Almond Butter

Once Again Almond Butter

http://www.onceagainnutbutter.com/

Why This Product Rocks

I’m last one’s to knock good ole PB&J, but occasionally give jam this sweeter bread mate.

Yep, almond butter is pricier than peanut butter but the nutritional advantages and the unbeatable taste make it a worthwhile investment.

An increasing amount of almond butter is showing up at the grocer so go ahead and grab one but consider using your buying power to support smaller manufactures such as Once Again - a worker-owned cooperative based out of a small town in New York. Until May 31st they are offering 20 percent off their almond butter line which can be ordered from their website.

Body Benefits

Almond butter has twice the amount of good-for-you monounsaturated fat than peanut butter.
Almond butter also bests humbled peanut butter for the bone-building minerals calcium, magnesium and phosphorus and the fat-soluble antioxidant vitamin E.

Plus, it often comes sans the added sugars and hydrogenated oils stirred into many “non-natural” peanut butters.

The Institute of Food Research recently reported that almonds act as prebiotics meaning they function as a food for probiotics – the good bacteria in stuff like yogurt that restore a healthy balance of gut flora.

Several studies have also found an inverse relationship between nut consumption and blood cholesterol and, surprisingly enough, body weight.

Who Will Dig It

I never met a palate that didn’t dig almond butter

Who Will Toss It

Skippy

Find It At

Online or here is a list of distributors: http://www.onceagainnutbutter.com/Distributors/

Check the natural foods section of your grocery for other almond butter’s as well.

Carrot Salad with Almond Dressing

Eating rabbit food never tasted this good.

Makes 4 Servings

2 thick large carrots, peeled

1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup creamy almond butter

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

1½ Tbsp sodium reduced tamari or regular soy sauce

1 tsp honey

Pinch red pepper flakes

Using a box grater, shred carrots and place in a large bowl.
Add bell pepper, cilantro and raisins and mix. In a small bowl whisk together almond butter, lime juice, tamari, honey and pepper flakes. Add dressing to carrot mixture and mix thoroughly.
Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before serving.

Nutrition Facts (per serving): 190 calories, 5g protein, 27g carbs, 9.5g fat (1g sat fat), 3g fiber, 17g sugar, 325mg sodium

Bela-Olhao Sardines

BELA-Olhao Sardines

http://www.mybela.com/

Why This Product Rocks

Ok, I know what you might be thinking: Eww, sardines. But before you give up on this post, you should know that these sardines are nothing like the, well, fishy tinned sardines found at most supermarkets.

BELA-Olhão sardines are sustainably harvested from Olhão Portugal, a hardened fishing community, where they are processed and packed fresh within hours after the catch each day. This ensures that these diminutive swimmers don’t have that undesirable taste and, maybe most importantly if you plan on taking them to the office, smell that most of the canned sardines possess.

They’ll rock your tastebuds when smooshed on toast and topped with a good aged cheese. Several flavors such as cayenne, lemon and olive oil are available.

For those of you weary of munching on fish because of contamination concerns, you’ll be delighted to know that these sardines are free of toxins. Smaller fish tend to accumulate less.

Here is a good NY Times article on why you may want to consider eco-friendly small fish like sardines more often than salmon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/09/opinion/09grescoe.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ei=5087&em&en=c415a0d14bc34f45&ex=1213156800

Body Benefits

Cast your line for sardines and you’ll take in boatloads of ticker-friendly omega-3 fats, protein, vitamin B12, antioxidant selenium, bone-strengthening calcium, iron and vitamin D (sardines are a rare food source of this sunshine vitamin).

The latest research suggests that vitamin D can help fight dementia, high blood pressure and blood sugar in teens, obesity, depression, cold and flu, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Probably because, unlike other vitamins, vitamin D behaves more like a hormone.

Who Will Dig It
Greenpeace

Who Will Toss It
Farmed Atlantic Salmon

Find It

Mostly stores like Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Trader Joes. Click here for a store locator: http://mybela.com/storelocator.html

You can also get cases on their website.

Parchment Paper Rocks!

Got parchment paper? Steaming in parchment paper wraps, known in French cooking parlance as en papillote might just be the best cooking method that nobody is using. Here’s why you should use it for more than plopping your cookie dough on.

1) It’s ridiculously easy. Just drop your fixing’s down, fold and cook. Even hard for a culinary virgin to mess up.
2) Flavor snobs appreciate that items such as fish and poultry steam quickly yet tenderly in their own juices keeping things brilliantly moist.
3) Without the need to line a skillet or grill with oil, you cut back on calories.
4) Parchment paper is cheaper than say that bread maker which hasn’t seen flour since ’98.
5) You can cut down on the number of pans that accumulate in the sink.

While fish and parchment paper have always been best buds, this ultra-versatile cooking technique can be used for all sorts of goodies like seasonal vegetables, fruits, pasta, turkey and….drumroll please…toothsome desserts such as this.

Apple Crisp with Maple Yogurt













This recipe works equally well with peaches or nectarines.

Makes 2 to 3 Servings

2 apples, sliced thinly (leave the skin on, there is lots of nutrition there)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1.5 cups quick-cooking oats
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Zest of ½ of an orange
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup plain yogurt
1-2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1. To prepare the parchment paper for cooking, cut two individual 15 x 20-25-inch pieces. Fold each piece of paper in half crosswise. This will make a noticeable crease that runs down the center. With the paper folded, draw half of a heart shape on one side. Using scissors cut out the heart shape and open up the paper.
2. Preheat oven to 375°F.
3. In a small bowl, combine yogurt and maple syrup and set aside.
4. In a large bowl combine apples, sugar and vanilla. In a separate large bowl, mix together oats, walnuts, butter, orange zest, cinnamon and nutmeg.
5. Spread apple mixture evenly onto the two parchment paper hearts. Layer ingredients on one half of the sheet fairly close to the center fold. Don’t forget to leave at least a 1-inch border around the edges to allow for folding.
6. Top the fruit with the oat mixture and seal the paper. Starting at the top of the heart, fold the edges of parchment together, sealing the edges with tight, quarter-inch folds. Twist the end tip of the packet to secure the ingredients and tuck it underneath.
7. Cook packets in the oven for 20 minutes. The oats should have turned golden brown and the apples softened.

100 Calorie Snack Packs? No Way Hose-Hay!

While those 100 calorie snack packs such as chips, cookies and crackers are all the rage in the diet world these days, they are grossly over-priced.

Well Fed Man recently scoured the grocery store for a cost saving article as the economy sputters and found snack packs often cost two to three times more per unit compared to the larger packages they originate from. Save some green by buying big and portioning them out yourself.

Besides, as this study indicates, they don’t even work to keep your eating in check:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2235142/Diet-sized-snacks-make-you-eat-more.html

One of the healthiest, most economical snacks out there comes courtesy of those lowbrow popcorn kernels. Not only are they half to a third the price per unit of pretzels, chips and cookies, but popcorn – as long as it comes sans butter - is also a low-calorie, whole-grain, fiberrific snack. To rustle up your own just add a tablespoon of oil to a pan and cook 1/3 cup of kernels over medium heat with the lid slightly ajar to allow steam to escape. Cook until the popping greatly slows, making sure to shake the pan regularly.

Apollo Olive Oil

Apollo Olive Oil
www.apollooliveoil.com







Why This Product Rocks

It may come as a surprise to many, but not all sophisticated olive oil’s originate from across the Atlantic. With strict production regulations and passionate producers, California is pressing some of the best extra-virgin olive oils to be found. Apollo Olive Oil is by far one of the stand-outs.

Each of their three exceptional organic oils are cold-pressed using one of only five vacuum state-of-the-art mills in existence which maximizes the flavour and antioxidants that end up in each loved bottle.

Right now, I’m thoroughly enjoying dipping hearty bread into the Mistral one. The peppery buttery flavour and brilliant slight green hue is to die for. Simply one of the best olive oil’s to ever pass through my lips. That said, you can’t go wrong with the Sierra or Barouni one’s either. Worth every cent, even if you are Canadian and the dollar is sagging at the moment.

But I’m far from the only one praising these guys. Apollo Olive Oil was named one of the top ten olive oil producers on this big, blue marble by a no doubt olive oil snooty Milan judging panel.

You would think that such decent oil would be ridiculously expensive. But, at only 20 bucks for a 375ml bottle, they’re a steal.

For some light reading, here is an excellent article on why you should be weary about what olive oil you purchase. Apparently the business has some shady characters. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/13/070813fa_fact_mueller?currentPage=all

Body Benefits

New research from the University of California, Irvine, suggests oleic acid, an omega-9 fatty acid found in olive oil, may suppress your appetite.

One 2008 Journal of the Agricultural and Food Chemistry study found that polyphenol compounds in olive oil can halt bone loss.

These same polyphenols appear to be powerful natural anti-inflammatories that, when combined with the monounsaturated fat present in copious amounts in olive oil, can cut heart disease risk.

But don’t skimp. One study reported that virgin olive oil’s have the most polypenols compared to refined, pure versions.

Who Will Dig It

Olive oil aficionados

Who Will Toss It

Mr. Canola

Find It At

Online at www.apollooliveoil.com

Portion Distortion

Salba has more phat fat than salmon, really?

Anyone out there tossing Salba (chia) seeds on their morning oats? Sure these seeds (www.sourcesalba.com) are packed with nutrition such as fiber and omega-3 fats and are a great addition to a balanced, superfood diet but the marketing department behind them is employing a cleaver trick to make them sound much better than other wonder foods such as beans, salmon and asparagus.

A Salba brochure claims the nutty pipsqueak seeds have 50 percent more folate than asparagus, 16 times more essential fatty acids than salmon, 6 times more calcium than milk, 4 times more vegetable protein than kidney beans and so on. Sure this might be true gram for gram but let us get real here and look at the servings that any of us are actually going to consume.

1.5 tablespoons of Salba seeds – a somewhat reasonable portion – has 2.5g of protein. To get the same amount of protein found in 1 cup of canned kidney beans (again, a reasonable serving) you would have to down 5 tablespoons of seeds. Not likely.

1.5 tablespoons of Salba has 73 milligrams of calcium. To get the same amount of calcium found in 1 cup of 2% moo juice you would have to stomach 4 tablespoons of seeds.

This is a little trick that many health food companies employ to make their product seem “out of this world” awesome. Keep this in mind when comparing foods.