Tag: make it your way

Week 41

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I took a stroll through my garden this morning to see how everything was doing, as we near fall and cooler temperatures approach. To my delightful surprise, I discovered quite a few strawberries in my little patch! I also found a lot of Cayenne peppers if anyone has some good ideas for those. My garden inspired this week’s healthy snack, Strawberry Oatmeal Bars. YUM!

For the Strawberry Bars:

  • 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour 
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter or coconut oil – melted
  • 2 cups small-diced strawberries
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon  freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon-ish of honey

For the Vanilla Glaze (optional, but huge yes)

  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar – sifted
  • 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tablespoon milk – any kind you like
  1. Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, ginger, and salt. Pour in the melted coconut oil and stir until it forms clumps and the dry ingredients are evenly moistened. Set aside 1/2 cup of the crumble mixture, then press the rest into an even layer in the bottom of the prepared pan.
  3. Scatter half of the strawberries over the crust. Sprinkle the cornstarch evenly over the top, then sprinkle on the lime juice and drizzle honey. Scatter on the remaining berries, then drizzle more honey. Sprinkle the reserved crumbs evenly over the top. You will have some fruit showing through.
  4. Bake the bars for 35 to 40 minutes, until the fruit is bubbly and the crumb topping smells toasty and looks golden. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely (you can speed this process along in the refrigerator).
  5. While the bars cool, prepare the glaze: In a small bowl, briskly whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk until smooth. Feel free to add more milk if a thinner consistency is desired. Lift the bars from the pan. Drizzle with glaze, slice, and serve.

Week 36

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With snow in the forecast for Tuesday, this may be the last zucchini recipe for awhile. Don’t rush to your tissue box yet, these brownies will leave you smiling, I promise!

Zucchini Brownies

  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 1/3 cups coconut sugar
  • 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 3 cups finely shredded zucchini DO NOT DRAIN
  • 1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks (optional, i omitted and opted to be naughty on half with peanut butter chips)
  1. Preheat oven to 375°F and prepare a 9×13 pan with butter or line with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl combine oil, sugar, and vanilla until fully incorporated.
  3. Add flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined. Batter will be very dry.
  4. Fold in zucchini by hand. Allow batter to rest for 5 minutes.
  5. Optional: Add in chocolate chunks and stir again. Batter should appear more wet. (if not, let it rest for 5 more minutes and stir again)
  6. Spread brownie mixture into the pan and bake for 25-35 minutes. Brownies are done with an inserted toothpick is removed with crumbs. There should not be wet batter on the toothpick.

What makes whole wheat better?

Wheat has three parts to it—the bran which is packed with fiber, the endosperm—the largest part of the seed and made up of mostly starch, and the germ—the nutrient-rich embryo of the seed. It is downright delicious but unfortunately white flour is made up of only the endosperm portion of the wheat, eliminating many of the grain’s nutrients. Whole wheat flour includes the bran, endosperm, and germ of the wheat grain, which gives it a slightly darker color and makes it more nutritious.

Why are whole grains important in preventing type 2 diabetes?

The exact reasons why whole grains are an important mechanism to prevent type 2 diabetes aren’t crystal-clear, but there are several theories:1

  • Whole grains improve insulin sensitivity, which means that the body uses blood sugar more effectively and efficiently.
  • Whole grains are digested more slowly which leads to a far slower increase in blood sugar levels after eating.
  • The nutrients in whole grains plus the fiber content help to lower our body’s level of inflammation which is strongly associated with type 2 diabetes.
  • The fiber in whole grains is incompletely digested in the gastrointestinal tract which produces short-chain fatty acids which decrease insulin sensitivity.

Are certain types of whole grains more effective in preventing type 2 diabetes?

Recent research with 55,000 participants over 15 years from the Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, and the Danish Cancer Society Research Center confirms decades of previous research findings on the importance of whole grains for prevention of type 2 diabetes. In this study, any type of whole grain provided similar benefits.1

How many servings of whole grains per day are necessary?

In the Swedish and Danish study, each serving of whole grain was associated with an 11% lower risk of type 2 diabetes for men and a 7% lower risk for women.1 A large meta-analysis of 16 studies recommends consuming 2-3 servings of whole grains per day to decrease risk of developing type 2 diabetes.2

References

  1. Cecilie Kyrø, Anne Tjønneland, Kim Overvad, Anja Olsen, Rikard Landberg; Higher Whole-Grain Intake Is Associated with Lower Risk of Type 2 Diabetes among Middle-Aged Men and Women: The Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health Cohort, The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 148, Issue 9, 1 September 2018, Pages 1434–1444. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxy112
  2. Aune D, Norat T, Romundstad P, Vatten LJ. Whole grain and refined grain consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes:  a systematic review and dose-response meta-analaysis of cohort studies. Eur J Epidemiol. 2013 Nov;28(11):845-58. doi: 10.1007/s10654-013-9852-5. Epub 2013 Oct 25.