Monday, October 13, 2008
It's been awhile....
Well I am back! It's been to long since I last blogged. I hope you all have had a chance to read all my posts. I will have plenty more to come, so stay tuned!
Friday, August 15, 2008
The benefits of Making your Own Bread
I just started making my own Bread and I love it. It is delicious and healthy for me and my family. It is actually more cost effective than buying a loaf of bread. I just bought a whole grain organic loaf of bread not to long ago for $4.99, you can definately bake a loaf for cheaper than that price! In store bought bread you can find unhealthy ingredients such as High Fructose Corn Syrup, Artificial flavors and colors and Preservatives. Homemade bread has none of these!
There are many healthful ingredients that you can add to your bread dough such as Flax (ground or seeds), wheat bran, wheat germ, honey, molasses and different types of flours. This makes making bread fun! You can make a different loaf every week. I recommend using Whole wheat flour instead of white flour. White flour lacks fiber and is usually bleached unlike whole wheat flour. Whole wheat flour also contains 4 grams of fiber per 1/4 cup.
Also Homemade breads makes the best Toast~! You will never want to go back to store bought bread. Here is a recipe below that I use that is awesome. I usually will make one loaf at a time, slice it and freeze it. When I want a piece of toast I just pop a piece in the toaster. It's as easy as that!
Here is an awesome and Easy Whole Wheat Bread Recipe from http://www.vegweb.com
Recipe submitted by JennaHutchins@hotmail.com
Easy and Decadent No-Knead Wheat Bread!
Ingredients (use vegan versions):
3 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup unrefined sugar (or other sweetener)
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 package dry yeast
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional, but *really* yummy!)
1 2/3 cup warm water
Directions:
Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and add the water last. You can use an electric mixer, but I find a spoon works fine and is much easier to clean ;]
Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and smooth out the top. Cover the dough with a towel or greased plastic wrap and let it rise for about and hour (until its doubled in size).
Bake in a 400° oven for about 45 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean).
This is really a treat with a nice raspberry jam. Such a simple pleasure!
P.S. One can also add 1/3-1/2 cup raisins for a scrumptious cinnamon-raisin vegan bread…
There are many healthful ingredients that you can add to your bread dough such as Flax (ground or seeds), wheat bran, wheat germ, honey, molasses and different types of flours. This makes making bread fun! You can make a different loaf every week. I recommend using Whole wheat flour instead of white flour. White flour lacks fiber and is usually bleached unlike whole wheat flour. Whole wheat flour also contains 4 grams of fiber per 1/4 cup.
Also Homemade breads makes the best Toast~! You will never want to go back to store bought bread. Here is a recipe below that I use that is awesome. I usually will make one loaf at a time, slice it and freeze it. When I want a piece of toast I just pop a piece in the toaster. It's as easy as that!
Here is an awesome and Easy Whole Wheat Bread Recipe from http://www.vegweb.com
Recipe submitted by JennaHutchins@hotmail.com
Easy and Decadent No-Knead Wheat Bread!
Ingredients (use vegan versions):
3 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup unrefined sugar (or other sweetener)
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 package dry yeast
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional, but *really* yummy!)
1 2/3 cup warm water
Directions:
Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and add the water last. You can use an electric mixer, but I find a spoon works fine and is much easier to clean ;]
Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and smooth out the top. Cover the dough with a towel or greased plastic wrap and let it rise for about and hour (until its doubled in size).
Bake in a 400° oven for about 45 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean).
This is really a treat with a nice raspberry jam. Such a simple pleasure!
P.S. One can also add 1/3-1/2 cup raisins for a scrumptious cinnamon-raisin vegan bread…
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Juicing your way to Health...
What better way to get your daily fruit and vegetable servings in making your own juice. All you need is an electric juicer. You can get a decent one for $100-$200. I happen to have a Juiceman and it works great. You can juice all fruit or all vegetables or a combo of both.
A healthy diet should have 3 servings of fruits and 5 servings of veggies daily. That can be hard to do just eating the produce alone. With juicing you can juice several carrots,apples,oranges etc into one drink and get multiple servings of fruits and veggies. The juicer will extract the pulp or fibrous parts of the fruit and extract the juice. This means that you won't get the fiber of the fruit but you will get all the healthy enzymes and antioxidants. It's better to consume raw veggies than cooked because cooking over 114 degrees farenheit destroys these enzymes. The enzymes are critical for many metabolic processes in the body.
Let's not forget getting enough fruits and veggies will help to prevent cancer and heart disease one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. Juicing is an easy way to get those cancer fighting nutrients working in your body. For instance phtyochemicals are either enzymes or other substances that help to build or activate enzymes thay play essential roles in protecting cells from damage.
Another benefit is since Juicing removes the indigestible fiber, these nutrients are available to the body in higher quantities than if a piece of fruit or veggie was eaten alone. Many of the nutrients are in the fibrous portion so when it is juiced nearly 100% of beta carotene in a carrot can be assimilated and only 1% if eaten whole.
So in closing Cheers and Drink Up!
Here is a recipe for a refreshing Green Juice:
1 Apple
2 cups of spinach
small piece of fresh ginger
1/2 a lime
1/4 of a lemon
1 Cucumber
Put ingredients one by one in juicer put a few ice cubes in a glass and enjoy!
A healthy diet should have 3 servings of fruits and 5 servings of veggies daily. That can be hard to do just eating the produce alone. With juicing you can juice several carrots,apples,oranges etc into one drink and get multiple servings of fruits and veggies. The juicer will extract the pulp or fibrous parts of the fruit and extract the juice. This means that you won't get the fiber of the fruit but you will get all the healthy enzymes and antioxidants. It's better to consume raw veggies than cooked because cooking over 114 degrees farenheit destroys these enzymes. The enzymes are critical for many metabolic processes in the body.
Let's not forget getting enough fruits and veggies will help to prevent cancer and heart disease one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. Juicing is an easy way to get those cancer fighting nutrients working in your body. For instance phtyochemicals are either enzymes or other substances that help to build or activate enzymes thay play essential roles in protecting cells from damage.
Another benefit is since Juicing removes the indigestible fiber, these nutrients are available to the body in higher quantities than if a piece of fruit or veggie was eaten alone. Many of the nutrients are in the fibrous portion so when it is juiced nearly 100% of beta carotene in a carrot can be assimilated and only 1% if eaten whole.
So in closing Cheers and Drink Up!
Here is a recipe for a refreshing Green Juice:
1 Apple
2 cups of spinach
small piece of fresh ginger
1/2 a lime
1/4 of a lemon
1 Cucumber
Put ingredients one by one in juicer put a few ice cubes in a glass and enjoy!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Avoiding High Fructose Corn Syrup....
Here is another lovely chemical that I avoid when purchasing food products. What is High Fructose corn syrup? High-fructose corn syrup is a sweetener and preservative used in many processed food products. It is made by converting the sugar in cornstarch to fructose, another form of sugar. HFCS extends the shelf life of many foods and is sweeter and more cost effective than sugar. HFCS can be found in yogurt,ice cream,bread,soda, and other processed foods. Some nutrition experts believe that HFCS is linked to the growing obesity problem in the United States. One thought is that fructose can be more easily converted to fat by your liver than is sucrose, thus increasing the fat in your bloodstream. This hasn't been proved yet though.
There have been animal studies to prove that increased ingestion of HFCS can cause adverse health effects such as diabetes and high cholesterol. This is not as clear in human studies.
Even with the lack of research we know that humans consume quite a bit of HFCS laden products. Usually these products lack in nutritional value and are high in calories. No wonder why obesity is a problem in the U.S.
Be sure to read your labels and look for High fructose corn syrup. You can buy these products with no HFCS: StonyField farm yogurt and some store brands, Breyer's Ice Cream, Organic Breads and drinking pure fruit juice instead of sodas.
There have been animal studies to prove that increased ingestion of HFCS can cause adverse health effects such as diabetes and high cholesterol. This is not as clear in human studies.
Even with the lack of research we know that humans consume quite a bit of HFCS laden products. Usually these products lack in nutritional value and are high in calories. No wonder why obesity is a problem in the U.S.
Be sure to read your labels and look for High fructose corn syrup. You can buy these products with no HFCS: StonyField farm yogurt and some store brands, Breyer's Ice Cream, Organic Breads and drinking pure fruit juice instead of sodas.
Natural Zero Calorie Sweetener: Stevia
Are you trying to avoid artificial sweeteners and lower your sugar intake? Then try using Stevia. What is Stevia? It is an herb from South America. The leaves of the plant are used as a sweetener usually in a powder form or a liquid supplement. You will find stevia at natural health food stores and it is sold as a dietary supplement in the United States. There are also no calories in stevia and it's not made with chemicals like artificial sweeteners such as Aspartame. Stevia has been used safely for hundreds of years in Japan.
I avoid buying products with any artificial sweeteners such as Aspartame and even Splenda aka: Sucralose. Artificial sweeteners are everywhere now. You'll find it in yogurt (low calorie versions),Fiber One Cereal (I was really surprised by this!), Diet sodas,cookies, snack bars and more. I look at all labels when I am grocery shopping. It may take longer but it is well worth for myself and my familie's health.
Just recently I purchased this Stevia supplement in liquid form:
http://www.steviasmart.com/sc-liq-1-3z.html
It is wonderful. It comes in a convenient dropper bottle. Stevia is sweeter than table sugar so only a few drops are needed. I keep it in my purse and use it in my coffee and espresso drinks.
I avoid buying products with any artificial sweeteners such as Aspartame and even Splenda aka: Sucralose. Artificial sweeteners are everywhere now. You'll find it in yogurt (low calorie versions),Fiber One Cereal (I was really surprised by this!), Diet sodas,cookies, snack bars and more. I look at all labels when I am grocery shopping. It may take longer but it is well worth for myself and my familie's health.
Just recently I purchased this Stevia supplement in liquid form:
http://www.steviasmart.com/sc-liq-1-3z.html
It is wonderful. It comes in a convenient dropper bottle. Stevia is sweeter than table sugar so only a few drops are needed. I keep it in my purse and use it in my coffee and espresso drinks.
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