FitSugar

Living La Vida Low Sugar: Cereal

FitSugar — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 05:50:37 PDT

Sugar, in some form or another, seems to be added to so many foods these days, from tomato sauce to canned veggies, with breakfast cereals being some of the worst offenders. Here are my top three faves that contain hardly any of the sweet stuff per serving.

Uncle Sam: A blend of toasted whole grain wheat flakes and flaxseed, this hearty breakfast cereal is filling and high in fiber - 10 grams per 3/4 cup serving. It does contain a bit of barley malt, but one serving of Uncle Sam contains less than one gram of sugar. I have come to love the taste of this cereal and appreciate the dose of omega-3s the flax seeds offer.
Ezekiel 4:9 Flax Cereal: Made of a blend of grains and sprouted legumes, this cereal is filling and flavorful. Best heated up with warm milk, soy milk, or juice, a half-cup serving of the Ezekiel cereal contains zero grams of sugar. This breakfast cereal does contain a bit of malted barley.
Crispy Brown Rice: Erewhorn makes this brown rice version of the ever-popular Rice Krispies that has less than one gram of sugar per sugar even though organic brown rice syrup makes the ingredient list. This gluten-free cereal is also free of fiber, but my kids love it. I appreciate the 110 calories per one cup serving.

Flaxseeds: More Than Omega-3s

FitSugar — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:00:00 PDT

Flaxseeds are not taking any flack. Even though the omega-3 fatty acids found in flaxseeds might not be as easy for your body to utilize as the omega-3s from fish and fish oil, there are still plenty of reasons to eat flaxseeds.

There are a couple of reasons that this little seed can help with weight loss and one big reason is fiber. Flaxseeds are a good mix of insoluble and soluble fiber, which combined help to aid digestion and contribute to a sensation of fullness post meal. If you prefer flaxseed oil, it ranks highest on the satiety scale as well and it promotes fat burning not fat storage.

To check out the health reasons to eat flax just

read more. The health reasons to add flax to your diet are quite convincing as well. Flaxseeds contain lingans, a phytoestrogen (hormone-like chemicals found in plants) that have been shown to lower the risk of developing hormone-related cancers like breast and prostate cancer. Flaxseeds also help lower the dangerous LDL cholesterol and may help lower blood pressure, two risk factors for heart disease. Not to mention that 50 grams of flaxseed have been shown to lower blood sugar levels in diabetics by 30 percent. My suggestions for adding flax to your diet are simple. Add ground flaxseeds (I use an extra coffee grinder) to oatmeal, yogurt, and fruit, or smoothie. I like to use flax oil in salad dressing or instead of butter on whole grain toast. How do you work flaxseeds into your diet? Share with us in the comment section below. Source

Not So Fishy Sources of Omega-3s

FitSugar — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 11:45:04 PDT

I could talk your ear off about omega-3 fatty acids, but hopefully you know by now that they are super beneficial to the body. They increase HDL (good cholesterol), decrease triglycerides, prevent irregular heart beats, and prevent blood clot formation. Omega-3s are the fats you should love because they also reduce inflammation throughout the body.

Last week when I posted about which fish are both high in omega-3s and low in mercury, I received a lot of comments from folks that just don't like eating fish. So here is a list of foods high in omega-3s.

Flax seed and Flax seed oil: Uncle Sam breakfast cereal contains whole flax seeds and it is high in fiber, which means there are multiple reasons to eat it for breakfast. Flax seed oil can be used in salad dressing or on toast as a butter alternative. Calorie wise you get the most bang for your buck with flax seeds - 95 calories of flax seeds provide over 100 percent of the Daily Recommended Intake of omega-3s.
Walnuts: Raw walnuts are a great treat, tossed into a green salad or your morning oatmeal. 2 ounces of walnuts contain 5.2 grams of omega-3s. Plus you can use walnut oil - it is great in salad dressing or on toast.
Soybeans - 1 cup of cooked soybeans contains just over 1 gram of omega-3s. While that is not a lot, I say every little bit counts. Cook up some for your dinner veggie tonight...they are also great to munch on while you're cooking.

Canola oil also contains omega 3s and can be used at high temperatures so it is great for baking and cooking.

Fit's Tip: The current dietary recommendation is to eat 7 - 11 grams of omega-3s a day. So plan your meals and snacks ahead of time so you can eat all you need of this fat. Remember, just because it is a good thing doesn't mean you should go overboard. Fat is still fat, even if it is good for you.

That's Nutty

FitSugar — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 17:30:00 PST

Nuts! Fish!? Seeds?!? Omega 3s can cause some culinary confusion. If you're looking to get more of them in your diet here's a few simple ways:

Walnut Oil: I use this in salad dressings regularly using equal parts walnut oil to olive oil. Then I add a little white wine vinegar and some Dijon mustard. Plus, I throw some toasted walnuts onto the salad. Be sure to refrigerate your oil after you open it.
Flax seeds: My favorite way to sneak flax seeds into my diet is Uncle Sam Cereal. It is simply toasted whole wheat flakes and flax seeds. Taste wise the cereal would benefit with some added fresh fruit. Plus my kids love it, which I love since the cereal hardly has any sugar in it!
Canola Oil: Canola oil is great to cook with and is the best oil when making a stir fry. It tastes much lighter than olive oil which makes it suitable for baking as well.
Source

Molly Sims's Approach to Preventing Stretch Marks Is Internal

LilSugar — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:04:22 PST

While your odds of developing stretch marks during pregnancy are (for the most part) left to fate outside of your control, Molly Sims is following a diet rich in good-for-you fatty acids to improve her odds of avoiding them. Molly is a follower of Lori Bregman's Rooted For Life program, a holistic approach to pregnancy and motherhood. Today on her blog, the 4-month pregnant mama-to-be shared some of her menu highlights, which include:

Fish, olive, coconut, canola, hempseed, and flaxseed oils
Hemp, flax, sesame, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds
Almond and nut butters
Salmon and cod
Avocados
Split peas
Lentils
Collard Greens

Other celeb moms who have shared their secrets to avoiding the dreaded stretch marks include Ali Landry, who's a devoted user of (and spokesperson for) Palmer's Cocoa Butter, and Victoria Beckham, who favored the pricey Elemis Japanese Camellia Oil last year.

Do you think that stretch marks are best treated from the inside or out? Do you have any other great tips and tricks for avoiding the battle scars of pregnancy?

A Reader Recipe: Pulled Turkey Chipotle Chili

Fit Community — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:46:28 PST

FitSugar reader For the Love of Fiber shared this turkey chili recipe in our Healthy Recipe group.

After Thanksgiving, my good friend, a girl who literally didn't know how to boil water, sent me this recipe, using her turkey leftovers. I loved the idea of pulled turkey and her fiberlicious add-ins, so had to feature it.

See the recipe after the break!

Best of 2011: The Year's Biggest Health Food Trends

Michele Foley — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 03:21:27 PST

When talking health food trends, last year was all: ancient grains, overnight oats, and gluten-free goodness. This year's biggest health food trends? Here's a hint: chia pets, the godfather of fitness, and pina coladas.

Coconut milk: With recent studies calling into question the benefits of soy, people were on hunt this for a dairy-free alternative that wasn't linked to breast cancer. While almond and rice milk are old favorites, they lack the richness and sweetness that soy does. Enter: coconut milk beverage. Not as thick and rich as the kind of canned coconut milk used in curries, coconut milk beverage is great in smoothies and ice cream; it's also great over cereal, in coffee, or on its own.
Pressed juice: It seems that Odwalla just isn't fresh enough! Not since the early days of Jack Lalanne has pressed juicing seen such a heyday. Once looked at as some sort of hippie juice, everyone - even Starbucks - is getting in on the pressed-juice craze. All of Hollywood seems to be juicing, too: stars like Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Richie, and Olivia Wilde are regularly spotted with their carrot-beet-apple-and-green-stuff blends. Are you a juice-head? Then definitely check out our recipes for pressed root veggie juice and green juice.
Chia seeds: Move over flax, there's a new seed in town! Chia seeds (yep, the same kind used to decorate those wildly adored, '80s novelty gift, chia pets) are everywhere this year. Sprinkle them on yogurt, add them to a bread mix, or even toss them in a dressing - there really is no end to what chia seeds can be used for. The health claim to fame? Chia seeds are high in protein, fiber, calcium, antioxidants, and omega-3s - zing!

Source: Flickr user littlebluehen, Source

A Reader Recipe: Chia Cranberry Apple Crisp

Fit Community — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 01:33:35 PDT

FitSugar reader For the Love of Fiber has a healthy recipe to satisfy sweet cravings. She shares it with us in our Healthy Recipe group in the Fit Community.

This dessert is really not all that guilt-inducing. Honest. It's loaded with fiber, thanks to just about every ingredient, and omega-3s, the essential fatty acids responsible for improving heart, brain, joint, skin, mental, bowel, and almost every other kind of health one could possibly imagine. And it tastes good. Total win-win.

Read on for the recipe!

Food Combos With 10 Grams of Fiber

Jenny Sugar — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 00:10:41 PDT

A woman is supposed to eat 25 grams of fiber every single day. It help cleans out your system to prevent bloating and flatten your tummy, and also satiates your hunger, which is great if you're trying to lose weight. Getting your daily dose of fiber also lowers your cholesterol, prevents heart disease, and reduces your risk for breast cancer. That's a lot of good reasons to get your fiber-fill, but most women have a hard time meeting their daily quota. Since most foods don't contain a ton of fiber on their own, here are eight combinations to add more fiber to your diet.

One cup of raspberries (8g) plus 15 almonds (2.1g): 10.1 grams of fiber
One large pear (6.5g) and two tablespoons almond butter (4g): 10.5 grams of fiber
Half-cup cup dry instant oatmeal (4g), one extra small banana (2.1g), and two tablespoons shredded coconut (5g): 11.1 grams of fiber:
Half an avocado (6.7g), two tablespoons unsalted sunflower seeds (1.8g), plus eight cherry tomatoes (1.6g): 10.1 grams of fiber

Keep reading to see what other food combos contain 10 grams of fiber.

Flaxseed War: Whole vs. Ground vs. Oil

Jenny Sugar — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:27:12 PDT

Flaxseeds are so popular that it seems like they're being added to just about everything from bread to corn chips to cereal. They're high in fiber and a great source of omega-3s (especially if you don't eat fish). You can also buy them separately to add to your own foods, but should you pick up whole flaxseeds, the kind that are ground up, or the oil made from the seeds?

All three forms of flax are best suited for different needs. Whole flaxseeds are good for topping cereal or salads or for baking. You might not like the texture, so that's where ground flaxseeds come in. Stir the powder into your oatmeal, add it to pancake batter, or mix it into your smoothies. Flaxseed oil is great stirred into salad dressings, mixed into yogurt, or drizzled on roasted veggies.

When you look at them nutritionally, there's a pretty big difference. I made a handy little chart, so keep reading to see how they compare.