Category Archives: Health/Nutrition

Kid-Friendly Dino Bars

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Dino Bar's mango, pear, and banana snack bar that's coated with edible paper for neatness.
Dino Bar’s mango, pear, and banana snack bar that’s coated with edible paper for neatness.

When Jessica and Ian Saultz realized their son Liam couldn’t tolerate refined sugar, they set out to do something about that.

The result was Dino Bars, a kid-friendly, convenient snack bar that’s made with USDA-certified organic ingredients, and free of nuts, gluten, soy, and dairy. They’re also wrapped in edible paper made of potato starch, so kiddos won’t get their hands sticky, either.

Launched last year in Charleston, SC, Dino Bars are made with pear juice, banana flakes, oats, coconut oil, hemp hearts and organic fruit powders.

They come in three flavors: Strawberry, Blueberry, and Mango. Special limited-edition flavors get released periodically, too.

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Spilling The Beans On BeanVIVO

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Hearty and substantial Three Bean Vegan Chili from BeanVivo.
Hearty and substantial Three Bean Vegan Chili from BeanVivo.

If you’re on a mission to incorporate more healthful beans into your diet, but dread taking the time to cook them from scratch, BeanVIVO comes to the rescue.

These organic, entirely plant-based cooked beans come ready to eat in shelf-stable, microwavable pouches.

That means you can keep them handy in your pantry, then pull them out at the spur of the moment for a quick side dish or entree at home. Or throw them into your backpack to enjoy when camping.

I had a chance to try samples of the four different flavors: Baja Black Beans, Coconut Curry Chickpeas, Three Bean Vegan Chili, and Refried Pinto Beans. They are all gluten-free, and contain 13 to 16 grams of protein and 120 to 150 calories per serving, depending upon the variety.

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Discover The Unsweetened Tooth

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Would you believe these decadent peanut butter mousse brownies have no sugar added to them?
Would you believe these decadent peanut butter mousse brownies have no sugar added to them?

Those peanut butter mousse brownies above are everything you expect — decadently rich, deeply fudgy, and loaded with irresistible sweet-salty, smooth peanut-butter goodness.

But they also lack something surprising — added sugar.

They are the creation of a unique Seattle bakery, The Unsweetened Tooth. As the name implies, this bake-to-order shop makes treats with no added sugar. Yet, they taste every bit as satisfying as their conventional counterparts — and minus the unpleasant aftertaste of so many sugar substitutes such as Stevia.

The bakery was started by Jude Sharp, who worked as an engineer in the tech industry in Silicon Valley with her fellow engineer husband, for years. But a health scare put her on a different path. After learning that she might become diabetic and lose her sight if she didn’t drastically change her dietary habits, she decided to give up sugar, and lost 100 pounds in the process.

Using her engineering know-how and love for tinkering, she built a commercial kitchen, and started coming up with no-sugar recipes after the couple moved to Washington state. In 2016, she launched The Unsweetened Tooth there.

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Sponsored Post: Cheese Focaccia with Pazazz

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Pecorino focaccia gets even more delicious depth with fresh rosemary and Pazazz apples.
Pecorino focaccia gets even more delicious depth with fresh rosemary and Pazazz apples.

Think of this as a subtle riff on a cheddar apple pie.

Because this focaccia that’s loaded with salty-nutty tasting Pecorino also gets a pretty crowning touch of thinly sliced, sweet apple rings over the top.

This tender, airy Italian bread started out life simply as “Cheese Focaccia.”

But when life gives you a bounty of fresh, crunchy, and juicy Pazazz apples, you want to put them on simply everything.

After all, these delicious apples, a relative of the popular Honeycrisp, are a great source of fiber, too. In fact, the American Institute for Cancer Research has joined with Pazazz apples in the fight against cancer. February is National Cancer Awareness Month, the perfect time to double-down on a diet rich in healthful foods such as apples.

Red-skinned with sunshine-yellow striations, the Pazazz is a relative of the Honeycrisp.
Red-skinned with sunshine-yellow striations, the Pazazz is a relative of the Honeycrisp.

You can do your part even further by uploading your photo to the Pazazz superhero filter here, and Pazazz will donate $1 to the American Institute for Cancer Research. Or simply text PAZ to 797979 to generate the $1 donation, too.

Find Pazazz apples now through summer at local Safeway stores. Then, get ready to bake a big pan of this focaccia.

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Roasted Delicata Squash with Smoked Paprika-Herb Sauce

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Crescent-slices of delicata squash get beautifully roasted in the oven until tender and sweet.
Crescent-slices of delicata squash get beautifully roasted in the oven until tender and sweet.

Unless it’s baking pizza, the very bottom rack of my oven seldom gets used.

But thanks to America’s Test Kitchen, I now realize that it’s the perfect position to get deeply browned and caramelized undersides of potatoes, squash, and other veggies.

That’s exactly what I ended up with when making “Roasted Delicata Squash with Smoked Paprika-Herb Sauce” from the new cookbook, “The Complete Plant-Based Cookbook: 500 Inspired, Flexible Recipes for Eating Well Without Meat” of which I received a review copy.

The book, by America’s Test Kitchen, is ideal for anyone, especially those looking to incorporate more plant-based dishes into their diet in this new year. Even if you’re an avowed carnivore, you’ll still find plenty to like, especially if you enjoy these dishes as an accompaniment to whatever meat protein you prefer.

Recipes run the gamut from “Carrot Spice Steel-Cut Oatmeal,” “Pinto Bean-Beet Burgers,” and “Creamy Cashew Mac and Cheese” to “Overstuffed Sweet Potatoes with Tofu and Thai Curry,” “Turkish Eggplant Casserole,” and “Dark Chocolate Avocado Pudding.”

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