The Iron You

Banana Oatmeal Protein Pancakes

2013-05-20T06:00:00.002-04:00

I’m pretty much obsessed with pancakes (who isn’t?). Good thing there’s like a million ways to make them.
This recipe has been my staple breakfast for a while. You might argue that this will never replace “real” pancakes made with butter and white flour; au contraire, they’re just as good.
They fill you up, they taste awesome, they’re nutritionally complete and good for you. Just what a power breakfast should be really about.

I usually whip up the batter when I get up, before going for my morning run (or swim, depending on the day). When I get home I cook the pancakes while I’m showering and getting ready for the day. Yep, I can multitask...

Banana Oatmeal Protein Pancakes Print this recipe!

Few notes. If you don’t feel like using protein powder sub it with whole wheat flour. Adding sugar is optional, it really depends on how you’re feeling when you wake up. I normally don’t feel there’s the need as the bananas add enough sweetness; but who am I to judge?

Ingredients
Serves 2 (or 1 hungry athlete)

¼ cup / 0.7 oz / 20 gr rolled oats
10 banana slices (about ½ banana)
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
pinch fine grain sea salt
1 scoop protein powder (or ¼ cup / 0.88 oz / 25 gr whole wheat flour)
dash of vanilla extract
¼ cup / 50ml milk (soy, almond, hemp or regular)
2 egg whites (or 1 egg)
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar (optional)

Directions

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl whisk together milk, egg and vegetable oil.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir to combine. If the mixture is too thick (which might depend on the quality of the protein powder you’re using) whisk in further milk to achieve a pancake-like consistency.
Pour batter onto a lightly greased frying pan and spread with the back of the spoon. Cook on low until golden brown on both sides.
Top with maple syrup, cocoa, pecans, banana, etc.

Nutrition facts

One serving has 157 calories, 4 grams of fat, 16 grams of carbs and 15 grams of protein.

What I'm Reading: "Making Supper Safe"

2013-05-19T16:56:00.000-04:00

The topic of food safety is more current than ever before. Over the past few decades, foodborne illness has shifted from being a fairly regionalized threat with the potential to sicken a handful of people in a single outbreak, to a national hazard capable of felling hundreds (if not thousands) of consumers from a single point of contamination.
Food recalls have become so ubiquitous we hardly even notice them. In 2008-2009 the massive salmonella contamination has killed nine people and sickened about 22,500 people. Only few weeks later, a contaminated frozen cookie dough has sent 35 people to the ER. The outbreaks are getting bigger and more deadly. These events are an alarming symptom that there’s something wrong with our food system.

In Making Supper Safe, Ben Hewitt exposes the vulnerabilities inherent to the US food system. The author poses several questions: How can we make our food safe? What are we doing wrong? Are we focusing on the wrong things?
With a very casual and easy to read style Hewitt introduces the reader to the world of processing, packaging, and distributing food in America highlighting some of the major flaws.
One thing emerges as you’re flipping through the pages of this rather interesting book: that we are creating an an ever expanding distance between us and our source of nourishment and that this causes all kind of hazards to our health.
A vibrant cast of characters and scientists who are reinventing our food are introduced to the readers. Some of which are almost unimaginable characters.
At the end of some sections I felt overwhelmed and left with a sense of “Ok, we’re doomed!”.
Even though you can feel that the author’s intention was to provide some understanding to the reader; some stories did touched my chords and I finished the book with a sense of foreboding and resignation; thinking ifis time for me to leave the City and go living a more sustainable life in the country.
Hewitt doesn’t preach, he just present you with a good amount of information. It’s up to the reader to process it and form what her/his opinion.
There is one major problem with this book though: the total lack of references. There are almost no footnotes or bibliography; this ultimately undermines the validity of some of the claims the author makes. You’re left wondering is this for real or it’s fiction? Who knows.
I would have been more inclined to take the author "at his word" if he presented some objective references, and I think omitting those references hurts the credibility of his arguments as a whole.
Even if he’s 100% completely and objectively right about everything he writes, he needs to back up that information with references to give it credibility.
However, as a neophyte to this information, this book proves to be a valid general introduction to the world of food safety. I’m sure there will be time in future to examine in depth the topic and verify the sources.
Ultimately, Making Supper Safe explains why we should worry about our food system but also why there’s still a reason to hope to gain trust in our food again. If you don’t know much about food safety, I strongly recommend you give this book a-go. It’s topic worth exploring.

The Anti-Inflammatory Diet

2013-05-16T06:20:00.000-04:00

Hollywood’s new diet craze is nothing like the usual offerings. It’s not even a diet; there’s no counting calories, carbs forbearance or faddy detoxing. It’s a scientific based eating regimen that focuses on your body cells not your waistline. It seeks to operates on a biochemical level and it's designed to neutralize the inflammation that occurs inside your body.
The anti-inflammatory diet got Hollywood hooked promising big benefits such as a clearer mind, fewer cravings, glowing skin and slimmer waist1.

Credit: Image courtesy of drweil.com

According to its advocates, inflammation underlies many of the world’s most common diseases, including the process of aging. Inflammation is also associated with such obvious inflammatory conditions as rheumatoid arthritis, but there’s data evidencing that inflammation might be a risk factor for developing heart disease and cancer2.
So how does it works? The anti-inflammatory diet seeks to reduce inflammation by eating healthier foods (i.e., foods that help combat inflammation) and conversely reduce foods that cause inflammation.
Consuming too much fat (especially in the form of saturated fat, trans fat and Omega-6 fats), too much sugar (also in the form of refined carbs), too many calories, and carrying too much extra body weight, it’s likely to cause inflammation and oxidative stress on your body.
Inflammatory foods set off a series of reactions: The “bad fat” triggers the liver to release chemicals to fight the toxins, which causes inflammation. In the meantime, the glucose in food can’t be transported to your cells while the body is inflamed, which means that your body isn’t registering the intake3. With what result? That you’re feeling hungry (even if you’re not) and more prone to cravings4.
In other words inflammation means a less efficient metabolism, which in turn will make you eat more and ultimately gaining weight.
Another important feature of the anti-inflammatory eating regimen is the focus on body weight. Too much body weight is one of the clearest link between inflammation and disease. Fat is metabolically active tissue, that releases all kinds of inflammatory molecules into our bloodstream, which travels to target organs. All the cells of our body are affected as a consequence.
Eating healthy and be fit. Nothing new under the sun. What’s more interesting about the anti-inflammatory diet is what you should not eat and what you should eat.
What makes the cut? Fish and olive oil as sources of unsaturated fats, seaweeds, garlic, green tea, nuts and plenty of fresh produce (deeply colored veggies and fruits). Also spices and herbs such as ginger and turmeric should be included. These are all foods rich in phytonutrients that may help fighting inflammation. Foods that help calm the immune system5.
At the same time, you're meant to limit or cut out foods thought to cause inflammation, such as trans fats and saturated fats, processed foods and refined carbohydrates such as white bread and sugars6.
All these are thought to produce free radicals or cause blood sugar levels to spike, leading to inflammation7.
If you want to know more about the anti-inflammatory diet here’s a couple of books you might want to check out:

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References
1 Sather, Jennifer. Anti Inflammatory Diet: The Best Anti Inflammatory Foods and Anti Inflammatory Diet to Keep You Healthy. Seattle. 2013
2 Rowe, Barbara; Davis, Lisa. Anti-Inflammatory Foods For Health. Minneapolis. 2008
3 Watts, Merritt. “The New Science of Dieting.” Details. May 2013: 72. Print.
4Sears Barry. The Anti-Inflammation Zone: Reversing the Silent Epidemic That's Destroying Our Health. New York. 2005
5 Weil, Andrew. “Anti-Inflammatory Diet & Pyramid”. drweil.com. Weil Lifestyle LLC. Web. 15 May 2013.
6 Perricone, Nicholas. The Perricone Weight-Loss Diet Personal Daily Journal: A Diet Journal to Keep You Focused on Your Weight-Loss Goals. New York: Ballantine. 2005.
7 Bee, Peta. “The simple diet that can fight arthritis and Alzheimer’s disease.” Mail Online. 21 Sep. 2009: 1. Web. 15 May 2013.