Keeping it Simple: Carbohydrates

There was a commercial that was playing in the background as I was rushing to go somewhere...I can't remember where. Anyway, I can't remember the exact wording, but it went something like this "It's always changing...carbohydrates are good..carbohydrates are bad". This commercial really got under my skin.  It's commercials like these from the media that ruins nutrition information.  On the other hand, it is true that with other aspects of nutrition (not all), and with ongoing research, other nutritional "news" may change. However, when it comes to carbohydrates, media has continually given this important macronutrient (a major nutrient that is essential to our existence) misrepresentation. Carbohydrates has been proven for years that we need it for our bodies to function properly. That will not change.

It makes me cringe (although I keep my mouth shut) whenever I get together with our women's Bible Study group, and they're proud to announce that the bread they're using for our sandwiches is "low-carb". That's nothing to be proud about!! 

So, let's just keep this simple. The number one fuel  source our body depends on is carbohydrate. The desirable carbohydrates our bodies should have more often are fruits, vegetables, whole grain breads, whole grain pastas, whole grain rice, and potatoes. These food items give our bodies various vitamins, various polyphenols, and fiber. Intake of these foods results in a healthy body. The less desirable carbohydrates are desserts (like cakes, cookies, pies, ice cream), white bread, white pasta, white rice, and sugar-filled drinks such as sodas. These food items certainly gives us calories, but they do not always necessarily give us the nutrients we get from the other food items previously listed, especially fiber!  If you're going to take in calories, you want calories that will give you good bang for your buck...meaning that the calories you take in are calories that come with nourishment. Calories devoid of nutrients is not worth taking in. Continually taking in calories that do not have adequate nutrients can lead to a nutrient deficiency, which you do not want to experience. On the other hand, if you also cut back on your calories too much on a daily basis to lose weight, well then...be ready to enter the malnutrition zone and feel horrible. But hey, if that's where you want to be, then that's your prerogative.

Anyway, please don't be swayed by the negative reporting of media. We NEED carbohydrates, just like we need protein and fat in order to be healthy; however, we do NOT need any of these macronutrients in excess. Excess intake of any of these macronutrients (and not exercising regularly) can lead to unused calories at the end of the day resulting in a caloric pile-up. Since this pile-up of calories has no where to go and are not being used, then they happily and gladly to turn into fat and extra weight. Really, it's just as simple as that. So, proceed with mindful moderation. Happy eating to all of us!
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My favorite undesirable carbohydrate is ice cream...which I have once in a while!:)  What's yours?

My Favorite Dessert During My Trip to Romania

Now I don't want to offend anyone in any way and I certainly do not like to delve into any negative political or territorial turf. So, please just know that I am only writing about my favorite dessert that I had in Romania and that's it. Nothing else. You know I love food and good, delicious tasting food, so that's absolutely it!

On this trip, I made sure that I wouldn't over-do it on eating sweets.  I generally don't have much added sweets, but when I travel I tend to want to try every dessert offered to me, because I want to experience that particular country's cuisine. On my last trip to Slovakia and Austria last May, I didn't keep track of how much dessert I was eating and I paid for it when I returned.  I got sick.  So, this time, although not saying no to any dessert, I just made sure I had a couple bites of each dessert that I had there and totally savored and enjoyed the moment. I am happy to say that this worked!

The noodle dessert is on the left. Yummeeeeee!

So on to my favorite dessert that I loved over there in Romania! Never in my life have I had the opportunity to have a dessert that has pasta or noodles in it! Never! Ever! So, the concept was very strange and intriguing to me. I was looking forward to it and I was ready. I was very thankful that our Romanian colleagues decided to take us to a wonderful restaurant during the last couple nights of our stay. We were taken to a Hungarian restaurant.  Oh yes! The food was also very delicious here...trust me...it was...even though I cannot remember what I had (I ate so many different dishes during my stay over there that it's hard to keep track). Then the choices of desserts came.  We had three different kinds that arrived to our table on a plate. The other two were good, but the one that caught my taste buds was the dessert with noodles in it. Oh it was so strange at first, but I loved it!! It definitely works. I also liked the fact that it was not too sweet. The sweetness was just right. Traveling is definitely fun when you go to places with desserts you don't normally have in your home country!

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Which Hungarian dessert have you had and did you like it?

My Discovery in Romania

Last week, I returned from an absolutely memorable and unforgettable trip to Romania. Romania is a beautiful European country. Therefore, I have had no energy to write or blog since I returned due to always having such a difficult time with jet lag. However, it was well worth the time and effort visiting the country in order to participate in the inaugural conference meetings of the Romanian Nutrition and Dietetics Association. That truly was an honor and privilege to take part in history. I am excited for all of the new Romanian dietitians who will be able to continue helping and guiding people to better health in their country.


One of the joys of traveling to a different country is to take part in their culture...and food!!!:) Soups are a very important part of Romanian meals. These soups are very healthy due to its richness in various vegetables. The dietetic students and dietitians have also told me that Romanian soups are not made with a lot of salt. That is truly amazing to me, because their soups are very flavorful. I was wondering what flavor I was enjoying eating a particular soup one day. I was told that the herb lovage is one of the herbs used in Romanian cuisines. There are medicinal benefits to this herb, but that is not what I am going to focus on here. I just want to focus on the fact that this herb definitely brings a wonderful and pleasantly unique flavoring to soups! 

One of the students in Romania actually gave me some lovage leaves and seeds to take home with me back here to the U.S.  However, when I got to the agriculture inspection in Portland, they told me they had to take the seeds away from me, but that I was allowed to take the leaves with me all the way to California. Taking the leaves with me made me happy. Anyway, lovage seeds can be ordered online. I will be doing that. I am happy to have access to lovage seeds. In addition, I hope you will try the lovage herb one day in your cooking, so that you will be able enjoy the delightful flavor it delivers.


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Have you had the chance to visit any European countries this year? If so, which country was it and what food did you particularly enjoy from that country?

Recipe Redux: Filipino Rice Cakes

Happy first birthday to Recipe Redux!  What a great group to be a part of. Thank you to Serena, Deanna, and Regan for your wonderful leadership!

Filipino Rice Cakes (Puto)--they're really bite size, but look big here.

So, in celebration of Recipe Redux's first birthday, the theme of this month is "Small Bites to Celebrate a Big Event". Immediately I thought of all of the Filipino celebrations I have attended since birth and have always enjoyed the festive looking small rice cakes. Now before I go on, I must warn you. The real name of this Filipino dessert sounds like a Spanish not-so-nice-word, but please trust me, as I use it here I am not using it in the Spanish manner and Filipinos are not using the word to name this dessert something bad.;) Okay, so having said that, the name of this Filipino rice cake is puto.:) Alright, you can get it out of your system and laugh it all out!:-D

This Filipino rice cake is usually just white; however, I have seen it and eaten it in various colors. For Recipe Redux's celebration I have made them a few different colors. There are so many variations to this Filipino rice cake, especially when it comes to texture, but they all have the same, or similar wonderful flavor.

Since I didn't want to re-invent the wheel, I took the puto recipe of EntrePinoys Atbp., and modified it. Their recipe is good, but I like desserts not too sweet, just slightly sweet. I reduced the sugar a bit and coconut milk. Then I increased the rice flour content since I wasn't getting the texture I personally was envisioning. If you look at other Filipino rice cake recipes, they mainly use rice flour, but some use other flours. To me, the best flour to use for puto is rice flour which you can buy at an Asian or Filipino market.

Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups of rice flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup sugar

Directions:
1.Mix well together the rice flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar together.
2.Add the coconut milk to the dry ingredients mixture
3.(Optional) I don't really use food flavoring on a regular basis, but for this festive look and if you would like, divide the puto mixture into equal parts into several small bowls depending on how many colors you want. Follow the instructions on the food coloring box to obtain the desired color you would like. 
4. Pour the mixture into muffin tins or pans. (I used small individual muffin tins, so they are bit size, but they don't look bite-size in the picture I took.)
5. Steam for at least 30 minutes or until a toothpick pulled out is clean.
6. Puto tastes best when served warm; however, wait to cool completely before placing in containers.

These Filipino rice cakes are very easy to make! Enjoy!!

Also, please take a look down below to see the other wonderful recipes my friends have developed this month.

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What is your favorite Filipino dessert?

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Power Yoga and Hydration

If you've gotten yourself immersed in absolutely enjoying hot yoga (like I have!), then please do make sure that you're hydrating yourself well during class. For those of us who live in places where it gets warm and hot during the summer, we have to take extra caution. Especially when we take yoga classes in the afternoon after school or work, those few steps in between from work/school building to our car to the yoga studio can dehydrate us more during those warm months de-energizing months. Please be conscious and don't arrive to your yoga class in the hydration negative zone. Hydrate well, especially with water, throughout the day before class. If need be, have a small snack an hour or so prior to arriving at the studio to give you the extra energy to get through that power yoga class.

Now here's the thing, a lot of the hot power yoga classes are over an hour long...sometimes an hour and a half long or an hour and forty-five minutes long. Let's face it...they are endurance activities that are intensified with strengthening poses. These classes are not just stretching, kick-back classes. They are intense! Even more so during the hot months and doing long hot yoga classes, it definitely would not hurt to have your beverage beside your yoga mat be a sports drink containing important electrolytes, and, of course, carbohydrates to replace what you've lost. You would definitely feel a whole lot better throughout the yoga practice and after the class. For a yoga class only for an hour, water is sufficient. After class continue to hydrate and make sure you also have an adequate post meal.  Sometimes it sure feels like my yoga clothing ends up being a couple pounds heavier after class. It's a sure sign to replace, replace, replace!


Enjoy the wonderful world of power yoga!


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What type of yoga do you enjoy doing?

Reflecting On I Thought I Knew Best, But Was Wrong

By the time I was 22 years old, I thought I'd help God plan my life out by clearly laying out what I never, never, ever, ever want to do in life. There were three important areas where I clearly marked I will not enter! To start, I had wholeheartedly promised myself not to do a marathon, let alone a half marathon, or even a 10 K, or even a 5 K. I absolutely thought that it hurts to run...period. Second item I promised to never do was to teach at a university and not to teach at Loma Linda University. Now I had no idea why I thought this. I loved going to school at LLU and my teachers were all great and wonderful. There was no rhyme and reason to my ignorant, young mind back then. All I had planned as far as career-wise was concerned is that I will be a clinical dietitian forever! The third area of "never ever" is that I believed that going for a doctorate degree is extremely way too hard and that it really should just be left for the total intellectuals who are total nerds. By next month, it will be a whole twenty years later since I told God what I would NOT DO!!!

Before I go on, I just want to say, what a relief God didn't listen to me. I'm thankful God listened to my request that "God, my every day life is in your hands, so just take over." Ha! Little did I know what I meant when I let Him have control over my life.:) I'm grateful God made me swallow up all of my very own horrible words and immature thoughts. I sure have learned that you still keep growing and evolving through every decade of your life.

Almost two decades later, I am thankful for the enjoyment and thrill of completing two full marathons, four half marathons, two sprint triathlons, a 10K, and a little dinky 5K. I thought I'd be content just going to the gym, lifting those li'l machines and going to aerobic classes. The journey of preparing for a marathon is not easy, but definitely has provided life lessons which I wouldn't have learned just going to a gym. The opportunity to teach at LLU was presented to me and I'm very thankful for the other passion of life I now partake in, which I didn't know I had. Working with students is greatly rewarding and satisfying. The teaching part is not difficult, but what is hard is dealing with a few students every year who are difficult at times. However, we are blessed at LLU that most students are such wonderful blessings to have. I'm still shocked that I am working on this third degree. I am thankful that I have learned so much and have enjoyed all of the new ideas and concepts I have acquired in the past five years in the area of educational technology and e-learning. What truly has been difficult is working on my dissertation. There have been several times that I've cried...and I hate to admit, want to give up. With God's help though, I will not quit.

What have I learned from "detouring" in the areas I promised myself I would never get into? Well, I have learned even more clearly about discipline, patience, and endurance. Oh a whole lot more! God sure knew I needed way more growth in those capacities. I have learned that even if these three areas of "I don't want to go there" were God's will for me to get into, He did not promise all areas would be a rose garden. With all of the difficulties and challenges I continue to encounter in these scenarios of my life, God has always been there to help me get through one day at a time. God certainly has provided me with guidance, strength, courage, and fortitude. I know He will continue to provide that for me, because that's how much He loves me. The other thing I learned is that even though I can make my own plans, I'm glad when He takes over and has better plans in store for me. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know that plans I have for you. Plans not to harm you, but to give you a future and a hope". So even if things don't work out the way you had originally intended, just know that when God is control, things work out for the better, because God knows best! He definitely knows me better than myself and He definitely knows you better than you know yourself. 

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What surprises in life are you enjoying now that you did not originally plan for yourself?

Added Sugar, Artificial Sweeteners, and Natural Sweeteners

We are definitely bombarded with information regarding the consequences of consuming excessive added sugars. We can't fight what is reported. There is truth to what has been said. Then we read about natural sweeteners and artificial sweeteners. There is reason to be concerned about intake of artificial sweeteners. However, reading about all that can be confusing and can drive a person up the wall.

Instead of living life around making sure you get your sweet-tasting fix from added sugars, natural, and artificial sweeteners, it may just be a better idea to train our taste buds to enjoy the authentic sweetness that comes from eating fruits on a regular basis. From birth, our taste buds are a clean slate. Then we trained it as we have matured and grown to either love more sweet foods or salty foods. So, why don't we train our taste buds to yearn for the sweetness in fruits, and just get use to eating less added sugar desserts and drinks. Who needs artificially or naturally sweeteners anyway? Seriously now, we don't need those "sweeteners" to exist or enjoy life. No deprivation required, just consume less of the real deal and up the fruit intake. Our taste buds do adjust to less added sugar or artificially-sweetened intake. 

Training our taste buds to enjoy less highly sweetened foods and beverages doesn't happen over night though. There is an adjustment period. This may vary from individual to individual. One person may easily adjust from a weeks, while another individual may adjust to less sweet indulgences for months. While the adjustment period may vary, the end result will still be achieved. The adjustment period may not be easy at times, but it can be done bringing desirable outcomes.

Part of life's enjoyment is delighting in a sugary, decadent dessert once in a while. Go ahead and enjoy it when you do. Just don't let life be centered on satisfying that sweet tooth at a heightened level every day. Anything in excess has consequences. Allow your taste buds to adjust. Consume less added sugars, enjoy the natural goodness of fruits, and reap consequences that are absolutely good for that body of yours.

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As a treat once in a while, I absolutely enjoy and love ice cream sandwiches. What is your once in a while favorite dessert that you enjoy?