Stocking Your Pantry for Success

I know, I know. It's been awhile. Yet, I realized that I have some valuable lessons I am learning in this new "full-time" job, which includes being able to juggle better than ever before. But, I also have been learning how to teach people some great tricks to being healthy, being a military health educator and all.

One of the easiest things you can do to set yourself up for healthy success is to stock your pantry with the right things that make eating healthy easier.

Here are a few things that I cannot live without.

Olive oil. I cook pretty much everything in olive oil. It serves as a "healthy" fat and tastes fabulous. Not sure how to use it? Check out this link to see a list of great suggestion. There is nothing better than a raw or slightly steamed veggie salad drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Eggs. Whether you believe the hype or not, eggs are a great food to keep in the fridge. An egg a day keeps the doctor away? Endorsed by Dr. Oz, perhaps this on again, off again "good" food is here to stay. I like them because they taste good, have enough protein and fat to satisfy hunger, and are super easy to cook. You can also cook them a variety of ways, so you can switch things up (hard boiled and added to tuna salad, scrambled, or fried). This one gets bonus points for boosting high levels of choline, which is good for your brain.

Oatmeal. Aside from the heart health aspects of this nutritional powerhouse, you can use it as a vehicle for either sweet or savory. Add some cheese, nuts, raisins, a dash of cinnamon, a squeeze of honey or a spoon of peanut butter to boost flavor and add nutrients.

Chocolate milk. The true "recovery" drink. My brother has long been a proponent of this perfect, after work-out treat. Boasting the perfect ration for muscle recovery (4:1 carbs:protein). The sugar from the milk and the chocolate does something special, too. It adds the important insulin spike that promotes faster muscle recovery and growth. So, go ahead. Be a kid again and gulp down a icy, cold glass of chocolate milk after your next workout.

Anna Marie

Butter is better....?

Do you remember this?


Well folks, we've moved way past Parkay, Promise, and Country Crock. Add in Smart Balance, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, Olivio, Brummel and Brown, Benecol, Romi, Blue Bonnet, Saffola, Earth Balance, and the list goes on and on.

The debate still remains: Which is better? Butter (the real deal that only contains ingredients you can pronounce, like cream and salt) or the various "spreads" (many of which boast health benefits such as lowering high cholesterol (the bad kind...LDL) and increasing the good kind (HDL)).

These spreads, such as Smart Balance, contain ingredient lists more like this: Natural oil blend (soy, palm, canola, olive), water, contains less than 2% of the following: salt, whey, vegetable monoglycerides and sorbitan ester of fatty acids (emulsifiers), soybean lecithin, potassium sorbate, lactic acid (to protect freshness), natural and artificial flavor, vitamin E (dl-alpha tocopheryl acetate), calcium disodium EDTA, vitamin A palmitate, beta-carotene for color.


Instinct says to to go with what is 100% natural, right? It also should tell us to use these things in moderation. I have to admit I use Smart Balance, because I like that there are absolutely no hydrogenated  oils in this product as in other buttery spreads. This means less trans-fatty acids, which translates into less artery clogging.


But wait. Let's not stop here. The rabbit hole of health continues deeper...as do the flip/flop artists that publish reports about "eat this....no wait...don't eat that." Make up your mind already, people. 


Let's see how long we can make the list of "questionable" substitutions:


1. sugar vs. aspartame vs. splenda vs.....
2. bacon vs. turkey bacon
3. eggs vs. egg substitutes (egg whites)
4. coffee vs. no coffee
5. wine vs. no wine
6. chocolate? only dark chocolate?
7. reduced fat peanut butter vs. natural peanut butter vs. almond butter
8. regular yogurt vs. greek yogurt?


You get the point. We are constantly bombarded with mixed messages about our health. Who do we believe? What about when they turn around and change their mind? I don't have any answers for you. 


I do have a suggestion: Do your research. Look at several important things while doing your research related to health facts:


1. Credibility (CDC.gov vs. Cindy Lu's Healthy Living blog)?
2. Date of information?
3. Source of information?


Let me know how you make these types of decisions. Who do you talk to? Who do you trust? What are your main sources of health information?


I found myself pondering this as I cooked breakfast this morning...a bacon, egg and cheese on a whole wheat bun....cooked in Smart Balance. 


Anna Marie