PRODUCT RECOMMENDATION: Annie Chun’s All Natural Seaweed Snacks

Posted by: Karen Bentley ♥ May 2nd, 2013 ♥ Comments Off ♥ permalink


 

SeaweedSnackHere’s a great new snack idea for you to consider.  Instead of chips that are made with starchy potatoes, corn or flour, try one of Annie Chun’s All Natural Seaweed Snacks.  Seaweed snacks have been a staple in the Korean diet for centuries.  Annie Chun reinvented these seaweed recipes for American consumers who want healthier but still flavorful snack choices.  The snacks come in packets of 20 sheets.  One serving, which is 10 sheets, is just 25 calories with only 1 gram of carbohydrates.  This food has no added sugars and a very low natural sugar content, which makes it an excellent choice for a sugar-free diet and/or a wheat-free diet.

If you don’t live in an area that has a grocery store with Asian foods, visit Annie Chun’s website and order a few boxes from her online store.  http://www.anniechun.com/our-food/seaweed

SeaweedCrackedPepperThree varieties are recommended:
Cracked Pepper & Herb Seaweed Snack
Sesame Seaweed Snack
Wasabi Seaweed Snack

 

RECIPE: Asparagus Stir Fry with Sesame Seeds

Posted by: Karen Bentley ♥ May 1st, 2013 ♥ Comments Off ♥ permalink


Asparagus-BundleServings:  4

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh asparagus spears, bases cut off
1 medium red onion, cut into thin half-moon slices
1 medium red pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch slices
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 tablespoos reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sucralose (optional)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Directions:
Prepare onions, pepper, ginger and garlic and set aside.  Cut asparagus on bias into 2 inch slices.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.  Add the ginger and garlic and stir/cook for about 30 seconds.  Add asparagus, onion and pepper and stir/cook for about 4 minutes.  Add sesame seeds and stir/cook for another minute or until veggies are tender and crisp.  Add soy sauce, vinegar, optional splenda (or non-caloric sweetener of your choice) and sesame oil.  Toss until veggie mixture is well coated.  Serve

 

2 THUMBS DOWN: Honey Bunches of Oats Greek Honey Crunch Cereal

Posted by: Karen Bentley ♥ April 11th, 2013 ♥ Comments Off ♥ permalink


HoneyBunchesofOatsThe new Honey Bunches of Oats cereal product from Post has all the right nutritional buzz words:  honey, oats, Greek, yogurt, and whole grains, but this cereal recipe is loaded with processed wheat, processed corn, sugars and corn syrup.  Even though it’s a low-fat food, it’s a two-thumbs down choice for anyone on a sugar-free/wheat-free diet or for anyone who simply wants to reduce consumption of these substances.

I deliberately chose to review this particular product because of the extreme example of marketing hype and because deciphering the nutritional information is a bit confusing.  My goal is to show you how I make quick independent purchase decisions by 1) ignoring all information on the front of the cereal box, 2) looking at the serving size/calories/and total sugars in the Nutrition Facts box and 3) reading the ingredients list.

First, let’s look at the front of the box.  The word NEW is right at the top, and everyone wants something shiny and new.  There’s a pretty sunburst.  There’s a honey dipper accented by beautiful rays.  There’s a big spoon filled with whole-looking oats and grains.  The word GREEK is prominantly displayed, and we all know that the Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest diets in the world.  The Greek culture is further suggested by the fresh and appealing blue, white and yellow color theme.  All of this messaging looks pretty darn good, and that’s the point of it all.  Post wants you to pick up the box, put it in your cart and buy it.  There is zero fact-based decision-making information on the front of the box.  That’s why you have to turn the box over and look at the back.

Find the Nutrition Facts box and give it a quick scroll.  The first thing I notice is the serving size because sometimes it’s deceivingly small. In this case, however, the serving size is reasonable:  1 cup.  The next thing I look for is the caloric value.  This product has 230 calories without any dairy added, which is an acceptable range for me.   250-300 calories per serving is about my cutoff point.  Then I look at the TOTAL SUGARS.  This product has 13 grams, which is way over the top and the first big clue that I don’t want it.  (For quick comparison, a Kit Kat bar has 20 grams of sugars.)  A rule of thumb is to find a product with no more than 3 grams of sugar per serving. Of course, there’s always exceptions to the rule, which means I might buy something with 4 or 5 grams of sugar, but never with 13.

HoneyBunchesofOats3The next place to look is the ingredients list.  This is usually the smallest print in the least convenient place.   A reprint of the ingredients list for the Honey Bunches of Oats Greek Honey Crunch product is provided in italics below.  This is an exceptionally confusing list because the two primary ingredients, Whole Grain Flakes and Greek Yogurt Granola, both have very long lists of sub-ingredients.  There are 13 sub ingredients in Whole Grain Flakes, and there are 10 sub-ingredients in the Greek Yogurt Granola.  Sub-ingredients always appear right after the primary ingredient and are enclosed in parantheses.

INGREDIENTS LIST FOR HONEY BUNCHES OF OATS GREEN HONEY CRUNCH
Ingredient #1: Whole Grain Flakes (Whole Grain Wheat, Sugar, Rice, Corn Syrup, Wheat Flour, Yellow Corn Meal, Whole Grain Rolled Oats, Malted Barley Flour, Salt, Canola And/Or Sunflower Oil, Honey, Natural Flavor), Ingredient #2:  Greek Yogurt Granola [Whole Grain Rolled Oats, Brown Sugar, Whole Grain Wheat, Rice Flour, Canola And/Or Sunflower Oil, Milk Protein Concentrate, Corn Syrup, Sugar, Greek Yogurt Powder (Heat Treated After Culturing), Ingredient #3 Honey, Natural Flavor, Ingredient #4 Lactic Acid, Malic Acid, Citric Acid], Greek Yogurt Style Coated Granola [Whole Grain Rolled Oats, Brown Sugar, Whole Grain Wheat, Rice Flour, Canola And/Or Sunflower Oil, Corn Syrup, Whey, Sugar, Honey, Greek Yogurt Style Coating (Sugar, Palm Kernel And Palm Oil, Reduced Mineral Whey Powder, Nonfat Dry Milk Solids, Greek Yogurt Powder (Heat Treated After Culturing), Lactic Acid, Soy Lecithin, Salt, Natural Flavor)]. Bht Added To Packaging Material To Preserve Product Freshness.

In my real life, it’s unlikely I would actually bother sorting through the ingredients list for this product because I already know the total grams of sugar is too high.  But let’s pretend the jury is out and I might still be interested in this cereal.  Before even reading the ingredients list, I would notice that it’s unusually long, and this is a major warning signal.  The length is telling me that it’s a highly processed product with lots of stuff put into it by Post.  We discover, for example, that the yogurt ingredient is actually heat-treated powder (and heat kills the active yogurt culture).

Secondly, I would identify the first four ingredients and find out where the caloric sweeteners and wheat products show up on this list.  I’m looking for products where sugars and wheat are either absent or way down on the list.  Ingredients are presented in order of what there is the most of, and in this product wheat is first, sugar is second, rice is third, and corn syrup is fourth.  The substances I’m trying to avoid or minimize dominate this product.  Done.  Decision made, and I’m on my way to find another product.

Click here to visit the Post site and learn more about Greek Honey Crunch cereal:
http://www.postfoods.com/our-brands/honey-bunches-of-oats/greek-honey-crunch/

 

Gluten Sensitivity and Wheat

Posted by: Karen Bentley ♥ April 9th, 2013 ♥ Comments Off ♥ permalink


glutenfreeGluten-free.  You see it on food labels everywhere.  It’s a scorching hot nutritional buzz word, but what does it mean and why is it important?  If you’re not already eating gluten-free, should you be?  Some experts suggest that gluten sensitivity, food addiction and alcoholism are closely related because they share a common chemical component that alters brain chemistry.  Gluten may also play (a yet to be proven) role in obesity, heart disease, diabetes, cancers related to sex organs, depression and alzheimer’s.

1 out of every 133 American adults is officially diagnosed with gluten sensitivity, but it’s estimated that 90% of the people with gluten sensitivity are still undiagnosed, and it may be as high as 15% of the population. The incidence of gluten sensitivity has been steadily and dramatically soaring since 1950, up about 400%.  Why is this happening?  While the jury is still officially out, this article explores the controversial and plausible theory that the increase in gluten sensitivity is directly liked to the hybridized, crossbred, genetically modified wheat that we all eat.  Keep in mind, dear readers, that gluten awareness and research is still a relatively new topic, and I am simply providing a brief opinionated overview of a complex topic.   This theory was popularized by Dr. William Davis in his book, Wheat Belly. 

Gluten is found is grain-type plants like wheat, rye and barley; wheat however, is by far the predominant source of gluten for Americans.  The wheat that we eat in our breads, cakes and cookies is made with dramatically different wheat than the daily bread of Biblical times or even 60 years ago.   Dr. Oz calls it frankenwheat, and it’s the only wheat available in our modern, commercial world.  It doesn’t matter if you buy your wheat products at the health food store or the grocery store.  It doesn’t matter if the wheat is whole or highly processed.   It doesn’t matter if the wheat is organic or not.

These new wheat plants are engineered to yield the biggest harvest in the smallest space in the shortest time.  They’re also genetically structured to be disease resistant and to respond to particular fertilizers and pesticides.  And most importantly, frankenwheat is much shorter than the famed amber waves of grain we sang about as children.  As it turns out, the smaller dwarf size of the wheat may be a key feature because it results in a higher concentration and more potent dose of gluten than in the past.

When you see the word “gluten” think of the word “glue” because it makes fat stick like glue to your hips.  Wheat consumption and obesity will be the topic of another blog post.  In terms of physical properties, gluten is the visco-elastic chewy substance that makes dough rise, stretch, roll, spread and twist, and it’s only found in grain-type plants.   Gluten is where plant most plant protein is stored.  People with gluten sensitivity do not fully digest the protein that’s stored in the gluten and this results in a wide range of symptoms including stomach pain, bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea as well as changes in energy, mood and/or headaches.

The symptoms for gluten sensitivity are similar to the symptoms for celiac disease, but celiac disease is a serious condition that needs to be diagnosed and treated by a physician.  It’s an autoimmune disease that damages the lining of the small intestine and prevents absorption of food.  Celiac disease is thought to be triggered by two factors:  a genetic predisposition and the consumption of gluten.

Visit the following websites for more information about gluten sensitivity and/or celiac disease:
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/gluten-sensitivity-self-test
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten_sensitivity
http://www.celiac.com/

 

 

 

 

RECIPE: Gluten-free, Sugar-free Quinoa Salad

Posted by: Karen Bentley ♥ April 3rd, 2013 ♥ Comments Off ♥ permalink


KarensQuinoaSalad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Salad ingredients and quantities can be changed based on personal preference and what’s in your fridge.

SERVINGS:  4 big servings (suitable for a lunch)

INGREDIENTS
Quinoa preparation
1 cup quinoa seeds
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 sundried tomatoes (not packed in oil), chopped
2 shallots, minced (or 3-4 scallions, minced)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup water

Salad preparation
1 cucumber with skin on, diced
1-2 stalks celery, chopped in thin half-moons
1/2 yellow or green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup fresh flat parsley, chopped
3-4 fresh basil leaves, chopped chiffonade style (thin strips)
1 teaspoon coarse salt
Fresh black pepper, to taste

To serve
2 cups salad greens of your choice
8 mozzarella balls (optional)
1/4 cup nuts of your choice (optional)
Sugar-free balsamic dressing

DIRECTIONS
Put quinoa in a sieve and rinse under cold water for 30 seconds.  Set aside.  Heat oil in large frying pan.  Add tomatoes, shallots and garlic.  Saute for 3 minutes or until lightly brown.  Add vegetable stock and water and bring to a boil.  Add quinoa and pepper flakes.  Let come to a boil again and then reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook for about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.  Remove from heat and let cool.

Put salad ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.  Add quinoa mixture and mix again.  At this point,  salad can be chilled or served immediately.  Will keep in fridge for several days.  Just before eating, mix with salad greens, balsamic dressing and optional ingredients.

 

Quinoa: An ancient gluten-free alternative for wheat

Posted by: Karen Bentley ♥ April 3rd, 2013 ♥ Comments Off ♥ permalink


QuinoaProductGroupCropI always have to remind myself to pronounce quinoa correctly.  My inclination is to say kwin-oh-ah, but the proper pronounciation is either keen-wah or kin-wah.

Quinoa is an ancient 5,000 year-old plant (chenopodium quinoa) that’s grown exclusively in the Andes region of South America.   It was domesticated by the Incas but fell from popularity when the Spanish Conquistadors scorned it as inferior peasant food, fit only for Indians.  Now due to the interest in nutritious, unprocessed, gluten-free foods and through superior marketing on the part of the Quinoa Corporation, quinoa is enjoying a resurgence in popularity.

Quinoa looks like a grain and is marketed as a grain, but since it’s not part of the grass family, it’s not “officially” a grain.  Grown for its small crunchy, edible seed, quinoa more closely resembles spinach, and shares the same slightly bitter taste as spinach.  Fortunately, the bitterness has been mostly hybridized out of the plant and is further reduced by cooking the quinoa in boiling water for 15 minutes.  In fact, one of the most appealing features is the easy 15-minute total cooking time with no need to soak the seeds or any other special preparation,

Here are the nutritional values for a 1/4 cup serving of cooked quinoa:
172 calories
6 grams protein
31 grams carbohydrate
3 grams fat
3 grams dietary fiber

A comparable 50-gram serving of wheat is roughly 170 calories, 7 grams of protein, 36 grams of carbohydrate, 2 grams of fat and 6 grams of dietary fiber.  While the nutritional values are relatively equal, the protein in quinoa is complete, meaning it contains all the essential amino acids, and the protein in wheat isn’t complete.  Also, as mentioned above, quinoa is gluten-free and wheat is not.

A 12-ounce box of quinoa costs about $5 and contains about two cups of product.  It can be found in all health food stores and in most large grocery stores.  Very little storage space is needed, and it lasts as long as other grain-type produts. Quinoa can be served as an ingredient in a salad, a pilaf, a stuffing and even as a cereal.  Personaly, I most like to prepare quinoa as a tabbouleah-like salad with lots of flavorful vegetables because the veggies mellow out any residual bitterness.

 

New Scientific Report: Sugar Linked to Cognitive Impairment

Posted by: Karen Bentley ♥ April 2nd, 2013 ♥ Comments Off ♥ permalink


sugarRead all about it.  Hot off the press from the April 2013 Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter.  For seniors there’s a direct relationship between fat, protein and carbohydrate consumption and the risk of cognitive impairment, and it’s not what you think.  Sugar is the foe here; not fat!  The term “cognitive impairment” means there are problems with thinking, memory and/or judgment.

Two studies were cited in the Tufts article.  The first was funded by the National Institute on Aging where researchers studied the diet of 1,230 people ages 70 to 89.  They found that those whose diets were highest in fat — compared to the lowest — had a 42% REDUCED RISK of suffering cognitive impairment.  Likewise participants who ate the most protein who had a relative 21% REDUCED RISK of cognitive impairment.  Compare this to carbohydrate intake where participants who reported the highest intake were 1.9 times at GREATER RISK to develop mild cognitive impairment, and participants with the higest sugar intake were 1.5 times at GREATER RISK.

Unfortunately, the study only isolated the impact of sugar consumption, but keep in mind that high fructose corn syrup, wheat flour, and corn flower all metabolize exactly like sugar.  These are all “bad” carbohydrates because they have the biggest impact on glucose production and insulin metabolism.   High intake of sugar (and all its relatives) may prevent the brain from using blood sugar the way it’s supposed to be used.  Impaired glucose intolerance, increased insulin sensitivity and type 2 diabetes are all risk factors for cognitive decline and dementia.  The reason for cognitive decline is still unknown but is thought to be linked to the transport of glucose to the brain and increased “oxidative stress”.

The other study was conducted by researchers from the Mayo Clinic who did a dietary study of people over 70 years old. These researchers drew similar but even stronger conclusions.  Participants who ate the most carbohydrates in relation to protein and fat had almost four times GREATER RISK of developing mild cognitive impairment.

Take home message:  The single most important health strategy for your aging brain is to reduce consumption of caloric sweeteners and highly processed flours and normalize your insulin production.

 

U.S. Fat Consumption Compared to 30 Years of Obesity Statistics

Posted by: Karen Bentley ♥ March 28th, 2013 ♥ Comments Off ♥ permalink


ObesityThe USDA’s Economic Research Service reports that U.S. fat consumption declined from 39.7% in 1977-1978 to 33.4% in 2005-2008.  This amazing 6.3% decrease in fat consumption is statistically significant, which means it didn’t happen by accident or by random chance.   It confirms that Americans are fully engaged in fat phobia and that most people buy into the widespread conventional belief that fat through the lips results in fat on the hips (and elsewhere).

Unfortunately for us, the national experiment with a reduction in fat consumption hasn’t worked.  In 1977 our government started giving us “official” direction about what to eat, most specifically to cut the fat.  Ever since then national obesity rates have skyrocketed.  Read these statistics and weep:

From 1971-1975 the average U.S. obesity rate was 16%.  From 1988-1994 it doubled to 30%.  And by 2010 it grew to 35.7%.  154.7 million U.S. adults are currently obese or overweight and 78.4 children and teens are currently obese or overweight.  In fact, the U.S. has the distinction of having the highest obese/overweight population in the anglosphere (all English speaking countries). The most at risk population groups are Mexican American’s, who have a whopping 80% chance of being overweight or obese, as well as low income, low education, unemployed people and seniors.

When you take a broad and general look at the high risk population groups, these are the people who are most likely to eat predominantly low budget and/or culturally relevant food products made with refined flours and caloric sweeteners.  These are the people who eat the least fruits.  Only 32.6% of Americans eat the recommended 2 fruits a day.  And these are the people who eat the least vegetables.   Only 27.2% of Americans eat 3 or more servings of vegetables a day.

For the past ten years my nutritional mantra has been it’s the sugar, stupid, now modified to it’s the wheat and sugar, stupid!  Of course, it’s not really that simple, but excess caloric sweeteners and refined flours are still the biggest toxins and fat-promoting culprits in the diet, not fat.

 

 

Eat Plant-Based Foods for Phytochemicals

Posted by: Karen Bentley ♥ March 27th, 2013 ♥ Comments Off ♥ permalink


Veggies1Yup.  Mom was right when she told you to eat your veggies.  Eat a lot of them, and eat them often. No matter what nutritional scoring system you personally prefer, veggies always come out on top.

Veggies are skinnifying, filling, and healthy.  People who consume the most plant-based foods lower their risk of cardio-vascular disease, some cancers, metabolic syndrome and other chronic diseases.  Because of these multiple irrefutable benefits, veggies are the largest and most important component of The Sugar-Free Miracle Diet.

In the March 2013 Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter,  Tufts professor and scientist Diane McKay, PhD says that “part of the health benefits of vegetables (as well as fruits) can be attributed to natural plant compounds called phytochemicals.”  Phyto is the Greek word for plant.  So phytochemicals are chemicals that come from plants.  Over 1,000 phytochemicals have been identified.  They’re most abundant in highly colored vegetables ad fruits, tea, chocolate, flax seeds and olive oil.

Phytochemicals are not the same as vitamins, minerals or macroutrients (fats, proteins, carbohdrates).  They’re also non-nutritive, which means they have no caloric value and aren’t essential to sustain life.  Rather, phytochemicals are active biological compounds that are thought to have protective and/or preventive health properties.  It should be noted that the study of phytochemicals is relatively new and according to some, still unproven.

That said, most researchers are now jumping on the phytochemical bandwagon. “Nearly all phytochemicals have antioxidant activity,” says McKay.  (Antioxidants inhibit oxidation, which is what happens when things rust or when foods rot.  Antioxidants are important for the body because they counteract free radicals, the roaming particles that cause deterioation of cells and tissues.)   Phytochemicals are also believed to lessen inflammation, to stimulate detoxification enzyme production, to prevent adhesion of pathogens to cell walls, and  to influence beneficial hormonal activity such as the reduction of symptoms due to menopause.

Hippocrates may have used salicin, a phytochemical from the bark of the white willow tree, to reduce fever and inflammation.  This compound is now synthetically produced and sold as aspirin.

 

Beans really are magical

Posted by: Karen Bentley ♥ March 27th, 2013 ♥ Comments Off ♥ permalink


legumesBeans. beans the magical fruit.
The more you eat, the more you toot!

Haha.  Who doesn’t know this childhood phrase?  It’s fun, but totally inacurate.  For one thing, beans are not a fruit, they’re a vegetable.  And for another, you can dramatically decrease flatulence by putting beans in a pot of water, cooking them for 1 or 2 minutes, and then soaking them in water overnight.

Beans have an abundance of useful properties that make then an effective diet aid.  The unusually high fiber content in beans fills you up.  For example, just one-half cup of cooked beans provides anywhere from 6 to 11 grams of fiber, which is about 25% of the daily fiber requirement for adults.  Beans are also rich in plant-based protein.  Again, a one-half cup serving delivers anywhere from 7 to 13 grams of protein.  Beans are low calorie, and they’re low fat.   And because beans are digested very slowly they’re excellent for glycemic control.  Beans have also been scientifically proven to reduce cholsterol, to prevent heart disease and to keep blood pressure low.  I mean, seriously, how good is that?  All of these benefits are quickly derived from a budget-friendly, readily available, easily cooked and easily stored source of food.

One warning.  The dry quality of many beans is an acquired taste.  This means that even if you didn’t like beans as a child, there’s still hope.  Buck up and try beans again.  Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) are a good place to start.  You’ll most likely discover that beans have a fantastic flavor and a delicious taste when they’re properly prepared.

Technically referred to as legumes, beans are a highly recommended ingredient on a sugar-free/gluten-free diet.   Instead of an animal-based protein at lunch, consider switching to a bean salad.  Beans are also an excellent side dish for dinner.   Consider these nutritional facts for five of the most popular beans.

Serving size:  1/2 cup of cooked beans.

BLACK-EYED PEAS: 100 calories; less than 1 gram of fat; 13 grams of protein, 11 grams of fiber.
CHICKPEAS (garbanzo beans):  134 calories, 2 grams of fat; 7 grams of protein; 7 grams of fiber.
NAVY BEANS:  129 calories; less than 1 gram of fat; 12 grams of protein; 9grams of fiber.
SPLIT PEAS:  115 calories; less than 1 gram of fat; 12 grams of protein; 8 grams of fiber.
WHITE BEANS:  105 calories; less than 1 gram of fat; 7 grams of protein; 6 grams of fiber.

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    Karen BentleyI'm the creator and director of The Sugar-Free Miracle Diet System, a weight loss program that's specifically designed to stop out-of-control eating. I've been working in this field since 1998 and have helped over 3,000 people to break free of the reliance on food for non nutritional reasons. Recently, my stopping program has been expanded to address all out-of-control behaviors. Read More

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