Food Review Friday: Fiber Bar

It is a bit funny to write this post for the simple fact that my blog was born from the product I will be reviewing today. My sister’s fiancé was eating one of these bars and said it tasted so awesome he wanted to write a post about it but realized he had no outlet through which to express his food thoughts. I created Fit Foods for Thought that weekend and the rest is history!

I had completely forgotten about this product until this past Wednesday while at Whole Foods Market on an amazing supermarket tour with Amanda Goldfarb. Amanda and I dissected the label and she highly recommended I try a few flavors. I fell in love with the Gnu Foods Flavor & Fiber Bar. Below are the nutrition facts for the Chocolate Brownie flavor.

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving / Serving Size = 1 bar)
Calories 140
Calories From Fat 35
Total Fat 4g
Saturated Fat 1g
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0g
Total Carbohydrate 30g
Sodium 30mg
Dietary Fiber 12g
Soluble Fiber 8g
Insoluble Fiber 4g
Sugars 9g
Other Carbohydrate 9g
Protein 4g
Calcium 6%
Iron 15%
Ingredients: Gnu High Fiber Blend™ (Whole Rolled Oats, Organic Whole Wheat Flour, Wheat Bran, Organic Kamut, Psyllium, Flax, Millet), Chicory Root Inulin, Fruit Juices, Rice Dextrins, Dark Chocolate Chips (Chocolate, Cane Sugar, Lecithin, Vanilla), Cocoa Powder, Canola Oil, Plums, Rice, Wheat Protein Isolate, Natural Flavors, Baking Powder.

What I absolutely love about this product is that it has so much fiber. In fact, it has almost 50% of your daily value of fiber! Having this much fiber in a snack food is almost perfect because that one little bar will definitely hold you over until your next meal. I also love that, compared to other bars, it has much less sugar. This is great because my cavities sometimes ache when I eat LUNA Bars due to the overwhelming amount of sugar. With Gnu, I can eat chocolatey goodness with no aching teeth. That’s always a plus for me! In addition to the Chocolate Brownie flavor, I also enjoy Cinnamon Raisin.

The only downfall to this product is the lack of nutrition. It would be great if Gnu bars were fortified with vitamins and minerals. Refer to a previous post to compare the nutrition of Gnu and LUNA bars. Forget the cavities, do you see how many nutrients you are getting out of that one LUNA bar? Nonetheless, I would still recommend Gnu Foods Flavor & Fiber Bar and rate it 4 cupcakes. Besides, now that Amanda convinced me to take a Multivitamin as well as Fish Oil and Vitamin D supplements daily I am nutritionally insured.

Fit Foods Rating: 4 cupcakes

Sasha

Tip Tuesday: Simply Substitute

As I read in an article today, you should “love to eat – just fall in love with the right food.” Today’s tip will allow you to understand this concept and maybe even fall in love.

Stocking up on good quality food is fundamental to your quest for a healthy life. Whenever you get around to detoxifying your kitchen you will probably find a great majority of your food gone. Do not fret! Simply find better quality alternatives to what you already eat. Think of it as adding rather than subtracting: think of all the nutritious food you will add to your life and all the benefits it will bring.

That said, if you like … then try …

• Butter (on your toast). Natural fruit spread or honey.
• Mayonnaise/Ketchup. Mustard or honey mustard (which you can actually make yourself).
• Milk Chocolate. Dark chocolate with at least 70% cacao.
• Peanut Butter. Natural peanut butter.
• White/Enriched Grains. 100% whole wheat or whole grain.
• Whole Eggs. Egg whites every once in a while (or instead of whole eggs if you have high cholesterol)
• Whole Milk. Skim milk or low-fat soy milk.

 So there you have some simple substitutions to hopefully fall in love with.

 Sasha

Food Review Friday: Bottled Smoothie

Although fresh smoothies are the best possible choice when possible, I find that I rarely have time to make them from scratch. Thus bottled smoothies are the next best thing for me, especially when there are no fresh fruits in the kitchen to begin with. The product I will be reviewing today is Bolthouse Farms Green Goodness. Below are the nutrition facts.

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving / Serving Size = 8 oz)
Calories 140
Calories from Fat 0
Total Fat 0g
Saturated Fat 0g
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 25mg
Potassium 470mg
Total Carbohydrate 33g
Dietary Fiber 1g
Sugars 27g
Protein 2g
Vitamin A 120%
Vitamin C 105%
Calcium 3%
Iron 15%
Folic Acid 30%
Riboflavin 7%
Vitamin B6 15%
Vitamin B12 30%
Manganese 150%
Zinc 120%
Ingredients: Apple Juice from Concentrate (Water, Apple Juice Concentrate), Pineapple Juice From Concentrate (Water, Pineapple Juice Concentrate), Mango Puree from Concentrate (Water, Mango Puree Concentrate), Banana Puree, Kiwi Juice, Spirulina, Natural Flavor, Open Cell Chlorella, Zinc Sulfate, Brewed Green Tea, Spinach, Broccoli, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Barley Grass, Wheat Grass, Blue Green Algae, Echinacea Purpurea Extract, Odorless Garlic, Lemon Bioflavonoids, Jerusalem Artichoke, Dragon Fruit Juice, Tamarind Puree, Lime Juice, Nova Scotia Dulce.

What I love about this product is the incredible amount of vitamins and minerals it contains especially in comparison to similar products like Naked Juice Green Machine. I also like the fact that it combines fruits and vegetables yet you would never know this by its delicious fruity taste. Bolthouse Green Goodness would be an even better product if it was fortified with fiber, protein, Vitamin D, and Calcium. Nonetheless it is a great product, which I rate 4.5 cupcakes.

 

Fit Foods Rating: 4.5 cupcakes

Be sure to check out other Bolthouse Farms smoothies and juices! Drink up!

Sasha

Tip Tuesday: Detox Your Kitchen

Gee whiz! Spring cleaning came early!

If you are seriously looking to acquire a healthier lifestyle, make it a point this week to rummage through the refrigerator, cupboards, and drawers in your kitchen to get rid of the junk and make room for the good stuff. This will probably be one of the most challenging things you encounter on your path towards a healthy life. Undoubtedly, it will be difficult to part ways with the poor quality foods you have eaten your entire life but  it will be very well worth it in the end.

Overwhelmed about where to start? For one thing, do not just toss everything with reckless abandon. There is a method to the madness; it involves meticulously checking the Nutrition Facts label on your products one-by-one. Toss products containing the words sugar, syrup (especially high fructose corn syrup), hydrogenated (trans fat), enriched, and salt as part of the first five ingredients. If the product contains those words in the first five ingredients then that means it appears in high volume in the product – and trust me, you do not want that.

Beware of deceptive labeling! Just because a product claims to have “0 trans fat” does not necessarily mean it is true. If you see the words ”partially hydrogenated” in the ingredients then there is your trans fat in disguise. My favorite deception occurs with products that claim to be whole grain but contain the words “enriched wheat flour” in the ingredients. Enriched, refined, or bleached flour of any kind has been processed and is thus white flour despite the color of the product.

You may be surprised to find that a lot of your products are in fact nutritional felons. Do not let that stop you. Even if nothing can be salvaged, let it go! Understand that the point of this detox is not to place limitations on the food you eat, but rather to broaden your horizons and give you a whole new perspective that will allow you to choose better quality food. I always stress in my discussions of healthy eating that you do not necessarily have to stop eating the foods you love, just find better quality versions of them. That is exactly what the detox is encouraging you to do.

BONUS: If you have a lot of unopened food to toss, skip the trashcan and donate it to organizations like Food Bank for New York instead. Please note that all products must be in their original, unopened packaging with the expiration date clearly specified; no glass products will be accepted.

For more help with detoxifying your kitchen check out this article.

Happy Cleansing!

Sasha

Mi Voz Interview

Check out my interview with Mi Voz (My Voice), a blog about people helping people.

Interview: http://mivoz-myvoice.blogspot.com/2010/01/interview-featuring-food-blogger-sasha.html

Sasha

Food Review Friday: Fruit Spread

Put down that pastry! Here’s a product that will satisfy your sweet tooth.

I have always been big on sweets. Growing up I was definitely more of a jelly person than a peanut butter person (until recently, of course, when I discovered natural peanut butter). The problem with jellies and jams — as well as a variety of other sweet foods – is that they are full of artificial sweeteners, added coloring, and may even contain high fructose corn syrup. YIKES!

Unwilling to give up jelly completely, I researched a better option. I was pleased to discover an alternative sugar fix. The product I will be reviewing today is Polaner 100% All Natural Fruit Spread in the Red Raspberry flavor. Below are the nutrition facts.

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving / Serving Size = 1 tbsp)
Calories 40
Calories From Fat 0
Total Fat 0g
Sodium 0mg
Total Carbohydrate 10g
Sugar 9g
Protein 0g
Ingredients: Juice Concentrate (Pear, Grape), Raspberries, Fruit Pectin, Citric Acid and Natural Flavor.

What I love about this product is that it is sweetened naturally with fruit and fruit juice. It is available in a variety of flavors (black cherry, apricot, boysenberry, pineapple, etc.) but my favorite at the moment is Red Raspberry. The fruit spread is not too sweet yet just sweet enough and tastes absolutely delicious. I rate this product 5 cupcakes and definitely recommend it to everyone, especially sweet tooths across the globe. It is too good to pass up!

 

Fit Foods Rating: 5 cupcakes

Sasha

Tip Tuesday: Know Your Numbers

Perhaps the biggest favor you can do for yourself this week is pay your doctor a visit. Get a routine physical exam and have blood drawn so that you know your blood pressure, blood glucose level, total cholesterol, etc. It is equally important to measure your body.

BONUS: Go the extra mile and get your hands on a scale that accurately measures your body weight, body fat, muscle mass, and metabolic age among other things. Body fat in relation to body weight is an important number to track during weight loss.

Collectively, these statistics are more than just numbers; they tell you a lot about yourself (i.e., what diseases you are at risk for, what foods you should be eating more/less of, etc.). To help you gauge your current standing, I have listed normal (low health risk) statistics for adults.

• Blood Pressure: Less than 120/80, ideally 115/75
• Blood Glucose: Less than 120
• Total Cholesterol: Less than 200
• HDL (healthy cholesterol): More than 40 (the higher, the better)
• LDL (lousy cholesterol): Less than 100, although a range of 100 to 129 is acceptable
• Triglycerides: Less than 150
• Body Fat: 21% to 32% in women ages 18 to 39 / 8% to 19% in men ages 18 to 39
• Body Mass Index (BMI): 18.5 to 24.9
• Waist Size: Less than 1/2 your height in inches

Knowing your numbers can help you take better care of yourself and even prevent diseases, as demonstrated in this article. So make that appointment today and take the first step towards improving your life!

Sasha

New Thoughts

This year instead of making useless resolutions that you probably will not keep, focus on what is important in your life: YOU. Make a committment to treating yourself right by acquiring a healthier lifestyle. When you take the time to make sure you are well taken care of, everything else in your life will gracefully fall into place. For those of you who were on the healthy track but veered off-course during the holiday season, now is the opportunity to get back on track and start fresh.

Luckily, I am here to help! Here are some new things to look forward to this year at Fit Foods For Thought:

• Tip Tuesdays: Every Tuesday I will share a tip relating to food/nutrition, health, or fitness.
• Restaurant Reviews: On the first Friday of every month, instead of the usual Food Review, I will review a restaurant in the Metro New York area.

You can do it! You just have to bust through and do the things you think you cannot do!

Sasha