Correction

Going back over last night's blog, I realized that when I was talking about the wheat kernel and the Ezekial bread, I should have clarified a little more.  When the whole kernel is ground up and used to make bread (or whatever baked good), it is called a whole grain or whole wheat flour.  You can find many loaves of bread out there that contain the whole grain, just check the ingredient list.  If the first ingredient says "whole wheat" or "whole grain" it's probably a good bet- just as long as high fructose corn syrup isn't the very next ingredient. And the word "enriched" shouldn't be found in the list.

I checked my spaghetti and this brand was a whole wheat pasta, so no enriched grains.

Ezekial bread is a whole grain bread but it is made from sprouted grains, which means they allow the kernel to sprout then grind it up to use in the bread.  So it's still a whole grain, but when it is sprouted, the kernel releases enzymes that help digest the wheat before it even enters the body.  It also contains more protein and more available vitamins and minerals.  The texture of the bread is a little different, it's more dense and flavorful.

So I hope that makes sense.  As long as you are reading the label and eating whole grain or whole wheat, you're good.  Sprouted bread is just a little step up- it's also more expensive.  Stay away from white bread!

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If you can't feed birds white bread, why should you feed it to your kids??

Oh, and if you're gluten sensitive or have celiac's... just ignore everything I'm talking about- you can't have any  of it.

The return of yoga

After an early morning full of baby kicks, conference calls and pumping, I finally made it to a yoga session!  Started at 9:30 and I ran in just as it was starting.  It was a little hard to slow my brain down, but I managed.  I'm still a little sore from the Shred workout, so it felt good today.  I think yoga will have to move up on my priority list.

I didn't bring my camera to yoga, but wanted to share a pose we did today.  I've done it a couple times before, but today it had a special meaning:

The happy baby pose

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If Tyler can do it, so can I!  Only after doing this he puts his feet in his mouth, which I definitely cannot do.

Breakfast today was some black cherry Chobani and cinnamon raisin Ezekial bread, toasted with some yogurt spread.

Someone asked me the other day why Ezekial bread was so much better than regular bread.  Here's my answer:

When you buy something that says "enriched flour" as one of the ingredients (or you'll hear them referred to as "refined flour"), it means that the wheat kernel has been stripped of the bran and the germ so that it can be ground into flour.  This eliminates most of the fiber and vitamins and minerals that you would get from the whole grain.  Since the good stuff has been stripped away, companies then add synthetic vitamins and minerals to "enrich" the flour.  Your body doesn't absorb these nutrients as well as the natural ones that are found in whole grains. Ezekial bread is made out of sprouted grains, which contain all parts of the kernel so you get the fiber, protein AND the vitamins and minerals.

Here's a little diagram I found that hopefully helps to explain.

And that's your lesson for the day.

For lunch I had some whole wheat spaghetti noodles (probably enriched, need to check the box) sauteed in garlic grapeseed oil with a handful of spinach and some minced garlic.

Supper was grilled pizza part 2.  I made semi-homemade dough this time, so instead of out of a tube, it came out of a box (this time I'm sure there's enriched flour in it).  I didn't do any crazy toppings this time, just plain ol' pork sausage.  I did add a bunch of garden fresh jalapeno peppers, onions, green peppers and banana peppers while I was browning the meat.

Note to self: smaller pizzas = easier when it comes to grilling.  I had a hard time getting the big one on and off the grill so I split the second piece of dough into two pizzas.

Pert' darn good.

Tomorrow's Friday!  Yippie!!

Rum for breakfast?

Thank you hubby, for letting me sleep in today!  I was so energized I decided to finally use those brown bananas.  So I made coconut banana bread with a lime glaze.  And yes the recipe calls for rum, so I broke out the Captain.  While I was making it, I had a piece of toast (with Ezekial bread) and some crunchy peanut butter and a drizzle of honey.

I found this recipe on a blog I read, Our Best Bites.  It was taken from a recipe that was originally found in Cooking Light.  The original didn't have the glaze, and it had rum instead of apple juice or milk.  I thought it'd be fun to use rum.  Here's the recipe:

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze

2 C flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C sugar
1/4 C (4 Tbs) real butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 C mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large bananas)
1/4 C sour cream or plain yogurt (I used plain Chobani)
3 Tbs dark rum
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C coconut

Topping: 2 Tbs additional coconut
Glaze: 1/2 C powdered sugar whisked with 1 1/2 Tbs fresh lime juice (I used concentrate)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until blended. Add eggs and beat to combine. Add banana, sour cream or yogurt, rum, and vanilla. Beat until blended.
Add flour mixture and beat at a low speed until just combined. Stir in 1/2 C coconut.

Pour batter into a 9×5″ loaf pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Sprinkle additional 2 Tbs coconut on top.

Bake in the oven for about 1 hour or until a knife or skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Note:Check bread after about 40 minutes. If the top has browned and the coconut pieces are looking toasty, cover top of bread lightly with a piece of foil. Continue baking until done.

When done, remove pan from oven. Let cool on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes and then carefully remove from pan. Whisk powdered sugar and lime juice together for the glaze and then drizzle over top. Cool for another 15 minutes before slicing.




Here's a before pic:

The batter tasted pretty good, and I didn't get a buzz in case you were wondering

And here's an after pic:

Forgot the whole part about checking at 40 minutes and covering with foil

And here's a close-up of the awesomeness:

This is a little different than my normal "healthy" banana bread that uses whole wheat flour and flax seed meal. I'll post that one someday.  This recipe is definitely chock full of sugar.  Think each slice is maybe around 200 calories.  It's pretty worth it though.  One tip: when measuring out the sugar, I almost always use just a little less than what the recipe calls for.  Chances are, you don't really need all of that sugar.  It's not one of the chemical necessities in a recipe like baking soda or eggs or oil.  Try it and see what you think.


Moving on, I did not get a picture of lunch because I ate it so fast.  Just another spinach salad with chicken, toasted walnuts and blueberries.  And my fav dressing.

Checked a bunch of stuff of the to-do list today, which felt good.  Supper was a grilled chicken breast (marinated in Italian dressing I think- hubby prepared din din) and some pasta.  Chicken was soooo good, since we stocked up on smart chicken when we were at the big city grocery store.

Definitely lacking some greenage... need to stock up on broccoli!

Had our second to last softball game tonight and sweated buckets. We won. We're doing much better than we thought we would!  We did stick around for one beer since we had a babysitter tonight.

That's all for tonight... get pumped, tomorrow's Friday!!