Friday Five: Relaaaaaax....with these Anti-stress Foods

Food is a common go-to item when we are stressed. A problem for most of us is the type of food we choose usually provides little to no nutritional value since they are most likely processed and packaged products. Pick a day to spend an hour or two putting healthier options together so they are ready when you need them.

There are many healthy foods than provide essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to help ease tension at work, on the road, at home, or anywhere. Since it is Friday, most of us should have lower stress levels, but gather one or all of the following foods to prepare for the dreaded Monday and keep away from unhealthy alternatives.

 

Nuts

A shortage of selenium is associated with increased anxiety, depression, and fatigue. Nuts like Almonds and Brazil nuts contain selenium, and we don’t need a lot of it to ease stress. Most nuts are also a good source of other minerals like magnesium and zinc, along with vitamins B2 and E. A daily dose (just a handful) of mixed nuts a day will be enough to keep you from going…errr….nuts. Other foods with selenium (but not as much as nuts) are Shitake mushrooms, tuna, salmon, and other fatty (the healthy kind) fish.

Spinach and Broccoli

Magnesium and potassium help to keep our nerves and muscles relaxed. A deficiency in these minerals can lead to muscle tension, cramps, irritability, and fatigue. Spinach and broccoli happen to be a powerhouse for both minerals, and are also an excellent source of vitamin A, C, E, iron and folate. Just one cup of fresh spinach or broccoli a day will go a long way at keeping stress in check. Opt for organic when possible as these veggies are among the highest in pesticides. Other foods high in magnesium include halibut, pumpkin seeds, and peppermint Alternative sources of potassium include avocado, banana, kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, winter squash, eggplant, and tomatoes. Herbs like basil, lemon balm, and chamomile also provide a healthy dose of stress-fighting minerals; sprinkle on top of most meals and wash anxiety away with flavor!

Low-fat or Skim Milk

Is it surprising that milk has a calming effect? Milk works because it contains the protein amino acid tryptophan, which is converted to serotonin. This neurotransmitter not only helps you to relax, but also makes you sleep more soundly. Milk is high in antioxidants and vitamins B2 and B12, as well as protein and calcium. A bowl of whole-grain cereal with low-fat or skim is a great way to start or end your stressful day. To note, tryptophan occurs naturally in nearly all foods that contain protein; including most nuts, seeds, legumes, fish, and meat.

Oats

Complex carbohydrates enhance the absorption of tryptophan, which is used to manufacture serotonin; basically nature’s Prozac. Oats provide high quality starches that won’t flood your blood with sugars which might cause an insulin spike. They are also a good source of soluble fiber which helps to lower cholesterol in your blood. To get the soothing effect from oats, eat them together with a protein like nuts, seeds, milk, yogurt, or cottage cheese. Try making the Overnight Oats I posted about in the past; baked as a portable snack, or right out of the container are both tasty options. Popular alternatives are whole, unrefined grains and legumes you can choose to help quell stress levels.

Reduced Fat Cottage Cheese or Plain YogurtReduced fat cottage cheese is high in protein and calcium, and low in fat and sugar. Plain yogurt has a higher sugar content, but it is naturally occurring, and equally satisfying. Mix one of these with fruit high in vitamin C like blueberries, strawberries, or oranges since vitamin C plays a vital role in fighting free radicals that get released when you're stressed. Beware of non-fat cottage cheese and there are many added gums, starches, and other fillers to maintain an ideal consistency. I found that the Daisy and Nancy's brands are the only available varieties with just skim milk, cream, and salt as ingredients in my area. As with most protein containing foods, cottage cheese is also a great source of the essential amino acid tryptophan.

I just noticed 3 of my 5 choices include a bowl and a spoon.  If you can't tell, if I have a bowl/cup and spoon in hand, chances are my stress levels are low!

Do you already include these foods in your diet but you’re still stressed? There are several foods that can contribute to raising stress levels and should be consumed moderately or not at all.  These include caffeinated beverages, trans fatty acids, sugar, and alcohol. Caffeine is known to cause anxiety and raise stress hormone levels; trans fats compromise the immune system; which causes more stress on the body and increases your risk for heart disease; sugar can spike blood sugar levels, which robs your adrenal glands of their ability to control stress hormones and protect the body against stress; excessive alcohol consumption is also harmful to the adrenal glands. Just keep these products limited in your daily life and you should be safe.

Most people are able to find one of the five things I listed as something they enjoy eating. Try incorporating these in your diet and see if you are able to better manage your stress levels. A point to keep in mind is that these foods are meant to help reduce stress in your life, diet alone will not solve everything, but it’s a great step in the right direction.

What do you plan on using/eating to battle stress in your life?

Resistant Starches: Pleasant Food With an Unpleasant Name

Today’s lunch will be the slow cooker turkey, barley and vegetable stew I mentioned in yesterday’s post. For something so easy, I am really excited to have this today. It has been raining non-stop all night and still going, so a warm stew is an ideal meal (I rhymed!) for this weather.

I like this meal for its easy prep and little need to “dress up” the meat with seasonings; it’ll be surrounded by goodness for hours in the Crock Pot. I usually use chicken breast, but found a good deal on turkey breast that I couldn’t pass up.I add whatever frozen veggies we have, chopped garlic and onion, a whole grain like barley, season with herbs and spices (cayenne is always in there), put the meat on top then pour broth or an empty condiment mixture until the veggies are covered.
The meal is great and is on my list of comfort foods that warm me on the coldest days. I will sometimes skip adding a grain like barley if there is a lot of corn already in the frozen vegetables I used, but don’t be afraid to have both.

I am by no means a “carb phobe” and think it is rarely necessary to be so. Just choose the right kind of carbohydrates; meaning whole grain with as much of the grain layers intact as possible. A whole grain will contain three layers; here’s a simple breakdown of the layers provided by Arrowhead Mills:

- Outer layer (bran) holds up to 80 percent of the grain's total mineral value, including B vitamins and most of the fiber;

- Middle layer (endosperm) contains protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals; and

- Small inner core (germ) houses concentrated amounts of B vitamins, vitamin E, protein, trace minerals, "good" unsaturated fats, antioxidants and phytonutrients—which cause damage from free radicals in the body.

Furthermore, how the grain has been processed determines the level of nutrients contained and the length of the cooking process. A great explanation of this can be found at this link; here’s a brief excerpt from the site:

“Groats, grits, steel-cut, rolled, puffed, pearled, cracked, flakes, and flour are the most common references, and all describe how the grain has been processed.

For example, groats are grains that have had their hard, inedible hulls removed but still retain their nutritious parts (germ, bran, endosperm).

How the grain has been cut or milled affects both texture (hence taste) and cooking time. Parboiled and cracked wheat, for example, is bulgur, which takes only a few minutes to prepare; on the other hand, wheat berries (the grain in its least-processed form) may take up to an hour to cook.”

Along with knowing which processed grain is more whole than the other, grains and other carbohydrates known as resistant starches are said to be better choices as well. As we know, starches are digested at different speeds depending on how they’ve been processed; resistant starch, on the other hand, passes through the small intestine and is not digested at all. Most starchy foods have some level of resistant starch, but beans and whole grains contain a higher percentage than other sources.

Need a reason to incorporate resistant starch foods in your diet? Here are several from About.com:

•Resistant starch is especially associated with one type of SCFA, called butyrate, which is protective of colon cells and associated with less genetic damage (which can lead to cancer). Butyrate also protects the cells in other ways. This is one of the real strengths of resistant starch over oligosaccharides and soluble fiber. Their fermentation does produce butyrate, but not at the levels of resistant starch.

•As with other fermentable fiber, resistant starch is associated with more mineral absorption, especially calcium and magnesium.

•Perhaps most exciting for people with sugar issues, resistant starch seems to improve insulin sensitivity. In the so-called "second meal effect", fermentable fiber and resistant starch are associated with improved glucose tolerance the next day. There is evidence that this is caused by the presense of the short chain fatty acids, and by a peptide produced in the fermentation process.

•Resistant starch produces more satiety, possibly partly through the release of a different peptide (PYY).

•Resistant starch consumption is associated with lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

•Promotes "good" bacteria, and suppresses "bad" bacteria and their toxic products.

•Promotes bowel regularity.

•Resistant starch in a meal is associated with less fat storage after that meal.

So, what makes a starch resistant? There are actually 4 types of starch qualities that would make them resistant…

1.Starch that is difficult for the digestive process to reach, often due to a fibrous "shell". Grains and legumes which are cooked intact are an example. Also, some altered starches, such as Hi-Maize corn starch, are in both this category and the next.

2.Some foods, such as unripe bananas, raw potatoes, and plantains, have a type of starch which our digestive enzymes can't break down.

3.Small amounts of resistant starch (about 5% of the total) are produced when some starchy cooked foods, such as potatoes and rice, are allowed to cool before eating.

4.Manufactured resistant starch, made by various chemical processes. It is not known whether these starches have the same benefits as those in the other three groups.

Feel overwhelmed? I do. It may take a while, but persistence to learn what is what will overcome confusion. Always be willing and able to feed your brain on how you feed yourself….it is your health, afterall.

Put Baaaaack the Cheddar, Choose Goat Cheese Instead

Are you a cheese lover? I enjoy a variety of cheeses, both hard types like cheddar and soft kinds like brie are great all on their own. But, when it comes to picking favorites, the creamy tanginess of soft goat cheese (know as chevre) is at the top of my list. Kelley, admittedly, has a love far greater than I do for the cheese, and she has even been upset with me b/c I took a little of hers one time.

What’s so great about chevre anyway? To start, goat cheese (the soft type found in log form) has less fat (6 g vs. an avg. of10 g) and calories (70 – 80 calories vs. 100 calories) per ounce than cow’s milk cheese. You will not lose out on protein and calcium when switching to goat cheese as the numbers are comparable for both; but with lower fat and calories, you get more for less! Another plus is for anyone with a lactose intolerance as goat cheese has been found to be more easily digestible than cow’s milk cheese.

Goat’s milk and cheese also provide a number of other vital nutrients and vitamins like:

- Tryptophan: an amino acid that occurs in proteins; is essential for growth and normal metabolism; a precursor of niacin

- Phosphorus

- Riboflavin (vitamin B2): plays important roles in the body's energy production

- Potassium: helps prevent high blood pressure and protects against arteriosclerosis

- Contains 25% more vitamin B-6 and is 47% higher in vitamin A than cow's milk

- It has three times the amount of niacin and is four times higher in copper than cow’s milk

To enjoy this wonderful cheese, all you need is a fork. Kelley enjoys relaxing with a glass of wine, a fork, and an open package of goat cheese very frequently; if I’m quick enough, I can get a few crumbles for myself! It’s nice to know that if I am ever in trouble with the wife (Kelley), a quick trip for some champagne and goat cheese will usually get me out of whatever hole I’m in at the time.

Other ways to enjoy chevre include topping a mixed salad with crumbles; spreading on carrots, apple slices, crackers, or anything really; topping on a thin crust pizza; filling celery sticks as you would peanut butter or cream cheese, or using as a spread for sandwiches and wraps. The tanginess contrasts well with the sweetness of grapes and apples, and it really stands out when mixed into salads. But, there are plenty of ways to add goat cheese to cooked meals too.

Some of my favorite ways to incorporate goat cheese into my meals is to use it in soup purees to instantly boost flavor, mixed into a tomato sauce for a new twist on pasta, and mixed into creamy mashed potatoes. The cheese even has its place in sweets like brownies; here’s a recipe similar to the one that beat Bobby Flay on his Throwdown with Bobby Flay TV show. The recipe is very rich, and if you know me, I alter the recipe to use stevia instead of sugar, 2 whole eggs and 4 egg whites, whole wheat or spelt flour, and applesauce in place of most of the butter. It takes a lot of trial and error; I’ll report back once I find the right amount for each ingredient.

If you prefer to stay on the savory side for goat cheese applications, give this simple goat cheese mashed potatoes recipe a try:

Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

2 pounds Yukon Gold, Red, or Sweet Potatoes, cut into chunks

6 cloves garlic, peeled

1/4 cup skim milk

1/4 cup fat free, plain yogurt

1/2 low sodium chicken stock
4 ounces goat cheese (chevre), cut into small pieces

1 tablespoon Paprika

1 ½ tablespoons parsley, dried

Salt to taste

Freshly ground white or black pepper, to taste

 Preparation

1. Place potatoes and garlic in a large heavy saucepan. Add water to cover and season with salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until potatoes are very tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

2. When potatoes are done, drain in a colander and return to the pan. Place pan over low heat and shake for about 1 minute to dry potatoes.

3. Mash the potatoes and garlic with a potato masher, an electric hand-held mixer, or by working through a ricer. Add milk, yogurt, and chicken stock to make a smooth puree. Stir in the goat cheese, paprika, parsley, and season with salt and pepper and serve.

This is a simple recipe for a side dish to get everyone raving. Serve with grilled asparagus and boneless, skinless chicken breast or salmon for a healthy meal everyone can enjoy.

Goat cheese has become a staple for our family of two, I recommend you try swapping out the usual block of cheddar and see if you ever want to go back.

How do you savor the texture and flavor goat cheese?

What Can Make Burgers, Brownies, and Bean Dip?

Refried Beans! For the sake of convenience I buy the canned, fat free version, but you can make your own too. Just cook your favorite bean (they don’t have to be pinto) with some spices and mash with a fork or potato masher. Most restaurants serve refried beans made with lard or oil, but beans don’t need fat for flavor. Save the unwanted calories for healthier ingredients and opt for fat free.

You can find canned refried beans in both pinto and black bean varieties in most stores. I usually have one of each in the pantry to just change things up as needed. The convenience of the can is always nice for the working population. Be cautious of the high sodium content in canned foods, though, that’s one bad thing about the cans. Right after opening the can, I will put it under slow-running water and drain as much as possible a few times; every little bit helps! Here are a few of my favorite uses for mashed beans.


Bean Patties

Ingredients


1 (14 - 16oz) Can of Refried beans – Pinto or Black will do
1/2 Cup Rolled Oats or Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs
1 Egg and 2 Egg Whites
Salt, pepper, cayenne, onion powder, cilantro, cumin powder, and garlic powder to taste – I just dash some of each one until it seems like a good amount
1 Jalapeno – seeded and diced (Optional)
Chopped Chives

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients until well combined. Spray a non-stick pan with cooking oil and set to medium-high heat. Take a large spoonful of the bean mixture and set on the pan; lightly mash down to and shape to resemble a burger patty. Cook until lightly brown (about 3-4 minutes) and flip over to cook the other side. Once lightly browned on both sides, remove patty and place on a paper towel-lined plate; repeat for remaining mixture.

Use the patty to make a veggie burger (way better than the frozen store varieties) with all the toppings you would put on a beef burger. My favorite way to enjoy is to skip the bread and top with brown mustard, salsa, and a dollop of plain, non-fat yogurt; sometimes I'll add a little guacamole too....YUM! You can also slice and wrap it in a tortilla with your desired toppings for scrumptious bean burrito. Add a little low-fat cheddar or part-skim mozzarella for extra flavor.

Personal Mexican Pizza

Ingredients


1 (14 - 16oz) Can of Refried beans
Corn Tortillas
Low-fat Cheddar or Mozzarella, Shredded
Chopped tomatoes and lettuce
Cayenne, Cumin, and Onion Powder, sprinkle some of each to taste
Cilantro, fresh or dried
Salsa and Non-fat, Plain Yogurt for topping

Depending on how many pizzas you want to make will determine the amount of tortillas and refried beans needed. Pre-heat oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees. Mix the beans with desired amount of cilantro and spices and spread a generous amount over corn tortilla. Sprinkle shredded cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce as desired and place in oven for 8 – 12 minutes. If the tortilla starts to darken around the edges earlier, remove it. Now you have an easy personal pizza, just keep making more as needed. Top with salsa and yogurt.

Refried Bean Brownies

Ingredients


1 (15.5 ounce) can refried black or pinto beans
1 egg and 3 egg whites
1 Tablespoon Canola Oil
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ tsp liquid Stevia or 9 tsp granulated Stevia
1/2 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon instant coffee (optional)
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x8 square baking dish or just line with parchment paper. Combine the all ingredients in a blender or processor and blend until smooth; pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. If using, sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the mixture. Bake in the preheated oven until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.

These are a great high protein treat you don’t have to feel guilty about eating. Try your own variations with pumpkin puree or yogurt in place of applesauce for new and interesting flavors.

For something really quick that requires no cooking, just open a can of refried beans, empty into a bowl, add your favorite dip ingredients and you have a quick dip in less than 5 minutes. Common add-ins for me include cayenne (go figure), cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, cilantro, Dijon mustard, salsa, non-fat plain yogurt (just like sour cream with less calories and more protein), and even mashed avocado. There are many ways to spruce up the plain beans, but I can eat them without anything added as well.

Still looking for other uses? Add some to soups, stews, sauces, or chilis as a tasty and nutritious thickener. Make Mexican lasagna using corn tortillas as the “noodle” layers and beans as the filling. You can even mix with rice and use as a stuffing for bell peppers to treat a delight friends and family.

Beans are a great addition to any diet as supply quality carbohydrates, protein, fiber, little or no fat, and many nutrients. I hope you’ve been inspired to try one or all of these uses for refried beans; your taste buds will thank you. How do you like to enjoy beans? Whether in their whole form, mashed, or pureed, post your favorites to the comments section, I’d love to try something new!