Here are three articles that we think are worth reading quickly.
Binge eating results in weight gain even years later! http://lesliebeck.com/page.php?id=3103&type=art
Almond milk is our new favourite. But if you are looking for vegetarian protein, nothing beats soy: http://community.active.com/blogs/NancyClarkRD/2010/08/10/which-is-better-soy-almond-or-rice-milk
We like things that fill you up and keep you full. So we really enjoyed this post on low calorie snacks that keep you full. It is all about the protein and/ or the fiber. http://www.self.com/fooddiet/blogs/nutritiondata/2010/09/five-snacks-that-fill-you-up-f.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NutritionData+%28The+Nutrition+Data+Blog+by+Monica+Reinagel%29&utm_content=Google+International
Oprah keeps a gratitude journal. And we have given our best friends and relatives our own verion: “the Gratalogue”- a combination of Gratitude Journal and Catalogue.
When it just seems like nothing is going your way, reminding yourself of all the good in your life is one way to cheer up. These are five things that are keeping us happy today.
1. The Simply Snack in caramel flavour keeps getting amazing reviews. They will be in stores soon and on sale at the vegetarian fair. Americans: they will hit Amazon and NYC in October.
2. We did an inventory count and our expected count and actual count weren’t too far off (yes even mundane things you take for granted count in the Gratalogue)
3. In our raspberry bar, we use straight up raspberries (not apples flavoured with raspberry flavour – have a close look at the ingredients next time you buy a “raspberry” product) but real raspberries cost $100/ kg. We just found a great source at a lower price. Just raspberries.
4. Liking the people we work with!
5. It is possible to eat The Simply Protein Oatmeal at two meals and not be sick of it. It isn’t very sweet so it feels justified as a lazy girl’s main course on a very hot day when cooking just isn’t an option.
What are 5 things you are grateful for today?
In the park this morning, I was talking to a friend whose daughter is urging her to become vegetarian. My friend felt that this would be hard given that her she has to cook for the whole family (time is of the essence) and she needs to please everyone. I suggested perhaps trying to be meatless five days out of seven. The whole flexitarian idea. You may eat meat once in a while but for the most part you are vegetarian.
Our society is very much all or nothing. You are vegan or you are not. You are a health nut or you are not. I think it might be more realistic to be moderate in all things.
To that end, we are looking at creating a campaign about “Simple Switches”. Each day making one or two simple switches in what you eat and drink in order to be more healthy.
Some examples of these simple switches:
- choose tea over coffee. If you already drink tea, drink green tea instead of black tea.
- have coffee with a few drops of milk instead of having a latte
- eat brown rice instead of white rice
- have a nut butter instead of margarine
- eat baked fruit instead of a pastry for dessert
The simple switch I am making today is buying free-range eggs instead of caged eggs. The New York times showed the space that a caged hen lives in. It was less than half a newspaper page! It was horrifying! The cost for a dozen caged brown egg is 97 cents. A dozen cage-free brown egg is $3.33 and a dozen free range is $3.66. Yes it is an increase in cost but I believe that these are the types of changes I need to make daily to be healthier and leave the planet a tiny, tiny bit better off.
We are changing packaging in Canada. We have moved from clear wraps to white wraps. We have a box of cinnamon and a box of raspberry bars in the old wraps to give away. If you live in Toronto and love simply bars AND don’t mind picking them from grace and bloor/ harbord, email info @ wellnessfoods.ca. The first person to email will get the bars!
Chelsea Clinton’s gluten free cake has become mainstream news. I know this because my mother informed me of it. I didn’t read about it in the specialised gluten or dairy free emails and blogs I read. Apparently a gluten free cake is mainstream news! Who knew?
I found this funny article on gluten free cakes which assures readers that all gluten free cakes are tasteless! http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38654839/ns/today-foodwine/
While that was once the case, this is no longer so. There are some amazing gluten free desserts. Flourless chocolate cake. Or almond flour cakes. Or lemon cupcakes from Babycakes in NYC or lemon loaves from Organic Oven in Toronto.
As for protein bars, I actually think gluten free protein bars like Elevate Me or the Simply Bar taste better than protein bars with gluten. (but yes I am biased)
gluten free cake
This is a topic that really fires me up.
I am sick of people telling me to eat spelt or serving me spelt. I am up in arms again because I was commenting on how much I liked the brand “Sweets from the Earth”- http://www.sweetsfromtheearth.com/- vegan, dairy free- but just wished that they didn’t use spelt. They do have a handful of gluten free products which are really great- but the majority are made with spelt. The cashier I was talking to at Sobey’s immediately told me how wrong I was. She left the counter to show me that the boxes said wheat free- they don’t.
Spelt is not gluten free. Enough said.
This blog has firmly stayed away from anything political… however, in reading the paper Monday morning, it was clear that you cant separate buying from politics. Purchasing is political. We can’t buy $10 dresses and not think about the human impact of that purchase. This article outlines the hazards of buying disposable clothing- sweatshops in Bangladesh with women who have been denied a living wage and basic human rights. Clothing that is so cheap that you have no concerns about only wearing it for a season and then throwing it out. And unfortunately, this affects my favourite places to shop… time to rethink buying…
But the same applies to food. You don’t need to be a locavore to start making better food buying decisions. You don’t need to buy organic to care about how your food is grown. When we buy a 99 cent protein bar, we have to question where those ingredients are coming from and where the bars are made.
- 20 small bottles of water for $1…
- How can all that be made for $1?
- How does that even come close to the environmental cost of all that plastic?
Wellness Foods is trying to be more transparent about what we buy. Our new oatmeal product will list the country where each ingredient is made. And no this isn’t a 100 mile product- we are realistic and can’t find all the ingredients in Canada. But all the ingredients are from Canada and the States- not places that are renowned for low quality, not paying a living wage and poor human rights. Our aim will be to post this same information about our protein bars on the website.
This recipe is to celebrate Canada day (couple of days late: sorry!) and the great things that grow here. It is a very simple recipe and very hard to mess up. Only four very simple ingredients.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Oats (Canadian)
- Tablespoon maple butter – great maple butter is available across canada
- 1/2 cup of wild blueberries- all over Ontario, Quebec and the maritimes. Not sure about the prairies?
- ¼ cup hot water
Wild blueberries are tiny… much smaller than conventional blueberries but they pack a flavour punch and tons of antioxidants.
For a vegan / dairy free version and lower fat version, use bananas or applesauce instead of maple butter. Or for a very low calorie version, just use hot water to bind.
Instructions:
- Mix together all ingredients. If too dry, add more maple butter or hot water. If too moist, add more oats.
- Bake for ten minutes
This baked oat bar is so delicious, easy and takes ten minutes. Happy belated Canada day!
healthy iced green tea, low calorie
The post last week about simple switches instead of draconian diets really grabbed peoples’ attention. Some easy swaps help you to eat a lower calorie diet filled with more nutrients. And you don’t have to sacrifice great taste. This week Kathy Smart offered some great simply switches that you can make that cut calories and offer great health benefits….
“Warm days of summer call for great Canadian BBQs with friends, and family! It is the little things that add up! Here are some simply smart substitutions to keep your waistline down and eating healthy while having fun with friends!
1.) Scrap the Potat!
Scrap Snacking on 15 potato chips, save1,050 calories! Snack on colourful fresh veggies and fruits instead!
Calories Saved? 54, 600 calories ( or 15.5 lbs) year
2.) Drop the Pop!
Drop Pop and save 144 caloies and 10 teaspoons of sugar! Drink flavoured Perrier water or slice fresh lemon and cucumber in cold ice water instead!
Calories Saved? 54, 000 calories or 15 pounds per year at 1 pop a day.
3.) Forget the frozen yogurt!
Forget about frozen yogurt! A 1 cup serving of frozen yogurt contains a whopping 8.5 teaspoons of sugar! Choose fresh fruits or puree frozen fruits to save on empty calories from sugar! If you were to freeze eating 3 x 1 cup serving of frozen yogurt you save yourself 1, 224 teaspoons of sugar this year!
4.) Manage those Margaritas!
Manage those empty calories from margaritas by sipping on wine spritzers or red wine this summer and save yourself 420 calories per drink!
5.) Go Green!
Order iced green tea instead of an flavoured sugary drink and save 560 calories and 17 grams of saturated fat (plus 1 gram of trans fat) into a large (18-ounce) cup. Even a McDonalds Big Mac, with its 540 calories, delivers only 10 grams of sat fat (plus ½ gram of trans)! Do that 3 times a week and save yourself 87, 360 calories or or 25 pounds a year!
Have Fun! Happy and Healthy Eating!:)”
Kathy Smart is a Registered Nutritional Consultant with the Canadian Examining Board of Health Care Practitioners, a Holistic Teaching Chef andCertified Personal Fitness Trainer with Can-Fit-Pro. www.livethesmartway.com
once in a while
I love Oprah. Not cool to admit to most of my friends, but I do. I particularly love her magazine. This month’s Oprah magazine had a great feature on relaxing our eating rules. We all have different eating habits/ guides and each is as valid as the next. There was a great article by a vegan right next to someone who kills his own food. The overall point was that we should enjoy what we eat.
This struck a chord with me. Over the years, as Oprah has tried every diet, I too have tried everything from the Specific Carbhoydrate Diet (no grains) to Atkins to Zone, etc. For me the idea was also to reduce inflammation and feel better. But we can get so constrained by all the rules that eating just loses all of its fun.
Guidelines make sense. And I like the guidelines set out by people like Dr Natatsha Turner in the Hormone Diet. http://www.thehormonediet.com/ I like the guidelines in Dr Andrew Weill’s anti-inflammatory diet. http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02012/anti-inflammatory-diet Both of these make sense and promote a low glycemic way of eating. But they are flexible enough to understand that once in a while you just want a brownie.
So now I am just focusing on simple switches. Brown rice instead of white. Green tea instead of a black tea. Spinach instead of potatoes (sorry Irish). A protein bar instead of gluten free cookies. The simple switches add up and aren’t really stressful. And when I want, I will still eat, and really enjoy, a nice big piece of cake.