you with access to Whole Foods, but this was a Big Deal to me. Especially when I found stuff like this:

And this:

And this:

And, out of the organic arena, have you seen this?

I have always been a fan of Buitoni products, but really limit them these days because of the white flour. I was so excited to see the whole wheat, that I bought both the ravioli and the tortellini.

So, yeah. Despite the final bill (yikes!), all in all it was a good shopping day – AND I think I got put in the running for Grandma of the Year. Any suggestions for what I should get next time? There was some rice bread that looked pretty interesting. Anyone tried that?

Cauliflower Crust Pizza - a repost

Because I have a lot of new readers who may not be aware of the wonder that is Cauliflower Crust Pizza, I thought I’d repost it today so nobody has to miss out on the deliciousness. I originally got this recipe from The Lighter Side of Low Carb (Cleochatra does amazing things with cauliflower) and continue to enjoy it on a fairly regular basis. What’s not to like about a flourless pizza that tastes just as good as any other pizza I’ve ever had? I hope you will give it a try!

I do believe I have died and gone to low-carb heaven.

As promised, I made the pizza with the cauliflower crust that I mentioned in an earlier post. It was truly delicious. And surprisingly filling! Of course, it could very well have been all that cheese that made it so heavenly, but, whatever – it was wonderful. Had I known how easy it was to make, I’d have tried it a long time ago.

For the adventurous among you, here’s the recipe:

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower

1 egg

1 cup mozzarella cheese

½ tsp fennel

1 tsp oregano

2 tsp parsley

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray.

In a medium bowl, combine cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. Press evenly on the pan. Sprinkle evenly with spices. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes (15-20 if you double the recipe).

Remove the pan from the oven. To the crust, add sauce, then toppings and cheese. (If you are adding meat, make sure it is cooked first.) Place under the broiler at high heat just until the cheese is melted.

And that’s it. I steamed a whole head of fresh cauliflower in a small amount of water in the microwave for 6 minutes. I should have just used frozen, but this worked out fine.

You can then use a hand grater or a food processor to rice it. I used a food processor and it was super fast. You can get one cup out of roughly half of a medium-sized head of cauliflower. I also used an Italian spice blend, rather than the three spices suggested.

I decided to go “bare bones” the first time and only topped with pizza sauce and more mozzarella. It was perfect. I cut it into four pieces and I’m not going to lie to you – I ate all four. Even though I was technically full after two. Here’s a low-carb “oink, oink” for ya.

The only advice I would give you is to check the bottom of the crust before you remove it from the oven the first time (prior to putting on the toppings). It was starting to really brown around the edges and I was afraid I was burning it, so I took it out at 12 minutes. As it turns out, I should have gone at least 15 because the bottom wasn’t browned and crispy like I think it’s supposed to be. (MJB note: I’ve learned in subsequent bakings, that it NEVER gets browned on the bottom; I don’t know where I got the idea that it was supposed to.)

I riced the remainder of the cauliflower and vacuum-sealed it so it will be ready next time. Which will probably be tomorrow.

P.S. The above picture is not mine, although mine actually came out looking almost exactly like that - I browned the cheese a lot more.

ETA: I should have mentioned that the ingredients list above is just for the crust. To finish the pizza, you will need pizza sauce and more mozzarella. Plus whatever other toppings you might want to add. If you eat meat, try diced pepperoni - delish!

Coconut oil - a wonder food?

Okay, so you know what “everyone” says – saturated fats are BAD. Mono and polyunsaturated fats are good. Shoot, I say it myself. Turns out this may not be entirely true.

Saturated fats from animal sources, as in meats and cheese, are still considered to be bad. These are the ones that clog your arteries, leading to heart disease.

But now we have a new kid on the block. Well, not really new, but definitely the beaten down and bullied kid on the block. You know, the one the other kids don’t like because he’s different. They say mean, untrue things about him and spread the word. Then, pretty soon, everyone hates him and avoids him, based solely on heresay. You know, because all the cool kids are doing it. What a shame. If they took the time to know him, they might find he’s a wonderful person.

In this, my first feeble attempt at a metaphor (or is that an analogy? I can never keep them straight), the new kid is coconut oil – and the bullies are the soybean industry and Big Business in general.

Back in the late 70s, or early 80s, people began to get Freaked Out about saturated fats and the related rise in cholesterol levels. Then, from what I have read, the soybean industry decided to prey on this fear and spent oodles of money in a marketing campaign designed to share with the masses that saturated fats and tropical oils were Bad and only vegetable oils were Good.

And who do you think profits from an ad campaign like this one? That’s right. The vegetable oil industry. Who I would assume are more concerned with their bank accounts than your health.

Pretty soon, like a game of “telephone” the word spread that coconut oil was bad. Nobody bothered to do their own research…they just took the word of Big Business as fact and passed the flawed information along until it was widely believed as God’s Honest Truth.

Over the last few years, people like Dr. Joseph Mercola (see video below) and The Weston A. Price Foundation, among others, have started their own much smaller campaign touting the benefits of coconut oil

As you certainly know by now, I hate all things science related, so I’m going to just give you a brief description of why the saturated fat in coconut oil is okay, and the saturated fat from animal sources is not. If my description doesn’t do it for you and you are science minded, I encourage you to search out the details for yourself. And there are a lot of sources for it, via our friend, Google.

The saturated fat in coconut oil is a medium-chain triglyceride, while the saturated fat from animal sources is a long-chain triglyceride and they are processed by the body in totally different ways.

MCT’s are almost instantly broken down by the enzymes in saliva and gastric juices so that pancreatic fat-digesting enzymes are not needed. They are much more water soluble than LCT and can be readily absorbed across the wall of the small intestine and into the blood stream for transportation directly to the liver. (God, I’m already getting a headache.) The upshot of all of this is that, although coconut oil is high in saturated fat, it doesn’t convert over to fat in the body because of how quickly it is utilized.

Virgin coconut oil contains lauric acid (medium chain fatty acid). This is stressed in every single one of the million articles I read as being of High Importance. Lauric acid is found in mother’s milk and is what helps build the immune system of the newborn and fight against disease. Once the lauric acid is digested in the body, it is converted into monolaurin acid, known for its antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and antimicrobial properties.

So, that’s enough of the science for me. Too much, really. The point I wanted to make is that many people are experiencing great health benefits by adding coconut oil into their diet. I have no doubt that its increased popularity has to do with its weight loss and thyroid-boosting properties.

Coconut oil can be used to cook with at high temperatures without losing its benefits, unlike olive or hemp oil, which are best used unheated. Many people use it as a replacement for butter in anything, including baking, and report no discernible difference to the end product.

Let’s look briefly at a couple of the many reported benefits beyond thyroid boosting and weight loss:

Coconut oil helps to improve nutrient absorption of minerals like calcium and magnesium, thus helping to prevent osteoporosis. It increases the absorption of some of the B vitamins, the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K and beta-carotene) as well as some amino acids. Coconut oil has been recommended in the treatment of malnutrition.

Coconut oil can help speed healing of cuts and burns, and because of its antifungal properties, it’s also great for infections such as ringworm and athlete’s foot.

Dang, I hate it when these posts get so long. I’m trying to just hit the highlights, but there’s so much out there!

Making a too-long story shorter – the recommended therapeutic dose of coconut oil is 2-3 tablespoons per day. You should buy an organic, extra-virgin coconut oil for best benefit. I bought the Nutiva brand, based on the excellent reviews (you should read them, they’re interesting). It’s delicious and smells yummy. It comes in solid form and melts at room temperature. I am plopping a hunk of it in my oatmeal in the morning as well as cooking with it. Mr. Jelly Belly has not made any whiny comments about the taste of the food, so he must not be noticing it.

I am going to admit three things: I have noticed increased energy. Not like I’ve turned into Wonder Woman and am go-go-going from dawn till dusk, but definitely an improvement from my normal zero-energy level.

While going through a short patch of less-than-stellar eating habits (that’s a whole ‘nother post), I have not gained one pound. In fact, I have lost two. THAT shocked me. I had been avoiding the scale since I had been eating so much (not necessarily Bad Things, but too much of them) so when I decided to bite the bullet and assess the damage, I was pleasantly surprised.

I hate to admit this one, but I have a toenail fungus. Ick. I have had it for what seems like forever on my big toe. Lamisal did not work. Home remedies did not work. I have resigned myself to having it for life and to never wearing sandals again. I am actually seeing new clear toenail growth at the bottom of that toe. Coconut oil? I don’t know. But it’s interesting.

So, as if this post isn’t already long enough, I will leave you with two videos that you can watch for further information. They cover all the other important facts that I left out. The first, by Dr. Mercola, while rather dry, presents the facts in an easily understood way and is actually very interesting (6:15). The second is perkier and gives the facts but it’s a bit longer (9:38).

And then I encourage you to draw your own conclusions as to whether or not coconut oil is a hero or a villain. I’m going with hero.

Homemade noodles - and a gadget

If you’ve never attempted homemade noodles, you are really missing out. I don’t even know how to describe the taste difference, so I won’t even try. But, trust me – if you make these, you had better double the recipe because your whole family will scarf them down so fast your head will spin.

Making homemade noodles is one of those things that sound like too much work, but really isn’t. And, boy, do you ever feel all professional chef-ish when you’re rolling out that dough and cutting the noodles.

This is something I haven’t made in a long time (because of that dang white flour thing), but then I came across this Handcrafted Noodle Cutter:

Seeing this very cool gadget reminded of how much I loved the whole noodle-making process. And how much more I loved the whole noodle-eating process. Slicing the dough into something that looked even slightly uniform was always a challenge for me. This Noodle Cutter looks like it would reduce the cutting (and swearing) time significantly.

Doing a quick search of Allrecipes for homemade noodle recipes (since I cannot seem to locate mine), I found this one for Egg Noodles and this one for Basic Pasta. Be sure to read the reviews on these things because there were some great tips for making these recipes using your bread machine and your Kitchen Aid dough hook.

Homemade noodles are always great in Chicken Soup (the only soup I ever made that Mr. Jelly Belly actually ate – and, after he picked out the carrots and celery, he loved it):

You can also use them in other dishes, like this Chuck Roast with Homemade Noodles:

Homemade noodles are very versatile and CHEAP to make. I just put them on my menu for this weekend because regardless of how strange my noodles always look (because of my inadequate cutting skills), they are always delicious.

The healing powers of pineapple

Now I knew pineapple was good for you, being a fruit and all – but I had no idea HOW good. Most of its health benefits come from an enzyme called bromelain and its high vitamin C content.

Bromelain helps to break down the amino acids in proteins, making it a great aid to digestion – and it is said to be helpful in preventing nausea caused by morning sickness or motion sickness.

But what I find most interesting about bromelain are the claims that it is a natural anti-inflammatory, helpful in reducing swelling of the thyroid gland (goiter) and relieving symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

Additionally, bromelain is effective in treating bruises and sprains by reducing swelling, tenderness and pain – and preventing blood clot formation. The article I read wasn’t clear, but I still think you actually EAT IT and don’t apply it topically. But it would make a much more pleasant poultice than something made of garlic, no?

(Note: The bromelain content of pineapple is destroyed by the canning process – so eat your pineapple fresh for the most benefit. And taste, really.)

So all of those things by themselves make me want to run out and eat a pineapple, but we haven’t even touched on the vitamin C.

It’s pretty widely know that vitamin C is an antioxidant and, as such, it protects the body from free radical damage and boosts the immune system. Vitamin C helps build and repair bodily tissue and promotes wound healing. Nice double whammy for wound healing, along with the bromelain, right?

And here’s something I did not know about vitamin C: The body uses vitamin C to help metabolize fats and cholesterol, absorb iron, and synthesize amino acids and collagen. (Collagen is one of the primary building blocks of skin, cartilage and bones.)

And I think we all know that vitamin C is helpful in fighting off colds and infections – or at least in decreasing their severity. No word yet on its effect on the Swine Flu.

And why oh why did I not know sooner that, because of all that vitamin C, pineapples are good for your oral health as well. Vitamin C increases the ability of connective tissue to repair itself, and also increases the body's ability to fight invading bacteria and other toxins that contribute to gum disease. Periodontal disease, which destroys gum tissue and underlying jaw bones, has been linked to heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.

Now I know all of this is making you want to run right out and buy a pineapple or two. It just so happens that pineapples are at their peak right now (March through July) so it’s not such a bad idea.

And you can go to all the trouble of learning how to cut a pineapple (cut off both ends, cut out the core, scrape off the thorny stuff) or, seriously, you can just go the Mrs. Jelly Belly QVC-addicted route and buy yourself a stainless steel pineapple slicer. Or the plastic one, even.

Now that you bought all that fresh pineapple - and it's all cut up and ready to eat - how about a smoothie? Or a lovely Pina Colada (which doesn’t contain fresh pineapple but, really, why not?).

Tropical Fruit Smoothie

1 frozen banana

1 cup fresh pineapple

3/4 cup soymilk

1 tablespoon honey or sugar (optional)

Blend all of the above ingredients in a food processor or blender for 1-2 minutes, until smooth and creamy. Makes 2 servings.

Pina Colada

4 oz. fresh pineapple juice
3 oz. rum
2 oz. coconut cream
2 cups crushed ice

Pour all of the ingredients into a blender. Blend briefly at high speed. Strain into a glass and serve. Garnish with a slice of fresh pineapple and a cherry.

Organic home delivery

Because it’s Earth Day and all, I thought I’d share with you this great idea I unexpectedly stumbled upon while searching the internet for something else.

Organic home delivery. Wow. A lazy woman’s dream. Farm-fresh organic produce selected for me and delivered right to my door for a reasonable price? I did not know such a thing even existed. And to find it was available in my area, an area where there isn’t even a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s within 30 miles? I was so excited I couldn’t wait to sign up.

Door to Door Organics works with local organic farmers to provide delivery of seasonal fruits, vegetables and herbs. Their service is currently available in Colorado, Michigan, Kansas City and Eastern states (CT, NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, VA, DC).

You can choose the size of the box you want delivered every week (or every other week), and what you want to be in the box. All fruit, all vegetables, or a mixture of both. Don’t like cucumbers? Swap it out for something you DO like. There is no long-term commitment.

I am getting the “Bitty Box”, suitable for one to two people (because you know Mr. Jelly Belly isn’t touching the stuff) and I am opting for the mix of fruits and vegetables. Those with larger families can choose the Small, Medium or Large boxes.

On Friday mornings I receive an email letting me know that my next box is set up on their website and ready for editing. I go in, look at what’s being offered and either accept it as it, swap out items I might not like for something else, or skip that week’s delivery altogether.

For a total cost of $23, including delivery, here’s what will be in my box this week:

Romaine hearts
1 lb. of carrots
1.5 lbs. red garnet yams
1 lb. red onions
1 cucumber
3 bananas
3 apples
Pint cherry tomatoes
2 pears
3 minneolas (I had to look that up – they’re oranges)

Because I still have apples from last week, this week I chose to get rid of the apples and get some more yams. In my opinion, you can never have too many yams. And then I swapped out the tomatoes for avocados. It’s still early in the season, but I am really looking forward to my summer choices.

If you can get four people together who will have their boxes delivered to the same address (your office, for example) you become a “co-op” and are eligible for a discount. I don’t know how much – we only have three people so far.

Check around to see if you have a similar service in your area. Support your local farmers. Happy Earth Day!

Why 6 meals are better than 3

Three squares a day. That’s what most of us grew up with and that’s what society tends to be geared toward. Most of us have eating patterns that involve skipping breakfast, eating a big lunch, and rushing home to huge dinner. In between? Snack, snack, snack.

Some people are very in tune with their bodies’ hunger and full signals. They know when they should eat, what their body needs and when they should stop shoveling it in.

I am not one of those people. I totally stink at stopping when I am full and have been a lifetime member of the Clean Plate Club. The Big Fat Overfull Plate. Switching to six mini meals per day really helped me to get my eating under control. Oh, and it stopped me from feeling like a total slug after every meal.

Learning about how to effectively feed your body every few hours can stabilize your blood sugar and keep your metabolism revved up. And that keeps your body at its maximum fat-burning capacity every day. It also eliminates that feeling we get five hours after lunch that we will just DIE if we don’t eat a whole pig RIGHT NOW.

When you will eat these six meals, and what they will consist of, will vary based on your own body AND your schedule. I’ve mentioned before that I have some trouble with getting a mini meal in during the afternoon because eating at your desk is a big “no no” where I work – so sometimes the general “rules” of 6 mini meals need to be tweaked to accommodate those kinds of things. Or sometimes you just have to learn how to hide your food.

For example, most experts on this subject say to eat as soon as you wake up. For me, that’s just not going to happen. My first meal happens about two hours AFTER my coffee, and then I go every couple of hours from there.

So because I am generally less hungry in the morning, constantly hungry in the afternoon, and rarely hungry in the evening, my six meals, during the week, typically look something like this:

9:00 am – Oatmeal, or yogurt mixed with ½ cup of Fiber One cereal
11:00 am – truthfully, this is usually just a banana to hold me over until lunch
12:00 pm – Huge salad with chicken, lettuce, spinach and at least two other vegetables
2:00 pm – Varies, but generally fruit and yogurt
3:30 pm – A sandwich! You can shove lots of good stuff into a low carb, whole grain tortilla.
6:00 pm – Meat, poultry or fish, a whole grain, lots of cooked vegetables

(I’m not going to lie to you – these days, my meals on the weekend are a lot less regimented. A lot. It’s something I’m working on.)

There are a lot of different factors that might make your six meals look different than mine. People who weigh more and people who work out more will probably eat a totally different configuration, but the goal is the same: To consume the same number of calories you would by eating three meals a day, but spreading them out over six.

If you were to Google “Six meals a day” you would find lots of advice on how to “correctly” distribute your meals. Mine may not be exactly correct, but it’s what works for me. The important thing is to ensure you get a good mix of protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats, while also working in at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables.

Yes, six meals a day requires a little planning. But only in the beginning. It starts to get easier as you go along and figure out what YOUR body needs. The increased energy and steady blood sugar will make it all worth it. Really.

They're coming! They're coming!

Ah, spring. When a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of love. Love? Bah! That may be fine for the young man, but spring makes this old lady get a little weak in the knees at the thought of ripe, juicy strawberries. And soon they’ll be everywhere.

Strawberry season, which begins in California in March and peaks during May in the south and June in the north, is upon us. Although you can sometimes pick up some fairly decent strawberries all year round, there is nothing quite like the flavor of the in-season strawberry.

Naturally free of fat, cholesterol and sodium, strawberries are an excellent source of vitamin C (containing even more than an orange!) and remain high on the list of “superfoods” due to their antioxidant properties.

But, wait! There’s more! Strawberries are also a very good source of dietary fiber and iodine as well as potassium, folate, riboflavin, vitamin B5, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B6, vitamin K, magnesium, and copper.

And anytime you can get all of these health benefits for a mere 40 calories per cup, I call that a nutritional bargain.

So here’s some things to remember about buying and storing strawberries:

Unless you plan on freezing them, don’t buy more than you have an immediate need for as they will mold fairly quickly if left at room temperature, and will only last a couple of days in the refrigerator.

Don’t wash them until you are ready to eat them. Washing before storage promotes mildew and that’s not really too yummy.

Strawberries do not continue to ripen after they are picked, so avoid yellow or green berries. They’re not going to get any better.

Buy locally whenever possible. Locally grown strawberries will most likely be fresher and more flavorful.

To freeze strawberries, arrange the whole berries in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in the freezer. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag and return to the freezer. Frozen strawberries should last for a year. It is recommended that you NOT wash or remove the hull prior to freezing.

Don’t know what to do with all those frozen strawberries? Well, besides the obvious choice of Margaritas and Daquiris? Click here for some ideas from Allrecipes.

I love fresh strawberries by themselves as an afternoon snack, but I also love them in cereal, or topped with yogurt, or in smoothies or paired with a sliced banana and whipped cream.

Good food that’s good FOR you. It’s a beautiful thing.

Fage (pronounced "Fay-yeh") Greek Yogurt

I am pretty much always the last person to try something that everybody else already knows about – and this is certainly the case with Greek yogurt in general, and Fage in particular.

People all around me have been singing the praises of Fage for a couple of years now but it just didn’t pique my interest. All I could think of was the cucumber sauce put on gyros and I didn’t think that taste would be very good mixed with fruit and Fiber One.

Then Kristi from Summer Fitness mentioned in the comments of my protein post last week that Fage is really high in protein. Really? This I did not know. Twenty grams of protein in a 6-ounce serving definitely justifies the label “high in protein”. So I looked for it in my always-limited Kroger and was able to find the 5.3 ounce container of Fage Total Cherry Yogurt. Although this particular product only had 8 grams of protein and (eek!) 210 calories, I was so happy to find it, I bought two.

At first bite, the skies opened up and I could hear angels singing. Why didn’t anyone tell me this stuff has a taste and consistency reminiscent of cheesecake? Why oh why have I been wasting my time with that runny, slightly artificial-tasting fat-free yogurt for SO LONG? And how can I go back to it if I can’t find Fage?

Available in Classic, 5%, 2%, and fat-free versions, Fage Greek yogurt is 100% natural, containing no artificial sweeteners, thickeners or preservatives. It is suitable for vegetarians, diabetics, pregnant women and those on gluten-free diets. Each serving also contains roughly 25% of your RDA for calcium.

I can see, though, where you might want to add a little something sweet, or it might be too tart. If that kind of thing bothers you. Here are some suggestions I found around the internet for ways to use Greek yogurt:

Stir in some fruit preserves, such as cherry or strawberry.

Stir in a tablespoon of peanut butter, almond butter, pumpkin butter or apple butter.

Marinating your chicken in Greek yogurt keeps the chicken moist and flavorful. You can also add Indian spices to the yogurt before marinating.

Use it in place of sour cream on baked potatoes, in stroganoff recipes, in mashed potatoes and to top spicy soups and chilis.

Mix it with olive oil and salt and spread it on pita bread.

Use as a replacement for cream cheese in frosting recipes.

Mix it with garlic and use as a sauce for black bean burgers.

Add fruit and granola for a healthy breakfast “sundae”.

Mix with dried fruit and nuts.

Add honey. Or honey and walnuts. Or honey and Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal.

Add pumpkin pie spice. Or cinnamon.

Put it on a Greek pita with chicken and vegetables.

Spread it on a blueberry muffin.

Plop it on top of a grilled peach or pear.

Add frozen fruit.

Mix with blueberry syrup. Or sugar-free white chocolate syrup from DaVinci Gourmet.

I’ve also heard that Trader Joe’s carries their own brand of Greek yogurt. People seem to like it just as well, or even better, than the Fage. (And it’s cheaper.)

Really, how could you pass on something that looks as yummy as this:

P.S. A question for those of you who have already tried Fage - how do you feel about the fat-free version? I finally found some yesterday and I was not crazy about it at all - but, then again, it tasted as if it might have gone bad. Does it always taste like that, or did I get a bad one? Please tell me I got a bad one...

Go ahead, have a muffin!

For a couple of reasons, I rarely make muffins. First there’s that white flour thing; and, second, if I make them, I will eat them all – and I will eat them all within 24 hours. Oh, and third? Lazy. But sometimes I really WANT a muffin I don’t have to feel too guilty about.

Whether you’re trying to lose weight or just trying to eat better, it can be initially expensive to stock your pantry with healthier options. And if you’re cheap, like me, you probably don’t want to buy a 5-pound bag of whole wheat flour just so you can scoop out a single cupful to make the occasional batch of homemade muffins.

It has always been more appealing to me to buy a pre-made mix, add one or two readily available ingredients and be done with it. Honestly? I’ve had the same canister of baking powder in my cupboard for about 10 years. That’s how much I bake these days. (Okay, okay…don’t even say it – I’ll throw it out.)

This is why I was happy to discover Southaven Farms Baking Mixes. Have you tried them? They are all natural, unsweetened, 100% whole grain mixes you can use for muffins, cakes, pancakes or waffles. You add milk and yogurt and, optionally, your choice of sweetener - and that’s it. If you use skim milk and fat-free plain yogurt, each muffin is about 110 calories (assuming you make 12 bigger ones). Complete nutrition information and ingredients are shown with each mix.

And the flavor choices? In addition to the standard wheat, wheat bran, oat bran (wheat-free), and multi-grain mixes, they also have yummy choices like mocha, cinnamon, ginger spice, chocolate and cornbread (wheat-free). Oh, and be sure to check out the recipes on their site, too. So many options for each mix!

So far, I’ve tried the multi-grain (great pancakes!) and the cinnamon (delicious muffins). I have ginger spice up next, which I will probably use to make pumpkin muffins (because I just realized I have EIGHT cans of pumpkin taking up space in my cupboard).

My 7-year old granddaughter “helped” me make the cinnamon muffins and she loved them. So it’s a really nice, healthier option for kids, too. (I also didn’t tell Mr. Jelly Belly they were “healthy” and he ate them, too.)

If you’ve tried these mixes already, what’s your favorite? I’m getting ready to order a few more and need to narrow down my choices!

Desperate times, desperate measures

A couple of nights ago, I was thumbing through one of my Cooking Light cookbooks and came across some tips for getting more fruits and vegetables into your diet. Naturally, I read it – because, you know, I find these things to be endlessly fascinating. One of the tips was to cut up an apple into your tuna salad. Yeah. Like I’m EVER going to do that. Ick.

I didn’t give it any more thought until yesterday morning when I was making a tuna sandwich for my lunch and plopped in way too much Miracle Whip. Shoot. Now what? I was trying to decide whether I should dump it (no way, tuna costs too much) or add more tuna (no way, tuna costs too much) when I remembered the apple tip. Suddenly, it didn’t sound quite so disgusting. And I had an apple (Red Delicious). And I was desperate. So I peeled it and diced it and threw it in there. Then I prayed.

Guess what? It was the best freakin’ tuna salad I have ever had! I don’t think I’ll ever eat tuna salad again unless there’s an apple in there. So this taught me a valuable lesson: I should never prejudge a food-related idea without trying it first.

Nah, not really. I will still prejudge; I just felt I should say that.

But it DID make me wonder what everyone else does to dress up tuna. The only thing I’ve ever put in it, prior to this big apple discovery, was relish. What do you put in yours?

(Oh, and PS: The Sensa is here. Finally. I'll update this weekend.)

I am not the food police, people!

My very dear friend New Midlife Mommy mentioned to me in an email the other day that she and her husband felt I was sucking the joy right out of eating. Oh, okay, she didn’t say it quite like that (what she said was actually quite funny) but she wondered what they COULD eat if they had to avoid white flour, sugar, sodium, eggs, dairy, red meat, saturated fats and processed foods.

Other people I know have actually hidden what they are eating when they see me coming and I always wonder why. Do they think I am judging them? Because, truly, I am not.

There are basically only two reasons why I have been trying to eat better. First, since losing about 45 pounds – which I was able to do by slowly learning about basic nutrition - it’s been a constant struggle to keep it off. Especially this time of year when I crave comfort food and pure junk as much as anyone else. Knowing how to eat right and actually doing it are sometimes two different things.

Second, I am no spring chicken anymore. More like a fall chicken. We all know we can’t keep ignoring what we’re putting in our bodies when we get to an age where everything is slowing down, clogging up and generally falling apart.

That being said, I really only care about these things FOR MYSELF. What other people choose to eat is their own business. Even members of my immediate family.

Mr. Jelly Belly is one of the worst eaters I know. He hates fruits and vegetables and is not at all adventurous when it comes to trying new foods. And if he wants Hamburger Helper for dinner, I make it for him. I sure don’t eat it (ick), but if that’s what he likes, then that’s what he gets. He should enjoy his food, right? If I enjoy a nice piece of salmon and half a plate full of vegetables, then that’s what I should have (and listen to an “ick” from him). And I would never force him to eat what I think is good for him or go without. I’m not his mother.

And I certainly don’t go around making unsolicited comments about the food choices of others. If someone asks me for advice, I’ll give them my opinion, but I never look at what someone is eating and point out how they are killing themselves. Even the woman at work who eats a can of big-sodium Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup and half a sleeve of saltines every day for lunch while she complains about her weight. I say nary a word. Because she didn’t ask me. And it’s none of my business. (Okay, that's probably a bad example because that bugs me EVERY DAY...but still, my lips stay zipped!)

I am far from perfect these days. Far. For example, last night for dinner I ate 6 rather large shortbread cookies that someone in my house didn’t hide well enough from me. SIX. Why did I eat them? Because I was tired and didn’t plan my meals for the day. Result? I came home from work starving and lacking self-control. Three weeks sugar-free down the drain. Sigh. I beat myself up a little and now I will get over it and move on. If I watched someone else eat those cookies? So what? Other than feeling a little twinge of jealousy, I couldn’t care less.

I can find lots of foods to eat that aren’t processed. LOTS. I realize that’s not everyone’s cup of tea. What works for me might not work for you – and vice versa. So eat what makes you happy and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. Least of all me. Because I’m not monitoring.

A rainbow full of antioxidants

All those colorful fruits and vegetables aren’t just pretty to look at – each different color group contains antioxidants that offer different health benefit for your body. As we all know, the more antioxidants we can get from natural food sources, the healthier we will be.

Red fruits and vegetables, like tomatoes, red kidney beans, red onion, red bell pepper, radicchio, watermelon, pink grapefruit, cherries and strawberries are full of lycopene and vitamin C. Tomatoes have a higher concentration of lycopene when they’re cooked, such as in tomato sauce, canned tomatoes and even ketchup. Research has shown that lycopene-containing foods can help to prevent certain cancers and heart disease.

Orange and yellow fruits and vegetables like sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, oranges, tangerines, mangoes, corn, apricots, pineapple, and melons are full of carotenoids. The body can convert these carotenoids into retinol, a form of vitamin A, and prevent vitamin A deficiency. Carotenoids not only play a strong role in cancer prevention and anti-aging, they are also thought to enhance the immune system. Good to know during cold and flu season.

Green vegetables like spinach, greens, watercress, and broccoli are high in lutein. Lutein is concentrated in the retinas of your eyes and is crucial for good vision. A diet with a high concentration of lutein can help ward off cataracts and macular degeneration. Lutein can also be found in orange and yellow fruits and vegetables.

Blue and purple fruits and vegetables like blueberries, blackberries, red grapes, plums, cabbage, purple onions and eggplant all have several important nutrients and phytochemicals. These antioxidants prevent tumors from forming, protect against cancer, improve your memory and keep your heart healthy.

White isn’t technically a color of the rainbow, but there are plenty of white fruits and vegetables that are good for you, too! Cauliflower, garlic, onions, pears, potatoes and jicama all have their benefits. Eating potatoes with the skin on is a great source of fiber and potassium, needed to keep your heart healthy. Sulfur compounds in garlic and onions may help fight stomach and colon cancers. Onions and pears may also help protect against allergies.

So mix ‘em and match ‘em – many antioxidants, when combined, actually increase each other’s health benefits. Make a great big colorful salad and zap the heck out of those nasty free radicals.

Laughing Cow Cheese: It's not just for crackers

I’m sure you are all familiar with Laughing Cow Cheese, that tasty, triangular snack food which, at 35 calories per wedge (1 point on Weight Watchers), has the diet world abuzz. It’s rare to be able to enjoy a cheese product and still feel virtuous about doing so.

Do you have any idea how many things you can actually do with this stuff? Talk about versatile! If you’ve only been spreading it on your Wasa crackers, you’ve been missing out. Try some of these ideas:

- Use it instead of mayo on a wrap or sandwich. It's great with lean ham or turkey.

- Dip baby carrots into it.

- Spread it on a Wasa cracker and top with fresh sliced mushrooms or tomatoes.

- Spread it on an English muffin and top with a Boca burger.

- Spread it on an English muffin with sugar-free strawberry jam for a faux danish.

- Use it to replace the yolk in your hardboiled egg.

- Make a tomato sandwich using the garlic herb flavor in place of mayonnaise.

- Melt it into an egg white omelet.

- Pop it right into your mouth!

- Melt a wedge on a baked potato.

- Combine it with some breadcrumbs and stuff some mushrooms.

- Mash a garlic and herb wedge and stir it into 1 tsp. of red wine vinegar and chopped scallions for a salad dressing

- Eat it with pretzels.

- Put it on a fat free hotdog, on a light bun. It’s a cheese dog!

- Spread the light swiss on an English muffin or bagel and sprinkle with sans sucre cinnamon sugar substitute.

- Saute some peppers, onions and mushrooms, add some thin sliced roast beef, heat, add wedge of cheese and melt. Put on a whole wheat bun or wrap in a tortilla and you have an AWESOME sandwich!

- I have also used the above method to make a “Reuben Wrap” by mixing thin slices of corned beef, sauerkraut and a light swiss wedge and wrapping it in a low-carb tortilla.

And here’s my favorite actual recipe using Laughing Cow. The name sounds all fancy-schmancy, doesn’t it, but it’s one of my easiest recipes – and one of the most popular with my family.


Chicken Cordon Bleu
Yield: 4 servings; 5 points per serving

4 4oz chicken breasts, pounded thin
8 pieces thinly sliced honey ham
4 wedges Laughing Cow Light Swiss Cheese
1/2 package Shake & Bake

Preheat oven to 400. Pound chicken until 1/4 inch thickness. (If you don’t have a meat mallet, just use a can of soup to do the pounding.)

Use 2 slices of ham per chicken and 1 wedge laughing cow cheese. Roll chicken and secure with toothpicks. Place in baking dish sprayed with Pam and sprinkle tops with Shake and Bake. Bake 35-45 minutes.

'Tis the season to be gorging...fa la la la la, la la la la

It’s that time of year again, campers! The time when friends, family and even casual acquaintances all show their appreciation for you with gifts of food. As you smile and thank the giver for the sugar and fat-laden packages of deliciousness, you silently vow to hand it all over, untouched, to less health-conscious family members. But do you?

On the one hand, those gifts of food are the very gifts I used to look forward to in years past. Oh how I loved it all. Especially fruitcake. Yes. Really.

One particular co-worker used to make everyone large gift bags of homemade jams and breads - and it was a gift that was eagerly anticipated. I especially couldn’t wait to shove the little pumpkin loaves into my pie hole. Despite all of my resolve, that beautiful gift bag was always the start of a sugar binge that would last from Christmas Eve until New Year’s Day.

Because, what the heck? That’s what January’s for, right? To get back on track and forget about the dietary transgressions of the previous two months. I have to confess, I am already in that, “oh, what the heck” mode. January is just around the corner. How much damage can I do in just a couple of more weeks?

The extra damage is exactly what I’m afraid of.

This past year has been such a struggle for me. Wavering between getting my weight back under control and giving in to all the food that I love but know I need to avoid. And the scale is showing which side of that struggle is winning.

In the course of a year, I have gone from not worrying about that extra five pounds, to cringing at the extra ten, to wanting to shoot myself over the extra 15. That 15 pounds was the “cushion” I gave myself when I was on Weight Watchers. Fifteen pounds below my stated goal weight - so that I would be able to catch and stop any gains before I got totally out of control.

And now I’m totally out of control - and berating myself with woulda-shoulda-coulda.

So I am declaring today MY January 1st. If I can get through the next two weeks without adding any extra pounds, then I think those ugly 15 should be a piece of cake tilapia.

I already know where my social obligations are and I am planning around them. I know to avoid the kitchen at work for the next week when the food gifts from vendors will be at their peak. I know to plan every single meal and every single snack, eating every two hours or so to keep the temptation at a minimum.

I am keeping my head full of the images of a stomach that isn’t bloated and a bra strap that doesn’t have fat swelled up around it. And because I am cheap, I am also remembering that I gave away all of my jeans in the next size up. I DO NOT want to buy more jeans for a fatter me.

And, mostly, I am remembering that there is not even ONE food item so extraordinarily special that I must eat it now or forever lose the opportunity. They will all be around again next year. And the year after.

If I am lucky enough to live to be 70, I am going to be such a porker, you cannot even imagine. But, until then, I am going to be very careful with the empty calorie foods. So I’m off to hit the treadmill, then make my grocery list. And work on my resolve to stick to it.

And how are YOU handling the food aspect of this holiday season?

Tofu Talk

I am back from my blog hiatus...did you miss me?

Sometimes I think I am always the very last person on earth to get around to trying different food products. Oh, wait. That’s not quite true. The very last person would be Mr. Jelly Belly. Especially when it comes to something like tofu. If he was stranded on a deserted island, hadn’t eaten a bite for weeks and some friendly natives brought him tofu, he would turn up his nose and politely decline. I think he would rather eat bugs.

It’s not that I have anything against meat alternatives, it’s just that tofu has never been something that sounded appealing or particularly tasty. When I think of tofu, the only thing that comes to mind is that Thanksgiving episode of Everybody Loves Raymond when Marie made a tofu turkey. Seriously? Gross. And I find that kind of funny because I’m the type of person who rarely met a food she didn’t like. Still, tofu and sushi (raw fish? ewww) are the top two foods it seems everyone else eats but I have never tried.

But last week Carla over at Uno Acres (who, by the way, should get some kind of award for being the most organized person EVER) posted a recipe that used tofu to stretch out your peanut butter and save some calories. Because I often do the same thing, using fat-free cream cheese with peanut butter (which I can’t do any more because of that pesky dairy thing), I thought I might give it a try. Someday. When I worked up some nerve.

Then I bought this frozen Teriyaki Rice and Vegetable Bowl, made by Amy’s Kitchen, and it featured tofu as one of the main ingredients.



I inspected it closely and then I ate it. And guess what? It wasn’t horrible. Of course, someone else prepared it. And that can make a pretty big difference.

Since I know absolutely nothing about tofu, I looked it up and found this gag-inspiring information – which I am happy I did not read prior to finding the stuff in my rice bowl:

Known as soybean curd, tofu is a soft cheese-like food made by curdling fresh hot soymilk with a coagulant. It is a neutral-flavored product that easily absorbs the flavors of other ingredients with which it is cooked. Tofu is rich in high-quality protein and B-vitamins and is low in sodium.

Coagulation. Yummy. So far, it’s not sounding all that appetizing. Plus, I think they really need to come up with some better names for this stuff. “Tofutti” is kind of a cute name; soybean curd, not so much.

There are two types of tofu – silken (or soft) and firm (or regular). They both look like this:



Is it just me, or does tofu bear a strong resemblance to this wonder product:

There’s a reason tofu is so popular with vegetarians. Ten grams of protein per half-cup serving. (Hey! It occurs to me that is the EXACT SAME protein content as my Bear Naked granola. Which was 5 grams for ¼ cup. Interesting. ) Tofu is also high in calcium and has only 94 calories per serving.

So, all of the above whining aside, I am finding myself getting really curious about tofu. I want to make tofu-containing recipes. I want to make Mr. Jelly Belly roll his eyes when he sees what I am doing. I want him to imply my food choices are disgusting. I want to eat my tofu with gusto right in front of his red-meat-loving-face. Can you make sugar-free, dairy-free, gluten-free desserts with tofu? I’ll bet you can!

But since a girl can’t live on dessert alone (try as she might), and assuming I can even figure out where they hide the darn tofu in the grocery store, I am going to give this Breakfast Burrito recipe a try. It actually sounds good. And I’ll bet it won’t kill me. And since I know you are dying for new tofu recipes, here it is:

Vegan Breakfast Burrito

3-4 flour tortillas
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 onion, diced
1 pound firm or extra-firm tofu, chopped into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 large tomato, diced
1/8 tsp turmeric
dash Tabasco sauce, or to taste
salt and pepper to taste
non-dairy vegan sour cream (optional)
grated vegan cheese (optional)

Warm flour tortillas over stove or in microwave until heated and soft.

In a large skillet or frying pan, sautee the garlic and onion in vegetable oil for a minute or two, then add tofu, mushrooms and tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently for 4-6 minutes, or until mushrooms are soft.

Remove from heat. Mix in turmeric and a few dashes of Tabasco sauce. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Place a couple spoonfuls of the tofu and vegetable mixture in each flour tortilla. Top with vegan sour cream and vegan cheese if desired, then wrap and serve hot.
_____

P.S. I have absolutely no idea what turmeric is. And the name alone kind of scares me.

Get Bear Naked

As a rule, I’m not a huge fan of granola. Too crunchy, and usually way too much sugar for my oh-so-delicate system. But something made me want to give this Bear Naked Peak Protein a try.

Could it be the catchy name? Maybe. Could it be because it’s “chewy” granola, not crunchy? Probably. Could it be because it’s delicious? As it turns out, YES!

Guys, this stuff is SO good. If you are the type of person who prefers a lower-sugar snack, this is for you.

Bear Naked makes several varieties of granola, including an appropriately named chocolate version that looks absolutely heavenly:

I bought the “Peak Protein”, original flavor. The Blueberry version looked AWESOME, and I even had it in my hand until I saw the dreaded word, “walnuts”. Sigh.

I don’t know if 5 grams of protein per ¼ cup serving qualifies for the moniker “Peak Protein”, but 5 grams is better than nothing, right? Because I know y’all will stick with the ¼-cup serving. I actually had to measure it out and put it in a baggie to bring it to work. You know me; I just knew if I brought the whole bag I would EAT THE WHOLE BAG. As it was, I brought it for an afternoon snack, but it didn’t make it past 10:30 am.

There is some refined sugar in this granola, but from what I could see from the ingredients list, it is contained within the dried cranberries. Which I picked out of mine and dutifully threw away. After I tried just one. (Yum!)

Obligatory nutritional information:

And the full ingredients list (so you don't strain your eyes trying to read it above):

Whole grain oats, Honey, soy flakes, canola oil, Sweetened dried cranberries (cranberries, sugar, glycerin, sunflower oil), soy protein isolate, Dry roasted sunflower seeds, whole grain crisp rice (whole grain rice, barley malt), Ground flax seed, cinnamon, natural flavors

Maybe a little pricier than some granola (about $5 for the bag), but I so rarely buy this type of thing that I was okay with that. And it was PERFECT for me. Like eating little clumps of guilt-free oatmeal cookies. Without the raisins.

Next on my list to try is from the Vanilla Almond Crunch, from the Fit Granola line.

The Vanilla Almond Crunch has ZERO refined sugar – so I won’t have to be wasting my precious eating time plucking the offending pieces from the mix.

Oh! And good news! You can get a free sample here!

The only problem I can see with this stuff is it’s REALLY HARD to stop eating it. If you’re trying to lose weight and you have limited willpower, probably best to stay away. But if you’re looking for a delicious all-natural snack, I highly recommend this.