Shameless Product Placement of October

Before we dive into this post, let me catch you up to speed. After all, it's been almost a month since you last heard from me.

I am going to be completely honest right now. I'm tired of studying and have had it up to here (makes motion to knees) learning and talking about nutrition. Don't worry Mom and Dad, I'm not dropping out of school or changing my major. I'm merely burning out. Not a big deal.  It's only October so there's no need to be concerned.  Furthermore, MLB playoffs are cutting into my sleep time and I've become addicted to online Scrabble. Thanks to Hasbro, I now have it on my phone and I am playing it EVERYWHERE. For instance, waiting in the check out line at Trader Joe's. I'm even to the point of asking random strangers on the T (Boston's subway) how to spell labyrinth. True story. My scrabble addiction shamelessly knows no bounds and it's actually inviting people into my life. Why?! How I am able to concentrate on a word game while riding the T is beyond me. Lately, my inner germaphobe has become quite ripe and freaks out about touching those hand poles. I'm beginning to feel like Monk. I mean, other people are noticing.

This Just In: "A girl was found on the T last night, selling her Trader Joe's groceries to anyone willing to lend her their pocket dictionary. Authorities are concerned online gaming could be a gateway activity for much more reckless hobbies like bocce ball, table tennis and charades. No word yet on whether she got a triple word score using plankton. And coming up, why she had twelve hand sanitizers in her backpack. Stay tuned."

This is honestly what my life feels like. I think this Scrabble frenzy is really just a vehicle for diversion.  When you take five graduate level classes in a semester, I think screws slowly start to come out. You decide you have to start reclaiming your life by placing imaginary boundaries where they shouldn't be. I'm sure further posts will explore my (delusional) school rules surrounding not doing homework between the hours of three and five pm, mandated Wheat-Thins-eating while I do weekly biostatistics assignments and compulsive bathroom studying to avoid the constant distractors one finds in a 300 square foot apartment.

It is this very burnout you have to blame for my lack of posts.  Time is an obvious finger-pointing factor for my blog's slow death.  More so, it's my exhausted nutrition mindset that is entirely over reading, writing and talking about food. To help get my creative juices flowing, I actually looked up burnout in the dictionary...

"To be completely consumed and thus no longer aflame. To ruin one's health or become completely exhausted through overwork."

I am no longer aflame! This is serious. Graduate school is like a Bill Cosby sweater.  You put it on, where it out and feel pretty great about it until that one person starts talking about JELLO and you realize you made a huge mistake. That simile made no sense at all. And on that note, I should probably get to the point of this post. So let's talk about, ugh, food.  Shoot me. 

Instead of discussing enzymes, glycogen, adipocyte formation or ketones, I'd like to make this post about a product I love. KIND Bars. In the tradition that is October, I thought I would post my version of a candy bar.  Don't get me wrong; I can get down with a Snickers, Milky Way or 100 Grand any day of the week. But when I'm feeling calorie or ingredient conscience, this is what I reach for.

By now you can probably guess what I like most about KIND Bars. It's their short and simple ingredient lists. You can see everything in the bar that is on the label.  No unpronounceable additives or hidden preservatives. They come in wonderful flavors like Apple Cinnamon Pecan, Fruit & Nut Delight, and Almond & Apricot.

You're inner sweet tooth junky is either a) screaming or b) crying right now.  She said it was like a 'candy bar.' Anything that contains a fruit shouldn't fall into that category. You're ruining the one thing I love in an attempt to make it healthy! Settle down. My favorite of all the KIND bars is the Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew.  It still has fruit, but you're going to have to get over that because the thing is coated in dark chocolate.

One (1.4oz) bar has 180 calories, 9 grams of fat and 14 grams sugar.  For fun let's compare that to a Snickers. One (2oz) Snickers bar has 270 calories, 14 grams of fat and 28 grams of sugar.  Truly though, there's no need to sell you on this point because no matter how much better the nutrition profile is on Kind Bars, they are downright delicious.  I wouldn't go as far as to say they are nutritious, but when compared to a Snickers, they are less damaging.

Let me put it to you this way. If, due to my erratic behavior, ceaseless rambling and overall odd behavior, I were banished to a deserted island where I could no longer inflict myself upon others and I was allowed three things, a life time supply of KIND bars would be on that list.  A girl needs reliable sustenance after all.  No, but seriously, they're that good.

I'm still working on the other two items. I've been mulling this one over for a while and all I come up with are items in lifetime supply quantities.  Can I do that? What a difficult question.  I've heard people say they would bring a photo album of their friends and family and that makes me laugh right out loud.  I mean if you want to survive, you're wasting your genie wishes on perishable nostalgia. Mark my words; those photos will be used as kindling within the first week.  Plus I have this theory that if you were dumb enough to bring photos, the people would start disappearing from them. You know, like what happened to Marty McFly's family photo in Back to the Future. Items I've considered more seriously include toothpaste, tents, and duct tape - remember - in lifetime supply quantities! Not that toothpaste will save my life, but I've got a thing about dental hygiene so I view that one more as a psychological aid.

Kind Bars can be found in Whole Foods, REI and should be available in your neighborhood grocery store. Check them out! They are worth it.  For more information about Kind Health Snacks check out their website here.

Shameless Product Placement of June

Holy freaking moly. How is it already the last day of June. When I got home from work Monday night, I sat down to ponder what my next blog post would be. After taking a few moments to review my monster list of topic ideas, the date hit me like a brick in the face. I quickly realized a shameless product placement was in order. They're not always the most informative pieces, but they are easy.  Much like CSPAN, these posts are nearly effortless and run the risk of putting you to sleep. You're welcome.

I cannot continue without first acknowledging this Blagojevich situation. How could he have possibly thought he could sell Obama's Senate seat and not get caught in the process? We're talking about a man whose dismissal from The Apprentice was reportedly due to his technological inadequacies. He literally could not use a computer or text for that matter. On Monday he was found guilty on 17 counts of wire fraud, attempted extortion, soliciting bribes, conspiracy to commit extortion and conspiracy to solicit and accept bribes. I would think that in order to even attempt getting away with any of this, some knowledge of how to operate an iPhone would be necessary. This isn't Hogan's Heroes.  

Now then, the Shameless Product Placement of June is....

Natural Peanut Butter 

I was a kid raised on Jiff. It was (and still is) delicious awesomeness. From the artery clogging sensation it induced to the way it cements to plates in the dishwasher, I genuinely loved everything about it. It sufficed for the first twenty or so years of my life. But the honeymoon had to eventually come to an end. A of couple years back, a cardiovascular surgeon was a guest at the after school program where I volunteered to help teach inner-city middle schoolers how to cook healthfully. He brought in real human hearts, each one having a greater degree of cardiovascular disease. They were interestingly disgusting. Being the strong stomached girl that I am, I fainted only four times, wet myself twice and threw up once. You'd think after one of those episodes, someone would have asked me to leave the room.

The demonstration continued on with a miniature Eat This Not That lesson: chicken over red meat, fruit over candy, olive oil over butter, blah blah blah. One topic discussed was trans fats. Thanks to the butter vs. margarine post from Monday, you've been well informed on trans fats. The thing about a lot of peanut butter products out there is they contain hydrogenated oil(s). That probably means nothing to most of you, so I encourage you to keep reading.  There's a prize at the end.

To put hydrogenation into laymen's terms, the word simply means to treat with hydrogen. By chemically introducing hydrogen to oils, it turns them into solid fats. It's a process done to extend a food's shelf life. You'll recall from butter vs. margarine that NYC health code prevents food service operations from using artificial trans fats. Hydrogenated oils are one such example.

There is a slight catch when it comes to fat labeling. A product can claim to be 'trans fat free' and list zero grams of trans fat on the nutrition label if there is less than 0.5g per serving. Okay, that's fine. However, that food doesn't necessarily remain trans fat free if you eat three servings of it. Enough about the mundane details of labeling, let's get to the good stuff.

Similar to all other products I've chosen to spotlight on this blog, the theme they all seem to carry is simplicity. All of them (all two of them) have contained a limited number of easy-to-read ingredients. This one is no exception.

Most natural peanut butters typically have one, maybe two, ingredients: peanuts and salt. Yes, this is the kind you have to stir and store in your refrigerator. Over the last three years I've tried numerous brands and various nut versions - think almond and cashew. As a former Jiff devotee, the best one I've found is Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter. It's sweet and has a normal peanut butter consistency, not that gritty texture other natural nut butters often bring to the table. Best of all, Smucker's has somehow discovered a way to make a natural peanut butter than requires little to no stirring.

Other than the traditional pb & j, I thought I'd give you some other unique ideas for ways to eat peanut butter.

1. Spread onto a frozen waffle for an easy on-the-go breakfast or snack
2. Stir it into your oatmeal as it finishes cooking and top with banana or apple slices 
3. Spread onto apple slices and top with granola
4. Put into a smoothie
5. Spread onto pretzels, graham crackers, or squares of dark chocolate

That list got increasingly decadent. For a while I boycotted peanut butter due it's fat content. Was I insane? Yes. Here's the thing about fat.  Like the infamous carbohydrate, fat should not be feared. Of the macro-nutrients, fat is the most complex one to digest and therefore, keeps you feeling full longer. If you disagree that capitalizing on satiety is not a fundamental part of weight loss and/or weight maintenance, meet me outside. But peanut butter isn't just a good source of fat, it also packs some protein.  Two tablespoons equals one ounce of protein.

Check this scrumptious stuff out!  No need to go to a health food store either. Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter can be found in your normal grocery store.  It's available in Creamy, Chunky, Honey, or No Salt Added. Come back next week for I don't know what, but it's sure to be fantastic.

Shameless Product Placement of May

Because the world didn't come to an end last weekend, I think we can all breathe a sigh of relief that Friday is finally upon us.  It feels good to be alive.  Although, I have to admit I'm a bit disappointed.  Harold Camping, the preacher who predicted our impending, all be it false, doom has made one hell of a shocking announcement this week. He did his math wrong.  I like a man who can openly admit he is wrong when the general public is unaware of his misstep.  It takes a large set of cahones to publically admit you're wrong, especially after you make the entire world acknowledge what you believe to be their death sentence.  He formally apologized about this on Monday, saying he did not have the dates "worked out as accurately as I could have." Wowsa.  Note to self: Always do your homework. Lucky for us, he has recalculated the date the world will end and now we have until the end of October to get our affairs in order.  Thank God.  I was worried. Having your will drawn up when all you own is a few pair of jeans and an ipod is STRESSFUL. And who does one leaves things to when the world ends? Probably no one, but I like having back up plans for my back up plans. Agh, I have so many unanswered questions.


Although we all only have a few short months left, I think we can all still enjoy the wonderful perks of food. Having said this, the Shameless Product Placement for the month of May  is...

Greek Yogurt

I know what you're thinking.  Kimberly, yogurt is for chicks. Kimberly, yogurt is disgusting. Kimberly, I hate how my toenails grow in various pointing directions.  It's okay.  It took me a while to get accustomed to Greek yogurt.  I've always loved yogurt, but that may be due to the fact that most of the flavored brands are loaded with sugar. Greek yogurt is thicker than traditional yogurt and has a slight tanginess to it. Regardless, it's the bee's knees.

The difference between traditional yogurt and Greek yogurt simply lies in processing. Obviously, both forms are made from milk. Regular yogurt is formed by introducing bacteria (probiotics) into the milk. This mixture then ferments to form its signature consistency. Greek yogurt is made in a near similar fashion. After the bacteria have been introduced to the milk, the mixture is then strained through cheese cloth and the extra liquid whey is drained out.

I've chosen to plug Greek yogurt this month for numerous reasons. One reason does not include the fact that the Yahoo! News Business page ran an article on the stuff this week entitled "Greek Yogurt: Weight Loss Secret for the Summer". Bologna. I love articles like this. She writes sarcastically.  Below I've provided you with the opening two sentences:

Need to lose weight you gained over the winter? Clinical research proves that a reduced-calorie diet that includes yogurt can encourage fat loss.

This is ground breaking.  A reduced-calorie diet encourages weight loss? Ugh I love when people claim the obvious to be something revolutionary. In addition to this, you could substitute almost any other "healthy" food for yogurt in that last sentence and the statement would still ring true: Carrots, beets, grapes, mangoes, etc.. I also found it interesting that this article was in the Yahoo! New Business section and not the Health section until I scrolled down to the bottom of the article where I learn it was written by Emily Neukircher from Sun Valley Dairy. Bingo. I've included this slightly obnoxious paragraph to encourage us all to be active readers when it comes to health related material. Being aware of where your writers are coming from can help you distinguish facts from advertisements.

Back to Greek yogurt.  For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to pick a brand to discuss. Oikos.  One 5.3 ounce container contains 0% fat and only 80 calories. The true claim to fame of Greek yogurt is the protein content. This small little container packs about 15 grams (2 ounces) of protein, making it a crazy good breakfast item or mid-afternoon snack. 

Like I mentioned before, eating Greek yogurt can take some getting used to. So to ease into all the deliciousness, my suggestion is simply dilution. This was how I first starting eating it. Half a cup of plain Greek Yogurt mixed with your favorite traditional yogurt. Feel free to add in berries, nuts, or granola.  After a while, the pain of mixing your yogurt will win out and you'll realize Greek yogurt is actually pretty good by itself. I regularly eat it in the morning with some kind of juicy fruit (mango, berries, or orange slices) and top it with some sliced almonds.  For a while I also used honey or agave nectar to sweeten it up a bit. 

Lastly, for all you bakers out there, Greek yogurt can easily be used in place of sour cream. Cutting the fat and boosting the protein content of any given baked good is truly a health nut's delight. I substitute plain Greek yogurt for sour cream in my Nana's blueberry muffins and my Mother's chicken enchiladas.  And I got to tell you, we can't tell the difference.

Look for Greek yogurt in your grocer's refrigerated dairy section. Other brands of Greek yogurt include Fage, Chobani, and Trader Joes. Greek yogurt can also be found in a wide variety of flavors if the plain isn't your cup of tea. Blueberry, strawberry, peach, lemon, honey, raspberry, pomegranate, vanilla and mango are just a few of the numerous flavors of Greek yogurt that are out there.  So check it out and enjoy!

Shameless Product Placement of April

Chicky Chicky Boom Boom, it’s Friday!

Reader, the cost of gas skyrocketed yesterday where I live.  And while looking at these prices on gas station price boards induces a nausea that rivals how I felt after watching Grease 2, my pain is your reward.  In an effort to conserve that liquid gold in my car's tank, I have holed myself up in the confines of my apartment.  And what better way to use my time than to work on my brand spanking new blog.

I am currently working on this month's nutrition hot topic. In the mean time, I wanted to introduce a monthly feature I'm calling...

Shameless Product Placement of the Month  

 I was initially going to make it a weekly thing, but quickly realized I don't have THAT many products I truly love in an unadulterated way.  I mean how many food products do I actually consume on a regular basis that I am that passionate about?  Come on Kimberly, let's be realistic.  

April is the month of the lentil and lentils are the new chickpeas. That's completely not true, but I'm profiling a lentil dip so go with it.  Want to reintroduce excitement to your wraps, sandwiches and/or baby carrot?  Getting tired of your same old hummus? Yea, me neither. But I do like to change it up every now and then.  (Note: I'm going to try my best to not make this sound like an infomercial.)

Manufactured by Berhanu, this vegan, kosher lentil dip has been dubbed "the Royal Cousin of Hummus".  I'm all about products that contain few, simple ingredients.  My mother has always been under the persuasion that if you can't say it, you don't eat it.  I tend to go one step further and think that even if I can in fact pronounce it, if I don't know what it is, I don't want to put it into my body.  I could digress into the predictable tangent of talking about how our bodies are temples but I'll spare you.  Needless to say, I still eat foods that contain ingredients I'm not totally familiar with.  Just ask the empty 100-calorie pack at the bottom of my trash can.

Moving on.  Ingredients of this delectable spread include organic black lentils, olive oil, lime juice, peppers, onions and sea salt. That's it!

So what exactly are lentils anyway?  These little round disks are legumes and pack a powerful punch of protein, dietary fiber, and iron. For those of you who are not acquainted with lentils, here's the Sparknotes©:

1. Half a cup of cooked lentils is a mere 115 calories and a little over one ounce of protein.

2. Fiber

• Fiber plays a major role in keeping our bodies regular. 
• I, as an individual, am probably way too in tune with my bowel movements.  But I will tell you this people, snicker about it, hide from it or blush over this natural process of the body all you want.  But bowel movements are like a warning light in your car.  If there is too much or too little, it's telling you something is amiss.
• Fiber is also involved in lowering cholesterol and regulating our blood sugar levels. 
• Warding off large peaks and valleys in our blood sugar helps us control hunger.

3. Iron: 

• Common sources of iron include spinach and red meat.  
• Menstruating and pregnant women, as well as children have higher iron requirements.
• Iron is a part of hemoglobin, a compound found in our blood stream that is responsible for the transportation of oxygen to other cells in the body.               

I purchase Ah!Zeefa from Whole Foods, opting for the mild version. Below is a link to the Berhanu website.  Check them out!

http://www.berhanuorganic.com/

If I had a lentil spread recipe, I would put it here. Sadly, I don't. In fear of posting a recipe I haven't tried and ignorantly leading you down the wrong path, I'm not going to post one either.  If anyone has a recipe they'd like to share with the rest of us, please put it below in the comment section!

Come back Monday for April’s Nutrition Hot Topic!