Healthy Apple Pie

Hello!  Welcome to my blog.  My name is Jeanette.  I am a Team Beachbody Coach who is a homeschooling mom with two children who are ages 5 and 7.  We live in Erie, PA.  We have been seeing signs for the past few weeks that we are in for an early fall.  Local apples began ripening the first week of August!  We are already a couple of apple totes into the season here.  My son is an apple fanatic and typically eats two per day!  This week we are loving the "Paula Reds" from local Burch Farms.  My daughter began asking the other day if we could please make "a healthy apple pie"?  We have been eating clean here for the past 11 months and I have not made a pie during that time!  Well, there was one odd attempt at a chicken pot pie that was more of a dumpling or biscuit sort of thing.  The "clean eating" biscuits for that recipe were actually inedible!  Even by the standards of my husband who is pretty open-minded with my kitchen experiments!  I had made that Chicken Pot Pie at the beginning of this past spring and my family STILL talks about it.  Goodness!  You make 15 great new recipes and one total flop and what does everyone remember??  

Anyways, when my daughter made this recent request for us to please create a healthy apple pie together, I wondered about making a crust without shortening?  I know that some people do use butter which would be a "clean" choice.  Shortening is NOT!  I personally do not have experience with a butter pie crust recipe anyways... So the search was on to find something that would work for the way that we eat these days.  I looked at a variety of clean eating crust recipes online and kept having flashbacks of the scary chicken pot pie/biscuit episode!  I pulled inspiration from a few areas on the crust.  The apple filling is 100% my own thing that I just put together.  When we make pancakes here, I use my Ninja processor to pulverize Quinoa flakes into a flour of sorts.  I thought that it would be neat to incorporate this along with a traditional whole wheat pastry flour.  

Yesterday I purchased something that is entirely new to me ~ "Organic Coconut Palm Sugar".  It is nectar from pure coconut flower blossoms.  It is a natural sweetener that is low glycemic (very cool for a "sugar" to now give anyone that high/crash effect!!) and high nutrient; marked by magnesium, nitrogen, zinc, potassium, calcium and amino acids.  I typically use raw honey as our only sweetener here at home.  But I just couldn't picture how I would thoroughly combine it with all of my apples for my deep dish 9" pie plate??  I wanted something that I could sprinkle.  The Palm Sugar did the trick!  With a total of 5 tablespoons going into the entire pie, I am fine with using this ingredient from time to time.

"Healthy Apple Pie"

* This recipe fits well within a 9" Deep Dish Pie Plate and will serve 8-10

This apple pie is made in a way that is more healthy than a traditional apple pie.  But this is still a dessert!  In our family, we call these things a "sometimes food".  Watch your portion size and do not go overboard with eating apple pie all of the time!  

If you are following the 21 Day Fix program, this is not too far from your nutrition plan.  If you are in the lowest calorie target category of the Fix, the coconut oil in this recipe would go beyond the official limits on your allotted teaspoons. The other calorie category ranges would be pretty close on teaspoons scheduled for the day due to the coconut oil used in the recipe. As a "once in a while thing" this apple pie is much better than many other dessert options. Other than the coconut oil being above your teaspoons for the day, the rest is pretty much Fix-friendly. The apples fit within a purple. The crust fits as a yellow. And the only sugar is Coconut Palm Sugar which is a low glycemic and high nutrient food. This ingredient is the only one that is not included within the 21 Day Fix plans. But an entire 9" deep dish pie has 5 tablespoons of the palm sugar. If you slice it conservatively into 10 servings or go for a more traditional 8 slices, your sugar intake is still not going to be anything crazy. Everything else is just spices, lemon juice, and a sprinkle of sea salt!

Preheat oven to 400.   

Crust Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

1/2 Cup Quinoa Flakes (processed into a flour)

1 Tablespoon Palm Sugar

1/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt

2/3 Cup Coconut Oil (as a solid)

3-4 Tablespoons Ice Water

Begin by placing your quinoa flakes in a food processor.  I use my Ninja.  Pulverize them into a flour.  You will still have a bit of "texture" remaining with this flakes.  This is what you see as the specks visible in the ball photo above.  Next add your whole wheat pastry flour, palm sugar and sea salt.  Once your dry ingredients are combined well, incorporate your coconut oil.  Mix gently and do not overwork in such a way that your dough becomes tough.  Finish by adding 3-4 tablespoons of ice water one tablespoon at a time.  Mix dough with your hands.  It will not be very sticky.  Roll into a ball and cover with plastic wrap.  Place in your fridge for 10-15 minutes.  

** If you leave your crust in longer or if it begins to set quickly, you will want to microwave it for 10 seconds or allow it to come up towards room temperature prior to rolling it.  

Divide your ball into a 60/40 (not quite half and half) split.  Take the larger ball and prepare to roll!  The rolling step went very well here.  I used wax paper above and below and a silicone rolling pin.  No additional flour of any sort was needed.  The NEXT step is where we ran into some trouble.  Perhaps a sprinkle of flour would have come in handy??  Now, a little disclaimer here.  My 5 and 7 year old were helping with EACH part of the pie-making process.  They talk to me all.day.long.  So when I went to peel the crust from the wax paper and into the pie plate, things did not go perfectly.  They were like two commentators giving a play-by-play of some shocking Olympic mishap.  At the same time, they were eagerly reaching in with all four of their hands with a goal of assisting me!!  I did get about 80% of my Pampered Chef Deep Dish 9" Pie Plate covered in that initial move from wax paper to dish.  But as you can see in the photo just above the recipe, some patchwork was needed for both the bottom and top crusts.   My stoneware does not require any sort of surface preparation.  The coconut oil does the trick with making this pastry not stick to the dish.    The pie baked beautifully and came out of the pan easily when it was time to serve it this evening.  If the crust had not come through so nicely in that aspect, I would not be blogging the recipe as is!  We would be doing another experiment with it at a future date.  But this crust was delicious and is certainly a keeper! 

Filling Ingredients:

6 Cups of Apples Sliced Uniformly Thin (today we used 9 of the "Paula Red" apples) 

Juice of One Lemon

4 Tablespoons of Coconut Palm Sugar

2 Tablespoons of Ground Cinnamon

1/2 up to 1 Teaspoon of Ground Cloves (use more or less depending on taste)

Dash of Sea Salt

1/8 Cup of Whole Wheat Pastry Flour 

Place your apples in a large bowl.  Top with freshly-squeezed lemon juice.  Sprinkle with dry ingredients and toss to coat.  Add filling to pie dish that already has the bottom crust in place.  Top with strips of remaining crust.  You may sprinkle with bit of palm sugar if desired.  The crumble effect that you see in my recipe photo came through the kids literally adding crumbs of crust on top of my lattice.  :) 

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 and bake for an additional 35 minutes.  I kept an eye on my crust here but it did not become overly-browned.  I was using a rack in the center of the oven.  Check your crust and cover edges with foil mid-baking if necessary.  

Allow pie to cool on a wire rack.  Serve and enjoy!!

5 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism

Good morning!  Have you ever looked at yourself and those connected to you genetically and thought, "We just do not have that great metabolism that a few people seem to have?"  We look around at the small percentage of people who seem as though they can eat anything and never seem to gain a pound.  I have learned how it is SO much more important to be healthy in general than it is to be a certain size.  Healthy is going to look a bit different on everyone but there will be some common traits.  So, what can we do to make the most of our metabolism?  There are MANY suggestions out there.  You can do some reading up on this topic and will come away with all sorts of information!  Today I am going to take a look at five things that I have implemented myself this past year.  

1) Eat 5-6 Small Meals/Snacks Throughout Your Day

This topic is one of the biggest areas where I have made changes in how I have done things this past year.  I used to think that just eating less in general was going to benefit me.  Sure, to some extent that may be true.  BUT if you are eating less often and not eating the right things, you are actually going to SLOW your metabolism.  This is one of the most frustrating realities of traditional "dieting" ~ if you cut out too many calories, your metabolism thinks times are lean and puts the breaks on fat-burning to conserve energy.  Rather than burning through what you are eating, your body decides it had better hold on to everything!  Eat smaller meals and snacks throughout your day to keep the metabolism fire burning!  It is also helpful to pair a complex carb and a lean protein throughout the day while also getting the right mix of healthy fats.

  

2) Build Lean Muscle

Build lean muscle. Muscle requires a considerable amount of energy to keep its fibers strong, especially when they are constantly being torn and repaired. By building lean muscle, your body will keep the metabolism going.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/way_5268623_ways-increase-metabolism.html?ref=Track2&utm_source=ask

Build lean muscle. Muscle requires a considerable amount of energy to keep its fibers strong, especially when they are constantly being torn and repaired. By building lean muscle, your body will keep the metabolism going.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/way_5268623_ways-increase-metabolism.html?ref=Track2&utm_source=ask

Last September I began my fitness journey with a workout program called "ChaLean Extreme".  This program involves some serious strength training and I was surprised to see how much I enjoy lifting weights!  Strength training is a key element when you are looking to boost your metabolism through exercise.  This is because strength training places your focus on building and maintaining muscle. Increasing muscle mass is going to offer an all-the-time benefit to your metabolism.  Our bodies burn a few more calories to maintain a pound of muscle than they do to maintain a pound of fat.  

Looking at the effects of your workout itself, let's talk about incorporating strength training within your typical cardio routine.  Lifting weights stresses and breaks down your muscles, which respond by building more muscle cells to compensate for the new loads being placed upon them. These new cells require energy. “With a standard cardio workout, once your heart rate goes down, the calorie burning process stops,” says Juliet Kaska, an ACE-certified personal trainer and owner of JK Zen Fitness in Los Angeles. “But with resistance training the caloric burn continues for several hours as your body recovers from the workout.”  

Our legs are made up of the largest muscles in our body.  Building strong legs is going to benefit our metabolism in the long run!

Build lean muscle. Muscle requires a considerable amount of energy to keep its fibers strong, especially when they are constantly being torn and repaired. By building lean muscle, your body will keep the metabolism going.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/way_5268623_ways-increase-metabolism.html?ref=Track2&utm_source=ask

Build lean muscle. Muscle requires a considerable amount of energy to keep its fibers strong, especially when they are constantly being torn and repaired. By building lean muscle, your body will keep the metabolism going.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/way_5268623_ways-increase-metabolism.html?ref=Track2&utm_source=ask

Build lean muscle. Muscle requires a considerable amount of energy to keep its fibers strong, especially when they are constantly being torn and repaired. By building lean muscle, your body will keep the metabolism going.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/way_5268623_ways-increase-metabolism.html?ref=Track2&utm_source=ask

3) Drink Plenty of Water

Your body needs water to process calories. If you are even mildly dehydrated, your metabolism may slow down. In one study, adults who drank eight or more glasses of water a day burned more calories than those who drank four. To stay hydrated, drink a glass of water or other unsweetened beverage before every meal and snack. Also, snack on fresh fruits and vegetables, which naturally contain water, rather than pretzels or chips. Although drinking water may not increase your metabolism directly, drinking more water increases blood volume in the body. This gets more oxygen and nutrients to cells and carries out more waste. These processes help increase the efficiency with which the body’s cells work.

4) Eat Breakfast!!

Make sure you eat breakfast. This is one area where I did the WORST in the past!  I would be so busy getting things going for the kids that I would overlook eating my own breakfast.  Even if I did eat something for breakfast it was very rarely an effective choice!  Eating breakfast gets the engine going and keeps it going. It's hard to argue with these results: According to the National Weight Control Registry (an ongoing study that tracks 5,000 people who lost an average of 66 pounds and kept it off more than five years), 78% of those who keep it off eat an a.m. meal every day.  

I now enjoy my Shakeology for my breakfast each morning.  I love that I am giving my body a super-charged start.  Plus it is delicious and super-convenient.  My own breakfast challenge has been solved!  Sometimes when I tell people that I use my Shakeology for breakfast, they think that it sounds pricey compared to the banana or granola bar that they usually grab for breakfast.  But it is a COMPLETE meal.  It is a huge boost to me to begin my day with excellent nutrition like this.  When I have my Shakeology for dinner sometimes, I think to myself, "Wow!  What a great value for a meal.  This is quick and convenient and is so good for me!"  Of course you don't have to incorporate Shakeology to get a good breakfast at your place.  Eating a nutrient-rich morning meal like oatmeal with almonds and berries, or a spinach-and-feta omelet with a slice of Ezekiel toast shortly after getting out of bed literally wakes up your metabolism.

5) Get Enough Protein

Your body digests protein more slowly than fat or carbs, so you feel full longer.  In a process called thermogenesis, your body uses a greater percentage of your "protein calories" in digestion than it would with eating that same amount of calories via a simple carb.  Check out my blog entry on the importance of getting enough protein. So, because it takes longer to burn protein than carbs or fat, your body expends more energy absorbing the nutrients in a high-protein diet. Another bonus: One recent study from Purdue University found that diets higher in protein may help preserve lean body mass, which is the best fat-burner of all.

As part of a balanced diet, replacing some carbs with lean, protein-rich foods can boost metabolism at mealtime. Good sources of protein include lean beef, turkey, fish, white meat chicken, tofu, nuts, beans, eggs, and low-fat dairy products.  When I am fitting in enough protein during my day, I am way less likely to feel hungry and then wind up with a desire to reach for things that are just not good for me.  Last year at this time I was eating 1-2 servings of protein per day and that was just not helpful!  Now I am at 5 or 6 protein servings and this has made a significant difference in my overall nutrition.  

When You Want to Move to a Cabin in the Middle of Nowhere...

Hello!  Have you ever had times in life where you want to hit pause on a few things?  Those who know me know that I typically function quite efficiently when I have many balls in the air.  This is just my personality and has probably been further enhanced over the years through being surrounded by a family of over-achievers!  "Try hard, best you can" was something that my Grandpa Neizmik said to me so many times.  This is my default approach to the things that I do.  We have just entered our 2nd year of homeschooling.  Last year we began our home school adventure with my daughter who was then in 1st grade.  Our son attended preschool three mornings per week.  This year we are homeschooling both kids for grades K and 2nd.  I had been thinking that we would begin next week.  Last Tuesday my daughter unexpectedly asked at bedtime if we could please begin this year in the morning?  And so we did!  In the words of my friend Jaime, we have begun with a "tapered start".  Not every day since Day 1 has been a documented school day.  Yesterday we had morning appointments and then went to the beach!  We are chipping away at our 180 days... Today I arrived at what should have been a fairly obvious realization.  I can not continue to do everything that I have done over the summer while simultaneously homeschooling two kids!

I am a country girl at heart.  When I see a photo like the one above, it embodies the things that I long to do with my life.  We currently live on 1/4 acre in Millcreek Township which is located in Erie, PA.  Our neighborhood is not exactly the country.  My husband is NOT a country person.  If he were, I could see us already living a bit farther out than we do right now!  On the flip side, being 5-10 minutes from pretty much everything is a huge convenience in our everyday life.  I love our current home and am thankful for it each day.  Yet so often I find myself yearning for a more simple life.  Much of this is a state of being as opposed to a physical address that one calls home.   I do not want to be a hurried person who is frequently stretched thin.  I want my kids to have access to more of me.  I do need to be a working mom in order to balance the family budget and I am super thankful to have a job that allows me to work from home!  

When I look at my "time budget" on paper, it really should all work out fine.  But just like with finances and unexpected expenses, there are potential unexpected "expenses" when it comes to the time I give to several areas.  The biggest potential pitfall for me comes when something is taking up too much space in my thoughts!  Where are the margins?  I am going to have to audit myself and begin to make some cuts around here.  I will also need to step up my time management skills!  

Remembering that I have added a large new component to my schedule through beginning a new year of homeschooling, some other areas will have to be minimized.  Otherwise I will try to do it all well and this is what sets me on a tricky course!  This is what causes me to be overwhelmed, snappy and drained.  At that moment I am ready to pick up everything and head to that cabin in the middle of nowhere!  Sometimes I think that I could be a really great mom if I spent less time with other things.  Other times I realize that if I were focused solely on motherhood 100% of my time, I would definitely lose my marbles!  I am wired in a way that I thrive while engaged in several things much of the time.  There has got to be a balance. 

I have to return to John 15 over and over again.  These are the words of life.  Without this perspective, I am a mess!  
John 15:1-12 (NLT, emphasis mine) “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.  You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.  Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.  Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.  But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!  When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.
“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.  When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.  I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!  This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you."

There is a song that I just love.... it gets me every time!  There is a line that says "There's no place that we can't find peace" and "this is why it's to You we run".  Check out Crowder's I Am.

 
     

Coach Corner: Kara Simpkins (#2 in Series)

Good afternoon!  In today's blog entry, I am so excited to introduce my friend Kara Simpkins!  Kara and I first met two years ago.  Her twins were just celebrating their first birthday and her older daughter was age two!  We met through MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and became friends.  I remember seeing Kara at a couple of activities with her little girls and thought about how she had a great presence of mind and seemed to be unflappable.  I could appreciate her no-nonsense approach and looked forward to getting to know her as a friend.  I remember talking with her the first time that she came to my home for a playdate.  I thought "Wow!  Kara just may be the smartest individual that I know in everyday life!"  I love that Kara is a go-getter and I knew from the start that she would be an excellent asset to our MOPS leadership team.  Kara is now expecting baby #4 and that is perfect as she is the future leader of the entire MOPS group.  She is now "eligible for five more years of MOPS"!  The photo used in the collage above was just taken this afternoon.  Kara has now entered the 2nd trimester of her pregnancy.  She is getting ready to attend a friend's wedding and is looking great!

When I first began my own transformation, Kara was very encouraging and I could tell that she was keeping tabs on things.  When I became a coach five months later, Kara joined my first challenge group and she took on the 21 Day Fix program and had fantastic results!

Kara joined my team as a coach and I love seeing her enthusiasm for helping others.  She is such a knowledgeable person who is able to take technical information and break it down in a way that others can understand it and apply it to their own lives! This new healthy lifestyle has had ripple effects in Kara's household... her husband Brian also got on board and they have now moved on to T25 together.  It is neat to see the many tips, stories and recipes that Kara posts on her blog.  I enjoy keeping up with her perspective there!  Check out Kara's Blog.

I recently asked Kara if I could feature her on my blog.  She shares her own story below.  Thank you Kara!  Congrats on your amazing progress!  I am so happy to have you as a member of my team.  :)

Tell us about yourself...

I am originally from Conway, PA (a small town in Beaver County about 30 minutes west of Pittsburgh). I have my Master’s degree in Bioengineering and a Certificate in Asian Studies. I have three beautiful little girls. A will be five in September and will be starting Pre-K. B and C are twins that turned three in June. Baby number four is due in February 2015. No we aren’t finding out what we are having. I’m married to my best friend Brian. We will be married nine years in October. We moved to Erie three years ago when Brian took a job as the Director of Pharmacy Resident at LECOM. We have had our times of ups and downs but now our marriage is stronger than ever. Moving to Erie was definitely a God thing and brought us closer to one another than I could have ever imagined. We have dates nights in the evening when the girls are in bed. We like to joke and have fun. Most of our free time is spent as a family. We want the girls to know the importance of family and the strong family bond. I love being a stay-at-home mom. With three under four they keep me busier than my full time job.

What prompted you to get started with this lifestyle change yourself?  Why did you become a coach?

In June of 2011 B and C were born at 27 weeks. We spent 60 days in the NICU. They came home and a little over a month later we moved to Erie. With two preemies we weren't really allowed to go anywhere. It was RSV season and winter in Erie. I started to eat for something to do. I didn't have any friends in Erie and was lonely. I ate to cope with the loneliness. I ate to cope with the business of three under three. I ate to cope with the feeling that I wasn’t a good mom. I continued to gain weight till I was as big as I was the day I had the twins. I wasn’t ready to make a change then. It was the Spring of 2012. I just would say I can do it when the kids get older. OR I would try to placate myself and say I didn’t have a problem. In the summer ice cream became a favorite. Every time we went to the beach we'd stop for ice cream on the way home. We were going to the beach at least twice a week so these "treats" were killing me. By January of 2013 the twins were walking. I started to casually work using a website’s workouts. Over the next year I lost 23 pounds and 30 inches. So here it was January 2014 and I was sitting at 186 but still didn’t want to make changes to my diet. Jeanette had been transforming herself with Beachbody products since September of 2013. I had watched her lose weight, become stronger and more of her personality shine even more. She became a coach in February and when she asked me to join her "21 Day Fix" challenge group at the beginning of April I said yes. I figured what did I have to lose. I need more energy. I needed to be able to get up to chase my kids around for longer than ten minutes. I needed to be able to walk up the stairs carrying the twins without huffing wind. After one week I lost 5 pounds. It was so easy to follow. The portion control portion of the program was exactly what I needed. The workouts were challenging, but fun. They also had enough variety that I didn't get bored. When she asked me if I wanted to become a coach I said yes. I was so excited for this new journey in my life. I also knew with the accountability I would be able to lose the weight and keep the weight off with others "watching" me.  I love helping people and I love spending time investing in others’ lives. After my first 21 days I lost 9 lbs and 16.25 inches. I’ve lost a total of 30 pounds and 28 inches before I got pregnant. 

What has been the biggest surprise so far?  What do you find most rewarding about coaching?

I thought it would be a gimmick. I thought there was no way it would work for me. I also thought that there is no way I’d want to drink a Shake every day and enjoy it. I’m a food person so this was my biggest reason for never making the plunge with Beachbody before. I think my Shakeology is now my favorite meal of the day. I love it. As far as coaching I love to see when others hit that “ah ha” moment. The one where they know this is totally doable for them. I also love to see how each person is unique in their why for making the change and then helping them focus on that why to get to their end goal.

Where do you hope to go from here? 

I want to rank advance and continue on with my Beachbody business. I love helping others and want to continue being healthy myself. I’m hoping for a healthy pregnancy. I’m hoping that I can keep my weight gain at a minimum. I’m also hoping to continue my progress once my baby is born. I know that with the support of my team and my drive the sky is the limit. I want to inspire other pregnant women that they can workout during pregnancy too. I also want to inspire others that they can do this no matter where they are at in their life now. 

Any suggestions for those who are on the fence about jumping in themselves?

Jump right in. Don’t hesitate. The only thing you have to lose is the old you. You won’t regret it.

 

A Story of Two Trail Mixes

 

Trail Mix!  I have to say that I love trail mix.  If I was in fantasy food world and could pick one food to just eat day in and day out, it would be trail mix.  BUT hold on... fantasy world??  Why is that necessary?  Isn't trail mix a healthy food?  It can be a healthy food but still has to be eaten very much in MODERATION!  Or it can also be the equivalent of eating a candy bar.  Given the addictive, calorie-dense and easy-snacking nature of trail mix, we can wind up eating a "king size" candy bar of trail mix way before we even realize that this is happening.  So how can we make a genuinely healthy trail mix and manage to stay close to a proper serving of it?  

 

Trail mix began as a classic food source for backpackers.  The contents  are lightweight, calorie-dense and easily preserved.  A hungry backpacker may be hauling 50 pounds over tricky terrain for several miles or more per day.  This individual is not going to be too concerned about putting on weight while on their trek.  They are burning up plenty of calories.  But a healthy trail mix is still beneficial for this hiker!  

Now, how about those of us who do not need a "super-hiker" mix?  How about the "sitting on the couch" or "having a snack at work" type of mix??   A common trail mix ratio is use 50% nuts and seeds, 25% dried fruits and 25% chocolate.  If you are not very careful in selecting your ingredients, you will wind up in the DANGER zone with your saturated fat and sodium.  Let's contrast 1 cup of cocktail peanuts with 1 cup of dry roasted peanuts.  The cocktail peanuts have 16g of saturated fat and 920mg of sodium.  The dry roasted have only 10 g of saturated fat and 9mg of sodium.  Let's talk about pumpkin or squash seeds.  These typically contain 2g of saturated fat and 12mg of sodium per cup.   

When selecting a trail mix, read the label!  Take note of the serving size and ask yourself if you are likely to eat double that amount?  Packages are labeled differently.  Also ask yourself if the nuts are salted?  Is there lots of chocolate in this mix?  Could I make something better myself?  Is there a better option available to me right now?    

Earlier this morning my seven year old daughter noticed me doing some research on trail mix.  She suggested that later in the day we should go to Wegmans and make a small batch of an "unhealthy" trail mix by utilizing some of the ingredients that are available in their "trail mix cart" which sits near the dairy section at Wegmans on Peach Street.  We could also buy "healthy ingredients" to come home and make our own trail mix.  We could take pictures and make a recipe for my blog. :)  I agreed that this would be a good idea!  Upon examining the trail mix buffet cart, there are many healthy options right there!  The nuts are unsalted.  You do not have to go with a big ratio of the available chocolate options.  We made a cup full of a mix that would be heavy on the chocolate.  That one is pictured on the right at the photo included at the top of this blog entry.  Next we picked up some bulk ingredients to make our own usual sort of mix!  I will include that recipe below.  Feel free to make your mix totally "you"!  To recap, here are a few guidelines to follow:

 

1) Use unsalted roasted nuts or raw nuts.

 

2) Use unsweetened dried fruit.

 

3) Seeds are typically lower in fat than nuts.

 

4) Choose only one chocolate ingredient and keep it at 10% or less of your total trail mix volume.  

 

5) After mixing up your batch, pull out a 1/4 cup scoop to portion out servings into snack bags.  This way you have something ready for when you are on the go!  More importantly, we are less likely to over-eat when being made mindful of a serving size of trail mix!

 

 

Kylee's Healthy Trail Mix

Cost is around $.30 for a 1/4 cup serving

 

Unsweetened Dried Banana Chips

Low Sugar Dried Cranberries

Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

Roasted Unsalted Sunflower Seeds

Raw Pumpkin Seeds

Raw Cashews

Raw Almonds

Chocolate Covered Peanuts

 

 

Complex Carbs vs. Simple Carbs: Classifications & Impact!

Hello!  Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Today we are going to take a look at  carbohydrates or "carbs".  Just hearing that word can evoke a variety of images and emotions.  Some may hear the Jaws music beginning to play in the background, others may picture a favorite dinner at the Olive Garden, and some may think back to the days of the Atkins Diet.  I have been asked MANY times if my lifestyle change to clean eating is the same thing as "low-carb".  Nope!  Through my balanced menu planning, my days are low in carbs.  But carbs still have their place.  I have learned quite a bit about how to pair carbs and when it is most beneficial to enjoy them - but that is a topic for another blog entry!   As you think about carbs and your own menu plan, you may regard them as "most-craved" or "avoid most-of-the-time" or something in between.  So what is the deal with carbs?  What is the difference between complex and simple?  What effect do they have on our bodies?  This is a BIG topic and we are going to take a bird's-eye view look at it today.

I was reading an excellent article on the site called "A Calorie Counter" and I am going to include some of that information here.  

Carbs can be a confusing topic since there are several different ways to classify them:

• good vs. bad
• healthy vs. unhealthy
• slow vs. fast
• simple vs. complex
• high glycemic vs. low glycemic

I guess the potential for confusion is pretty high when you’re trying to keep track of all of these different classifications.  So, to help clear up this confusion once and for all, let’s take a look at the different types of carbs, and find out the truth behind them.

Complex Carbs vs. Simple Carbs

Foods containing carbohydrates can be defined as either complex or simple, based on their chemical structure.  The more “complex” a structure is, the slower the digestion and absorption process will be (think vegetables, beans, grains, etc.).  The “simpler” a structure is, the faster your body will digest and absorb that food (think sugar, candy, soda, etc.).  Digestion and absorption rates are important because the faster these processes take place within your body, the more it spikes your blood insulin levels.  For this reason, diets high in simple carbs have been shown to increase our risk of diabetes and heart disease, while diets high in complex carbs have actually been shown to help do the opposite.

Simple carbs tend to be highly processed junk that lacks any nutritional value of any kind, while complex carbs are typically unprocessed, high in fiber, and high in various other important nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.  Simple carbs are also less filling, which means you’ll be hungrier sooner after eating them - not to mention a large spike in blood sugar will result in a crash soon after, and that crash signals hunger and food cravings.

So, as you can clearly see here for many obvious reasons:

• Simple carbs should typically be greatly limited/avoided.
• Complex carbs should comprise the majority of your daily carb intake.

 

HOWEVER…

There’s just one tiny problem with all of the above. The classifications of “complex” and “simple” doesn’t tell the whole story.  It turns out that certain foods that technically fit the “complex carb” label can actually end up causing a rapid spike in blood sugar levels. Similarly, there are some foods fitting the “simple carb” label that really don’t have much of an effect on blood sugar at all.  Confusing, right?  Well, to better understand this whole carb situation, let's learn about the glycemic index (GI).

The Glycemic Index: High GI vs Low GI

The glycemic index classifies carbs based on how quickly and how high they raise blood sugar levels when compared to pure glucose (sugar), although white bread is now used as the reference food in its place.  Despite the fact that the glycemic index was originally created for diabetics as a way of figuring out which foods would be best for them, it quickly became used by bodybuilders, athletes, and regular people who just want to look good and be healthy.

Utilizing the glycemic index allows us to maintain steady blood glucose levels throughout the day by choosing the right types of high-carb foods.  This of course is useful for many reasons, the most important of which are controlling hunger, maintaining energy levels, improving the way our bodies look/perform and preventing a variety of health/medical issues associated with frequent and sustained spikes in blood sugar levels (like type 2 diabetes and heart disease).

A carbohydrate with a high glycemic index (high GI) breaks down quickly during digestion and releases glucose into the bloodstream rapidly.  Some common foods with a high GI rating include white bread, white rice, corn flakes, crackers, and most sugary and/or highly processed snack foods.

A carbohydrate with a low glycemic index (low GI) breaks down more slowly, causing a much slower and more gradual release of glucose into the bloodstream. Some common foods with a low GI rating include most fruits, vegetables, and beans.

In conclusion, there is a helpful bottom line to keep in mind with most of what we are eating on a daily basis ... here it is!  Remembering even this idea is a great place to begin as you weigh the value of your daily carbs!  Check out the image below.