Food Thursday 04.19.12

Greetings, seekers of knowledge.  You're in the wrong place!  LOL.  Well, if you want to hear what's on the menu today in Food Thursday, then feel free to stick around.  Thursday is all about food on TDT195 and I would like to talk about about some staples that I have been using in my weight loss program, that I enjoy, are healthy and widely available in any store.

Almond Milk

In an effort to cut back on dairy and fat intake, in particular, I have taken to using almond milk in my cereal and very occasionally in my coffee.  I still prefer a more creamy texture in my decaf, so I have opted for fat free half and half.  I don't recommend fat free half and half because of the high fructose corn syrup in it, but I am still looking for a viable alternative.  In cereal, however, I could literally serve this to you and you would never know the difference.  I don't say things like this lightly.  I have heard claims before about other "as good as" products, which I ultimately wanted to spit out.  Trust old Mike on this one.  Almond milk is a great way to go.  The brand I buy most often is Blue Diamond's Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla.  It has less than half the calories of skim milk (40 vs 91, for 8 oz.), slightly more calcium and is higher in potassium, which regulates your blood pressure, as well as affecting other vital functions.  It is available in your dairy section or in boxes in the aisle that sells other milks, like soy or hemp.  Silk has also just come out with their own unsweetened vanilla almond milk with only 35 calories.  Give either a try.  You won't be disappointed.

Earth Balance Spread

Paula Dean may not be the poster child for health, but we agree on one thing.  Butter tastes good!  I love butter and I almost miss it.  I say almost because a few years back, my vegan wife and I discovered Earth Balance.  Not the same as Smart Balance, which is an okay sub for butter, but Earth Balance not only tastes great, it can be easily substituted in recipes of all sorts, including sauces and baking.  I have used it enough over the years to know that if I didn't tell you there was a butter substitute in whatever you were eating, you'd never know the difference.  If you are spreading it on bread (If you are inclined to do so, you may not be reading the right blog anyway ;)  ), it is good, but not as creamy.  Earth Balance has the same calories and overall fat as butter, but the key differences are, A: it's not dairy, B: the saturated fat is 3g per Tbs, vs. 7gm for butter and C: it has 0mg of cholesterol vs. 10 for butter.  This one should be the one called "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter".  The other one that uses that phrase should be sued for false advertising.

Zero Water

You may have seen the magic-like commercial for Zero Water's filter that takes wine tainted red water and filters it out to a clear liquid with zero dissolved solids.  My fridge's water and ice has been tasting funky for a while, so I decided to try Zero Water (available at Walmart).  Rather than change out all the lines in the fridge, I opted for this solution.  I do have filtered water in the fridge itself, but a new $45 filter from Sears did nothing to fix the issue.  Zero Water come with a pitcher, like Brita, and a water tester that tells you how many parts per million (ppm) of dissolved solids are in the water. I was floored by the results.  My tap water had somewhere in the vicinity of 660 ppm dissolved solids.  The fridge's filtered water, 350.  Zero Water had, imagine this...zero.  My house's water is VERY high in calcium.  I get crusty white deposits everywhere.  It ruined 2 Keurig brewers (which they replaced, thank you very much, Keurig).  I now have no scaling in scaling in the brewer's tank and my water tastes like water should.  If you are going to eat, drink and be healthy, hydration is a must.  You might as well get the best water you can, without the plastic waste from bottled water.

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:

Breakfast ~ Kashi Walnut & Black Currant cereal w/unsweetened almond milk (I won't be buying this cereal again.  Oddly sweet.)

Lunch ~ 2 egg omelet with turkey chili and 40 calories worth of vegan pepper jack cheese. Small side salad.

Dinner ~ TBD (update from yesterday: Broiled Sole, veggies and rice)

Exercise ~ None today. (Update from yesterday...I'm a sloth. An honest sloth, but a sloth, none the less. I didn't get my walk in.)