Krill Oil

If you haven't heard of Krill Oil, it's time to Google it. In fact, type in "Krill Oil Benefits", and you'll see around 224,000 posts.

Sadly, I need to do my better-paying job right now, so I can't write about it in great detail, but here's an interesting article. It discusses allergies, some benefits, the environmental impoact (real or imagined), and several other things.

I've been taking it consistently for around a month and a half, and I've noticed some interesting benefits. Then again, I've been taking all of my vitamins consistently for the last several months, and I truly believe I see, and feel, the difference.

More about this later.

LiveStrong.com

I just discovered a new website: www.livestrong.com. It's fantastic! I often look up calories, nutrients, etc. online, and keep track of these things on my own spreadsheet, but this website is so easy to use that I will just use it now. I'm so impressed.

Recipe - Oatmeal Fruit "Muffins"

The "Muffins" is in quotes, because it's a muffin recipe I made in a cake pan.

This is a modified version of a recipe I found in one of my favorite cookbooks: "No Red Meat" * by Brenda Shriver and Ann Tinsley.

I've started juicing recently, and I was looking for a way to use all that leftover fabulous fruit pulp.

Now, without further adieu, here we go:


Ingredients

2 cups unbleached or all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups oats, quick or regular, uncooked

1/4 cup oil of choice

3 egg whites, slightly beaten (I used 1.5 tablespoons [4.5 teaspoons] liquid egg whites)

2 cups skim milk

3/4 cup fruit pulp of your choice


Directions

Preheat over to 400.

"Grease" 9 x 13 cake pan with olive oil

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and oats.

In a small bowl, combine oil, egg whites and milk.

Pour over dry ingredients all at one time; stir until mixed.

Fold in fruit pulp. Do not over mix (I did it all by hand - no mixer).

Pour batter into the cake pan. Bake 30 minutes or until lightly browned. A toothpick should come out clean.

Cool aout 5 minutes before serving.


Good Things to Know

I learned today that you can bake with olive oil! Thank goodness, because that's all I had handy. :-) "They" (the experts) suggest using extra light olive oil if you're going to bake with it, because of it's mild taste.

The original recipe called for a cup of raisins or chopped fruit. I used 3/4 cup of pulp, because pulp is so much more dense than raisins. However, since my juicer is so efficient, the pulp is very dry. When I make this again I'll use a full cup.

Two egg whites equal one full egg. It's easy enough to figure out, unless you're using liquid egg whites. For some reason my egg white container doesn't tell me what measurement equals one egg white. :-) Simply do this: if the recipe calls for three egg whites, find out what measurement equals 3 eggs and halve that.

Because the original recipe was for 18 large muffins, I used a 9 x 13 pan. If I were converting a recipe for 12 muffins, I'd probably use an 8 x 8 pan, or a large loaf pan.

The fruit pulp I used was from my morning juice: 2 apples, 1 orange, 2 stalks of celery and 3 carrots! Believe it or not, it was good.


* I used an Amazon.com link to display the book, because - let's face it - it's a great website that's wonderfully organized. However, Amazon.com sells animal fighting publications, despite the facts that thousands of people have begged them to stop AND it's illegal to do so in every state! (They've found some sort of loophole.) Although I wish I could, I do not buy anything from Amazon.com, and I hope you'll consider boycotting them as well.

Food - Nutritional Yeast

I just tried nutritional yeaast for the first time tonight, and it's delicious! It reminds me a little bit of chicken boullion, but it's less salty.

Three rounded tablespoons (One Serving) has 80 calories, 1 gram of fat, 14 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, and 9 grams of protein.

The directions on the container say to mix three rounded tablespoons with water or broth as a snack. There are also some great recipes on my favorite recipe website, Recipezaar.

One of the more interesting sounding recipes suggests processing 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast, 1/4 cup sesame seeds and 1/4 teaspoon salt, and using this as a parmesan cheese replacement.

Another dish I'll be trying soon is Tofu with Nutritional Yeast.

Recipe - How NOT to Make a Smoothie

In my quest to make the perfect smoothie (nutritious and delicious) I just made a truly horrible smoothie. No, really - horrible.

1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
1/2 cup plain, fat-free yogurt
1/2 cup frozen banana slices
1 scoop plain protein powder
(and I think this is where I went wrong...)
1 T, 1.5 t nutritional yeast


I just tried nutritional yeast for the first time tonight, and it's so good! It's just definitely not meant for anything (in my opinion) other than savory dishes: soups, casseroles, veggie burgers, etc. I also read a recipe tonight where someone ground it up with sesame seeds and salt and used it as a Parmesan cheese replacement.

Aside from that, the smoothie would have been a little bland tasting. I can live with "bland" if it's healthy, but more fruit is definitely in order.

Real Age: Curb Hunger Pangs with This Oil

Here's another great article from Real Age. We've known for some time that olive oil was the source of "good fat", but now we learn that it actually suppresses our appetite. Whoohoo!


Click here to read, "Curb Hunger Pangs with This Oil"

Real Age: Another Good Reason To Go Organic

Here's an article from RealAge.com with another very good reason to use organic foods (as if you needed more reasons). By the way, Real Age is one of my favorite websites. It's full of excellent information for good living.


Click here to read "The Good Stuff That's in Organics" on RealAge.com

Recipe - Chili

I love making chili, because - in my opinion - it's one of the ultimate low-fat, healthy, cheap vegetarian dishes.

Ingredients

1 packet store brand hot chili seasoning mix

1 can (14 - 16 oz) salt-free diced tomatoes, undrained

2 cans (14 - 16 oz. each) of the beans of your choice, undrained


Directions

Stir all of the ingredients together

Bring to a boil

Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes


Serve with whatever "goodies" you like, such as cheese, sour cream (fat-free plain yogurt is a great alternative), green onions, etc.


Good Things to Know

1) I use a "hot" chili seasoning packet, but you can use "mild", of course. I add heat to my food whenever possible, because some research (read about it here) shows that spicy food speeds up your metabolism. Why not give it a shot?

2) I buy store brand products (or whatever is cheapest) whenever possible. Why not? Did you know that MANY store brands are made in the exact same plants using the exact same ingredients as the higher price name brand products? It's true! I just say give the store brands a chance. You might try an item and hate it. Fine - upgrade next time. But you might not notice a thing, and you'll save yourself a little change.

3) Most seasoning packets call for tomato sauce or whole tomatoes. Well, guess what. You're going to chop those tomatoes up into little bits...almost like they were diced. And a can of diced tomatoes are about half the price as a can of whole tomatoes. I don't use tomato sauce, because I like my chili to be a little thicker.

4) I use low sodium or no salt added products whenever possible. We all get more than enough salt in our diets. It's time to train our tastes away from salt. We'll all be much healthier for it.

5) Beans. Learn to love 'em! Beans are wonderfully full of fiber and protein and low in fat. Recent studies have found that the dark beans (black, red, kidney, etc.) have even more antioxidants than the blueberry. Plus, they're cheap! I like to have lots of beans on hand, and I throw a few different kinds in my chili. Not all beans taste the same, of course, so it's not a bad idea to sample them and see which ones appeal to you.


Other thoughts

I usually use a spice packet, although one of these times I'll throw my own spices together. Frankly, I see no shame in using a packet. It's cheap and it does the trick, but it would probably be even cheaper, and maybe tastier, if I used my own spices. I'll work on that one of these times. ;-)

Although I recommend store brands for cheapness, using organic products is another great option. Using those really does the most of your health and the environment.

Let's not forget buying locally grown vegetables. This is a great way to keep big business out of it, and you have a hand in reducing the gas and oil used to transport your products from far away. Not to mention that the longer a food (tomatoes, for instance) are off the vine, the more nutrients they lose. If you buy locally, you're increasing the nutritiousness of the foods you're using, reducing pollution, and hopefully decreasing your expense.

Although I talk about using plain yogurt and cheese, I would like to work towards following a vegan diet (no animal products at all). This is something that will take me awhile, so it will be awhile before I stop including eggs and dairy.

Good Reasons to be a Vegetarian

Hi All,

I've been making some efforts to improve my health and lose some weight, and a lot of what I've been doing goes along with being a vegetarian. I rarely eat meat (and when I say "meat" I'm including fish), but I do eat dairy and egg products. I don't call myself a vegetarian, mostly so I won't tick off those who never eat meat or those who eat no animal products at all. I do say I follow a ovo-lacto vegetarian diet 99% of the time, and for some very good reasons.

1) I love animals. I'm not going to get into the many reasons of why a vegetarian diet is humane. The story of how farm animals are treated is horrifying and depressing. If you're an animal lover, I don't have to convince you. And if you aren't, nothing I say will change your mind. My hope is that many of the other good reasons for vegetarian eating will encourage you to reduce your meat consumption. In the end, it's a winning situation for everyone.

2) A vegetarian diet makes far better use of our natural resources than does meat production. I forget the exact statistics (will get those later), but it takes several acres of vegetable crops to produce a pound of meat. Yet, those acres of vegetable crops could be combined to create a complete, low-fat protein and feed hundreds in a meal while the pound of meat would feed, maybe, two or three people. There's also the questionable use of hormones and antibotics in the meat we're eating.

3) You would actually have to work to make a veggie diet higher in fat and lower in fiber and nutrients than a meat-based meal, although it can be done if one overdoes it with dairy, eggs and oils. Most people lose weight when they switch to this way of eating. There will be lots and lots more about this later. ;-)

Also, you'll naturally be eating more fruits and vegetables with this diet, so you'll be increasing the nutrients in your diet every day.

4) You'll save money! No really. And it will be easy. Obviously, I haven't priced a lot of meat lately, but a can of beans or a pound of tofu is roughly 1/4 the price of a pound of high quality ground beef.

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Now, personally, I've never been able to make a drastic change overnight, and switching to a vegetarian diet can be a big change - especially if you cook for people who will also need some convincing. Baby steps, Grasshoppa.

This Blog

This blog is about eating healthfully, cheaply and conscientiously, which sounds pretty smart to me.

It will include dishes I make, nutrition information, tips to make things easy, personal recommendations for cookbooks and nutrition books, and anything else I think might be helpful. :-)