Saving the World One Dum Dum at a Time

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I love going to the drive thru teller at the bank! Little do they know that when they send back my cash, license, and include a Dum Dum lollipop (or 4 if my kids are with me) that they are actually fueling my mission to promote healthy eating. Yep, that’s right. I take those lollipops and toss them out. Today I saved the world from the Dum Dums picture above! We are now that much closer to winning the war against sugar!

Tropical Smoothie Trumped!

trumpYesterday, after a well-child appointment and before pick up of my first born, I stopped at Tropical Smoothie since I had a BOGO coupon for smoothies. I thought it would be a nice treat for the kids, and it had been a few hours since I had eaten lunch so I needed a snack too. I ordered 2 Peanut Paradise smoothies (yogurt, bananas, and peanut butter) without the whey protein (you never know what kind of cheap stuff you may get) and without the 180 calories of added sugar. My kids “drank” some, and left the rest untouched (they split one since they are HUGE!). I like my smoothies thick like a traditional milkshake, but these were so thick and grainy that we could barley get them to come up through the straw.

The consensus was this:My kids liked my homemade smoothies better!

Here are some of our favorites:

High Protein Waffles (and Accidently Gluten-free too!)

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This is my newest waffle recipe that I’ve created. My mom gave me a bag of quinoa flour for Christmas, so here is a high-protein waffle that uses a mix of the quinoa flour and brown rice flour making it gluten-free as well.  The waffle pictured above has a schmear of Chocolate Peanut Butter Hummus, sliced bananas, and a sprinkle of organic cinnamon. Drizzle with a touch of honey or pure maple syrup if you would like. 🙂

  • 1 cup quinoa flour

  • 1 cup brown rice flour

  • 1-2 ripe bananas, mashed

  • 2 eggs, beaten

  • 1 cup almond milk

  • 1 cup water

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/4 cup extra light virgin olive oil

  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

  • 1 tablespoon honey

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • dash of salt

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional but delicious!)

  • 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed (also optional but very healthy and nutty!)

Mix flours, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and flax  together in a large bowl. Mash the bananas in another bowl and then add in the wet (which are the remaining) ingredients. Stir until well-mixed. Add the wet mixture into the flour mixture and stir until combined. Cook according to your waffle maker’s directions.
My waffle maker usually produces 4-5 large waffles with this whole recipe.

A Cookie, Fries, Nuggets, and Cake

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On Thursday, I had the pleasure of being at my daughter’s school to celebrate her birthday and help with her class’s Valentine’s activities. For her birthday treat, she chose to bring in sugar cookies and fresh fruit salad. The cookies were simply the “pull apart and bake” kind from Immaculate Baking Co. with some sprinkles of her choice. The fruit salad consisted of grapes, Plant City strawberries, and fresh cut pineapple. I could not believe that there were about a half dozen of kids that would NOT eat the fruit! What kid doesn’t like fruit??? I passed out the fruit salad first with the intent that they would eat it up and then enjoy the small cookie. I truly was amazed by those who turned their noses up at the cup of fruit.

And then I was saddened as we closed the day, and I realized that I just watched one child decline the fruit, gobble up the cookie, eat fries and chicken nuggets for lunch (mom was there and purchased that for her child), and then have a generous slice of a Valentine’s cake that was brought in by another mom. So from 9:30-1:30, this student’s body and mind were “equipped to work” with

  • a cookie
  • french fries
  • chicken nuggets
  • cake and frosting

I know that if I ate those things in the course of 4 hours, I would feel sluggish and sick. And I know that this is a very standard and normal diet for a large percentage of American children. Next month, when it is Anna’s turn to bring in snack, I will go in armed with only fresh and nutritious food and a creative plan to get as close to 100% of the class eating these “foreign” foods as possible!

National Almond Day – February 16th

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Saturday is National Almond Day. This pointed nut deserves its own day since it serves up a nutritional punch! Here are some of its benefits:

  • High in monounsaturated fats to help promote heart health

  • High in fiber – According to MayoClinic.com, dietary fiber not only keeps your digestive system running smoothly but also helps lower cholesterol and stabilizes blood sugar

  • High in protein – Along with their significant amount of fiber, the protein in almonds helps control hunger

  • High in manganese, copper and riboflavin to help in energy production

Since my hummus is made with crushed almonds or almond butter, you are getting these benefits as well as many others from the remaining natural ingredients that I use to make a sweet treat healthy.

Super Bowl vs Thanksgiving

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Yikes!

Super Bowl Sunday runs a close 2nd, just behind Thanksgiving, when it comes to calorie consumption.

Enjoy the big game without all those extra, empty, and fatty calories and swing by Downtown Produce to purchase some hummus and make a delicious sweet hummus snack tray.

Heart Attack Stat Hits Close to Home

heartTuesday morning, my 50-something year-old uncle suffered a massive heart attack. He was blessed to have been at school when it happened where CPR was administered and a defibrillator was used. He is still in critical condition and, even if he pulls through, there will be a long road to recovery.

Unfortunately, his heart attack could have been prevented. He is one of nearly 36% of American adults who are overweight, and is now one of the 935,000 Americans who will suffer from a heart attack this year.

I recently posted this wonderful article about eating- eating for nutrition not just to “be thin or skinny”. Whole foods are a wonderful source of nutrition that God created and designed for our bodies to use. If we educate ourselves and those around us, we will be able to reverse these horrific trends in disease within this country.

Fresh From The Garden

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Thank you to my mom and stepdad for the wonderful bounty of vegetables that they harvested from their garden. This assortment is for us, and they still have more!

Eat This 3x a Day

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Raisins

Eating a handful of raisins three times a day may help control blood sugar and blood pressure.

  • In a recent study, conducted by Harold Bays, MD, medical director and president of Louisville Metabolic and Atherosclerosis Research Center (L-MARC), Those wrinkled little guys significantly reduced systolic blood pressure in participants over a 12 week period compared to no change when those same participants ingested pre-packaged crackers and cookies. Raisins are a whole food rather than a processed/pre-packaged food,and so offer the body what it needs.

Dr. Hays states, “Raisins are packed with potassium, which is known to lower blood pressure,” Dr. Bays said. “They are also a good source of antioxidant dietary fiber that may favorably alter the biochemistry of blood vessels, causing them to be less stiff, which in turn, may reduce blood pressure.”

  • In a similar study, raisins also significantly decreased mean post-meal glucose levels by 16 percent when eaten three times a day.

“Raisins have a relatively low glycemic index and contain fiber and antioxidants, all factors which contribute to blood sugar control,” said James Painter, Ph.D., R.D., and nutrition research advisor for the California Raisin Marketing Board. “Decreasing blood sugar and maintaining normal hemoglobin A1c levels is important because it can prevent long-term damage to the heart and circulatory system.”

Between the health benefits of the raisins, and the cinnamon in my Cinnamon Raisin, my sweet hummus can be a great, little “indulgence” for diabetics and heart patients.

A “New” Way of Thinking About Weight Loss

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In American society, too many of us long to be thin. In that striving to be thin, we will take extreme measures which may include total deprivation of certain foods, yo-yo dieting, and the latest weight-loss trend- all which can leave us frustrated and physically sick.

I love this photo above because, if we eat right – those foods which are whole and clean– and get off our lazy rears and exercise, then the extra weight will come off naturally. But even more importantly, are health improves, our stamina increases, and we are quipped to go out and do our best in all that we are called to do!