Cyd Notter

Author and Nutrition Educator, Founder of The "Plan A" Diet™

Great Food Finds at Walmart (Revised)

By

(REVISED 3/7/16 to make clarifications on the "Superfood Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette" recipe).

Recently I discovered some new products at Walmart that are worth sharing!  Not all Walmarts carry the same items, so check with your local store.https://cydnotter.com/wp-admin/edit.php


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dave's Killer Bread:   This organic, non-GMO bread is hearty and delicious - and contains NO oil.  And when it comes to "Whole Grains", it meets the "Five to One" rule used to determine how "whole" your grains actually are!  I've seen it in two sizes (smaller vs larger slices);  it makes great sandwiches, toast, or a dipper to get the last bit of gravy or pasta sauce.  The only drawback is that it's a bit pricey - but worth it if you desire to eat a healthy bread on occasion.


Riced Cauliflower:   Here's a great way to get cruciferous veggies into your daily fare.  Riced Cauliflower can be used as a rice replacement for stir-frys,  stirred into soups, or used to make The Brand New Vegan's Meat mixture which can be used for sloppy joes, stuffed peppers, or wherever ground beef was typically used.

 


Frozen Organic Pomegranate Seeds:  A great item to have in the freezer for those 'once in a while' recipes that call for pomegranate seeds!  Add them to jazz up your oatmeal, tossed salads, fruit bowls, or dressings.

One of our favorite quinoa recipes calls for pomegranates -  It's called 'Superfood Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette', shown on the Iowa Girl Eats blog.   Here's the recipe.  (Just omit the oil shown in the dressing, and of course don't add the chicken or shrimp).  Thanks Teri, for sharing this recipe with us!

 

Organic Cacao:  This is the best price I've seen for organic cacao.  If you love chocolate as much as I do, organic cacao is a healthy way to consume it.  Use it in shakes, cakes, 'ice cream' toppings and more.  If a recipe calls for regular cocoa, you can easily replace it with raw cocao powder.

Here are just a few recipes that we can vouch for:

Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf - by Isa Chandra Moskowitz - YUM!

Adonis Cake - by Engine 2.  You can use the below CHOCOLATE FUNDUE for frosting as an option.

Chocolate Fundue - by Chef AJ.  Use as a dip, frosting, or to make frozen Nutty Buddies by cutting peeled bananas in two, inserting onto skewers, coat with fundue, roll in nuts and freeze.  SOOO good.

Organic Flax Seed:  Walmart carries organic flax seed in whole form or ground.  Flax seed has a ton of nutritional benefits, but the seed must be ground in order to get them all (read the blog post here).   It's most nutritious if you grind your own seeds just prior to use, but for those times when you need to add a quick two tablespoons to a recipe, you may choose to keep some pre-ground flax on hand.

Stir the ground seeds into your oatmeal, cereals, smoothies, or use in recipes as an egg replacer (one TBS flax seed plus 3 TBS water - blend in a blender until frothy = one egg).

Remember, do not use flaxseed OIL.  All the cancer-fighting nutrition has been stripped and you're consuming a dose of pure fat.

I've also tried the on-line Walmart grocery shopping tool and thought it worked well.  You select your grocery items on-line, specify if you'll accept substitutions, and indicate what time frame you'll pick up (they provide one-hour time slots).   Once you drive into the pick up area, they deliver the groceries to your car.  There's no extra fee and you're asked not to tip the delivery person.  Not all stores offer it, but if you're in a hurry and don't want to spend time in the store, this might be an option for you.  The biggest drawback is that not all of their items are shown on the website.....something they told me they're working on.

Happy shopping ~ feel free to share YOUR good finds!

Gut Bacteria and Our Diets

By

Dear Coach:  I have some stomach issues and I’m hearing a lot about our “gut microbiome” these days.  What does it all means, and does food factor into it?  What is your opinion of probiotics?  Thank you, C.R.

Dear C.R., You’re right that there’s a lot of buzz lately about the health of our guts.  The gut microbiome is the subject of much new research, and we now know which foods are beneficial to our gut, and which foods can lead to problems.  The saying “you are what you eat” is certainly true of our gut microbiome –the composition of trillions of bacterial organisms that reside in our gastrointestinal tracts.

Which foods are best for your gut?

Do probiotics help?  What's the difference between probiotics and prebiotics?

Be good to your gut - maintaining a healthy gut flora is crucial to your health.  Problems occur when our microflora gets out of balance (in other words, the good bacteria gets crowded out and the pathogenic bad bacteria take over).  Be sure those good bacteria are getting what they need to THRIVE, and those nasty bacteria don't get a foot hold.

 

Chinese or Mexican?

By

We tried a few new recipes recently, and here are the keepers!

Vegan Orange Chicken

This recipe from Brand New Vegan.com is very tasty.  The 'chicken' is actually battered and baked cauliflower bites, and the thick orange sauce is easy to prepare.  I found it to be just a tad bit time consuming, since there are several separate components (making batter and baking cauliflower, sautéing vegetables, making rice and preparing the orange sauce).  Still, I will definitely make this again; unsalted peanuts and/or water chestnuts would make a nice addition.  Note that the recipe is served over rice (although 'rice' does not appear on the ingredient list).

 

Mexican Style Bean and Rice Casserole

This casserole is delicious as is, but can also be used as a burrito filling (and topped with salsa, lettuce, guac or whatever you prefer).  The  only things I did differently are as follows:  I used a 9x13 casserole (the mixture wouldn't fit an 8x8 pan, as called for);  and I did not use the 'no-cheese sauce' recipe linked to the recipe.  I used an alternate cheese sauce because I had all the ingredients on hand.  Whichever cheese sauce you use, be sure it makes enough for the casserole (which is 2.5 cups).  Also, there are comments on this recipe to cut the zucchini smaller than suggested.

 

You can also find 'cheese' sauces here (both are tried and true, we enjoy them both):

Easy Vegan Mexican Cheese Sauce

Fat-free Vegan Cheese Sauce

PS - I'd be interested to know if you give these recipes a try!

Visit our website to learn more about the 'Plan A' Diet™ 

“Healthier” Butter?

By

Label Reading Quiz for the Day:

Question:  How can 'Light Butter" be advertised as 50% less fat than butter and STILL be 100% fat?

Answer:  When the manufacturer has partially replaced butterfat with oils, additives and preservatives.

But make no mistake.....this product is still 100% pure FAT.  Manufacturers use marketing practices such as this to make a product appear "healthy", and the unsuspecting public usually buys into it.

How can you tell how much FAT is in a product?  Here's the key:

Compare the CALORIES against the CALORIES FROM FAT.  In the example of the "light butter", you'll see that 1 Tablespoon has 50 calories.  The Calories from Fat are also 50.  That means that that all calories are fat calories - in other words, the percentage of calories that are from 'fat' equals 100%.  This product is 100% fat.

If the calories were 50 and the calories from fat were 10, the product would then be 20% fat (10 divided by 50 = 20%).   Or, you can quickly figure out that 10% of the calories (50) would be 5;  therefore, 20% of the calories would be 10.  It may seem complicated but it's easy to figure out once you do it a few times.

Why is it important to know how much FAT is in a product?  As Dr. McDougall says, "the fat you eat is the fat you wear".  It doesn't matter the source of the fat.....fat is fat.

Immediately after consuming one high-fat meal, your triglyceride levels (a measurement of fat in the bloodstream) are rising. Cholesterol levels are increasing and contributing to plaque formation, and clotting factors in the blood have been activated.

Two hours later, your triglycerides have increased by 60 percent, and your blood flow has decreased by half.  Three hours later, the lining of your arteries has lost elasticity - impeding blood flow - and blood vessel function has become abnormal.  Four hours later your blood has gotten thicker, flowing even slower than it was 2 hours ago.  Five hours later, your triglyceride levels have now increased by 150 percent.  Six hours later, the anti-inflammatory effect of “good” cholesterol has been significantly compromised.

Consuming high-fat and saturated fat foods over days, weeks, months and years promotes the continuous buildup of plaque in the arteries and reduces blood flow even further.  The decreased blood flow leads to decreased oxygen supply (which can lead to a heart attack), and also increases the risk of developing fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes, inflammation, certain cancers, and a long list of other diet related diseases.

Fat intake should ideally be around 10% of daily calories.  Plants have all the fat we need, and there's no need to seek out oils (which are very health damaging) or products with added oils.  And of course, all animal sources of fat should be avoided (including fatty fish, fatty chicken, and even "light butter").

Review the "Plan A" diet food pyramid on our website for an overview of the healthiest foods.

Planning to Diet this January?

By

 

The holidays and the leftover desserts will soon be behind us, which means that many Americans will once again be resolve to make some changes beginning January 1.  A perusal of several statistical websites reveals that the consistently top three resolutions include losing weight, getting fit and healthy, and living life to the fullest.  Fortunately, all three of those goals can be achieved with one lifestyle change….namely, diet.

Sadly, the success rates of typical diets are dismal.   Diets which require us to count calories, carbs, or points, or weigh things or decrease portion sizes can leave us feeling hungry and frustrated – making them unsustainable for the majority of people.  Those types of diets are temporary fixes that don't last.  Losing weight and regaining health does not mean counting or weighing smaller portions of the same unhealthy foods.

The answer to weight maintenance and health is simple, achievable and proven by mounds of unbiased research.  It’s not a typical diet of restriction, nor is it a diet that requires super human efforts to refrain from eating. It isn’t a short-term fast or cleanse and there aren’t any magical supplements or powders you’ll need to purchase.  Nor is it a diet book with various phases of eating patterns to be implemented until you reach a maintenance level.   It does not rely on calorie counting or willpower.

The answer to weight maintenance and health is simple, achievable and proven by mounds of unbiased research.

Read the answer here.

Happy New Year to you and yours!

And may your 2017 be blessed with good health as you take steps to make it happen.

Find me elsewhere