Ground Beefalo, the New Taco In Town

From a previous post, beefalo is comparable to chicken and fish when it comes to calorie, cholesterol, and fat content. I threw a pound of ground beefalo in the pan with EVOO and cooked it in about 4 minutes! The lack of fat helps it to cook faster. We then wrapped it in our favorite tortillas with sour cream and lettuce, salt and pepper, and seared the whole thing to make the outside crisp. Simple, quick, yummy!

The Zone Tray

This is Zone Tray Experiment A. I filled it with veggies, fruit, nuts and seeds, and dip. Myself, my 3 kids, and my 65 year old mentally disabled aunt, sat at the table and ate until it was all gone! I did forget the protein because I had a lot of "help" and just pulled out food and filled the tray and when each section was full, I stopped. I was so pleased that we ate it all! And we ate around the table together! It was fun for my 7,5, and 2 year old. Of course, they were not satisfied without an insulin rush (although we might have avoided this if there had been a protein source), so I ended up giving them "desert" of a mini bagel with butter and jelly toasted (Jack snuck these into the basket at the grocery store. Once again, I am using it instead of throwing it away! However, I must say, that I am ok with the kids eating bread since their carb load for each meal should be 50% [according to Sugar Busters Book]). So, this wasn't perfect, but it was a good way to introduce good food and make it fun. Specifically, we ate snow peas, baby carrots, apples, cherry tomatoes, bing cherries, sunflower seeds and pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds- green in color). Then I had ranch, blue cheese, and honey mustard (honey mustard didn't really go with any of it- I don't know what I was thinking). The kids drank milk. I myself had to get some protein and made ground beefalo wraps for Evan and I! The Zone tray served as a sort of appetizer this first time around....

Peanut Butter vs. Almond Butter

Creamy Salted Peanut Butter
Ingredients: Dry roasted peanuts, salt.
2 TBSP= 190 calories, 16g fat, 130mg sodium, 7g carbs, 3g fiber, 1 sugar, 8g protein

Creamy with Sea Salt Almond Butter
Ingredients: Dry roasted almonds, sea salt.
2 TBSP= 190 calories, 17g fat, 60mg sodium, 6g carbs, 3g fiber, 2g sugar, 8g protein

So which is the better choice?
Beside the fact that almonds are actually nuts (above ground, in trees) and peanuts are legumes (growing in the ground), my preference is almond butter if based on taste. Evidently, it takes less sea salt to do the job in the almond butter than regular salt in the peanut butter. That is a positive for the almond butter. Also, almond butter has an 8% higher calcium content, and 2% higher in iron. Other than that, everything only varies by one gram. It boils down to the good fats versus the bad fats; almond butter has a greater monounsaturated fat content, and this makes it the healthier heart choice!

WWW.eatdrinkbetter.com says this about almond butter: "Almond butter boasts ten times the Omega-3 fatty acids of peanut butter, they’re high in monounsaturated fats and low in saturated fats, all of which make them a terrific way to boost heart health. Almonds are particularly known for high levels of calcium, magnesium, potassium, protein and Vitamin E. And since 715,623 tons, almost half the world’s almonds, are produced in the United States, the carbon footprint of this butter is relatively low."

Trader Joe's sells their own brand for $4.99 for a 16 oz jar! Their natural peanut butter is $1.79! It's worth the trip to stock up! However, you can order it online right here, right now from Maranatha.

Reporting from Bethany Circle- Cocoa Nibs

I have discovered that I love to investigate food. Consider me your food reporter!

Tonight's product: Chocolate Covered Cocoa Nibs
Who? For the chocolate lover trying to eat zone or paleo!
What?! Nibs are little pieces of cocao bean. These are then coated in chocolate
When? Afternoon or late night chocolate fix
Where? I have found them at Publix and Whole Foods, so far
Why? Nibs are the bare basic of chocolate= good in many ways!
How? Add to milk, yogurt, icecream, smoothies. Click on the nibs link for tons of information and ideas!



The link I found gives a wealth of information that I won't repeat, so check it out! I am not promoting this company's product, because I haven't tried it myself, but I am very impressed with the site.

The two brands that I have tried are very different from one another. Both say 'organic', but,
Publix, Explorer's Bounty brand uses chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa powder and soy lecithin to cover its nibs.
The other, from Whole Foods, is more basic, just dark chocolate (cocoa beans, cane sugar, cacao butter, and vanilla beans) with the nibs. I don't know if you noticed, but there are two different spellings: cocoa/cacao. They are the same thing. The first brand with the liquor is sweeter, the second brand takes more of an open mind, especially if you are a milk chocolate lover!

Instead of stopping and picking up my free container of cookie dough from Papa Murphy's tonight, I stopped at the grocery and bought cocoa nibs! It's not quite the same, but I did get my chocolate fix!

Letting Food Work For You During Stressful Times

This weekend, my dad got remarried. He has been a widower for a little over 2 years. Although a wonderful occasion, it was a time for stress to invade. I wanted to feel good physically and emotionally. I wanted to have energy despite going to bed late and waking up early with my two year old son. So, Thursday, I made an effort to eat no grains and make sure my meals were balanced with good protein, good carbs, and fats. I ate mostly eggs, tuna fish, and some beef or chicken. I ate a lot of fruit and almonds and reasonable amount of mayo. I also had coffee to help me out, but I do not doctor it up anymore; I only add a little half and half. This I can remember, but I did not keep a close log, I just ate what I knew was best for me. If I felt tired, I ate. If I felt hungry, I ate. Then I would feel more energized. This is a different approach from my previous efforts to eat on a schedule and eat specific amounts. This new way worked for me. By Saturday, I had energy, even with only 6 hours of sleep. I was in a "good" (balanced) mood. And, I felt good physically, i.e. no swelling, water retention, or bloating. I feel confident that I let my food work for me and not against me. I am so glad to know what to do when I need to kick it into gear. The best plan for success is education. For many years, I did not know exactly what to do to loose that weight or feel better. But now, as I study and experiment, I understand more about how foods are going to affect me. This is my hope for people who are frustrated with how they feel or how they look. This is why I blog!

"Real" Processed Food

Isn't it funny how foods that are not good for you, i.e. processed foods, are the ones that feel the need to remind us of the food pyramid and where they fit in?!

First of all, if it promotes the food pyramid, then we should be hesitant anyway! The food pyramid is updated and more balanced than the previous recommendations, and has some good information about food (such as why it is good to choose fish, nuts and seeds), but it is still allowing for processed foods. Therefore, many products are able to use it to promote their nutrition information. The government has a conflict of interest when it comes to teaching us about health and also making money off of the business at the same time!

Second of all, these type foods brag about their "real" food products that they have added in there to make you feel ok about it! Such as Chef Boyardee's Mini-Bites Spaghetti and Meatballs. They list "premium beef" (I've learned that the government standards are not my standards!), vine ripened tomatoes (in the sun or under ultra-violet rays!?), and enriched pasta (the government suggests 1/2 of your daily grain allowance to be 'whole' and it's ok for the other half to be 'enriched'). Shouldn't spaghetti and meatballs read: whole wheat pasta [stone ground wheat berries, water, salt], meatballs [ground beef, spices]? Well, maybe the meatballs are more extensive than that, but my point is, they can't make a canned or processed product with the simplest ingredients because it won't last long enough on the shelf or make people crave it. This product has 22 ingredients, plus what those ingredients contain, which amounts to 32 more ingredients. My red flags are "enriched", which follows with words that I can't pronounce very well, caramel coloring (my food has to be colored to make me want to eat it?), flavorings (what's wrong with natural flavors and what are these 'flavorings' anyway?!), high fructose corn syrup (sugar), hydrolyzed corn (I'm not quite sure what this means, but it sounds like a machine is involved), enzyme modified cheese (modified...into what?), and then there is chloride and inosinate,and guanylate (what in the world?!!!). Why are we eating this?!!! Because mommy is lazy, and most mommies haven't sat down and considered all of this. So I have now. Everything has sugar and corn in it! This particular product has even added high fructose corn syrup so that my kids will beg me for it when we go to the grocery store, or complain that mine is not as good!

So can you guess what sparked this blog entry? The can of spaghetti and meatballs that I bought at the grocery store because my kids were with me and begged me for it! So do I let them eat it for dinner tonight? Or do I throw it away in protest and go against my nature to waist food?

hmm...I think this should not qualify as food...what do you think?

Buying Locally Grown- Here's Why, Here's How

In the summer and fall, I enjoy going to the Farmer's Market in Murfreesboro (Near Sam's Club) and finding veggies and more, in season, that taste and smell more vibrant. Winter months are slower for the farmer's variety, but there is still produce to choose from. I have considered CSA's (Community Supported Agriculture) in the previous year, but have shied away at the thought of not utilizing everything I recieve in my box because of the ages of my children and the preferred tastes of my husband and I. Today, I found the Locally Grown website that makes it so easy to see what is currently available from local farmers and order what you want. You pay when you pick up, and you choose from several pick up locations. I like that! It makes it easy and more convenient to fit it in with my weekly grocery management as opposed to committing to a whole season. Here is a link to the Q & A's of exactly how it works, and from there you can go on to check out the individual farmers and products. As Crossfitters and the health conscious, I hope we can be large supporters of our local farmers. I hope you check it out today! Or, if you already do something of the sort, tell us where and what and why you like it.