Irene Pastore

Quick Guide To Whole Grains and Seeds

March 13, 2016

GRAINS

Barley: Barley is a hearty grain that compliments winter meals. Add to soups, and stews, or combine with sautéed onions and celery. Contains gluten.

Corn: Use cornmeal flour to bake delicious muffins, and breads. Corn flour is also used in making pasta. Contains a type of gluten different from that found in wheat.

Kamut: A firm-textured ancient wheat with a nutty, sweet and buttery flavor. Contains gluten.

Farro: An ancient Italian grain that may have sustained the Roman Legions.

Farro is used in soups, salads, and desserts. Looks and tastes somewhat like brown rice, with a nutty taste. Farro is also known as Emmer. Contains gluten.

Millet: A tiny grain, that looks like a seed. Use it like rice as a side dish, or in a casserole. Gluten-free.

Oats: A sweet-flavored grain commonly used in preparing warm cereal, and cookies. Oats contain avenin, a protein that may trigger a reaction in celiacs.

Rice: Varieties include Brown, White, Short and Long Grain. Sticky White Rice is used in preparing sushi rolls. White and Brown Basmati is another variety with a rich nutty flavor. Gluten-free.

Rye: Rye is a member of the wheat family, and is used in bread making, and Scandinavian crispbreads, and crackers. Contains gluten.

Spelt: An ancient variety of wheat. Spelt produces baked goods lighter in texture and easier to digest than standard wheat. Contains gluten.

Triticale: This grain is a hybrid of rye and wheat. Triticale flour is used to bake muffins, breads, cakes, and crispbreads. Contains gluten.

Wheat: The most widely known grain used in baking breads, cookies, cakes, noodles, pasta, and pies. Contains gluten.

SEEDS

The seeds on this list are used the same way as grains. Common uses are breakfast cereals, side dishes, and casseroles. Seeds are available as flour for baking. If you’re wheat intolerant, try using seeds. They’re lighter than wheat, and have their own unique taste.

Amaranth: A very tiny seed used in making breakfast cereal, added to soups and stews. Gluten-free.

Buckwheat: Buy Toasted Buckwheat, or Raw. Use in soups, or as a side dish. Whole Buckwheat flour makes great pancakes. If you don’t mind the dark brown color, buckwheat can be used to make cookies, and sweet breads. Gluten-free.

Quinoa: A small seed, that comes in white, black or red. Add fruit and nuts to Quinoa to make a tasty breakfast porridge Trader Joe’s sells their own brand of penne and fusilli pasta made from Quinoa and Rice. Gluten-free.

Teff: Teff is an ancient seed, cultivated for thousands of years in Abyssinia. Teff seeds are about the same size as a poppy-seed. Teff comes in white, red and dark brown. Teff flour is used to bake breads, and pie crust. The seeds can be steamed, boiled, and baked. Gluten-free.

GRAIN & SEED GALLERY

Irene Pastore is a native New Yorker, health and fitness blogger, and personal trainer. Irene owns this website, and writes all the blog posts. For her complete bio, visit the About Page.

Fat Acceptance and Arthritis

March 11, 2016

What Is Fat Acceptance?

Fat Acceptance is a social movement, that promotes changing cultural attitudes, towards overweight and obese people.

Other names for fat acceptance is fat liberation, fat power, big is beautiful, and health at every size.

Advocates of fat acceptance want to change the collective bias about overweight people. They believe that health is independent of body weight.

In February 2016, fashion model, Cheryl Tiegs was criticized, and subsequently apologized, for her comments about Sports Illustrated full-figure cover model Ashley Graham, who at 5’9″, weighs 182 pounds.

Tiegs quoted Dr. Oz, that being over-sized isn’t healthy in the long run.

Fat Acceptance Is Medically Unsound

The outcomes of excess fat aren’t glamorous. Medical studies have shown that overweight and obesity are risk factors for chronic, and sometimes life-threatening diseases such as:

Cancer
Diabetes
Heart disease
Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis and Obesity

Excess weight causes a break down in joint cartilage, causing pain, swelling, and problems moving the joint. Cartilage provides cushioning between the bones. In osteoarthritis, bone rubs against bone, creating joint damage and more pain.

Eventually a doctor will give an obese patient bad news about the effects of carrying around excess weight. An overweight person can expect any or all of the following conditions:

A knee or hip replacement
Ruptured spinal discs
Pain medication
Decline in quality of life
Loss of balance
Back ache

Facts About Obesity and Arthritis

Being only 10 pounds overweight increases the force on the knee by 30-60 pounds with each step.
Overweight women have nearly 4 times the risk of knee osteoarthritis. For overweight men, the risk is 5 times greater.
Even small amounts of weight loss reduces the risk of developing knee osteoarthritis.
A person who is 100 pounds overweight, puts 400 extra pounds of pressure on their knees.
The more weight on your joints, the greater the chances of cartilage breakdown, and premature damage to the knees, hips and lumbar spine.

Irene Pastore is a native New Yorker, health and fitness blogger, and personal trainer. Irene owns this website, and writes all the blog posts. For her complete bio, visit the About Page.

Imagine You’re In Tuscany Enjoying This Salad

March 5, 2016

TUSCAN BEAN SALAD

Ingredients

2 Cups Cooked, Drained Garbanzo Beans
2 Cups Cherry Tomatoes. Rinsed and Cut In Half
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Fresh Minced Oregano (or 1 Teaspoon Dried)
1/8 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
½ Teaspoon Italian Seasoning
Alfalfa Sprouts or Romaine Lettuce

Instructions
In a large salad bowl, combine beans and tomatoes.

In a small bowl, combine olive oil, vinegar, oregano,
pepper, and Italian seasoning.

Beat the ingredients until the oil and vinegar no longer separate, and the mixture is well-blended and thick.

Pour the dressing over the beans and tomatoes, and
mix gently to coat.

Line salad bowls with Alfalfa Sprouts, or Romaine Lettuce. Top with bean mixture, and serve.

Buon Appetito!

Irene Pastore is a native New Yorker, health and fitness blogger, and personal trainer. Irene owns this website, and writes all the blog posts. For her complete bio, visit the About Page.

Healthy Heart Tip

March 4, 2016

Irene Pastore is a native New Yorker, health and fitness blogger, and personal trainer. Irene owns this website, and writes all the blog posts. For her complete bio, visit the About Page.

March 8 Is National Pancake Day

March 3, 2016

Tuesday, March 8 is National Pancake Day. 2016 is the 11th anniversary of this culinary celebration. The International House of Pancakes is offering a free stack of Buttermilk Pancakes from 7 AM to 7 PM, to encourage diners to make a charitable contribution to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Did you ever wonder why a pancake is called a pancake? Because you’re literally baking a cake in a pan. Experienced cooks call a pan, a skillet. The more baking powder you add, the more your pancake will rise. It will have the look, and the texture of cake.

For those who don’t have ovens, the pancake offers a quick and easy way to have your cake and eat it too. Add favorite toppings, like blueberries, or molasses, to enhance the flavor.

Gluten-Free Pancakes

Try our Quick Gluten-Free Buckwheat-Rice Pancake Recipe to prepare high-rise pancakes, that have a light, fluffy texture, and crispy edges.

SPELT PANCAKE RECIPE

Dry Ingredients

1- 1/2 Cups Spelt Flour

3 – 1/2 Tablespoons Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Sugar*

*Substution: 1 Heaping Tablespoon Xylitol

Moist Ingredients

1 – 1/4 Cups Milk (dairy, soy, hemp, or nutmilk)

1 Egg beaten (or egg substitute)

3 Tablespoons Oil

Instructions

Combine dry ingredients into a flour sifter. Combine moist ingredients. Slowly add moist to dry ingredients, stirring mixture. Stir well into a batter. Heat up skillet on medium flame. Add batter to skillet. Cook until bottom is golden brown. Flip pancake, and cook on reverse side. Before flipping, be sure the top is dry, so that the batter doesn’t leak over the skillet.

Toppings That Transform Pancakes Into A Dessert

Cinnamon

Ice Cream

Rice Dream

Whip Cream

Whipped Bananas

Tofu Whip Cream

Chocolate Sauce

Sugar: powdered, white, xylitol, stevia, honey

Fruit: blueberries, strawberries, applesauce, bananas

Irene Pastore is a native New Yorker, health and fitness blogger, and personal trainer. Irene owns this website, and writes all the blog posts. For her complete bio, visit the About Page.

Motivated Guy From Virginia Loses 166 Pounds

March 3, 2016

One Man Decided That Fat Isn’t Acceptable

Austin Shifflett, a 22-year-old man from Charlottesville, Virginia, lost 166 pounds, by changing his diet, and starting an exercise program. While he found comfort in eating junk food, his weight ballooned up to 324 pounds.

He became tired of being bullied about his appearance and decided to take action. His weight loss method was the Atkins Diet, a low carb, high protein regimen. Through diligence, he made a miraculous transition, and now weighs in at 158 pounds.

Here are more weight-loss articles, to get you motivated. Weight-Loss Motivation. Weight-Loss And Common Sense. 90 Inspiring Weight-Loss Stories. Confused About Calories? Most People Are. 20 Low-Impact Calorie-Burning Exercises.

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Irene Pastore is a native New Yorker, health and fitness blogger, and personal trainer. Irene owns this website, and writes all the blog posts. For her complete bio, visit the About Page.

Irene Pastore Fitness.com

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Author: Irene Pastore

Quick Guide To Whole Grains and Seeds

GRAINS

SEEDS

GRAIN & SEED GALLERY

Fat Acceptance and Arthritis

Imagine You’re In Tuscany Enjoying This Salad

Healthy Heart Tip

March 8 Is National Pancake Day

Motivated Guy From Virginia Loses 166 Pounds