Being Healthier

Gnu Foods were so gracious to send me a sampling of their fiber bars!

 

 
I was excited to try these for several reasons. I have several posts regarding the importance of fiber and the different types. My dad ( who always takes nutrition bars with him for snacks on his long teaching days) actually has high blood cholesterol. One of the things he has a hard time finding is bars with a high soluble fiber content that tastes good! Soluble fiber, which helps literally extract the cholesterol from the body also has an additional benefit because it requires the liver to pull out more cholesterol from the blood to form bile salts.

If you are interested in reading more about cholesterol, check out my post here…

I was also interested in trying them because I have to incorporate more snacks due to my training and studying schedules. Many bars out there are starting to offer whole grains more so I think these could be a great healthy option for getting in whole grains vs. refined. In general, the average american statistically does not meet the daily fiber recommendations ( about 30 g fiber per day).

Dietitians realize they could recommend eating more whole grains, vegetables and fiber and beans until they (we) are blue in the face, but some people just will not do it if its not convenient!

Fast, pre-portioned options seem easier so making those options that people will go for as healthy as we can, is a great way to adapt to not only what people want, but what people need as well ( to increase their health and reduce our healthcare costs as a nation!). 

( all of these bars have this warming: CONTAIN WHEAT AND PSYLLIUM. MANUFACTURED ON EQUIPMENT THAT PROCESSES PEANUTS AND TREE NUTS.)

First up, Banana Walnut

I took one bite and thought “This will be my favorite!”. The banana flavor was delicious! You know how banana foods often taste “flavored” with banana- well this was filled with soft pieces of banana, giving it real flavor! Chewy, nutty and fruity all in one little whole grain bar! I really enjoyed this one because of the heart healthy nuts and potassium filled bananas are two things I always enjoy!  Here is the info:

Ingredients:

Gnu High Fiber Blend™ (whole rolled oats, organic whole wheat flour, wheat bran, organic kamut, psyllium, flax, millet), chicory root inulin, fruit juices, rice dextrins, apples, canola oil, walnuts, rice, plums, banana, wheat protein isolate, natural flavors, baking powder.

Banana Walnut Nutrition, 1 bar provides:

Calories 140

Total Fat 4g

Saturated Fat 0g

Trans Fat 0g

Cholesterol 0mg

Sodium 40mg

Total Carbohydrate 30g

  Dietary Fiber 12g

Soluble Fiber 9g
Insoluble Fiber 3g

Sugars 8g
Other Carbohydrate 10g

Protein4g

Okay, next up..

Cranberry Orange:

I took one bite and immediately switched my favorite to this one, Cranberry Orange!  The fruit definitely bursts with each bite, which are chewy and refreshing! It was sweet and had a great orange and cranberry aroma.

Ingredients:
Gnu High Fiber Blend™ (whole rolled oats, organic whole wheat flour, wheat bran, organic kamut, psyllium, flax, millet), chicory root inulin, fruit juices, rice dextrins, raisins, apples, canola oil, plums, cranberries, rice, natural flavors, wheat protein isolate, baking powder.

Nutrition:

Calories 130

Total Fat 3g

Saturated Fat 0g

Trans Fat 0g

Cholesterol 0mg

Sodium 35 mg

Total Carbohydrate 32g

  Dietary Fiber 12g

Soluble Fiber 9g
Insoluble Fiber 4 g

Sugars 11 g
Other Carbohydrate 9g

Protein 3 g

Overall, I think these two bars are absolutely fantastic! That said, I am not quite sure about the other flavors yet because the chocolate smelled a little more like flavored-chocolate so I don’t think it could fill my chocolate cravings.  I will be saving a few to send to my parents to try as well. I think they will love them! 
Thank you Gnu Foods!

 
Dinner:
I decided to make polenta from scratch. I found a recipe from the  Southern Living Cookbook Jeff’s mom and stepdad got me for my bday a few years back ( thank you again!) and used just the polenta making part from it.

It was SO EASY!! I first saw Polenta on Caitlin’s Healthy Tipping Point, and found out that you can buy it pre-made ( usually about 4 servings for $3) at the store. So I had NO idea you could make it so easily at home until my lab a few months ago  (I didn’t make that recipe but I tasted others).  Today’s recipe was super fast, easy and cheap! You can get a whole bag of cornmeal for what, $1 -2, which would make what, a 70 servings ?!

All I did was bring 1. 5 cups of water and salt to a boil- Whisked in 1/2 cup of yellow cornmeal, drop heat to low while continually whisking for about 2 minutes. At that point it was done! But I threw in some steak seasoning and a little reduced fat cheese.

I pressed that into the bottom of my casserole dish ( 7 x 11).
 

That was the base layer. For the middle, I sauteed onion and zuchinni until brown ( with a little NOO olive oil).

I took the veg out and cooked the chicken in the pan, about 5 minutes on each side because I had flattened out the breasts already for faster cooking. I chopped up the chicken and added the crushed tomatoes, a can of black beans and the onion/zuchinni mix. I let this all simmer for a few minutes.

I filled the casserole dish with this mix, topped with 1/2 cup of 2% fat cheese. Baked at 350 for 30 minutes.

Out of the Oven:

My plate with hot sauce…

I am so happy this randomly came together so well! I am pretty sure this is what I will make for girls’ weekend when we all go to Emily’s house on the beach! Andrea and Brit, what do you think?

Okay so the rest of my eats:
Pre-Class Snack:
Gnu Orange Cranberry Bar ( which was from a sample package I just got for review! This one was SOOOOO good!)
Orange Vanilla Awesome Almonds – I have to post up the review but these were my favorite so far!

 

reviews up tomorrow probably!

Lunch:
Steamed frozen veggies ( spinach, zuchinni, squash, green beans, red pepper, onion, cauliflower)

A chobani vanilla with a tiny organic Fiji Apple ( and cinnamon)

 

Lunch from the top:

In case you were wondering, this was 1 serving of fruit, 3 servings of vegetables, and 1 dairy.

Morning snack: banana ( in the car on the way home from the store, so no photo! )

Breakfast:
Jay Robb Protein Smoothie ( mango, cherry, blueberries) with some Quaker Oatmeal Squares for some crunch!

Body:

Gym: Elliptical 40 minutes and Biked 4 miles.
I haven’t done ellipticizing for awhile now… its been all running! I had myself a good ol time , I read a woman’s day mag and a Lucky and rocked out on my ipod.

Mind:
Met with my advisor and went over alot of things! I am going to be a crazy lady next semester if I want to finish all the master’s courses AND all the DPD requirements ( which you have to meet to apply for the internship, which you have to have to take the RD exam). BUT- the good news is… its totally do-able in my opinion! For sure, the master’s will be no prob so that is good. I can make up the DPD courses whenever really…

Vitamins class: We watched this movie about supplements (vitamins, protein, st. johns wort, etc) and alternative medicine ( homeopathy, naturopathy, accupuncture, maori…etc). It was really interesting!

Soul:

I am really excited about some opportunities for a practicum and studying abroad for it!

I went to the store because Jeff and I never like Wednesday night TV and this guy at the redbox was so nice! He leaned over and showed me this code for a free movie! Hooooray for random acts of kindness!

Good Karma must have been the reason two of the movies I was hoping were out were in the machine- Quantum Solace and Marley and Me.

Wee okay I am getting a huff and puff for going to watch the movie – in a fun way.

Happy Hump Day!