Category Archives: Food

Sugar Alternatives

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Artificial and Common Sugar Alternatives

Sugar and sweeteners come in many forms – from the artificial to the fruit we eat right off the tree.  Listed below are sugar alternatives and their benefits.  As always, consume any type of sugar in moderation…it’s still sugar, folks.

Don't Use Cane Sugar

Cane Sugar

Black Strap Molasses

Black Strap Molasses

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the most common sugars used in our foods today is cane sugar (Sugarcane) and is the world’s largest crop with Brazil being the largest producer.  Sugar canes are harvested and machines are used to press the juice out of the cane which strip them of their nutrients.  Ironically, black strap molasses is the by product or “waste” from processing sugar cane that keep the nutrients.

Nutrients from Unsulphered (Sun Ripened) Black Strap Molasses

  • Because of its high iron content, it’s a substitute to holistically help cure anemia.
  • Molasses is also an excellent source of copper and manganese and a very good source of potassium, and magnesium.
  • Learn more about the process, nutrients, concerns and claims.

Alternatives

  • Raw (Not Processed) Honey:  antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, enzymes, carbohydrates, and phytonutrients, raw, unprocessed honey is considered a superfood by many alternative health care practitioners and a remedy for many health ailments.
  • Other sugar alternatives include dates, date sugar, maple syrup, and apple juice.
Don't Use Artificial Sweetners

Artificial Sweetners

Stevia Leaf and Sugar Package

Stevia

 

 

 

 

 

 

The medical field thinks that artificial sweeteners pose no health risk while the holistic system regards them as being dangerous.  Even major news organizations like the NY Times holds the middle ground on this debate.  Instead of diving into all the confusion, I tell myself “if it isn’t/wasn’t real, I won’t eat it”.  Ultimately, this is the difference between the artificial (not real) and Stevia (real).  In fact, I own a Stevia plant as the leaves give your dessert a nice finishing touch.

Health benefits of Stevia

  • Does not have any calories and will not spike blood sugars.
  • Replacing sugar with Stevia makes it safer for your teeth.
  • Decrease blood sugars and lower high blood pressure.

More info on the benefits, taste (up to 300X sweeter than sugar!), and the need for more research.

Don't Use Agave Nectar

Agave Nectar

Coconut Nectar

Coconut Nectar

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few years back, Agave Nectar became the latest “rage” in sugar consumption.  Now Coconut (Sugar) Nectar is replacing it.  Here are the main differences:

  • Agave has almost as much fructose as high fructose corn syrup.  Coconut nectar has low fructose and derives it’s main sugar component is sucrose (aka table sugar). Fructose is linked to heart disease as it raises triglycerides and cholesterol.  As with any new product to market, this information is debatable.
  • Coconut nectar has minerals such as nitrogen and potassium.  Agave nectar has almost no mineral content in it.
  • NOTE:  Both agave and coconut nectar reportedly have a naturally low glycemic index.

Sheep Yogurt & Black Strap Molasses Recipe

Black Strap Molasses and Sheep Yogurt

Black Strap Molasses and Sheep Yogurt

On it’s own, sheep yogurt tastes terrible.  It does, however, only contain the sheep milk and live bacteria cultures.  Cow yogurt contains casein and other types of yogurts that load up a bunch of additives (coconut, goat, and almond yogurt to name a few).  So how do you make it taste better?
Mix together in your serving bowl and you’ve got a good tasting base yogurt treat.
Suggested ingredients to add.  Mix and match to find to alternate your daily nutrient needs:
  • chia seeds for texture
  • nuts (pumpkin seeds, walnuts, almonds, etc.) for crunch
  • dried fruit (goji berries, raisins, cherries, etc.)
  • berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, etc.)

Want something more complicated with these new sugar alternatives?  Try the Vegan Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cheesecake (below is how mine turned out for Thanksgiving dinner).

Here’s the recipe.  Good luck!

Vegan Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cheescake

Vegan Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cheescake

Day 21 Food Reboot

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“Uniqueness” of the Day:  What I thought was a flare-up, turned out to be getting worse. On day 19, the coconut water & coconut meat may have activated it or not.  This time I honestly thought that the food would come in & start to reverse some of the shooting pains & inflammation.  In reality (for now), AS flares up and won’t let go until I take the Enbrel and when I start to get this kind of pain, I need to get  back on Enbrel as soon as I can.  Instead of cycling it 1X / 2 weeks, I will start using it as-needed while my body heals itself through healthy food. If I don’t, my body continues to degrade the longer I delay taking Enbrel after the initial shooting pains arrive.  Even after the Advil wore off, the inflammation continued to be reduced.  For now, combinations of Enbrel and eating healthy are working.

UPDATE 12/2/12:  February 7th is the last time I took Enbrel.

Waking Up:  Went to bed at 10:30 and got up at  3:30am and the inflammation and shooting pains are unbearable at this point.  Although I did not want to, I ended up taking an Advil for the immediate pain and took my Enbrel at 4am.  I went back to bed at 4:45am and got up at 7:45am with much less pain (but still some shooting pains coming out of bed).

Breakfast:  Green Smoothie
  • 2 cups red grapes
  • 1 banana, peeled
  • 1 large pear, cored
  • 1 cup wild frozen blueberries
  • 2 cups fresh organic baby spinach, chopped
  • 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon of dulse flakes
  • 6 to 8 ounces filtered water
  • 1 tablespoon bee pollen
  • 1 small slice of turmeric (look at #11) & ginger root – both reduce pain & inflammation
Directions:  Blend together water, banana and grapes. Then, add blueberries and blend. Add remaining ingredients and blend on high for 30 seconds or until smooth.

Synopsis of Breakfast: Definitely one of the better smoothies of the bunch.  Nice even taste & the texture is a little chunky.

Lunch Menu: Avocado-Lime Soup
  • 2 green apples, cored
  • 2 large cucumbers, chopped
  • ½ lime, peeled
  • ½ medium avocado, peeled and pitted
  • about ¼ cup water

Directions:  Chop 1 apple, 1 cucumber and the lime. Add the chopped ingredients the avocado and water to your blender. Blend until creamy. Add more water for a thinner consistency. Next, finely chop the remaining apple and cucumber and mix into soup base right before serving.

Synopsis of Lunch:  Tasted better than I thought & I did eat it unheated.  The soup’s consistency is thick enough to make as a light dip for other vegetables too.  This recipe made for two bowls and in the future I would suggest making 1/2 this recipe + adding some collard green wraps and/or something else to balance the dish out with enough variety.

Dinner Menu:  Green Smoothie

  • 5 oranges, peeled and deseeded
  • 3 cups kale, chopped (subbed swiss chard – all out of kale)
  • 2 bananas, peeled (subbed 1)
Directions:  Blend the fruit together. Add kale and blend on high for 30 seconds.
…and I decided to combine this as a side meal with parts of my “snack” they suggested:
  • ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1 Brazil nut
  • 4 medium carrots, carrots (subbed 2)
  • Added raisins
  • 1 large apple, cored
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
  • 6 to 8 ounces filtered
Carrot Soup Directions:  Blend together the water and apple. Add remaining ingredients and blend on high for 1 minute.

Synopsis of Dinner: Just before dinner I felt full due to drinking the water + fiber supplement + whatever else I had today.  But I know I’m hungry because I’m feeling light-headed.  During the meal I was able to eat the carrots, raisins, & nuts & 1/2 the smoothie and it took me 2 1/2 hours to finish the other glassful of smoothie.  Although I don’t feel shooting pains, I’m feeling kind of woozy.  I’m pretty sure it’s the excessive amount of food I had.  As a sidenote, I found the drink to be warm which I was told was due to the chemical reaction in the smoothie or the way that oranges get blended makes it combustive.

Evening inflammation check:  Inflammation is a 2 out of 10 vs. yesterday which was more like an 8 out of 10 on the pain scale.

Gas / Bloating Check:  Standard day during the food reboot & had some BMs due to large amounts of food.  The bloating & gas was there, but minimal compared to the rest of the days.

We Made It!:  Hopefully by now you can tell that my intentions were helping others as I’ve been helped.  If you’ve just finished, send me a comment & let me know your experience.

Day 20 Food Reboot

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“Uniqueness” of the Day:  This is my hardest day.  My head isn’t in doing this that much after last night’s horrible smoothie.  Most of today is smoothies and tomorrow are soups; knowing makes it even tougher.  And what makes it the hardest is I’ve gotten the worst shooting pains today from my AS (getting in & out of bed is like getting out of a bed of nails) I’ve had in weeks.  I got an encouraging phone call today from Jamie and got some fantastic recommendations from her new doctor – Dr. Furhman.  I learned that I need to really amp up my Vitamin d3 intake (more than the sun) + you can do up to 300 billion Probiotics per day (currently doing 10 billion) in smaller doses.  Basically, you can’t have enough of those since my gut has a lot of work to do in repairing.

Waking Up:  Went to bed at 11:30 and got up at  4:45am, got water & stretched until 5am, went back to bed & got up at 7:15am.  Stiffness in mid-lower back & left hip sends pain when I twist too much (it’s not much though).  Right hip, behind the right leg & right buttocks area are inflamed + I’m getting the worst shooting pains I’ve had in over a week.

Breakfast:  Green Smoothie
  • 2 bananas, peeled (subbed 1 banana, 1 kiwi)
  • 1 cup pineapple, cubed
  • 1 cup papaya, cubed (papaya not ready, subbed 1 mango)
  • 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon of dulse flakes
  • 1 tablespoon bee pollen
  • 1 small slice of turmeric (look at #11) & ginger root – both reduce pain & inflammation
  • 6 to 8 ounces filtered water
Directions:  Blend together water, bananas and papaya / mango. Then add romaine lettuce and pineapple. Bend for 30 seconds or until smooth.

Synopsis of Breakfast:  Tastes fine & much less thicker than yesterday dinner’s smoothie.  Also a little ginger & tumeric goes a long way.  So don’t cut too big of a piece when you start out.  Also some smoothies will mask it better than others.  Makes around 30 fl. oz. or 2 glassfuls.  Lastly, I’ve noticed my stomach making lots of noises.  Maybe it’s due to the turmeric / ginger root?

Lunch Menu: Green Smoothie
  • 3 bananas, peeled (subbed 1 banana, 1 mango, and 1 kiwi)
  • 3 cups pineapple, cubed
  • ½ avocado, peeled and pitted
  • 4 stalks celery, chopped
  • 3 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped
  • 3 cups kale, chopped
  • 6 to 8 ounces filtered water

NOTE: If this smoothie is to big for you to drink all at once, drink half
for lunch and the other half mid afternoon.  I decided to make a 1/2 smoothie for lunch & half for the afternoon.  I cut the recipe in 1/2 and made one batch during lunch & one in the afternoon.

Directions:  Blend together the water, bananas and avocado. Then add remaining ingredients and blend for 30 seconds or until smooth.

Synopsis of Lunch & Afternoon Meal:  The pineapple makes this too acid-like (especially since I had some in the morning).  The taste is fine overall, but doing 1/2 now & 1/2 later worked out well.

Dinner Menu:  Fruit Salad

Directions:  Slice bananas and mangoes. Add blueberries. Squeeze juice from orange over salad. Add remaining pulp.

Synopsis of Dinner: This one was simple and a welcome change.  I ate the rest of the filling from the collard green wraps from yesterday along with some blueberries & strawberries.  The Day 19 filling had a bit too much cayenne pepper, so the berries offset the taste allowing a savory / sweet taste while making the meal neutral each time I had the berries.

Evening inflammation check:  Fought inflammation and shooting pains all day long.  If this continues tomorrow, I’m taking my Enbrel as it’s been exactly two weeks since my last shot (Day 7).

Gas / Bloating Check:  Had a few BMs today but gas & bloating was manageable.  As with a few days this week, the amount of food can make my stomach / intestines feel stuck or backed up.  This is due to all the food I’m eating.