Infinite Reasons Why Sugar is Bad for You

I am here today to crush all your hopes and dreams. My previous posts may suggest that gluten is the worst thing you can eat, or simple carbs, or the paleo diet. But no, all of those guesses are incorrect. The absolutely worst thing you can possibly put into your body is sugar. There is so much wrong with sugar it's not even funny. The astounding wrongness of sugar can be proved through biology, evolution, and my blog.

The average American eats 170 pounds of sugar a year.
Sorry if this exploded your brain.
Parks and Rec is amazing.
Courtesy of Tumblr

Lets travel back through time to when the human race lived in caves, and didn't have iPhones or glowing mice or Obama. These people were primarily hunters and gatherers, but mostly gatherers and a nice hunk of protein was a treat for them. Sugar, along with simple carbs and m&m's (no, not m&m's) were so extremely rare that they practically never had it. Think about it, you can't go outside in nature and find a naturally occurring thing that has sugar in it (fruit has good sugar, so be quiet). So, if you think really hard about evolution and stuff you realize that the human body is not meant to have sugar. Just like we aren't meant to have processed foods. If we aren't biologically designed to eat it, then it will obviously have terrible effects on our body. It's almost like feeding cows skittles (yes, there are companies that do that. Buy organic, free range beef!)

Because of this, sugar has several horrible effects on your body. Number one is that it makes your insulin levels go whacko, which is why you get a sugar high, then you crash, etc. Bad insulin levels from eating to much sugar is how people get Type II Diabetes, which is a super awful disease that is and epidemic in the US. Europeans are skinny because there is literally no sugar in their grocery store. Trust me, I went there once so I know everything about Europe.

This is the market in Versailles, France, and I was totally here,
I just didn't take a picture. Sorry.
Notice- there is no sugar.
Courtesy of Trip Advisor

Second, sugar feeds cancer, and oxygen kills cancer. Since cancer is the uncontrollable division of cells, and insulin is one of the hormones that contributes to that process, sugar feeds cancer, literally. Now, since oxygen kills cancer, you should breathe a lot. Just Kidding, if you have cancer you should go to a hyperbaric chamber. They give you oxygen there.

Third, sugar makes you fat. There is no better way to say it. It's what gives you high cholesterol, it makes you swell up like a balloon, and it's highly addictive so you can't stop eating it (it causes major dopamine release in the brain, which is pretty much the same thing that illegal drugs do. And most non-illegal drugs).

In conclusion, don't eat sugar. Also, if this post doesn't make sense it's because I drank a latte before I went to ballet so I wouldn't fall asleep during adagio. I'm still super amped up. So just don't mind me over here laying upside down listening to Coldplay, but definitely do what I say. Always.

Ooh, now I'm listening to Hozier. Like Real People Do is the best song ever.

~Mia

Blogosphere

Hello Mia's Blog! I'm Juliette and I own Verde Sauce! You guys should definitely check it out! I don't write about healthy foods but I am actually a comedic genius . . . So if you get the chance, hop on over to Verde Sauce!

Protein Bars - Everything You Need to Know

Today I would like to discuss the issues I have with protein bars. Protein bars are not something that you should be eating constantly. There is a specific time and place (not really a specific place, but. . . ) for protein bars, and it is not 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I'm in third period and I see someone drinking a protein shake, or eating a protein bar. I don't like this because you are only supposed to eat protein bars (or protein drinks) after you exercise a lot. If you have the right kind of protein, you can drink it first thing in the morning, and thats okay. But, you should not eat protein bars as if it's kale. 

First of all, protein bars need some extra stuff to get all of that protein in there. Most protein bars have an insane amount of calories, sugar, and fat, which is okay to eat if you just burned a lot of calories and need the amino acids (those come in proteins) to build up your muscle. Protein bars/drinks are not something you should eat all the time if you want to gain muscle without doing anything, because it'll have absolutely no affect, and probably make you fatter. 

These are literally so delicious. Courtesy of Penny Pinching Mom

But, protein bars are a good thing to have when you're on the go, and you're starving and you have to have a snack. You just have to pick the right kind of bar. A bad protein bar to eat in this situation would be something like a PowerBar, which has a crazy amount of protein only fit for a bodybuilder. A good bar to eat, that I have found, is something like Nature Valley's Protein bars. They have enough protein to fill you up for a little bit, but not a bunch of extra sugar and stuff. But, be warned, even though these are better protein bars doesn't mean than you can eat 20 of them at a time- you still have to be careful, and mostly eat them after some kind of physical activity. So, don't be that kid stuffing 50 grams of protein in their mouth before 10 in the morning. At least wait until lunch.

~Mia

DON'T SKIP MEALS

Well friends, recently while I sit in the school cafeteria from 12:22 to 12:51, I've encountered a problem. I'm constantly hearing people (mostly girls, because they all want to be skinny) talk about how they skipped breakfast, or how they don't eat lunch or whatever. If you had read my previous post, you would know that BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY, so you really should eat it, even if it makes you sick. Also, every meal is the most important meal of the day. I cannot stress enough how horribly horrible it is for you to skip meals. This isn't just my inner old person saying "oh, dear, you're much to skinny. Here, have a snickerdoodle," it's my actual self with actual scientific evidence saying that you're wrong.

Don't skip meals. Courtesy of My Food Diary

Now, logical reasoning would lead you to believe that skipping meals makes you loose weight. Yes, at some point it does, but then it's called anorexia, which is a serious disease and not how you should live your life. Right now, if you're thinking that just skipping one meal once and a while isn't bad, and hey, it can't hurt your weight loss goals, then you're dead wrong. I can't even tell you how wrong you are. Because, when you skip a meal, you're body immediately goes into starvation mode, and stores all the fat it can. Fat storage is exactly what you don't want when you're losing weight. Part two is that when you skip breakfast, specifically, you're metabolism doesn't get started, and that throws off you're whole life. You're body realizes that it's awake when you eat breakfast, then it starts all the stuff it needs to do in the daytime. Skipping meals is just really, really bad. And, it becomes even worse if you do any kind of exercise, because then you're muscles don't have enough energy to rebuild. And, it's also really bad if you're young and you're cells are still dividing, because then your cells don't have the energy to divide. So, don't skip meals. Period.

I know that some days it's really, really hard, and you're running late, and you just stabbed your eye with the mascara wand, and you just don't have time to eat anything. I definitely know this feeling. Just this morning I forgot to eat breakfast (oops, guess I should practice what I preach) and I didn't have any food until 12:22. But, I now regret my decisions, and will not go down that dark path again. Literally, all you need to do is grab a banana, or a protein bar, or even a raspberry, and that will be enough to tell you're body to wake up. And at lunch, even if the option is unhealthy, you should still eat something.

The moral of the story is to never skip meals.

~Mia

Panko-Crusted Sesame Chicken is My New Life

In my mother's never ending battle to find fast, easy meals for her family, she has recently discovered a recipe for Panko-crusted Sesame Chicken. For possibly the first time ever, every single member of my family loved what she made for dinner. It's also super healthy, so I'm going to give you the recipe.

I want to eat it so badly. Courtesy of In Sock Monkey Slippers
P.S. I'm sorry I didn't take my own picture. 

Ingredients-

• 3 1/2 pounds chicken, cut in serving pieces - My mother used boneless, skinless chicken. She also advises to cut the chicken into "finger shapes," whatever that is.
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup sugar - In my families never ending goal to be healthy (and skinny), my mom took the sugar completely out of the recipe. If that sounds like hell to you, just cut the sugar in half.
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 5 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions, including 3 inches of the green part
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup toasted white sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup safflower oil - My mom also decided to take this completely out of the recipe, because she thought that it would make it to oily. She was probably right.
• 2 1/2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs) - The chef of this recipe (a.k.a my mom) advised me to tell you that you will need way more panko than that. She said that you should add about an extra 1 1/4 cups.
• Peanut oil for frying - Because peanut oil is horrible for you (I think), my mom used coconut oil instead. P.S. coconut oil is magic sauce, and it makes the chicken taste like coconuts.

Directions- 

1. Wash the chicken and pat dry.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the corn starch, flour, sugar (or no sugar), and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, soy sauce, onions, garlic, sesame seeds, and safflower oil (remember, no safflower oil if you want to be awesome).Whisk in the corn starch mixture.
4. Place the chicken pieces in a sealable plastic bag.
5. Pour in the batter and turn to coat. - basically "turn to coat" means to get the chicken covered in gross eggy stuff.
6. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or as long as overnight, turning the bag to keep the marinate combined. Overnight marinating enhances the flavor of the chicken.
7. Season the panko with the remaining salt and spread on a work surface. Remove the pieces of chicken from the bag, allowing the excess marinade to drip back into the bag. Roll the chicken in the panko, making sure each piece is well coated. - It is impertinent that the panko doesn't get wet, or else it all stick together. So, use one hand to grab the chicken and drip off the marinade, then use the other hand to roll it around in the panko. 
8. In a 12-14 inch skillet, heat the peanut oil (coconut oil) to 350 degrees. Fry the chicken until golden brown, turning frequently. The chicken is done when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a fork and the juices run clear. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm or at room temperature. - In order to fully cook the chicken and keep it warm well she was finishing frying the rest of the chicken, my mom would pop the pieces into the oven after she fried them, at about 300 degrees. 

Recipe courtesy of California Heritage Continues: A Cookbook

This chicken is literally the most amazing thing on the planet, and you should definitely make it. It makes amazing leftovers, and the day after my mom made it I had it for lunch, and was looking forward to coming home and eating more, but then it was all gone. I'm still kind of bummed that I didn't get more of it. So, the moral of the story is to make a double batch and eat as much of it as possible, before the rest of your family can get to it. 

~Mia

A Complete Guide to Not Eating

My favorite thing to do always is eat. Especially when I get home after school. I walk into my kitchen at eat everything in sight, except for my dogs and anything healthy. I've noticed that this is a problem outside of my particular home, and it probably happens in your home. Eating because you're bored is a very bad thing, and so is overeating. So, I have a few tricks for you so that you don't eat half the world when you get home.

This is my favorite food, minus the twinkles.
Courtesy of Shopbuy

My very first trick is to chew gum. If there is something already in your mouth, then you can't eat anything. Also, after you spit the gum out, your mouth will be all minty, and who wants to eat when your mouth is minty? A variation of this trick is to brush your teeth when you get home. Then, your mouth will be really minty, and you really won't want to eat anything. Also, your breath will smell amazing.

My second trick is to drink green tea. First, since it's mostly water, it will fill you up with water. Second, green tea curbs your hunger, so you won't be as hungry. And, an extra plus, green tea has a bunch of antioxidants, which are very good for you. My favorite kind of green tea is Bigelow, and Numi Jasmine Green Tea.

Do people really put lime in their green tea?
Courtesy of Higher Perspective

My third trick is prepare stuff to eat the day before. If you always have healthy leftovers in your fridge when you get home, you can just microwave them and eat them right then and there. But, you shouldn't wait to make an actual meal right when you get home, because chances are you wont want to make it, then you'll eat chips instead. So, the night before make a really big dinner, then put all the leftovers in the fridge. The next day, you can eat that instead of a bag of corn starch.

My very last trick isn't as good as my first three. If you are 100% determined to eat snack foods when you get home, this trick is for you. Don't just grab the bag and sit in front of the TV. Grab the bag, then grab a bowl. Put some chips or whatever in the bowl, then eat out of the bowl, and not the bag. If you eat out of the bag, you are more likely to eat way more than if you were to eat out of a bowl.

I hope with these amazing tricks you will begin to eat less.

~Mia

Being Sick is Death

I had six amazing, beautiful ideas lined up to write about today, but when I woke up this morning, I felt like I was swallowing glass. In other, less disgusting words, I had a sore throat. So, then I had this ingenious idea to write about ways to stop being sick, and also ways to prevent being sick. For those of you who don't know, your immune system is responsible for making you sick, or not sick. If you barely ever get sick, and are only sick if someone in your household got you sick (thanks Dar), then you probably have a good immune system. If you are always sick and are convinced that you have a chronic illness that no doctor can figure out, then you most likely have a bad immune system, and you should fix that right away. But, today I'm bringing you some tips for when you are sick- good immune system or not.

This giraffe is also sick. Courtesy of Cliparts101

Tip #1- Since I am sick with only a sore throat, this tip is about how to fix a sore throat. I know if you go on the internet and look up "how to not be sick," there will be 10 billion super weird home remedies, and all of them probably contain eye of newt, or vinegar. But this one actually works. Take really, really hot water, like the hottest that you can possibly put into your mouth without dying, then add enough salt to make it taste really, really salty, then drink it and watch as your cells implode from osmosis. Just kidding, don't actually do that, it would be very bad. Instead of drinking the salt water and dying, just gargle with it instead. Do that a few times, then your throat will pretty much immediately feel better. It's honestly a miracle worker. Disclosure- this doesn't fix your sickness and make you healthy forever, it just makes you feel better for a few hours.

Tip #2- My next tip is possibly even weirder that the first, but it's even better and actually makes you not sick anymore. This trick can be done while sick to stop being sick, or the rest of your life to prevent yourself from getting sick (ahem, people with bad immune systems, this one is for you). Take a mug of orange juice. Then, put a spoonful of coconut oil in the orange juice (you can get coconut oil at Costco, and the regular store, and kind of anywhere, it's really not that uncommon). After that, microwave the orange juice and coconut oil until the coconut oil is melted in the orange juice. Stir. Drink. Trust me, it is as bad at it sounds. But, I also hate orange juice and coconuts, so maybe it'll be better for you. This also is a miracle worker, and I'm only ever sick for a day because whenever I think I'm getting sick, I just drink this, then I'm all better.

Tip #3- This tip is much less weird than the last two, and much more well known. Drink tea. That will help you with a sore throat. You could drink other warm beverages, but stuff that has sugar in it like hot chocolate isn't good, because you should try to stay away from sugar if you're sick. Correction, you should always stay away from sugar. My favorite tea to drink when I'm sick is mint tea, with cream. It's super delicious and your breath smells good after drinking it. \

Does anybody actually drink tea out of glass coffee cups?
Courtesy of Pintrest

Tip #4- I'm running out of words, so my last tip is to take vitamin C. This doesn't help you not be sick, but it helps you not get sick. In less confusing words, it's good for your immune system.

I apologize if this post is weird, but I'm sick so. . .

~Mia

The Best Way to Eat Pulverized Fruit

Smoothies are super fun, and can also be super healthy, and there are many ways to make them amazing. But, they can also be super unhealthy. Kind of. If you go on the internet thing and search "smoothie recipe," chances are it will tell you to dump 10 cups of sugar into the blender, along with some chocolate and probably skittles, too. So, the best way to make a good, healthy smoothie is to completely wing it and not follow a recipe. It works almost every time.

Step one to making a perfect smoothie- freeze your own fruit! If you have a bunch of fruit (like strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, blueberries) that are about to go bad, then stick them in a bag and stick it in the freezer. Or, you can go get a bag of frozen fruit from the store, but before you spend your money on it check to make sure it doesn't have any added sugar. It's obviously going to have sugar in it, because fruit has natural sugar in it (What!?), but it's natural so it's okay. But, if you're Ted Ligety you should definitely stay away from sugar (Ted Ligety is a professional ski racer and the fastest man on earth, so he can't have any sugar. Poor thing. P.S. Ted, I'm totally not dissing you I think you're awesome). Also to avoid unnecessary sugar, don't buy the pre portioned fruit packets that have like yogurt in them and stuff, and they add a lot of sugar (I'm looking at you, Yoplait Smoothies). 

Instead of eating sugar, Ted gets to eat gold. Lucky.
Courtesy of Thrive Sports

There are a few basic things that need to be present in any good smoothie. First you obviously need fruit. If you put in frozen fruit, you don't need any ice. But, if you use just a banana or fresh fruit, you need to put in ice to make it cold. Another thing I love putting in smoothies is peanut butter. It adds some protein to the smoothie, and adds kind of a nutty taste. You could also use almond butter. Most smoothie recipes will call for some kind of fruit juice, but I always use milk or almond milk. Less sugar. Also, if you want it to be more sweet, you can add a touch of honey.

Here are some of my go-to smoothie recipes (I have absolutely no clue about the proportions, but I'll tell you a trick to get it kind of right. The trick is to completely guess and give the extra to someone else, or put it in the fridge, or give it to the sink if it tastes bad. 

Go-to smoothie number one- 

• About one cup of frozen fruit -  any fruit you want, but I usually stick with the berry family.
• A banana - or half a banana or ten bananas, I don't really know
• Almond milk/cow milk/soy milk- add this last, and make sure it barely hits the top of all the other stuff that you put in. Does that make sense?
• Peanut butter/almond butter/cashew butter - if you add this, don't add to much because then you might have to eat it with a spoon. I definitely haven't done that before. 

Sadly, I don't have any fancy straws. Courtesy of Parade

Go-to smoothie number two-

• Ice
• Peanut butter/almond butter/cashew butter - I tried it with sugar-free peanut butter once and I couldn't eat it, so then I used regular peanut butter, but you're not allowed to do that because you're not allowed to eat sugar. Again, don't add to much of it 'cause then it will be like, really thick.
• Honey - honey makes it delicious, so add a lot
• A banana
• Almond milk - this recipe is delicious with almond milk, but you can try it with regular milk or soy milk

Confession- these recipes might end up with servings for 13 (a bakers dozen), and you might have to mess around with the proportions and stuff, but it's totally worth it. 

~ Mia

Why I Keep Dissing the Paleo Diet

If I'm remembering correctly, I have mentioned my "strong disliking" (hatred sounds too mean) of the Paleo Diet fad. The Paleo Diet is when you only eat things that "early humans"(cavemen) ate, which is mostly meat, and very few fruits and vegetables. This diet isn't necessarily bad, but it actually kind of is. If you are truly reflecting what cavemen ate, it would be almost 100% meat, and only fruits and vegetables that the cavemen had scavenged - which are very, very few. Personally, I don't really trust a diet that doesn't include a ridiculous amount of fruits and vegetables, and I think it can be very bad for your body to be so protien-heavy in a diet.

We are not this. Courtesy of Crossfit Lakewood

I recently read a book called The China Study that was all about how society is told what to eat and what's wrong with our government. That sounds very pessimist, but it was all about a study that this guy (Thomas Campbell) did in a bunch of little villages in China (hence the name “The China Study”). The study showed that the poor people, who couldn't afford a lot of meat and protein, tended to get bad diseases less often than the richer villagers who could afford meat. After seeing this connection, the scientist did decades worth of studies on lab rats and observed other villages that had prominent health issues. So, essentially the book is saying that you can have a higher risk of diseases like cancer, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases if you eat high amounts of protien. I'm probably completely butchering the explanation, so you should probably read the book. Anyway, Dr. Campbell’s solution to all of this stuff that he had found out was to eat less meat, and more vegetables. Because I trust Dr. Campbell and don't trust the internet, I don't like the Paleo Diet. 

I think that since the Paleo Diet is the exact opposite of everything that The China Study goes into excruciating detail to explain is not good. I’d rather listen to an actual doctor who actually knows what he’s doing than listen to the people who are like, “cavemen were skinny so lets eat like they ate, even though they were starving and they didn’t have houses.” If you are a strong advocate of the Paleo Diet, feel free to leave an angry comment and start an internet fight. Maybe it’ll give me more page views. 

~Mia

P.S. I’m very sorry for completely ranting about this, and I’ll try my hardest not to rant again anytime soon. 

Why Gluten is my New Worst Enemy

I have become part of an age-old feud, almost like the Capulets and Montagues (except literally not at all). Thank you, Mr. Parker, for putting that in my head. Anyway, I stopped eating gluten. I have a few very good reasons, and I'm not saying you should absolutely do it or you're not healthy and you can't read this blog anymore, but I'm just going to inform you of my decision.

First, I'm going to tell you what gluten is, so you can know what you're not eating. Gluten is an agent in wheat that gives it elasticity. If you didn't understand any of that, its just something that's in wheat that makes it stretchy. Gluten is in stuff like cake and cookies and bread and doghnuts and cake and literally everything else that tastes good in the world, unless you actually like vegetables (does anybody?). So, gluten is what makes everything stick together, but it's not all perfect.

Even this beautiful thing has gluten. Courtesty of King Arthur Flour

My biggest thing about gluten is that it makes me feel bloated. It makes a lot of people feel bloated, actually. There is this thing call gluten sensitivity, or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, that is very common. You pretty much have it if you have any kind of bad reaction to eating gluten, like being bloated. There are lots of other examples of bad bodily functions that are related to gluten, but I didn't want to read them all.

I know that there are like a billion diet fads out there, and most of them are completely ridiculous (like what even is the paleo diet? It makes no sense), but cutting out gluten is really something that you should try. There's no way that it could be bad for you, so why not? And, if you cut out gluten you're also cutting out most foods that contain refined sugars, which are really bad for you. And, hopefully, you'll feel a million times better. It's a win-win-win, so why not? Whenever I decide to eat gluten free I regret ever not eating gluten free. I have so much more energy, and I feel so much less lethargic. And, even though you may think it's really hard to find gluten free foods, it's definitely not. If you walk into a grocery store and throw a rock you can hit something without gluten. Especially if you go in the produce section. So, when you come home from work or school or skydiving or whatever, instead of having some crackers or cake, have an apple. Even though I told you earlier that I wasn't saying you should absolutely cut gluten out of your diet, now I'm saying that you should absolutely cut gluten out of your diet. You're welcome.

~ Mia