Coconut vs. Olive....the Dieters Debate

I find myself in nutritional and health conversations during almost every random part of my day. 
Just the other day while picking my kids up from school I got into a conversation with a fellow mom at the school about diets. She had been told by a few friends that were doing the paleo diet that she needed to switch to coconut oil instead of olive oil. She had gone to the store and found that the coconut oil was much more expensive then her olive oil, so she went home to do some research, and after fishing through a bunch of random websites that came up when she googled each she was still confused, so she stopped me at the school to ask me. I, sadly, had not done a compare/contrast sort of research on the oils. I told her what I knew about each oil and the benefits of each, but that I would come home and research them and let her know if there was enough of a difference to warrant her needing to buy the more expensive oil. 
So, away I went, and after getting the basic nutritional information from my nutrition book, I too went to the web to see what I could find. There was so much for each that it was tough to weed through the fad diet websites and just try to find a good solid website for the science of them both, but my patience was rewarded, and I am going to give you all the important information I have found. :)



Olive Oil

Types of Olive Oil:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO):  This is the one that everyone talks about the most. This oil is extracted from olives using the lowest pressure and no heat at all. It keeps the most of the flavor and nutrition this way and is best served room temperature or cold. Used in salad dressings, or tossing cooked pasta in, etc.

Heating this oil and cooking with it completely ruins the virginity of the oil and therefore it's basically a waste to spend the money to buy extra virgin to then cook with it. 
(it is actually one of my pet peeves when chefs on tv and whatnot tell you to add extra virgin olive oil to a hot skillet and cook with it....such a waste of perfect olive oil)

Virgin Olive oil: this is pressed at a higher pressure but still cold. 

Light Olive oil: this oil is pressed using the same pressure as Virgin but heated to a moderate temperature. It is considered Light by color only. 

Pure Olive Oil: is any oil extracted like the Light Olive oil but is a mixture of light and dark olives. It will have a different flavor. To me, this is the best oil to cook with because it has a bolder flavor and is more cost effective to use for everyday cooking. 

After these oils have been extracted, they then heat the press more and up the pressure and squeeze out everything else, this is considered Crude olive oil and that is what is used in beauty products and non food items. There are also some chemicals that they use to extract certain portions of the olive oils in between pressing it and then using it in products. Do not think that just because it is listed as pure olive oil that it is edible. If it is not packaged and sold for food use, then do not eat it. 

Nutritional Data:

Serving size: 1 tbsp
Calories:                      119g
Fat:                             13.5g
Saturated fat:                 1.9g
Monounsaturated fat:     9.8g
Polyunsaturated fat:       1.4g

Omega 3 fatty acids:  103mg
Omega 6 fatty acids: 1318mg
Vitamin E         1.9mg  10%DV 
Vitamin K      8.1mcg  10%DV

Trace amounts of:
Calcium
Iron
Potassium
Sodium

Olive Oil nutritional data
Olive Oil Times is a good website to check out that has a bunch of information.


 











COCONUT OIL:

Sadly, my nutritional book did not have as much information on coconut oil as it did on olive oil, so I had to do some more searching. 

Coconut Oil information can be found here at the website. I have read a few of the articles and there is quite a bit of information. 

Nutritional Data:

Calories:                      116 g
Fat:                              13.5g
Saturated fat:                11.7g
Monounsaturated fat:        .8g
polyunsaturated fat:           .2g

Omega 6 fatty acid:    243 mg
Omega 3 fatty acid:       none

No trace amounts of vitamins or minerals in enough of a degree to list.
Coconut oil nutritional data   

I think it is one of those things that it depends on what you are wanting from your diets. Neither oil is bad for you and they both have their healthy benefits, coconut is hydrating and has anti-inflammatory properties and has been said to help with things like Alzheimer and arthritis, and Olive oil has been known to help with heart disease and lower cholesterol.  
If you are trying to cut down on saturated fats then I would suggest olive oil over coconut oil, since coconut oil has more saturated fat per serving then whole butter. ;)  I cook with them based on flavor profile alone, but suggest to my clients that they stick to olive oil, coconut oil, and whole butter as their fats only.  I think any change from margarine or other fatty oils to these three to any degree is a step in the right direction.  

Now, back to my friends question: Is it worth spending the extra money to cook in only coconut oil??. 
I would say no. 
Not unless you are wanting to treat a specific disease or discomfort that some people have been treating with coconut oil, but if you are just wanting to lose body fat and get healthier, I would say that either oil is great for you. 

Just please, please, please, do not go buy any virgin oil and then cook with it. ;)  

Happy Cooking!!  

One Month Of Intensity! :D

This week marked the end of 6 weeks of being a personal chef. 
It has been SO much fun! I have had fun cooking all the meals and hearing how much he has liked them.

Each week I have been ordering Bountiful Baskets and using whatever I get in them to base the next week menu off of. It has been fun and exciting. I have been perfecting some of my techniques not just in cooking but the timing and the business of it. I got myself my first food saver machine and went a little nuts repackaging most of my freezer just to play with it. :) 

I am hoping to be able to expand my business to include one or two other clients that I will cook for as well as getting into some online nutrition and cooking consultations as a partner with Paramount Strength and Conditioning.   So many exciting things are moving me forward towards what I am passionate about.  I swore that I was not going to have my own business. I didn't want the hassle. Apparently life had other plans and here I am on the cusp of doing exactly that. :D

This last weekend I got to go and see my very first power lifting competition and see my client and personal training Coaches go all out with some intense lifts and they all took home 1st place. :)
My client and His wife have an amazing program at their gym and they have produced some great results in their lifters and their members. I have had a blast getting to know them all and getting stronger along side them. Doing her Beauty By Barbell class has made me more confident in my own skin, which has been a long time coming.  I have lost track of how many fad diets and workout classes and programs I have gone through just trying to chase this image of perfection I had in my head of myself. I have found something so much better with these people. I have found a community built around becoming stronger each day then the day before, taking each challenge with a deep breath, and carrying an intensity for everything you do. I still notice the things about me that I wish I could change, but now I see a strength in me that I never thought was there, but they saw in me the first time I lifted with them. I am still so new to this world of lifting and working out this way that I bombard them with questions about everything from proper form to what muscles each thing works, etc. and they seem to like answering each of them. They have a passion for strength, not just in physical fitness, but in community and sportsmanship and it definitely has leaves an impression. :)  
If you haven't checked this place out yet, you can find their facebook page here, the link above gets you to their webpage, and you can follow the link for the women only beauty by barbell facebook page.

So, that is my update. 

Great things have been happening due to some of the great people that I have been working with. :)

Fried Avocados.

We went out to eat at Taco Diner here in Dallas after the Power lifting competition to celebrate and I ordered the vegetarian Fried Avocado Tacos and they were so good that everything else seemed somehow less worthy of my stomach space. I ended up ordering another 2 tacos. But that was enough to inspire me to try this at home. I did. And it was easy and awesome, so I am sharing it with you. :)  (yes, I know, I am so giving it hurts sometimes. haahaa)








I used panko bread crumbs and seasoned it with some paprika, black pepper, and some garlic powder.













Press the avocado pieces into the panko crumbs, it takes some work to get it good and covered. 










I used coconut oil to fry them in, and used the spoon to slide them into the oil.  It does not take long to get a nice dark brown color.

 Turn it over and make sure that both sides are evenly toasted.

 


Nice brown fried avocado slices.  I munched on 3 or 4 of them while I was cooking them.  The middle slices turned out better then the edge pieces, so those are the ones I left for my clients fish tacos. :)




 



Each blackened Tilapia fish tacos got one nice big fried avocado slice on it.  

Christian By his Trophies holding the Fried Avocado Fish Tacos. Can't wait to see hoe he likes them! :)

Happy Eating!!

A (Pine)Apple a day keeps the doctor away! ;)

Pineapples are not only a fantastic fruit with high levels of vitamin C, but they are also great forms of Bromelain and natural enzymes. :) 


With all this greatness, maybe we should break it down a little. 










First, Vitamin C:
Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps boost your immune system, and protects the body from free radical damage. It also promotes repair and building of body tissues and wound healing. 
Vitamin C can aid nutritional supplementation such as glutamine or creatine to get into the muscles and aids in muscle retention, build, repair, and recovery. Many Body builders mix their creatine and glutamin in some fresh pineapple juice just for this reason. :)  Although nothing beats fresh whole pineapple when it comes to the levels of vitamin C, finding some fresh pineapple juice can work as well. Look at the ingredients to make sure that you are getting at least 80% juice in it and no added sugars or corn syrups. If that is the case, then that is a good pineapple juice. :)








Next, Bromelain:
Bromelain is very effective in treating bruises, sprains and strains by reducing swelling, tenderness and pain due to the natural anit-inflammatory and analgesic properties. It also aids in digestion and relieve indigestion.  The natural enzymes in fresh pineapple breaks down the amino acids in protein which can aid those that do not produce enough enzymes of their own to break down their food. It has also been said that it can aid in the break down of lactic acid to aid in the recovery of muscles in your body. The anti-inflammatory properties also help in the recovery of muscles and healing from wounds internal and external, as well as relieving swelling around joints. 

 Unfortunately almost all commercially canned pineapples are heated to such a degree that the bromelain is destroyed. Canning fresh pineapple at home in a hot water bath or pressure canner is better since the temperatures can be maintained at a lower temperature to keep more or the bromelain in take, but it is always better to eat fresh pineapple to make sure you get the most of the bromelain and vitamin C as you can. :)
 













How to pick out a good pineapple:

When it comes to picking out a pineapple, then color is less important then the SMELL!  There are many varieties of pineapple that can range from a green color to a light yellow and then the dark yellow. If it smells right, then it is good to eat!  It should give off a sweet tropical smell, if it smells like nothing or smells like dirt then it may not be ripe yet, and if it smells dusty then more then likely the inside is molding. Keep your pineapples on your counter at room temperature to maintain a natural invenvironment. Remember, they are naturally found in tropical regions that may never get as cold as your refrigeration. :)

  

So, remember:

A pineapple a day will keep the doctor away and make the muscles stay!

 

Glutamine!

Glutamine is needed by anyone that has stress in their lives.....
Hence, everyone!  

 Not very often do I find an article online that has everything I want to say about something in one article, so I end up writing my own, but this one was fantastic!  It covered all aspects that I wanted to and was very well written, so I have copied and pasted the main parts, and at the bottom of the blog, there is a link to the whole article. It is great!  So thank you to Natural News for such a great article, saved me a bunch of typing and its nice to find such good articles around the internet. :)


Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the blood stream, and while the body is able to produce the amino acid, it becomes unable to produce sufficient amounts of it during times of stress. This makes it a conditionally essential amino acid. Conditionally essential amino acids must be obtained from dietary sources or supplements when the body is unable to produce enough of them. Times of stress include anytime the body has undergone trauma or contracted illness or disease that it must heal from, it also includes when weight lifting or straining your muscles through any endurance training. 

Glutamine plays an important role in strengthening the lining if the gut. With the many chemicals the human stomach is exposed to these days, there is a good chance your gut may require some maintenance and repair. Gut health is necessary and essential for overall health and well being.

Even serious gastrointestinal and digestive diseases such as Crohn's, IBS and Colitis can see substantial improvement with glutamine supplementation. Glutamine supplies fuel for fast multiplying cells, such as those in the gastrointestinal systems. Many of the drugs used to treat these diseases only mask the symptoms, while causing serious side effects. On the other hand, there are studies in which patients of these diseases have seen nearly complete recovery with glutamine supplementation alone.
Glutamine is also useful for treating diarrhea, as it decreases loss of electrolytes and water from the small intestines. Glutamine's role in the health and healing of the gut and intestines is unparalleled.

 

 

Glutamine for muscle recovery

 

Athletes who are interested in preserving muscle tissue and decreasing recovery time from training sessions can benefit from glutamine. Two thirds of the glutamine stores in the body reside within the muscle tissue. During times of stress and intense physical exertion the body releases high levels of the muscle wasting hormone cortisol, which can decrease glutamine stores. Supplementing glutamine can help keep the body in an anabolic state, making it easier to build and maintain muscle mass.

 

Supplementing glutamine

 

It is necessary to supplement glutamine if you are interested in its healing and anabolic benefits. The wound healing properties of glutamine are only present in amounts 2 to 7 times greater than required in healthy persons.

Daily dosage recommendations

Ulcers - 2 grams
Anabolic purposes - 5-15 grams
Gastrointestinal diseases - 5-20 grams

 

 

 

 

You can always go buy a big bucket of powdered glutamine, or you can eat glutamine rich foods. :)

 

According to a 2007 review in the journal "Nutritional and Dietetics," there is more glutamine, or its precursor, glutamate, in meat than any other amino acid. According to the authors, glutamine-rich meat protein is 94 per cent digestible. Since glutamine is found in the muscles of humans, it is also found in the muscles of other mammals. For all of you out there watching your meat intake, there are many non-meat forms of Glutamine as well. 

 

Cows milk protein is 6-9% glutamine. (Goat milk has more per ounce, but I will have to do a whole blog on different milks, because while researching the glutamine levels of goat milk I came across SO much great stuff! just know that is has more glutamine per ounce then cows milk.) :)

 

Beans, raw spinach, raw parsley and cabbage are good sources of glutamine, however, plant proteins are not as readily digested as animal proteins. Sufficient glutamine may be present, but the body cannot access it. A World Health Organization report estimates that bean proteins are 78 per cent digestible, compared to eggs, ranked at 97 per cent. Peanuts and peanut butter rank 94 and 95 per cent respectively. Interestingly, farina had the highest plant protein digestibility at 99 percent. Soy protein is 95 percent digestible and contains up to 8 percent glutamine.

If you are doing serious weight lifting or are healing from a major injury, I would suggest doing both, then cutting out the powdered supplement when you can. It is ALWAYS better to get your dietary requirements in their most natural form. (the only exception to this that I make is glucosamine, but I will write another blog about that one!)

 Remember, there should be balance in all your nutrition.

HAPPY RECOVERY!

 

 

 

 For the full article from Natural News.com about glutamine supplementing for healing, read HERE

 

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I got this idea from my sister's blog who I believe got it from Pinterest, But wherever it came from, I am glad that it came across me, because it was pretty darn good. :)  

Her recipe called for a can of soup, but I am not fond of using canned anything if I do not have to, so I tried it without it to see what would happen......it was pretty good. :)  

Obviously, these are both great ideas and you can mix and match and play with either one and call it your own. Mine, I used a cornbread stuffing so that it was low in gluten so my client could have some too. (I like to share with him) :)

Diced chicken and ham

 I baked 2 chicken breasts in the oven until they were cooked all the way through, then diced them up and toss them in a bowl. I got a large slice of ham from the deli and diced it up too. Mix them together and try to get them all spaced together good. :) I sprinkled salt, pepper, and some garlic on top of it all.

Swiss Cheese Slices

Lay your swiss cheese slices all over the top and try to get every bit covered good. 
(This is the BEST part.) ;)

Cornbread stuffing

I used the cornbread stuffing recipe found Here, but you do NOT want to use precooked stuffing, so instead of cooking it in the oven to get all nice a crispy like the recipe says, just put it in the fridge until you are ready to spread it on top of here.












Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown, then let set. (Letting it set allows the swiss cheese to cool and hold it together better)  

Then slice and serve. :)  

I served it with a little course ground mustard to dip/top it with and it was great. :)

HAPPY COOKING!!

And a great big thanks goes out to Sarah and her blog for the recipe to try!

For full recipe you can view her blog following the link at the top of the page, or Here. 

Cornbread stuffing

I wanted to do a recipe that My sister posted on her blog and it called for a box of stuffing. Well, I had made it a challenge to not open a box of food for a month. (except spaghetti noodles. I can make those from scratch but I do not have the equipment at home)  So, I had to tackle making stuffing from scratch, and I decided to make cornbread stuffing so that my client could have some as one of his lunches as well. (he is on a very low to no gluten diet from me). :)  It was kind of a long process, but was very simple.  Want to know how I did it??  NO? Too bad, I am going to tell you any way. ;)

First, you need cornbread. I used whole wheat flour and corn meal. 

(I always buy the corn meal that is NOT treated with lime. There is no real need to have the chemical in your food and I don't like extra chemicals in my food. It works the same too, so no worries there) 





 



I used a 9x13 glass pan so that it would be thinner, then I cut it into cubes and put them in a bowl. Set aside for later.



 

 Celery, carrots, onions, and some garlic. Saute in butter until soft and starting to brown.

Add water and bring to a boil.  This is when I added some Italian seasoning and some sage to stew with the water and veggies. 

The recipe called for chicken stock, but I did not have any and it worked just fine with water, so if you dont want to add all that extra salt and calories, you can do it like this. :)



 



When it has boiled for about 5-10 minutes and all the veggies are soft and it smells yummy, then pour it over the cornbread. Start with half your cornbread cubes and then add all your liquid, then add more cornbread cubes until it is mixed good and not runny. 








2 eggs slightly beaten to the mixture and mix good.
Then add to a baking dish and put in the oven to bake. 

 Bake until golden brown.  You can chop it up and fluff it with some butter and salt and pepper to taste, then it is ready to eat.  



There are a TON of things you can do with it. You can add sausage and peppers to it before you bake it to give it a kick, or stuff it into a chicken to bake in there as well. Let me know what you do with yours. :)

Happy Eating!!

Recipe: Yields 9" Pie/Casserole dish of stuffing.

Cornbread:

1 C. yellow cornmeal

1 C. whole wheat flour

2-4 TBsp honey or sugar

4 Tsp Baking Powder

1/2 Tsp Salt

1 C. milk

1 egg

1/4 C. vegetable oil

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown all over.

Stuffing:

1 large or 2 medium/small carrots diced

1 celery stock diced

1/4 onion diced

1 clove or garlic minced

1/2 stick butter

1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning

1 tsp Sage

1/2 cup water

2 eggs 

Salt and pepper to taste

extra butter softened for fluffing

 

heat butter in medium sauce pan

add veggies and saute until slightly brown

add water and spices

bring to boil and boil for 5-10 minutes

cut cooked cornbread into cubes and put in bowl

pour boiling liquid over cornbread cubes and stir. They will fall apart more as they get wet, then add the 2 slightly beaten eggs and mix thoroughly.

put in a 9 inch pie or casserole dish and bake at 350 for 15-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Chop and fluff with fork and butter while warm.

Serve immediately or refridgerate for up to 3 days.