Monthly Archives: October 2013

Guidelines

Is Chocolate Really Addictive?

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With the Monster Candy Season upon us (otherwise known as Halloween) I thought it might be good to address some questions regarding some of our favorite treats.

UnDieterI read somewhere that chocolate has been found to have an “addictive” affect, similar to alcohol. Is this chocolate “addiction” concept accurate? Lots of weird information out there. I want to verify with the experts.UnDiet: I’m going to let “the experts” handle this one by passing your question on to Gay Riley, MS, RD, LD who is a Medical Nutrition Expert.

Chocolate contains chemicals that are known to affect the brain. Theobromine and caffeine are both stimulants and their affects depend on the amount consumed. It turns out that the amount of caffeine in a chocolate bar is about one-third the amount in a cup of coffee. Consequently, it might be thought of as a mild stimulant.

The phenylethylamine in chocolate combines with dopamine in the brain to produce a mild antidepressant affect. There is little reason to believe that there is any “secret” ingredient in chocolate to blame for chocolate cravings. Researchers have calculated that you would have to eat 27 pounds of chocolate at one sitting to get a psychoactive effect from them. You can read research on the subject here.

The anandamide in chocolate also affects brain chemistry to produce feelings of calm and well being. The effect is quite small, but noticeable.

The combination of sugars and saturated fat in chocolate also produce a neurotransmitter called serotonin that acts as an opiate or sedative in the brain. Kind of like antidepressants. Small amounts of chocolate will produce serotonin, however bingeing on chocolate can cause the serotonin to rise to almost a sedative affect and then crash. This type of affect might cause an addictive response for more chocolate in an attempt to keep the serotonin elevated.

It would make sense to say that if you eat large, frequent amounts of chocolate that it could possibly become addictive. The effects of the addiction would be obesity and weight gain for many people due to the dense caloric content of chocolate confections.

There is still controversy about the extent to which chocolate is addictive or harmful. It would be reasonable to say that more women are attached to chocolate than men are. Chocolate has been touted as the perfect food for women suffering from PMS. Women eat chocolate to elevate blood sugar, and increase serotonin 7-14 days before a period when hormonal changes cause blood glucose and serotonin to be lower than normal.

“Chocoholism” is different than alcoholism because the addiction does not directly kill. I do not know anything about different types of chocoholics.

We all, however, have similar but different blood chemistry. For example, if some of us are more sensitive to sugar, have hypoglycemia, or are allergic or sensitive to milk products or other foods, and some of us are not, then you could ask yourself the question “could it be possible that some of us are more addicted to chocolate?”

I hope I addressed all your questions. If I can be of further assistance, please just let me know.

Sincerely,

Gay Riley, MS, RD, LD

You can tap into more of Gay Riley’s wisdom through her web site The Net Nutritionist. While you’re at her sit check out her new book The Pocket Personal Trainer.

High Protein Kid Friendly Menus Recipes

Southwestern Meatloaf Dinner

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This is a low carb meal that you can serve to your family without any apologies.

You’re welcome to substitute ground beef for all or part of the ground turkey in the meatloaf. I prefer the taste of the ground turkey though as it doesn’t overwhelm the spices and herbs and I definitely appreciate the lower calorie count of the ground turkey.

You may also choose to use frozen veggies in place of fresh veggies. You could use taco or fajita seasoning in place of the chili powder, black pepper, cumin and salt if you still have them in your cupboards but I try to avoid these prepackaged seasonings as they contain so many chemicals. The prepackaged Mexican seasoning mix found in the spice section of most grocery stores is great though.

You can use instant oatmeal, whole wheat panko, whole wheat bread crumbs or crushed whole wheat crackers in place of the pork rinds, but I don’t like to mix starches with proteins as it makes food more difficult to digest and if you’re on a low carb eating plan then you’ll want to keep the recipe as is.

Southwestern Meatloaf

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 medium minced onion
  • 2 small minced & seeded green chilis
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)
  • 1 cup pureed roasted red peppers
  • 3/4 cup finely crushed pork rinds
  • 1-1/2 pounds ground turkey

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl except the ground turkey. The reason that you mix the meat in last is that if you manipulate the meat too much your meatloaf will turn out tough. You want to manipulate the meat as little as possible, so adding it last means you will only need to mix it much less than if you dumped all the ingredients in a bowl and went at it.

Pack the meatloaf mixture into a lightly oiled loaf pan. Bake uncovered about 1 hour, until a meat thermometer inserted in the center of the meatloaf reads 160-165 degrees. If you don’t have a meaat thermometer you can make a cut in the center of the meatloaf and check to see if the meat is still pink.

Once the meatloaf is fully cooked, remove from oven and let stand at least 10 minutes before slicing. This helps the meatloaf to reabsorb much of the juices and of course you end up with a juicier, more flavorful meatloaf. Slice and serve drizzled with Enchilida Cream Sauce (recipe below) or 1 carb ketchup.

Enchilida Cream Sauce

If you don’t want the extra carbs you can skip the sauce. If you’re trying to lose weight by lowering your calorie intake you can use 2 cups of broth and skip the heavy cream. However if  you really want the cream sauce then don’t deprive yourself – choose where you’ll lose.

This sauce is also good with chicken or pork. Just marinate a chicken breast or a pork roast in the Enchilida Cream Sauce, then baste with the sauce during the last few minutes of cooking.

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon soy, almond or coconut flour
  • 1/4 cup chili powder
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 sixteen ounce jar roasted red bell pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Dump the jar of red bell pepper into a colander and quickly rinse. Puree in a blender or food processor, then dump the puree into a coffee filter lined small colander to drain overnight.

In a medium saucepan heat oil, add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook for 1 minute.

Add chili powder and cook for 30 seconds.

Add stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.

The sauce will thicken and smooth out.

Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Variation: Add 1 cup chopped sauteed onion and 1/2 cup minced green chilis or roasted bell pepper.

 

Zucchini & Pepper Saute

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 chopped red pepper
  • 1 minced green chili pepper (or jalapeno pepper if you like it hot)
  • 3 cups sliced zucchini
  • 1 teaspoon garlic salt (or 1/2 teaspoon salt and add 2 minced garlic cloves to onion mixture. If you have a head of roasted garlic you could mince 2-4 cloves and add at this point in place of the minced garlic)
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Mexican seasoning (or 1/4 teaspoon each chili powder, paprika, oregeno, and cayenne pepper)

Saute onion in canola or olive oil until just soft. Add remaining ingredients and continue cooking until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

 

Garlic Mashed “Potatoes”

Ingredients:

  • 1 head cauliflower, separated into florets or one 16 ounce bag frozen cauliflower
  • 1 head garlic
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/4 cup marscapone or cream cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste

Steam cauliflower (or cook in microwave) until tender when pierced with a fork, about 15-20 minutes.

In a medium saucepan over low heat combine garlic cloves, (shortcut: buy refrigerated peeled whole garlic cloves) and butter. Cover & stir occasionally until garlic is tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes. Alternatively you could use roasted garlic and skip this step.

Puree all ingredients in blender or food processor. If the mixture is not thick enough add some powdered chicken or vegetable broth. Taste and add salt & pepper to taste if needed.

You can make this up to two weeks ahead & freeze in freezer quality ziplock bags. Thaw by leaving at room temperature or on top of fridge until completely thawed or at least thawed enough to remove from bag & reheat in a covered dish in the oven.

Tips

How to Get Through Halloween Without Blowing Your Diet

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don't let Halloween blow your diet

It’s that time of year again – the month of the hallowed sugar rush – Halloween. The good news is that there are ways to whiz past all those piles of goodies without falling off your UnDiet, AND without feeling deprived. Note to self: these tips work for any party or tempting situation, such as the office lunchroom.

Be Prepared

Don’t rely solely on will-power to avoid the platters of home-made bat-shaped Marshmallow Rice Krispie bars and jars of pumpkin shaped candy-corn that are hanging out in every office reception area and kitchen this month. Instead, arm yourself with a purse full of UnDiet Halloween Treats. It’s much easier to leave the bowls of miniature candy bars alone when you can munch on a Caramel Chew instead.

Eat a Little

If you’re powerfully drawn to every bowl of candy-corn you pass, eat four of the little buggers, then move on. Don’t stand there staring at the bowl. Don’t analyze your craving. Don’t beat yourself up for wanting something that is coded into our genetic structure. It is. Really. Don’t try to figure out if you just gotta’ have one more. Just move on. Step away. Do it! Now!

 

Get Perspective

Stare at your naked or underwear clad body in the mirror. Relish the progress you’ve made losing weight, getting healthy and toning up. Ask yourself if you want to gain back any portion of your old body just for the temporary satisfaction of a handful of sugar. Remember how yukky it felt when you ate too much sugar; the sluggishness, the moodiness, the headaches … Now imagine yourself enjoying UnDiet sweet treats. Imagine enjoying guilt free Coconut-Almond Toffee Bars, indulging in Caramel Apples without gaining weight, munching on Honey Popcorn Bars without enduring that awful sugar rush and subsequent let down. Now do you still feel like snarfing miniature Snickers bars?

 

Treats to Munch On Instead of Candy

Put these treats out at your own gatherings right beside the expected sugar-laden treats, or bring one or two of these along to the parties you attend:

plain buttered popcorn

spiced up popcorn using some of our healthy popcorn recipes
whole wheat pretzels (Trader Joe’s sells a whole wheat and honey pretzel that’s incredible)
Sandwich Platter: stack 2 slices of whole grain bread. Using Halloween cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Tip: if your kids are resisting whole grain breads try packing these in their lunchbox. What child could resist devouring a “spooky sandwich”?.
sliced apples with a refined-sugar-free caramel sauce to dip them in

any of the treats from our Healthy Halloween Candy post

any of the treats from our Healthy Halloween Treats post

Give Unto Others What You Wouldn’t Eat Yourself

All right, this isn’t one of the Bible’s official ten, but it’s definitely one of the successful UnDieters’ tools!

After allowing your children to choose a designated amount of candy distribute the rest of their loot by filling gift bags to pass on to teachers, grandparents, hospital wards (don’t confine yourself to the children’s ward), nursing homes, aunts, uncles, elderly neighbors … It’s not the sugar that counts, it’s the thought. You could even include a cute note saying how sweet your connection to them is to tie it in with the candy theme.

 

Now go forth and enjoy Halloween, no longer afraid of the next bowl of candy-corn lurking behind the door.

Dessert Kid Friendly Recipes

More Healthy Halloween Recipes

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Chocolate Dipped Caramel Apples

All the flavor of caramel apples & none of the guilt!

Make Caramel Chews and when mixture tests firm remove from heat and using a fork or tongs dip apple slices into caramel. Place on wax paper or oiled aluminum foil or cookie sheet. When caramel has cooled dip in chocolate sauce from Chocolate Dipped Cherries. Place back on wax paper and until chocolate has cooled.

 

Candied Maple Nuts

1 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 cups walnuts and/or pecans (preferably toasted)

In a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat stir together maple syrup, cinnamon, butter and salt.

Cook and stir until syrup becomes darker and starts to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Toss syrup with walnuts until evenly coated. Pour onto waxed paper or lightly oiled baking sheet. Let cool before storing in airtight container.

Coconut-Almond Toffee Bars

No, you haven’t stumbled into another dimension – these really are sugar-free, delicious, easy to make – and yes, this is still the third rock from the sun in the year 2013. Check out the Tropical and budget Oatmeal versions.

These can be stored in an airtight container up to 1 week or frozen for up to 1 month.

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded dried coconut
1/3 cup sliced almonds
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup unrefined sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup coffee
1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar
12 ounces grain-sweetened chocolate chips
2/3 cup chopped almonds or coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spread coconut and almonds on a cookie sheet and bake until golden, 5 to 7 minutes; stirring 2-3 times. Remove from oven and turn oven up to 400 degrees.

Pour coconut and almonds into a medium bowl and add the butter, sugar, vanilla, coffee and honey, stirring until well blended.

Wipe the cookie sheet with the butter wrapper or spray with cooking spray. Pour nut mixture onto buttered cookie sheet and bake about 18 minutes, until toffee is brown and bubbly. Remove from oven.

Sprinkle  chocolate chips over toffee. Let stand 10 minutes until chips are melted. Using a buttered metal spatula spread chocolate evenly over toffee then sprinkle with chopped almonds.

Cool completely. Cut into squares. Store tightly covered in a cool dry place.

Tropical Toffee Bars – use fresh orange juice in place of water, (add 1 tablespoon orange curacuo to toffee mixture before baking), mix 1 tablespoon finely diced orange zest into final topping of almonds or coconut.

Oatmeal Toffee Bars – in place of almonds and coconut use 28 ounces instant oatmeal (toast first), (apple or white grape juice instead of water), 1 tablespoon vanilla instead of 1 teaspoon, add 1/2 teaspoon salt to oatmeal mix, top with any chopped nuts that you have around.

 

Honey Popcorn Bars

It took me five years, but finally I’ve come up with an UnDiet version of one of my favorite treats – Marshmallow Rice Krispie Bars. You won’t believe how close these taste to the snap, crackle and pop version that we all grew up with.

If you’re making these for Halloween in the final step use your hands to shape them into popcorn balls instead of bars. You can even add a few sugar-free cinnamon candies or grain-sweetened chocolate, white chocolate or peanut butter chips.

2 cups butter
1-1/2 cups honey
6-8 cups popcorn (preferably air-popped)

Bring butter and honey to a boil over medium heat in a large heavy bottomed saucepan. Stir frequently while bringing to a boil, then stop stirring while mixture continues to boil until it turns a dark golden brown about 7-10 minutes. Use your stirring spoon to drop a small glob of syrup into a glass of very cold water. If mixture forms a soft ball after hitting the water it’s ready. If it floats to the bottom of the glass in threads boil a few more minutes without stirring and test again.

Remove from heat and stir in popcorn so that it’s all well coated. Allow mixture to rest 5-10 minutes until the popcorn collapses from soaking in the syrup, then press into a buttered cookie sheet or onto a large sheet of waxed paper. Using buttered hands or the back of your stirring spoon press the mixture firmly to further collapse the popcorn.

Variations:
Cut cooled mixture into shapes with knife or cookie cutters.
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla to mixture after removing from heat and before adding popcorn.
Add 1 teaspoon flavoring extract (try peppermint, coconut, chocolate, butterscotch, rum) to mixture after removing from heat and before adding popcorn.
Add 1 cup chopped nuts, dried dates, raisins, grain-sweetened yogurt or chocolate covered raisins, or grain-sweetened chocolate (or peanut, or espresso) chips to mixture when you stir in the popcorn.
Instead of popcorn use whole grain, sugar free air puffed cereal.

 

 

Dessert Kid Friendly Recipes

Healthy Halloween Candy Recipes

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healthy Halloween candy

One for you, two for me! That’s what you’ll be saying to trick-or-treaters this Halloween season when you have these UnDiet treats around. So when someone says “trick or treat”, smile and hand them a Snickers bar while you reach for an UnDiet Halloween treat – or two – or three. I won’t tell.

Citrus Chews

Using a vegetable peeler, remove large pieces of peel being careful to leave the bitter white pith with the fruit. Try one or more of the following:

oranges
lemons
limes
grapefruits

Use a small sharp knife or cookie cutter to trim the peel into interesting shapes (stars, moons, bones, bats, cats …), then in a small saucepan over low heat, simmer peels and

1 cup honey for every 6 pieces of whole fruit

Stir frequently for 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, tongs, or collander remove peel from honey. Cool on foil or saran wrap lightly sprayed with a light coating of cooking spray, or use a large piece of wax paper and no cooking spray.

Chocolate Coated Cherries

Chocolate dipped fruit is one of the simplest, tastiest, healthiest desserts with the potential for an infinite number of variations. I use this basic recipe for many UnDiet holidays, varying it to suit the season.

2 cups grain-sweetened chocolate or carob chips

4 tablespoons butter

fresh cherries with stems, or strawberries, grapes, raisins, dried date nuggets …

In a small heavy saucepan over very low heat, stir chocolate and butter until melted and smooth then remove from heat. You can also microwave the chocolate with the butter until it is melted.

Using a fork dip cherries one at a time, into melted chocolate. Place chocolate-dipped cherries on wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to set chocolate. If the kids are bugging you for a quick snack you could place a few pieces in the freezer to speed up the process, but don’t put the whole batch in the freezer; the chocolate will develop a white film.

Liqueured Up Cherries

Soak cherries overnight and up to 4 days in your choice of liqueur. Pat dry before dipping in chocolate. Caution: don’t dip and drive

Oatmeal Candy

4 cups unrefined sugar 
6 tablespoons cocoa or carob powder (use carob if you’re losing weight, cocoa if you’re maintaining) 
1/2 cup butter
1 cup cream, nondairy milk, or mix of cream & nondairy milk 
1 cup nut butter
4-1/2 cups oatmeal, not instant

Mix sugar, cocoa, butter and cream in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.Remove from heat. Add nut butter and stir until smooth. Add oatmeal and stir until well blended. Drop by teaspoon or tablespoon onto wax paper or lightly oiled cookie sheet. Cool and eat!

Shaped Candies: dump the candy mixture onto a buttered cookie sheet. Use a spatula to smooth the top so it’s all level. When the cookies are cool cut them with a small sharp knife or cookie cutter into whatever shapes you like. If the knife or cookie cutter sticks to the candy, dip the cutting instrument in vegetable oil or spray with oil.

Caramel Chews

Eat these as is or use them to make many other goodies such as Chocolate Dipped Caramel Fruit.

1-1/3 cup honey or agave nectar
2 cups heavy cream (or 1/2 cup cream & 1/2 cup soy/nut/seed/rice milk)
1/2 cup butter
1 cup heavy cream (or 1/2 cup cream & 1/2 cup nondairy milk)
Combine honey, 1 cup heavy cream and butter in a medium-size heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Do not stir. Cook until the mixture begins to get dark and thick. Add 1 cup heavy cream, stir to combine and continue to boil without stirring.

After about 5 minutes use your stirring spoon to drop a small glob of syrup into a glass of ice-cold water. If the mixture forms a firm but not hard ball after hitting the water it’s ready. If it floats to the bottom of the glass in threads boil a few minutes more and test again. When mixture is ready, pour it into a well buttered square pan. When cool, cut into squares.

Note: sometimes a caramel recipe just doesn’t harden like you would like it to. If that happens, don’t despair, you can use this as a caramel sauce or to dip caramel apples into.

Pecan Raisin Clusters

1 cup grain-sweetened chocolate chips
1/2 cup roughly chopped toasted pecans and 1 cup raisins or chopped dates

In a microwave or double boiler melt chocolate chips until smooth. Dump in pecans and raisins, stirring until well blended. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper lined baking sheet. Refrigerate 30 minutes, until set. Store in airtight container in cool place, but they don’t need to be refrigerated.

 

Stay tuned – I have lots more Halloween recipes coming over the next few weeks.