Spoonful of Sugar Free

Registered Dietitian

sugar-free

Swanson Health Review

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Recently, Swanson Health Products sent me a $25 coupon to review some products on their site. Swanson is a family-owned business that sells a variety of organic foods, vitamins, supplements, teas, eco-friendly cleaners, natural beauty products, etc. for very low prices. You can learn more about them HERE.

I was very excited to choose some products to review, and after a couple hours of searching (They sell everything! I couldn’t decide what to get! I wanted it all!) I chose a nice variety of products.

  • Kiss my Face Liquid Rock Roll-On Lavender Deodorant: It smells good and it doesn’t have a bunch of nasty chemicals like most deodorants. Rolls on easily, and yes, it works. $3.69
  • NOW Foods Completely Kissable Lip Balm Pomegranate: I’m a sucker for chapstick. I am always putting it on, and I love the fun flavors! But I do not like the chemicals most have. This chapstick is great because it doesn’t have those chemicals; and instead contains healthy and moisturizing Beeswax, coconut oil, sunflower seed oil, vitamin E, shea butter, and cacao seed butter. It also has a great fruity flavor, but not overly fruity-which I like. It also rolls on clear, so it doesn’t turn your lips strange colors! $1.18
  • Nutiva Organic Hemp Protein Powder+Fiber: I actually have yet to try this, but I have heard such wonderful things about the benefits of hemp protein. This one as only one ingredient: Raw certified organic hemp protein powder. No added sweeteners, which is huge for me. Have you tried hemp powder? If so, do you have any good recipes? $8.91
  • Organic Raw Cacao Nibs: I love cacao nibs! I haven’t had them in while because they can be rather expensive. Swanson sells them for a great price, though, so I might be able to have them more often! My favorite way to eat them is rolled on a spoonful of peanut butter. $4.99
  • Bob’s Red Mill Stone Ground Whole Grain Spelt Flour: I was excited to experiment with this new flour (see what I made below). Spelt is actually not gluten-free, but some with gluten intolerances my be able to handle it. A whole grain ancient wheat that dates back 9,000 years. It has a nutty flavor and can be substituted in most recipes calling for wheat flour. $2.84
I was very happy with the service I received from Swanson’s. Everything as well-priced, and it arrived at my doorsteps quickly. They have a flat-rate shipping charge of $4.99 (which is great when your stocking up on vitamins and healthy foods), and you can find a lot of promo codes that help bring the price down even more.

Thanks again, Swanson!

Now I’m sure you’re dying to know what I made with my new spelt flour, but you’re going to have to wait until tomorrow!
Any guesses on what I made? 

Homemade Protein Bars

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Supposedly “healthy” protein bars resemble candy bars more than energy-lifting, muscle-building real food bars.

Consider a typical protein bar like the PowerBar:

Power Bar High Protein Bar Chocolate Peanut Butter

Nutrition Facts per Bar:

Calories 300

Calories from fat 50

Amount/Serving
% DV*
Total Fat 6g
9%
  Saturated Fat 3.5g
18%
  Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 5mg
1%
Amount/Serving
% DV*
Sodium 210mg
9%
Total Carb 39g
13%
  Dietary Fiber 1g
4%
  Sugars 19g
Protein 23g
46%

Ingredients: POWERBAR TRISOURCE™ PROTEIN BLEND (SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE, CALCIUM CASEINATE), GLUCOSE SYRUP, CHOCOLATEY COATING (SUGAR, FRACTIONATED PALM KERNEL OIL, COCOA, WHEY, NONFAT MILK, SOY LECITHIN, NATURAL VANILLA FLAVOR), CANE SYRUP, GLYCERIN, MALTITOL SYRUP, NATURAL FLAVOR, PEANUT BUTTER, PEANUT FLOUR, SOY LECITHIN, SALT, ALMOND BUTTER, MINERALS: CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, MAGNESIUM OXIDE, ZINC GLUCONATE, IRON (FERROUS FUMARATE), COPPER GLUCONATE, CHROMIUM ASPARTATE, VITAMINS: VITAMIN C (ASCORBIC ACID), VITAMIN E ACETATE, VITAMIN B3 (NIACINAMIDE), PANTOTHENIC ACID (CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE), VITAMIN B6, VITAMIN B2, VITAMIN B1 (THIAMIN MONONITRATE), FOLIC ACID, BIOTIN, VITAMIN B12. CONTAINS ALMOND, MILK, PEANUT AND SOY INGREDIENTS. MADE ON EQUIPMENT THAT ALSO PROCESSES WHEAT.

The commercially-made protein bars contain four different kinds of sugars, highly-processed proteins, and a multitude of preservatives. The 38-ingredient long list compared to my recipe with only 6 ingredients, no sugar, and a natural source of protein.

Simply take my recipe for High Protein Cookies and bake in a pan instead of making it in cookie form. Cut into squares and wrap for on-the-go convenience.

I calculated that it costs less than $3 to make an entire batch of homemade protein bars (makes about 20 bars at 15 cents each!). Compare that to buying commercial protein bars that can cost $3 each!

Mine taste better, too.

Nutrition Facts per Bar
Amount Per Serving
Calories 115
Calories from Fat 58
Total Fat 6.4g
Saturated Fat 2.1g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 37mg
Total Carbohydrates 11.8g
Dietary Fiber 3.7g
Sugars 2.3g
Protein 5.1g
Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 1%
Calcium 4% • Iron 10%

 

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day: 

What are your thoughts on commercially-made protein bars? Do you buy them? If so, do you have a favorite kind? Would you consider making your own?

If your still in the mood for protein bars, try making Sweet Potato Spice bars or some Crazy Healthy Granola bars!

Again, apologies for the bad camera pictures!

Tomato Buns

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I apologize in advance for the following pictures’ poor quality. My sister borrowed my camera for this week, so I’m taking the pictures with my phone. Not very good quality photos, but trust me when I say the food tastes good!

Sauteed Cabbage and Oregano

~This might be my favorite side dish-ever. It is fresh enough for the summer, and hearty enough for the winter. Above all, it is simple to make. Leftovers make great additions to salads.

Serves 8

Ingredients

  • 1 head of cabbage, chopped (any color)
  • 1 large tomato, chopped
  • 1 medium-sized onion, chopped (any color)
  • 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 Tablespoon oregano
In a saucepan, saute the onions with the olive oil on medium heat. Next, add the tomato, cabbage, vinegar, and oregano. Stir as needed to prevent burning. Cook until the cabbage is golden and soft, about 15 minutes.
Tastes great served with my 5-minute burgers and Homemade Potato Wedges.
Also I found a great gluten-free, grain-free replacement for Hamburger buns: Tomato Slices! 

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

Ketchup or mustard?

I’m a mustard girl all the way! Never have liked ketchup (it is always full of sugar anyway!).

Kuna Cocoa

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I’ve talked about the benefits of chocolate before on my blog; but while driving home today I listened to another great testimony of chocolate’s wonderful health benefits, so I decided to talk about it again.

I don’t know exactly what radio station it was on, but I found an article that talks about it similarly HERE. I recapped what I learned and what I thought was the most interesting below.

(Picture Source) 

A medical professor at Harvard University, Dr. Norman Hollenburg, spent years researching the Kuna tribe in Panama. Some of the Kuna people still live on an island off the coast of Panama, but others moved on to live in the mainland. Dr. Hollenburg found that four of the most common killers, stroke, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, affected fewer than 1 in 10 of the Kuna living on the island compared to the much higher percentage of people living on the mainland. He also said that he has yet to find a Kuna from the island with Alzheimer’s. What’s the difference? Those living on the island drank an average of 5 cups of cocoa every day. 

This cocoa they drink is not the Hot Chocolate we are used to. This is pure chocolate scraped fresh from the pods and made into a paste to make the cocoa drink. No milk. No sugar. Just pure chocolate. Chocolate contains a powerful flavanol called epicatechin, which can also be found in tea, wine, chocolate and some fruits and vegetables.

So get your chocolate on!

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Grain-Free Bitter Chocolate Cake for One

Chocolate Covered Almonds

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

What is the darkest chocolate you will eat? If you don’t like chocolate, your crazy.

I can’t eat anything less than 100%. I like it bitter.

I am Cookie Monster!

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Give me Cookies!

I am going to be out of town for a tennis tournament again this weekend, so I made a huge batch of High Protein Cookies.

Ginormous.  Huge. Like a triple batch of my original recipe.

They will probably be all gone by this weekend.

Why shouldn’t I eat cookies for all my meals?

They are High in Protein.

They have Vegetables in them.

And they’re full of Healthy Fats!

Not to mention super yummy!

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

 

If you were to eat one type of food all day long what would it be?

Perhaps eat pounds of nuts and nutbutters? Vegetables all day long? Eat an entire Chocolate Cake?

I would probably choose various types of oatmeal because I could change it up to create savory or sweet oatmeal.

 

Banana Blueberry

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Have you made Breakfast Oat Cakes yet?

They are easy to make, portable, versatile, filling, tasty, and healthy.

This batch I made “muffin-style” by baking it in muffin tins with liners instead of on a cookie sheet. Works just fine.

I added 2 mashed bananas to the batter and a handful of fresh blueberries. 

Perfect for breakfasts on-the-go, brunches, or even an afternoon snack.

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

When you are in a rush in the morning, what do you usually grab to eat? Or do you eat breakfast?

I usually like to plan ahead if I know I am going to be busy the next morning by making some Oat Cakes, a smoothie, or some High Protein Cookies. However, if I don’t have time to do this, I will grab a piece of fruit (usually a banana) and some nuts.