Crunches for Cupcakes » yogurt

Surprisingly Sugary Foods

~Melissa~ — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:49:54 +0000

It’s the third day of my Vegetarian Challenge!

I made a delicious yogurt bowl for breakfast this morning. I started with a base of vanilla yogurt and added 1/2 of a banana, vanilla granola, and a spoonful of peanut butter. I loved eating it, and Miles loved licking my spoon when I was done.

I snacked on some apple slices when I got to work. This was a lazy purchase: the Trader Joe’s pre-sliced bag. But they’re so crispy crunchy and tasty!

Laughing Cow cheese is incredible. I used another slice today, this time as part of a sandwich with tomato basil hummus and mixed greens. The cheese is so smooth and creamy. As soon as I took my last bite, I craved another. I still have 1 Arnold Thin and some hummus so I can make another one, but it won’t be the same without the cheese.

Here’s an interesting article from Divine Caroline that features 10 foods with surprisingly high amounts of sugar:

Ten Surprisingly Sugary Foods

By: EcoSalon

“My New Year’s resolution? When the clock struck midnight, I vowed to cut my sugar intake by eliminating sweet treats like cookies, chocolate, and soda from my diet.”

“On the first day of 2010, I ate strawberry yogurt for breakfast, snacked on a granola bar before lunch, sipped on vitamin water, and enjoyed a savory serving of pasta for dinner. At the end of the day, I was feeling pretty good about my fresh start. That is, until I read the labels. As it turns out, I had consumed almost 100 grams of sugar (more than twice the recommended daily amount) in this so-called attempt at eating healthier.”

This whole debacle prompted me to do some research on sugar-packed snacks that masquerade as health foods. Here are the most deceiving culprits:

1. Breakfast Bars
Sure, they may have less sugar than a glazed doughnut, but breakfast bars aren’t nearly as healthy as you may think. Nature Valley’s Vanilla Yogurt Granola Bars and Nutri-Grain’s Cereal Bars cram 13 grams of sugar into a single serving. Being organic doesn’t make Health Valley’s Cereal Bars any better; they’ll even get you one gram closer to your daily sugar limit.

2. Vitamin Water
A bottle of vitamin water fuels your body with much more than just a dose of nutrients. That burst of energy you feel upon taking the last sip is just a sugar high in disguise. A 20-ounce bottle of Glaceu’s Vitamin Water or Snapple’s Antioxidant Water contains more than 30 grams of sugar. Take some vitamins and drink a glass of water, instead.

3. Cereal
Every time you walk down the cereal aisle, you say “no” to Tony the Tiger and refuse to go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. But even cereals that trade in a colorful mascot for wholesome claims can pack one sugary punch. Take Kellog’s Smart Start Strong Heart cereal. Despite its misleading name, one cup contains a whopping 14 grams of sugar.

4. Spaghetti Sauce
Just because you don’t taste the sweetness doesn’t mean there isn’t sugar lurking somewhere beneath the maters. Believe it or not, there are 14 grams of sugar in a half-cup of Newman’s Own Tomato and Basil Sauce and Bertolli’s Vineyard Marinara. Mama Mia!

5. Bran Muffins
You choke down every last bite of a bland bran muffin with your morning coffee and pat yourself on the back for making your fiber quota. Whoa there! Don’t be so quick to equate lack of flavor with nutritional value. There are over 20 grams of sugar in a bran muffin from Starbucks, and those from your local grocer probably aren’t very far behind.

6. Dried Fruit
Fruit is already naturally sweet, so why would dried fruit contain an excess of added sugar? Don’t turn to logic when debating what snacks to buy; just stick to the facts. There are 26 grams of sugar in a single serving of Ocean Spray’s Craisins and 30 grams of sugar in the same amount of Sun-Maid’s Natural California Raisins.

7. Juice
Tip of the day: although labels like “all natural” and “100 percent juice” sound healthy, it would be a wise choice to just ignore them. Despite the wholesome promise of such statements stamped on the carton in big, bold print, a serving of Langer’s Apple Juice contains 26 grams of sugar and the same amount of Minute Maid Orange Juice follows close behind with 24 grams of sugar. You are better off just eating the fruit and sipping water.

8. Flavored Yogurt
Yogurt is hailed as one of the healthiest foods you can eat. It’s known to boost your metabolism and even improve your immunity. On the other hand, it can also push you over the limit for your daily sugar intake. Just to put it in perspective, a 6-ounce container of Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt is crammed with 27 grams of sugar. Your best bet? Stick to plain yogurt and add slices of fruit for flavor.

9. Instant Oatmeal
There’s just not enough time in the morning to make it from scratch, it’s so convenient to have each serving prepackaged, it’s much more flavorful than plain oatmeal … yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ve heard (and used) every excuse in the book. But these justifications still don’t change that fact that a serving of Quaker’s Flavored Instant Oatmeal can contain as much as 14 grams of sugar. If you must do instant, hung for the natural, low sugar options.

10. Bottled Iced Tea
There are 26 grams of sugar in 8-ounces of Coca-Cola, while the same amount of Snapple Lemon Iced Tea contains 24 grams of sugar. Enough said.

“It’s easy to overlook the high amount of sugar in seemingly healthy foods, but a quick visit to Sugar Stacks is sure to set you straight. This eye-opening site feature images of food and beverages with sugar cubes stacked next to them to represent the amount of sugar in each item. For more information, check out Sugar Shockers on Web MD.”

Blog Valentine

~Melissa~ — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:33:35 +0000

I’ve really missed making yogurt and peanut butter blends for breakfast. After so many days without this typical morning meal, this was delicious! That scoop of PB for protein and substance helps my breakfast keep me full for so much longer.

2 leftover slices of Upper Crust pizza for lunch. I reheated them in the toaster oven because I hate soggy microwaved pizza.

One of my bosses stopped by to tell me that she had been holding a package for me while I was on vacation. It was my Secret Blog Valentine!

Andrea, you went above and beyond! Opening the box felt a little bit like Christmas morning.

And when I saw the Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea, I almost squealed with delight. After seeing this on other blogs, searching stores, and trying to win some in giveaways, I can’t wait to make a cup later this afternoon! Thank you so much, Andrea!

And also thanks to Janetha for organizing this event!

Sad Thai

~Melissa~ — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:50:13 +0000

I was in a BAD mood last night and didn’t feel like blogging. I didn’t even feel like cooking dinner and told Jared he was in charge. He took the easy way out and ran across the street to get Pad Thai. Mine came with shrimp the first time around so Jared ran back across the street to get a new order. What a nice guy!

While I don’t want to get into all of the reasons I was upset last night, I do need to rant for a couple of paragraphs. I belong to a women-only gym. I thought the entire point of the gym was to make women feel comfortable in an exercise environment. When I got to spin class last night, I was really down and out over my afternoon. I wanted to work out my frustrations and really sweat. That being said, I forgot a tank top and decided I’d feel much more comfortable working out in capris and a sports bra.

I’ve exercised in a sports bra since I was a freshman in college, at every cheerleading practice. But never in my life have I been made to feel more uncomfortable about myself and my choice of attire than in my spin class last night. As soon as I took my shirt off, the instructor made a comment about giving someone a golf ball to throw. (At me?!? I don’t know but that’s what it seemed like she meant) Incredibly inappropriate!

I am at the gym. I sweat a lot. I have fitness goals and I want to work hard. No one, especially not the women who will most likely be strolling around the locker room butt ass naked as soon as class is over, have any right to judge me on my exercise attire. I do not care what anyone else chooses to wear at the gym. I’m not going to judge. I’m there working out for me and I’m just trying to make myself comfortable. And hey, I work HARD and I do have visible abdominal muscles so deal with it.

I am SO angry and now I’m torn between never attending her class again or attending next week and sitting front and center on my spin bike, wearing my favorite little sports bra and matching spandex shorts that were my go-to practice outfit in my cheering days.

Ok, my venting is over. Thanks for being patient with me.

I had something to smile about when I got out of the shower and saw two lazy creatures snuggling in bed. Haha, no this picture is not posed! Jared and Miles were really sleeping like this. Though if you ask Jared, he was attempting to sleep and Miles was succeeding in being a pest.

I ate some raspberry yogurt before running out the door.

Mid-morning, I snacked on some grapes.

I’m trying to decide what to eat for lunch and what to do for a workout. Hmmm….

Don’t forget:

*Dinner on 2/6/2010*

We have reservations at Grezzo on 2/6/2010 at 7 pm. Please e-mail me and let me know if you are definitely planning on coming because Grezzo is small and would prefer an exact count. I based my original number off of responses from when I posted about this dinner last week. (I had to put a credit card down for the reservation so this is kind of super important!)

Punxsutawney Phil

~Melissa~ — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:22:27 +0000

Happy Groundhog Day everyone! I hope you don’t go all Bill Murray on me and relive February 2nd again tomorrow morning. Make sure you get things right today!

(FYI, the little bugger saw his shadow so that means 6 more weeks of winter)

To have more time to get ready for work, I saved my breakfast for the office. I added granola to my vanilla yogurt, and after a few bites, I added a spoonful of Cinnamon Raisin Swirl peanut butter.

Even though winter is supposed to last for 6 more weeks, I wore my olive green pants to start ushering in the spring. It’s difficult to tell in this photo, but today was all about texture. I’m wearing a maroon thermal shirt, a thick knit sweater, rope/toggle buttons, and a woven leather belt. It’s a lot going on, but I think it works.

The many textures help add so much interest to the outfit that I didn’t have to bother with jewelry, aside from the 2 rings I always wear and a simple pair of earrings. I’m not a fashion guru but I like to think about clothes and I feel happy when I put extra time and effort into an outfit. Yeah, I even IRONED these pants last night. Go me!

I convinced my mom to be my guest at HealthWorks on Thursday. We’re going to take a Body Pump class and then I have some fun things planned for her including trying to ride the spin bike and using the foam roller. I’m excited for her to check out where I spend my time exercising each afternoon.

*Dinner on 2/6/2010*

Thanks and hope you see you there!