Healthy Holiday Substitutions

We *love* the sweet stuff, just as much as the next person! There are a couple of things we've found that help us indulge our sweet tooth without totally blowing our progress out the water....

The first is that we always make our own goodies versus buying the packaged/boxed versions. This is like healthy living tip #1....learn it, live it, love it. :) Even if it's higher calorie or higher fat, your body will process real ingredients better than it will anything pre-packaged/fake. End of story.

The second is substitutions. Especially when you're baking some sweet goodies, substitutions are an easy way to make these yummy noms healthier! Here are some of our favorites:

• White Flour Substitutions 
• Nut flours
• Our favorites are almond and coconut flours. 
• Black beans 
• This is a great substitution when you're making brownies! 
• Whole wheat flour 
• If you aren't quite ready to experiment with the above mentioned, take it slow and just swap your white flour for wheat flour.
  
• Sugar Substitutions 
• Applesauce 
• Great at keeping the goods nice and moist (yikes, dirty sentence).
• Vanilla extract
• Stevia
• A little goes a long way here, be careful!
  
• Butter/Oil Substitutions
•  Greek Yogurt
• Adds lots of protein. 
•  Applesauce
•  Prunes
• A good way to get a little cleanse action :)
•  Avocado
• Great, healthy fats! 
•  Banana 

We found this great image on Pinterest that goes into further detail about these substitutions and measuring differences.

Here's to enjoying the holiday sweets while staying on track with your healthy lifestyle!

In Health,

Lindsay and Tim
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Eating junk makes you crave more junk!!

Yes, the information is out there...

Here

Here

And here

As obesity is a full-blown epidemic in America...

Source

 
more research is devoted to the effect of what we eat has on our bodies and minds. The effect on the body is the obvious stuff: when we eat poorly, we gain weight, have little/no energy, have high cholesterol/BP/diabetes, etc.

The effect on our mind isn't always as obvious, but science is proving that it is just as impactful. The sugar and additives in crap food literally alter your brain and make you crave more of the crap food.

We know....this is some scary, mad scientist stuff here....

Of course, nothing serves better as proof than personal experience. When we get a little lax with our nutrition (when we are traveling or visiting family) and eat things we normally don't have, we begin to crave them for a day or two after. Diet soda is a PERFECT example of this. Lindsay doesn't have one often, but when she does, the cravings for more sugary foods increase dramatically. Same thing for Timothy with ice cream.

We aren't saying never have dessert or a diet soda, but what we are saying is be mindful of what you are eating. The cleaner your food, the cleaner your insides. While it may be tough initially, your body will begin to crave healthier foods....ESPECIALLY if you are working out (your body needs the right fuel to perform adequately, and trust that Mountain Dew and donuts aren't the right fuel).

We want to know: Do you notice a change in your mind/body when you eat poorly after eating healthfully for a while? Increase in cravings? Comment below!

In Health,

Lindsay and Timothy
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Nutrition 101: Part 3 - Carbohydrates

RARW - Evil pancake!

On one hand, we kinda-sorta get the whole “evil carbs” thing….but on the other, more logically-sound hand, we think it is bonkers.

In case you were wondering, carbohydrates are one of the main types of nutrients and one of the most important sources of energy for our body. When we eat carbs, our digestive system changes them into glucose (sugar) which our body then uses for energy for our cells, tissues, and organs.

Yeah Science!

Carbs are either simple or complex, based on their chemical structure. Simple carbs are those sugars found naturally in foods such as fruits, vegetables, milk, etc. They also include sugars added during food processing and refining (refined = BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD!) Complex carbs include whole grain breads, starchy vegetables, etc., and are often a great source of fiber (GOOD GOOD GOOD GOOD GOOD!)

Best time to eat carbs: early in the day! This way,  your body has all day long to utilize the energy from the gluclose, and it doesn’t just sit in your body unused (aka stored as fat).

Amount of carbs: We really feel this is individualistic. For example, Timothy doesn’t require a lot of carbs and can still maintain appropriate levels of energy and performance. Lindsay, on the other hand, can be noticeably sluggish without appropriate amounts of complex carbs. Take the time to play with this a little bit....be aware of your body, note how you feel when you up or lower carb intake, and find what works for you!

To K.I.S.S. it: limit/avoid the refined simple carbs (pretty much anything that comes in a box) and enjoy (in moderation) complex carbs, trying to consume mostly earlier in your day!


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And as always, feel free to leave a message below or email us at fitwithfarrar@gmail.com

In Health, 


Timothy and Lindsay

These are a few of our *new* favorite things...

A couple items you might want to keep an eye out for in your next shopping trip!

Disclaimer with this first product: We wouldn't say this is the healthiest or cleanest thing to have, but hey...sometimes, you just want some cinnamon butter! :-)

Land O'Lakes Cinnamon Sugar Butter Spread....this stuff is the bomb.com!! It goes wonderfully on a slice of gluten-free bread. It's 70 calories per tablespoon (so go easy) and has 4 grams of sugar. For those interested, the ingredients list is pretty good, just cream, sugar, canola oil, water, cinnamon, salt, and citric acid:

Another item new to our kitchen is powered Chia seeds. Chia is all the rage (probably largely due to Dr. Oz's endorsement), but in all honesty, it does have great nutritional value. Chia is full of healthy omega fats, protein, antioxidants, and dietary fiber. Chia POWDER is even better for you than the SEEDS. Any seed that has been germinated (made into a powder) is easier for your body to absorb nutrients. This is also true for flax seeds/flax powder.

The serving size for this particular brand is two tablespoons for only 25 calories! We put it in our shakes and cannot taste it! You could add it to your shakes, oatmeal, put it in virtually anything you make and get good support for your intestinal and cardiovascular health!

The last item involves a subject that is very near and dear to our hearts.....peanut butter. GLORIOUS peanut butter. Clearly a gift from the gods, but even the natural kind, is high calorie and high fat (albeit good fat!) Well the good people at Bell Plantation took note of this and created an even more amazing product: PB2!!

It's peanut dust! Powdered peanuts!! You get the taste and texture of peanut butter WITHOUT the high calories and fat. GENIUS! Just mix with water to get actual "peanut butter" - but we mostly use this in our shakes. One tablespoon is enough to turn chocolate Shakeology into a Reese Peanut Butter Cup delight!

Have you tried any of these products? What are your thoughts? We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or send us an email! fitwithfarrar@gmail.com


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In Health,

Timothy & Lindsay