This is the link:
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| Click to go to the new blog! |
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact me at my new email address:
See you there!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
My blog has moved, but you can still follow it!
In case you didn't know, I went live with my new website, where this blog is now hosted.
This is the link:
This is the link:
Thursday, March 3, 2011
I Love Coffee.org!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Coffee Doesn't Have to Make Me Fat! (Ever Again)
This is the first official In the Lab experiment post, and it is not a paid endorsement. All the products I mention in this article are in my refrigerator, and the opinions I express are my own. If you have a product you would like to have reviewed on this blog for an unpaid and honest opinion, please contact me at the email address above.
I love coffee. I love the slight bitterness of strong, dark coffee with a little sweetness and loads of cream. I have a favorite coffee mug; and I know by sight exactly how high to pour the coffee in the mug to be able to fit in precisely the right amount of flavoring. Anyone who loves coffee as I do probably has a morning coffee ritual, and I am just as attached to mine as anyone. But I have learned that coffee is a very selfish lover. Long after the buzz, there is an ugly bite.
I thought I was doing fine, but I was in denial. I thought I was estimating the amount of flavored cream that I really drink every day and faithfully logging it, but according to this weekend’s experiment, I was way off. I was drinking nearly twice as much fat as I was “estimating.” Why would anyone do that? Why would a person who is trying to be healthy not want to know how much fat she is ingesting? Well, why do we ignore the signs that a friend or a loved one is betraying us? Nobody wants to modify a relationship that feels good. And it felt so good to drink that hot, sweet saturated fat that I was willing to stick my head in the sand for a year, with the justification that “I’m cutting calories by not using sugar.” Flavored creamer is so full of sugar, does that even make sense?
Some folks are excited by science—some are not. Anyone who wants to know the precise materials and procedure I used to conduct this experiment can Click Here. Even if you don’t necessarily love to study research, you may want to take a peek at how I managed to make my coffee healthier without making it taste “diet.” To summarize, I recorded the actual formula for my regular cup of coffee, duplicated the taste with a few healthy tricks, and recorded the outcome as the formula for my new and improved cup of coffee. I first caught the buzz about Land O’Lakes fat free half & half in the journal room at Nutrimirror.com. I was very skeptical, but after seeing so much positive feedback on it, I decided to give it a try. It is quite creamy, and there is no aftertaste. And it is also fat free. Honest.
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| Trivia Question: What is the chemical compound represented by the formula on my coffee mug? |
I love coffee. I love the slight bitterness of strong, dark coffee with a little sweetness and loads of cream. I have a favorite coffee mug; and I know by sight exactly how high to pour the coffee in the mug to be able to fit in precisely the right amount of flavoring. Anyone who loves coffee as I do probably has a morning coffee ritual, and I am just as attached to mine as anyone. But I have learned that coffee is a very selfish lover. Long after the buzz, there is an ugly bite.
I thought I was doing fine, but I was in denial. I thought I was estimating the amount of flavored cream that I really drink every day and faithfully logging it, but according to this weekend’s experiment, I was way off. I was drinking nearly twice as much fat as I was “estimating.” Why would anyone do that? Why would a person who is trying to be healthy not want to know how much fat she is ingesting? Well, why do we ignore the signs that a friend or a loved one is betraying us? Nobody wants to modify a relationship that feels good. And it felt so good to drink that hot, sweet saturated fat that I was willing to stick my head in the sand for a year, with the justification that “I’m cutting calories by not using sugar.” Flavored creamer is so full of sugar, does that even make sense?
Some folks are excited by science—some are not. Anyone who wants to know the precise materials and procedure I used to conduct this experiment can Click Here. Even if you don’t necessarily love to study research, you may want to take a peek at how I managed to make my coffee healthier without making it taste “diet.” To summarize, I recorded the actual formula for my regular cup of coffee, duplicated the taste with a few healthy tricks, and recorded the outcome as the formula for my new and improved cup of coffee. I first caught the buzz about Land O’Lakes fat free half & half in the journal room at Nutrimirror.com. I was very skeptical, but after seeing so much positive feedback on it, I decided to give it a try. It is quite creamy, and there is no aftertaste. And it is also fat free. Honest.
Results:
This is a major area of my life where calories and fat (especially saturated fat) can be cut without sacrificing flavor or enjoyment of my early morning coffee drinking event. By substituting my regular Dark Roast coffee with Butterscotch Toffee flavored coffee, I am able to enjoy the same nutty/sweet flavor and aroma that I was getting from the English Almond Toffee flavored creamer. So really, by adjusting the way I sugar and cream the coffee, I save myself 64 calories per cup. Since I drink 2 cups of coffee every day, the calculations begin to make a much more significant difference. Consider the statistics below:
The Old Way- 2 cups/day | The New Way- 2 cups/day |
404 calories | 277 calories |
26% daily allowance of fat (17.2g) | 3% daily allowance of fat (1.8g) |
57% daily allowance of saturated fat (11.4g) | 5% daily allowance of saturated fat (1g) |
No substantial nutritional value | 4g Protein (8%), 129mg Calcium (13%) |
Mr. Blurbie Says:
This is the best coffee I’ve tasted in a long time. The flavor exploded in my mouth! Coffee with sugar and fat-free half & half is only 138.5 calories. If you play flag football for 20 min. you could burn the extra weight. Well that’s it for this Mr. Blurbie says read more because I could keep you updated with my boss’ experiments.
*Mr. Blurbie's calorie calculation is slightly more accurate than the chart, based on the fact that 2 servings contains 277 calories.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Welcome to my lab!
The official start date for this blog is Monday, February 14, 2011. However, you have been selected for a special preview of what’s coming! Bookmark this link:
The purpose of this blog is to conduct lifestyle experiments in order to make informed decisions about health and fitness. I will then be able to make recommendations based on the results of each study.
*Spoiler Alert!*
My initial experiment is coffee-related! Subscribe to the feed or email alerts and follow the blog now so that you can be the very first to see my findings!
You will thoroughly enjoy the supplemental section entitled, “Mr. Blurbie Says,” where my school-age laboratory assistant (my son) will provide his own unique observations. If you choose to follow the blog, please indicate in the body of your message whether you are following because of a Girl Named James or if you are actually following Mr. Blurbie!
Another exciting feature of this new blog will be the Reviews section. I will be testing products, services, web sites, etc. and providing insightful reviews and links. If you have merchandise or services that you would like to have reviewed on this blog, please feel free to contact me using the email address above.
Be sure to see my other blog, Girl Named James: Go Nuts Already!
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