Fiber is a major key to good health.  Recent studies show the value of this rough around the edges food.  Most people don’t even think about it.  If they get enough they would not even know.  Some research states that our ancestors were eating about 100 grams of this value commodity but today most research says we only get about 8 grams.  Wow now that is what you call a drop in the bucket. 

The FDA has tried to convince us all it has value by increasing the fruits, vegetables and grains in our diet through the food pyramid.  However their guidelines seem to have everyone more confused.   The FDA says five servings of this and 4 servings of that however that broadness leaves a lot of room for interpretation.  I think the biggest area of confusion is what constitutes grains.  We have all been brainwashed that white flavorless, colorless and tasteless bread is a grain.  However, when every bit of nutrient is pulled from something it basically becomes nothing. 

Recently at a farmers market a young boy and his mother were shopping.  They came along the different booths, looked over the produce and walked by.  Tasted a couple of healthy baked products and continued on down the line.  As they were walking off in their hands were no fruits or vegetables only white bread.  This mentality is only going to lead to more obesity, heart disease and colon cancers.  As Americans we need to take a stand for healthy food.  David Letterman just recently wrote that as Americans we have so much to be thankful for, so many opportunities and the best of everything in the world why we spend so much time complaining and not enough time appreciating. 

Take a stand for your health.  Commit to eating only whole grain products.  This commitment is not a difficult one it will not break the bank, however you will be committing to a healthier lifestyle and potential years added on your life.  Take a stand today.

Spring is in the air. Here is an activity to do with your kids. I found this years ago but Easter is so packed with church and family activities I usually do it a few weeks later.  It allows time for the kids to think about Easter and what it stands for and then I make a bigger impact about how Jesus suffered and his followers realized His life purpose.

You need: 1 cup whole pecans, 1 t. vinegar, 3 egg whites (room temp), pinch of salt, 1 cup granulated sugar, ziplock bag, wooden spoon, table and the Bible.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Place pecans in ziplock bag and let the children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces.  Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers.  Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar.  Eggs represent life.  Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.  Read John: 10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child’s hand.  Let them taste it and brush the rest into brush the rest into the bowl.  Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus’ followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.  Read Luke 23:27.

So far the ingredients are not very appetizing.  Add 1 cup sugar.  Explain that the sweetness part of the story is that Jesus died because he loves us.  He wants us to know and belong to Him.  Read Ps 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with mixer on high speed for 12-15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed.  Explain that the color white represents the purity in God’s eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.  Read Isa 1:19 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts.  Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookies sheet.  Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus body laid.  Read Matt 27:57-6.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven close the door and Turn the oven off.  Give each child a piece of tape and let them seal the oven door.  Explain that Jesus’ tomb was sealed.  Read Matt 27:65-66.

Go to bed!  Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in toe oven overnight.  Jesus’ followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed, Read John  16:20 and 22.

The next morning, open the oven door and give everyone a cookie.  Notice the cracked surface and take a bite.  The cookies are hollow just like the tomb.  Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.  Read Matt 28 1-9.  He has risen. 

 I will agree with most people that cookies in general are unhealthy and packed with sugar, white flour and fat-fat-fat. But kids deserve to be kids. I was watching a show the other night and this mother had made cookies for her daughter and she said, “Eat a cookie they are good for you they are packed with wheat germ, soy flour, and tofu, they are good for you.” The girl graciously said thank you but she would pass. Food that is good for you does not have to taste awful. Well I came up with a wonderful cookie that we are now promoting through our website called bizzylizzybakery.com that is not packed with all those horrible things and tastes like a cookie should taste – delicious. I have come to the conclusion that we have three general types of eaters in this culture. The overly “nutritious” that do not care for taste at all. The “no nutrition at all” type that eat anything, it does not need to be delicious it is just food and finally those of us that see you can mix nutritious and delicious into a meal. I once worked with a dietician in a nursing home. I was the food director and I wanted the residents to eat well and enjoy their food. Life there seemed to revolve around the three meals of the day. They talked about the food they ate and the food they were about to eat. My goal was to make that enjoyable experience. The dietician’s goal was to make there lives miserable. I had one lady who was 92 years old and I could not get her to eat anything. Her tastes buds were shot and the dietician did not want her to have any salt at all. I tried seasoning things so she could taste them with everything but salt. She still would not eat. I had decided to through an Irish Party for St. Patrick’s Day with the green beer, kraut and brauts. I walked into the dining room and she was eating. I had never seen anyone enjoy food so much in my life. I did not stop her because I forgot one point she weighed less than 90 pounds. I later noted that she had eaten and what she ate that was my job. The dietician read it and lost it. How dare I feed her those things? I directly did not feed her. She asked for and one of my workers gave it to her. The dietician had agreed to make the day an unrestricted diet day so the residents could have what they wanted. This dietician ate food only for her existence. She did not care if it tasted like crap and after she did eat something she would go run 10 miles. She could not gain a pound that would have been a sin. The saddest part about this is that this woman appeared to hate her life so she had to make sure everyone around her felt the same. God provided food for nourishment and enjoyment. Think about when you pop a fresh berry in your mouth and your mouth gets excited with the wonderful flavors. Food is meant to be enjoyed, so eat wonderful flavored foods in rational amounts. The best of both worlds.

Flour (white – refined) and flour-made pasta. The more finely ground the flour and the more boiled [less al dente] the noodle, the higher the “glycemic index” … not a healthy thing.  As economics in the world continue to struggle cheap pasta because a main staple of for the less fortunate because it fills up the kids.  The problem is that the bran and germ are removed.  The wheat grain is an amazingly good sources of minerals and vitamins but when it is overly processed it lacks essential nutrients, even after partial enrichment and are proven inferior to whole grain products.  They are linked to increased heart disease [9-'99: The Nurses' Study].  Their rapid absorption causes fast changes in sugar/insulin balance -and eventually cell resistance to both = diabetes.   There are 20.8 million children and adults in the United States, or 7% of the population, who have diabetes. While an estimated 14.6 million have been diagnosed, unfortunately, 6.2 million people (or nearly one-third) are unaware that they have the disease.  http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-statistics.jsp

Check out this website http://whfoods.org/foodstoc.php and see the world’s healthiest foods.  I think it is very curious that most of these foods are also mentioned in the Bible.  

The healthiest foods in the world are dense with nutrients and are all natural.  These foods must also be readily available.  A food that can not be found by the majority of the population can not be considered healthy just because you can not eat it if you can not eat it that makes sense.

Availability is important but we must also consider cost.  Fresh food gets a bad rap for being expensive but pound for pound, calorie for calorie, nutrient to nutrient healthier foods are going to be better for you all around.

Milk is about $4 a gallon.  Milk is packed with CALCIUM.

Pop is $1.30 for 2 liters and just about the same for 16 ounces.  Pop is packed with caffeine that stripes the calcium from our bones and teeth.

Raw potatoes 10 for $3.49, potatoes are packed with vitamins and minerals.

Potato chips 10 ounces for $3.19 which is about $6.00 a pound.  They have been stripped of their nutrients and loaded with fat. 

Interesting article on White Bread I thought you may like to read.

http://www.healthnews.com/natural-health/when-white-bread-considered-%2523039white%2523039-429.html

Soft wheat or English wheat was grown and milled. Wheat was sifted or bolted into white flour. In sifting the bran and middlings (cereal) is removed. Bran was tossed into streams considered worthless. Is it amazing that even back then they did not appreciate the value of the bran of the grain?  The life of the kernel was just discarded.

Making bread from other flours is a way to add different nutrients to your diet while eliminating white flour from your diet.  This recipe does not completely eliminate the dread white flour but it eliminates most of it.  One thing I found is if you go “cold turkey” you may crave the texture of that lifeless flour.  My husband missed it when I first started this flourless mission.

http://www.bread-maker.net/Bread-maker/bread-recipes2/Sourdough-Buckwheat-Bread.html

Another thing I found in making my own bread is that I feel in love with a product called Demarle that is made with silicone.  It prevents sticking.  You can order online at http://demarleathome.com you can go ahead and order with the 2608 code.  I prefer the Roulpat for rolling and the silpat for baking. 

Sheila Rae

I learned two new things yesterday that shocked me and I thought I would share. My ever dreaded white flour gets another bad mark. I was visiting with an inspector from the Department of Agriculture and he stated to be careful with white flour because it can actually etch your floor. Now, think of that if it can etch the floor what will it do to your body? Butter was the other topic. I was not sure what the difference was between Grade A and AA butter. The difference is that when AA is made an inspector must be present to ensure quality. When A is made the inspector does not need to be there and they will take “old” butter and mix it into fresh butter. This may never be a problem but if the butter is close to be rancid you will be able to taste the difference. I normally but AA butter but I grab an A butter one day and when I opened it smelled funny and tasted off.

Good Eating Sheila Rae

http://www.bizzylizzybakery.com

The key to switching away from White Flour is to mix other flours on the market.  In today’s world that is very easy.  The definition of flour does not just mean wheat flour.

http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Potato+flour

Rye Flour:  Rye has many health benefits but the two are that it can help reduce the risk of Gallstones, and is known to help in wheat loss and is just good for you.  It has a strong flavor so use sparely until you adjust your taste buds.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=65

Oat Flour:  This product has become a family staple.  Most of my baking is done with this product.  It has a nice flavor and works for most baking except for bread.  You have two choices you can buy gluten in the health food stores and add it or if you have not went “cold turkey” on wheat flour you can mix it.  Read more.  This is a great heart health product. 

http://nutrasanus.com/oat-bran.html

Bizzy Lizzy Bakery offers a great oat bran cookie.  These cookies do not use flour they use rolled oats for added fiber.  Great product for your kids and yourself.

http://www.bizzylizzybakery.com

Soy Flour:  For me this is my least favorite flour because of it’s strong flavor but you can add a small amount.  We all know soy has many health benefits.  Take a moment and read why Soy Flour is Controversial. http://www.womentowomen.com/nutritionandweightloss/healthbenefitsofsoy.aspx

Potato Flour:  This is a great product.  I love it in a mix of different flours.  By itself it is not fabulous in my view but with other flours it gives products a nice flavor and texture.

http://www.ellenskitchen.com/faqs/glutfree.html

Garbanzo Bean Flour:  This bean flour has a much milder taste than soy flour with many of the health benefits.  I like this one mixed with the other flours to give the product more flavor.

http://www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2005/400.html

Tapioca:  This is the finest of flours and is great for cake products.  You can also use it as a thickener.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapioca

Flax Meal:  This product has so many fabulous health benefits and for flour lovers it gives the other flours the “wheaty” flavor some people say they can not live without.  This product is great for Omega-3 heart health.

If we eat according to Biblical teaching we would all be healthier.

Think about it, how can a Christian be on a no carbohydrate diet?  God writes in the Bible 272 about bread being part of our lives.  He explains the process of making bread and then provides it as our dinner in the worship service along with wine. 

Then he provides the earth with plenty of opportunities to produce fruits and vegetables in so many varieties.  He talks about the bounty, of the Shepard’s eating fruit and vegetables while they watched their flocks.

He speaks of the meat but in very little detail in comparison.  Does that mean that he does not want us to consume meat?  The answer is probably NO.  He knew it would be valuable to our overall health but did not feel it was the most important component of the diet.

In the area of healthy he speaks over 400 times about water.  He tell us to drink and clean ourselves with this valuable resources and then goes onto use it as a metaphor to explain other parts of our Christian lives.

Take the opportunity to search the Bible for your own understanding.  Stop buying the self-help books and leave the diet books in the store.  God has the concepts all written in a book so many of us trust in.  Trust the one who created us to take care of our bodies. 

You can do your own research at http://www.crosswalk.com

There are other articles on this topic at http://www.speakingonfaith.com

Are you watching the reports?  High fiber food could be making us thinner.  In the early 1900’s the average American was eating almost 100 grams of fiber a day, which is equal to 25 apples.   However the average American today is getting around 8 grams, so what is the difference?  Answer natural unprocessed food of yesterday compared to processed “junk” of today.  With the highly processed no fiber products that are shoving there way into our grocery stores and replacing healthy hearty food of the past we are going to have to become even savvier shoppers.

The good news is that there are new and old companies that are stepping up to the plate and creating high fiber products that are good for you and still taste great. 

I have run into so many individuals that say they would eat healthy if it actually tasted good.  So I took that as a challenge and created a great product that is high in fiber and protein and still tastes amazing.   

I know people want to save money in today’s economy but not at the risk of hurting our own health and the health of our children.  School lunch programs are struggling with the challenge of cost effective meals.  They are going to loose the battle because of the mighty buck but as parents we do not have to do the same we can just become very good shoppers. 

Personally, I shop discount stores for fruit and vegetables, the selection is not as broad but the quality is there.  Then I shop the ads for the best specials and finally shop the high stores for quality products to mix in or find them online.  This process may seem time consuming but in all actuality I have only added a short time to my shopping schedule and my family benefits from the high quality food and the variety I can provide them.  I know many consumers are shopping online because I have watched Bizzy Lizzy Bakery.com grow very quickly with most order between 48 and 100 cookies each time.  My customers appreciate the high quality product and the fact that they freeze beautifully and can be warmed in the toaster.   

Join the healthy revolution and eat more fiber for better health.