Tag Archives: whole grain

Learn to Bake Healthy Granola from Scratch

Granola is a popular breakfast option that we’ve all seen on grocery store shelves. Even though it can be less time-consuming to snag one from the market, baking a batch of granola at home is far more rewarding.  With a homemade version, you can create your favorite combination of fruit, nuts, grains and seeds.

When making granola, some people prefer to use a recipe, where others take a more rustic approach. If you’re planning to wing it, choose your ingredients for a fresh, healthy flavor that will make you want to wake up in the morning. (more…)

Posted on October 11, 2023 by Maris

Easy Back to School Breakfast Options

Happy Back to School Day! For many parents across the country, it’s the beginning of a brand new school year. It’s time to start new habits, and one of the best things that you can do to help your children get the day off to a good start is to serve a healthy breakfast. I don’t know about you, but when I mention healthy breakfast to my kids, they often think of sticks and twigs and other unappetizing options so I have to get creative with my before school meals.

Instead of a bowl of cold cereal, which often won’t fuel your child until the end of first bell, make one of these amazing choices, high in protein and flavor.

  • Create your own trail mix by mixing dry, high fiber cereal, nuts, seeds, dried fruits and  roasted edamame for protein. An added bonus is you can toss some of this mix into a baggie and pair it with a drinkable yogurt, like those from Stonyfield Farms, to make a travel-friendly and filling breakfast. (more…)
Posted on September 7, 2023 by Carmen

Your Temptation-Free Kitchen Survival Guide

Your kitchen is the key to your weight loss success. By simply stocking it with the ingredients for healthy meals and snacks, you won’t be able to make a bad decision, even when those late night munchies hit.

So, what do you keep and what do you toss? Here’s your guide to cleaning out your kitchen and setting yourself up for success:

Grab a garbage bag and toss:

  • High-fat dairy products like cream cheese, heavy cream, full fat milk, cheeses, creamy salad dressings and full-fat yogurts. (more…)
Posted on August 25, 2023 by Kelly

Seven Ways to Get Your Kids to Eat More Whole Grains

Seven ways to get your kids to eat more of the whole grains they need. Federal nutrition guidelines recommend at least three servings of whole grains per day, but most children only eat one. But there’s hope: a new study from the University of Minnesota shows kids may not dislike whole grains as much as is generally believed. Children in the study were given a choice between whole grain graham crackers and processed graham crackers, and they didn’t show a strong preference.

“Graham snacks provide a healthy, highly acceptable whole grain food that kids love to eat,” says Len Marquart, the lead investigator on the study. “This is an excellent way for kids to get up to an additional serving of whole grain per snacking occasion.”
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Posted on July 23, 2023 by Margaret

Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day Recipes and Review

HEALTHY BREAD IN FIVE MINUTES A DAYWe eat a lot of bread in this house. Part of it is the six kids and two adults plus visitors business, but part of it is flat out just because we eat a lot of bread. I love everything about most breads. I am a good baker, and I often make bread from scratch, but it can be time consuming and labor intensive. The mixing, the kneading, the rising – it can take an entire day just to make a loaf of bread and it’s gone in about 12 seconds.

The book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, the first book by authors Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois, details how to make delicious, crusty, European breads quickly. These are all white breads, though, so I was really happy to hear of their newest book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, which uses not only whole grains, but fruits and vegetables as well. I admit that I was intrigued. The premise is simple:

ARTISAN BREAD IN FIVE MINUTES A DAY taught busy people how to make great bread at home, with only five minutes of active preparation time. Now, HEALTHY BREAD IN FIVE MINUTES A DAY whips up fabulous breads made with more whole grains, fruits and vegetables. The secret? Mix up a lightning-fast batch of moist no-knead dough, save it in your refrigerator, tear off portions over the next week or more, shape, and bake. (more…)

Posted on December 3, 2023 by Carmen

Food Finds: 100 Calorie Tortillas from La Tortilla Factory

La Tortilla Factory, better known for their low-carb tortillas, have come out with a new (huge) 100 calorie, whole grain tortilla. One of these bad boys will give you 8 grams of fiber, 20% of your daily calcium needs, and 8% your daily iron needs.

Watch my video for more tips and recipe ideas with these whole wheat, 100 calorie tortillas.

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Posted on October 29, 2023 by Rebecca

Don’t be Fooled by Healthy Food Imposters

yogurt cupA lot of foods appear healthy but contain ingredients that add unwanted fat and calories and can undo hours of work at the gym. Let’s look at a few of them.

  • Yogurt – many popular brands of yogurt contain as much sugar as ice cream. Some have added cereals and chocolate chips. Instead, start with a plain version and add your own flavors with whole fruit. If you need a sweetener, a small amount of honey or agave syrup can add a great deal of flavor. Greek yogurt is one of my personal favorites!
  • Granola – this popular cereal choice can be very high in saturated fats and calories. Make your own granola and you can control the ingredients, adding more healthy choices. You can even mix the granola in with your plain yogurt for a delicious treat! (more…)
Posted on June 26, 2023 by Carmen

The Best (and Worst) Breakfast Cereals

In honor of National Cereal Day, we at DietsInReview, are giving you a rundown of five of the best cereals on the market today and a few that fall way short of meeting the nutritional guidelines for the day’s most important meal.

cereal

1) Kashi Go Lean: We love the folks at Kashi, particularly because their cereals are filled with whole grains, fiber and protein. One cup of Kashi Go Lean contains 140 calories, 10 grams of fiber and 13 grams of protein.

2) Special K Red Berries: Crunchy, sweet and lo-cal – you can’t ask for more in a cereal. Coming in at just 110 calories per cup, Special K is a great way to start your day.

3) Post Total: It’s a crunchy, sweet and satisfying way to get in 100% of your daily vitamins and minerals. (more…)

Posted on March 7, 2024 by heather

4 Things to Remember When Packing a Lunch

sack lunchWhether its for you, your significant other, or your child/children it is important to pack a healthy lunch. Buying groceries and packing your lunch is a great way to cut down on additional food cost and help you control exactly what you are putting into your body (calorie, fat, sodium, etc.). Below are some key points to remember when packing your lunch.

  1. Remember your fruits and veggies! It’s recommended to consume 5-9 servings of fruits and veggies a day. So take advantage of your lunch to really rack in some servings.

    2. – A salad is an easy way to score big on veggies, with fresh greens, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, or any vegetable you want. You can also add some dried or fresh fruit and you will be feeling good. You’ll be scoring big for your health without having consumed a lot of calories (remember veggies and fruit are very nutrient dense, meaning you get a lot of nutrients and small amount of calories and fat). However, keep in mind to pick an oil-based salad dressing and to remember to lightly pour it on… you don’t want to drown your salad in dressing. (more…)

Posted on February 12, 2024 by Kinsey

5 Things to Remove from Your Diet Today

Store-bought cupcakes are guaranteed to have these five unhealthy ingredients.

Everyone from Biggest Loser trainers to Dr. Oz and less famous nutritionists will urge you to remove these five food ingredients from your diet. Today. Making a habit of reading food labels can make a meaningful difference in your weight loss efforts.

Know what is in your food, and make a conscious effort to cut out these ingredients:

1. High Fructose Corn Syrup – A man-made sweetner with zero nutritional value. The list without HFCS is shorter, but a few examples include soda, fruit juice, cereal, condiments, cookies, pickles and even cough syrup.

2. Sugar – A cup of white granulated sugar has 774 Calories. You’d have to walk for 90 minutes or swim for an hour to burn that off. Don’t burn it off? It converts to fat. (more…)

Posted on February 6, 2024 by Natalie K

Understanding the Glycemic Index

The Glycemic index was developed as a means of ranking carbohydrates (or carb-containing foods) based on their effect on blood sugar level. Foods with a high glycemic index value tend to raise blood sugar levels faster and higher compared to foods with a lower glycemic index. Rapid increases in blood glucose are potent signals to the beta-cells of the pancreas to increase insulin secretion. Over the next few hours, the high insulin levels induced by consumption of high-glycemic index foods may cause a sharp decrease in blood glucose levels (hypoglycemia).

In contrast, the consumption of low-glycemic index foods results in lower, but more sustained, increases in blood glucose and lower insulin demands on pancreatic beta-cells. However, this does not necessarily mean that a low-index food is healthier than a high-index food. (more…)

Posted on December 29, 2023 by Kinsey