Good-Bye Sugar- Why and How to Remove Sugar from Your Diet

     Most of us have a sweet tooth. We all love to enjoy a piece of cake, brownie sundae, chocolate bar...cupcake.... but these things are all jam packed full of SUGAR!!! Why don't we like sugar? Well, our taste buds love it, but the rest of our body could probably do pretty well without it!

Chocolate Lover's Granola - Small Batch Granola

Valentine's Day is just a few days away, which means chocolate is everywhere! It seems that chocolate is a popular way of saying 'I love you!' ! This Chocolate Lover's Granola is the perfect way to say I love you to a friend, special someone or even yourself!

Chocolate Strawberry Coconut Bars- Recipe Test

     I am all about creating my own recipes here on my blog, and for the most part I do. I love to mix and match several ideas and recipes to make my own unique dish! But this recipe was too good to pass up sharing it with you!

St. Patrick's Hummus

   St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner, and while its not a huge holiday, it's still a fun one to celebrate! Everything has been turning green for weeks in preparation for this Irish holiday! So, I started racking my brain to figure out what I could make that was healthy, delicious and GREEN!

What I decided to make and share with you guys, is some amazing St. Patrick's Day Hummus! I know, its not a traditional Irish food or even inspired my typical Irish flavors, but it is green and it is delicious! I think St. Patrick would approve and I hope you do too!

    To make this hummus, I started with a standard hummus recipe and began to add my own spin on it! To lighten the recipe up, I took out the massive amounts of olive oil and tahini paste that normal recipes use, and just used a little of the chickpea water (sometimes called aquafaba) for the liquid. To make this hummus the festive color green, I used some baby spinach! Not only does this add amazing color, but also an extra boost of protein! What more is there to love? Oh yeah, it's also Vegan, Gluten Free, fairly Low Fat, and a perfect healthy snack for anytime of the year!

Ingredients:
1 can of Chickpeas
2 TBS minced Garlic or 2 tsp of Garlic Powder
2 tsp Ground Cumin
2 TBS Lemon Juice
1 cup Fresh Spinach ( you could also use Kale, Arugula or any other dark leafy green you want)
(Optional) 1-2 tsp Tahini ( ground sesame seeds)
Salt to taste

Drain your chickpeas, BUT KEEP THE LIQUID. What you don't use in the recipe you can save for a later use. This liquid is called aquafaba and can me used to make vegan frostings, marshmallow fluff, sponge cakes and so much more!
Add everything to a blender or food processor EXPECT THE SPINACH.

Blend until everything is incorporated and fairly smooth. Taste and adjust any flavors if needed. If needed, add in some of the chickpea water to make things blend easier.

 

You could leave it as is and you will still have a delicious hummus, but in the spirit of St. Patty's Day, lets make it green!

 

Add your spinach to the blender and blend until smooth.

 

 

Isn't is pretty? Its so much fun to eat things that are fun colors! Taste the hummus and make sure it is to your liking. You might need to adjust the seasonings a bit to make it perfect!

 

Then, transfer your fresh homemade hummus to a dish or container.

 

 

Chill in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

 

Now you have some beautiful and delicious green hummus that St. Patrick himself would be proud of! This hummus is perfect for a St. Patrick's Day party or for a festive touch to your lunch and dinner!

 

Hummus has become a staple food in our house. We love to eat it with pita chips, carrot sticks, slices of cucumber and bell pepper, and crackers. Its also really yummy spead on toast, used in place of mayo on your sandwiches and veggie burgers, or in wraps to add delicious flavor and extra protein!

 

 

 

I hope you enjoy this recipe for hummus! I am sure you will love it as much as I do! Whether you make it in celeration of St. Patrick's Day, or just for fun, this is a recipe you won't want to miss out on!

 

Please share this recipe and my blog with your friends and family to helpe everyone live a healthier and happier life!

 

You can follow the blog vie email, Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood, Tumblr @ justrunningforfood, and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

 

I post every Friday!

 

Stay Healthy, Happy and Laughing!

 

H. Banana

Coffee Slushy!

I love coffee, but after my workout I don't want a hot cup of coffee...I want a coffee slushy! This recipe is super easy and only uses a few ingredients!

Ingredients:
Coffee(Brewed and chilled.) about 1 and a half cup.
Coconut Milk (Or any milk you prefer. Got to your desired taste with this one!)
Truvia (If you want it to be sweet, add this, if not, leave it out!)

Add Truvia and Milk to the coffee and mix together.

Then, add ice and blend away!

Once blended, you can enjoy it right away or pop it in the freezer to get firmer.

 

I hope you enjoyed this super simple, easy and delicious coffee slushy! Its a great way to have a sweet energy boost, with out the sugary calories!

 

Please share with a friend if you have enjoyed this post!

 

Keep healthy and SAFE

H.Banana

Delicious Cinnamon Baked Apples

These baked apples are so good! I saw a picture of baked apples on Pinterest and I knew I had to try and make some! These are perfect to warm you up on a cold day and satisfy your sweet tooth with out having an unhealthy dessert! I wrote this recipe myself and I hope you like it!

Ingredients:
2 tsp. cinnamon
5 packets of Truvia
5 Apples
1 stick of Butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. Maple Flavoring
1 cup of oats.
Lemon Juice.

The first thing you want to do is to wash and dry your apples (Remove any stickers they might have on them) and core them. Coring apples is a lot easier with an apple corer, but I didn't have one so I just used a knife and cored them the best I could.

Once you have cored them, place them in a bowl and splash a little lemon juice on them, to keep them from going brown while we make the filling.

To make the filling, first melt your butter in a microwavable bowl. Once melted, add Truvia and Vanilla to the bowl and mix well.

Then, add maple flavoring and cinnamon. I suggest using a whisk to mix this together.

Now, just add your oats and mix it till combined and the oats are coated with the liquid.

 

Take a pan (I am using a 9x13 pan) and cover the bottom and sides with tin foil. Then place the apples in the pan, making sure there is plenty of space between them. Fill the middle of the apples with the filling. Try to get as much as you can in them because it will cook down. You can just sprinkle any leftovers in the bottom of the pan.

 

 

 

Set your oven to 350 F and bake for 25-30 minutes. Then add some tin foil of the top and bake for another 15 minutes.

 

They are done when you can push a fork through them easily. Take them out of the oven when they are done and let them cool a bit before serving them.

See all that lovely sauce in the bottom of the pan? Save that to drizzle over the top of the apples.

 

 

To serve, place an apple on a plate and spoon some of the sauce from the bottom of the pan over the top of the apple. We drizzled a little half-and-half over ours and my little sister added Whip Cream.

 

 

These are so good! I made them for a mid-day snack and everyone loved them! The fact that they are delicious and fairly healthy for you is awesome! Try these yummy treats and let me know what you think! I hope you all love them as much as we did!

 

Remember to follow me on Pinterest and tell a friend about my blog!

 

Keep Healthy and Safe!

H.Banana

 

 

 

 

Calorie Saving Holiday Food Swaps.

Have you ever wondered whether there was a healthier way to make your favorite holiday treats? Well, there are so many healthier recipes out there from pumpkin pie to turkey dressing, but what about just tweaking the recipe you already love? Here are a few food swaps that might help you. Now, just be clear not all of these will taste good in everything. Use your imagination and have fun with it!

Oil:
Oil can be substituted with applesauce 1 for 1. So, if you use a 1/2 cup of oil you can use a 1/2 cup of applesauce instead. This is a great tip for things like muffins and sweet breads!

Sugar:
Sugar can be substituted with Stevia 1 to 3/4. So if you use a cup of sugar you can use 3/4 a cup of stevia. Stevia can be found in almost any grocery store now, but if you can't find it in your local store try Whole Foods or Fresh Market. The brand of stevia my family uses is Truvia.

Butter:
Butter can be substituted with coconut oil 1 to 3/4. So, like the sugar and stevia, if you use a cup of butter you can use 3/4 of a cup coconut oil. Now, I must say this taste better in some things than others. It does give a slight coconut flavor, which is great in chocolate cookie but maybe not so much in sweet potato casserole. Have fun with it though! Maybe sweet potato and coconut with become the next popular flavor combination!

Cow's Milk:
Cow's milk can be substituted with unsweetened almond milk 1 to 1. So, if the recipe calls for a cup of cow's milk, you can use a cup of unsweetened almond milk. I have used this tip a lot and I have never tasted an almond flavor as a result from it.

Milk Chocolate:
Milk chocolate can be substituted with 70% dark chocolate 1 to 1. So, if you use a cup of milk chocolate, just use a cup of 70% dark chocolate instead. This gives anything a richer and darker chocolate flavor and I love this tip because of it!

Heavy Cream:
Heavy cream can be substituted 1 to 3/4 with Raw Cashew Cream. So for a cup of heavy cream just use 3/4 of a cup of raw cashew cream. I have never used cashew cream so I can't tell you how it will taste, but if you use it I would be interested in knowing what you think about it!

These tips came from HeandSheeatclean.com

I hope these tips inspire you to try new things and hopefully make your holidays a little healthier! Let me know if you try any of these and what you thought!

Keep healthy and Safe.
H.Banana

Your Body On: Diet Soda

  Diet soda may seem like a good option to some. You get the soda you love without the calories right? But, what you don't know is that Diet Soda is so terrible for you! I did some research and I found out a lot! Here are the reason you should never drink diet soda again!

Teeth:
Drinking 3 or more diet sodas a day increases your risk of tooth decay due to the super high acidity level.

Mood:
Drinking 4 or more cans of diet soda makes you 30% more likely to develop depression.

Metabolic Syndrome:
Consuming diet soda daily can cause your risk of metabolic syndrome to increase by 36%. Not sure what Metabolic Syndrome is? Well, WebMD has a great article explaining everything you need to know! I encourage you to check it out!

Heart:
A study in 2012 found that drinking diet soda daily can increase the risk of a heart attack by 43%.

Kidneys:
Drinking 2 or more diet sodas a day has been linked to double the risk of kidney disease. The information came from a study of 3,000 women.

Weight:
A daily serving of diet soda increases the risk of obesity by 41%.

Diabetes:
Drinking at least one diet soda a day can increase the risk of type2 diabetes by 67%.

This information came from Prevention.com

  So, now that you know what diet soda will do to you, are you going to give it up? What about just regular soda? Are you going to give that up too? You should. I gave it up several months ago and I am so glad I did. I am healthier because of it, I know. And, to tell the honest truth, I don't miss it at all! I have tried to have a sip or two here and there but it doesn't taste the same and I don't enjoy it. I encourage you to try to give up soda. Maybe you feel like you can't live without your daily soda, but start with a week and then two until you're going months without it. I know it can be done, because I did it! Not just diet soda, but every sugary soda out there needs to be cut from your diet!

Let me know if you are trying to cut soda from your diet and how you are doing it! I hope this post has given you some proof that diet soda isn't good for you and encourages you to take another step to becoming a healthier you!

Keep healthy and Safe
H.Banana

Your Body On: Sugar

  Sugar is in almost everything! My family and I have been trying to stay off of sugar since we watched a film called Fed Up  and we have found it incredibly hard! You might be wondering, why is it important to stay away from sugar? I encourage you to watch the film mentioned earlier to get a bigger picture, but here are a few things that will happen if you eat too much sugar ( 24g and day for woman and 36g for men)

#1:
Sugar can rewire the brains pathways. If your diets contains too much sugar this can increase the risk of depression by 58%!

#2:
Sugar will inflame the linings of the arteries to the heart. This will increase the risk of strokes and heart attacks!

#3
Sugar can age the way you look, causing wrinkles! When you bombard you body with sugar, proteins incorporate it as a part of their structure which leads to aging of the skin and wrinkles.

#4
Kidneys have a delicate filtration system and sugar over load and damage that. Diabetes is one of the main causes of kidney failure.

#5
Being on a high sugar diet will affect your joints! High sugar diets pump inflammatory cytokines into your bloodstream which will exacerbate arthritis.

This information came from Prevention

So, now that you know a few reason to get off of sugar, what will you do about it? If you are like my family and you want to try to be on a sugar free diet, here are a few things that might help you.

What is your Sugar IQ?  This is a fun quiz designed to show you just how much you don't know about sugar. I found it very helpful. I got 6 out of 10 my first go, but my favorite part is that the website explains the answer so well! If you want to learn more about sugar, I encourage you to complete this quiz! If you do, share your score in the comment section and let me know if you learned anything new!

Added Sugar This website explains why added sugar is so very bad for you.  I enjoyed reading through this article and I hope you will too. It list several other things sugar will do to harm your body. Let me know what you think about this article!

Sugar Free Shopping List  This is a list of things to buy that are sugar free and there are also a few snack  ideas and things like that.

Sugar Addicts Listen Up! Here are a few tips and tricks for the sugar addicts out there who are ready to leave a sugar-high diet in the past! Let me know if they are helpful.

Pinterest is also a great place to find recipes and snack ideas that are sugar free. I have found so many and a few of them I have shared with you on my blog. Be sure to check back for more recipes soon!

  Like I said, my family is trying to get rid of sugar for good, but its hard. I'm sure you will find that to be true if you take the plunge. We often have to go without things that we really enjoy. A few months ago I liked nothing better than a nice cold Coke-A-Cola or Sprite, but I decided to play a game when I started my healthy adventure. How long could I go without a soda? It started with a few days, then weeks and now, I can't remember the last time I had a sugary soda. I can honestly say that I don't even like the taste of soda anymore. Now, when I need a fizzy fix I head to the fridge to get a ever present bubbly-water. Here is the brand my family loves: La Croix. I am trying to get the rest of my family completely off soda, and we are getting there! Let me know how long you can go without a soda!

I hope this post encourages you to start and have a sugar free diet and to help others as well! Spread the word about the truth about sugar and let me know some of the things you are doing to get off of sugar!

Keep it Healthy and Safe!
H.Banana