Whole milk contains “complete” proteins which means it has all the necessary amino acids to form protein. Whole milk contains calcium and is fortified with Vitamins A & D. Whole milk also contains Vitamin B12 and provides 50% of your daily requirement of B12. An 8-ounce glass of whole milk contains 150 calories, 8 grams of fat, and 290mg of calcium.

Soy is the only plant product that is a “complete” protein. So you get the same amino acid benefit as whole milk. It is said that soy might lower the risk of heart disease because it contains isoflavones, which helps lower the bad cholesterol (LDL) in the body. Some people digest soy better, so it may help if you have digestive issues. An 8-ounch glass of soy milk contains 130 calories, 4 grams of fat, and only 10mg of calcium. Because of the low amount of calcium in soy milk, you can buy the “fortified” soy which contains 200mg of calcium, and Vitamins A & D. Soy milk is not a good source of vitamin B12.

“Flour – The Facts”

By: Sandra

Dear Readers:

Flour is our baking buddy. Years ago, our kitchen was stocked with one or two types of flour. Today, there are so many types, all made from nuts, grains, legumes, seeds, and vegetable sources. So what is flour? Flour is the grounded part of these nuts, grains, legumes, seeds, and vegetable sources. Nowadays, gluten-free blends are available in plant sources, vegetable sources, and non-wheat grains to accommodate those with Celiac’s Disease or who are sensitive to gluten. Gluten-free blends come from potatoes, tapioca, and beans (fava and garbanzo beans).

The best advice I can give you regarding whole-grain flour is to store it well, in air-tight containers or in the refrigerator. This is because the oils in whole-grains turn rancid over time. If you refrigerate your whole-grain flour, take it out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature before using. In other words, flour bakes best at room temperature.

Here are the most sold flours and their descriptions:

1. Almond flour (almond meal): Made from blanched almonds. It contains 6 grams of protein per ¼ cup, 3 grams of fiber, and 14 grams of fat (which 95% is unsaturated fat). Almond flour adds moisture to baked goods. Do not try to replace almond flour with flour in yeast. Almond flour turns rancid quickly so don’t store for too long.

2. Amaranth flour: Made from ancient seeds and contains complete proteins (lysine). Amaranth flour is used for thickening sauces, soups, and other gravy-type sauces.

3. Barley flour: Made from whole-grain barley and contains a lot of fiber (4 grams per ¼ cup). Barley flour adds fiber to baked goods but it not good for rising (breads). It is also good for thickening sauces, soups, stews, and other gravy-type sauces.

4. Buckwheat flour: Made from buckwheat. This flour works best when making homemade pasta, bread, and pancakes. When making bread, you must combine it with other flours to help it rise.

5. Flaxseed flour (flaxseed meal): Made from flaxseeds and contains omega-3 fatty acids. Flaxseed contains 2 grams of fiber per 1 teaspoon. Flaxseed is used to make baked goods, as a fat or egg substitute. Flaxseed is NOT for rising.

6. Oat flour: Made from oat groats. Oat flour adds a nutty flavor and extra texture to baked goods, but it needs to be combined with other flours in order to help rise.

7. Potato flour: Made from potatoes and contains 400mg of potassium per ¼ cup! Potato flour is used to thicken creamy soups, creamy sauces, and even to make frozen desserts. Potato flour also helps bind patties (chicken patties, veggie patties, etc.) because it retains moisture.

8. Rice flour (brown): Made from unpolished brown rice. Brown rice flour contains 2 grams of fiber per ¼ cup and has a nutty flavor. The difference between brown rice flour and white rice flour is that brown rice flour contains more fiber than white, and it gives a grittier texture to baked goods (like corn bread). White rice flour is very starchy and is used a lot in Asian dishes to help thicken their sauces and rice.

9. Rye flour: Made from rye and it contains 4 grams of fiber per ¼ cup. Rye rice flour contains less gluten that the other grain flours, but it’s heavy. This heavy feature makes rye flour great for baking bread.

10. Spelt flour: Made from ancient spelt, which is a cousin to wheat. Spelt flour contains 4 grams of protein per ¼ cup, 4 grams of fiber, and 1 gram of iron. It has a nutty flavor and can be used to substitute wheat flour when baking. Spelt flour may cause allergic reactions in those who are allergic to wheat.

11. Soy flour: Made from milled soybeans. Soy flour contains 10 grams of protein per ¼ cup! It also contains 3 grams of fiber, and is lower in carbohydrates than most flours (it contains 8 grams of carbs per ¼ cup). Soy flour contains calcium as well! It is used to thicken sauces and gravies, baking bread and cookies, and can be substituted for wheat flour.

My personal first choice of baking flour is almond, then oat. I love the taste of both (that nutty flavor), and I love the nutrient content. When I cook and flour my meat, I use either soy flour or potato flour. I feel they are healthier choices, and the potato flour helps bind some recipes and lock in moisture.
I hope this article brings you the knowledge you were looking for in the world of flour. The baking and cooking industry has changed a lot, and so has the flour! Eat well.

Sandra

Another reason for working multi-muscle groups is to save time. With very busy schedules these days, you can perform a 20-30 minute workout hitting 2 or more muscles group at a time! Try it!

MAKES ABOUT 12 SERVINGS

1 medium cucumber (peeled)
1 pint of low-fat or fat-free plain OR flavored cottage cheese (flavored tastes a whole lot better)
1 small (snack-size) box of raisins

Cut the cucumber into rounds (about 1/2″ thick pieces). Lay the cucumber pieces on a serving tray. Spoon a little cottage cheese over each cucumber piece. Top with 2 or 3 raisins. Serve cold!

1. Make a pot of chicken soup and add veggies. It’s a good way to camouflage the taste and still benefit from the nutrients.

2. Season and grill your vegetables. Mostly everyone loves the taste of barbecued food. Season with herbs such as garlic, parsley, sage, oregano, and rosemary.

3. Add vegetables to your meatloaf or hamburger. Good veggies to put in red meat are peas, beans, diced carrots, chopped onions, diced peppers, diced olives, diced celery, diced squash, and diced mushrooms.

4. Make a veggie shake! For a carrot shake….use carrots, apple juice or orange juice, and cinnamon. For a broccoli shake….use broccoli, blueberries, cranberry juice, and plain yogurt.

Enjoy!

1. When performing a squat, bend at the hip first. You should make believe you are going to sit down on a bench, so stick your buttocks out, then let your knees follow. Your knees should be behind your toes (LINED UP with your ankles joints). Then when you come up from your squat, you should push off the heels of your feet and squeeze your buttocks. NEVER push off your toes.

2. When performing a chest fly, your hands should not be lowered and then aligned with your shoulders. Even when doing a seated chest fly on a seated machine, your hands should not be coming back aligning with your shoulders. A chest fly is a chest exercise, NOT a shoulder exercise. If your shoulder joints OR shoulder muscles are working harder than your chest, then you are doing the exercise wrong. Here’s the correct way: when performing a chest fly, you should only bring your hands and arms down (or back) HALF-WAY. This isolates the chest muscles and takes the strain off of the joints.

3. When performing biceps curls, 99% of you think you have to bring your arms all the way down (in front of your quads). This actually takes away from the bicep muscles, and utilizes the wrists, forearms, and elbows joints much more. The safe way of performing a bicep curl is to come down HALF-WAY (your wrists should be aligned with your elbow joints). This isolates the biceps and takes the strain off both the wrist and elbow joints. This will also make your biceps grow faster now that they are isolated.

Total Calories: 154
Total Carbohydrates: 32 grams
Total Fat: 0 grams
Total Protein: 9 grams
Total Fiber: 2 grams

MAKES 1-2 SERVINGS

1/2 of a banana
1 cup of peaches (fresh or frozen)
1 cup of mango (fresh of frozen)
1 cup of fat-free OR low-fat plain yogurt
5 ice cubs
Artificial sweetener to taste (optional)

Blend all of the ingredient above for 1 minute, or until desired texture.

Cherries are used in some countries to fight inflammation (for arthritis and gout). Cherries are also used to help with symptoms of colon cancer and Alzheimer’s but nothing solid has been proven yet on these studies.

Cherries contain about 75 calories per cup, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 1.3 grams of protein, and 15% of Vitamin C!