Whole Wheat vs. Enriched Flour

Nutrition Lizard:  What type of bread is the healthiest? 


Whole wheat bread is more nutritious than white bread because it has more fiber, vitamins and minerals.   

Look at the first ingredient on the nutrition label;  You want whole wheat and not enriched flour.

Enriched flour is made when vitamins and/or minerals that were removed during food processing are later re-added to the flour.   This may be called "wheat" bread but it is not as nutritious as 100% whole wheat bread.

Avoid Trans Fats

Trans fat has been in the news recently because Girl Scout Cookies (and many other foods) actually DO have trans fat, despite the fact that the nutrition label says 0g trans fat.  How is this possible?

Labeling secrets: Read the ingredient list for partially hydrogenated oil.  If the food contains less than 0.5g per serving, then the label can say 0g trans fat!!!


Trans fat is worse for you than saturated fat!  Saturated and trans fat both raise your bad cholesterol, LDL, but trans fat also lowers your good cholesterol, HDL.


Common foods that may contain trans fat: Cereals, crackers, donuts, biscuits, hard margarine and many fast-food items.  Look for trans fat on this Fast Food Nutrition Facts page before eating fast-food.

Try to avoid trans fat as much as possible!

Easy Chocolate Dessert

The last post advised everyone to limit their sugar intake.  If you exercise regularly, eat healthy and limit most added sugars, there is room for a treat - especially around Valentine's Day!  Sometimes you don't have time to cook from scratch, so I always have a box of Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix in my cupboard.  I mix it according to the directions on the box and then add extra chocolate chips and peanut butter chips on top. I also undercook it to ensure they are fudgy brownies.  While they may not be healthy or low calorie, they are always a huge hit!

High-Fructose Corn Syrup

Nutrition Lizard:  Should I avoid High-Fructose Corn Syrup? 

Many people believe High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) plays a significant role in the obesity epidemic.  However, the majority of researchers believe HFCS is NOT solely to blame and it is thee increase in total calories and lack of physical activity that is causing obesity.

Lizard says: Limit consumption of all added sweeteners and don't worry about naturally occurring sugar in fruit, milk and plain yogurt.

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More information about High-Fructose Corn Syrup:

Background: HFCS is a liquid sweetener that has become a popular alternative to table sugar (sucrose) because it is cheaper, has a longer shelf life, and is easier to use. It can be found in cereals, cookies, beverages, ketchup, salad dressings, yogurts and breads.

Links to Obesity:  Obesity rates and HFCS use have increased together, causing many to believe they are related. HFCS has decreased the price of sweetened foods and consumption has increased.  Some studies have shown that HFCS causes more weight gain than table sugar, but more research is needed.

Similarities: Table sugar and HFCS are very similar. They contain the same ingredients (fructose and glucose) in approximately the same quantities. Many researchers believe that the body absorbs HFCS and other sugars identically, and that the real problem is overconsumption of foods in general.

Because of the bad press HFCS has received, the corn industry is now referring to HFCS as "corn sugar".

Bottom Line:  Try to choose a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, leans meats and low fat dairy products instead of processed foods such as candy, cookies, high-sugar cereals and sweetened beverages.  You should try to limit all added sweeteners (including sugar, HFCS,  cane or beet sugar, evaporated cane juice, brown rice syrup, agave syrup, and honey) which add significant calories and may cause weight gain.

Emergency Food Staples

Lake Shore Drive, Chicago IL

The blizzard that hit Chicago on Tuesday caused many to be stuck on Lake Shore Drive for hours.  Many others had cleaned out the grocery stores preparing for the worst.

You never think a disaster could happen to you, but it's always important to have some food staples in your house so you are prepared anytime for power outages, blizzards, flooding, etc.  Below are some suggestions:

• Bottled water
• Tuna and/or chicken, canned
• Fruit and vegetables, canned
• Soup and chili
• Beans, canned
• Peanut butter and jelly
• Nuts
• Energy bars
• Pasta and pasta sauce
• Powdered or boxed milk
• Ready-to-eat cereal
• Crackers
• Mayonnaise

Liz's Favorites: Frontera Grill Salsa

I love using salsa in Mexican dishes but also with many other foods, such as eggs, to add wonderful flavor for only ~5 calories per tablespoon!   I am a huge fan of Frontera Grill products, especially the unique salsas such as double roasted, tomatillo, jalapeno cilantro, and the standard chunky tomato salsa.

I am not paid by the company, I simply enjoy these salsas because they taste as if Rick Bayless just made it in my kitchen!  It tastes fresh and incredibly delicious. I highly recommend you try it.

Taste or Trash: Fast-Food Oatmeals

Oatmeal for breakfast! Many fast-food restaurants serve oatmeal which can be a great breakfast full of protein and fiber but watch the toppings which can make some close to 500 calories!

I did a taste test of 4 oatmeals which range from $2-$3.  

McDonalds Fruit and Maple Oatmeal:  Oatmeal toppings added behind the counter with fresh diced apples, cranberry/raisin mix and brown sugar (optional). It was too sweet for me but I really enjoyed the fresh apples. Next time I'll get it without the brown sugar.

Starbucks Perfect Oatmeal:  Oatmeal comes separate from toppings (dried fruit mix and brown sugar).  I liked that I was able to choose how much topping I wanted to add.  Also, they put calorie levels on the packages too. Overall, taste was good.

Jamba Juice Apple Cinnamon: Oatmeal is steel-cut made with soymilk ahead of time.  For the same or less calories, the portion of oatmeal was almost double all other places! They added brown sugar crunch and fresh baked apples with cinnamon. I loved the calorie levels posted on the menu board and it tasted very fresh! Hands down, this was my favorite (I even scraped the bowl clean!).  I will be returning!  

Caribou Coffee Apple Cinnamon:  Oatmeal is made with water and a little milk then toppings added behind the counter which were cinnamon syrup and fresh baked apples.   I had their oatmeal before and enjoyed it but this time it was sticky and had an artificial taste from the cinnamon syrup.  It was also 60 calories more than the other three so I'll head to Caribou for only their coffee next time.

Lizard says:  Taste Jamba Juice Oatmeal!  It is by far the best taste; it wasn't even close! Also, for 290 calories (same as McD and Starbucks and less than Caribou) it is a clear winner. The oatmeal tasted much better and the toppings were amazing!