Yogurt for Breakfast

It has always surprised me that people don't like to eat breakfast.

I go to bed dreaming of what I'm going to eat and wake up ravenous and anxious to get cooking.

It doesn't bother me that thinking of a yummy, healthy breakfast takes some creativity. I usually start with a base of eggs or fruit, or both.

Today Oliver located our stash of frozen berries (dang these easy to reach freezer drawers). From there we added plain yogurt for protein and minerals and probiotics, flax for fibre and fats and maple syrup for sweetness and more natural minerals. The maple syrup my family's batch from this year; you can read about how to make your own maple syrup here.

But that's just one way to do yogurt.

1. Locate your yogurt. For an easy tutorial on how to make your own go here. If you want to buy it look for no added sugar or sweetener and don't get sucked into the fat-free ploy. Go dietary fats go!

2. Fruit. Bananas (+ peanut butter!), apples (+cinnamon!), peaches, pears, raspberries... the list is endless. No, really, check out the Wikipedia list of edible fruits. If that doesn't inspire you, I don't know what will. You can find some really cool fruits at your local Asian grocer; if you live in London check out Super King in the Westmount Mall plaza.

3. Sweetness. My go-to sweeteners would be maple syrup or honey. I also like brown rice syrup, agave nectar, stevia and sucanat. You can read my blog post about sweeteners here.

4. Add ons. As mentioned above, peanut butter and cinnamon are great on yogurt. My addition was flax seed this morning, but chia seeds and hemp hearts are great too. Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds are awesome, as are cashews, pecans and pine nuts. I love cacao nibs in my yogurt. I love allspice in my yogurt. How about some whole-grain cereals? A homemade granola would be wonderful. Go crazy!

If you're not in a yogurt mood, there are plenty of other options for breakfast and once you chose one, let your imagination run wild:
- A breakfast wrap
- Homemade oatmeal
- A smoothie
- A baked frittata
- Fresh muffins

There's totally no excuse for skipping breakfast when these options are at your fingertips. Try one today... or tomorrow morning I guess.

Cleansing with a Nutritional Shake

A few weeks ago I read about an awesome product on the blog that a friend of a friend of mine writes - Raw Judita. (You should check out her page - it's sweet - she's a gorgeous red head who eats only uncooked food. Yay.)

The product is called Rockin' Wellness and they make a super foods shake powder that you can drink to replace one meal a day as a sort of cleanse. After talking to them they challenged me to do a 45 day Rockin' Wellness Cleanse. And I couldn't say no!

So (starting shortly) I will be following these directions, for a month and a half:

• 2 scoops every morning before or instead of breakfast or lunch
• Mix with 14oz of almond or other non-dairy milk

Note: even when a product is fantastic, a "cleansing challenge" is best if you modify your diet during it too - so I'm going to make an attempt to eat extra raw fruits and vegetables during the 45 days. Also note: I'm going to be using mainly homemade nut milks with no added sugar. This will decrease the amount of calories from carbohydrates, but it'll also affect the taste.

The shake contains tons of amazing stuff like cacao (the rawest form of chocolate), goji berries, yerba mate, chia, maca... I'm in heaven. As a veteran health food store associate - I know the benefits of taking these foods daily will be incredible!

So I'm looking forward to sharing my journey with you. I do have some worries. Let me share.

Worry #1

I am a "salty" person all the way. Give me a piece of toast vs a fudgy brownie and I'll take the toast every time. So how am I going to do on the days when I have only a chocolate shake for breakfast? Will I be left craving my usual poached egg, avocado sandwich, etc?

Worry #2

Will I still feel hungry? I have the metabolism of a ravenous cocaine addict. I am constantly eating - this has to do with being a breastfeeder too. So I hope that 2 scoops of this shake will keep me going until lunch.

Worry #3

Will I see a difference? Not to sound vain but I do feel that I'm in good health. I am at a healthy weight, feel good, have many of the indicators of good health (clear skin, afternoon energy, light coloured pee, quickly growing hair...) Often when someone has great success with a program like this you'll hear claims like "I lost 15 lbs! I went off of my diabetes medication! My doctor said my gout was gone!" but what will I say? We'll find out...

So here's my starting point. I am not beginning the 45 days today but I will very soon and I'll be sure to keep you updated.

Height: 5 foot 8 inches - I don't suspect this will change :)

Weight: Around 128 (I was last weighed at 120 but I was under a lot of stress then so I think I was lower than usual)

Energy: Pretty good, especially in the morning, but only lasts until about 9pm and then I crash

Hair/skin/nails: Great I think... My hair grows quickly. My nails are average. I guess my hair and skin sometimes feel dry but I credit that to the weather.

Usual diet: "Salty breakfast" with a coffee. Bits and bites here and there throughout the morning (I work around food). A healthy, balanced lunch around noon with fruit for dessert, and water to drink. Another snack in the afternoon that may or may not be healthy. (It can be anything from hummus and cucumber to leftover chocolate cake.) Sometimes a second coffee. More water. Dinner is almost always a protein, a grain and a veggie. I might find a piece of chocolate to eat for dessert. Actually, I do totally crave sugar when I'm done dinner. It's a weird Pavlovian response.

Other concerns: My hormones are weird because I'm breastfeeding. My "moon cycles" are like every 3 months. (Every girl's dream?) My immune system is actually kind of bad right now - most of my life it's been good but the past year or so it's been failing me. Bathroom stuff is all good. I don't exercise much but I still feel strong and flexible.

So I think that's about it! It will be fun to see what happens because of adding this.

Purchase here: http://www.rwshake.com/dfLT

How to Make it SWEET

Sugar can come from so many places - sugarcane, beets, corn - and it can also be faked like in the case of Splenda. With all of these options, how do you choose a sweetener?

When evaluating sweeteners there are so many things to consider. I like to look most at its source and processing, as well as its nutrient content and its resulting effect on your health. Those focusing on weight loss may look at calories, diabetics may look at its glycemic index. It's also good to consider the ease of use and versatility, the availability, the taste, the shelf life and, of course, the price.

White sugar is a highly processed product refined from the sugarcane plant. It is terrible for your nervous system and kidneys, and negatively effects your mood, metabolism and ability to absorb nutrients from other foods. It has 45 calories per Tablespoon. It comes in different forms for different purposes: granulated is the regular stuff, castor is a bit finer and powdered (confectioner's or icing) is very light. The nice thing about white sugar is that since most recipes call for it, you don't need to figure out a substitution.

Sugar alcohols are refined from fruits and vegetables. Because the body doesn't absorb them as well they only contain 29 calories per Tablespoon. They're also slightly less sweet, but don't have a bad aftertaste. Xyltitol is the most common one, and has a glycemic index (GI) of 13 which is very low. They can pretty much be substituted 1 to 1 in all recipes. The good is: since yeast and bacteria can't use it well, it's a good choice for Candida diets, and for oral health. The bad is: being poorly absorbed it can end up having a laxative effect if you use it often.

When sugar is processed there is a syrupy byproduct called molasses. It tastes strong and sort of burnt due to its high mineral content - higher if you choose black strap over fancy. You can use 1 1/3 cup in place of 1 cup of sugar, but try to reduce the recipe's other liquids by 1/3 cup. It has 58 calories per Tablespoon.

Raw sugar, or cane sugar, is a broad term that means different things depending who you ask and where you are. The most raw sugar is succanat which is made from sugarcane juice that has been filtered, evaporated and crystallized. Brown sugar is white sugar with molasses added so it technically contains minerals but they aren't naturally occurring. The different classes - demarara, muscavado, turbinado - all have varying levels of molasses. They can all be substituted 1 to 1 and have about 51 calories per Tablespoon but I'd recommend succanat as the best. They all taste great!

Then there are powder-style sugars made from other plants - coconut, dates, corn... They typically taste like their source, which can be great, are subbed 1 to 1, and have about 45 calories per Tablespoon. Coconut sugar is somewhat expensive. Corn syrup is the liquid form and has been criticized in the media - for good reason: it has been linked to many health problems and ethical/social issues with world food distribution and agricultural politics.

There are many delicious, sweet syrups that come from natural sources. Honey is made through beekeeping and is therefore not considered vegan. When raw or unpasteurized it is antibacterial and can even help alleviate environmental allergies if it has been produced locally. Honey has a relatively high GI (75) and caloric value per Tablespoon (64) but because it's nice and sweet you can use it sparingly. About 3/4 cup will replace 1 cup of sugar in a recipe. Honey contains many nutrients and is a good work-out food. Maple syrup is the result of boiling down tree sap. It has my favourite taste of all sweeteners and contains many important minerals. It has 65% sucrose but a hefty dose of zinc and also the much coveted manganese. It has 52 calories per Tablespoon and you'll need a bit more than a cup to use as a sugar substitute. Once opened it'll keep in the fridge for a long time. Barley malt is made from a grain and is similar to other syrups except that it is very low in sucrose. Same substitution as maple syrup but it has closer to 60 calories per Tablespoon. The biggest downfall? It is not gluten-free. Brown rice syrup is gluten-free and contains great nutrients including many minerals and sugars that are 50% in the form of maltose. It has 55 calories per Tablespoon, requires 1 1/2 cups to sub a cup of sugar and is often expensive. Agave nectar is extracted from the same cactus that they make tequila out of. It is low in sucrose and has a low GI. It tastes great! You only need 2/3 cup to substitute. My favourite thing about agave, other than memories of Mexico, is that it dissolves easily in cold liquids. It has 60 calories per Tablespoon.

Stevia is a super sweet plant sold in three forms: a spoonable powder (subs cup for cup), an extract (use only 1 tsp per cup) and a liquid (also 1 tsp per cup). It doesn't taste perfect but it does have 0 calories. It is my go-to sweetener for lemonade.

Lastly there are sucralose (Splenda), saccharin (Sweet n Low), aspartame (Equal) and more, but frankly I don't like them! They are created in labs with chemicals and do not fare well in studies looking out for your health.

So which sweetener do you like?

Updates!

I start so many things and don't remember to let my blog readers know the progress or outcome. Very bad!

I am now almost seven months pregnant. I feel the baby kick, move and do daily P90X exercises probably 400 times a day. We don't know the sex - this has proven to be very exciting! I'm really happy that Calvin made that call and encouraged me not to find out because had I, we would have only the joy of a nicely coloured room and wardrobe and none of the joy of the excitement of not knowing. It seems like a small thing, and dull in comparison to the rush of seeing your baby for the first time, knowing they are healthy, etc. but I promise that the "it's a boy" or "it's a girl" moment is right up there is anticipation for both of us. We have some baby showers lined up which is great and we're putting together lists of what we want and need. We know for sure we'll be breast feeding, if all goes well. For that I'll be taking New Roots Mama Milk tincture and probably a daily tea of various herbs. (I'll also be taking red raspberry tea starting soon to help with uterine muscle toning.) We are still so undecided about vaccination because new pros and cons come up every day. Minor ones like chicken pox are a no brainer - my child doesn't need a needle to protect it from a few itchy bumps. But ones that impact the ability to attend school, and travel, are trickier.

My garden is growing and wonderful. I have a planter box attached to my deck of beautiful herbs, and another planter box that I call the salad box, which has various edible microgreens including spinach. Then there's a ground planter of mint (can be invasive, not going to put it in the ground for fear it'll take over) and a planter of cherry tomatoes so that I can grab them nice and quick right outside the sliding glass door. The main plot has a flower section (lilac and sunflowers), the berry forest (strawberries, raspberries and a cedar) and the veggie plot which has tomatoes, onions, carrots, zucchini, cucumber, corn, beans, squash, pumpkin, kale, broccoli, peppers and eggplant. I might be forgetting something but I think I have it all, short of an orchid in my front entrance.

I am exactly half way through my school courses. Two down, two to go. It is very interesting and definitely preparing me for wherever natural nutrition will take me, career-wise.

I will finish off with a "recipe" for a nice warm-weather drink, one that I am enjoying right now. You typically see recipes for whole pitchers of beverages but when you just want a cup for you here's an easy way to do it.

Mint Lemonade

In a heat proof glass or mug, mix 6 fresh mint leaves with 1/2 cup boiling water. Let sit for 2 minutes.
Add 10 drops stevia extract.
Add 2 T lemon juice.
Fill the glass or mug to the top with ice and drink, making sure not to swallow any mint.

Grow Your Own: Stevia

When I think of the good qualities of a sweetener what comes to mind is: cheap, delicious, natural, low calorie, non-cavity-promoting and, well, sweet. Stevia is all of these things and more. It's a bushy green plant you can grow yourself and when the leaves are dried they are incredibly sweet like sugar. They make a great addition to tea, lemonade, even baking. Everyone should grow it. Here's how.

Obtain stevia seeds - I've seen them at most hardware/camping stores.

Start them indoors if you plan to start your season before frost. If it's already, say, mid-May then you can direct sow. Keep your seeds a good 10 inches apart because it spreads. It can also grow high, over a foot at least, so consider trellising.

Water, but don't over water. Stevia's roots grow shallow so they'll need a shower often but too much water will be worse than not enough. It also doesn't need much nitrogen in the soil so don't grow it around beans or peas, and don't throw old coffee grounds near them, but do add compost to the soil. Compost is a gardener's best friend.

When tiny leaves have formed, hand pick them and keep them in a metal tin to dry. They can then be ground further into a powder and used to sweeten just about anything.

For sweetening 2 Tbsp of ground stevia = 1 cup of sugar but of course if you're baking your wet/dry ingredient ratio will have to be played with a little, as with your oven's temperature.

In an old family-sized pickle jar add 2 teabags, a few lemons, sliced, and a dash of stevia leaves. Fill with water to the top and leave in the sun. Nothing is better.