Eat. Drink. Better.

Just in case you were thinking about indulging in some sweet treats today, I would like to offer you the option to take the healthier road. Sometimes it can take a visual aid to open your eyes and force you to take a cold hard look at what you are actually putting in your body or feeding to your family. Luckily, Sugar Stacks has put together an array of photos for us.  Unluckily, there are many items on their website that a lot of folks may consume on any given day, slowly causing their body to deteriorate without even realizing it.

Each food item is paired with the actual amount of sugar it contains stacked up in pretty little cubes. Each cube equals a teaspoon of sugar. Since they do not differentiate between different kinds of sugar, its important to know that natural sugars found in fruit and vegetables will be metabolized differently then the sugar found in a can coke or your favorite Frappachino. In my article on Natural Sweeteners, I explain that not all sweeteners are created equal. When it comes to refined sweeteners like white table sugar, high fructose corn syrup and artificial sweeteners like NutraSweet and Splenda, there are many side effects and health risks to take into consideration.

It’s time to face reality. It’s time to ask your self, what have I been putting in my body? Would I ever just eat the nearly 10 cubes of sugar that are the soda I just drank?  Can I make a smarter choice then this? You may have seen these before, but in my opinion, if you are still eating and drinking these items on a regular basis, you can never see them too much. For even more photos go to Sugarstacks.com.

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If you love milk (from animals or a vegan option) but are tired of drinking it plain or having it with your cereal every morning, you can try to prepare some delicious drinks and frozen desserts from it. Here are a few recipes you can use to enrich your daily diet.
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Think red bull has it going? Try “purple bull” (i.e. beet juice). Nothing compares to the greater physical endurance beet juice can give you.

Beet juice increases endurance and can help to extend time of excercise by as much as 16%, a new study says. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been living in Poland for ten months now. When I first got here, a few food ideas stood out to me that I thought were cool. After ten months, I have picked up a couple more as well. Hope you enjoy the food tips Poland has to share. Read the rest of this entry »

This picture reminds me of a little cherry convention. I’ve been asked to review a new cherry drink, but I thought I would indulge in a little cherry 101 first.

Did you know . . .

• Cherries are related to apricots
• Cultivation of cherries dates back to 300 b.c.
• Prunus avium, the common cherry tree is related to the rose bush!
• The name originates from Greek (of course) and in Latin means ‘of or for the birds’
• While America produces 90% of cherries today, the varieties we know and love were originally brought here by our European settlers
• The popular Bing cherry was named after the farm foreman, who happened to be Manchurian, of the farm in Oregon that developed it

The Little Healer
These little buggers offer a potent dose of antioxidants, but beyond that it is a type of antioxidant not found in most other fruit. Research shows that cherries contain anthocyanins, which protect against heart disease, cancer, and inhibit enzymes that cause inflammation. Read the rest of this entry »

This year, one of my new year’s resolutions was to eat more raw and living foods. I recently started attending a monthly raw food potluck and have been inspired by all the delicious recipes and information. I have learned that eating uncooked plant foods is healthy for several reasons: raw fruits and veggies contain lots of fiber, are packed with nutrients, and also retain many useful enzymes that cooking destroys. Having a plot in my local community garden has definitely helped me eat more raw fresh produce as well as eat more sustainably.

As I try to add more living foods to my diet, I’ve tried eating salad with just about every meal, eating raw snacks like trail mixes and fresh fruit, and making more food from scratch. One way of incorporating raw foods into my diet that has been really easy is making fresh juices and smoothies. With the help of gadgets like my Green Star juicer and Vitamix blender, I’ve made many a healthy and scrumptious snack.

One word of juicing wisdom that I’ve learned is that you don’t want to overdo it with fruit juices. Because of their high sugar content, fruit juices can raise blood sugar levels. It’s healthier to drink vegetable juices, or a blend of fruit and vegetable juices. Juices are best in moderation because they deliver many nutrients but since the pulp is removed, they don’t have much fiber. Smoothies, on the other hand, use the entire fruit or vegetable, so the fiber is included. Both juices and smoothies are a great way to get digestible nutrients and add more raw fruits and vegetables to your diet. Read the rest of this entry »

“If you can make a batch of cookies, you can can.”

If the idea of home canning leaves you in overwhelming, uncomfortable culinary territory, take heed of the above advice from Linda Amendt, a woman on a mission to help us rediscover the joys of homemade preserves. Winner of over 900 awards in state fair culinary competitions and author of two cookbooks — Blue Ribbon Preserves: Secrets to Award-Winning Jams, Jellies, Marmalades & More and 175 Best James, Jellies, Marmalades and Other Soft Spreads – Amendt focuses on keeping things simple and satisfying.

Here are four starter tips from Amendt on getting started in canning homemade preserves, the easiest route for novice canners.. While the summer fresh produce season is – sniff – behind most of us, fresh apple cider is still available and makes a great beginner project (recipe after the jump) and creative holiday gift. Read the rest of this entry »