McKinley Grapevine

Hey McKinley!!

Below is a list of foods and the sugar grams per serving. Most of the foods you eat will have the sugar grams listed on the label or if you are using some sort of a calorie counting ap you should have no problem figuring out what the sugar grams are. Remember, the challenge starts on Monday so get your team together today!!  Have a fabulous weekend 🙂

Fruit:
~ 1 Medium sized banana = 14g
~ 1 Medium sized apple = 16g
~ 1 Medium sized pear = 16g
~ 1 Medium sized orange = 14g
~ 1 cup fresh blueberries = 17g
~ 1 cup fresh raspberries = 6g
~ 1 cup frozen blueberries = 12g
~ 1 cup fresh strawberries = 16g
~ 1 cup frozen strawberries = 10g
~ 1 cup red grapes = 16g
~ 1 cup cantaloupe = 14g
~ 1 cup honey dew = 11g
~ 1 cup diced pineapple = 15g
~ 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut = 4g

Beverages:
~ 1 cup orange juice = 21g
~ 1 cup pineapple juice  = 32g
~ 1 cup cranberry juice = 30g
~ 1 cup grape juice = 40g
~ 1 cup V8 vegetable juice = 6g
~ 1 cup V8 Splash berry blend = 18g
~ 1 cup coconut water = 6g
~ Tall Starbucks chai latte = 41g
~ Grande Caramel Macchiato = 32g
~ Grande Ice Caffe Latte = 10g
~ 1 cup chocolate milk = 25g
~ 1 cup white milk = 15g
~ 12oz Soda = 39g
~ 1 cup Gatorade = 14g
~ 1 cup vitamin water = 13g

Alcoholic Beverages: (Red wines have less sugar the white and even less if you choose a dry wine)
~ 6oz Red Wine = 1g
~ 6oz Dry White Wine = 1g
~ 6oz Chardonnay = 4g
~ 12oz Beer = 0g
~ 1oz Bailey’s = 7g

Breads and more:
~ 2 Slices White Bread = 3g
~ 2 Slices Whole Wheat Bread = 2g
~ 1 Whole Wheat Bagel = 3g
~ 1 White Bagel = 5g
~ 15 Wheat Thin Crackers = 4g
~ 1 White Pita Pocket = .8g
~ 1 Whole Wheat Pita Pocket = .5g
~ 1 English Muffin = 1g

Condiments:
~ 1 tbsp Ketchup = 4g
~ 1 tbsp Mustard = 0g
~ 1 tbsp A1 Steak Sauce = 2g
~ 2 tbsp Cocktail Sauce = 4.5g
~ 1 tbsp Miracle Whip = 1g
~ 1 tbsp Fruit Jam or Jelly = 10g
~ 2 tbsp Jif Peanut Butter = 3g
~ 2 tbsp Natural Peanut Butter = 2g
~ 1 tbsp Raw Honey = 16g

Other:
~ 1 Piece Ghirardelli 72% Cocoa = 3g
~ 1 Piece Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate = 6g
~ 1 tbsp White Chocolate Chips = 9g
~ 1 Pillsbury Chocolate Chip Cookie = 12g

Hey McKinley,

One of the easiest ways to increase your protein intake is buy incorporating a shake or a bar into your diet.  If you choose to do that, it’s a good idea to alternate between 2 or 3 different protein powders because it’s possible to develop an allergy to a certain source of protein if that’s the only source you consume.  I drink a protein shake every morning for breakfast with coconut milk.  I alternate between a whey protein and 2 different types of vegan protein powders and one is strictly a pea protein.

You can choose to prepare your protein shake by just using a “shaker” (this is what I use in the morning) or you can use a blender and make your shake as exciting as you want!  I know this is hard to believe, but not all protein powders taste delicious :).  This is why I would encourage you to get a blender and keep some yummy fixins’ at work so you can make an absolutely delicious breakfast, lunch or mid-day snack.  Yoplait has individually packaged frozen smoothie mixes with frozen fruit and yogurt chunks.  Just add your protein powder and choice of milk to make your perfect shake.
http://www.viewpoints.com/Yoplait-Frozen-Smoothie-Mix-Triple-Berry-reviews

Adding a protein shake to your daily routine can also save you money.  The MOST you’ll spend on a protein shake with frozen fruit, yogurt, milk and a high quality protein powder is $3.25 and you’ll still feel full 2 hours later!!

Here are some protein powder options:

~ Sun Warrior Raw Vegan Protein

http://www.amazon.com/Sun-Warrior-Blend-Protein-Vanilla/dp/B00CQ7QAEA/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1387838159&sr=8-7&keywords=sunwarrior+warrior+blend+raw+protein

~ Vega Sport Performance Protein
http://www.amazon.com/Vega-Sport-Performance-Protein-Vanilla/dp/B005H6UCHS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367521996&sr=8-1&keywords=vega+sport+protein

~ Pure Pea Protein by Swanson
http://www.amazon.com/100%25-Pure-Protein-grams-Pwdr/dp/B0017OFSDW/ref=sr_1_4?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1367522061&sr=1-4&keywords=pea+protein+powder

~ Olympian Labs Pea Protein
http://www.amazon.com/Olympian-Lab-Protein-Chocolate-821-04-Grams/dp/B005DG36T8/ref=pd_sim_hpc_4

~ Garden of Life RAW Protein Powder
http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Life-Organic-Protein-Grams/dp/B0031JK96C/ref=sr_1_10?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1367522527&sr=1-10&keywords=rice+protein+powder

~ Jay Robb Whey Protein
http://www.amazon.com/Jay-Robb-Enterprises-Vanilla-powder/dp/B0001OP0XW/ref=pd_sim_hpc_3

~ ORAC Energy Protein Greens
http://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Herbs-Energy-Protein-Powder/dp/B004YW8L3S/ref=sr_1_3?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1367522949&sr=1-3&keywords=paradise+herbs+orac+energy+greens

~ About Time Whey Protein

http://www.vitacost.com/about-time-whey-protein-isolate

~ Bluebonnet Whey Protein (comes from grass fed cows)

Bluebonnet Whey

~ MRM Veggie Elite Protein Powder

http://www.vitacost.com/mrm-veggie-elite-performance-protein-chocolate-mocha-2-4-lbs

Let me know if your interested in some protein shake recipes and I will put some together.  Also, if you have a recipe of your own that is delicious please email me so I can share it with everyone!  Thanks so much and have a fabulous afternoon!!

Yours in Health and Wellness,

Meredith

Here is a quiz on cholesterol.  Take 5 min to test your knowledge and possibly learn something new.  Write your answers down on a piece of paper and then compare them to the answers given at the end of the quiz.

Click the link below to start the “Cholesterol” quiz
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MPGXSLS

For more info about cholesterol, check out the below articles:

The below article is from Dr. Oz’ blog.  The article is written by Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS and Stephen Sinatra, MD, FACN, authors of “The Great Cholesterol Myth”.  It’s a short article and very interesting because it suggests sugar puts you more at risk for heart disease than high cholesterol levels.
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/cholesterol-facts-vs-myths

The article below is from Harvard Health Publications.  This article goes into depth about what cholesterol is, how your body naturally produces it and and how food becomes cholesterol. This is a very informative article and I agree with everything except for the way they categorize fats.  Most saturated fats are bad BUT not all.  One example that I’ve discussed before is coconut oil.  It contains 12g of saturated fat/serving but NO cholesterol.  Coconut oil is a good fat even though it’s a saturated fat.  Saturated fats you want to avoid are butter and fried fast food.
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Understanding_Cholesterol.htm

I’m sure most of you have read a food label or two before.  The first thing I look for on the food label is the carbohydrate grams and then the protein grams.  From there I am able to assess whether or not it’s an item I would like to eat.  Some of you may only pay attention to the number of calories but it’s important to pay attention to the whole label, especially the serving size :).  Click the link below to find out how much you know about reading a nutrition label.

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/quizzes_questions.asp?quizid=64

Whether you’re counting calories or are just being calorie conscience, your focus will tend to be on the number of calories consumed.  While this is important, so are the types of calories being consumed.  Carbbohydrates are our main source of energy but our diet should only consist of 25-30% carbs.  The average American consumes at least 300g of carbs which in most cases makes up 50-60% of the diet.  In my opinion this is WAY TOO MUCH!  Granted, in some cases 300g of carbs is needed.  For example, a triathlete or marathon runner would need those carbs because of their intense training regimen.  However, for someone who sits at a desk for most of the day…not so much 🙂

Of that 25-30% you should focus on consuming whole grains and vegetables.  Click the link below to view a list with several examples of what a serving size of 15g of carbs looks like.  Have a great afternoon!!

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/articles_print.asp?id=882