Crispy Green treats are a low calorie snack that you don’t have to stealthily sneak about to enjoy. Tear the bag right out in the open and dig in to real fruit. Astronaut fruit. Crispy Green dehydrated fruit is made from a freeze-drying process where water is removed from the fruit in a cold vacuum. You’ve probably tried this before. Think Special K with strawberries or Cheerios with mixed berries. Crispy Green fruit are a little different because they are made for the purpose of snacking on their own. To capture their sweet essence, the company claims to select only ripe, high quality fruit and they use a limited amount of ingredients to do it. In fact, Crispy Green fruit contains no sugars, sweeteners or other additives and are free of preservatives. Pure fruit.

I tried three flavors – apple, peach, and pineapple. My favorite was the sweet pineapple that melts in your mouth, followed by the apple and the peach. The apple was slightly tangy, and I had high expectations for the peach. Crispy Green Peach has a mellower flavor than the pineapple and apple varieties. I did not get to try the apricot, but I have a feeling that generally the sweeter the fruit, the better tasting it is freeze-dried.
Crispy Green packs flavor into every bite. You can also throw these into baked goods and top your yogurt and cereal. At only on average 40 calories per package, it’s not an indulgence even if it tastes like one. As a snack, however, the fruit offers little nutritional value. I wouldn’t recommend substituting Crispy Green fruit in place of real fruit, which is a far better snack food. Crispy Green fruit is not as good a source of vitamins and packs less than a gram of fiber. It’s safe t say that it’s not going to hold you over until dinnertime and it won’t energize your workout, but it will more than satisfy your craving for sweet wholesome munchies, perhaps something that nature should have provided for as well.

And in case you live in a more remote area like myself and Crispy Green hasn’t found its way onto your grocery shelves, you can order them from amazon.com or from the company website.

It’s been a slow start to spring. It’s still weeks before much of the nation can pick and enjoy summer-ripened berries. If you find yourself craving the refreshingly sweet and tart flavor of fresh blueberries, I suggest that you skip the frozen section and head over to the juice aisle, where you can likely find a bottle of TrueBlue Blueberry.

A single 16oz bottle of TrueBlue Blueberry juice contains as much juice as ½ cup of blueberries and a 64 oz bottle contains the juice of about 1 lb of blueberries. The juice is bursting with flavor and powerful antioxidants. These antioxidants help neutralize the “free radicals,” otherwise known as the harmful by-products in our food and water supply, that lead to cancer and other age-related diseases. In fact, TrueBlue boasts that the blueberry and its juice have more antioxidants per serving than cranberry juice or any other fruit or fruit juice. Blueberries have also been proven to lower cholesterol because they contain pterostilbene, an antioxidant that according to the US Department of Agriculture, reduces “bad” LDL cholesterol better than most prescription drugs. Like other fruits high in antioxidants such as cranberries, blueberries also help to prevent urinary tract infections, improve memory, coordination and balance, improve eyesight, and slow the physical and mental aging process due to its anti-inflammatory properties.

Produced from both wild and cultivated berries, TrueBlue Blueberry juice is naturally sweetened with cane sugar, as opposed to many other fruit cocktails drinks sweetened with high fructose corn syrup or glucose-fructose. In fact, the nutritional information on the bottle lists 8 ingredients in total: water, blueberry juice from concentrate, grape juice from concentrate, cane sugar, citric acid, natural flavor, fruit and vegetable juice (color), and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C). As a result of the berry’s natural sweetness, the juice has 25% fewer calories than popular cranberry juice, or 110 calories per 8oz serving.

TrueBlue comes in variety of intriguing powerful antioxidant combinations, proving that it’s not your average juice beverage. It also comes in Blueberry Blackberry, Blueberry Cranberry, Blueberry Iced Green Tea, Blueberry Pomegranate, and Blueberry Raspberry. There is also light version of the beverage, LiteBlue, available in Blueberry and Blueberry Raspberry. It is sweetened with a combination of cane sugar and Splenda, and contains 50% less calories than the original cocktail, at 50 calories for a 250ml serving.

TrueBlue Blueberry juice is more than just a great tasting, healthy drink; it is, as I found, also a flavorful cooking beverage and mixer. While I can easily imagine this drink being served unadorned as a non-alcoholic alternative at a party, I have to say it makes an excellent cocktail mixer as I wrote about previously on my new blog, Nimble Nosh (shameless plug #1). I poured some blueberry juice into some raspberry flavored vodka over ice and a squeeze of lime juice. The light and sweet flavor of the blueberries made this drink a far improved version of the standard Cape Codder (cranberry juice and vodka). My boyfriend played bartender as well, mixing the juice with some mango flavored rum for a fruity blend where you could hardly taste the alcohol. Elated with his first success, he tried again with a blueberry margarita - a perfect 10. His foolproof recipe calls for a 1 1/2 shots of tequila, 1 1/2 shots of triple sec, 8 oz of TrueBlue Blueberry juice and a squeeze of fresh lime served over ice. Perfect for the summertime heat.

I was also intrigued by the recipes posted on the TrueBlue site and decided to make their Savory Blueberry Vinaigrette over a bed of mixed salad greens, poached chicken breast, sliced strawberries, crumbled goat cheese and toasted walnuts. The savory blueberry vinaigrette was just that - savory. Perhaps not as much tangy blueberry flavor as I would have liked, but it was the perfect compliment to the light spring salad, and of course, a slightly sweet and spicy Cabernet to round off our powerful antioxidant meal. I’ve posted the recipe for the TrueBlue dressing below and my salad, also posted on Nimble Nosh (shameless plug #2). It is my recommendation that mixed blueberry cocktails should follow shortly thereafter.

Poached Chicken, Strawberry, and Goat Cheese Salad with Savory Blueberry Vinaigrette

Mixed Salad Greens
chicken breast, poached and shredded *
Sliced strawberries
Goat Cheese crumbles,
Walnuts, chopped and toasted *

Combine all ingrediants in single serving bowls.

Savory Blueberry Vinaigrette
from TrueBlue Blueberry Juice

1/2 cup TrueBlue Blueberry Cocktail
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp dried basil (I didn’t have this so I added some dried oregano and parsley to taste)
ground pepper to taste

Whisk ingredients together and let sit for a few minutes to let flavors blend. Shake well before serving. Makes 1 3/4 cups.

* It’s very easy to poach chicken breasts and it is a healthy way to cook chicken and retain its juices. Place the chicken breasts in a skillet or saucepan and add enough water to cover; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board to cool. Shred into bite-size strips with two forks.

* Toasting walnuts brings out their strong flavor and you can use less them of them as a result. You’ll find a little goes a long way. I highly recommend not skipping this step. To toast walnuts, place them in a dry skillet over medium heat. Stir frequently and remove from heat once the nuts turn a slight brown hue, about 3-4 minutes, and you can begin to smell their aroma. To crush, place in a small plastic bag to avoid a mess and pound with a flat object.

Making yogurt cheese is also simple and inexpensive. You only need a cheesecloth and a quart of plain yogurt to start. I’ve upgraded from the cheesecloth to a yogurt cheese strainer. You can order them online or you can also scout them out on your own. Since I am health conscious, I buy primarily buy fat free plain yogurt and have had the best luck with Stonyfield Farms. Each container of yogurt has different bacteria and consistency so even within one brand, you may get some differentiation.

Place the yogurt in a cheesecloth or yogurt strainer in the fridge over a bowl, and let it sit for at least 4 hours. I’ve let it sit for as long as two days. The longer you let it drain, the thicker the yogurt cheese becomes. Yogurt cheese can take a long time to make depending upon your preference, but once you scoop out a batch of thick cheese, your patience will be rewarded. The general rule is 2 cups of yogurt yields 1 cup of yogurt cheese. Season the yogurt cheese according to your taste, or substitute it in a recipe for sour cream, mayonnaise, or cream cheese.

Homemade yogurt cheese is an increasingly attractive alternative as we learn more about the health benefits of yogurt. In fact, it’s hard these days to make sense of what yogurt can and can’t do for you. Everyone knows that yogurt is good for you because it contains key phrases such as “live and active yogurt cultures” and “probiotics.” Yogurt isn’t just a food anymore – it’s a miraculous nutritional powerhouse that according to the National Yogurt Association claims to be capable of boosting immunity to diseases, stimulating digestion, lowering cholesterol, and combating certain types of “cancer-causing compounds.” Yogurt is the quintessential health food on the go, available in cups, smoothie bottles, and squeeze tubes, (rainbow sprinkles and granola optional), and also appearing in non-refrigerated forms, covering raisins and nuts, and smothered over cereals and meal replacement bars. Even if you do remain skeptical as I am of all of the increasing benefits to eating yogurt, especially with increased amounts of additives and sugar, it is an excellent source of protein and calcium, both of which are needed to grow and maintain skeletal and muscular development. Making yogurt cheese allows you to reap yogurt’s full nutritional value and taste, while controlling the amount of sugar and additives.

Some of my favorite recipes to make with yogurt cheese are often simple and require no formal procedures. I like to dump in any herbs that I might have on hand like cilantro, basil, or parsley. If I’m looking for a salty spread on my pita or crackers, I might add some garlic salt, pepper and a sprinkle of olive oil. This is a faithful standby. I’ve also added curry powder, cumin, mustard, and even cinnamon and honey for a sweet treat spooned over fresh fruit. For a less impromptu snack that is still quick and easy, I’ve combined yogurt cheese in a food processor with roasted red peppers as well as sundried tomatoes and pesto. You can also use a blender in place of the food processor. The possibilities are endless and are only restrained by what your creativity.

Here is a salty and sweet variation of a balsamic yogurt cheese dip that I’ve adapted from the Dannon yogurt website. It can be used with cut vegetables or fruits, as desired. It’s perfect for light bites during the spring and summer.

Savory Balsamic Yogurt Cheese Dip

2 cups plain yogurt (low fat or fat free can be used)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
½ cup minced red onion
¼ cup feta, crumbled (if desired)
2-3 tablespoons chopped parsley (or any savory herb)
Add salt and cracked pepper to taste

Drain the yogurt for at least 6-8 hours. In a small saucepan, combine the vinegar and garlic until you have about a ¼ cup. Let cool for a few minutes. Combine yogurt, balsamic, parsley, and feta, if using, and serve with vegetable crudités, pita crisps, etc.

Sweet Balsamic Yogurt Cheese Dip

2 cups vanilla yogurt (low fat or fat free can be used)
½ cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon or grated cinnamon stick

Drain the yogurt for at least 6-8 hours. In a small saucepan, combine the vinegar, lemon juice and brown sugar over low – medium heat until you have about ¼ cup. Let cool. Combine balsamic mixture, yogurt and cinnamon to taste. Spoon over strawberries or other fruit as desired.

Inspirational recipes sites for yogurt cheese include the Stonyfield Farm website and the Dannon yogurt website, and, of course, dear reader, if you have any tips or creative yogurt cheese recipes, please feel free to share them as well.

I recently read Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think by Bruce Wansink, Ph.d., after a friend recommended Wansink’s website, the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab. I was curious, because while I consider myself fairly in control of my eating habits and eat what most people would consider healthy on a regular basis, I have my slip-ups. I might not down a box of Oreo cookies in a sitting, but that’s because I don’t keep Oreo cookies in the house. That type of prepackaged, partially-hydrogenated snack food doesn’t appeal to me. I have, however, eaten half a box of Kashi-GoLean in 10 minutes, a quarter jar of peanut butter, and countless bags of Craisins, meringues, trail mixes, and other “good-for-you” foods in one sitting.

In short, I’m a health food junkie. I’d say this type of health food binge eating might happen about once a week, and almost always when I am by myself. Since it doesn’t happen very often, it allows me to get back on track the following day, usually motivated by guilt. Still I realize that overeating even reasonably healthy food, is a very unhealthy habit to have. I equate food with conflicting emotions of anxiety, guilt, sadness, and pleasure, and I’m not really paying attention to what I’m eating or how it makes my body feel until it’s about 30 minutes too late. Not to mention that the increase of such unhealthy eating habits can have disastrous effects if they continue unabated, or if I suddenly develop cravings for midnight Mallowmars.

My challenge is to curb those unhealthy eating habits when it comes to portion control, and the Mindless Eating Challenge presented in the last chapter of Wansink’s book “Mindlessly Eating Better” seems like a reasonable solution to try.

I grew up in a house where you were expected to clear your plate of heaping spoonfuls of food, or else you couldn’t have dessert, so portion control has always been something I have approached scientifically rather than from a instinctual or socially formed perspective. Sometimes, I’m very motivated. I‘ll take out a measuring cup and ration an exact serving. Other times, whether out of sheer laziness or because I don’t have enough time, I have to eyeball it, like a portion of almonds is a small handful. If this book has proven anything to me, however, it’s that my eyes can’t be trusted.

What Mindless Eating emphasizes, like many other books that seek to inspire a healthy eating lifestyle rather than quick crash diets, is the instinctual and social approach to food and portion control, which many of us have to relearn. We have to force ourselves to remember that food is for enjoyment, pleasure, taste, nourishment, and above all to improve our general physical and mental wellbeing. What I have found most valuable from Mindless Eating are easier ways to learn portion control that will hopefully curtail those once-a-week, albeit health food, binges. I’ve written the top ten tips here that I found to be the most useful. Because whether or not you are a health food junkie or a junk food lover, overeating deprives you of enjoying the fulfillment of a satisfying and nourishing meal and leaves a bad aftertaste.

10 Ways To Learn Portion Control adapted from Mindless Eating

1) Create Stop Signs. Pour out portions from the larger box or container. Obviously, the abundance of new 100 calorie packs makes this easier, but that option isn’t always economical, possible, or the most healthy. Another way to create stop signs are to keep sayings that will make you think before you eat. A familiar saying that often comes to my mind is “Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels.” A slight overstatement, but sometimes when I’m reaching for an additional helping, it makes me pause.
2) Ignore the “Health Halo.” Just because it’s low in calories, fat, or carbohydrates, etc. doesn’t necessarily mean eat more. For someone, like myself, who stocks her kitchen with healthy food, this is my most noticeable pitfall.
3) Fixate on fullness. You don’t need to clean plate. In fact, try to leave a little bit on your plate after each meal especially when dining out, and you’ll end up saving lots of unnecessary calories.
4) Leave the mess. A cluttered table, a sticky plate shows that you’ve eaten and how much.
5) Hide your treats. Keep your goodies, or “trigger foods” (and everyone has them, whether it’s chocolate or granola) in hard to reach places. Wansink also showed that keeping food in opaque containers also helps prevent you from overindulging. By the same token, store healthy foods, like fruits and vegetables in the open.
6) Pour smarter. Tall and thin glasses look like they contain liquid than short and fat glasses, so try to pour calorie-laden drinks into skinny glasses.
7) Know where you overeat. Do you tend to overeat by yourself or with others? In the dark or while doing fixating on some other task like checking email or watching the television? Be mindful of your meal. If you’re not really hungry, but are just used to mindlessly eating, like at a movie theater, than try to use water or gum as substitute.
8) Serve small. We use background objects to determine size. If you serve yourself from a large serving bowl, you tend to get a large serving size. You’ve probably heard this before, but swap your big dishes and bowls for smaller containers.
9) Rate the taste. Only eat that which tastes good for you. If you don’t truly enjoy it, i.e. savor it, it’s not worth it.
10) Keep snacks and meals simple. More variety means you’re likely to eat more. This is particularly true if you’re at a buffet or someone’s house. Take a small helping of 2 or 3 selections on a small plate and see if you are satiated.

At the end of the book, Wansink challenges the reader to come up with three habits that he or she can work to change after reflecting on his/her personal eating habits. Wansink selects 3 objectives because he finds that more people will stick to just this number than a higher amount. Here are the challenges that I have laid out for myself after reading this book, given my personal eating habits and where I can see room for improvement. If you choose to take the challenge, you can also register online on the National Mindless Eating Challenge, and receive motivation, feedback, and tips on how to work towards your goals and make them habit-forming.

1) Try not to eat directly from the box, bag, or ice cream carton. Take time to measure out the portion.

2) Try to eat only sitting down. I’m not as mindful of how much I eat when I’m standing up. Usually if I’m standing, I’m multitasking and not paying attention to how much I’m eating.

3) Limit myself to one carbohydrate per meal. Try not to take second helpings of starch. If I’m still hungry, I can eat more fruit and vegetables.

My mother always said there would be days like these. And if I were my mother, I would have had leftovers loaves of sweet breads and cookies waiting in the freezer that I could have easily thawed in a moment’s notice. But alas, I’m not my mother and I don’t even come close to rivaling her in the kitchen. I don’t have a cranberry nut loaf in my freezer or a tin of homemade chocolate chip cookies.

I came home from work on Thurs night and my friend who was visiting from out of town was coming over to my house in less than 4 hours and along with her were coming two of my other girlfriends. What do you serve when girls come together late night for the munchies? Chocolate! Four hours would be enough to whip up a chocolate indulgence ordinarily, but there was one caveat… my 5:30pm spinning class. Oh I know what you’re thinking – how could riding a stationary bike get in the way of good friends and chocolate? Well, I could say it’s not just any spinning class, but that’s not why people come to this food blog, Sugar Savvy is it? Go to FitFare for that piece. But don’t worry sweet-toothed readers, I won’t disappoint. I just had to be focused and I knew I could do both.

Before I embarked on my hour-long sweaty stationary journey, I took stock of my pantry - the far upper left corner, to be exact where the delicious chocolate stash is kept. Unsweetened cocoa powder, bittersweet dark chocolate - check. I flipped open one of my Eating Well cookbooks for a quick recipe that I knew was fast, easy, and would satisfy chocolate cravings without sacrificing the time I put in on my spin bike.

Click on the link to the Eatingwell.com website to see the recipe for Eating Well’s Chocolate Crisps. Each cookie has just 38 calories and 2 grams of fat. Also, the recipe made more than 12 cookies Eating Well projects for me. I made 16, so if you want a dozen cookies exactly, make sure those are indeed generously heaping teaspoonfuls.  

By the time, my guests arrived, the cookies had just cooled. My friends were happily surprised by the combination of rich chocolate taste and the low calories. An easy feel good cookie I plan to make again, perhaps just for myself the next time.