I love infographics because they get so much information across in so little time. In this one eat less; move more; live longer is demonstrated time and again: Eat for energy, exercise, get enough sleep, get fresh air….
The only thing missing is Don’t smoke.
Here are a couple of links if you decide you would like to read more on this:
How important is a good night’s sleep?
Important facts about your brain (and exercise benefits)
Tony
Filed under energy, Uncategorized
I must apologize for the lateness of this write up. I found nogiis in Costco over a year ago and I have probably consumed five bags of them by now. I kept thinking about writing them up, but just never got around to it. Till now.
If you haven’t run across them, they are wonderful little very healthy energy bars put out by Elizabeth Hasselbeck. Yes, she is the one from TV.
Nogiis measure about 1.5 inches square and they are less than an inch thick. Individually wrapped, they travel well. I stick a couple in the pocket of my jersey when I go off to bike.
What are they? Very tasty chocolate, caramel, crunchy and chewy quasi cubes. There is a light milk chocolate flavor that I find very appealing. They almost taste like healthy Reese’s peanut butter cups. Since they only amount to 120 calories, they are perfect for my biking energy snacks. I eat half of one for 60 calories. That way my body isn’t bogged down digesting a ton, but I get an energy boost.
Nutrition Breakdown:
One bar = one ounce, or 28 grams
Calories 120
Total fat 4.5 grams
Saturated fat 2 grams
No cholesterol
Sodium 90 mg
Carbohydrates 13 grams
Fiber one gram
Sugar 8 grams
Protein 7 grams
They are gluten-free if that appeals to you.
The package suggests “in the car, gym bag or at the movies” for other uses. This portable protein is always on hand.
Tony
Filed under energy, energy bars, gluten free
Let me hear that, get me near that
Crunchy Granola Suite
Drop your shrink and stop your drinkin’
Crunchy granola’s neat ( Neil Diamond )
I agree with Neil about crunchy granola being neat. It has been a part of my diet for more years than I care to remember.
I know ‘Granola Without Grains’ sounds like something left over from April Fool’s Day. But it isn’t. That’s why I was so surprised to discover Paleo Granola by CJK Foods of Chicago, IL.
“Granola,” according to Wikipedia “is a breakfast food and snack food, popular in the Americas, consisting of rolled oats, nuts, honey, and sometimes puffed rice, that is usually baked until crisp. During the baking process the mixture is stirred to maintain a loose, breakfast cereal-type consistency. Dried fruits, such as raisins and dates, are sometimes added.”
So, clearly, grains are an integral part of granola.
I must confess almost total ignorance of the Paleo diet. I just checked the web and the first thing I learned is that they don’t eat grains. They do eat grass-produced meats, fish/seafood, fresh fruits and veggies, eggs, nuts and seeds and healthful oils, like coconut oil. Lots of good eating there. So, the fact that you don’t eat grains explains why the Paleo Granola has no grains in it.
Before going further, I need to tell you that I bought it from my local grocer who had a girl passing out samples. I tried one and was blown away by the taste. A party in my mouth! I went right back and picked up a package. I am now on my third one.
Okay, so what is in Paleo Granola?
The ingredients are Organic almonds, organic sunflower seeds, almond flour, organic cashews, organic walnuts, maple syrup, organic flax seeds, organic coconut oil, organic raisins, vanilla, organic coconut flakes, spices and salt.
Here is the nutrition breakdown:
Serving size 2 ounces, 57 grams
Calories 295
Total fat 23 grams
Saturated fat 8 grams
No Trans fat
Sodium 16 mg
Dietary fiber 4 grams
Sugar 11 grams
Protein 7 grams
A quick comparison with a regular granola, puts Paleo slightly higher on calories, a lot higher on total fat, due to the nuts and coconut, way down on sodium and higher on fiber and protein. Not a bad tradeoff, I think.
Although I am a big granola fan and have a bowl almost every day. I have found that I like the taste of this Paleo mixture so much that I use it as a snack and sometimes take chunks of it with me for energy breaks when I ride the bike.
While I usually refrain from writing up local products that are not available to readers of an international blog, I did this one because I thought you might enjoy being exposed to the concept of granola sans grains. Also, resourceful readers might even try to make it on their own with a little experimentation. You have all the ingredients.
If anyone does try to make their own, I hope you will share your experience with the blog.
For Neil Diamond fans, here is the best audio version I could find on You Tube:
Tony
Filed under breakfast, eating, energy, energy bars, Exercise, fresh fruit, granola, health, healthy fats, healthy living, meat, nutrition, nuts, Paleo Diet, protein, salt, saturated fat, snack foods, Snacking, Weight
Regular readers know that I ride my bike daily here in Chicago and when the temp is over 45F I take the dog along in a basket on the front. When I ride with the dog I stop every 30 minutes to give her a break. She walks around a little and gets some treats. The interesting thing is that when I ride without her, I find myself looking forward to the 30 minute breaks, so I continue to take them.
When I take a break every 30 minutes, or around six miles or riding, I always have some small energy snack. I wrote up Honey Stinger Waffles previously.
A single waffle weighs just over an ounce at 30 grams. It has 160 calories 7 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, no cholesterol, 55 mg of sodium 21 grams of carbohydrates, one gram of fiber and no protein.
Individual Belvita biscuits are a little smaller than the Honey Stingers.
One package of biscuits is 230 calories, 220 mg of Sodium 8 grams of fat, 35 grams of carbohydrates. And while the front of the package touts 18 grams of whole grain, there’s only 3 grams of fiber in each packet.
Regarding the energy breaks, I try to limit myself to a 50 calorie snack. That way I get the benefit of the energy without overburdening my digestive system and interfering with the ride. So, I end up snacking on 1/3 of a Honey Stinger compared with one entire belVita biscuit. These are roughly equivalent to 50 calories. Continue reading
Filed under biking, energy, energy bars, Exercise, healthy eating, healthy living, Weight
As you can see from her photos, Senior Supermodel Oleda Baker is aging magnificently. I interviewed Oleda last December. She is a treasure trove of information on everything this blog stands for, namely weight control, healthy living and healthy aging, so I asked her if she would share some of her ideas with us. She has written 10 books on beauty and health. Her latest, written at the age of 75, Breaking the Age Barrier – Great Looks and Health at Every Age – was released in November 2010 and is available from Amazon or from her website www.oleda.com where she also sells her own line of health and beauty aids.
Being tired not only zaps your brain cells and energy level at the moment – it can also be a sign that your body needs some serious and immediate attention. Unlike the illness known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which can be manifested by headache, tender lymph nodes, weakness, muscle and joint aches and an inability to concentrate, the feeling I’m referring to here is just plain old tiredness. It is a symptom that affects both body and mind. It slows reflexes and reduces function in your day-to-day life.
Staying tired, washed out or exhausted too long can lead to other problems, some serious, so let’s nip it in the bud right now.
American families are so much busier than they used to be. Often both parents are working and there is too much to do in every 24 hours. There is not enough time for sleep and not much time to cook balanced meals. No wonder they feel tired so often.
I see my daughter-in-law with three children, a husband, a job. She takes care of the house, attends school functions for the children when needed and cooks for the family. My son helps out but he also has a job, helps with the children, takes care of the yard and is on the go with errands. This is typical of households today.
Then there are also those who are not overworked or stressed out but they still feel tired all the time. It’s hard for them to get up in the morning. Some can’t sleep at night so they wake up tired and remain tired all day.
General Reasons For Tiredness:
You may not be able to change your life style this very moment, so here are some things you can do to compensate until then. Listed are ways to fight that never ending tired feeling.
Not enough sleep: There are two parts to “not enough sleep.” They are not enough hours to sleep and insomnia.
Not Enough Sleep: If you feel you can’t find enough hours to sleep… better rethink it. Find some way to get that extra hour or two. In general the body needs about eight hours each night to repair itself for the next day and more so for a long range healthy, longer life. If you wake up feeling groggy instead of refreshed, you’re not getting enough sleep. If you feel sleepy during the day or yawn (off and on) all day you are not getting enough sleep. Don’t minimize the importance of enough sleep, as it will affect your body… anywhere from feeling tired all day to dark circles under the eyes to a breakdown in the immune system which can lead to illnesses.
Insomnia: Insomnia is not only difficulty in falling asleep but also difficulty in staying asleep or sleeping soundly. There can be many causes, and if you cannot solve it on your own check with your doctor and find out why. Without enough sleep other problems could arise. A lack of calcium and magnesium can cause you to wake up after a few hours and not be able to return to sleep. Continue reading
Filed under body fat, energy, Exercise, fat, healthy eating, healthy living, obesity, Oleda Baker, overweight, sleep, sleep deprivation, water, Weight
Another trip through Costco, another fun healthy snack food found. I wrote about Sunrise Energy Bars back in November and recounted how much I enjoyed them as an energy boost on bike rides.
Apparently now comes the next chapter from the Sunrise brand. These are not bars, but just about bite size (slightly bigger) clusters of a granola-like substance. The package boasts ALL NATURAL, WHOLE GRAIN, OMEGA 3. As you can see from the photo, they come in a big tub and are not individually wrapped like a lot of energy products.
For folks with little impulse control, here is my early verdict. I have snacked on a couple of them and liked the taste very much. They are very handy for a guy like me who tosses little snacks into a bag and brings them on bike rides for energy pick me ups.
The ingredients include: whole grain rolled oats, whole grain oat flour, cranberries, raisins, dried apples, apricots, almonds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, cashews, walnuts, shredded coconut, non-hydrogenated canola oil, unsalted butter, Greek yogurt chips, sugar, palm kernel oil, yogurt powder, whey protein concentrate, nonfat dry milk, yogurt cultures, reduced mineral whey powder, lactic acid, soy lecithin, vanilla, brown sugar, honey, salt, baking powder, baking soda, tapioca syrup, natural flavor and cinnamon.
The nutritional breakdown is as follows:
Serving size 3 pieces (28 grams) which amounts to one ounce.
Calories 140
Total fat 8 grams
Saturated fat 2 grams
Cholesterol 5 mg
Sodium 75 mg
Total carbohydrates 15 grams
Fiber 2 grams
Protein 3 grams
Nutritionally, the Clusters are almost identical with the Sunrise Energy Bars:
Here is the nutritional breakdown for a single Sunrise Energy Bar of 28 grams:
Calories 130
Total fat 6 grams
Saturated fat 3 grams
Cholesterol 10 mg
Sodium 75 mg
Total carbohydrates 17 grams
Fiber 3 grams
Protein 2 grams
They don’t taste very different, either. So, it may come down to what shape you like your energy snacks in, bite-sized cluster, or slightly larger snack bar.
As far as function goes, I ride my bike almost daily here in Chicago. I take along snacks to boost my energy. When I take a break for a snack I try to limit my intake to about 50 calories so my body doesn’t get hung up in digestion. So, the slightly lower in calorie Clusters appeal to me.
As always, your comments are welcome.
Tony
Filed under biking, calories, energy, energy bars, Exercise, food labels, portion control, portion size, snack foods, Snacking, Weight
A couple of things to lay out before we start here. First, I don’t drink coffee with caffeine as I try to keep drugs of any kind out of my system. Second, I am a regular bicycle rider and am always on the lookout for new sources of energy.
The other morning I had a new situation. I had a date for early afternoon to attend a play. In addition, we had reservations for brunch at noon. From this schedule, I was not going to have a lot of time to get in a bike ride. So, I thought I would rise at first light and take out the bike for a ride ahead of walking the dog and my social schedule for the day.
Normally, I start the day with what I call my rocket fuel. It is a smoothie that contains all my vitamins. You can read about it in A super breakfast smoothie.
On the morning in question, my reservation about my smoothie was that it takes 15 minutes to make and another 15 minutes to drink. I didn’t want to spend 30 minutes doing that. I wanted to be riding my bike. On the other hand I was concerned that having just awakened from a night’s sleep, my energy reserves were low. I sure didn’t want to black out. I hadn’t eaten in over nine hours.
So, what to do instead to give me a quick shot of energy. I like my coffee in the morning, but since it is decaf, I don’t expect a boost from it. Here is the beginning of a light bulb going off in my head. As recently as April, I got turned on to coconut oil as a wonderful source of nutrition. Check out Why should I try coconut oil? for more details. Since that time I have been using coconut oil in every way I could think of to cook in, shave with, etc. Coconut oil has a lot of healthy fat in it which provides energy. I decided to add a tablespoon of coconut oil to my coffee. Continue reading
Filed under biking, coffee, endurance sports, energy, Exercise, health, healthy eating, healthy living, lazy cook
On a recent trip to Costco, I happened upon the Energy Blend snack. As I shop there regularly and have never seen this before, I have to believe it is new to Costco. Since I ride my bike as close to daily as is possible in a four season city like Chicago, i am always on the lookout for fresh and portable sources of energy to take with me on rides.
The Energy Blend seems to fill the bill. It has a simple composition of edamame (soybeans) , cranberries, almonds and pumpkin seeds. In addition there are blueberry pomegranate juice and natural strawberry flavor. These are some very good sources of nutrition on their own so the combination looks promising.
At this point, I have only had a single serving of it which comes to 1/4 cup or 30 grams – about an ounce.
I enjoyed eating it. Very nice taste and texture.
The nutritional breakdown is as follows:
Calories 130
Total Fat 6 grams
Saturated fat 0.5 grams
No trans fat
No cholesterol
Sodium 65 mg
Total Carbohydrates 14 grams
Fiber 4 grams
Protein 7 grams
This seems a very good nutritional breakdown to me. There is fat for energy, not too many calories, enough sodium to restore salt sweated away, a good slug of fiber and protein. I think it is worth the try.
Let me know what you think.
If you aren’t a regular reader, here are some other recommendations on Costco items:
Tony
Filed under energy, energy bars, Exercise, portion control, portion size, salt, sodium, Weight
There are lots of kinds of chocolate, but if you are thinking that milk chocolate, the most popular kind, is a good energy booster because it has caffeine in it, you are incorrect.
WebMD said, “Chocolate does have caffeine. But if you’re looking to get a caffeine boost, chocolate isn’t your best bet.
You’d need to eat 14 regular-sized (1.5 oz) bars of milk chocolate to get the same caffeine as you’d find in a 8-ounce cup of coffee! That would have about 3,000 calories and more than 300 grams of sugar — compared to only about two calories in black coffee.
Dark chocolate does have more caffeine than milk chocolate. Even then, it would take four bars to give you the same buzz as one cup of regular Joe.”
This is part of a WebMD quiz on chocolate that you can take at the link above.
If you want to boost your energy, eat or drink a tablespoon or two of coconut oil. You can take it straight from the jar, or mix it into your smoothie or energy drink.
Dr. Bruce Fife, certified nutritionist and author of The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil says the reason coconut oil is such an energy booster is because of its medium chain fatty acids (MCFA). Continue reading
Filed under chocolate, coconut oil, endurance sports, energy, energy bars, Exercise, healthy eating, healthy living, Weight
Wellness Secrets of a SuperAger 