Monday, February 9, 2015

Foods You Should Try To Avoid



By Coach Maria - Salus Nutritionist & Food Expert

Convenience food is...well...convenient.  You can find it everywhere we go, to tempt us, to convince us that we need to buy it and eat it.

Convenience food, however, is not going to provide us with the nutrition that our bodies need (unless, of course we're talking about the convenience of an apple or a bag of carrots!).

There is a dark side to convenience food that we should all be aware of so we can make an informed decision.

  • Diet Soda - any food/drink containing artificial sweeteners such as sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame K and neotame, to name a few, create health issues and problems that can cause metabolic dysfunction, weight gain, inflammatory bowel disease, headaches/migraines, joint pain and neurological changes.  Solution:  If you're craving soda, try an alternative drink like sparkling water that is flavored or, better yet, make your own at home!

  • Fast Food - loaded with genetically modified ingredients, food dyes, artificial sweeteners and an excess of other needless ingredients, fast food threatens our health in a major way, especially if we rely on fast food often.  Solution:  Learn to cook!  This doesn't have to be complicated.  You will find easy recipes on this blog that are not only tasty, but easy!

  • White Chocolate - treating yourself to a bite of an organic dark chocolate is a great way to satisfy that sweet tooth.  It contains phytonutrients that increase blood flow to the brain, protects blood vessels and can boost mood and even focus.  White chocolate, however, contains none of that.  In fact, it's a nutritional blank slate.

  • Butter-Flavored Microwave Popcorn - this type of popcorn contains a chemical used in many butter-flavored products and can have a negative impact on your health with prolonged consumption.  When it was discovered that factory workers at these popcorn factories were experiencing health problems known as 'popcorn lung", the manufacturers replaced the original chemical (Diacetyl) with another chemical which, under certain conditions actually turns back into Diacetyl.  The problem is, this chemical does not appear in the ingredient list because of the "trade secret" clause.  Solution:  Make your own popcorn at home and drizzle with REAL butter.

  • Food Dyes - Health advocates including physicians and pediatricians have tried for years to get the FDA to ban food dyes since there is a link between certain food dyes and hyperactivity in children and cancer in animals.  Included in those are Red 3, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6.  Colorful cereals and even some drinks like Tropicana Twister Berry have harmful food dyes.  Solution: Read ingredient labels!  Even some healthy food like cheese and yogurt can contain these food dyes.

Monday, February 2, 2015

Blueberry Energy Bar



By Coach Maria - Salus Nutritionist & Food Expert

I often get asked about which type of snack bar is the best.

Best priced?
Best tasting?
Best ingredients?
Best for pre or post workout?
Best for children?
Best for hiking...camping...backpacking?

If we are strictly speaking of snack bars you can purchase at the grocery store, the answers are varied and although one might fit the bill for one or a few of the questions, there isn't one bar at the store that can be the answer for ALL of the questions.

There is, however, a bar that you can MAKE, that is more economically priced, great tasting, amazingly simple with healthy ingredients, good for pre or post workout, children will love them, and extremely portable and convenient for any scenario - especially hiking, camping and backpacking!

This Blueberry bar is the answer to everything.

With only 5 simple ingredients and such an easy recipe, you'll be making these frequently.

Ingredients
makes 10 bars

1 c dried blueberries
1 c pitted dates
2 c cashews
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Seeds of 1 vanilla bean*

Whirl the blueberries in the food processor until the blueberries are chopped well or are pasty - place in mixing bowl.
Do the same with the dates (they should be gooey) - place in mixing bowl with blueberries.
Do the same with cashews until you get coarse crumbs - place in mixing bowl.
Add lemon zest and vanilla seeds to mixing bowl and mix all ingredients together.  I like to dump portions of this mix back into the food processor until it's all mixed into a dough ball (or knead with hands).
Press into an 8 or 9" pan (about 1/2" thickness) and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  Cut into bars.

*Do not sub vanilla bean with vanilla extract.  You don't want liquid added to this, you need the sticky paste of the seeds when you scrape the vanilla bean.  The flavor would be totally different - just get the vanilla bean!


Nutritional Information Per Serving (serving size: 1 bar):

Protein:     5g
Carb:       27g
Fat:            8g
Sugar:      10g


Nutritional information are estimates and may vary