Recipe: Pumpkin Bread

The weather here took a drastic change to bring Autumn in a hurry. I personally don't mind, since Fall is my favorite season. The farmers are already selling pumpkins they harvested early, so I'm in the pumpkin baking mood. The inspiration for this recipe came from the My Baking Addiction Pumpkin Bread and the Harvest Pumpkin Apple Bread on Food.com.

Both of those recipes contain way too much sugar and oil for my personal taste, so I modified them to reduce the amount while retaining the moisture and flavor.  I exchanged the 2 1/2 cups of sugar for small amounts of molasses, pure maple syrup, apple sauce, and apple juice. These ingredients add sweetness while providing a deeper flavor and cutting the sugar content by half.

Since I'm drastically  reducing my consumption of processed white flour, I switched it out with whole wheat flour and quick cooking oats. The recipe makes two loaves, but you can turn them into muffins, just make sure to reduce the baking time.

Healthy Pumpkin Bread with chocolate chips.
Great fall flavors without all the sugar.

Recipe: Pumpkin Bread
Yield 2 loaves

Ingredients:
2 cup homemade pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1/3 cup apple juice
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup unsweetened natural apple sauce
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tblsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
pinch cardamom
2 tsp baking soda
1 tblsp lemon juice
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

NOTE: If you use can pumpkin instead of homemade pumpkin puree, add 1/3 cup of water to batter.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with large baking pan of water at the bottom of the oven. This helps keep moisture.

Grease and flour two 8.5 x 4 x 2.5 inch loaf pans.

In a bowl, mix pumpkin puree, oil, apple juice, apple sauce, maple, molasses, spices, vanilla, salt, and lemon juice. Mix for 2-5 minutes to ensure ingredients are well blended. Add oatmeal and mix well together. Let mixture rest for five minutes.

In a separate bowl mix flour and baking soda. Add flour mixture to wet mix, and stir until just blended. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake in preheated oven for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the sides of the loaf are pulling away from the pan, it is probably done.

Cool in pans on a wire rack for ten minutes. After the pans are cool enough to touch, remove loaves from pans and continue to cool them on the wire racks.

Pumpkin Bread with chocolate chips fresh from the oven.

Recipe: Ranch Dressing

A lot of premade dressing contain hidden ingredients, and can be rather pricey. In attempt to cut out preservatives and find a cheaper alternative to the premade salad dressings on the shelf, I found a home made version. The recipe I came up with was inspired by the easy Ranch Dressing at Bake Your Day, so some credit should go to them.

Dry Ranch Seasoning Mix
2 tsp. dried parsley
2 tsp. dried dill
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. onion salt
2 tsp. black powder
1 tsp. dried chives

Mix the ingredients in a sealed container, which will keep for a couple of months.

When you're ready for the actual dressing, mix 1 tbsp of dry mix with 1/3 cup mayo, greek yogurt or sour cream (your preference), and 1/4 cup buttermilk or plain milk. For creamer dressing use less milk. If you want a lighter dressing use fat-free greek yogurt or sour cream with skim milk.

Homemade Bleach Cleaner

I really like to use vinegar as a non-abrasive, natural cleaner, but sometimes you need something a bit stronger. While vinegar is a good a disinfectant, it does not compete against the killing power of bleach. Rodale provides a good article "This or That: Bleach vs. Vinegar."  For the most part, they  prefer vinegar over bleach for normal day-to-day use, but recognize bleach is better at killing food-borne germs. I like to use a homemade bleach cleaner on my cutting boards. Occasionally I use it in the bathroom for a deep clean.

Here is what I use in my 500 ML spray bottle.
1 tbsp bleach
2 tbsp laundry detergent (Do NOT use detergent with bleach alternatives. This will cause a bad chemical reaction.)
Fill the rest with water.

This is certainly a lot cheaper than buying the pre-made version. It is mere pennies a bottle to make your own. Happy cleaning!

Library Book Review: How Not to Die

How Not to Die: Surprising Lessons on Living Longer, Safer, and Healthier
By Dr. Jan Garavaglia, M.D., otherwise known as America's favorite medical examiner: Dr. G.

Once I picked up this book I could not put it down. I finished reading all 267 pages in one day. The main star from the Dr. G: Medical Examiner series on Discovery Health, wrote a book on the major causes of death she finds from the bodies that come across her examining table. To highlight the major causes of premature deaths, Dr. G used various cases from her personal work. She reviewed these cases more like stories instead of standard medical text, which made this an easy read. Her advice to prevent you from ending up on her examining table prematurely is simple and sage.

I admit I have a thing for health books, but read more like a medical mystery as she unfolds the individual stories in hopes we will learn from these people's mistakes. As mentioned on the inside cover "Using anecdotes from her cases and a liberal dose of humor, Dr. G gives us her prescription for living a healthier, better, longer life." The book could be broken down into ten lessons.

#1. Know your numbers. Blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol. Not controlling these three things can leave lasting damage to your body and sending you to a early grave.

#2. Listen to your body. You know your body better than anybody else. If something isn't right, be proactive and seek medical help early before it is too late.

#3. Use as directed. Take your medicine as directed.

#4. Practice good hygiene. Dr. G points out that the more you wash your hands, the less likely you'll be sick.

#5. Drive carefully. People are still dying needlessly because of reckless driving.

#6. Just say no. Smoking, using drugs, and drinking too much will cut your life short.

#7. Watch your step. Careless accidents kill more people than you realize.

#8. Have a good time. Enjoy life, because you only get one.

#9. Don't go it alone. It's important to have a support team. People with close, healthy relationships live longer, because they have these relationships to fall back on during difficult periods of life.

#10. Remember what matters. There are all sorts of things in life, but keep focus on the things that really matter in life. Don't stress the small stuff.

Natural Cleaner: Vinegar

One of the most versatile cleaners in the world may already be in your kitchen, vinegar. I didn't say it was the most pleasant smelling, but it is cheap and gets the job done. Plus once the vinegar dries, the smell will dissipate leaving your house clean without a strong chemical smell. I keep a spray bottle full of vinegar in my kitchen as my all purpose cleaner. Admittedly, my house quickly goes through the huge gallon containers of vinegar. It is significantly cheaper than all those popular cleaners out there, plus I don't need to worry about accidental poisoning by small children or pets.

- Instead of using glass cleaner, I spray a few squirts of vinegar and wipe the windows with a clean cloth.

- To remove tea/coffee stains, I spray with vinegar, let it sit for a few minutes and wipe clean.

- To disinfect and provide a shiny surface, I spray with vinegar, let it sit for a few minutes, and wipe.

- Back when I had a dishwasher, I would use vinegar instead of Jet-Dry. Dishes came out shiney, and my shopping bill was lower.

- To remove hard water stains from the faucet and stainless steel sink, use vinegar.

- To remove hard water stains and soap scum from shower stall, spray with a solution of half heated up vinegar with half liquid dish soap, let sit for 5-10 minutes, and then scrub. This actually provides amazing results.

- To prevent hard water stains from shower stalls or tubs, spray with vinegar after you're done taking a shower.

- To gentle clean the greasy kiddy fingerprints from our flat screen T.V., spray with vinegar and wipe with a microfiber cloth.

- Use vinegar in the laundry to get out strong smells. I also run vinegar through the washer to disinfect.

- Sparky have a little accident in the house? Clean out the urine stain with vinegar.

- To clean stinky, greasy plastic Tupperware, spray with vinegar, let it sit for a few minutes, and wash out.

Oh, and you can also cook with it. It is the only cleaner I would use in a recipe.

Library Book Review: Women, Weight, and Hormones

Women, Weight, and Hormones: A Weight Loss Plan for Women Over 35
By Dr. Elizabeth Lee Vliet, M.D.

The titled seemed promising, but I guess this is a good example on why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, er title. Honestly, I could not even read over half of it before I had to put it down for good, which means I didn't even make to the diet portion. The book loads on the various medical terms and shamelessly self promotes Dr. Vliet's other book. Having a stable level of hormones play an important role in maintaining weight. As women age, we have a harder time with the weight issue because of our hormones.

This book was published in 2001, and seems a little dated to me. She came across as big proponent for hormone replacement therapy (HRT). In 2002, the attitudes in the medical field towards HRT drastically changed when it was linked to higher cancer risks, so I'm a little leary towards the hormone replacement optimism expressed. The important thing I got out of this is, women who are interested hormone treatment really need to talk to their doctors, because you could cause more problems if you try to self medicate.

This is one book going back to the library without being finished.

Library Book Review: STOP Inflammation Now!

Stop Inflammation Now! A Step-by-Step Plan to Prevent, Treat, and Reverse Inflammation - the Leading Cause of Heart Disease and Related Conditions

By Richard M. Fleming, M.D. with Tom Monte

As far as health books go, I enjoyed this one. Dr. Fleming took technically complex medical information  and simplified it into easily understood terms. If my biology class textbook was like this, I probably would have earned a better grade. The book really takes the time to explain how inflammation of your circulatory system leads to heart disease, what causes inflammation, and how to cure it.

     "The word 'inflammation' originated with the Greeks and was used to indicate a fire within the body. That is still a highly accurate description..." (Page 13) This fire caused by your immune system is triggered by various factors from your environment, diet, and lifestyle. Most of the book is spent on explaining the 12 links of what Dr. Fleming calls an inflammation chain reaction.

1. Cholesterol. The Low-Density Lipoproteins (LDL), otherwise known as "bad" cholesterol, is the primary villain. High amounts of LDL start the inflammation chain reaction. A typical Western diet contribute to high levels of LDL.

2. Triglycerides. These are basically tiny bits of fat in your bloodstream. This goes up when you eat too much, especially too much fat and sugar. If your triglycerides become too high, your blood becomes too thick. It doesn't take a medical degree to know how that thick blood is not a good thing.

3. Excess Weight. Carrying around excess weight means your heart has to work harder. Additionally, the things that lead to weight gain are also associated with inflammation within your artery walls.

4. Homocysteine. This is an amino acid, also commonly referred to as protein. When you consume excessive amounts of red meat, the numbers of homocysteine in your blood rise. Elevated amounts act like corrosive acid causing minor injuries against the artery walls, which your immune system reacts to by causing inflammation.

5. Antioxidants. These combat the oxidation process. Oxidation seems like a fancy way of saying decay. Fat, alcohol, smoking, and processed foods are big culprits of oxidants. The cure to oxidation is antioxidants, which is primarily found in plant based food.

6. Exercise. "Exercise is an essential part of ant health program." (Page 10) Considering just taking a leisurely walk helps combat inflammation triggers and strengthen your body, you can see why Dr. Fleming's diet includes moderate exercise.

7. Fibrinogen. This other type of protein in your blood increases your body's ability to clot. While it is important to have some of this protein in your body (otherwise you could accidentally bleed to death), too much of it in your blood could be deadly. Elevated amounts increase your chances of a heart attack or stroke. Diets high in fat and meat increase fibrinogen production.

8. Growth Factors. As the name implies, these promote growth, but it does so much more. It focuses on cellular growth and regulates the arteries' behavior. Diets high in animal products (i.e. meat, dairy) elevate growth factor numbers to unhealthy levels. What's wrong with having a lot of growth factors? "[T]hey stimulate cells to multiply even when the cells are not needed. That's when growth factors give rise to immune and inflammatory reactions, which can lead to several kinds of illnesses, including heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer." (Page 101) I think the doctor summarizes it up nicely.

9. Cytokines and Leukotrienes. These chemicals are communication tools your immune system to coordinate attacks. Additionally, they can trigger reactions in your body, like inflammation, and artery constriction. Needless to say, having elevated levels of these chemicals is not a good thing for your blood pressure or heart.

10. Complement. Another type of protein in your blood, it is used by your immune system to seek and destroy germs. Complements destroy the invading organism by punching holes in its membranes; however, complements become a little zealous and accidentally poke holes in healthy tissue (like your arteries). This triggers inflammation and attracts more hole punching complements. You can begin to see how a vicious cycle starts.

11. Bacteria. We all know that are immune system is on the constant hunt for bacteria. Did you know the cholesterol plaque in your arteries make great homes for freeloading bacteria? It's true! and wreaking havoc on your system by triggering your immune system into an inflammatory state.

12. Protect Your Arteries. The good doctor also advises against unnecessary intrusive procedures, since these could injure your circulatory system. Dr. Fleming devotes a whole chapter on providing medical guidance on appropriate medical procedures.

The recommended cure is a dietary and lifestyle change using the Fleming Diet. The premises of the diet breaks down into two phases.

       - Phase I. You cut out all meat, dairy, eggs, processed food, and grains. You only eat fruits, vegetables (to include white potatoes), beans and nuts. During this phase, you are forcing your body to use up the extra cholesterol in your system. This will force your blood work to return to normal healthy ranges. Additionally, you start exercising. Leisure walks count as exercise. The whole point is to be less sedentary.

       - Phase II. The book says you can move onto Phase II after you reach your intended goals, which should occur after being on the diet for a few months. Slowly you reintroduce in limited quantities whole grain, healthy types of meat, low-fat dairy, and oil. During this phase, your exercise program should progress from leisure to moderate workouts multiple times a week. The Phase II goals are to maintain what you achieved.

While the book focuses on how inflammation leads to heart disease, it does mention other diseases that have inflammation as a cause, such as hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, and cancer. The good doctor also spends part of a chapter explaining how high protein low carb diets are ultimately bad for your health in the long run. As I mentioned earlier, I liked this easy to read health book and it makes me think twice about the foods I eat. I am giving serious thought to trying out the Fleming diet, or a modified version.  While the book was published 10 years ago, the information is still good today. Less processed typical Western diet, and more plant based food.

Diet Change

The past couple of days I tried drastically increasing my vegetable and fruit consumption as most people do when they start dieting after the holidays. You read how they are low in calories, will fill up your tummy and are oh, so good for you. When it comes to dieting and health, veggies and fruits are your friend, so it was only logical to stock up and chow down on these. Too bad they don't come with a list of side effects, for instance:

You will be hungry again in about a hour. Regardless of the amount I eat, I am hungry again in about one hour, leaving me no option, but to reach for more to eat. I spend all day eating, which is hard when I'm actually trying to do work. The fruits and vegetables just go right through me, which brings me to my next point.

You will go to the bathroom more. Packed with natural fiber, these delectable delicacies will get your indoor plumbing running smoothly. This is Nature's detox routine. I'm certain that is how they make you lose weight, you poop it out! Plus all the running between the bathroom and my desk has to count as some form of exercise.

GAS! GAS! GAS! With all that extra work your stomach is doing, you're bound to get some nasty byproducts. The natural sudden urge to fart will increase. BACK BLAST AREA CLEAR! With the constant running to the bathroom, the gas stench leaves a trail back to me desk, so I can find my way back.

Between me constantly gnawing on something, running to the bathroom, and cutting loose the gas build up, my coworkers are hoping this is only a phase. Fortunately, once my body adjusts to the increase in fiber, my bathroom issues should tame. As for the hunger issue, combining vegetables with a protein, fat or complex carbohydrate should give it some staying power. For instance, combining fruit with a little bit of non-fat or low fat yogurt would take longer to digest. I'll have to play around with some combinations.

Frugal Living Diet

After doing some research on various diets out there, I decided to come up with my own. I am going to use real food - no fake diet crap!, plus it is going to focus on health and be budget friendly. The main reason why I want to lose weight, is to be healthier. By being healthier I hope to reduce the need for expensive medical bills. I'll be posting on how well I am doing on it. Here are the ground rules!

Water, water every where!
Drink plenty of water. Water helps our body metabolize our food, as well as assist our kidneys and liver flush out toxins. Additionally, we sometimes mistake thirst for hunger. By drinking cold water, our body burns calories trying to heat it up. Try to drink eight 8fl oz glasses a day. Tap water is free! You can drink coffee as well, but limit it to no more than two cups. You may drink tea as well since it is full of antioxidants. Make your own tea instead of buying instant ice tea, since tea bags are cheaper and you control what goes into your tea. Word of caution with the coffee and tea, they are not as healthy if you use creamer, sugar, or sweetener in it.

No soda!
That goes for diet soda as well. It is so full of chemicals that come with side effects. Don't believe me? Read Prevention's "7 Side Effects of Drinking Diet Soda." Getting rid of soda will be a saving on your wallet.

No processed food! No white flour!
Prepackaged, processed foods are typically calorie dense with little fiber, which gives you a large amount of calories without leaving you feeling full long. Plus, your body typically breaks down processed foods quickly spiking your blood sugar count. It's all fine and dandy, until it your blood sugar crashes leaving you reaching for more processed garbage. Maintaining a steady blood sugar level helps stabilize your hunger.

No sugar
I'm talking about the white stuff. Americans eat far too much sugar, which is nothing more than empty calories. This rule goes for high fructose corn syrup and artificial sweeteners as well.

More fruits and vegetables

Full of fiber, antioxidants, minerals and vitamins, as well as low in calories, every diet should incorporate more fruits and vegetables. It also helps combat inflammation in your circulatory system. Strive for a wide variety and up to 13 servings. Remember, a serving is 1/2 cup of fruits or vegetable, 1 cup for big leafy veggies, 1/4 cup of dried fruits. Your two main meals should only be fruits and vegetables. Focus on buying in season fresh fruits and vegetables. Also, frozen veggies are another cheap source. Limit your intake of canned sources, since they are typically higher in sodium. If you have a sweet tooth, use fruit as an alternative to dessert, after all it is Nature's candy. For the argument about whether white potatoes should be vegetable or carbohydrates, it is a vegetable. While it should not be your only source of vegetable, it is still a vegetable and counts as a serving.

Beans, beans, the magical...
Beans are really good for you and are thought of by some as a power food. They're great for your heart, full of fiber and help control your hunger. Plus a bag of dried beans is cheap!

Nuts!
Full of antioxidants and healthy fats, these are considered another type of power food. Don't eat too much though, these healthy guys are also dense in calories. Limit yourself to a couple of handfuls throughout the day to ward off hunger. Buying the type you have to crack open yourself is cheaper.

Limit meat
Americans eat WAY too much protein, which is horrible for your kidneys. "The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that the average American male consumes 102 grams of protein per day, while the average female eats about 70 grams. That's almost twice the daily recommended intake established by the Food and Nutrition Board." Most protein is obtained from meat, which is traditionally high in saturated fat as well. While it is okay to have some saturated fat in your diet, it needs to be limited. Select fish (high in omega-3 fatty acids), and trimmed cuts of meat. Try to limit your monthly intake of red meat and processed meat (i.e. bacon, lunch meat) to no more than 2 servings. Meat is an expensive part of the grocery bill. By reducing the amount of meat you eat, you'll automatically get savings.

Limit fat
You still must incorporate fat into your diet, because your body needs it to properly function; however, this must be in limited quantities. Fat is a calorie dense source of energy. One gram of fat is nine calories, while one gram of carbohydrates or protein is four calories. Opt for healthy sources like olive oil. Stay away from hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil, since these are sources of trans fat (a type of bad fat your body does not need).

Limit alcohol
A glass or two of wine is fine, but more than that and you're just adding empty calories to your diet.

Low-fat, no fat dairy
Aim for only 2 servings of low-fat or no fat dairy products. I'm trying to limit my protein intake from animal sources, because I am trying to shift my diet to more plant base for health reasons.

Limit wheat
I'm a carbaholic and will gladly eat a diet of nothing but bread. I already have the rule of not processed food and no white flour. Whole grains such as bulgar, and brown rice are good for you, but whole wheat products don't compare. Granted whole wheat flour is better than white flour, but it is still too processed to keep blood sugar stable.

Get moving!
Exercise is a great mood booster, gets the blood pumping, builds muscle (which burns more calories!), and naturally raises your good cholesterol. Our bodies were made for motion, not a sedentary lifestyle. Try to workout 3-5 times a week for 30 minutes. Also try to be more active, by doing little things like taking the stairs instead of the escalator, carry basket instead of pushing a grocery cart.

As a general rule, you only need 10 calories to maintain one pound of your body weight. So if you're 200 lbs, you need 2,000 calories a day to maintain your current weight. I am 165 lbs right now and would like to weigh 145 lbs, meaning my calorie intake needs to change from 1,650 to 1,400. To help my body to adjust, I am making an intermediate goal of 150 lbs, meaning 1,500 calories, so my body adjusts easier to the calorie decrease.

New Year's Resolution

Happy New Year! An old year passes and a new one is here giving us a clean start.

This new year I would like to be skinner. About 20 pounds should do it, not that I'm picky. But I would also like to be healthier, and stay on a budget. Oh, being skinner with those two additional items might be a bit harder. Well, I'm going to give it a go.  The past couple of weeks I've been reading health books I checked out at the library, researching the best ways to be healthy and lose weight. I will post some reviews on the library books I have been reading. Maybe you'll find a good read?

While I haven't quite decided on how I'm going to achieve my budget friendly healthier weight-loss, I know some ways I am not going about it are:

Crash Diets

I could easily go on those crash diets that severally restrict your caloric intake to 1000 or below. It would definitely help with shedding the pounds, and when you're eating less, the grocery bill would correspond by being lower. My health would take a hit, plus I would be very, very hungry. I don't like being hungry. I get cranky, very cranky,  and others will pay. Additionally, with crash diets, you are often missing key minerals, vitamins and protein your body needs to properly function, so it breaks your muscles to fuel itself. The drastic reduction in calories also sends your body into starvation mode, making it hold onto the fat reserves. Ultimately, these don't work and they end up making you frustrated.

Meal Replacement
The meal replacement option often contains more minerals, vitamins and protein than the crash diet, so it is certainly a healthier option compared to crash diets. However, meal replacements are often costly, and lack in the taste department. Yuck! I still have to buy real food for the rest of the family, so the grocery bill would not be lower. There is no budget savers in this area.

No Diet Pills, Supplements, Herbs, or Detox

Majority of the popular diets that require you to purchase expensive items while going on their calorie reduced diet are only taking you as a sucker. Most of the supplements and herbs are not covered by the Food Drug Administration, and may contain more than you bargain for. Since one of my goals is to also be healthier, I am going to skip this route. Let's face it people, health and weight loss are not in a magical pill.

Weight Watchers

Admittedly, I have been on Weight Watchers before and successfully lost weight on their program. It promotes a balanced healthy approach by teaching you how to eat real food. I like that. Unfortunately, the fees add up when you look at the registration fee, weekly fee or monthly pass (depending at what route you take). You have to pay the fees regardless if you show up to the weekly meeting or not. This program is not helpful on my wallet, plus I do not have a meeting group conveniently near by. Granted you can pay for the strictly online option, which is cheaper than the meeting package, but I don't feel like I really get my money's worth. To me, the main reason why Weight Watchers is so successful, is the meetings.

Here's to a New Year! While I am not sure what I am going to do achieve my goals for this year, I know what I am not going to do, which is a starting point. Throughout the year I will post about my progress and failures in hopes others can learn along the journey.