Day 123- Nutrition Bite

Barley is a wonderfully versatile cereal grain with a rich nutlike flavor and an appealing chewy, pasta-like consistency. Its appearance resembles wheat berries, although it is slightly lighter in color. Sprouted barley is naturally high in maltose, a sugar that serves as the basis for both malt and syrup sweetener. Barley is high in fiber and selenium which will help lower cholesterol and will give your intestines a boost. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=127

Sugar Preacher's Experience
I decided to take barley on my backpacking trip in the Tetons and cooked barley soup with carrots, onions, corn, and spices. The soup tasted good especially after hiking 9 miles into the Alaskan Basin. I also experimented with the dehydrated spaghetti sauce (see backpacking foods for more details), and it worked like a charm.

Oh-So-Good Oatmeal Cookies

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) organic butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons organic canola oil
• 1/2 cup organic Sucanat, evaporated cane juice
• 1 organic egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup organic rolled oats, either quick-cooking or regular (quick cooking will make a finer textured cookie)
• 1/4 cup organic wheat germ, preferably toasted
• 1 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup organic raisins or chocolate chips or carob chips
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375°°F.

With a wire whisk, combine the softened butter with the canola oil until completely blended. Whisk in the Sucanat, egg, vanilla and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the oats, wheat germ, pastry flour and baking powder.

Add the dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients and stir well to combine thoroughly. Stir in the raisins or chips and the pecans.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto 2 baking sheets, either sprayed or lined with parchment paper. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/list_dessert.html

Spinach Salad

5 ounces organic baby spinach leaves (about 5 cups)
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 avocado, diced
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon honey
sea salt, to taste
ground pepper, to taste

Toss spinach with tomatoes, cranberries, pine nuts, avocado and optional feta cheese, if using, in a large salad bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lime juice, honey, salt, and pepper. Toss spinach salad with dressing and serve.

Mango Lassi

Ingredients:
1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped
1 cup ice
1/2 cup yogurt
1/4 cup milk
2 tbsp honey
pinch of salt

Directions:
Put the mango in a blender and puree. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend on high until mixture is frothy. Serve. Makes 1-2 servings.

Pumpkin Curry Soup

2 T. butter

1 cup of onion

2 cloves or garlic

1 1/2 tsp. of curry

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

3 cups of chicken broth

1 can pure pumpkin

i can of evaporated milk

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook frequently for 2-3 minutes or until tender. Stir in curry powder, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1 min. Ass broth and pumpkin and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 15-20 minutes. Stir in evaporated milk. Transfer to a food processor and blend until smooth. 

Russian Sesame Chicken

4-6 Chicken Breasts (boil until tender)

1 bottle of russian salad dressing (8-16oz)

1 envelope of dry Lipton of onion soup mix

1 jar (8oz) sugar-free apricot jam

Combine salad dressing, dry soup mix, and jam. Pour over cooked chicken in a 9x13 baking dish. Cover with foil. Bake at 300 for half an hour or longer. Chicken should be covered with mixture boiling. Remove foil and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Cook 10 minutes longer. 

PTSA Salad

2/3 cup of honey

1 t. dry mustard

1 t. paprika

1/2 t. salt

1 t. dry mustard

1/3 cup of red vinegar

1 t. chopped onion

1 T. lemon juice

Mix together and add 1 cup of canola oil. Mixed green (Costco salad blend), pears sliced, avocado, mandarin oranges (can), slivered almonds, pomegranate (dried cranberry or any red berry), and grilled chicken slices with lemon pepper. 

Minestrone Soup

1 lb. of brown sausage (Italian sweet sausage)

1 cup of diced carrots

1 cup of celery diced

1 pkg. of onion soup mix (dried)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. basil

1/4 tsp. tabasco sauce

2 T. sugar

1 qt. of tomatoes

6 cups of water

1 can of green beans drained

1 cup of spiral pasta

Brown meat and add vegetables and cook until barely soft. Add pasta and simmer until tender but not mushy.

Lentil Soup

1 large onion, copped

1 canned whole pimento

1 green pepper, chopped

4 T. olive oil

2 T. all-purpose flour

1 16 oz, can of tomatoes

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 cups of lentils

1 T. salt

8 cups of water

In a large kettle, cook onion, pimento, and green pepper in olive oil until soft. Stir in flour. Then, add tomatoes, carrots, lentils, salt, and water. Cover and simmer over low heat for 2 hours. 

Vegetable Lasagna

14 dried whole wheat lasagna noodles

2 T. olive oil

4 cloves or garlic, minced

1 1/2 finely chopped carrots

2 cups of finely chopped zucchini

3 cups sliced mushrooms

12 oz. baby spinach

2 T. fresh basil

1 egg beaten

15 oz. ricotta cheese

1/3 cup finely Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

26 oz. tomato basil

2 cups of mozzarella cheese

8 oz. rosemary sprigs

Cook noodles with cold water. Drain well and set noodles aside.  On medium heat, add zucchini, carrots, garlic, mushrooms, basil, spinach and 1 Tbs. olive oil. In separate bowl, add egg, ricotta, cheese, salt, and pepper. Spoon layer sauce, vegetables, cheese, and pasta noodles in baking dish. Bake 60 minutes.

Grape Nut Freeze Bars

2 cups of plain yogurt

2 cups of fresh or frozen fruit

1 cup instant dry milk

4 T. of honey

2 cups of grape nut cereal

1 t. vanilla

Place yogurt, fruit, dry milk, and honey in a blender.

Blend until smooth, pour into a bowl, and fold 1 1/2 cup of cereal. Pour into 8 inch square pan and sprinkle with grape nuts. Freeze for 8 hours. 

Chinese Chicken Salad

2 cups of shredded cooked chicken

1 pkg. of coleslaw mix

3 onions (green) sliced

1 small avocado, diced, optional

1 pkg. of top ramen noodles

Salad Dressing Base

3T. vegetable oil

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1 T. sesame oil

2 tsp. lite soy sauce

1 T. honey or more to taste

1 pkg. ramen soup mix

2 T. sesame seeds

Preheat oven 350 degrees combine dressing in a jar and shake well crush the ramen noodles and mix with sesame seeds in an ungreased cake pan. Toast in the oven 10-12 minutes until the noodles and sesame seeds are golden brown. Toss chicken, coleslaw mix, and green onions with salad dressing. Sprinkle noodle toppings..

Complete menu by serving with breadsticks, chinese rice, and orange. 

Bean Enchiladas

1 can whole tomatoes, undrained

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1/4 cup of fresh chopped cilantro

1/8 tsp. of crushed red pepper (cayenne)

1 can of pinto or back beans

1-2 cups of ricotta or cottage cheese

1 small green pepper, chopped

1 tsp. of ground cumin

6-9 whole wheat flour tortillas

1/4 cup of cheddar cheese

1/4 cup of Monterey jack Cheese

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place tomatoes, onions, and garlic in blender or food processor. Cover and blend on high until smooth. Mix blended tomato sauce, 2 T. cilantro, and red pepper. Spread 1/2 cup of tomato sauce in dish. 

Mix beans, ricotta cheese, bell pepper, cumin, and remaining cilantro. Spoon 1/2C. bean mixture onto one side of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas.

Spoon remaining tomato sauce over tortillas. Sprinkle with cheddar and monterey cheese.

-from Alayna's recipe collection

Honey Peanut Butter Candy

1 cup of peanut butter

2/3 cup of honey

1 tsp of vanilla

1 cup of powder milk

4 Tb of carob powder (optional)

1/2 cup of cashews or almonds (optional)

Mix together and roll into a log. Cut into pieces and store in the refrigerator. 

-Recipe from Grandma

Day 122- Nutrition Bite

Amaranth has high nutritional value and an ability to thrive in during droughts and in poor soil. Amaranth is high in protein and calcium and is helpful for those with elevated nutritional needs such as women, infants, children, and heavy laborers. Amaranth is high in lysine and amino acid. If combined with a low-lysine grain, you will receive a high amino-acid/protein profile--an even higher profile than meats.

Sugar Preacher's Experience

I don't believe I've tried amaranth. However, I remember being introduced to this grain at a workshop. The speaker said he cooks a pan a week and stores it in the refrigerator. He then sneaks amaranth into his children's meals. Well, I am definitely going to add more amaranth to my diet especially after learning the nutritional value.

Day 121- Nutrition Bite

"After wheat, rice is used more extensively in human nutrition than any other grain. Brown rice, like whole wheat, contains a plethora of nutrients, including magnesium that are all lost during milling into white rice... Brown rice consumption has positive effect on blood-sugar elevation and therefore, on diabetes. In addition to reducing blood sugar levels, rice bran is thought to be one of the most nutrient dense substances ever studied. It embodies over 70 antioxidants that can protect against cellular damage and preserve youthfulness."

-Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford

Sugar Preacher's Experience

Brown rice has been one of my favorite grains since childhood. I remember my Grandma cooking brown rice and lecturing us about the disadvantages of eating white rice. After reading about brown rice, I have earned more respect for my Grandma who is 92 years old. Brown rice has a better taste than white rice--another reason to eat it!!

Day 120- Nutrition Bite

Shipwrecked sailors who ate and drank nothing but sugar and rum for nine days surely went through some trauma; the tales they had to tell created a big public relations problem for the sugar pushers. This incident occurred when a vessel carrying a cargo of sugar was shipwrecked in 1793. The five surviving sailors were finally rescued after being marooned for nine days. They were in a wasted condition due to starvation having consumed nothing but sugar and rum. The eminent French physiologist F. Magendie was inspired by that incident and conducted a series of experiments with animals. The results were published in 1816. In the experiments, he fed dogs a diet of sugar, olive oil, and water. All the dogs wasted and died. See more details below..  http://www.ghchealth.com/refined-sugar-the-sweetest-poison-of-all.html

Sugar Preacher's Expereince
Years ago I drank soda all day. I must have been in a dehydration mode. The side effects were vommitting. Sugar can dehydrate your system!!!

Award Winning Tortilla Soup

6 tbs vegetable oil

6 corn tortillas chopped into small peices

8 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 medium onion, chopped

1 can (28oz) diced tomatoes (Fire roasted from Wild Oats)

2 tbs ground cumin

1 tbs chilli powder

3 bay leaves

6 cups of chicken stock

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

4-6 cooked chicken breasts, cut into cubes or shred

Toppings:

monterey jack cheese--shredded

avocado--pitted, peeled, and cubed

sour cream

tortilla chips broken into pieces

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add tortillas, garlic, cilantro, and onion.

Saute 3-5 minutes and stir in tomatoes. Bring to a boil and add cumin, chili powder, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Return to a boil and reduce heat. Add salt and cayenne and simmer for 30 minutes remove bay leaves and stir chicken. Re-heat and garnish with monterey jack cheese, avocado, sour cream, and tortilla chips. Enjoy!!

Day 119- Nutrition Bite

"Although nowadays the common response to illness is usually to "take something," it may be advisable to try the opposite. Therapeutic fasting is an excellent self-healing practice. It induces metabolic changes that are inherently cleansing and repairing.

The organs empty and rest, conserving energy, promoting the elimination of waste and accumulated toxins, and making cell regeneration much more efficient.

Fasting is mankind's most ancient healing strategy. Many traditional cultures, including Oriental, east Indian, and Native American, have long regarded it a dependable curative and revitalizing personal health measure. Hippocrates prescribed fasting, as did Galen and Paracelsus, and it was practiced by Plato, Socrates, Pythagoras, and Mahatma Gandhi. In modern Europe, reputable clinics that support therapeutic fasting are quite common. In Sweden it's practically a national sport.

Proponents of fasting offer thousands of testimonials from recovered asthmatics, arthritics, insomniacs, and ex-sufferers of migraines, skin and digestive disorders, and dozens of other ailments. They maintain that - with the exception of serious conditions like tuberculosis, ulcers, diabetes, hypoglycemia, blood, liver, kidney and heart diseases- systematic voluntary abstention from eating is almost always a healthy first response to illness.

Dr. Bernard Jensen, author of "Tissue Cleansing Through Bowel Management" has supervised over 50,000 fasts at his center in Escondido, CA.

Therapeutic fasting means taking pure water while ensuring complete physical and emotional rest. This unique process maximizes the healing potential of the body, allowing it to “clean house” and quickly restore a state of higher health."

Lonny J. Brown, Ph.D.

Day 118- Nutrition Bite

Most brides are terrified of fitting into that dream wedding gown! The Wed Shed diet listed under the links on this site will help reduce the anxiety. By following the simple Wed Shed diet, you can drop at least one dress size. The stress and anxiety that most brides experience can be overwhelming and make it difficult to eat sensibly. The key is to start early!!

Sugar Preacher's Experience
I created the diet too late in the wedding planning process. My sister (right-hand corner) was too overwhelmed and stressed to follow the Wed Shed diet. She still looked great in her wedding dress!! The diet does require food preparation, thus the best solution is to cook twice a week and freeze or refrigerate your meals. During my busy school schedule, I cooked three dishes on the weekends and portioned them into containers. It was simple to pull the prepared food out of the refrigerator for the day. Cooking once a week or using a slow cooker is the best if you have limited time.

Day 117- Nutrition Bite

Healthy wedding tips from the Sierra Club:

• Showcase green gustatory pleasures by planning your menu around local, organic, and seasonal foods.
• Ask the venue's preferred caterers and bakers if they can do your event organically.
• Find a local organic restaurant that does off-site catering. If your wedding won't be complete without a specific type of food, get married when it's in season.
• Find a caterer you trust to pick the best seasonal selections (since you may not be able to taste those exact items ahead of time).
• Consider vegetarian selections and seek out free meats and wild, rather than farmed, fish.
• Make sure the venue offers comprehensive recycling facilities and ideally composting too.
• Have your cake decorated with organically grown flowers or other natural materials instead of plastic toppers.
• Rent real glassware, dishware, and linens instead of using disposables.
• Go for a chic eclectic look by mixing and matching thrift-store plates and dishes (and donating them back when you're done).
• Use biodegradable utensils and dishes if your venue can composte them. Make arrangements to donate leftover food to a local food bank or homeless shelter.http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife/2007/03/10_steps_to_a_g.html

Sugar Preacher's Experience

I like these tips, especially donating food to the local homeless shelter. We have had unhealthy leftover wedding food crammed in the refrigeration for the past week. It is very tempting to eat key lime pie, cheesecake, and wedding cake when it is in front of your face every time you open the fridge. My mom eventually started delivering it to the neighbors. Good riddins' to the junk food(pics in the right hand corner)!!!

Day 116- Nutrition Bite

Here are some healthy wedding foods posted on other blogs--a vegetarian couple created this menu with their caterer: Organic Creole Polenta, Israeli Couscous With Mission Fig and Caramelized Pear, Vegetable Étoufée, and Sautéed Oyster Mushrooms, etc. All these menu items and more are made available for each person to mix and match to his or her liking and will be beautifully served by a chef on a small plate. Another wedding at a local nature preserve served veggie sushi, a variety of salads, many middle eastern entres, African breads and other ethnic yummies. So much food was left over that the local homeless shelters received the best food they had eaten in months.

Sugar Preacher's Experience
My sister was married recently. The only healthy food selection was a fruit tray. You would think with a sugar shun sister that there would have been a healthy food selection. Instead, the food choices were key lime pie, cheese cake, candy, cream puffs, eclairs, chicken croissants, etc.. Maybe I am complaining because the temptation was too much. I did taste the key lime pie and the wedding cake (picture posted on blog) everybody was raving about. However, I thought the cake was too sweet with pure sugar, but I did like the creamy texture and flavor of the key lime pie. Well, my sister's wedding was a great day!!

Day 115- Nutrition Bite

VideoJug: Will a heart-healthy wedding cake still taste good?

The video discusses how healthy wedding cakes can taste good. A suggestion was to substitute applesauce for oil.. Click on the video for more details. 

Sugar Preacher's Experience

My sister was married last week. She had a beautiful wedding cake, but the cake had no nutritional value. I will post pictures of her cake tomorrow and more wedding details. Wedding cakes can be healthy and taste good!!  Find a caterer who specializes in organic and healthy cooking!!

Day 114- Nutrition Bite

Kaiser Permanente recruited 1700 participants and tracked their progress as they embarked on a weight loss journey. This moderate weight loss plan involved both exercise and a healthy diet. It turns out that the dieters who kept a daily food journal of every single thing they ate lost TWICE as much weight as those who did not.The fact that the food journalers lost more weight does not surprise me in the least. But losing twice the weight as the other dieters is amazing. Recording your food consumption keeps you accountable for your intake. The majority of Americans vastly underestimate the amount of food they actually consume. The proof is in the waistline. When you journal your food intake, you have a record in black and white. Hidden habits are uncovered, and nutritional missteps come to light.

Sugar Preacher's Experience
Writing about sugar on a daily basis has sure helped me! Yesterday, I was debating whether to buy Zone bars or Clif bars for my bike rides. The Clif bars were more expensive but healthier. At check out, I returned the Zone Bars to keep my integrity. If I had purchased the sports bars with sugar and high fructose syrup, I would have been obligated to blog about my lack of willpower. Food journaling or blogging is great! Give it a try!!

Day 113- Nutrition Bite

In 1958, Time magazine reported that a Harvard biochemist and his assistants had worked with myriads of mice for more than ten years to research how sugar causes dental cavities and how to prevent cavities. This research was supported by the Sugar Research Foundation, Inc., and the study did not discover a way to prevent sugar-causing dental decay. When the researchers reported the findings in the Dental Association Journal, the research funding ended. The Sugar Research Foundation withdrew its support. The more that the scientists disappointed the Foundation, the more the sugar pushers had to rely on advertisement and not research.

Sugar Preacher's Experience

I recently visited the dentist to have a few cavities filled. The dentist reported the decay was too insignificant and would not require any repair. I believe that you can actually reverse tooth decay when you reduce your sugar intake. One motivating factor for the sugar shun was my constant tooth decay. I haven't had any new decay since April. I guess something is working!!!

Summer Quinoa Salad

1 1/2 cups quinoa
2 ears corn
1 quart cherry tomatoes
2 small zucchini
15 fresh basil leaves
1 can cannellini beans
extra virgin olive oil
lemon juice
salt
pepper

Rinse quinoa in several changes of water, and then add to a small pot. Add 3 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove the husks from the corn. Using a sharp knife, carefully slice the kernels off the cobs. Put them into a bowl.
Slice the cherry tomatoes in half. Add them to the bowl. Slice the zucchini into thin half moons. Add them to the bowl.
Julienne the basil leaves. Add them to the bowl. Open the can of beans, rinse them, and add them to the bowl. Douse everything with olive oil. Add some salt, and let sit.

When the quinoa is done, pour it onto a cookie sheet into an even layer so it will cool quickly. When it is lukewarm, add it to the vegetables. Season with lemon juice, more salt and pepper.

Toasted pine nuts make a nice addition.

Day 112- Nutrition Bite

"The fastest way to restore wellness is to stop putting into the body the things that have caused the physical problem to develop in the first place, and then give the body the nutrients it needs to repair and rebuild itself. The body is self-healing when the infraction is stopped and proper nutrients provided."

Rev. George Malkmus

Day 111- Nutrition Bite

A nutritional rule of thumb on a long ride is about 250 calories per hour, which breaks down to one Cliff  Bar per hour. On an 80-mile ride (assuming 17 mph average) pack 4 to 5 bars. Cliff bars are the most natural of all energy bars using organic ingredients. Also, homemade granola can be a very cheap alternative fuel source. Cliff Bars are GREAT, but not cheap. Homemade granola can also be tweaked with certain fruit/seed combinations/variations to provide proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Make sure you eat enough calories to prevent bonking. http://www.bikeforums.net/

Sugar Preacher's Experience
Today, I bonked on a 123-mile ride. To prevent further exhaustion, I drank Sobe which tasted like cotton candy. Bonking is a miserable feeling. You run out of stored carbohydrates causing your speed to slow down considerably, and you feel like vomitting. On my next ride, I plan to buy electrolyte tablets and create a natural fruit juice such as watermelon juice. I need to be more creative because the sports drinks are loaded with refined sugar.

Day 110- Nutrition Bite

If you eat fast food here are some helpful tips to cut down on calories:

1. Don't be tempted to go large. Even though you may not pay extra money to go large or super size your meal, you'll have the same effect on your waistline. If necessary, just take in the exact correct change for the regular meal.

2. Cut out the soda. Not just the full sugar soda, but the diet soda as well (this has other issues a well as your waistline). Choose water or tea or coffee instead.

3. Leave some food on your plate. You don't have to finish the whole meal. Leave some food uneaten. It's fine not to eat the whole burger bun or to leave the crust of your pizza uneaten.

4. Go easy on the mayo or cut it out completely. The calories in mayonnaise can be surprisingly high.

5. Check the label. Most fast food restaurants have a nutrition guide available. Read it. Salad isn't always the healthiest choice on the menu, especially once you've poured the dressing on it. Consider removing the skin and the tasty coating off the chicken portions.

6. Skip dessert or replace with fruit instead. If you've have a craving for something sweet, consider frozen yogurt for a change.

7. Don't always think fried equals fast. Salad bars or sandwich bars are fine (but maybe not the foot long sub!). Experiment, and you'll find something tasty and fast that doesn't have a hefty waistline penalty.

Sugar Preacher's Experience

I try to avoid fast food at all times. Whole food diets are the best! However, if I am on the run, these guidelines are helpful. 

Day 109- Nutrition Bite

Spiritual awareness in daily life is of primary importance and is the one principle most often neglected in regard to food. The spirit teaches about correct diet, and a good diet supports spiritual practice. 

-Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford

Sugar Preacher's Experience

The spirit will enlighten and teach correct dietary principles. When you eat a whole foods diet, you will feel more energy and alertness. The spirit enlightens and teaches me healthy eating practices. As I eat a whole foods diet, I am blessed with wisdom, knowledge, energy, and health.

Day 108- Nutrition Bite

Refined sugar has had all of the impurities removed and has been separated from its molasses. Molasses is residue consisting of sticky syrup produced during the initial sugar extraction process. All white sugar is refined and no difference exists between the taste of beet or cane sugar. Unrefined sugar is only partly purified and contains some molasses which affects color, texture, and taste. As beet molasses is inedible, all unrefined sugars come from cane. Unrefined sugar does may have a label saying "raw" or "unrefined." Unrefined sugars have the best flavor and aroma.
http://www.monkeydish.com/2006051513318/20-minute-university/sugars-101.html

Sugar Preacher's Experience
Last week, I was visiting Irvine, California and dined at the Veggie Grill for lunch! I found a slice of Carrot Cake made with unrefined sugar and whole wheat flour. The cake was good but didn't compare to the fatty slice from the local bakery. However, I really enjoyed the Veggie Grill's menu, which offered Steamin' Kale, Sweet potato fries, etc... Who serves Kale as a side dish? This restaurant was healthy, and I was loving it!

Day 107- Nutrition Bite

Sweet treats are bad news because they typically deliver a load of calories with little or no nutrition. One more troubling fact: as our consumption of white sugar and flour rises so does the numbers on our scale rise. A study published in the Annual Review of Nutrition analyzed American diets and found that from 1970 through 2000, daily caloric intake among women ages 20 to 39 jumped from 1,652 to 2,028. But over the same period, the percentage of calories we were receiving from fats and protein decreased. Only the amount of carbs--particularly sugar--shot up. On the average, each of us consumes 25 pounds more sugar annually than women did when American Bandstand started airing in color. There's no dancing around it: sugar is a huge part of what's making us fat.

- Women's Health Magazine, April 2008

Sugar Preacher's Experience
I agree sugar is causing obsesity. My daily diet included a large percent of refined sugar before I started the sugar shun endeavor. Another piece of the obsesity puzzle is overeating and a sedentary lifestyle. Currently, I substitute refined sugars with fruit. However, fruit can be a temptation for overeating. When I notice an increase in my waistline, I simply go for a bike ride. The continuous battle against refined sugars helps me with weight maintenance and obesity.

Day 106- Nutrition Bite

Building a Healthy Food Storage
First, build a small supply of food that is part of your daily diet. Purchase a few extra items each week to build a one-week supply of food and gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. These items should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage. Also, nutritional quality and taste decline over time, depending on the original quality of the food stored and how it was processed, packaged, and stored. Second, gradually build a supply of food that will last for many years and will sustain you in an emergency; such as wheat, white rice, and beans. These items have a shelf-life of 30 years or more when properly packaged and stored in a cool, dry place. A portion of these items may be rotated in your three-month supply. Below is a list of the shelf-life of some foods:

Food New "Life Sustaining" Shelf-Life
Estimates (In Years)
Wheat 30+
White rice 30+
Corn 30+
Pinto beans 30
Apple slices 30
Macaroni 30
Rolled oats 30
Potato flakes 30
Powdered milk 20
Carrots 20

http://providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,7798-1-4224-1,00.html

Sugar Preacher's Experience

I haven't been in an emergency that required the use of food storage. However, I've heard stories where people in financial difficulty lived on food storage for several months. I think it is wise to gradually build a food storage, especially with the economy faltering. Eating from scratch is healthier than eating processed foods from the local grocery store. Also, learning gardening skills can be helpful in a crisis. Plus, you will receive the added nutrients from fresh produce.

Day 105- Nutrition Bite

"To this day I do not believe that I have ever discovered a healing technique quite as powerful as fasting. I have recommended fasting for 10,000 to 20,000 animals and have seen true miracles over these years of practice." Juliette de Bairacli Levy says that the two most important aspects of natural animal rearing are fasting and raw diet. You may read more about holistic animal health & nutrition.

-Bill Winter DVM

Maple-Walnut Granola

6 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup barley or brown rice flour

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed (undiluted)

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons organic canola oil

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine oats, flour, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together juice concentrates, maple syrup , oil, water, and vanilla. Pour over dry ingredients and mix thoroughly until evenly moistened. Divide mixture between two large pans, spreading it out into a one-inch thick layer. Bake until golden brown, about 50-60 minutes. Stir well every 15 minutes, then spread mixture back to one-inch-thick layer before returning it to oven. When granola is finished baking, remove form oven and stir in raisins while granola is still hot. Steam form the hot cereal will help plump the raisins. Le to cool completely. Store in airtight containers in the refrigeration.

Per 1/2-cup serving: Calories: 277; Protein: 7g; Carbohydrate: 42g; Fat: 11g; Sodium: 65mg; Cholesterol: 0mg; Fiber: 4.0g. 

-Breaking the Food Seduction by Neal Barnard