Rah Rah Rice Cakes!

I said that I would post any products that I found and were worthy of sharing. It's not often that I do find a food in a package that I deem wicked awesome.

Now I know rice cakes are a cliche. People assume that's all that "healthy people" eat. Rice cakes are a snack! End of story. But not all rice cakes are good for you. Most of them are made with white rice and badly grown rice at that. Most commercial products use the crappiest rice for rice cakes. Don't even get me started on the caramel flavoured ones!!??

The thing with me and rice cakes is I like them but they're just ok. That was until I met these bad boys...



The ones I love are the WILD RICE but the Brown Rice are great too. I see that they have flavoured ones too, which I haven't tried nor would I recommend but that's just me...I would suggest spreading some apple butter on a plain one instead. They are the most intensely flavoured rice cakes I've ever had. They claim to have twice the amount of rice as other cakes.

The company has been doing what they refer to as "eco-farming" for years ("before organic was fashionable"). "

We believe a healthy soil will produce healthy food. We believe the soil is living, and as such needs to be fed and cared for,"

. It would seem that some of the products are certified organic and some are "eco-farmed", which means they still follow the principals of organic practice which includes the exclusion of any GMO's.

Anyways, they are made by these guys...I think I trust them.




Oh and stay tuned for this weeks debut of ASK THE NUTRITIONISTA.

Take care,

The Nutritionista

Wraptastic!

I've been meaning to post some product reviews and never get around to it. So, here's the first one (that isn't wine).



Ezekiel 4:9 Wraps! They are made by Food For Life, a company devoted to making organic, yeast-free bread-products made from sprouted grain. Why sprouted? Well, sprouting grains increases the energy of a seed or grain, giving it back the living energy of a plant. This process releases enzymes, making the grain or bean or seed more digestible and easier to assimilate.

They are called Ekekiel 4:9 after the bible verse "Take also unto thee Wheat and Barley and Beans and Lentils and Millet and Spelt and put them in one vessel and make bread of it." Now this is something I can believe! The best part of this combination is that these beauties are a complete protein. Hallelujah!

Ok now I am sounding like a commercial. I am not usually a pusher of products so when I find a company that I love, I sing it. One caution is that by nature, they are not as flexible as most wraps. They are found in the freezer section of most health food stores. Give them a chance to defrost before filling them and be gentle wrapping them up. It's worth it. Fill them with veggies and hummus for a simple lunch or dinner. I like to fill them with whatever I have and bake them up. Like this:

SWEET POTATO BURRITOS

you need:
4 medium size sweet potatoes, boiled and mashed
1 cup cooked kidney beans or 1 can red kidney beans, drained
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
cumin
cayenne
salt and pepper
1 cup water
wraps (like Ezekiel 4:9)
old cheddar cheese (optional)

In a pan... saute onion and garlic until fragrant. Add beans and potatoes and spices (I'd say spice to taste...). Then add water slowly. You just want to make the consistency kind of mushy...but not watery.
Spread mixture onto wraps and roll up burrito style.

Bake in 350 degree oven until for about 10-minutes or until cheese is melted.

You can serve these with salsa or any toppings you'd like. YUM!

Take care,
The Nutritionista

Wine is fine...in moderation.

There are some things in this world that I just love. Red wine is one of those things. Moving into my early 30's I realize that red wine has now reached the realm of passion for me. Gone are the days of drinking any red wine, enter the days of wine snobbery.

As a Nutritionist, I believe that everything that doesn't serve every part of your body, must be in moderation in order for it to serve you at all. Wine is one of those things. There are many different camps that exist as to whether wine has any benefits. My camp believes that red wine is a great antioxidant. Wine contains flavonoids, which can prevent blood clotting and can help to prevent certain types of cancers. They are phytonutrients which are the reason for red grape's colour. The flavinoid, Resveratrol is said to be why people in the Mediteranian exibit less risk of heart disease. Of course, there is also a bad side to red wine and this is where the moderation part comes in. Drinking alcohol of any kind in excess can not only lead to addiction and liver trouble but it can also lead to weight gain and can cause allergic reaction in many people.

The three ingredients in wine that often cause trouble are: tannins, sulphites and histamine.

Tannins are the flavinoids in wine that we discussed before as being beneficial. Tannins release seratonin, that can cause headaches in some people. Usually these people are also migraine sufferers. Tannins are also present in chocolate, some teas and soy.

Sulphites are a preservative that is used to prolong the life of the wine. They are also one of the most allergenic additives out there. 1 percent of the population exhibits some form of allergy to sulphites.

Wine also contains histamine that is more than likely the culprit for headaches and that stuffy nose some get after drinking wine. Histamine triggers the body's inflammatory response. Histamine is found in the skins and is often higher in red wine.

So what's the trick to enjoying red wine in moderation? For me, it's buying good quality organic wine that is as dry as possible, that contains the lowest concentration of sulphites. Not only do organic wines taste better, they often use better quality grapes and therefore contain less histamine.

Going organic means ensuring the best grapes possible, reducing pesticide residue and therefore reducing adverse reactions. Not all organic wines are lower in things like sulphites but most are. Here's where I recommend an organic wine...


Sonop 2005 Organic Terroir Shiraz, vintage is $12.95 CAN. It's a South African wine and is nice and dry. I am not a wine reviewer and I don't know the language but I can say that it definitely has a clove taste and is quite dense. A good buy for the price for sure.

I will probably continue to suggest good organic wines as I discover them. Stay tuned!

more grape and wine info if you are interested.

Take care,
The Nutritionista