What I’m Loving: Cinnamon

Glad all of you liked my Double Cinnamon Swirl Bread recipe I posted yesterday! I hope you all make it and experience it’s deliciousness.

Remember yesterday when I told you that I was looking forward to breakfast?  Well, it was pretty epic!  Not to mention filled with cinnamon! ♥

Breakfast:

Cinnamon Yogurt Mess (light vanilla yogurt, Double Cinnamon Swirl Bread, granola, Microwave “Stewed” Apples, peanut butter, and cinnamon)

Oh.My.Gosh.  It was so freaking delicious.  “It was like a burst of cinnamon swirl in every bite!”  ~Old Cinnamon Toast Crunch commercials

I also rounded out my cinnamon-filled meal with a cup of coffee spiked with cinnamon per Christina’s suggestion.  Deeeeeeelish!

I’m definitely going to start drinking cinnamon coffee every morning.  It was a nice change of pace from my usual black coffee.

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Since I’ve been loving cinnamon a lot more than usual lately, I figured I should write a post (similar to this one) highlighting the health benefits of cinnamon.  It actually has more nutrients than you’d think!

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What I’m Loving: Cinnamon!

Sometimes it seems like cinnamon is in baked goods everywhere, which makes it easy for one to assume that cinnamon is unhealthy, just because it is usually prevalent in high-fat and high-sugar foods.  But, in reality, that couldn’t be more wrong! Cinnamon is actually loaded with a plethora of health benefits including it’s ability to lower LDL “bad” cholesterol, preserve foods, boost cognitive brain function, control blood sugar, and even aid weight loss!

Sounds pretty impressive, eh?  I’m sure you’re dying to hear more but before I get into the details let me share the nutritional stats.

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Who knew cinnamon was so high in fiber, calcium, and iron?! Definitely not me!

Cinnamon Regulates Blood Sugar:

Recent research suggests that cinnamon may be helpful as a supplement to regular diabetes treatment in people with type 2 diabetes because it improves antioxidant levels and therefore improves fasting blood sugar. 

Cinnamon Reduces LDL “Bad” Cholesterol:

The results of a study from 2003 in Pakistan showed lower levels of fasting glucose, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol after 40 days with levels continuing to drop for 20 days after that.  Similar studies were also conducted revealing the same thing.  Most people had their LDL cholesterol  drop by at least 10 points!

Cinnamon Aids Weight Loss:

According to experts, cinnamon tablets can also be taken in order to aid weight loss. The cinnamon helps target the thyroid (gland in charge of metabolism) and speeds it up over time, resulting in a faster metabolism. 

Sources:

Mayo Clinic

That’s Fit

About

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Jeez, I don’t know about all of you, but I never knew there were so many benefits to flavoring with cinnamon.  I just thought it tasted good!  Haha.

I hope you enjoyed the little tidbits of information I gathered for you. Let me know if you want to see more of these in the future.  Most of  you seemed to like the one I did on eggs.

Questions of the Day:

1. What is your favorite way to use cinnamon?  In oatmeal?  In baked goods? In desserts?
2. What is your favorite spice?  Mine is cinnamon followed by cumin and pepper.

Hope you all have a great Friday! 

Healthy & Delicious

Isn’t that the best way to eat? 

Many people think that in order to eat healthy they must compromise taste, but as I’m sure you already know, that is 100% false.  I think today’s lunch illustrates that concept perfectly.  Yes, it is a salad, but believe me, it was delicious!

Lunch:

Mixed greens, carrots, tomatoes, and Salsa Vinaigrette with an Easy Peasy Whole Wheat Muffin (2nd time was perfect!) on the side

I actually loved the salad so much that I made myself another little salad for a snack about 10 minutes later.  Haha – I blame the dressing.  SO good!

And since I’m a nice person I’ll even repost the recipe. 

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Salsa Vinaigrette

Courtesy of Hungry Girl

Ingredients:

• ½ cup salsa
• 2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• garlic powder and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree for 30 seconds.  Pour onto salad and then pour the remaining dressing into a jar and store in the refrigerator.

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As you can see, the dressing couldn’t be simpler to make!  If you don’t own a food processor/blender, or just don’t feel like pulling it out, you could also just mix them all together for a chunkier dressing.  It’s really, really good either way!

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Speaking of salad dressings, I’d like to share the salad dressing epiphany I had the other day with you.

A few days ago, I was sitting at my kitchen table eating a salad with one of my favorite creamy salad dressings:  Light Ranch.  I was just sitting there with nothing to do so I started reading the nutrition label. (Picture above)  I was disgusted! 

This might sound stupid, but I always thought that since it was ‘light’ it was semi-healthy, but boy was I was terribly mistaken.  Corn Syrup Solids,  Microcrystalline Cellulose, and Monosodium Glutamate?!  Surely, there is nothing healthy about that! 

I always say that everything is okay in moderation and I’m sticking with that, but this has certainly taught be to be more aware of the foods I eat and that ‘light’ doesn’t always mean healthy.  That being said, I will still probably eat my Light Ranch dressing on occasion, but as of right now I’m fine with my all-natural Salsa Vinaigrette.  YUM!

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Questions of the Day:

1. What is your favorite salad dressing?
2. Have you ever had a similar epiphany?  If so, please share!

Hope everyone enjoyed their day off!  Back to school and work tomorrow!



Shake-Shake-Shakeology!

As promised I have a Shakology product review for y’all!

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I’ve always been curious about protein powders, especially varieties with added nutrients.  So when Jenny from Shakeology contacted me about a potential product review, I immediately said yes, and boy, am I glad that I did!

But before I get to the actual reviewing, let me tell you a little about the company and their products.

How Does Shakeology® Work?

Using the most potent superfoods and essential nutrients available, it repairs and strengthens your body on a cellular level.

Shakeology uses a proprietary blend of digestive enzymes and prebiotics to gently and efficiently eliminate toxins. Then a combination of antioxidants, phytonutrients, adaptogens, and many other rare ingredients give your body the essential nutrients you can’t get from a normal diet. You get a salad bowl’s worth of fruits and vegetables in a single glass.

Whole-food ingredients—all-natural foods that still maintain the vitamins, minerals, and fiber often stripped from highly processed foods—deliver these nutrients to help your body shed stored fat and promote optimum health.

No other shake contains the world’s most powerful superfoods.

We searched the world for the most potent ingredients your body can easily absorb and utilize, creating a perfect combination of enzymes, prebiotics, antioxidants, and many rare ingredients like adaptogens, Camu-Camu, and Sacha Inchi. Here are all the different kinds of nutrients you’ll get from a single glass of Shakeology.
You won’t find this in any other health drink.

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Sounds pretty impressive, eh?  Now let’s see how I thought they tasted…

Shakeology Review

Greenberry:  This was the first flavor I tried from the Shakeology package I received and, to be honest,  I was not a fan.  It tasted very “green” and had a very strong Wheatgrass flavor.  In an attempt to hide the flavor, I added frozen peaches and strawberries to my smoothie and it still didn’t help.  This flavor left a bad taste in my mouth…literally.

Chocolate:  Fortunately for me, the Chocolate flavor tasted a million times better than Greenberry.  It was filled with the same ingredients (Wheatgrass, Spirulina, Chlorella, Chia seed meal, Maca powder, etc.) yet it had barely any aftertaste.  It had a small aftertaste, but it was a small price to pay for the awesome nutrition that the shake offered. 

Overall:  Overall, I’d have to say that the Shakeology products are either a hit or a miss.  In my opinion, the Chocolate flavor was the better of the two, but everyone’s taste buds are different.  Although the nutritional stats and ingredients are pretty stellar, I definitely think the people at Shakeology need to work on the flavor aspect of their product a little more. 

Overall Grade: C

**If you are interested in ordering any Shakeology or Beachbody products click here.

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Questions of the Day:

1. Have you ever done a shot of Wheatgrass?  I haven’t but I heard it’s amazingly healthy.
2. Do you ever eat something solely for the nutritional aspect of it and not the taste? If so, what?

Have a great week! Pancake recipe tomorrow!

Pre-Game Snacks

So a few days ago when I was walking from the girl’s locker room at school to the weight room I decided to cut through the cafeteria.  Now I’m not being judgemental or anything, but would you consider cookies and Doritos the ideal pre-game fuel?  I don’t, but I guess some of the kids in there did.  

Imagine my surprise, the girl who eats Luna bars before practices and meets, when I walked into the cafeteria and saw my fellow athletes fueling themselves with cookies, Doritos, potato chips, candy, and ice cream!  I was shocked!

I’m a big follower of the phrase “If you eat garbage, you’ll feel like garbage” and couldn’t understand why the kids were eating that badly and before a game nonetheless!  Sure I’ll slip sometimes and eat  ice cream or potato chips when I’m at the movies or a sleepover, but never before a game.  I’d feel terrible!

So, in an effort to help others realize what they should eat before a game, I am writing this post.  Enjoy!

 

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Who:  All athletes and fitness-lovers

What:  Healthy snacks; usually a combination of carbs and protein

When:  1 hour before a game, practice, or workout

Why:  To be the best you can be!

One of the most important things to remember when picking out a snack is that it should have a balance of protein and carbs.  The same goes with pre-game snacks except they should have at least  20 grams of carbs because they are what will fuel you right away!  Protein is also important because it will give you some sustainability and help build muscle.  Fat (even healthy fat) is definitely something to avoid before a workout because it is very hard to digest and stays in the stomach for a while, which might cause discomfort.

Here are some of my recommendations:

1.  Energy/Nutrition Bars (I like Luna, Kashi, and Larabars.)

2.  Fresh fruit (Apples, bananas, oranges, etc.)

3.  Dry cereal (I like cereals with fiber and protein like FiberOne, Cheerios, and Kashi Go Lean.)

4.  Toast with jam (Try whole-wheat toast and low-sugar jam)

5.  Crackers (Again, I recommend the whole wheat varieties like Triscuits and Dr. Krackers.)

*Disclaimer:  I am not a registered dietitian or nutritionist.  All of this information comes straight from my health and nutrition knowledge along with some reasearch.  Always talk to a doctor before starting a new diet or fitness routine.*

Sources:

1.  http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sportsnutrition/a/EatForExercise.htm

2.  http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=1074

Question of the Day:

1. What’s your favorite pre-game or pre-workout snack?