no HFCS chocolate syrup!

check out what i found at whole foods for nathan! he likes to add it in his protein shake every morning- now i can feel good about that, because it has no HFCS! :)

high fructose corn syrup

alright so if you know me and have spent much time around me, you know my rant about high fructose corn syrup. somewhat a joke among my peers, i believe this stuff is terrible. and while i love to laugh at a good snl skit like this one:

i think there is a valid point to be made there. sure, a lot of folks would like us to believe that HFCS has no harm, and is just like sugar, but the fact is, i dont think thats the case. there has been a lot of research done on this topic, and while i don't claim to be an expert, i will summarize and regurgitate some of the into i have found.

just like the snl skit shows, high fructose corn syrup has replaced sugar in a lot of kid-friendly products, and is thought to have a correlation to the excessive levels of childhood obesity we find in our country today. researchers at Princeton have found that rats gain more weight on HCFS than regular sugar when caloric intake is the same (here) "In addition to causing significant weight gain in lab animals, long-term consumption of high-fructose corn syrup also led to abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides." (same source) yikes. additionally, "The second experiment -- the first long-term study of the effects of high-fructose corn syrup consumption on obesity in lab animals -- monitored weight gain, body fat and triglyceride levels in rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup over a period of six months. Compared to animals eating only rat chow, rats on a diet rich in high-fructose corn syrup showed characteristic signs of a dangerous condition known in humans as the metabolic syndrome, including abnormal weight gain, significant increases in circulating triglycerides and augmented fat deposition, especially visceral fat around the belly. Male rats in particular ballooned in size: Animals with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained 48 percent more weight than those eating a normal diet." (same source)

and while the corn farmers would like you to believe that HFCS is just "corn sugar" (here), research shows that their proposition is a bit misleading.

there have been other concerning findings with HCFS, including mercury traces in over half the samples, as well as an abundance of reactive carbonyls, which are found in diabetics blood. also, research has shown that high consumption levels of fructose can also lead to diabetes. (all found here)

HCFS is anything but natural, and in fact, is highly processed. "High-fructose corn syrup starts out as cornstarch, which is chemically or enzymatically degraded to glucose and some short polymers of glucose. Another enzyme is then used to convert varying" (here)

and while it might be ok in small amounts, as the corn sugar supporters suggest, the truth is, its near impossible because its everywhere these day!  "The commercials claim that just like sugar, high-fructose corn syrup isn't unhealthy when consumed" in moderation. But it's hard to know exactly how much of it we're actually consuming because it shows up in so many unexpected foods. "It was in my children's vitamins!" said Elise Mackin. Because high-fructose corn syrup extends the shelf life of foods, and farm subsidies make it cheaper than sugar, it's added to a staggering range of items, including fruity yogurts, cereals, crackers, ketchup and bread — and in most foods marketed to children. So, unless you're making a concerted effort to avoid it, it's pretty difficult to consume high-fructose corn syrup in moderation."(here)

im sure at the end of the day, anything is fine in small amounts. but i think it is very much important for us to know what we are putting in our body, and to strive to keep it as natural as possible (part of the reason i stopped drinking diet cokes & other soft drinks). since around my junior year of college, i have strived to not consume high fructose corn syrup. its a sneaky little booger because it is in everything- even healthy products marketed as "natural." i am very used to flipping over the container and seeing the first or second ingredient on something being HCFS, and then sighing and putting it away. it seems like only time will tell the truth about this. heres one more good article for you to read. what are you thoughts? i'd love to hear them!

quinoa!

the other night, i made nathan some quinoa for the week. ever made it? its pretty simple and super healthy! we just got into the quinoa craze, and have found it to be a great addition to our repertoire. i have tried out a few different recipes, and been totally satisfied with all of them! one of my favorite ways to cook it is using my favorite brown rice recipe, but subbing in quinoa instead of rice (see that recipe below).

so what is quinoa??  well, good question. according to wikipedia (which has the answer to everything), quinoa is a type of goosefoot, and "is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a member of the grass family. As a chenopod, quinoa is closely related to species such as beets, spinach, and tumbleweeds." so what does that mean? not really sure, but we think its good. one of the biggest things we like and appreciate about it is that it is very high in protein and pretty good for you. one serving has about 14g of protein! pretty cool, huh? its also very versatile, you can sub it for oatmeal in the morning and mix in a little sugar and maybe cinnamon and fruit for a tasty breakfast, or mix it with savory ingredients for a powerful side and potentially even main dish.  

so, because of all this, nathan asked me to cook him up some for the week to take to work. i made it plain so he could choose each day what he wanted to do with it. one side note here, we ordered our quinoa from nutsonline.com, a great website which i'll blog about later. its pretty expensive and hard to find in our grocery stores, and even at the farmers market, so when i saw it on their website for such a great price, we ordered several pounds.

so, i decided to make 2 cups of quinoa to start out with. after doing some research, i found that most folks suggested a 1:1.25 ratio to cook the quinoa (1 part quinoa to 1.25 parts liquid). some suggested as much as 1:2, so i decided to go in the middle. i made 2 cups of quinoa, so i put in 3 cups of water. i mixed this in my awesome le creuset  5 1/2 quart round french oven on my stove top, and brought it to a simmer. 

yay for le creuset!

once simmering, i reduced the heat and allowed it to cook for almost 30 minutes, keeping an eye on it and stirring it to keep it from burning.

side note here, check out my new tea kettle! i'm a little obsessed with le creuset these days, and my mom is so good to me, surprising me with new pieces occasionally.

once the quinoa was finished (and you can tell because all the liquid is dried up and it looks almost like rice does when it is finished, and also kind of like fish eggs), i divided it out into some glad containers. i measured out 1 cup servings and stacked them up in our fridge so nathan could grab and go each morning. he said this worked out great! he just seasons it before he leaves (like friday, he added a splash of EVOO, some dried basil, and salt and pepper), and heats it up and eats it at work. yum!

 

so there ya go. quinoa. good stuff. here's the two recipes for you:

basic quinoa recipe:

2 cups quinoa

1 1/4 cups water

combine in saucepan and bring to simmer. once boiling, reduce heat and continue to cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

season according to your preference.

brown rice quinoa recipe:

1 cup quinoa

1 can beef consomme 

1 can french onion soup

1 jar mushrooms

1 stick butter

dump all in a baking dish, and bake at 350 for about an hour.

enjoy :)

no more diet coke!

so if you know me, you know i have quite the affection for diet coke. i'm quite a fan. especially when its on ice, in a glass, with a fresh squeezed lime. i'm also quite a fan of coke light, Europe's version. i promise its different- and much better!

problem is, thats not all the caffeine i take in in a day. i have a diet coke after having at least two cups of coffee, and i generally go on to have another diet coke. not so great for the kidneys. or the head. or really any part of me.

i've been working really hard the last few years to live a healthy lifestyle. i run fairly often, have almost entirely cut out high fructose corn syrup (i'll rant about that another day!), and try to eat as naturally as possible. i have upped my intake of fruits and veggies and try to eat a limited amount of processed junk. i drink lots of water and even have tried to not drink as much out of plastic bottles.

i truly believe that my body is a temple, and i am just as much a steward of it as i am any other resource that God has given me. how can i love God and not take care of what he has given me, namely, my body?

when i eat right and pursue healthiness, i feel stronger, happier, more satisfied, and find that my walk with God is often closer and more consistent.

now i am not saying that diet cokes have hindered my walk with God or that they are sinful or bad. oh no. i believe i will always love an ice cold diet coke. and i will choose to enjoy them. but i know that i must take care of what God has given me. as i read about the possible side effects of regular consumption of artificial sweeteners, i am kind of grossed out. its pretty bad.  read here and here and here and here. 

so, for the next while, i am going off diet coke. cold turkey. starting yesterday, no more. now i'm still having my morning coffee- and am trying to replace my afternoon diet coke with an iced coffee. up next will be weening myself off so much caffeine. but for now, no more diet coke. i'll keep you posted on how that goes!

ps, have you checked out the gratitude blog?

a quick breakfast

so while nathan ran to get his hair cut, i was sitting here drinking my coffee and realized i was definitely hungry! i'm trying to be really good, so i didnt want to eat ice cream or twizzlers, so i started poking around and came up with a yummy homemade smoothie recipe. it turned out great so i wanted to share:

1 little cup of voskos greek yogurt with honey (the whole little container)

about 1/2 small bag frozen raspberries (i probably had maybe a little over a cup)

enough orange juice to make it liquid (maybe a cup?)

i know thats not very exact, but it was kinda just whatever i had.

it turned out great! nice and tart. yum yum!

plus, it was a great choice, because greek yogurt is SO good for you. lots of protein!

so lets see here the breakdown:

voskos yogurt had 130 calories, 13g protein, 17g sugar

raspberries had around 64 calories, 1.5 g protein, 8g fiber, 5 g sugar

o.j. had around 94 calories, 2g fiber, 22g sugar

so that puts the total at 288 calories, 14.5g protein, 10g fiber, and 44g sugar.

and it was nice and cold and tart!

enjoy :)