Some Saturday Motivation - It's a Pretty Easy Concept

Rice Flour Conversion Chart

Looking to reduce wheat flour in your baking? I found this helpful little chart with wheat flour to rice flour ration spelled out - as well as the additional starch you'll need to add to make up for rice flour's lack of elasticity ( gluten ).

Holy Crap!

Thank you - so, so much.  They completely surprised me. Completely.

Motivational Penguin Has A Message For You

Why The "Everything In Moderation" Rule Doesn't Work

 I discovered this article after a friend pinned it over at Pinterest - and I was instantly drawn to the paragraph I've bolded. It makes SO much sense why it is so hard to get yourself back on track after you've "fallen off the Clean Eating wagon."

I've reprinted the article verbatim; it's by a NYC nutritionist named Dana James.

Why The "Everything In Moderation" Rule Doesn't Work

by Dana James, MS, CNS, CDN.

Two squares of dark chocolate…every night. A glass of wine…every night. A coconut macaroon…every night. All perfectly acceptable, under the weight loss mantra “everything in moderation.”

But will this behavior actually give you a hot rockin’ body?

Unlikely.

Genetically, we are not moderate beings. We are feast and famine. We thrive on the polarity of extremes. We are pleasure seekers and moderation doesn’t induce much pleasure.

Moderation is eating less than you want, in the hope that it will assuage a more primal gluttonous urge. For most people, it doesn’t. Nor does it take away those social engagements that require us to be more fluid with our food choices. The end result? Small treats on a daily basis AND indulgent social eating.

Daily treat-eating also changes your brain chemistry. After just seven days, the dopamine receptor cells start to down-regulate. This means that more dopamine is required to elicit the same mild and pleasurable response. When two squares of dark chocolate were enough to soothe you, it goes up to four pieces, six pieces, then half a bar.

Even more insidious is that the daily treat-eating becomes a conditioned response. After dinner, you’ll feel compelled to have a treat, much like one of Pavlovian’s dogs.

You, however, are not a dog. You can consciously turn this response off. You do this, by stopping the everyday treat eating and trashing the “everything in moderation” rule.

Instead, plan two meals per week where you savor and enjoy your chosen pleasure-inducing food.  When you’re tempted outside of these two meals, remind yourself how truly enjoyable these meals are.

And make them enjoyable. Pull out the silverware, use pretty plates, add a napkin, engage with friends or an amour du jour, make it blissful and quote Oscar Wilde, “everything in moderation, including moderation."

Thank you, Mind Body Green.com and author / nutritionist Dana James 

How Much Do You Know About the Second Amendment? A Quiz

I found this quiz while doing some research on a completely different subject.

How Much Do You Know About the 2nd Amendment? A Quiz

     I'll tell you I got 11 out of 15 on this quiz, mainly because I live close to Washington DC and several questions concern Supreme Court challenges to DC's restrictive gun laws. There was also 1 question where I debated between 2 questions, and picked the wrong answer. But for a relative newcomer to 2nd Amendment issues - I was pleased with my general knowledge.

Your Choices Will Change The ( Your ) World

Listen to the tea. It's smart. Every decision you make matters.

*Do I eat the salad with a bottled dressing ( convenient ) or do I take a minute to whisk together my own?
*Do I carve out time during the weekend to prep Clean foods ahead of time or do I stare vacantly into the fridge to cobble together something last minute ( and ultimately rely on foods that aren't Clean )?
*Do I sit in front of the tv, flipping channels absently looking for something to watch or do I turn off the tv and get some exercise?
*Do I fill my water bottle vigilantly - almost obsessively - or do I hear the "Pfffft!" noise of a soda pop being opened?

The choices you make in the here and now have direct consequence to the health and well being of your body. The choices you make in the here and now either lead down the path of Clean Eating, or they reinforce poor eating habits.

Look at this smart tea bag, and remember it's wisdom the next time you are hungry or bored.

What are you going to do? Do you want the same old same old or are you ready to change your world?

Greek Yogurt Review XIV - Fage Fruyo

I haven't found many new varieties of Greek yogurt in my local grocery stores lately, so there hasn't been much to write about concerning new stuff. But yesterday I was very excited to find a new variety of Fage yogurt on my Safeway's shelves so I quickly grabbed the little tub of vanilla 0% fat Fage Fruyo and headed to the checkout. ( Side note - in case you were wondering Fage is pronounced "Fa-yeh" ) This stuff is SO new, it isn't even on Fage's USA website yet. All info I've pulled is from their Greek website. )

Press Release from Fage:

FAGE, a Greek dairy company, has launched FRUYO, a yogurt dessert made exclusively from stirred yogurt and juicy fruit pieces.
FRUYO has a texture of stirred yogurt. FRUYO has no coloring and preservatives, with only 1.5% fat. Fruyo, with stirred yogurt and indulging fruit pieces, is available in seven flavors with 1.5% fat, the company said.

The seven flavors are: strawberry, peach, cherry, pineapple, vanilla, musli and pineapple banana cereals

Did you catch that?

 FAGE, a Greek dairy company, has launched FRUYO, a yogurt dessert made exclusively from stirred yogurt and juicy fruit pieces....

 A yogurt dessert. 

Perhaps that should have been clue #1, huh? Not Greek yogurt, but a yogurt dessert. Now, NOWHERE on the cup I bought did it say yogurt dessert. It says "Greek nonfat strained yogurt blended with vanilla."


But, I was psyched to try and review a new yogurt for you, so I only found that out after the fact; after I tried it. Upon opening the cup, I was surprised that "blended with vanilla" was an accurate phrase. I saw flecks of vanilla bean - promising! I was impressed with the thickness and didn't stop to contemplate that before I shoveled the spoon into my mouth and instantly - INSTANTLY - one word entered my head. Dannon. It was thick and sweet and like a Dannon product, a definitely not like a Greek yogurt.


The consistency, the overwhelming sweetness, everything. I was shocked. It had NONE of the tart Greek zing you'd expect from a Fage product. I'm sure I scrunched up my face as I examined the cup, even as I was swallowing the first spoonful...and if I had done that BEFORE I did my Porky Pig impression...I would have gone no further.

Folks, Fage Fruyo is NOT Clean. At all. No way, no how, No Sir.

Ingredients: Strained yogurt ( Grade A Pasturized Skimmed milk, Live active yogurt cultures, SUGAR, Water, Rice and Corn Starch, Natural vanilla flavor, Ground Vanilla Beans, Lemon Juice Concentrate.

Calories: 170 in 6 oz.
Sugar: 27 grams

So it has 2 sources of sugar - the inherent milk sugar, and added cane sugar.  So, you could essentially open 27 packages of sugar and eat those straight. Same thing.

Really, Fage? You make a wonderfully healthy and nutritious regular Greek yogurt, and then right next to it, you put this junk? Why is this product called a yogurt dessert in Greece - but you've labeled it as Greek yogurt here? Does it not meet the Greek government's product standards for yogurt?

Well - it's an important lesson, and one I've been hit with a few times in the last few weeks. Just because something is by a trusted company doesn't mean their new product can also be trusted. Also, you HAVE to examine your products to see if the ingredient list is Clean for you.

I won't buy it again. It was an all around disappointment - and a "Bait and Switch" I wouldn't have expected from Fage. Their other products are excellent. This is...not yogurt.

Ever Vigilant...

Last week I went to the grocery store, and in the Organic / Healthy food type aisle spotted a "Manager's Special" - canned oranges for $1 a can. Now, that's a really good deal. As I got closer, I realized the mandarin oranges were in "light syrup" - meaning, added sugar; not Clean.

 

But I picked up the can anyway. I contemplated picking up a few for emergency rations. Canned fruit would be a nice addition, and at 50% off? Yeah, in an emergency I would eat it.

Thanks, no. Trying to cut down on poisoning my family with arsenic and pesticides that are illegal in the U.S. - thank you very much.

This was in the organic food aisle. Be vigilant. Read labels. Question what is in your food, and consider where the food is canned / packed / grown. Do they have the same regulatory food standards we do in the U.S.?

Just because a grocery store has it on display in a prominent location does NOT mean it can be trusted.

Why Isn't Gun Control Working In Chicago?

If you are of a mind to, I would invite you to read this article here at The Washington Examiner entitled "Why Isn't Gun Control Working In Chicago?"

Illinois has one of the STRICTEST gun contol laws on the books in the United States ( and is one of the only states / areas of the country where Concealed Carry is not permitted by anyone...) yet more deaths by guns occur in Chicago than in anywhere else in the United States. Why is this?

From the article:

Despite the media's intense attention to mass shootings, homicides, violent crime and gun deaths are all decreasing nationally, according to the latest FBI statistics. But not in Chicago. So what is causing the unacceptable wave of gun violence in Chicago?

One question to address: If the real problem is that guns can be purchased in other jurisdictions, then why are America's other major cities seeing such huge declines in their murder rates, despite the fact that nearly all of them are near states with relatively lax gun laws?

If Democrats are truly interested in making Americans safer, and not just in passing feel-good laws that will do nothing to decrease gun violence, then they should welcome a closer look at what is going so horribly wrong in Obama's hometown.

If you've listened to the Senate gun hearings and followed them with any sort of interest - here's an OP/ED piece that will have you  nodding your head and wondering how wise these strict gun control laws actually are in practice - because as you can see, numbers don't lie. Illinois is the most gun-unfriendly state in the Nation, and I wouldn't exactly say "boast" concerning their high murder by gun rate. It's worse than a war zone where EVERYONE is armed.

Refrigerate or Room Temperature ?

I do believe this graphic is referring to the storage of various fruits and vegetables, and not immediate consumption. Personally, I don't think there's anything more delicious than a cold piece of melon or kiwi but maybe that's just me.Also, I store potatoes and onions at the bottom of my fridge, like my Mother did...but perhaps that's just the climate I live in. My pantry isn't a "cool dark place" as they tell you to store onions and potatoes. And I generally keep zucchini on the counter...hey, wait a minute. Have I been doing it wrong all these years? What do you do?

Product Review: Simply Sprouted Way Better Snacks

This week, I found a new brand of "healthier" chips in the natural and organic aisle in my grocery store, so I decided to buy some - Simply Sprouted Way Better Snacks. I bought 2 bags: Sweet Potato tortilla chips and Black Bean tortilla chips.

Simply Sprouted Way Better Snacks

The ingredient list was straightforward: various grains and vegetables  ( corn, sweet potato, black bean, quinoa, chia ), sunflower or safflower oil, and sea salt.

The taste? Pretty darn tasty. I was pleased a serving size was 11 chips ( more than enough to satisfy my urge to crunch ) and the nutrition on the sweet potato variety was decent: 130 calories, 100 mg sodium. The black bean was slightly higher. Both varieties give a small percentage of things like Vitamin A, calcium, and iron..

But...

Keep in mind: normal, run of the mill Tostito chips also have very similar ingredients and nutrition.

Believe it or not, things like unflavored, regular tortilla chips and potato chips are relatively Clean. Yes, they are fried in oil, as are these Simply Sprouted snacks. They are what I call "Border Foods" - foods that are just on this side of the Clean continuum of foods, but are not something I eat every day.

( Side note: To be clear, Simply Sprouted products are both baked AND fried. They use a 2 step process. First they bake the chip to reduce the moisture content, then they fry it in sunflower oil. )

If you are looking for a chip, you can definitely make your own sweet potato chips but if you are looking for convenience, Simply Sprouted Way Better Snacks aren't a terrible deviation from the Clean Eating diet. Would I eat them every day? No - but these are really yummy and would be a nice crunch to go with a veggie wrap at lunch time or a late in the evening / oh my gosh I need something salty snack.

( Side note -I did like this notation on their FAQ page:

 Do you source any ingredients from Asia?
Unlike many of our competitors, we do not source any ingredients from Asia due to concerns of unreliable labeling practices with natural and organic items coming from this part of the world. In 2010, it was estimated by the Organic Consumers Association that only about 30% of Chinese products labeled organic, are actually organic. )


Even my Chip Connoisseur husband deemed them really good...which is why after my first taste, I went back to check the ingredients and discovered the Black Bean tortilla chip bag in the trash. ( But on a side note, at least he put the empty bag in the trash can. That's a step up from his normal "leave trash where it lies" modus operandi )

Are they good? Yes! Are they healthier than normal chips? Um, well...that's debatable. Will I buy them again? Yes, probably. Will I hide them from my husband? Yes.

It Doesn't Matter If You Aren't In Control

Clean Eating Cheesecake...YES!

You know I'm no huge fan of  "Clean Eating desserts". For me, they are like a gateway drug. I get one taste of that sweetness, one little taste - and suddenly I'm full blown off the Clean Eating wagon and rolling around in a pig stye filled with craptacular diversions like cookies, cupcakes, Pop*Tarts, chips, and my special ring of Hell: chocolate.

I do recognize, however, that just because my self control is nil, it doesn't mean yours is. When I stumbled upon this yummy and Clean cheesecake, I knew I had to share it with you all. With no crust, no granulated sugar, and no flour ( some recipes call for flour ) - this recipe gets it's sweetness from honey and it will make for a delicious Clean Eating treat. I'm told it doesn't taste like honey - just creamy cheesecake goodness.

If you make this cheesecake, I'd be interested to hear your feedback. Please leave me a comment. This recipe will go in my stable of things to possibly make to take to a pot luck dinner or to a family gathering where I know I can eat something on the dessert table.

Clean Eating Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 1 kg ( 2.2 lbs, or 34 ounces ) cream cheese
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tsp grated lemon rind
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 2/3 cup sour cream

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease bottom of 9-inch springform pan and line the sides with parchment paper. Wrap the bottom of the spring form pan in a double layer of tin foil, going as high up the sides as possible.

2. Beat honey and lemon rind with cream cheese.

3.  Stir in eggs and yolk, individually.

4. Stir in sour cream.

5. Pour batter into springform pan.

6. Place springform pan into large pan and pour in hot water so it comes 1” up the side of the springform pan.

7. Bake for approximately 1 hour until surface appears less shiny and edges look set. Try not to open the oven while it’s baking so that the cake doesn’t fall prematurely. Also, be gentle with it when taking it out of the oven. It’ll still likely to fall quite a bit, and that’s okay.

8. Cool cheesecake, cover, and place in fridge for approximately 6 hours.

Sauce: For the berry “sauce”, heat berries on the stove until they’ve broken down and melted into a sauce. You can add some honey to make it more syrup-like,  but I find it tastes fine all on its own as well. I usually use frozen berries, which don’t tend to need any additional liquid, but if you’re using fresh berries, some water or juice may be helpful to reach the desired consistency.

Thank you, theprimalist.com!