Keep It Simple Foods » Food Facts

25 Diet Busters

Jennifer — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:49:09 +0000

Health.com recently came up with a list of 25 foods that are sure to derail your diet. All of these are commercial food products that you can pick up in the grocery, a restaurant or the (dreaded) mall. I was horrified to find out that I’ve sampled a handful of these products more than once- which I blame on my Starbux addiction to all things whipped, blended and sugary sweet. Some of these products, ahem Vitamin Water, are even marketed as being nutritious or (quel horror!) “low fat” to help you maintian your figure. Now, that’s just cruel. For the complete article, click here. Keep in mind that this list was created using an average 2000 calorie per day diet with 66 grams fat and 300 grams carbs.

When it comes to eggs, buying organic may not be enough.

Jennifer — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:41:14 +0000

Apparently buying organic isn’t safe these days. The label “organic” simply indictes FDA standards for how food is grown or raised. It doesn’t speak to what happens to the food once it leaves the farm. In the case of eggs, many are processed in the same way that factory farm eggs are processed-washed in chlorine baths and then doused in a petroleum-based mineral oil. This is deceptive to consumers who think they are buying an all-natural product that is safe to eat. From what I’ve read, meat is treated in much the same way. This is why I personally feel that food regulations should be stricter and consumers should be given more information about where food comes from and how it’s processed. Of course it’s up to us to do our homework.

Buying directly from local farmers (at farmer’s markets and Whole Foods) is a great way to circumvent this problem. For the full article on this topic, read here.

Wheatberries

Jennifer — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:29:00 +0000

Do you know these guys? If not, let me introduce you. These are wheatberries and they are delicious! Boil them in salted water for a half hour, drain and pop into the fridge. Throughout the week, sprinkle them on salads, overnight oats, cereal, yogurt or eat them plain. They are perfect as is.

What you should know about cholesterol

Jennifer — Thu, 13 May 2010 01:00:15 +0000

One of my readers, Deborah, submitted this informative guest post to give us the scoop on cholesterol levels (good and bad). She is a blogger at www.cholesterolloweringdiets.net and has tons of great information on how to eat healthy and be mindful of your cholesterol. Click here to read a bit more about Deborah (see how gorgeous she is-esp for being born in 1960!) Read her guest post below:

Knowing More about Low Cholesterol Diets
a. Cholesterol Truths – Good and Bad
A lot of folks always think cholesterol is not good, but you can actually classify it into two types. LDL and HDL are the two types – the bad one and the good one. If you have plaque build-up in your artery, that means you have too much LDL. This usually results in narrow arterial openings, which will mean a slower and lesser flow of blood. You should stop blaming dietary cholesterol for having a high level of cholesterol in your blood. Instead, you should point the finger at your high levels of both Trans fat and saturated fat. If you take in a lot of healthy, fibrous foods and exercise often, you can keep your cholesterol levels down.
b. Number Relevance in Cholesterol
All adults are encouraged to check their cholesterol levels once every five years at a minimum. The results will show the levels for your Triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and total cholesterol. Engaging in exercise and changing your diet are necessary if your levels are not within the normal range.
c. Vitamin E and How it Can Protect the Heart
You can find Vitamin E in many nuts, leafy vegetables and vegetable oils. While it cannot prevent a stroke, Vitamin E can still reduce your risk for heart disease.
d. Lowering Cholesterol with these Five Foods
1. Oatmeal, Oat Bran – packed with soluble fiber, which can bring down your LDL cholesterol dramatically.
2. Fish – a very rich source of omega 3 fatty acids that are idea in lowering your LDL and increasing your HDL levels.
3. Nuts – has a lot of healthy fats and fiber that, when eaten, can also lower LDL cholesterol levels.
4. Plant Sterols – it can decrease your LDL as high up as fifteen percent, with sources such as margarine, salad dressing, orange juice and cookies.
5. Soy – soy is a good replacement for meat, and you can be sure it reduces your level of LDL by 3%.
e. Benefits You Get from Plant Sterols
Foods such as VitaTops Muffin Tops, Benecol Spread, granola bars and fat free milk are rich sources of plant sterols. You can easily help your heart when you start eating foods packed with plant sterols and avoid eating foods that contain saturated fats. A saturated fat-filled diet is not canceled out by this. Exercising often as well as eating healthy food will keep your cholesterol in check.

What does “free range” and “cage free” really mean?

Jennifer — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:45:11 +0000

Like many of you, Jessica and I are conscientous about the types of products we buy at the grocery store. We try to pick the healthiest options which often draws us to products promising to be natural and organic. When it comes to buying dairy and eggs, we look for signs of a happy cow or chicken, rather than a factory farm animal. But, it turns out that labels like “free range” and “cage free” may be misleading, or at least don’t give the complete picture of an animal’s living conditions. Many of these so-called “free range” animals live in very crowded spaces and are handled without care.

Check out this article to read more. After reading this, Jessica and I have both decided to give serious consideration to cutting back on consumption of diary and egg products or buying them exclusively from local farmers. You may want to do the same!

125 Best Packaged Foods

Jessica — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:26:35 +0000

When I was reading through my latest issue of Women’s Health, I came across the list of the 125 best packaged foods for women. Although we all know that packaged foods are not the healthiest foods for us and we should try to eat as many whole foods as possible- I know that I rely on them for a quick snack or meal on the go. The list contains some of my favorites : Almond Breeze, chobani yogurt, Amy’s meals, Van’s waffles, pomegranate arils, and Annie’s mac & cheese!

Here is the FULL LIST of the 125 best packaged foods. Are your favorites on there or are there any missing? Personally, I think they should’ve included Purely decadent coconut ice cream on there- that stuff is addictive (although perhaps not the healthiest dessert treat)!

The China Study

Jessica — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 01:48:52 +0000

Just wanted to let you all in on a new book that I’ve been reading! I’m a nutrition junkie and I love to read new materials on the variety of diets, effects of diet on health including diseases and cancer and the China Study has been so informative thus far.

Although I am not done with this book yet, it is very scientific based, I think it could be an important book for everyone to read! Basically, the premise of the book is based on numerous (more than 350) studies conducted that show a link between a high protein diet and the incidence of heart disease and cancer. Basically, the higher protein diet one has (meaning meat, not vegetable protein) can make a person more susceptible to cancer or heart disease in terms of progression of the diseases, the growth of tumors, etc. The authors of the book include so many studies, charts, and information that it is a lot to get through. But, before I finish the book, I wanted to give you all a heads up and let you know about this book. I’ve been enjoying it so far although some of it scares me (especially the implications regarding dairy consumption). I’ll give you my full review soon!

-Has anyone read the China Study, if so, what do you think?

Some like it HOT!

Jennifer — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:37:56 +0000

For a history of our favorite Sriracha/Rooster hot sauce check out today’s article in the NY Times. It looks like this once little known, foreign-made hot sauce has found its place in the hearts and homes of average Americans looking to spice things up! Sriracha is the new ketchup.

Battle of the Oats!

Jennifer — Tue, 19 May 2009 01:05:20 +0000

A lot of food bloggers out there are really into oats. They like them in all shapes and sizes and cooked a variety of ways. Although I have tried my hand at oats in the past, they just never stuck. But, since I’m a veggie who likes to stay up on the latest health food trends, I decided to give oats another try. Nowadays there are so many different types of oats to choose from so I tested two of the most popular and compared them.

First up, were the steel cut irish oats. These babies are oats in their most natural form. They consist of the entire oat (bran, germ and endosperm) cut into pieces. These oats are high in fiber and low in fat. They take about 30 min to cook on the stove top and have a hearty, chewy texture and an earthy, nutty flavor. I ate mine with maple syrup and a scoop of almond butter.

Next, I tried oat bran. I had heard good things from Jessica about these oats. Oat bran consist of the outter husk of the oat which contains most of the dietary fiber. Often, during processing, the bran is lost. For example, rolled oats do not contain the bran and do not contain as much fiber or nutrients as other, less processed oats. The oat bran cooked in about 1 minute on the stovetop. They were creamy, smooth and hearty. I served mine with chopped pecans and a scoop of Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter. It was delicious!

So which one did I like better? The winner is…..OAT BRAN! I loved that it cooked up so fast (super quick breakfast) and I loved the creamy texture. Which kind of oats do you like best?

Oh Honey! I like it RAW!

Jennifer — Thu, 14 May 2009 01:19:15 +0000

If you haven’t tried raw honey, you must! It’s basically just honey that hasn’t been “purified” by the heating process. The clear honey that you see on grocery store shelves is not raw, it’s processed. Raw honey is cloudy in color and has tiny bits of honeycomb and pollen. It also has a TON more flavor than the regular stuff. You can actually taste the flowers that were used to make the honey and there is a rich floral fragrance. Raw honey is thick (almost like a paste) and has a slightly grainy texture too. It’s really sweet and delicious.

Besides tasting great and being a perfect substitute for white sugar, raw honey also has health properties. For example, it’s used to remedy indigestion and heart burn. It’s also used to soothe sore throats, ease coughs and fight infection.

I tried this raw honey from Whole Foods.

I really enjoyed this brand, though I had never heard of it before. It was really floral and thick and rich and almost creamy. Very good stuff. Raw….yum.