Spotting Hidden Fructose

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byrachelmartino, clean eating, food for yoga, fructose vs glucose, hidden sugar, nutrition, style, whole foods, yoga diet, Yoga With Paul

This article on hidden sugar was recommended by nutritionist and yogi Rachel Martino. We all know that cutting down on hidden sugar is a good idea, but it isn’t just how much you eat, but what type of sugar you eat.

AuthorityNutrition.com explains the difference between glucose, which we need for energy, and fructose, which has a different effect on our body.

There are two simple sugars: glucose and fructose.

Glucose comes from starches like potatoes, our bodies produce it and every cell on earth has glucose in it. Glucose is a molecule absolutely vital to life.

Fructose, however, is not. Humans don’t produce fructose and throughout evolutionary history have never consumed it except seasonally when fruit were ripe.

Glucose and fructose are metabolized very differently by the body.

The key thing to realize, is that while every cell in the body can use glucose, the liver is the only organ that can metabolize fructose in significant amounts.

When people eat a diet that is high in calories and high in fructose, the liver gets overloaded and starts turning the fructose into fat.

What’s the best way to cut your fructose consumption? IQuitSugar.com has the following information to help you spot, and reduce, your intake of fructose.

1. Fructose makes up half of sucrose (table sugar).

When people think sugar, they generally think of the granular white stuff you add to tea and coffee. This is called sucrose, which is half glucose and half fructose.

2. Fructose is also in agave, maple, dates and honey.

Ah, yes. The so-called “natural” sugars (despite the fact that sucrose is totally “natural”, too). People often defend agave, dates, honey and maple syrup on their vitamin and mineral content, but the high percentage of fructose outweighs that small benefit. If you want the health benefits of natural sweeteners, just eat a piece or two of whole fruit, a pile of veggies or some whole grains!

3. Fructose is mostly metabolised by the liver.

Unlike glucose, which is readily absorbed into the bloodstream for energy, fructose is primarily metabolised by the liver. And it can’t deal with too much of the stuff at once, so it stores what it can’t get through as fat.

4. Fructose mucks with your appetite.

Ever demolished a whole pack of biscuits… and still had room for more? There might be a perfectly good reason for that. A study by the Journal of the American Medical Association found that fructose doesn’t lower appetite hormones after ingestion like other foodstuffs do, leaving you hungry and prone to overeating.

5. Fruit is the best way to eat fructose.

While we’d never recommend fructose in juices, powders, syrups or dried fruit we have no problem with fresh fruit. Fruit is full of vitamins and minerals, but unlike honey or maple syrup, it has plenty of fibre and water to slow down absorption and keep you full.

Share your favourite sugar-reducing tip in the comments!

Seasonal Food: Radishes

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British food, clean food, food for yoga, radish recipes, seasonal food, yoga, yoga nutrition, Yoga With Paul

Radishes are in season right now. Red, white or purple, they are a perfect, crispy, nutritious snack, and a colourful addition to salads and stir-fries. Radishes contain
B vitamins including folate, riboflavin, and B6; potassium; copper, magnesium, manganese, and calcium. They are also high in water content, making them great for a light snack before practice.

If you need some radish inspiration try this BBC Food noodle salad recipe. You can substitute soba (buckwheat) noodles and tamari to make it gluten free

Ingredients

For the noodle salad

• 200g/7oz whole wheat noodles, cooked according to packet instructions and drizzled with groundnut oil to prevent sticking
• 200g/7oz red radishes, washed and quartered
• ½ cucumber, halved lengthways, de-seeded and chopped
• 1 small handful black sesame seeds or toasted sesame seeds
• fresh coriander sprigs, to garnish

For the sesame soy dressing

• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 3 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 3 tbsp Chinese black rice vinegar or balsamic vinegar

Share your favourite radish recipe in the comments!

Cinco de Mayo Vegan Chilli

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Cinco de Mayo, clean eating, food for yoga, London Cinco de Mayo, one-pot recipes, vegan Mexican food, vegan recipes, Yoga With Paul

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with this delicious vegan chilli recipe. Packed with vitamins, minerals and fibre, it will fuel you through a long day of work, yoga and anything else.

Photo via Veganuary

This recipe is courtesy of Veganuary which has loads of other great recipes and tips for vegan eating. Well worth checking out and bookmarking.

Ingredients

• 600g sweet potato (peeled and cut in 1.5cm dice)
• 1 large red pepper (cut in 2cm dice)
• 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
• 2 x 400g cans black beans (rinsed and drained)
• 400g can chickpeas (drained)
• 250ml water
• 1 large onion (finely chopped)
• 4 garlic cloves (crushed)
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 to 2 tbsp chilli powder (according to taste)
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 limes
• 2 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• 1 bunch fresh coriander to serve

Preparation

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Fry together onion, garlic, ground coriander, ground cumin, chili powder and cinnamon until onion is soft.
2. Add diced sweet potato, red pepper, canned tomatoes and water.
3. Bring to boil. Then cooked covered under medium heat for 10 mins.
4. Add black beans, chickpeas, and cider vinegar. Cook uncovered under medium heat for 20mins until vegetables are cooked and liquid has thickened.
5. Add cocoa powder, sugar, lime juice and season to taste.
6. Add chopped fresh coriander just before serving.

Share your favourite Mexican recipe in the comments!

 

Vegan Mac’n’Cheeze

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B12 recipes, food for yoga, healthy vegan recipes, nutritional yeast recipes, vegan mac'n'cheeze, vegan recipes, yoga, yoga nutrition, Yoga With Paul

Since my last post was on the importance of B12 I wanted to share this B12-rich vegan mac’n’cheeze recipe from a friend. It is free from dairy and gluten, packed with B12 from the nutritional yeast, and seriously rich and tasty while being low-fat!

Mac’n’cheeze

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 400g thick rice noodles
• 75g nutritional yeast
• 4 Tbsp tahini
• 120ml soy sauce or tamari
• 1 Tbsp vinegar
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp cayenne (optional)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil (optional)
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes (optional)
• 1 cup fresh spinach, torn (optional)

Preparation

1. Fill a large pot about two-thirds full of water, add rice noodles and bring to the boil
2. Cook the noodles for 8-10 minutes, until soft then remove from heat
3. Drain excess water so the surface of the noodles and the water are about equal
4. Add the tahini, tamari and vinegar and stir in
5. Add the nutritional yeast gradually, stirring out any lumps
6. If desired, add olive oil to create an extra-silky texture
7. Add the spices and season to taste
8. Stir in cherry tomatoes and spinach for a colorful finish

You can also top this with grilled tofu, avocado, or crumbled roasted nori seaweed.

Share your best topping tip in the comments!

How to Eat Less Sweet

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cutting sugar, diet, healthy food, hydration, nutrition, weight-loss, yoga, yoga tips, Yoga With Paul

After weeks of chocolates, pudding, mince pies, mulled wine and biscuits you may be thinking about your sugar intake. The trouble with sweet stuff is 1) it tastes great and 2) sugar sneaks into all sorts of things you might not expect. In other words, it takes a bit of effort to cut down on sugar. It is worth it though. Sugar compromises the immune system, leads to energy spikes and crashes, and tempts us to overeat. When we reduce the amount of sugar we eat it makes room in our diet for nutritious food our bodies need.

Here are three ways you can eat less sweet.

Pack your lunch

As much as possible, eat food you’ve prepared yourself — even if it is the “same” as the shop-bought equivalent. A ready-made sandwich will probably have more sugar and salt than a homemade one; a pot of fruit-flavour yogurt has loads more sugar than plain yogurt with fresh fruit; and if you’re feeling munchy it is tempting to eat “nutritious” fruit and nut bars that are actually loaded with sugar. When you make your own food, you know exactly what goes into it, making it easier to eat less sweet.

Don’t drink it

If we’re not careful we can drink more sugar than we eat. Even if you avoid obvious sugar-traps like soda you can still get a lot of sugar from “good for you” alternatives like smoothies, fresh fruit juice, non-dairy milk, alcohol, and so forth. To truly cut out sugar, you pretty much have to just drink water! That is too extreme for most of us, and there drinks like smoothies have other positive health benefits. But it is a good idea to be mindful of what you drink and swap sweetened beverages for unsweetened drinks like Ugly, a fruit-infused sparkling water drink that has zero sugar.

Watch out for “healthy” alternatives

A lot of times we think that sweeteners like honey or agave are “better” than sugar, or that brown sugar is better than white. The truth is, they’re all sugar as far as our body is concerned. Though less processed sugars might be appealing for other reasons, they cause the same insulin response in our body, can lead to the same energy highs and lows, and have the same ability to trigger cravings. Be sure to include these types of sweeteners when you consider your total sugar consumption.

Got tips for cutting out hidden sugar? Share in the comments?

Seasonal Food: Laksa Recipe

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clean eating, food for yoga, laksa recipe, nutrition, seasonal food, Tales of a Kitchen, vegan laksa, vegan recipes, whole food, yoga eating, Yoga With Paul

Laksa is warming, hearty, make-ahead meal and loaded with healing herbs and spices. This spicy noodle soup hails from Malaysian, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand and its heat and fresh flavours are a treat in the British winter.

You can add almost any vegetable so the key is to get a delicious broth. I found a great recipe for the laksa base on Tales of a Kitchen (read the full post here). Once you make it you can get creative and add a range of seasonal vegetables — though not traditional I might spiralise sweet potato, beetroot and carrot, toss in some hearty winter greens like shredded kale, and maybe tempeh or tofu for extra protein and texture.

Below is a guide to making perfect homemade laksa base. For instructions on completing the whole bowl visit Tales of a Kitchen.

Ingredients for the LAKSA PASTE

• 5 chilies of your choice (as hot as you want them), stemmed and seeded if you want
• 4 red shallots (small onions), peeled and quartered
• 2 TBSP roughly chopped ginger
• 3 big garlic cloves
• 3 coriander roots, cleaned really well
• 2 large lemongrass stalks (white part only), trimmed and chopped
• handful of cashews (or macadamia if allergic to cashews)
• 1 TBSP coriander seeds (whole)
• 1 TBSP cumin seeds (whole)
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 TBSP turmeric (fresh or powder)
• 4 TBSP tomato paste (totally not traditional, but I love it in this recipe)

Instructions

1. Add coriander and cumin seeds in a small pan on low heat and slightly toast them for 1-2 minutes, careful not to burn them.
2. Set aside and allow to cool.
3. Once cooled, add them to a mortar and pestle and grind them finely.
4. Add all ingredients for the laksa paste to a blender and process until you get a fine paste. Should take around a minute. Scoop into a bowl.

Laksa is light enough for a pre-yoga snack, especially if you’re heading to the studio after a long day of work. It is equally good as warming lunch, or even breakfast.

Share your favourite one-pot winter recipe in the comments!

Raw Beet for Good Health

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clean eating, cookbooks, food for yoga, gluten-free recipes, health, healthy eating, nutrition, raw food, raw food cookbook, vegan cookbook, vegan recipes, yoga, Yoga With Paul

It is always exciting to support the work of friends and students — especially when they are promoting wellness!

Raw Beet is a cookbook featuring gluten free, vegan, raw and low GI recipes, co-authored by the wonderful Rachel Martino. She has made a guest appearance or two on the blog before, and is a long-time yogi, registered nutritional therapist, and makes amazing, melt-in-your-mouth raw chocolates, among other things.

Rachel is one of those people who always has a handful of great projects so it is no surprise she has added cookery writing to her repertoire. Raw Beet is a charity cookbook that supports Blues In Schools, which teaches young people who have emotional or behaviour difficulties to cook. Its whole foods, clean eating focus highlights the importance of good nutrition for overall physical and mental well-being.

The recipes Rachel contributed include a raw beetroot ravioli with pesto, ‘sour cream’ and fresh pomegranate seeds; sumac and avocado dressing; raw green tea ice cream; and a bunch of delicious juices and smoothies.

Pop to Amazon to pick up a copy and share your thoughts in the comments!

Yoga Food: Watermelon Gazpacho

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clean eating, healthy eating, hydration, Ibiza, Ibiza cookbook, nutrition, seasonal eating, vegetarian recipes, yoga, Yoga With Paul

This recipe, from Eivissa – The Ibiza Cookbook, is a twist on gazpacho, the traditional Spanish cold tomato soup.

Cila, my writer friend and yoga student, edited the cookbook. She tipped me off to this recipe because she thinks it is a perfect antidote to 90 minutes of sweating in a yoga class!

Made with watermelon as a base it is sweet, light, spicy, fresh and like the original a great way to rehydrate and get extra vitamins and electrolytes on a hot summer day.

Leave off the feta for a vegan option, or top with a sprinkling of seeds.

Ingredients

 1kg (2lb 2oz) watermelon flesh, chopped

1 large tomato, peeled and deseeded
1 large cucumber, peeled and chopped
¼ sweet onion, chopped
½ red pepper, chopped
1–2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and chopped
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Juice and finely grated zest of 2 limes
2 tsp agave syrup (optional)
Salt and black pepper

To serve

350g (12oz) watermelon flesh, roughly chopped
1 small cucumber, chopped
1 large yellow or green tomato, chopped
¼ red onion, very thinly sliced
75g (3oz) feta cheese
Handful mint, leaves sliced into ribbons
Salt and black pepper

Preparation

1. Purée the watermelon, tomato, cucumber, onion, red pepper, 1 chilli, olive oil, a large pinch of lime zest and 3 tablespoons of the juice in a bowl or jug with a hand-held blender, or in the bowl of a food processor until smooth.
2. Taste and add more lime juice, chilli and/or agave syrup.
3. Season to taste and chill until ready to serve.
4. Divide the chopped vegetables among the serving bowls then spoon over the chilled soup base.
5. Garnish each serving with crumbled feta, mint ribbons, salt, pepper and a pinch of lime zest.

Share your favourite fruit recipe in the comments!

When Eating Right Feels Wrong

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best diet, clean eating, healing digestion, healthy eating, IBS, IBS Vegan, plant-based diet, veganism, yoga, yoga diet, yoga digestion, Yoga With Paul

What happens if you eat right but still feel wrong?

Vegan author and activist Jo Stepaniak asks this question on her blog IBS Vegan and I think it is an important point to consider. Science and common sense back clean eating with as many whole, natural foods as possible. But no diet is a magic bullet. As Jo writes…

There are countless stories of people who have recovered from debilitating illness or disease, went from obese to svelte, or miraculously rose from the brink of death just by moving to a plant-centered diet. I’d wager that almost everyone who becomes vegan expects to feel better, or at least feel good, even if they didn’t have health problems before changing their diets.

Because of the high expectations new vegans have, and because we all want veganism to receive positive press, people who don’t feel good after adopting a plant-based diet are usually given a litany by other vegans of what they are doing wrong or all the approaches they need to try….

But the fact is that some people simply don’t do as well or feel as well on a totally plant-based diet as others, and there are actually some very valid (and scientifically proven) reasons for that, particularly when it comes to people with IBS. That’s because the foundation of a plant-based diet are foods that are high in FODMAPs, which are specific types of carbohydrates that are difficult to digest and trigger or worsen IBS symptoms.

Even a clean plant-based diet, which is generally a good thing, isn’t right for everyone. Friends with IBS or other food issues can vouch for the fact that healthy meals can upset a delicate digestive system.

Yoga is a great way to strengthen and stimulate the digestion, but it’s not a cure-all. The fact is, no one way of eating is right for everyone. Part of our practice is learning to listen to our bodies and respect their needs. If we discover over time that certain foods or eating patterns don’t suit us we should feel free to change, even if it goes against popular ideas about what’s best. I’m not saying swap salads for super-size meals, but rather pay attention to the signals from your body. The right diet is a little different for everyone, so be willing to experiment and find what truly works best for you.

For healthy eating to manage IBS visit Jo’s site: IBS Vegan.

Has a “right” diet felt wrong for you? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Herb, Cucumber & Potato Salad

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clean eating, cucumber and potato salad, food for yoga, healthy food, recipes, seasonal eating, simple summer salads, summer recipes, vegetarian recipes, Yoga With Paul

Seasonal eating means getting the most out of your food. When food is fresh it tastes better and, surprise surprise, is better for you. Not only that, it lets you benefit from the wisdom of nature which yields foods that are exactly what we need at the time. Right now loads of light, delicious, nutrient packed fruit and veg are in season. Combined with fresh herbs they provide exactly what your body needs.

Choose the herbs in this salad to taste. Dill and mint are lovely alone or together; coriander gives it a refreshing tang. Flat-leaf parsley can also be a nice addition. If you don’t do dairy, leave off the yogurt and use a simple dressing of good extra-virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar.

Cool Cucumber and Potato Salad

Serves 2

• 300g new potatoes
• 1 large cucumber
• 100g mange tout or baby peas
• Large handful fresh dill & mint, coriander or flat-leaf parsley
• 80g plain natural yogurt
• 2 Tbsp organic lemon juice
• Salt & fresh ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Boil the potatoes until tender, 15-25 minutes depending on the size
2. Refrigerate until cool, preferably overnight
3. If very small, leave whole, otherwise halve
4. Peel and slice cucumber
5. Cut mange tout in half
6. De-stem and chop the herbs
7. Toss the vegetables in a bowl with the fresh herbs, yogurt, and lemon juice
8. Season with salt and pepper to taste

Share your favourite seasonal salad recipe or tip in the comments!