Tag Archives: fresh fruit

Sweet Treats

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sugarValentine’s Day is coming up, so…Hey, Sweetie! Let’s talk sugar.

Remember those little heart-shaped candies with the delightful words stamped on them that we used to give our friends on V-Day? And oh, how we (the girls) hoped that special fella would present us with a heart-shaped box of chocolates! Today, we bake chocolate desserts for our families, make heart cookies for the grandchildren and follow-up that special dinner with a decadent dessert.

Hey, if it’s one of those rare treats, enjoy. Savor every bite. Tomorrow’s a new day. But if you are like me, that one fabulous treat, tomorrow may find you hunting for more sweets for days to come. The biggest fact is that we, as humans are drawn to sweet stuff.

Now, now, don’t get defensive or self-righteous. We can have a rational discussion, and just about everyone is on a different page when it comes to sugar. In fact, some people are in their own book! (It won’t hurt to read some of those books, either. A real eye-opener is “The Blood Sugar Solution” by Mark Hyman, M.D.)

There is sugar, corn sweetener, high fructose corn syrup (did you know it has 8% less fructose than cane sugar?), glucose, beet sugar, dehydrated cane syrup (isn’t that sugar?) and so many more it would make your head spin. In fact, google “names for sugar.” Holy Cow! One site listed 56 names for sugar, many that we don’t even think of as sugar.

So how do we cut out sugar. Baby steps. First, if  you eat processed foods, packaged cereals, etc., start reading the ingredients list. Get savvy. Look up the ingredients you can’t pronounce. Some are good, some are not. Start substituting unsweetened applesauce for the sugar-loaded varieties. Eat more fresh fruit to satisfy those cravings for sweets. After all, fruit is sweet! Look at your favorite recipes. Try cutting the sugar in half. Try replacing sugar with honey (although too much honey is too much of a good thing, too). Put fruit on top of that waffle.

Speaking of waffles…I took a serious look at one of my favorite recipes and have revamped it. Hope you enjoy this one, and Happy Valentine’s Day.

The Ultimate Waffle

Waffle Mix

3 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup oat bran
3 Tablespoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

Mix above ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl and transfer to an airtight container for storage.

To make one waffle:
Preheat a 7” waffle iron
Mix together in a small bowl (use that little wire egg whip you got for Christmas in your stocking)
1/3 cup waffle mix
1/4 cup liquid egg substitute
up to 1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon canola or olive oil
Some cinnamon (optional)

Spray preheated waffle iron with no-stick spray

Pour waffle batter onto waffle iron, using a rubber spatula to get all the mix.
Cook about 3 minutes, or until steam stops rising from iron and the waffle feels “crispy” when you lift the lid and tap it with a fork.

Remove cooked waffle from iron and place on a dinner plate. Top waffle with 1/2 cup low-fat or fat-free cottage.

Top with your choice of fruit (fresh or frozen, unsweetened)

Now, the fancy stuff! Squirt some Fat Free whipped topping on the top. Take a picture! You’ve got yourself one super healthy, filling breakfast. At 10:30 a. m. when the others in your office are munching on doughnuts and leftovers of Mary’s birthday cake, you can just smile and say “No thanks. I’m still full from breakfast!”

Enjoy!

Smoothies…Oh, boy!

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Oh, boy!

We just came home from vacation. Usually, somewhere in that vacation, a stop for ice cream seems perfectly logical, but this time I WAS STRONG!!! People, I’ve been thinking about that missed ice cream for several days now, so today, even though it is really cold in Iowa, it was treat time. How could I have something wonderful and stay healthy? A smoothie!

Smoothies sure sound like a healthy food, but, if you are a label reader like this lady, you will find that many “store-bought” smoothies are loaded with too much sugar, fat and many unpronounceable ingredients. Take this recipe and run with it. Add low fat cottage cheese, change the fruit, add protein powder or Greek yogurt. Go WILD!  So…pull out that blender and let’s get going.

Not Rocket Science Fruit Smoothie
(Makes one serving. Do the math to make two servings)

One Blender
¾ cup fat-free, sugar-free yogurt (should be around 80 calories per serving)
½ ripe banana
1 cup frozen, unsweetened strawberries
¼ teaspoon vanilla
honey, if necessary

Follow directions IN THIS ORDER. (Failure to follow directions in order may result in strawberry-banana smoothie on your kitchen ceiling.) Place all ingredients in a blender container. Place lid on blender. Plug in blender. Turn on blender. When all ingredients are smooth and blended, turn off blender. Pour smoothie into a nice glass. Enjoy!

Speaking of Breakfast…Let’s Talk Fruit!

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Now that you have been teased by that gorgeous waffle from my last blog, drowning in berries and cream, let’s talk about those berries, and fruit in general.

I have to admit that my family, myself included, spent years watching oranges dry up or get blue and fuzzy because we were too lazy to peel them. Strawberries rotted as I didn’t get around to popping out those stems, and mangoes…well, just what is it that I am supposed to do with that overgrown cross between a peach and an avocado? Drinking orange juice was much easier.

fresh fruit

But, ahhhh, I have finally seen the light. Did you know that a whole beautiful orange (peeled) contains about 4.3 grams of fiber (about 15% of the required daily amount for women) and about 12 grams of sugar (the good kind), while an 8 ounce glass of orange juice contains the huge amount of ZERO grams of fiber and 22 grams of sugar. Remember that old TV commercial where a dear young lass is wandering through the grocery store with a cart piled high with broccoli, the amount needed to supply her with enough fiber to get her through the day? I’ll eat a few pieces of fruit, thank you.

Make a commitment this week to get in three REAL fruit servings every day. Shoot for two at breakfast. Your body will be so happy.

AND, if you really want to get scientific, according to The World’s Healthiest Foods at www.whfoods.org, “The edible skins of many of the World’s Healthiest Fruits – including apples, apricots, blueberries, figs, grapes, pears, plums, prunes, raisins, raspberries, and strawberries – are all sites of important biological activity in the life of the fruit. The skin is one of the places where the fruit interacts with sunlight, and forms a variety of colored pigments that absorb different wavelengths of light. These pigments, including carotenoids and flavonoids, are well researched as nutrients that protect our health and nourishment. The skins of whole fruits like grapes have actually been studied for their ability to help lower risk of cancer and help provide protection from ultraviolet light.” Wow!