Be Well! » Health & Lifestyle

Best Cooking Pulses Inc.

Ellen — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:50:45 +0000




PEA SNAPS



July 12, 2010	Newsletter #2010 – 7

While exhibiting at the Canadian Celiac National Conference held this June in Winnipeg, Best Cooking Pulses was not only able to offer BEST Pulse Flours and Pea Fibre to attendees, but also had the opportunity to learn about other gluten free ingredients. One such ingredient was canola oil or margarine.

Canola oil is lowest in saturated fat, has a good balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and is trans fat free. BEST Whole Yellow Pea flour and BEST Chickpea Flour are a good source of complex carbohydrates and nutrient dense. Nutrient dense refers to a food being high in protein, fibre and many nutrients, including iron, calcium, and B vitamins – but low in fat. Combine canola margarine with BEST Pulse Flours and you have a prairie duo for the gluten-free consumer that can’t be beat!

Ellen Pruden of the Manitoba Canola Council was at the Celiac conference, distributing recipes developed by Chef MJ Feeke, Red Seal Baker and Chef at Benjamin’s Gourmet Foods. Several of these recipes contained pulse flours as well as canola margarine. Here are two recipes from Chef MJ Feeke that would enhance any summer event – Coconut Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting and Vanilla Madeleines….

Coconut Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting

½ cup ground almonds
¼ cup BEST Chickpea F! lour
½ cup coconut flour
¼ cup cornstarch
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp xanthan gum!
½ cup canola margarine
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
3 Tbsp lemon juice !

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine ground almonds, BEST Chickpea Flour, coconut flour, cornstarch, baking powder and xanthan gum. Stir to combine ingredients. In separate bowl, beat canola margarine and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks. Gently stir egg yolk mixture into dry ingredients along with the lemon juice. In third bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold egg whites into the egg yolk and flour mixture. Transfer mixture to paper lined muffin cups. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from muffin cups and cook on wire rack. Frost with Lemo! n Frosting.

Lemon Frosting

¼ cup canola margarine
2 cups icing sugar
3-4 tsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp lemon zest

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Beat well until mixture is fluffy and will spread evenly. Yield: 8 large cupcakes

Vanilla Madeleines

2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1Tbsp vanilla
¼ cup BEST Whole Yellow Pea Flour
¼ cup BEST Chickpea Flour
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp xanthan gum
¼ cup coarsely ground macadamia nuts
¼ cup canola margarine, melted and cooled
icing sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until well blended. Beat in vanilla. In separate bowl sift together BEST Whole Yellow Pea Flour, BEST Chickpea Flour, salt and xanthan gum. Gently fold 1/3 of the egg mixture into the flour mixture at a time. Fold in ground macadamia nuts and canola margarine. Spoon the batter into well oiled Madeleine molds. Bake Madeleines in the lower third of the oven for 10-12 minutes or until Madeleines are golden around the edges. Turn the Madeleines out on racks and let them cool. Sift icing sugar over them when they have cooled. Yield: 12 Madeleines

Please remember to ask your local store to carry BEST Pulse Flours and Pea Fibre - its all about ‘Healthy foods for healthy diets and a sustainable world…’

Here’s wishing you an enjoyable summer with many happy events featuring treats cooked with canola oil and BEST Pulse Flours!

Margaret roasted split pea snack: gluten-free, nut-free, and tasty too!

Gluten Free and Outdoor Grilling

Ellen — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:45:11 +0000

Last month, I shared a few gluten free recipes from our new recipe booklet. If you missed them, they are all on the website. Click here

If you are looking for more information on gluten free. Shelley Case is a prairie girl and she is the North’s American’s Gluten-Free Nutrition expert. She is hosting a free webinar on Thursday. Check out her website for more details.

FREE webinar — “Living Your Best Gluten-Free Life”

on Thursday, July 8th at 1pm EDT

I try not to cook in the house when summer hits. We don’t have air conditioning and I try to keep our house cool. But my real reason is Mike does all the barbecuing for our family! I just need to make a side dish or salad and he takes care of the rest. It is a really nice balance that we have together and he takes such pride in barbequing. He has it down to a science. Preheats the grill, makes sure that it is hot and ready to go and of course times everything to perfection.

I have included 3 recipes from our website and 2 bonus recipes from my family collection. They are so simple and easy.

If we BBQ steaks or a roast, we always drizzle a little canola oil over the meat to help keep in moisture, make sure our seasonings stick to it and assist in preventing any stickiness on the grill. Last week to celebrate my friend’s birthday, we grilled a prime rib roast and the key is searing it prior to placing it on the BBQ.

Best Birthday’s Roast

5 lb prime rib roast

Canola oil

Steak seasoning

1. Prepare the roast. Drizzle with canola oil and season with steak seasoning.

2. Preheat BBQ on to 275 F° (140° C).

3. In a large saucepan, preheat canola oil to medium high heat. Add the seasoned roast and brown all sides of the roast. Remove from sauté pan. Place on BBQ and cook at 275 F° (140° C) for approximately 2 ½ – 3 hours.

4. Depending on the size of your roast, you need to cook it for an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C). Make sure you let the roast rest prior to slices for at least 20 minutes.

www.beefinfo.org

http://bbq.about.com/od/grillinghelp/a/aa032805a.htm

Another family favourite is what we call Pruden potatoes. We get our potatoes and onions from our local grower Mr. Skazyk. You can make the recipe with one potato and onion and or several. It all depends on your crowd.

Here is the recipe.

Pruden Potatoes

Thinly sliced red potatoes cleaned with skin on.

Thinly slice yellow onion(s)

Canola oil

Sea salt and pepper

In a large bowl, add potatoes and onions.

Drizzle with canola oil.

Add sea salt and pepper.

Mix together to make sure everything is well seasoned.

Place potato mixture in tin foil packets. Seal well.

Grill on medium heat for 30-40 minutes.

Here are three great summer time recipes for you family to enjoy!

Mediterranean Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Whole Wheat Couscous

Grilled Chimichurri Beef Kebabs

Grilled Radicchio

Eat Well…Ellen

Get Your Body Ready…BOOT CAMP Style!

Ellen — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:44:21 +0000

Boot camps are the hottest thing since sliced bread! They are so popular and often quite expensive. The secret they are not telling you is that it is SO easy to make up the workouts on your own! I’m going to make this as simple as possible. For a half an hour workout, I want you to do half of it cardio, and the other half strength. We’re just going to mix them up. Keeping your heart guessing whether it’s going up or down is a good thing.

Here we go:

Cardio exercises

• Jumping jacks

• Sprinting

• Skipping (like you used to do when you were a kid)

• Jump rope

• Jump squats →jump up as high as you can with your hands above your head and then land quietly in a squat

• Foot fire → just move your feet as fast as you can (like running on the spot)

• Side shuffles

Strength exercises

• Lunges → lunge backwards, forwards or to the side

• Squats → hips width apart, shoulder width apart

• Push-ups → chest (with your arms wider than your shoulders and elbows out to the side) or tricep (keeping your hands right below your shoulders and letting your elbows skim your ribcage and you get closer to the ground

• Tricep dips → sit on a bench or chair with your hands right beside your hips and slide your butt off and lower yourself down using only your arm strength. Try to keep your elbows facing back and your shoulders down

• Plank → hold a push-up position (you can go on either your hands or forearms)

• Downward facing dog → your body is in an upside down V with your hands are feet on the ground and hips in the air

• Mountain climbers → in a push up position alternate bringing your knees in and plant your feet on the floor each time (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI8u58hPam4&feature=channel)

• Sit-ups

• Calf raises → feet are hips width apart and rising up on to your toes – you can also alternate with keeping your heels together or your toes together

You get to customize your workout! I recommend doing 1-2 minutes of cardio and then 2-3 minutes of strength and then alternate until you get a full body workout and reach your goal time.

There are so many useful resources on the internet that you can find. Here is just one of them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJYlQY2pI0c

Good luck! Get in shape and feel great!

Live Well…Kristy

Keeping your Brain Healthy

Ellen — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:34:17 +0000

The brain is a major organ in the body that has many functions. It is important to keep the brain a healthy functioning part of the body both mentally through continued learning and physically with proper nutrition. The brain controls sight, hearing and respiration, as well as many other functions (Medical, Surgical Nursing in Canada, 2006). Let’s take a look at what we can do to keep our brains healthy.

Water is an essential part of keeping the brain healthy. Water participates in many metabolic reactions in the body, including the brain and therefore if a person does not take in enough water, and becomes dehydrated this can affect the functioning of the brain (Krause’s Food and Nutrition Therapy, 2008). Since the body has no reserve for water it is important that we drink our 8 glasses of water per day. Lots of foods also contain large amounts of water and should be eaten regularly to maintain water balance for the brain and body. Foods like leafy greens, iceberg lettuce, watermelon and milk (Medical, Surgical Nursing in Canada, 2006).

Electrolyte balance is important for the brain as well. Having an imbalance in electrolytes can occur when you are dehydrated, usually when participating in strenuous physical activity and sweating in large amounts. It is not only important to take in water, but drinks such sport drinks, that replenish electrolyte balance (Krause’s Food and Nutrition Therapy, 2008.

Keeping mentally sharp is important for you brain health as well. Memory needs to be challenged to be kept sharp. Games that use numbers and challenge your thinking can do this. Check out this article that has an IQ test and Brain Fitness information and see how you can keep your brain even healthier!

http://www.wordofmouthexperiment.com/articles/iq-tests-brain-fitness/keep-your-brain-sharp

Remember the brain is an organ that needs to be kept healthy just like the rest of the body, test your mental health to keep your brain sharp, and make sure to feed your body and brain the nutritious foods it needs.

Live Well…Chinweoke

Gluten Free

Ellen — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:25:50 +0000

The Canadian Celiac Association estimates that 1 out of every 133 people in Canada are affected by celiac disease.

Celiac disease is a gastrointestinal intolerance to food products that contain gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and triticale. It is challenging to live with because of the high number of foods that include gluten, baked products being the most challenging.

Pure canola oil is gluten free and non-allergenic. Canola can be grown in rotation with wheat, rye, barley or triticale but the seed is always cleaned before processing. After crushing, canola oil is refined and tested for any detectable levels of gluten proteins. Canola oil is a great choice for a healthy diet because it’s the lowest in saturated fat, has a good balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and is trans fat and cholesterol free.

www.celiac.mb.ca

The Manitoba Canola Growers has their new recipe book that contains 12 gluten free baking recipes. The booklet contains two different types of bread, brownies, a birthday cake, pancakes and many more. Check out the www.canolarecipes.ca for all of the gluten free recipes or call 204-982-2122 for your copy.

Here are 3 great recipes to try:

Gluten Free Sesame Bread

A wonderful pancake recipe for the whole family to enjoy

Gluten free Cinnamon Raisin Pancakes

and to celebrate birthdays and any occasion, try the

Gluten free Chocolate Chiffon Cake with Seven Minute Icing

Water and Physical Activity

Ellen — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:10:31 +0000

Did you know?

The human body is made up of 56-64% water. Water provides the basis for blood pressure and body temperature regulation. In addition, it is the base of digestive juices, sweat and urine, and the fluid found within joints.

What does that mean?

It means that dehydration may hinder the way your body uses the food you eat. Dehydration promotes the breakdown of stored up energy that would otherwise be used to help you perform better in your exercise.

IN OTHER WORDS…drinking enough water is critical to being a healthy, active adult that continually sees results from their workouts.

How much water do I need to drink?

2-3 L of water is recommended on a regular day while increasing that amount on the days that you exercise. Try to drink a cup of water prior to exercising and drink consistently while exercising. Also have a good 1-2 cups when finished exercising.

Do I need to consume sports drinks?

Most active adults do not need to drink sports drinks. They are only beneficial if you are exercising for more than 60-90 min. Even then, unless you are in excellent shape, most people do not need the extra calories or electrolytes that those drinks provide.

Here is a website to help you calculate how much water you need to be drinking: http://nutrition.about.com/library/blwatercalculator.htm

Here is a website on how to drink more water everyday: http://www.wikihow.com/Drink-More-Water-Every-Day

Live Well…Kristy

Keeping Hydrated in the Heat, the Importance of Water in the Diet

Ellen — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:09:22 +0000

With the summer months approaching you may be beginning to plan summer activities for you and your family, things such as soccer, baseball, running, hiking, and much more. Activities like these can be fun, yet draining on the body. It is very important that when having fun in the sun during the summer months we pay attention to our bodies needs and stay hydrated.

The body needs to replace the water lost every 24 hours with more water to stay healthy and efficient; this is because the body has no prevision for water storage. So it is important to be taking in 6-8 glasses of water a day (Krause’s Food and Nutrition Therapy, 2008).

It is critical to monitor your child’s water intake in the summer months as well as during activities. A person’s water intake is for the most part guided by thirst, which is stimulated by dehydration (Krause’s Food and Nutrition Therapy, 2008). It is important that when we experience thirst we provide our bodies with water to replenish fluids lost.

To stay hydrated make sure you pack cold water to take with you to sporting events, runs, walks or hikes, or when going to be out in the sun for a long period of time. Give children water instead of fruit juices and pop that is high in sugar and does little to replenish the body. Some people do not like the taste of water and don’t drink it for this reason. A way to make water more enjoyable is to add, lemons or limes, cucumbers or a splash of cranberry juice to your water.

Check out this link to an article by the MayoClinic.com about dehydration and youth sports.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dehydration/SM00037

Whatever method you choose to increase or maintain your water intake, make sure you get that water when out in the sun so you and your family can enjoy the warm weather.

Live Well…Chinweoke

In this edition of Be Well June 2010

Ellen — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:08:19 +0000

Water has been and will continue to be a topic in the media and in this month’s Be Well. Our Manitoba growers had an early spring and seeding is well on the way. Then the rains came. Typically after seeding, a nice rain is always appreciated but the past downpours have led to drowned out plants and perhaps the need to re-seed. Time becomes an issue and tough decisions are made by growers on what to do next. If you would like to follow a few of our growers and their experiences, check out www.facebook.com/manitobacanolagrowers. They have been talking about the weather, weed concerns and how the crop is handling it all for the last bit.

In this month’s articles, Chinweoke and Kristy both talk about water and the importance and provide excellent links to find out more. I have included some great gluten free recipes and links to the National Celiac website and the local Manitoba chapter.

Of course, I had to include a recipe for Father’s day. A delicious fish recipe. Fish tacos with coleslaw dressing have become a family favorite in my home. My husband loves to fish and when he brings home fresh pickerel this is one of the recipes that we make. Of course, he loves to fish, so what better to send him off fishing on Father’s day and for him to bring home the big catch for dinner.

Cranberry Almond Orange Scones

Ellen — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:26:17 +0000

Robbyn Redekopp – 2nd Place Winner

Red River College Baking Competition

Yield: 12 scones

3 cup	all purpose flour	750 mL
1/2 tsp	salt	2 mL
1 Tbsp	baking powder	15 mL
1/2 tsp	baking soda	2 mL
1/2 cup	sugar	125 mL
1/2 cup	canola margarine	125 mL
1 cup	buttermilk	250 mL
1 cup	dried cranberries	250 mL
1 Tbsp	orange zest	15 mL
1	egg	1
1 Tbsp	water	15 mL
1/2 cup	sliced almons	125 mL
	coarse sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
In large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. Stir to combine ingredients.

Cut in canola margarine with pastry blender until pea-size particles have formed.

Add buttermilk and stir mixture only long enough to combine the ingredients. Additional buttermilk can be added if necessary.

Stir in cranberries and orange zest.
On lightly floured surface, knead dough 3 or 4 times to form a ball.
Roll out dough to ½ inch (1 cm) thickness. Using a 3 inch (7 cm) round cookie cutter, cut out scones and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Whisk together egg and water in small bowl. Brush scones well.
Sprinkle almonds on tops of scones. Then sprinkle on coarse sugar.
Bake scones for 15 – 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Cranberry Almond Orange Scone: All Good Things

Ellen — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:21:49 +0000

Runner Up at the Manitoba Canola Growers

Red River College Baking Competition

2nd place winner Red River College

Robbyn Redekopp begins our interview with a confession. “My grandmother makes the most awesome raisin scones in the world,” says Redekopp who recently completed the professional baking program at Red River College.

So young Robbyn has a big apron to fill when it comes to honing her baking skills. She’s doing okay though. Her recipe for cranberry almond orange scones was good enough to grab one of two blue ribbons handed out at the Creative Canola Bake Off sponsored by the Manitoba Canola Growers Association. Most of the students in Red River College’s professional baking program competed.

“I’ve been baking with my grandma since I was a little girl. Some of our favourites include ice cream cookies, jam jams and peppermint cookies,” she said, and added that both grandmothers are avid bakers. “In fact, everyone in my family bakes. The whole point of me taking the professional baking program was to find out about the science behind baking, to understand it just a little bit better.”

For her winning entry, Redekopp gathered some of the pantry’s most complementary flavours to produce a flaky scone topped with course sugar and toasted almonds. The diminutive treats are served with a swirl of whipped orange zest butter.

“I like to add a lot of things to my scones. This recipe happens to be my mom’s favourite,” said Redekopp.

For the competition, Redekopp make a bold decision to use canola oil instead of the very traditional butter when it came to making her scones.

“I was a little nervous, that’s for sure, because we always use butter. But it went really well. There we no issues although mine do have a slightly different texture,” she said.

While scones were a winner for her, Redekopp’s heart is in cakes and cupcakes. “Yes, I love watching Cake Boss on television. I love reality cooking shows. You learn so much.”

Redekopp said her boyfriend can’t get enough cupcakes so she gets lots of practice. “He’s pretty much obsessed with my vanilla cupcakes.”

In addition to working full time at a Winnipeg bakery, Redekopp offers custom creations including breads, cooking, dainties and cakes through her Facebook fan page (search for Half Baked Creations By Robbyn Michal).

By Shel Zolkewich