FitSugar

Smarter Eats: Use Chalkboard Labels on Jars

FitSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:30:28 -0800

Take a peek into my kitchen cabinet for a healthy eating tip. If you can't tell from the picture those are jars with chalkboard labels. I've been using them for almost a year now and for two good reasons: health and money.

I love nuts but find that it can be easy to eat too many at one sitting. I use the chalkboard labels to remind myself of the nutritional breakdown of the stored nut and its serving size. For instance, on my almond jar I've written 20 almonds equal 180 calories, 14g fat, 7g protein, and 6g carbs. This method has been a really great way to keep me from overindulging.

Having these jars is also an incentive to buy from the bulk aisle. Most food, especially organic, is cheaper when purchased in bulk. Plus buying in bulk cuts down on wasteful packaging, and I don't confuse things that look alike. The labels create an easy way to remember cooking ratios - if I'm storing a whole grain or beans, I write the name of the grain and the ratio of the grain to how much liquid it needs to cook.

You can either buy chalkboard jars for cheap or make your own using chalkboard paint. As an alternative you can use paper or sticky labels but using the chalkboard method helps cuts down on waste.

Snack Attack: Almond Tin to Keep Your Portions Honest

FitSugar — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:00:53 -0700

Nuts make a great snack. Not only are they high in protein, fiber, and healthy fats, almonds are high in calcium too. Even if you know a serving size of nuts is one ounce, it's tough to know how many almonds it takes to make that ounce. I found this cute little tin to help you control your snacking portions.

It holds exactly one ounce of almonds, so you can keep this tin in your purse, on your desk at work, or in your gym bag. It's an easy way to know you're getting about 160 calories, six grams of protein, 200 mg of potassium, 75 mg of calcium, and 1 mg of iron. The tin looks to be the size of an Altoids tin, so you can make your pocket sized case for almonds, walnuts, or pistachios.

Healthy Eating Tip: Go Nuts, But Go Raw

FitSugar — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Do you avoid nuts because they're high in fat? Remember, it's the saturated fat you need to worry about, and most nuts including peanuts, cashews, walnuts, and almonds have less than three grams per one ounce serving of this bad fat. The good news is that nuts are high in healthy fats your body needs - unsaturated fats. Some studies have shown that this type of fat can actually lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and maintain HDL (good) cholesterol. Plus nuts are also cholesterol-free. When choosing nuts, go for the ones that are raw rather than oil-roasted, since those contain slightly less fat and calories. Remember, even though they are full of healthy fats, you still want to watch your portions. A handful of nuts is generally a one ounce serving.

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Brace Yourself For a Bigger Pistachio Recall

FitSugar — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:30:00 -0700

It's amazing that tiny nuts could cause so much trouble. Last week Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc. recalled more than two million pounds of roasted pistachios shipped since last Fall, and now the recall has been expanded to include all raw nuts and all roasted nuts from the producer's 2008 crop.

It's seen as a proactive move because there have been no confirmed illnesses, but health officials don't want to take any chances this time around and the FDA has indicated it will issue more sweeping decisions like this going forward. Dr. David Acheson, associate commissioner for foods at the FDA commented, "We’re going to try to stop people from getting sick in the first place, as opposed to waiting until we have illness and death before we take action."

Check the FDA website for its list of products affected by the recall, and if you don't see a pistachio-containing product that's in your pantry, don't eat it for a few weeks until there's more news about specific items. So far the list contains items such as trail mix, ice cream, and candy. Food safety first!

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Pistachios Subject of Newest Salmonella Scare

FitSugar — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:00:00 -0700

Nipping on the heels of the ongoing peanut butter salmonella outbreak is a new scare in tainted nuts, and this time salty fingers are being pointed at pistachios. Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc. has recalled more than two million pounds of roasted pistachios shipped since last Fall, just fraction of the 55 million pounds processed by the company last year.

Because the nuts in question were shipped in bulk to wholesalers who repackaged the nuts for consumers, the effects of a pistachio-driven outbreak could be far-reaching. While growers aren't happy about the safety implications, the FDA recommends steering clear of any product containing pistachios until they have more information about the situation. That means avoiding everything from ice cream and cake mixes to trail mix and energy bars.

While eating pistachios is a decidedly delicious way to lower the LDL (bad) levels of cholesterol in your body, rely on other sources for improving heart health like olive oil and your morning oatmeal until there's more detailed news available.

Source

Go Nuts, For Your Heart's Sake

FitSugar — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 03:33:22 -0800

If you're nuts about nuts, you're going to love this news: adding a handful of nuts to your daily diet for a year could help undo the risk factors associated with heart disease. In a recent Spanish study, researchers discovered that those who ate a healthy diet full of fruits, veggies, and fish and included three whole walnuts, seven or eight whole hazelnuts, and seven or eight whole almonds a day actually reduced their belly fat and blood pressure levels.

Since nuts are also chock full of unsaturated fat (healthy fat), the study suggests that the diet can lower the incidence of high LDL (bad) cholesterol. Nuts also contain anti-inflammatory properties and antioxidants such as vitamin E.

So enjoy a handful of mixed nuts for a snack in place of crackers or chips, or sprinkle them on your yogurt instead of granola. Besides helping your heart, cashews, almonds, walnuts, peanuts, and other nuts contain protein and fiber, so they'll keep you satisfied longer, helping you eat less throughout the day.

Source

Go Nuts!

FitSugar — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 05:30:00 -0700

Nuts are some of my favorite energy foods. I snack on a handful in the afternoon or toss some onto a salad to jazz it up. Here are my five favorite nuts and the healthy reasons to enjoy them.

View Slideshow ›

Food Review: Snacktrition Nuts

FitSugar — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 08:00:00 -0700

Companies have been enhancing common foods for a while now. They add calcium to orange juice, omega-3s to yogurt, and caffeine to energy drinks. I don't have a problem with any of these products, and think they're great for people who want more from their food. Just recently though I saw a newcomer to this word of enhanced foods - Snacktrition Nuts.

I have to admit that when I found out these nuts had fiber added to them, I was a little skeptical. Don't nuts contain fiber already? I guess for some people who don't get enough fiber, these would be great to add to their diet. So how does the fiber content in these nuts compare to regular nuts? To find out read more

Here's the nutritional information for 1/4 cup of nuts:

	Regular Cashews (dry roasted with salt)	Regular Cashews (dry roasted, no salt)	Snacktrition Sea Salt Cashews	Snacktrition Salt & Pepper Cashews
Calories	195	195	160	170
Total Fat	15.8g	15.8g	12g	13g
Saturated Fat	3.1g	3.1g	2g	2.5g
Cholesterol	0mg	0mg	0mg	0mg
Sodium	218mg	5mg	150mg	35mg
Carbs	11.1g	11.1g	9g	9g
Fiber	1g	1g	3g	3g
Sugars	1.7g	1.7g	2g	2g
Protein	5.2g	5.2g	3g	4g

Well now you can see that these Snacktrition cashews only have two extra grams of fiber. I was expecting these nuts to have more than that since their whole marketing thing is that they are "health baked with fiber." The fiber comes from added inulin, which is an soluble fiber that usually comes from the chicory plant. I don't know if it's the inulin that made these nuts taste a little weird, but I think I'll stick to regular cashews.

Have any of you tried these nuts? Tell me what you thought in the comments section below.

You Asked: Handful of Nuts

FitSugar — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 09:30:00 -0700

You're asking and I'm answering . . .

Hey Fit!
Question for you: I've heard from different people and read in different fitness magazines that an ounce of mixed nuts is a good afternoon snack. I don't have a kitchen scale, so off-hand, how much is an ounce? A small handful?
Thanks!
– tshellyedwards

Interestingly enough, I do have a digital kitchen scale; my husband went through a period of weighing portions of food especially nuts! What a coincidence. So I decided to weigh a handful of walnuts and see if it equals the prescribed nut intake of an ounce.

To see how much that handful of nuts weighted, just read more

So it seems that the advice that a handful of nuts in about an ounce is true.

I do, however, have fairly small hands. So, please take hand size into consideration when eye-balling your one ounce handful of nuts.

Food Review: Bear Naked Trail Mix – Pacific Crest

FitSugar — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 07:30:00 -0800

Looking for a quick snack before or after a workout? Trail mix has always been one of my favorites, and now Bear Naked (the company who makes that delicious granola) is making really unique variations of trail mix made with all natural dried fruits and nuts. There's no sugar or salt added, which is a plus. I picked up a bag of their Pacific Crest flavor. It's a little pricey (about $4 a bag), but totally worth it in my opinion (especially since I found it on sale for $2.50). Want to know what's in it? Then read more

This snack is my new best friend and you can see why. There was no skimping when it came to making this trail mix. There are tons of whole cashews, huge pieces of dried mango (my weakness), monster-sized raisins, pistachios, and sunflower seeds. All delicious. All organic. All good for you.

Serving Size	1/4 cup
Calories	140
Total Fat	8g
Saturated Fat	1g
Cholesterol	0mg
Sodium	10mg
Carbs	14g
Fiber	2g
Sugar	8g
Protein	4g

This is one healthy snack. It's low in calories, high in protein, has a good amount of fiber (for such a small serving size), and is low in saturated fat and sodium. You may not be happy with seeing 8g of total fat, but remember that nuts contain healthy fats (monounsaturated fats) your body needs. Eating fats like these can actually help to lower your LDL (bad) cholesterol and maintain HDL (good) cholesterol. Now I can't wait to try the other trail mix flavors.