Tag / Food Fun Facts

Bird with Pickle
by Janet

Who’s Got my Pickle?

I thought I’d wrap up the night with another Food Fun Fact.

One thing I’ve noticed about “healthy” food is that… sometimes… it’s just plain awful. It tastes so BLAND. Would you like some seasoning with your cardboard?

Every time I go out for groceries it feels like I’m on a scavenger hunt. Of course, this applies even more so right now—with COVID-19—because it’s hard to find many foods PERIOD.

Several years back I had the pleasure of tasting Boar’s Head Horseradish Bread & Butter Pickles, and I’ve never forgotten those tasty chips. They’ve been pretty hard to find, but I scored a jar recently on one of my excursions.

According to numerous sources, pickles have been considered a health food for centuries. Julius Caesar is said to have fed them to his troops to boost strength, and Cleopatra favored them as a beauty aid. Go figure!

Personally, jazzing up my “healthy” food with spices, citrus, and condiments (like horseradish or these awesome bold pickles) helps keep me on track because it makes those otherwise boring meals fun and exciting.

The Good news here is that 3 pickle chips have just 40 calories and a low glycemic load. The not so good news, for those watching their salt, is the 200 mg of sodium.

Anyway… another fun thing about pickles is that I found a use for this old (upcycled) photograph from the beach. I did NOT feed the bird… I simply caught him in the act after he raided a nearby beach blanket picnic.

That’s about all for now. Thank you for reading!

by Janet

The Skinny on the Mini

It’s time for another Food Fun Fact!

First of all, I am no nutritionist. I say this because 1) there really ARE experts in the field who can tell you what foods are good for you, and what foods you should avoid, and 2) everybody has an opinion. Part of my lifestyle change involves investigative work; discovering things that work for me… and these are the FUN FACTS that I’m sharing here. That’s my disclaimer and I’m sticking to it.

I think that this mission; finding what works for me personally (or you), is part of the fun. It’s exciting! I gain new knowledge about nutrition and certain foods, I’m figuring out what I can stick with and what will never work, and I’m exposed to foods (or recipes) that I’ve never tried before.

That being said, I found a recipe from Dr. Oz for Anti-inflammatory Toast. It has been around for years (but new to me!) and its anti-inflammatory properties are recommended for the Apple body types.

Recipe
  • 2 Slices Ezekiel bread—sprouted 100% whole grain
  • Avocado Slices
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Fresh Lemon Juice
  • Red Chili Flakes

How to prepare: Toast the bread and drizzle with olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon juice. Top with avocado slices (and drizzle and squeeze some more). Sprinkle the chili flakes on top and get ready for Toast with Tang and a Bang! That’s my opinion, but I may be a little too generous with the lemon juice and chili flakes.

Here’s what I loved: I LOVE spicy food and never really think about sprinkling chili flakes on food. Now I do and I’ll be doing it a lot. Combined with the lemon flavor (which I also LOVE) this toast is fabulous. It’s super easy to prepare and it’s not boring at all. I DO love bread (It sure seems like I love food!), so I found this to be a satisfying breakfast… with a low calorie count of approximately 188 (but who’s counting?!).

So… here’s the Skinny on the Mini. I’ve been using Mini-Avocados and they’re the perfect size. Mini avocados weigh about 3.5 ounces each, yielding from ⅓ to ¼ cup of avocado—approximately 60 to 80 calories. They’re great for single servings which means I don’t have to worry about storage (or oxidation) of the avocado leftovers.

Today’s variation: Added One Egg, fried in Olive Oil with a heaping spoonful of Feta.

One word: YUM.

Thank you for reading… I hope you found something useful and/or enjoyable here!

by Janet

Knock Knock

Who’s there?

Banana.

Banana who?

Banana split so ice screamed!

With all of my talk about eating, I thought some “food humor” was in order—accompanied by a free Pexels image.

I’ve been wanting to share some of the information I’m discovering out there—tips and tricks or what have you—but I’ve held off for fear that too many new topics will muddle my already oddly diverse and eclectic blog. Then this morning, with a clear head, I sat up and thought… “eh, who cares!?”

That being said, I am sharing my very first…

FOOD FUN FACT!

The glycemic index gives us a way to tell “good carbs” from “bad carbs.” In my case, carrying weight around the middle was an indication that I was eating too many of those bad carbs. The scale is 0-100 and here is the key:

  • 55 or less = Low (good)
  • 56- 69 = Medium
  • 70 or higher = High (bad)

The smaller the number the better. Those high numbers are what makes your blood sugar spike, wreaking havoc on your body if you do it consistently. These numbers are cool to check out.

I was sad that bananas are often labeled bad because they’re higher in sugar than other fruits, and bananas are one of my favorites. What I found out though, is that they’re not so bad on the glycemic index.

What’s even better is that the glycemic index of foods can change. Unripe bananas are lower on the index… coming in at 41. The riper they get, the higher their glycemic index will be. So now I won’t wait for the bananas to turn all ripe and yellow, I will try to eat them green. I prefer them in my smoothies anyway, and it’s great when they’re not all soft and mushy.

Pasta is my other favorite food! Honestly, I could eat it every day. The longer pasta cooks, the higher the index will be, so serving your noodles Al dente is the healthier way to go. Who knew?!

Lastly, using lemon juice (or vinegar) during food preparation will lower the food’s glycemic index. So squeeze some lemon on that penne!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my Food Fun Fact! I’m still not sure it will be a regular thing. Mainly I wanted to record the information that I’m discovering, and sharing them here seemed like a great way to do it.

Anyway, thanks for reading… Peace & Love!