What is the skinny on sugar…

"The idea that coke is priced less than water just gives the whole show away

and that has to do with enormously successful industry lobbying."

~ Marion Nestle, a nutritional scientist. Excerpt from CBC Documentary Big Sugar

Sweet lovely white and brown sugar, how I love you.  Yes I have been a sugar-acholic all of my life.  I have grown up with Coke and Pepsi as main drinks.  My father was an avid Coke drinker and my Mother a Pepsi drinker.  It was always fun going out to dinner with them.  I have always enjoyed both to be honest with little to no thought on how much sugar there was in both.  To be honest up until now I did not care! Why care now… Well as I have not been feeling well I am feeling my health should be stationed as number 1 priority.

Pepsi has (read from the label of a 2L bottle):  110 Calories and 29g of Sugar in 250 ml. That is approximately 6.112 teaspoons of sugar.

They say on average that one person may consumer 1 can of pop ever day for a year.  So if we do the math:

29 grams of sugar x 365 days = 10585 grams of sugar (just from pop) consumed each year and according to Google calculator that is 10 585 grams = 23.3359305 pounds. A lot of sugar!  That is as much as my Scottish Terrier.   I also because I am not a dietician or knower of calories and weight related calculations I Googled:

How many pounds would you gain if you drank one soda a day for a year?

To my amazement you would gain a whopping 14 pounds!!

If you drink a 12 oz can of Coca-Cola every day you would gain 14.6 pounds per year. (one can = 140 calories x 365 days = 51,100 calories / 3500 calories = 14.6 pounds)

So please take the eye opening OMG that I have consider the math… I hope to shed those 14 pounds and shed my pop habit too…

Patty-Pan Squishes

I went to the market last week. I had brought a list of what I was going to purchase. One item in particular was the Patty Pan Squashes, after reading about them on Angela’s blog Oh She Glows.  I have been making a conscience effort in trying new veggies. 

What is a Patty Pan you ask?

This is one of the delicious light flesh coloured squash’s.  Here is a LINK you can read more on the Squash.  I found that these were delightful.  I tried a slice raw so I was able to understand the flavour before it was cooked – It was similar to eating AMAZING.  I would have to say that it was light, buttery and had a nice texture.  These would be good raw in a salad or sliced thinly on a sandwich raw.  I did proceed to grill them on the George Forman Grill I own.  With a swish of Olive Oil and a sprinkle of pepper these little slices were again to die for.

I put the grilled Patty Pan slices in my salad.  I am not big on blogging my meals although I will so the ones that are food taste altering (in my opinion of course).

If you can I would recommend either going to the local markets and purchasing a couple or encourage your grocer to have some brought in!  I will be stuffing these delights this evening… It’s HUNNIES birthday tomorrow!!

Is Raw Right??

I brought up the question on Twitter the other day:  Do you need to be a vegetarian to lose weight or live a health life style.  Many stated no, and that it was personal preference.

This evening I watched Food Matters (2008) below is the Trailer:

I enjoyed the beginning of the documentary, there was a section on “Superfoods” and vitamins.  It mentioned that one should have more that 51% of their meal as Raw Food.  Apparently, the process in which cooking the foods basically bastardizes all the beneficial qualities out of it.  Resulting in your body being confused and thinking it is a foreign enemy.  Food Matters also argues that we should focus our energies on eat plant based protein, which are also known as “Superfoods”. Some examples are:

• Spirulina
• Kelp
• Goji Berries
• Wheatgrass
• Acai

What is the Raw Food Diet:

The raw food diet is a diet based on unprocessed and uncooked plant foods, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, sprouts, seeds, nuts, grains, beans, nuts, dried fruit, and seaweed.

Heating food above 116*F is believed to destroy enzymes in food that can assist in the digestion and absorption of food. Cooking is also thought to diminish the nutritional value and “life force” of food.

What are the Benefits of the Raw Food Diet?

Officials of the raw food diet believe it has numerous health benefits, including:

• Increased energy
• Improved skin appearance
• Better digestion
• Weight loss
• Reduced risk of heart disease

The raw food diet contains fewer trans fats and saturated fat than the typical Western diet.

Where do you stand on the raw food movement??

You ARE what You EAT

That is a bold statement. The above pictures is also a clear picture of what we SHOULD eat.  But what do most North Americans eat??

By looking at both of the photos, I know what I want to eat.  I would like to eat the French Fries. Why? Because as children (most of us) went to McD’s for dinner with the family or whatever meal.  Growing up, my family ate at McD’s.  It was mainly with my father and before we went to Beavers, Cubs or Scouts.  When I was a child my schools did not teach us about nutrition or eating well. They never discussed receiving the correct nutrients to grow healthy and strong.

I do believe in the statement “You are what you eat” because for the most part I ate Crap.  Into my teens I ate pizza, burgers, fries, chips, and pop.  In a nut shell either fried, high fat, or high sugar.  All the crap I ate made me bloated and ultimately overweight.  Although when I had incorporated more vegetables and FRESH foods (even if it was a chicken breast which was baked in the oven) I felt better. I found I had (and have) more energy to be active.

I made a pledge at the beginning of the year to avoid deep fry fast food chains.  I failed at it.  Although I would like to put this out there I pledge not to eat fast “crap” food.  If I am in a place such as that, because friends or family are eating there, I will try to encourage that we either go somewhere with TRUELY healthy alternatives. Or I will ask to be dropped some where else.  I do not need that in my body anymore!

If you would like to pledge to make healthy choice when out and not eat CRAP.  Feel free to comment and link back.  I will write a post on September first outlining how I did.

Oat-y Overnight Oats

So I gave it yet again another shot… Although I think I did it right this time.  Yesterday we went to the Bulk Barn to get the items I need for my Vegan Chewy Crackers.  Which I will post on later. When I said hey why don’t I just get some oats. 

Last night I put in a white bowl (definitely going to use the black ones better pictures):

• 1 C Oats
• 1 T Chia Seeds
• 1/2 C of 1% Milk
• 3 Scoops of Plain Yoghurt

And STIR.  Covered and left in the fridge overnight and I found this in there this morning:

I did add some honey, homemade strawberry jam, glob of almond butter and a sprinkle of granola.   I must say this is a Check of Yummy approval.  I still need to get over the texture… it still seams a bit slimy and chewy but that’s life.