For 2ozs. of dressing you could have a steak
For 2ozs. of dressing you could have a steak
Arby’s Buttermilk Dressing
2oz. packet = 30 grams fat
290 calories, 270 from fat
7oz. Sirloin Steak = 11 grams fat
calories 278, 95 grams from fat
Santa Fe Chicken Chili
Autumn is here and there is a chill in the air. When you feel that chill does your thoughts turn to a nice bowl of hot chili? If so you will love Santa Fe Chicken Chili.
I found this recipe in an issue of Country Woman several years ago and it is a favorite with both family and friends. Not only is it full of flavor, you can make it a day ahead or double the recipe and freeze extra for a day when you need something on the table fast.
To make this chili as healthy as it is full of flavor I use less oil and made a small change in the way it is prepared.
Ingredients
2 Lbs. chicken breast, boneless/skinless
cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 red peppers, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil /I use 2 Tblsps.
2 tsps. cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 large onions, chopped
1 – 28oz. can diced tomatoes/undrained
2 – 14oz. cans chicken broth/low-fat
2 – 15 1/2oz. cans kidney beans/drained & rinsed
1 – 12oz. jar salsa
I double the amount of salsa
1- 10oz. pkg. frozen corn
light salt (opt)
black pepper (to taste)
Original recipe:
In the original recipe the chicken and vegetables are browned together
in 1/4 cup olive oil. After the chicken is cooked through the rest of
ingredients are added to the same pan. Not only is this a lot of
unnecessary fat the fat from the chicken is absorb by the vegetables.
My version:
In large skillet brown chicken until no longer pink, with slotted spoon remove
chicken to a large kettle or 5qt. Dutch Oven.
Add 2 tblsps. olive oil, peppers, garlic, and onions, cook until vegetables are
tender, about 5 minutes.
Next add chili powder, cumin, cayenne and black pepper, and salt (opt), stir for
1 minute. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for
30 minutes.
Rudi's Organic Bakery
Finding bread without high fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (trans-fats) can be compared to searching for a needle in a hay stack; after a long search I found a bread without either ingredient.
Honey Sweet Whole Wheat Bread
produced by Rudi’s Organic Bakery
Rudi’s uses all organic ingredients, has no trans-fats, and is sweeten with cane juice, honey, and molasses; a much better choice than high fructose corn syrup. Another plus is that each slice of bread contains three grams of fiber, that is a great source of fiber.
Why not use High Fructose Corn Syrup?
A little sugar for most of you is not a bad thing, HFCS may be another story. This sweetener is used in most commercially produced foods because it is cheap and extends the shelf life of most foods.
High fructose corn syrup is made through a complicated chemical process using cornstarch. Your body, not clear on just how it should metabolize this substance, sends HFCS straight to your liver. After it enters your liver HFCS behaves more like a fat than glucose.
Researchers from Harvard Medical School and around the world have discovered links between heart disease, diabetes, and even possibly liver problems and the high consumption of high fructose corn syrup.
A study done with 50,000 U.S. nurses found those drinking one soda or fruit punch a day gained weight. The nurses drinking more than one a day increased their risk of developing diabetes by 80%.
In men, not women, HFCS increases triglycerides, blood fats that increase the risk of heart disease.
Artificially flavored fruit pieces
A friend brought this product to my attention-
Quaker Oatmeal to go; natural and artificial flavored fruit pieces
Two questions immediately popped into his mind-
- Since when does fruit need to be artificially flavored?
- Doesn’t fruit come with it’s own flavoring?
Water; keep out of the reach of children
Water, you constantly hear drink at least eight glasses a day. This clear liquid is essential for life: you can not survive more than 5 or 6 days without it. Most doctors and nutritionist will tell you not only is it essential for life but proving to be a dieters best friend. The next time you are craving a candy bar try a glass of water, you may be surprised to find you no longer desire the candy bar.
This wonderful beverage has no calories, no fat, no sugar, and contains no alcohol; what beverage could possibly be more diet friendly? Imagine my surprise when at my local supermarket I spotted bottled water designed to help you lose weight. Since there is nothing to take out I checked to see what ingredient may have been added.
The first brand I checked contained garcinia cambogia; studies have shown this herb to help mice lose weight but no evidence of weight loss in humans. ABC news did an experiment with Jennifer and Lauren ( sisiters ); Jennifer drink regular bottled water at $6 a case and Lauren drank bottled water containing garcinia cambogia at $40 a case. At the time of the experiment neither sister knew which bottled water they were drinking. Their instructions was to drank a bottle 30 minutes before each meal and another 2 to 4 bottles at some other time during the day. During a four week period Jennifer lost 6 1/2 lbs. dranking bottled water at $6 a case, Lauren lost 5 lbs. dranking bottled water at $40 a case.
The one plus here is that even though garcinia cambogia may not aid in weight loss at least there are no harmful side effects. The same can not be said for yohimbe alkaloids contained in the second brand of diet water. I will add here that this brand of water has a warning label stating “Keep out of the reach of children” and “Sale to minors not recommended“.
Yohimbe alkaloids come from the bark of a tree in Africa; sold in health food stores as a natural aphrodisiac, to treat erectile dysfunction, weight loss, and depression. Some have even smoked yohimbe as a hallucinogen.
In Germany the Commission E, the country’s herbal regulatory agency, has yohimbe on its list of unapproved herbs.
The commission warns
People with kidney or liver disease, stomach ulcers, heart disease, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, post traumatic disorder, and panic disorder should not take yohimbe.
There is more but it would take close to another paragraph to list all the warnings.
Maybe it is wise to stick with just regular tap water, it is not only going to save you money, it may save your life.
Would you like some melted Tupperware on your toast?
This is the question most often asked when comparing margarine to butter. Margarine was originally created to fatten up turkeys, just one major problem, it killed the turkeys. As you might imagine those who had money invested in this adventure were a little upset over the money they lost. The color yellow was added, a few different flavors and now margarine is the butter of choice in many homes.
It is true that margarine has 5 grams of saturated fat compared to 8 grams for the same amount of butter. The problem is that margarine is high in trans-fats; one of the leading causes of coronary heart disease.
If you are buying margarine check the list of ingredients, if you see partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, consider the following:
Compared to eating the same amount of butter
- Margarine and butter have the same amount of calories
- Margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53%
- Any nutritional value in margarine has to be added, butter has many
- Lowers the quality of breast milk
- Decreases your body’s immune response
- Decreases your body’s insulin response
The fact that I find not only surprising but frighten, there is only one molecule difference between the margarine you spread on your toast and the container it comes in. There are some new and improved margarines appearing in your grocery stores now, but please, before you take one home check the list of ingredients.
Beware of Your Morning Cereal
I’m a terribly slow shopper. It’s not unusual for me to spend an hour just picking up a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk. It’s not that I have a thing for grocery stores but because I constantly read labels.
Every week there’s another food product that claims to help you achieve perfect health. The latest on the ever-growing list of healthy foods is cereal. Just take a stroll down the cereal aisle and you’ll notice the words “whole grain” are impossible to miss even if you’re not looking for a whole grain cereal.
It’s true that “whole grain” is an important part of a healthy diet: other ingredients such as corn syrup, corn starch, hydrogenated vegetable and palm oils negate any health benefits whole grains may add.
Beware of the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Cereal producers want you to believe your health is their top priority. Unfortunately, the ingredients in their products say otherwise. This is why it’s crucial to always read the list of ingredients on food containers.
60% of our population is overweight, 30% of these are considered obese. If that is not enough to make you set up and pay attention consider this. In the United States there are approximately one million teens with high blood pressure, high blood-sugar, and other conditions that put them at high risk of coronary disease and diabetes; at one time considered adult onset diseases.
Am I suggesting that if you eliminate cereals from your diet this will improve your health? No; the right cereals can be a very important part of a healthy diet. What I am saying is that ingredients such as corn syrup, corn startch, hydrogenated vegetable and palm oil oil can sabotage an otherwise healthy eating plan.
The next time you do your grocery shopping, take some time to read the fine print on your food containers.
Multivitamins: Friend or Foe?
How you choose your multivitamin determines if it is your friend or foe. If you grab the first multivitamin you see off the shelf then you are leaving quality entirely to chance; read the label carefully and you will have a friend for life. I hear you saying there are so many out there how can you possibly know what to choose? Read on. Read More »
Labels: Reading Between the Lines
Labels are nothing more than slips of paper with words, yet marketing has mastered the art of placing just the right words on those slips of paper. The purpose is to make you feel secure in the knowledge that you do not have to think about what you are buying; all the information you need is in front of you. There are no better examples of this than in your grocery store where there is aisle after aisle of products that would appear to be healthy choices. If only things were as they appeared.
Once consumers started to demand reduced fat and non-fat foods, it was not long before there was an abundance of these products in your stores. The problem is that reducing the fat does not create a healthier product. Whole fat or reduced, they are still hydrogenated fats and are the trans-fatty acids, a leading cause of coronary disease. If healthier eating is your goal, leave these foods in your grocery store.
Years ago, I was taught that ingredients are listed according to the amount in a product; the more of an ingredient the higher on the list it appears. Sugar is certainly an exception to this rule. There are so many different names for sugar that the actual content is easily hidden. Sugar goes by many different names; to list them all would be a column in itself. Look for any word ending in “ose”, fructose, corn syrup, invert sugar. There is a lot of controversy on the sugars that are considered by many to be healthier, such as honey and molasses, so I leave that up to you.
L-gultamic acid occurs naturally in many foods such as tomatoes, mushrooms, and milk. Not only is L-gultamic acids found in many foods, it is also found in the cells of our body and in mother’s milk. Our bodies know exactly how to use L-gultamic acid in this form, so it is harmless. Then it is off to the factory with L-glutamic acid where it becomes D-glutamic acid better known as MSG. Your body thinks of MSG as a foreign object and does not digest it well. As with sugar the statement ”no MSG” can be misleading. In your list of ingredients look for calcium caseinate, yeast extract, or beef flavoring, all of which are still forms of MSG: For those of you who suffer severe reactions these ingredients are dangerous.
If your goal is to eat healthier skip the front of the label, skip the nutritional facts, and go straight to the list of ingredients.
Hi there. I'm Patricia Setzer, and I show you how to prepare your favorite foods in a way that can help boost your energy, maintain a healthy weight and improve your overall health ...