FitSugar

Granola Breakdown

FitSugar — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 08:00:00 -0700

You know how I feel about breakfast. It really is the most important meal of the day because it jump starts your metabolism and feeds your brain so you're more productive during the day. It helps people maintain their weight and eating breakfast gives you energy to exercise later in the day. Breakfast eaters are also more likely to consume their daily amount of fiber since so many morning foods are full of whole grains, like cereals and bread.

Granola is one of my favorite breakfast foods, but some can be high in fat or sugar. To see how some popular granolas compare, read more.

This is the nutritional info for 1/4 cup of granola.

Granola	Calories	Total Fat (g)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Sugars (g)	Protein (g)
Bear Naked Peanut Butter	140	6	17	3	4	4
Bear Naked Fruit and Nut	140	7	18	3	5	3
Bear Naked Peak Protein	140	7	16	2	6	5
Bear Naked Heavenly Chocolate	130	3.5	19	3	6	3
Bear Naked Banana Nut	140	7	18	2	5	3
Bear Naked Apple Cinnamon	140	5	17	3	7	2
Bear Naked Fit Vanilla Almond Crunch	110	3	18	2	3	4
Bear Naked Fit Triple Berry Crunch	110	1.5	20	3	3	4
Cascadian Farm Cinnamon Raisin	79	1.1	16	1.1	6	1.9
Cascadian Farm Maple Brown Sugar	83	1.9	16	1.1	5.3	1.9
Cascadian Farm Oats & Honey	87	2.3	16	1.1	4.9	1.9
Kashi Cocoa Beach	115	4.5	16.5	3	5.5	3
Kashi Mountain Medley	110	3.5	18.5	3	6	3
Kashi Orchard Spice	110	3.5	18.5	3	5.5	3
Kashi Summer Berry	105	3	18.5	3	4.5	3
Kellogg's Low Fat Granola with Raisins	87	1.5	18.6	1.5	6.8	1.5
Kellogg's Low Fat Granola without Raisins	72	.95	15	1.5	5.3	1.5

Fit's Tips: When comparing granola on your own, check the serving sizes. Although the info above is based on 1/4 cup servings, serving sizes tend to range from 1/4 cup to 1 cup. So you may think a granola is low in calories, but the serving size may be small.

Food Review: Cascadian Farm Vanilla Almond Crunch

FitSugar — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:00:00 -0700

One of my favorite afternoon snacks is fruit, granola, and vanilla yogurt. Not only does it satisfy my sweet tooth, but the fiber from the whole-grain oats and the protein from the yogurt fill me up and give me energy for my evening workouts.

I usually pick up Cascadian Farm Oats & Honey Granola, but I saw this box of Vanilla Almond Crunch sitting on the shelf and decided to give it a try instead. Was it as tasty as it looks? To find out read more.

Compared to the Oats & Honey Granola, this cereal ($4-5) was much lighter, since it had little rice crispies mixed in with the oats. Not only was it tasty with my yogurt, but it was great with milk, too. I liked the vanilla flavor, but it was a little too sweet for me. It does have whole pieces of almonds, which the granola doesn't have, but it would have been better if there were more. If I had to choose, as far as taste and nutrition go, I'd go for the granola. Even though this Vanilla Almond Crunch contains more calories and fat, it also has less sodium and sugar.


Serving Size	3/4 cup	2/3 cup
Calories	200	230
Total Fat	3g	6g
Saturated Fat	less than 1g	1g
Cholesterol	0mg	0mg
Sodium	210mg	120mg
Carbs	41g	42g
Fiber	3g	3g
Sugar	16g	13g
Protein	4g	5g

Food Review: Cascadian Farm Fiber Right Bars

FitSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:02 -0800

Women need between 25 and 30 grams of fiber a day, and sometimes meals alone won't bring you to your daily quota. I'm always looking for quick snacks that are high in fiber, and when I came across these new Cascadian Farm Fiber Right Bars ($4) at the store, they looked like a tasty way to help me reach my goal.

To find out how these Almond Butter Crunchy Granola Bars taste and see how many calories are in one serving continue reading

Cascadian Farms - Organic and Easy

FitSugar — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 13:00:03 -0800

Cascadian Farms started off as a small farm in 1972, farming organically on a few acres in the Upper Skagit Valley of Washington's North Cascade Mountains - hence the name.

And now, they've expanded to become the leading grower, manufacturer, and distributor of a wide range of delicious organic products.

Walk into any health food store and you can't miss them. Their name is on anything from granola bars, to breakfast cereals, to frozen blueberries, to pickles. That about covers all the basic food groups. It is reliable and convenient organic produce and food.

My favorite products are a staple for a weekend breakfast: frozen blueberries for pancakes and frozen Country Style Potatoes - they make hash-browns so much easier.

And what else is great? Cascadian Farms are on Bob Greene's list for The Best Life Diet as seen on Oprah.

Fit's Tips: Keep a couple of bags each of frozen peas and corn - they're great to have on hand for soups and stir-frys.

Food Review: Cascadian Farm – Oats & Honey Granola

FitSugar — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:30:00 -0800

For breakfast I often crave yogurt topped with crunchy granola. Not only is it delicious, but the protein and fiber combo keep me full all morning long.

Recently I picked up a box of Oats & Honey Granola made by Cascadian Farm. Granola is really healthy for you since it's made with whole oats, but it can also be high in fat. Is this one? To find out read more.

Serving Size	2/3 cup
Calories	230
Total Fat	6g
Saturated Fat	1g
Cholesterol	0mg
Sodium	110mg
Carbs	42g
Fiber	3g
Sugar	14g
Protein	5g

As far as total fat content goes, this granola only has 6g per 2/3 cup serving, which is not bad at all. However, I was expecting the fiber content to be higher than 3g, considering it's mostly made with whole rolled oats. It does have a decent amount of protein and not too much sodium. Both are pluses in my book. This granola is also organic and has a delicious flavor that's warm and sweet, but not overwhelming.

I love this granola and add some dried cranberries, fresh berries, and nuts along with yogurt to my morning bowl. It adds a wonderful texture, naturally sweet flavor, and extra heart healthy fiber to make up for the low amount of fiber in the granola.

Source

Organic Frozen Veggie Breakdown

FitSugar — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 12:00:00 -0800

Since Winter is in full force, getting fresh produce can not only be tough, but even if you can find it, it's usually pretty pricey. That combined with the bad economy makes frozen veggies a great option. You can use them in soups, pasta dishes, for pizza toppings, or in stir-fries. It is nice to always have some veggies on hand to make sure you're eating your five daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Here's the nutritional breakdown of Cascadian Farm Organic veggies that you can find in the freezer section.

Veggie	Calories	Total Fat (g)	Sodium (mg)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Sugars (g)	Protein (g)
2/3 cup Asparagus Cuts	20	0	85	3	less than 1	2	2
2/3 cup Garden Peas	70	0	95	12	4	4	4
2/3 cup Sweet Peas	70	0	95	12	4	4	4
3/4 cup Sugar Snap Peas	35	0	140	6	2	3	2

To see the rest, read more.

Serving Size = 8 ounces (about two servings per container)	Calories	Total Fat (g)	Sodium (mg)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Sugars (g)	Protein (g)
2/3 cup Broccoli Cuts	25	0	20	4	2	2	2
2/3 cup Broccoli Florets	25	0	20	4	2	2	2
3/4 cup Green Beans	30	0	0	6	2	2	1
1 cup Whole Green Beans	25	0	95	5	2	2	1
3/4 cup Sweet Corn	90	1	0	19	2	4	3
3/4 cup Super Sweet Corn	70	1	90	16	2	7	2
3/4 cup Peas and Pearl Onions	60	0	160	11	3	5	4
2/3 cup Peas and Carrots	50	0	75	10	3	4	2
2/3 cup Mixed Vegetable (corn, peas, and carrots)	60	0	20	12	2	4	2
3/4 cup Gardener's Blend (corn, peas, green beans, and carrots)	60	0	35	12	2	4	2
2/3 cup California-Style Blend (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and zucchini)	25	0	25	5	2	2	1
1 cup Chinese-Style Stir-fry Blend (green beans, broccoli, carrots, red pepper, onions, and mushrooms)	25	0	15	5	2	2	1
3/4 cup Thai-Style Stir-fry Blend (green beans, broccoli, carrots, bean sprouts and onions)	25	0	15	5	2	2	1
1/3 cup Spinach	20	0	130	3	3	0	2
3/4 cup Country Style Potatoes (potatoes, onions, red pepper, and green pepper)	50	0	10	12	1	0	1
2/3 cup Edamame	120	5	10	9	3	2	10
2/3 cup Shelled Edamame	120	5	10	9	3	2	10

What Exactly Is Maltodextrin?

FitSugar — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 02:00:00 -0700

You know I love my Cascadian Farm Oats & Honey Granola. I trust this company, and know the food is organic, but what's with the maltodextrin in the list of ingredients? It doesn't sound very natural, so what is it?

If you're curious to know then read more

Maltodextrin is an easily digestible carbohydrate made from rice, corn, or potato starch. It's a white powder used in a whole array of products from canned fruits to granola, as a thickener or a filler since it's fairly inexpensive. Also used in pharmaceuticals as a binding agent, it is also found in sugar substitutes like Splenda.

This food additive is made by cooking down the starch, and then acid and/or enzymes break the starch down even further, kind of like what the body does to digest carbohydrates. It's usually used in small amounts, so it doesn't have a significant impact in terms of amount of protein, fat, carbohydrate, or fiber. Every gram of maltodextrin contains only 4 calories, which is not really a significant caloric load. Although maltodextrin is processed and is not the healthiest thing on the planet, at least now we know that it's made from real food and not some nasty chemicals.

Fit's Tip: Celiacs beware! In the US, the FDA requires that maltodextrin be derived from corn or potato starch (so it's gluten free), but elsewhere it can be derived from barley or wheat. So it's always good to contact food companies directly just to make sure.

Fittingly Mad: Food Moths in the Bulk Foods Section

FitSugar — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 02:00:00 -0700

At my local health food store, I feel at home. I love the array of beautifully colored produce, the familiar healthy brands names like Kashi, Cascadian Farms, Stonyfield Farms, and Garden of Eatin'.

I love all the natural beauty products like Nature's Gate and Natracare tampons.

I especially love the hot and cold food bar, salad bar, and the deli.

I used to - and I stress USED TO - love the bulk foods section. There was a time in the recent past when I bought everything in bulk: popcorn kernels, brown rice, whole wheat flour, chocolate chips, granola, quinoa, split peas, dried cherries, dried mango, herbs, spices - If it was in bulk, I bought it.

I felt good about getting the foods I loved for cheaper, in the quantities I needed, and without all that unnecessary packaging.

Yeah, I felt great about it until a few days ago. I went to get a little baggie full of salted cashews (my fave), and as I opened the clear plastic lid, something flew out. YES!!! Something flew out of the cashews.

Want to know what I did? Then read more

I didn't freak out. I just took the scooper and shifted around the nuts and thought maybe it was my imagination. Oh but it wasn't. An infestation was more like it.

You know how I DESPISE Indian Meal Moths. If you bring home a pregnant moth or some eggs, you'll have an infestation of your own. I quickly shut the lid, and walked over to the nearest sales person. I said in a really low voice, "I'm not trying to be a bitch, but there are FOOD MOTHS in the cashews. You should know before they infiltrate the entire Bulk Foods Section!"

The guy thanked me and pulled the cashew container out and brought it into the back. That didn't really make me feel better, because I've had Indian Meal Moths at my house and they get into everything. I'm sure the cashews were only the beginning.

Needless to say, I've stopped buying food in bulk from that store. I'm too grossed out to take the chance. I stick to well sealed packaged items now.

Fit's Tips: I'm not saying you need to stop buying in bulk, but you should definitely look at the food carefully. Trust me - you DON"T want moths at your house.