Encouragement for Healthier Eating

Hey gals!

I thought you might enjoy having this podcast "from the vault" on the subject of healthier eating. Most of us are gearing up to eat healthier as part of our New Year Resolutions, so hopefully this will give you some practical, no-fail ideas for getting started!

Click here to go listen to the show

Food Allergies

I have several friends that have severe food allergies and they feel like burden to their friends. If they are invited to a party they are often limited to what they can eat and they fear they may end up with something that may cause them problems. The host or hostess on the other hand are afraid that them may make them sick.

First of all mark all foods that contain peanuts, shell fish and flour. These are the most common food allergies in the U.S.

Secondly do not panic if you have friends that have these allergies. It is an easy fix. For the gluten just make a replacement. There is a flour product in stores that have a wonderful mix of flours including rice, garbanzo bean, tapioca and more that can replace flour in any recipe. It works in quick breads, cakes, pies and cookies.

Shell-fish is a easy fix because you can replace it with other fish products or another meat in most cases. I recommended doing a test run.

Peanut Butter is another easy fix because those who have allergies to peanuts generally do not have allergies to almonds. Buy almond butter and replace it.

I have friends overall the time with food allergies and I make a huge effort to make things they can eat and the rest of the guests are non the wiser. The food tastes great and the fellowships and stories of the evening make the party a huge success.

I write a lot about food allergies and health issues. I am a Home Economist, teacher and mom and I am very concerned about the health of our children and families.

Sheila Rae

http://www.bizzylizzybakery.com

No White Flour Revolution

There are articles, news reports and comedians that put there “two cents” in on what should be this years New Year’s Resolution. So I decided to join them and suggest to the world to eliminate white flour. There are many supporting facts on why we should do this but we are a Wonder Bread Society and habits are hard to break.

White flour came onto the scene around the time of the Industrial Revolution. We started milling wheat and removing the beneficial germ to increase the bread self life. Naturalist would say that they removed the life of the grain which is what makes it so beneficial to the body. I think this is a valid point but the thing that scares me the most is the use of chemicals in the process. The most common used in the production of white flour is called alloxan. This chemical is used to make white flour look so beautifully clean and this same chemical has the power to destroy the beta cells of the pancreas. What does that mean to our bodies in the long term, the risk of diabetes? Scientists have known the risk for years and even use it to induce diabetes in lab animals by injecting alloxan directly into the animals. How does alloxan cause diabetes? The alloxan makes beta cells fail to operate normally and they eventually do not produce insulin which causes one variety of adult-onset type 2 diabetes. The white flour industry argues if alloxan was the primary cause of diabetes more Americans would be diabetic. Even though that is a valid point we also know that not just one thing usually causes a single health issue.

If you are diabetic or have a family history of diabetics one of the first steps in prevention is the elimination of white flour.

The bakers at Bizzy Lizzy Bakery have come up with a wonderful solution. They have created a breakfast “Hearty” cookie that is packed with fiber and protein. These soft and delicious cookies have 4 grams of fiber and NO FLOUR. Most high fiber products have wheat flours, which many are trying to avoid.