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!

                              (source)

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.

                                (source)

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! 

Stronger Every Second

Today was my first official strength training day of 2011. Yay!

I did 15 minutes (5.35 miles – Level 6/12) on the stationary bike for a warm-up and then 20 minutes on the rowing machine.

According to my Mom (and then confirmed by this article) working out on a rowing machine is the most effective calorie burner because it combines strength training and cardio in one.  Rowing works the arm, back, shoulder, and ab muscles!  Sounds like a winner to me!

I’m so sore right now from all that rowing, but at least I know it’s because I’m getting stronger every second!

I can’t wait until I muster up enough courage to start the weights and kettlebells!

* * * * *

In addition to frequent strength training, one must consume a lot of protein in order to build muscle.  Let’s have a look at the protein-packed meals and snacks I’ve eaten today…

Breakfast:

2 whole wheat waffles, 1/2 cup 1% no salt added cottage cheese, and sliced strawberries

Lunch:

Turkey and roasted red pepper hummus on a Sandwich Thin, Laughing Cow and cucumbers, and an orange

Snack 1: (eaten after school/before my workout)

White Chocolate Macadamia Luna bar

Dinner:

A bowl of Pork and Hominy Stew with a side of toasted ciabatta bread and steamed broccoli

Snack 2:  (eaten a few hours after dinner)

Yoplait Light Thick & Creamy Cinnamon Roll yogurt and 1/2 a grapefruit

* * * * *

It was a pretty good day of eats if I do say so myself!  The only not pictured item was the last slice of Coconut Banana Bread enjoyed for an impromptu dessert. I need to remember to make more soon!  So yummy! 

Question of the Day:

1. What is your favorite strength training tool/machine/move?   I can’t wait to hear what you have to say. That way I can steal them and add them to my routine. 

Mwahahaha! 

New York, New York!

Today was another great day! ♥

It started with a grab-n-go breakfast of Coconut Banana Bread and yogurt.

The photo was taken in the light box, but the meal was eaten on the road.  We had a train to catch!

But first we had to pick up Mikey and his family. 

Once we got on the train silliness ensued.

Lots and lots of silliness.  Somehow we ended up on the train that made every stop imaginable. 

Once we got off the train we made a beeline for the bathrooms Rockafeller Center.

I guess the easiest way to make money in New York City nowadays is to dress up as a popular cartoon character, let people take pictures in front of you, then ask for demand a tip.

We took pictures in front of a few just for fun, but some were just downright creepy! ↓

I guess Pooh was trying to hint at something…

Gotta love the Hannah Montana bag.

I think this was the creepiest Mickey Mouse I have ever seen.  (Make sure you look closely at the tongue.)

*Shudder*

Afterwards we walked around the city and took in all the sights.

All of that walking sure made us hungry, so we stopped at a little place called the Cranberry Cafe for lunch. 

I had Salad #18.

I was stuffed after eating it.  The salad almost weighed a pound!

After lunch we did some more walking and a little bit of window shopping.  We even went to Saks 5th Avenue where I posed with a mannequin. ↓

We also went to the cheesy souvenir shops and the big Toys-R-Us.

Then it was time to leave!

On the way to the train we stopped at Starbucks for some coffee and had some snacks.  I had a tall iced coffee with a shot of sugar-free vanilla syrup and a Kashi GoLean Roll Bar – Oatmeal Walnut flavor.

On the train there was more silliness, but this time it was a combination of tiredness and silliness.  By the time we got home we were too tired to cook so we ate dinner at Mikey’s house.

Dinner was my aunt’s homemade bean soup.  So good!

 

Now I’m sitting on the couch with a full belly watching Are We Done Yet.  I think I’m going to fall asleep any minute…

Goodnight!

Cashini + Blueberries

= Heaven, of course!

Seriously, the not-so-classic combination is really, really good!

*****

A few days ago I received a huge package of samples from my friends at Artisana.  The package included many nut butter squeeze-packets in addition to a whole jar of Cashini and a jar of Raw Almond Butter. ♥

Yeah that’s a lot of nut butter, but I’ll have no problem eating it all!

Now you may be asking, What in the world is Cashini?!  [And if you already know...SHHHH...just roll with it for now.]

Cashini is a mixture of cashew butter and tahini.

And if you don’t know what tahini is…it’s sesame seed butter.

Now, don’t worry, I am going somewhere with this.

*****

When I recieved my Cashini the first thing I thought was “How am I going to use this?”  After pouring over several blogs, and Google-ing “What goes well with Cashini,” I finally found an acceptable flavor duo. 

Something that wasn’t too overpowering.  Something that I had in my house.  Something that I could work into my breakfast.

I found this something over at Angela‘s blog in the form of her Grilled Cashew Butter and Blueberry Sandwich. 

Cashini + Blueberries

Breakfast:

Chia Overnight Oats with ~1 tablespoon melted Cashini and a handful of frozen blueberries

I love warm, melty nut butters!  Heating them brings out so much flavor and spreads it out so you get more nut butter per bite!

Plus I kind-of had to heat the Cashini because it got so hard after sitting in the fridge. ↓

Oh well…

It was still a very good breakfast!  I think I am in love with Cashini. ♥

 

Classic Pairings

Hello Friends!

Lately I have been trying to get away from “Food Journal” type posts, but what I can I say, I like seeing what others eat!  Seeing what other people eat not only gives me new meal ideas, but also gives me an idea of what two flavors work well with each other.

I’ll use today’s breakfast as proof.

Breakfast:

The usual Overnight Oats [1/2 cup oatmeal mixed with 2/3 cup vanilla yogurt] topped with sliced banana and a spoonful of Nutella

Yeah, I’ll admit it, before Blog World I never knew about the genius combination that is Nutella and Banana.

Criminal.  [Insert gasps of outrage/shock here.]

*****

Another classic pairing was evident in today’s lunch…

Lunch:

Turkey and Tabasco Sandwich, Pomegranate Berry Dannon Light & Fit, and Coco-Nutty Granola mixed with Sensible Foods Cherry Berry

Obviously the classic pairing here was Turkey and Tabasco.  I mean, who doesn’t put hot sauce on their sandwiches?!

Oh…most people don’t?

Just kidding.  The classic pairing here was yogurt and granola.  They even have entire companies dedicated to this combination. [Hello, YoCrunch!]  Speaking of YoCrunch, they recently came out with a lighter version of their Cookies N’ Cream variety.  It has minimal fat and only 120 calories! YUM! ♥

*****

Back on topic…

…classic pairings.

 None of my other eats included classic pairings, but I will list a few of my favorites below.

• Chocolate & Peanut Butter
• Honey & Almond Butter
• Fries & Ketchup
• Veggies & Hummus
• Turkey/Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

Mmmm…that last one got me thinking about Thanksgiving.  I love Thanksgiving. ♥

What are some of your favorite food pairings?

*****

P.S.  I just wanted to let you know that I cut into my first pomegranate of the season today.

I enjoyed the pomegranate arils mixed in with some Greek yogurt and chopped almonds.

Deeeeelicious!

*****

Questions of the Day:

1. What are your favorite food pairings? [In case you forgot about it.]
2. What are your Thanksgiving plans? Where are you celebrating?  What are you making?  What’s your favorite Thanksgiving tradition? What’s your favorite Thanksgiving food?

[Can you tell I looooove Thanksgiving?!]

Come back tomorrow for my favorite Thanksgiving recipes and Thanksgiving Prep Day #1.

Goodnight!