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Archive for the ‘Food’ Category

Flax Seeds – Big Things In A Tiny Seed

Posted by terrepruitt on April 10, 2012

For a long time now, I have been hearing about the nutritional benefits of flax seeds. I know one of my Nia friends said she uses them. They have probably been in the spot light a bit more lately as more and more information becomes known and available about inflammation. Chronic inflammation is the body’s response to things in it that shouldn’t be in it—as in, a very large part of the average Western Diet. With the over processing of food comes a huge amount of chemicals and chemically altered compounds. These types of things are not meant to be in our bodies and used as “nutrition”. In addition, the average Western Diet contains too much omega-6 fats. Omega 6 fats are linked to health issues and inflammation. Flax seeds contain omega-3 which is an anti-inflammatory agent, among other things. There is a ratio of the fats that is thought to be the optimal. I’ve heard that it is 3 to 1. Wiki states: “Modern Western diets typically have ratios of n−6 to n−3 in excess of 10 to 1, some as high as 30 to 1.”

Flax seeds can be eaten whole, but they are difficult to digest so the common thought is to grind them so that their nutrition is readily available. I didn’t know that when I bought them otherwise I probably would not have bought such a HUGE quantity. I just remember see information that said to put them in things. I thought I could just toss them into — whatever. Well, it seems like I can, but I might not be getting all the nutrition out of them eaten that way then if I grind them.

Omega 3 is thought to do many wonderful things. It is thought to help protect against heart disease, cancer (both prostrate and breast cancer), and diabetes. And help with high blood pressure through both control and prevention. Also studies are showing that flax seeds can help lower cholesterol. Some studies show that flax seeds may help in reducing hot flashes. As little as “40 grams (1.4 ounces) of crushed flaxseed each day” (per WH Foods) cut the flashes in half.

Web MD says: “Although flaxseed contains all sorts of healthy components, it owes its healthy reputation primarily to three ingredients:

Omega-3 essential fatty acids, “good” fats that have been shown to have heart-healthy effects. Each tablespoon of ground flaxseed contains about 1.8 grams of plant omega-3s.
Lignans which have both plant estrogen and antioxidant qualities. Flaxseed contains 75-800 times more lignans than other plant foods.
Fiber. Flaxseed contains both the soluble and insoluble types.”

Remember lignans are phytochemicals!

Flax seeds are best stored whole in the fridge. Once ground they tend to go rancid quickly, they should be used within a week. I guess I could grind some once a week and just make sure that I use it all. As with many foods that deliver great health benefits, they are still meant to be a part of a healthy diet. None of the amazing foods are meant to make up for an unhealthy diet, they are to ADD to a healthy diet.

As I first mentioned I know one of you uses them. But I don’t think she said how. I could use some ideas as I now have four HUGE bags!

What about you, do you use flax seeds as a supplement? How do you use them? Do you grind them?

Posted in Food | Tagged: anti-inflammatory, chornic inflammation, fatty acids, fiber, flax seeds, ground flax seeds, Nia, Nia friends, nutritional benefits of flax seeds, Omega 3, omega 6, phytochemicals, western diet | 4 Comments »

Colors And Odors Are Brought To You By Phytochemicals

Posted by terrepruitt on April 5, 2012

Phytochemical are the reasons that fruits and veggies have color and smell. There are 1000 known phytochemicals, with an estimate of over 10,000 different ones potentially able to affect diseases. These chemical compounds are thought to have a big affect on health but are not considered as essential nutrients.

Some phytochemicals are antioxidants or have antioxidant activity and they have shown that they may reduce the risk of cancer. They have been proven to have anti-inflammatory effects. And now many doctors and scientists are starting to acknowledge the link between chronic inflammation in the body and disease. So — to me — anything that can safely help with inflammation in the body is a good food to eat.

The Linus Pauling Institute at the Oregon State University has a list of phytochemicals. Under each type listed there is a further breakdown of names of the specific phytochemical, here are just a few highlights

Carotenoids are found in red, yellow, or orange vegetables and fruits. As with a lot of nutrients, fat helps with absorption. So using a little bit of healthy oil can help with availability of the nutrient to the body.

Chlorophyll & Chlorophyllin are responsible for the green in veggies.

Curcumin is what gives turmeric its deep yellow color. Turmeric is considered an anti-inflammatory.

Fiber is a group of different compounds. Different kinds of dietary fiber include: Lignin, Cellulose, Beta-Glucans, Hemicelluloses, Pectins, Gums, Inulin, and Resistant starch. Research is showing that people with diets high in fiber have less risk of disease. Fiber helps keeps the body’s digestive system moving things out.

Flavonoids in the case of the phytochemicals are thought to be better helpers in cell-signalling then in antioxidants. While flavonoids have shown to help with curbing the free radicals, they really seem to shine when it comes to the cell signaling pathways. They’ve shown themselves to be great at regulating the flow of information in the communication pathways of the cells. There are different classes of flavanoids, they can be found in red wine, green, white, and black tea, berries, apples, chocolate, citrus fruits, yellow onions, soybeans, legumes, scallions, kale, and broccoli.

Garlic is thought to have antioxidant properties. Garlic and its Organosulfur Compounds are thought to help fight cardiovascular disease and inflammation in the body. (And some are now saying that it is inflammation that causes cardiovascular disease.)

Indole-3-Carbinol is found in coniferous vegetables. These types of veggies are thought to help prevent certain types of cancer. Some of the veggies that this phytochemical can be found in is cabbage, broccoli, and brussels sprouts.

Isothiocyanates is also found in coniferous veggies. This one can be found in cabbage, broccoli, and kale.

Lignans (phytoestrogens) are found in plants while Lignan precursors are found in plant-based foods. Eating a variety of seeds, whole grains, and legume along with broccoli, curly kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, green and red sweet peppers, apricots, strawberries, peaches, pears, and nectaries will net you both. (according to Livestrong)

Phytosterols can be found in unrefined vegetable oils, whole grains, nuts, and legumes and inhibit the intestinal absorption of cholesterol.

Resveratrol was found to increase the lifespan of some living organisms. It can be found in grapes, red wine, purple grape juice, peanuts, and some berries.

Soy Isoflavones (phytoestrogens) is one of those things that is good for you, but some evidence says that too much is not. But they are not clear on that or how much “too much” is.

As with much of our food supply harvesting and processing diminishes the nutrients available to us. The amount of phytochemicals actually in our fruits and vegetables after commercial harvesting, processing, and cooking is significantly reduced. Since the nutrients that we actually get from the food we eat seems less than was intended by nature it is a good thing that most fruits and veggies can be eaten in high quantities without adding much fat or many calories to the diet.

Additional information from wiki states that phytochemicals have been used as drugs for millennia. The willow tree leaves were used to reduce fevers and later used as aspirin.

There is much research to be done on phytochemicals. But it is interesting to know that the color and odor causing compound in our fruit and veggies might also protect us or help us combat disease. Seems like if we eat a large variety in addition to large quantities of fruits and vegetables daily will be get a good amount of phytochemicals. One thing I like to think about and try to do is “eat the rainbow”. Sounds silly, but it really is eating all the COLORS in the rainbow.

Do you eat a variety of fruits and veggies? Do you eat the colors of the rainbow?

Posted in Food, Fruit, Vegetables | Tagged: anti-inflammatory, antioxidants, Cardiovascular disease, chronic inflammation, coniferous vegetables, dietary fiber, legumes, Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University, Phytochemiclas, reduce the risk of cancer | Leave a Comment »

No Need To Soak Your Oats

Posted by terrepruitt on April 3, 2012

All in the quest for something quick and easy to eat before I teach my Nia classes . . . . I am on my sixth oat post. The last post was about why some people believe we need to soak our oats before eating them. This post is about why some people believe we should not bother soaking our oats before eating them and even a little bit about we should not soak the oats before eating them.

One of my favorites sites wrote up information from the point of view of “I”, so I am thinking that it is George Mateljan’s point of view since he is the founder of The George Mateljan Foundation for the World’s Healthiest Foods. He says he doesn’t even consider oats to be particularly high in phytic acid. Given that the phytic acid is in the outer layers his belief is that cooking reduces the levels of it. He states that studies have shown that absorption rates of zinc and copper do not get much higher when ALL the phytic acid is removed and in an average kitchen not all of the acid will be removed so soaking is not really contributing that much to the grains nutrition.

I’ve seen articles call phytic acid the “antinutrient”, but in fact it contains antioxidant properties along with a phosphorus (mineral) and inositol (Inositol is a key B vitamin necessary for the metabolism of fat and cholesterol.). Dr. McDougall stated in one of his newsletters:

“It acts as a powerful antioxidant and has been shown to reduce blood sugar, insulin, cholesterol and triglycerides. Phytic acid is linked to a reduction in heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other chronic diseases in people.”

The Oxford Food & Fitness Dictionary states: “There is some evidence that those who regularly eat high fibre diets adapt to the high phytic acid content by secreting an enzyme which can break phytic acid down into inositol and phosphorus.”

And the Wiley Dictionary of Flavors in regards to Phytic Acid states: “An acid found in grains that would normally block the absorption of calcium in the body. However, phytase is present in most of these grains and allows for the hydrolysis of phytic acid by the body as well, nullifying the effect.”

Everything I’ve read seems to agree that phytic acid can bind with minerals and keep the body from absorbing them. But nothing states that it happens to ALL of the minerals, nothing states that it happens all the time, and nothing states that it happens in every BODY. Also some people and research believe that it is a GOOD thing that phytic acid binds to minerals because it helps remove toxins that are in the body. So it could be that a portion of it DOES keep the body from absorbing minerals but the other portion takes out some bad metals and toxins in the body.

Another site states a study, from the Journal of Nutrition, showed that phytic acid stimulates the production of phytase in the gut. Phytase activity increased the absorption of some minerals.

One study states that while this type of activity might interfere with the absorption of minerals it “may protect against the development of colonic carcinoma” when left undigested in the colon. Research is showing that phytic acid “is the major ingredient responsible for preventing colon cancer and other cancers”.

Many people stated that with a healthy diet there isn’t really a threat of malnutrition from lack of minerals and bone loss because we do eat other foods that supply us with minerals.

The more I look the more I see the subject being very controversial. Yet, I see many sources stating why it is not necessarily necessary, it seems the only reference I see stating that it is necessary is Nourishing Traditions.

My posts are obviously not here to tell you what to do. They are here to share with you what I have learned, what I have found. I have found two different sides to the story (well, that is excluding the sides that say we shouldn’t eat grain at all, and the side that says we should eat more grain).

Since it seems as if there are benefits to soaking and benefits to not soaking, I would say soak your oats and see how that works for you. If you sense that they are more easy to digest and you have the time and forethought to do it, then do it. Why not? But if you don’t sense a difference and/or you don’t have the time and forethought, I would think that you would be receiving the mineral binding toxic eliminating benefit. Basically like EVERYTHING else, it is up to you. There is always going to be information saying the opposite things, so we need to research it and then do what we think, what we feel, what we sense is best for us.

So, what do you think? Do you think it is necessary to soak oats?

Posted in Food, Oats | Tagged: antioxidant, colon cancer, diabetes, grain nutrients, healthy benefits, heart disease, inositol, Journal of Nutrition, malnutrition, Nia, Nia class, Nourishing Traditions, oat series, oatmeal, oats, obesity, phosphorus, phytic acid, soaked grains, soaked oats, steel-cut oats, The George Mateljan Foundation, World's Healthiest Foods | 12 Comments »

You Should Soak Your Oats

Posted by terrepruitt on March 31, 2012

Before I started teaching Nia I had a corporate job. I worked with a woman who loved oatmeal. If you have read any of my Oat series (Oat series? Really? How did that happen?) you will know that I do not like oatmeal. She, like many others, tried to educate me on the fact that “instant” oatmeal is not really oatmeal and she said the best is steel cut oats. She told me what brand she buys and she said that she soaks them overnight because that is what makes them so yummy. Since then I have heard many people say the yummiest way to eat oats is to soak them. So I have heard of soaking oats before, but I thought that was for the flavor. A friend of mine posted a comment on one of my oat posts and she mentioned pre-soaked oat cereal. So I went to the website she mentioned to check it out. That led me to discover some people believe another reason to soak oats is for better nutrition.

After reading her comment I was excited thinking I would have something else to post about. I quickly looked into soaking oats, guess what I found? If you think about it you will know . . . . . I found conflicting information! “No”, you say, right? I mean there is never another opinion. Geez. So I though maybe I could look into the health benefits and do a post and mention the two different trains of thoughts. Then I thought, no, my poor readers, what is it with me and oats? But then, I was talking to one of my Nia students and explaining to her about my oat series and I mentioned soaking oats. She said she in fact, had oats soaking right that minute. When I asked her why she said because that is what makes them yummy and you can eat them raw when you soak them. So, while yes, it seems to make the oats yummy, and yes, soaking them allows them to be eaten raw, some believe there is a nutritional benefit to soaking them.

While I somewhat felt there might be a need to do a post on soaked oats, I thought it odd that my little quest for breakfast had grown into a series of post. I wasn’t going to post about soaked oats, but then I realized people might want to know. So bear with me for two more oat posts (at least I think it will be just two more). There has to be at least two more because there is conflicting opinions.

One post I’ll call “pro-soaked oats” and one I’ll call “con-soaked oats”. This is the “pro-soaked oats” post.

The idea is that oats should be soaked to remove or neutralize the phytic acid. Phytic acid binds to some minerals and blocks their absorption. There is a popular book out there, Nourishing Traditions, that states it is necessary to soak grains. It states that eating bran that has not been properly soaked will help with regularity at first, but could possibly lead to irritable bowel syndrome along with possible mineral deficiencies and bone loss. The soaking allows for the break down of the phytic acid so that the minerals will not be bound and they will be allowed to be absorbed. The book says an improvement in grain nutrition is achieved in “as little as seven hours”.

Body Ecology states that grains need to be soaked for at least 8 hours, with 24 being even better. Other information I have found on the internet states at least 12 hours. So it seems there is a difference in opinion with how long oats should be soaked.

Most agree that oats need to be soaked in water and something with acidic properties, but here again opinions differ. Some say to use water and a dairy product such as milk or yogurt and some say that dairy is not good because while it might help with breaking down the phytic acid in the grain it will cause acid levels to rise in the body. Some also say that the calc ium in the dairy DOES NOT help break down the phytic acid. That is in OATS only. Since I started this whole series because of oats and because getting into all the other grains would make this a huge series this post is focused on OATS. So some information suggests to use lemon or vinegar as the “acid”. A lot of comments from people who soak their oats state that they just use warm water.

The science behind the idea of soaking sounds simple enough; a seed or grain is designed not to be penetrated until it is ready to sprout. It is ready to sprout and release its nutrients when it has had enough time to be moist and warm in a slightly acidic environment. Eating grains that have not been soaked just drops them into your system when they are not ready making them more difficult to digest in addition to the risk of the pyhtic acid binding with nutrients and not allowing the body to absorb them. Makes sense. A grain’s own defense system keeps it safe and locked up until it is in the right conditions.

A common “recipe” I am seeing for soaking is:

Oats, water (enough to cover the oats), warmth, “acid”, time.

Now the only thing I have actually seen people agree on is the oats. Ha, funny, but true. Now that I think about it they might not all agree on what KIND of oats. The TEMPERATURE of the water is from just above body temperature to warm tap. The “warmth” as in a place to keep it — goes from the refrigerator (which they are not saying is warm but is just showing how different the “recipes” are) to a warm oven, the “acid” is from lemon to a dairy product, and the time, well, from 30 minutes to two days. It is crazy.

So it seems pretty straight forward. Grains designed to protect themselves until ready to germinate need the ideal conditions in which to do so and then they will happily release all kinds of healthy benefits. And the science is there to prove that phytic acid binds with minerals which would keep them from being absorbed in the body. Now all you have to do is be organized enough to remember to soak your oats anywhere from 30 minutes to 48 hours before eating them. 🙂 Or you can tune in to my next post and see what some people have to say about why there is no need to soak the oats all the way to you shouldn’t soak your oats.

Do you soak your oats? Do you do it because you think it increases their nutrition?

Posted in Food, Oats | Tagged: Body Ecology, grain nutrients, healthy benefits, Nia, Nia student, Nourishing Traditions, oat series, oatmeal, oats, phytic acid, soaked grains, soaked oats, steel-cut oats, Weston A. Price Foundation | 7 Comments »

Gout and Oats – There Could Be A Connection

Posted by terrepruitt on March 29, 2012

Seems as if my quest for something to eat for breakfast before teaching my Nia classes has turned into somewhat of a series on oats. I know a body needs to eat to break the fast, but I don’t always have time to eat something before Nia in the morning. I wanted something quick but healthy. Oatmeal is always said to be one of the best breakfast to have, but I don’t like oatmeal. I don’t think eating a processed breakfast or snack bar is the answer I was looking for. I was thinking granola even though I used to not like granola, I have found a few that I like, but most often than not they have canola oil in them so I have been looking for recipes where I can make my own. I found one that I like after I did a little bit of adjusting. The whole process had me wondering about oats and oatmeal. When I did a search of nutrition one of my favorite sites came up with some information on oats I found totally interesting. As usual I learned something totally new to me. I hear a lot more about Gout lately than I used to. And the information about oats and gout had me looking gout up what gout is again. I always forget it is a form of arthritis.

Here is what wiki says about Gout:

“Gout has increased in frequency in recent decades affecting approximately one to two percent of the Western population at some point in their lives. The increase is believed to be due to increasing risk factors in the population, such as metabolic syndrome, longer life expectancy and changes in diet. Gout was historically known as “the disease of kings” or “rich man’s disease”.”

According to PubMed Health there is:

“Gouty arthritis – acute; Gout – acute; Hyperuricemia; Tophaceous gout; Tophi; Podagra; Gout – chronic; Chronic gout; Acute gout; Acute gouty arthritis”

This type of arthritis that occurs when uric acid builds up in blood and causes joint inflammation. So just like other types of arthritis there can be flare ups. With the different type of gout the flare ups are different. One joint is affected by pain and inflammation in the case of acute gout, but in chronic gout it can be in more than one joint.

While they know what causes gout, they don’t know what causes the cause. Too much uric acid in the synovial fluid causes crystals to form. The crystals are what cause the pain, swelling and inflammation. But they don’t know why a body might make too much uric acid or have difficulty getting rid of it. They have a list of what they consider to be risk factors. Risk factors include: being over weight, consuming too much alcohol, eating too much red meat or fish or foods high in purines. Gout is more common in males than females, although woman after menopause seem to be at greater risk. Certain medications might contribute to gout.

These risk factors could be what contributed to the historical nicknames as probably kings and rich men were more often the ones overweight, drinking too much alcohol, and eating too much red meat and fish.

It is the food high in purines that got my attention. Oats are high in purines. So oats might not be good for people with gout or with high levels of uric acid because they could cause gout. Even though oats are a good source of antioxidants and are believed to help lower cholesterol if you have too much uric acid you might not want to consume them every morning. Another uric acid related health issue is kidney stones. So monitoring your intake of oats, might be prudent if you are prone to high levels of uric acid. Although the site does go onto say that recent research is showing the purines in the meat and the fish are the real culprits in producing too much uric acid contributing to the health issues and that the vegetable/plant purines are not, it still might be a good idea to keep it in mind if your body is prone to gout or kidney stones.

Just another thing that is so great for you, but depending upon your individual body might not be so great. I really believe that our diets are a main factor in our health. It is important to know that even foods that have so many health benefits and are so full of nutrition still could affect your health in a negative way. It really depends on your body. I think it is always a good idea to look at the diet when there are health issues.

Did you know that oats could aggravate gout?

Posted in Food, Oats | Tagged: acute gout, arthritis, breakfast bars, chronic gout, gout, granola, healthy breakfast, joint inflammation, joint pain, kidney stones, metabolic syndrome, Nia, Nia class, oatmeal breakfast, oats, purines, uric acid | 31 Comments »

The World’s Healthiest Foods Description of Oats

Posted by terrepruitt on March 27, 2012

Oats are easy to grow because they can grow in soil that other crops cannot grow. Oats have a lot of health benefits including fiber, antioxidants, and phytochemicals. Because of the fiber and the nutrients a breakfast of oatmeal is often recommended as great way to start the day. I do not like oatmeal and realized in writing this oat series that I haven’t bee that found of oats at all. Since it has been a while since I have not liked them I forgot that I just didn’t like them. They are really chewy. But I do believe in the nutritional value and I am happy that I like them now. I still do not believe that I like oatmeal, but I really don’t need to since there are really so many ways you can eat oats and get the benefit of all the great things they contain.

I love the website The World’s Healthiest Foods. Here is what they say about the different types of oats:

“Oats gain part of their distinctive flavor from the roasting process that they undergo after being harvested and cleaned. Although oats are then hulled, this process does not strip away their bran and their germ allowing them to retain a concentrated source of their fiber and nutrients. Different types of processing are then used to produce the various types of oat products, which are generally used to make breakfast cereals, baked goods and stuffings:

                    • Oat groats: unflattened kernels that are good for using as a breakfast cereal or for stuffing
                    • Steel-cut oats: featuring a dense and chewy texture, they are produced by running the grain through steel
                       blades that thinly slices them.
                    • Old-fashioned oats: have a flatter shape that is the result of their being steamed and then rolled.
                    • Quick-cooking oats: processed like old-fashioned oats, except they are cut finely before rolling
                    • Instant oatmeal: produced by partially cooking the grains and then rolling them very thin.
                        Oftentimes,  sugar, salt and other ingredients are added to make the finished product.
                    • Oat bran: the outer layer of the grain that resides under the hull. While oat bran is found in rolled oats and
                        steel-cut oats, it may also be purchased as a separate product that can be added to recipes or cooked to
                        make a hot cereal.
                    • Oat flour: used in baking, it is oftentimes combined with wheat or other gluten-containing flours
                        when making leavened bread.”

I think that fact that oats do remain “whole” even after being processed (harvested and cleaned) is a great testament to the hardiness of this grain. While I imagine that the least healthy of the oats described above would be the “Instant oatmeal” kind because they might already come with other ingredients added, but since oats sound “superfood”y to me, I would think you would still gain some benefit from them.

So seeing this description of oats might allow you to see how many different ways you can get oats. It seems with them available in so many different forms it would be easy to add them to your diet even if you don’t like oatmeal.

Posted in Food, Oats | Tagged: antioxidants, Description of Oats, fiber, hardy breakfast, instant oatmeal, nutritious breakfast, oat bran, oat flour, oat groats, oatmeal, old-fashioned oats, phytochemicals, quick cooking oats, steel-cut oats, superfood, The World's Healthiest Foods | 4 Comments »

Oats – The Incredible Whole Grain

Posted by terrepruitt on March 24, 2012

Since breakfast is so important I have been looking for an easy and healthy thing to eat before I rush off to teach Nia. I don’t always have a chance to eat before my Nia class, but I have been looking to try to change that. Oatmeal is always touted as being one of the best breakfast foods. I do not like oatmeal. I recently found a recipe for granola that is basically just oats and I started to wonder if oats cooked that way are as good as oatmeal. Here are some nutritional facts on oats:

The fiber contained in oats is known in studies to have a cholesterol lowering effect. Since high cholesterol is associated with buildup of plaque in the blood vessel walls the lowering of cholesterol helps with heart disease. In addition to oats special fiber that helps lower cholesterol scientists have also found an antioxidant compound in oats that help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. Studies have also shown that postmenopausal women can greatly benefit from eating oats at least six times a week. The study showed that the antioxidant slowed the progression of narrowing the arteries. In addition oats have been shown to improve or enhance the body’s immune system’s response to infection. They were mentioned in my post Some Foods Can Boost Your Immune System. Oats also help stabilize blood sugar.

You have probably heard a lot of talk about flora in the intestinal track and how important it is to keep the guts healthy. Oats also contain phytochemical the gets converted to friendly flora and a healthy gut contributes to a healthy digestive system which helps the body in so many ways. If your digestive system is healthy it allows you to absorb the nutrients you need and eliminates the stuff you don’t need.

Oats are also gluten-free which is very helpful since it is a whole-grain and it can be used as a serial and it can also be used ground as a flour. So it can be a very healthy substitute for gluten containing cereals and flours.

The oats I bought show that 1/2 cup of uncooked oats have:

Calories 190
Total Fat 3.5 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 0 mg
Total Carbohydrates 32 g
Dietary Fiber 5 g
Protein 7 g

Of the Daily Values there is 2% calcuim and 15% iron.

A lot of fiber and a lot of protein and the benefits of a whole grain. I am thinking that I might even just like the oats toasted and eaten as a cereal without adding all the extra stuff as called for in the granola recipe. Since I have this whole bag I might just try that. Of course I will also have to use some of this bag for the Banana Oatmeal Walnut Cookies.

Oats do contain tryptophan so if you get sleepy after eating them it could be more than just because you might think of oatmeal as a comfort food.

With the large amount of fiber and protein this is a great food to start the day with, both fiber and protein help keep you full. So you can start the day off energized and satisfied. Oats are an incredible whole grain!

Are you including this whole grain as part of your breakfast?

Posted in Food, Oats | Tagged: antioxidants, Banana Oatmeal Walnut Cookies, cholesterol, filling breakfast, GF, gluten free, healthy gut, high in fiber, high in protein, lower cholesterol, Nia, Nia class, oatmeal, oatmeal cookies, oats, tryptophan, Whole grain | 6 Comments »

A Granola Recipe I like – Sort Of

Posted by terrepruitt on March 22, 2012

It is important to eat breakfast. I don’t always have a chance to eat before my Nia class, but I have been looking to try to change that. Oatmeal is always touted as being one of the best breakfast foods. I do not like oatmeal. I used to not like granola, but I have found a few I like, but most often than not they have canola oil in them so I have been looking for recipes where I can make my own. I found a recipe that looked simple and quick and had ingredients I could live with. Oats is a main ingredient in granola so I can get my whole grain oats in granola instead of oatmeal.

Do you ever wish that you would have followed your instincts? The first time I make a recipe I follow it. Then after I make any adjustments. Well, with this one I made a few measurement adjustments and as I was cooking it, I had a feeling that I should also make some procedural adjustments, but I didn’t. I thought, “No, I will do what it says and it will turn out fine.” Honestly it DID turn out fine if you want crumbly granola and that is what this recipe is. So had I really thought about it I would have realized that I wanted more like bars.

I am not sure where I got this little booklet from but the recipe on the website is a little different from the one in the booklet, but that is the beauty of it you can add whatever you want to your granola. I opted for plainish because that is one of the things I don’t like about granola and granola bars they often have dried fruit in them. I don’t like dried fruit.

I altered the recipe to be:

Granola:

3 1/2 to 4 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup olive oil
a little over 1/4 cup raw honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
a round heaping 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon**
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 1/2 cup roasted almond slivers
(you can add in anything you’d like)

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Mix together the oil, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.

Pour over the oats and mix well.

Spread the coated oats onto the baking sheet. Stir every 5 minutes. Bake about 20.

Then let cool completely then mix the oats with your add-ins. Store up to 2 weeks.

Well, I will probably use less salt or omit it all together (YES! ME, saying I will use LESS salt or remove it all together . . . . hmmmmm . . . . ) And I will cook it less than I did. I think I cooked it for more than 20 minutes. I won’t do that, but it didn’t look like it was cooking at all. I will put my add-ins BEFORE it cools, maybe even before I bake it. Depends on what they are.

I am also going to try using less oil and sugar.

Anyway, this is a granola recipe I like — finally– after I made my own adjustments (I use olive oil instead of canola and more oats). With this recipe after a bit more tweaking I can experiment with anything now. Now that I have a really simple basic recipe I can go from here . . . . or not. I is really good on its own. I can see having it warm as a hot cereal. Not quite making it oatMEAL, but making it a meal of oats. 🙂

Do you like granola? Do you like oatmeal? Do you eat oatmeal? What type?

**As I was making this today and using my posted recipe I realized I typed this incorrectly! It is NOT a full teaspoon of cinnamon, but a 1/4 of a teaspoon!!!

Posted in "Recipes", Food, Oats | Tagged: Canola Oil, dried fruit, eat breakfast, granola, granola bars, granola recipe, hot cereal, Nia, Nia class, oatmeal, oats, whole grains | 8 Comments »

Meatless Mondays

Posted by terrepruitt on March 20, 2012

Have you ever heard of Meatless Mondays? I thought about it when I was talking to my Nia student who is about to go vegan. Seems as if we always try to make things sound neat or nice. The double M has a nice ring. MEATLESS MONDAY. It is just a tool that someone thought up to help and encourage people to eliminate meat from their diet. I guess the thought process is that people eat meat every night for dinner so one night would be good to not have meat and why not make it Meatless Monday. I always thought it was just for dinner, but I guess you could have a whole day of non-meat. The reasons for eliminating meat from the diet range from health to environment. We don’t have a meatless Monday in our house. What we have is a oh-snap-I-forgot-to-take-any-meat-out-for-dinner-so-we-aren’t-having-any kind of meatless dinner. Or sometimes I just decide I am not going to cook meat and I figure something else out. We do not have meat every dinner.

Sometimes I just don’t feel like meat. It was a few years after we had been married that my husband gave me the go ahead regarding meatless dinners. I probably was whining about having meat every night and he said he was ok with not having meat for dinner. WAHOOO! That was a happy, happy, happy day for me. Meat for us primarily consists of chicken breast or ground turkey. Yes we do have pork every once in a while. Beef even less often. But actually more than we used to. Just not having to have meat every night was so freeing. Because having that freedom meant to me that we could have less meat. So sometimes we can still have meat but instead of having a piece of chicken each we can split one. Since he is ok with not having meat than having less is ok too, right?

But we do have meatless dinners. Having the added help of quinoa to get a seedy/grainy protein is nice. Because I am not a fan of beans I usually don’t substitute beans for meat. Sometimes I do during the summer when we are having a bean salad, but not always. Sometimes we will just eat soup for dinner. If we are not having soup or bean salad then we are filling up on a ton of veggies.

Tonight we had a green salad, roasted eggplant, and mushrooms with broccoli thrown over pasta. It was pretty good. Between the pasta and the mushrooms I am ok with the amount of protein. We don’t have just pasta every night. (I took pictures because I actually thought, “Hmm, I might blog about this.” And they didn’t come out. I mean my computer is giving me that little question mark in a red box. Hmmm. Oh well. You would have drooled.)

Even though I might be having meatless dinners for other reasons there is still the same benefits that some people are doing it for. It seems as if it is a “movement” and it is for those that truly do eat red meat every night. That is probably why when I first heard about it I didn’t really get it, because we rarely eat red meat and we don’t even eat meat every night. I can see how it can help people that do, although I didn’t know that people did eat red meat every night.

What about you? How often do you eat red meat/beef? Do you eat meat every night? Do you have a Meatless Monday (or one night a week that you plan to not have meat)?

Posted in Food | Tagged: aubergine, bean protein, bean salad, beef, chicken breast, ground turkey, meat substitute, meatless dinner, Meatless Monday, Meatless Monday movement, Nia, Nia student, quinoa, red meat | Leave a Comment »

Healthful Teas Can Be Yummy

Posted by terrepruitt on March 13, 2012

I like tea. Do you like tea? I like to have tea to warm me up during the day when I don’t want to have caffeine or when I don’t want to just make a hot cup of spices. I also drink it at night for the same reason. Herb tea in itself is said to be good for you. Green tea is supposed to have all kinds of benefits. I like tea and I do believe that herbal tea has benefits depending on what herb you are drinking. Echinacea tea would fall into that category. For instance I whole heartedly believe in Echinacea being helpful when you feel you might be catching a cold. I believe it can help you not get the cold or help make it less severe. In the same vein I think it can help you get better faster if you are sick. Echinacea is one of those herbs that helps with immune systems. Whenever my husband mumbles he is not feeling well, I make sure he has a cup of Echinacea tea. I also tend to believe in the teas that claim to help with certain things (help you sleep, boost your immue system, etc).

Last October we used up the last of our Echinacea tea. Funny I remember when it was exactly because the studio I teach Nia at had just moved. I found myself looking around the new area one day in November. Normally I wouldn’t remember when I bought tea but this I remember. I wandered into a health food store. They had a large selection of herbal tea. My friend and I had just been having a conversation about green teas so I was looking for green teas. I wanted something to replace my Echinacea tea. There were two I could not decide between. But then I spotted another one and wanted that. So I ended up getting Green Tea Triple Echinacea and a Green Tea “Super Antioxidant”. Not sure I believe that one, but I did believe it was green tea and thought, “Well, what the heck.”

Well, they taste green. If you are conscious of green taste you know what I mean. I don’t think my other Echinacea tea was green tea because it didn’t taste like green. They are ok, I like them but I kind of just save them for when I think I need them. When I want a yummy cup of tea they are not what I think of. Plus they have caffeine.

Not all herb tea is decaffeinated. Green tea has caffeine. So if you are not drinking coffee because you don’t want the caffeine and you are drinking green tea instead, you you could still be getting caffeine. Unless it says it is decaffeinated it has caffeine. Sometimes I don’t mind the caffeine, in fact I will drink it because of the caffeine. But lately it has been cold here at night and I don’t want the caffeine at night. I wanted some decaffeinated tea. While I was buying my calcium I clicked on their tea section and found some interesting looking tea. It is Echinacea Immune Support. It was on sale so I took a chance. Ahhhhh! I am so glad I did.

It has Echinacea root and Cinnamon Bark in it. Also Cardamom Seed, Rose Hip, Ginger Root, and Elderberry Extract among other things. This is not a green tea, but it has other things I like, for instance a yummy taste. It is really good. This tea is one that I think of drinking when I want to have a warm cozy cup of tea. The moment I ripped open the little package I was intrigued by the delicious smell.

Echinacea is good for fighting colds. Cinnamon and cardamom are anti-inflammatory spices. Rose hips is high in Vitamin C so it has anti-oxidants. Ginger can help with chronic inflammation and digestion. And I just learned about Elderberry being an immune system boost. So, with all the ingredients in here that I am familiar with I can concede its claim to be Immune Support. Even if not, it is a good cup of tea.

Do you drink tea? Do you drink herb tea? Do you drink herb tea for health benefits? What is your favorite tea?

Posted in Food | Tagged: anti-inflammatory, Coffee, cold fighter, cold night drink, Echinacea Immune Support, Echinacea root, Echinacea tea, ginger, green tea, Green Tea Triple Echinacea, herb tea, herbal tea, immune systems, Nia, Nia Teacher, Super Antioxidant, vitamin C, yogi, Yogi tea | 10 Comments »

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Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

I teach yoga, Nia, and stretch online!

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