Lactose Intolerance and Dairy Milk Alternatives

We’ve always heard that milk is good for you, and while that is true, not everyone can drink milk. If you can, it is a great source of calcium and important for bone strength. If you are on a low calorie diet, milk is especially important because your bone strength can become depleted. Milk can also help lose belly fat by allowing your body to store more lean muscle and less fat

I had no idea until this year how common lactose intolerance is and how is actually more normal than being able to drink milk. Most humans become lactose intolerant around the age of four, when we should by most standards of nature. All other animals lose their ability to process milk after weaning.

What is really interesting about this is that our ability to digest milk is related to our ethnicity, and our ethnicities historic relationships with cattle. For example only 14% of Northern Europeans develop lactose intolerance, compared with 67% of Southern Europeans, 100% in Far East Asia – and 90% of Asian Americans.

Luckily if you are lactose intolerant, or vegan, or just looking for a milk alternative, you can try soy milk or almond milk!

Soy Milk:

Soy is a complete protein, making it a great meat substitute in a vegetarian diet. For the protein it supplies, it is actually extremely calorie efficient. It also contains phytochemicals that help cardiovascular disease and breast cancer.

Some soy products—those that are very processed, are unhealthy, but since soy milk is not very processed the fiber and all other major nutrients of soy (such as protein, omega-3 and other vitamins and minerals) are still in tact.

It has been speculated that soy is not safe for breast cancer survivors, but recent studies suggest the opposite and state that it may actually decrease the probability of breast tumor recurrence.

I really like this picture

Almond Milk:

Almond milk is another alternative to dairy milk. It is high in protein and is sometimes favored by athletes for that reason. It is also high in selenium, which boosts the immune system. If you are worried about  missing out on milk because of its importance for bone strength, almond milk can also help with bone strength because it is high in magnesium.

Almond milk is sweeter than dairy milk, so it tastes great in many recipes including smoothies! It has less calories than dairy and soy milk, so it is great if you are trying to lose weight. Try mixing it with ShapeWay in the morning in a smoothie for a perfect way to start your morning.

Playing Catch Up

I had a really busy weekend so I didn’t get a chance to post Saturday or Sunday. On Saturday I went to Lehigh for an open house and it was a great experience. I’m going to Lehigh next year! Yesterday (Monday), my mom had an appointment with the surgeon about her recent diagnosis and the news was a little disheartening. I tried to just relax last night, so I didn’t get a chance to post. I did have some good posts planned so I want to still post them - scroll down to read the posts from this weekend. Sorry for the delay- I really do try to post every day.

Meatless Monday - Monday's Post

Main picture on the blog, "Temporary Vegetarian"

Since Meatless Monday is about being a “flexitarian”and eating less meat I thought the blog by the New York Times called “The Temporary Vegetarian” was very appropriate. When I went to the website I thought about what my sister’s boyfriend said when I got my vegetarian cookbook for Christmas, and the cover of it had a picture of a really delicious looking recipe. His reaction was "I could never go vegetarian....  but that looks really good." The cover on the front page of “The Temporary Vegetarian” also looks amazing, and reminds me of why I went vegetarian in the first place. 

Being vegetarian for me is more about enjoying the vegetables as the main substance of my diet, more than it is about cutting meat out. For me though, since I’m so in the habit of thinking, “what’s for dinner?” and pulling out a piece of chicken to cook, I had to cut out meat to break the habit and train myself to think of vegetables when I think of dinner.

Recently I’ve been craving asian food, but having always ordered General Tso’s chicken or chicken wraps I have been wondering what to make. Here’s a recipe for vegetarian lettuce wraps from the blog:

Mushrooms in Lettuce Wraps

Time: 20 minutes

For the Sauce:

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or other vinegar

1 tablespoon red wine or dry sherry

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon cornstarch 

For the filling:

16 medium to large Chinese or Japanese dried mushrooms, about 2 inches in diameter, soaked in warm water until softened, about 45 minutes

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 celery stalks, strings removed with a vegetable peeler, finely diced (to make 1 cup)

3 carrots, peeled and finely diced (to make 1 cup)

4 scallions, white and green parts, trimmed and minced (to make 3/4 cup)

2 ounces firm tofu, finely diced

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

2 to 3 tablespoons lightly toasted pine nuts

To serve:

8 to 12 whole bibb, Boston or iceberg lettuce leaves

Hoisin sauce as needed. 

1. For the sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar, wine, sugar and pepper. In another small bowl, stir together the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water. Set bowls aside.

2. For the filling: Drain mushrooms, trim tough stalks and finely dice mushrooms; there should be about 1 1/2 cups. Place a large wok over high heat and add oil. When oil is hot, add mushrooms, celery, carrots and scallions. Stir-fry until celery and carrots are crisp-tender, about 45 seconds. Add soy sauce mixture and stir for 20 seconds. Add cornstarch mixture and stir until thickened, about 30 seconds.

3. Add tofu and toss gently, being careful not to break up tofu. Add sesame oil and toss again. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with pine nuts.

4. To serve, place bowl of mushroom filling alongside a platter of lettuce leaves and a small bowl of hoisin sauce. Spread about 1/4 teaspoon hoisin sauce in center of each lettuce leaf and add 2 tablespoons of mushroom mixture. Roll up leaf and eat with your fingers.

Yield: 4 servings.

Poke around on the blog – there are soo many good recipes on it!!

Joe's Goals - Sunday's Post

Remember when we were little and everyone had those charts where you got to put stickers on the chart if you did good things like brushing your teeth and making your bed? Well the updated/ adult version for that is called Joe's Goals.

On Joe’s Goals you write all your goals (both positive and negative) and put a check mark for the positives or an x for the negatives and see how many positive days you can have. It also has a journaling section if you want to add a few notes to your goals instead of just checkmarks.

You can have as many goals as you want! Here are the top 10

Top 10 Daily Goals:

1. Exercise
2. Stop Eating Out
3. Read More
4. Drink Water
5. Floss
6. Run
7. Meditate/Pray
8. Eat Breakfast
9. Take Vitamins
10. Update Blog

As I was looking for a few pictures I found this one that is super intense but has a lot of good goals for eating healthy: 

Joe’s goals is an online, FREE, and easy to use goal tracker. Try it out!

Communities for Local Farming - Saturday's Post

When I was in California I found a business card for CAFF – Community Alliance for Family Farmers. CAFF is a non-profit that advocates for California’s family farmers and sustainable agriculture.

They use several programs to educated the local community to the benefits of shopping and eating locally.

• The Biological Agriculture program educated the farmers on environmentally-sound management practices so they can maintain their well being which maintaining their principles for farming and feeding the community.
• The Local Food System provides a connection between the farmers and the community through distributors and retailers.
• Farm to School educates children on the benefits of eating locally, so they will grow up to understand the major issues in food, health, and developing sustainable communities.

These programs work together on all aspects of the local farming system. Since the span is so comprehensive and coordinated, it can have a meaningful affect on the way these communities grow.

If you don’t live in California, there is another website called Community Supported Agriculture which helps consumers and farmers nationwide. The system works by each farmer offering a certain amount of “shares” of their goods, and the consumer can pledge to buy those shares throughout the season by signing up for a membership or subscription and receive a box from the farmer each week. Over 4,000 farmers are signed up on this system. There are so many farms to choose from. Here is the list for my zipcode.

On the news last night, and actually every night for the past two weeks they have been talking about the rising gas prices and how that affects all consumers. One way to avoid being hit as hard is to buy local. Most of the increases in prices for goods at the grocery store are coming from each step of the packaging and shipping of food. Buying local eliminates most of these step and makes your products cheaper as a result. In fact just 85% of our food dollar is going to processors, marketers, and transporters. Eating locally helps both your own budget, and the farmers in your area who need it too. It becomes a cycle in which everyone benefits :)

First Friday of Lent

If you’re catholic and observing lent, you’re not supposed to eat meat today. Normally people eat fish on Fridays and I will try to have a fish recipe each Friday, but I didn’t get to it this week. So why not go the vegetarian route and learn a little about the different grains out there.

Pasta and rice aren’t the only thing you can make to supplement your vegetables.. try these other grains in your cooking!

• Wheat Berries are a good source of fiber and iron. They’re chewy and nutty – great as a cold grain salad
  
• Spelt is sweeter than regular wheat, and high in trace minerals like manganese and B vitamins
  I found this recipe online for "Spelt Puffs" for  breakfast snack! The blog I borrowed it from is a great blog to poke around on too. Check out what else she's posted.
  
• Farro is lower in calories than wheat berries and has twice the fiber of brown rice! It can be prepared like a risotto with its creamy texture.
  
• Millet is rich in magnesium, folic acid, calcium, and potassium as well as disease fighting antioxidants! You can use millet in any recipe to substitute for rice.
  
• Amaranth is really high in protein and has essential amino acids which help the body absorb calcium. Amaranth is also spicy!

I think Amaranth will be the first of these that I try so here’s a little more information that I found on it: It is attributed to the strength of runners and warriors because of the boost of strength it gives them. The National Academy of Sciences promoted Amaranth as one of the 20 foods that should be reintroduced to the American diet. My sister and her fiancé tried to start cooking with Amaranth, but they found it hard to find in the local grocery store – even the Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s types of stores so they actually purchased it online. Amazon sells the grain at a great price. I never think of Amazon as a food store, but they said it worked out well! If you can’t find it – try giving that a try!

To cook amaranth boil 1 cup seeds in 2-1/2 cups liquid such as water or half water and half stock or apple juice until seeds are tender, about 18 to 20 minutes. Adding some fresh herbs or gingerroot to the cooking liquid can add interesting flavors or mix with beans for a main dish. For a breakfast cereal increase the cooking liquid to 3 cups and sweeten with Stevia, honey or brown rice syrup and add raisins, dried fruit, allspice and some nuts.

Feature of The Week: Part 1

This week’s feature of the week are the products by the company eXfuze. The products are so interesting so I wanted to introduce them today and write about them and then in the next few days, I’ll feature an interview by Caroline Conlan, a distributor of the products.

The products by eXfuze feature 7 key extracts:

• Noni – used for its healing virtues
• Gac- from SE Asia provides smooth skin and bright eyes
• Goji – from Tibet- can help you maintain active healthy lifestyles and live longer
• Acai – from the Amazon Rainforest – also known for its healing powers
• Mangosteen-  from SE Asia – restorative and medicinal properties
• Seabuckthorn- Russia and China – attributed to might and vitality of early soldiers
• BrownSeaweed-  South Pacific – helps you live long with great health
• Water of Life- This ultra purified water is similar to that found in healthy cells which means it can be easily absorbed in to the body to keep you hydrated

The drink that eXfuze sells - Seven+ combines these extracts. Try a few ounces a day for better health!

One of the products is called ShapeWay and it is a meal replacement shake. The shake has all the necessary vitamins and minerals and a good source of protein. The Shake has no artificial ingredients, added sugars, fructose, or soy and is a low glycemic food. Shapeway is a metabolic energizer so you'll feel great and stay full longer while using the benefits of this drink to lose weight. 


One of Caroline's success stories today was great because it's from someone who is just trying to maintain weight and stay healthy. Here it is:


"I've been using it for a week, as a breakfast replacement. Just adding skim milk, or almond milk if I have it, some oat bran, and berries. I woke up this morning and had lost 2 1/2 pounds...without changing anything else in my diet!!!
I'm in my goal weight range and not really wanting to lose any more...just maintain. But I love the way I'm feeling on Shapeway and exfuze. I'm able to run 6 days a week...and have added mileage as I'm training for a 15k..."

You can mix the ShapeWay product with any smoothie you are making. Caroline Conlan posted a link today to some smoothie recipes that would pair well! Check them out here!