Banana, Coconut, Bluberry,Walnut Bread

I absolutely love bread, all kinds. I always say "the more stuff in it, the better."
I basically look in my cupboard and start adding whatever I can see, raisins,oatmeal,peaches,apples,coconut,nuts,cereal,pears,cranberries,carrots,etc.... I found this delicious recipe but changed it a bit to make it healthier. I enjoy breads that are very dense and less sweet so adjust it to fit your tastes.


1/4 cup softened butter or 1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup sugar (tried it with 1/4 cup instead for a less sweet bread)
1 cup flour (Can use wheat or white)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 large very ripe bananas
5 tbsp + 1 tsp vanilla yogurt (I used non fat)
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1/2 tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray. Cream together the butter and sugar with a mixer. Add the egg mixing thoroughly. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and the baking soda. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, alternating with the yogurt - make sure to start with flour and end with flour.

Place the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat and cook for a 3-4 minutes, tossing frequently. Set aside and cool. Mash the bananas very well with a fork. Gently add the smashed bananas, vanilla, toasted nuts and coconut into the batter then carefully stir until combined. Fold in blueberries, reserving a few for the top of the loaf. Pour the batter into the bread pan then sprinkle the remaining blueberries on top.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until tester comes out of the center of the loaf clean. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a rack. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing. Serve warm with butter. Enjoy.

Lifting weights before or after aerobic workouts?

I don't really enjoy lifting weights, in fact I would rather run my legs off then lift weights but we all know that more muscle burns more fat so it must be incorporated. I typically do it last of the workout routine because I enjoy the cardio more. I was reading about lifting weights and came across this question and answer.

Is it better to lift weights before or after an aerobic workout?
Answer

If you want to include both weightlifting and aerobic exercise in the same workout, it's generally best to lift weights first. You'll have more energy at the beginning of your workout, which may result in a more productive weightlifting session. If you save the weightlifting until after your aerobic workout, you may be too fatigued to lift weights with proper form. This could lead to injury. Better yet, lifting weights first can boost your fat-burning power during the aerobic part of your workout. The principle is simple. Weightlifting can deplete your "quick burst" energy (glycogen) stores. When you do your aerobic workout after lifting weights, you'll likely burn less glycogen and more stored fat.

I'm not so sure I will switch but maybe give it a try if you hate lifting weights like I do.

Peanut Butter Overload

I get on these "kicks" if you will, where I rediscover something that I love. This week it has been Peanut Butter. I have always liked peanut butter but this week it has become a LOVE. I hate to admit it but I overdosed on it the last two days until I was sick. I have had to recommit myself to only eating small amounts and remembering that when we "mess" up on eating healthy there is always tomorrow to try again. I am working on not being angry at myself when these days occur but only to reevaluate why it happened and what I'm going to do to prevent it again. These are keys in changing our eating habits. There will be times when we can't eat healthy or don't make the choice but there is always tommorrow. So I got on the internet to read about Peanut Butter. Is it good for us or not? I found many articles but this summed it up:

Peanut butter is definitely a 'fitness-friendly' food. Despite its high fat content most of which is the 'healthy' kind - recent studies show that both peanuts and peanut butter are good for your heart. And, when used probably as part of a healthy eating plan, they're also very effective weight loss tools.


Over 80% of the fat in peanuts is monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, both of which lower blood cholesterol levels. A Purdue University study showed that people who ate 500 calories worth of peanuts per day (about half a cup) for 8 weeks experienced a significant drop in triglyceride levels (a heart disease risk factor) while blood levels of folate, magnesium, and soluble fiber - all important for heart health - significantly increased!

Be careful of amount consummed. 2 TBSP is a serving and is enough for one day. It does have high calorie and fat intake so a little bit goes a long ways. Anything in moderation is good for you. Strive to buy the natural kind of Peanut Butter such as Adams, typically it is pure peanuts without the preservatives and added oil.

Here are some of my favorit snacks with Peanut Butter:
Celery Sticks------Filled with Peanut Butter and topped with a few almonds
Skim milk----1 TBSP Peanut Buttter----1/2 Bannana with ice cubes in the blender
Whole Wheat Toast-----Peanut Butter melted (Peanut Butter melted spreads further)
Peanut Butter-------Rice krispies added----topped with a few chocolate chips

5 Hidden dangers for kids and food

These were things that I already knew but were a good reminder. Why I am trying to eat healthy, I sometimes don't always fix the healthiest things for my kids.

Cereal: The vast majority of cereals that kids beg for are loaded with added sugars. A bowl of trix has more sugar than most ice cream bars. For us mixing a healthy with a "fun" cereal is a great compromise.

Juice: Most of the individually packaged juices like Capri Suna nd Sunny Delight are merely glorified sugar water. Even 100% juice drinks don't always deliver the best nurtition. The best juices are orange, cranberry or grapefruit, they contain the least sugar.

Lunch Snacks: "Fruit" snacks might as well b called gummy bears, and most granola bars are held togethe by high-fructose corn syrup. Make sure when giving a snack it is low in high-fructose syrup and less tha 10 grams of sugar. Healthy alternatives would be string cheese, peanut butter crackers, or pretzels dabbed in chocolate.

Bread: White bread in supermarkets are loaded with refined white flour and high-fructose syrup. They are both known to spike blood sugar levels and then sending our little ones on a carb crash. Start young with whole wheat grain bread and avoid the sugar high.

Vegetables: If you pass the ranch or cheeze whiz evertime your kid eats a vegetable you are loading them with saturated fat. Start at the beginning giving them vegetables with some butter or spices instead.

I have to add that finding a balance is what it is all about. Kids obviously need to eat these things once in awhile to explore their taste buds. I found it a good reminder for me.

"Egg-cellent" nutrition

I have been eating new recipes and new ideas for breakfast. Eggs being one of them. I use to eat cold cereal almost everyday and not particularly the best kind. Most cereal has a lot of sugar even cereals you wouldn't expect. They recommend eating a cold cereal with less than 5 grams of sugar per serving. Look on your label, you'll be surprised to see the sugar content, even cereals like Raisin Bran have a lot of sugar. Anyway, my new love has been in Eggs. I really enjoy this breakfast...

2 Egg whites
TBSP of skim milk to fluff them up a bit :)
salt and pepper
Put on an open face piece of wheat bread and top with slices of tomato and homemade salsa. It is delicious and is extremely good for you.
Calories-100
Fat-.5 (from the bread)
Protein-8 grams
Carb-- 0 grams
Lycopene- Daily dose from tomatoes

Eggs in general are very good for you. The egg yolk contains all the cholesterol and fat while the egg white contains the protein and no fat. Eating one egg yolk a day won't hurt you if you don't like egg whites but when losing weight and cutting calories egg whites are a great alternative. Try it if you love eggs such as I or just need some new breakfast ideas.

Walking vs.Running

I enjoy both running and walking when it comes to working out but often wonder the pros and cons of both. I get many opinions and advice about this subject, so as I was reading I came to this conclusion from this article.

For many people it comes down to a decision between walking and jogging. So which of those two will help you lose the most weight? Which is better for your general health? What are the dangers?

Reporter Brooke Hanson puts her best foot forward to find the pros and cons of walking versus jogging.

The test

At the University of Melbourne's department of physiology, Dr Gordon Lynch studies the effect of exercise on our bodies.

"Running and walking are both fantastic exercises and both are going to be great for our health," says Dr Lynch.

But which is better?

Gordon's got a test in mind for Brooke and her student mate Andrew — who admits he's not quite at peak fitness.

"I'm fit for what I do, I suppose, [but] probably not as fit as I should be."

So it's a simple treadmill test. Brooke and Andrew's heart rates will be measured as will their oxygen use and calories burned. Brooke: Just walking, Brooke's heart rate is 79 beats a minute. By the time she's hit a good running pace of about 12km/h, her heart rate has climbed to 159 beats per minute. That's a solid work out.

Andrew: Given Andrew's lower fitness level, he's kept to a solid walk, and his results will be used as a comparison to running. Andrew's walking heart rate is already one hundred and eight — he's struggling.

Andrew: "I'm feeling much more unfit than I did before, after looking at the numbers ... "

Results

So first up, the test has shown that we all need to find our own exercise level, but what else has it told us about running versus walking?

Lets start with weight loss:

That boils down to who burns more calories. "The food we eat is energy in and how we exercise, how we burn energy, is energy out, so the balance between energy in and energy out is whether we increase or decrease weight," explains Dr Lynch. By running, Brooke was burning energy at twice the rate of Andrew walking — 10 calories a minute to his five.

So in terms of weight loss, running wins hands down. In general, you have to walk nearly an hour, to get a similar weight-loss benefit to a half hour run.

"I started running when I was ten-years-old ... I was a skinny little kid who loved to run, it was only a matter of time before I started running marathons. I really love being able to just put on my shoes of a morning and then just go for a run, however far I want to go," says Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Kerryn McCann.

We know walking delivers similar benefits, but for the sake of the argument, which will give you more?

"Intensity is the key here," says Dr Lynch. "We need to make the exercise a little more intense if we're going to get the benefits for our health." Because running is more intense, the general health benefits are higher. Within reason, more pain is more gain … Brooke's mate Andrew's got some work to do.

There is one last arguement and that is injury. Clearly running is a tough impact on your body but if you build yourself up to it your body will get use to the jarring. For overweight or health problems, walking is better to start with.

So, for now I will continue to run and walk because I enjoy both. On days where the time is limited for me to get a workout it, a short run would be sufficient.

Pasta e Fagoi Soup

Last week we were sick in my family so I wanted to make some good hearty soup. This recipe turned out so great and healthy. The noodles make it fun for the kids.

2 tsp olive oil
1 italian sausage (optional)
1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 28 oz can of whole tomatoes, blended
4 cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup of the following: carrots diced, zuccini, and yellow squash
2 15 oz cans of white beans, drained
1 tsp of dried basil
1/2 tsp of dried oregano
Pinch of crushed red pepper
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
1 cup of tubed shaped pasta
1-2 cups of fresh baby spinach
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup brown sugar
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

Cook the sausage and onion, then add the vegetables until soft. Combine the rest of ingredients except noodles and spinach. Simmer soup for 3 hours. Before serving add the noodles and spinach. Cook for 1-2 more minutes and serve. It is delicious with a little bit of cheese on top.