Earlier this month, we mentioned in our December 2012 Potpourri blog post that an iPhone app was coming for the Low FODMAP Diet.

That diet approach has come out of research work done at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia (designed to help manage gastrointestinal symptoms).

On 17DEC2012, the researchers at Monash University in Australia sent out a press release about their new app called the Monash University Low FODMAP Diet (by CEMA, Monash University) which can be found in the iTunes Store.

Graphic source:  Dreamstime.com

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In Part 1 of 2 of our series on baking with yeast, we mentioned a bit about the history of baker’s yeast and some details concerning fresh yeast and active dry yeast.

In this Part 2 of 2 of our baking with yeast series, we’ll discuss how to “proof” or “bloom” active dry yeast prior to incorporating it into recipes, as well as the various offerings under the category of instant dry yeast and some pointers when it comes to using it. Also feel free to check out our accompanying picture-based recipe blog post on how to make G’s Heavenly Cinnamon Rolls.

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Are you a seasoned home baker who doesn’t hesitate to work with yeast dough, or does the thought of working with baker’s yeast make you nervous?

Have you ever wished you knew more about yeast baking so that you would always be successful in working with any form of baker’s yeast sold to consumers? Have you ever wished you could get some yeast risings to go a bit faster to save some time making a recipe from start to finish? Have you ever wondered about the differences between fresh yeast, active dry yeast, and instant dry yeast?

We’d love to share some background & pointers when it comes to baking with yeast to reinforce your confidence in working with it.

There’s really nothing quite like the aromas that emanate from freshly baked, yeast risen breads, rolls, and pastries, etc.

In this Part 1 of 2 of our series on baking with yeast we’ll mention some background about baker’s yeast and some details about fresh yeast and active dry yeast.

Then in Part 2 of 2 of our baking with yeast series, we’ll discuss how to “proof” or “bloom” active dry yeast prior to incorporating it into recipes, as well as some of the various offerings under the category of instant dry yeast.

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G’s Heavenly Cinnamon Rolls recipe was adapted from other cinnamon rolls recipes by our webmaster to have a more heathful profile overall for baking a yeast-based cinnamon roll.

Each 3+” diameter cinnamon roll from the adapted recipe features an overall lower fat and lower saturated fat content than other typical cinnamon rolls, features applesauce as a replacement for fat in the actual dough, is higher in whole grain content through the use of some* white whole wheat flour to replace some of the all-purpose unbleached flour, is lower in overall sugars, yet when iced still offers the appeal of those typical mall or rest stop type cinnamon roll bakery offerings.

*Next we’re going to try increasing the proportion of white whole wheat flour in the recipe to see if we can’t get closer to having half whole grains in the rolls.

The following approximate nutrient content was quickly calculated using the free Lose It! app version 3.9.3 since we know that is a favorite of many and was a 2012 First Place winner in the Surgeon General’s Healthy App Challenge in the category of Fitness/Physical Activity.

G’s Heavenly Cinnamon Rolls UNiced recipe (roll shown above, which is low-fat) will come in at ~ 200 calories/roll w/ ~>110 mg sodium. Using whole eggs, the total fat will come in ~<2 g w/ ~0.3 g saturated fat, ~36 mg cholesterol. Each roll also has ~6 g protein, ~40 g CHO, which includes ~<3 g fiber and ~<10 g sugars. We’d like to decrease the sugar profile.

G’s Heavenly Cinnamon Rolls recipe ICED (roll shown at bottom of blog post below) will come in at ~<250 calories/roll w/ ~>139 mg sodium. Using whole eggs & the icing, the total fat will come in ~<5.5 g w/ ~1.6 g saturated fat, ~>40 mg cholesterol. Each roll also has ~6 g protein, ~43 g CHO, which includes ~<3 g fiber and ~>12 g sugars. We still need to work on tweaking the icing to decrease that fat and sugar profile.

All photographs used in this blog post, including the one above of an UNiced cinnamon roll are ©2012 courtesy of the staff at sensorynutrition.com

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Why not grab a cup of fragrant not-too-hot tea and we’ll wrap up this blog series on Christmas tea and how it can contribute to helping you and yours to stay healthier during the holidays.

We’ve already mentioned in Part 1 of this series how tea can contribute valuable flavonoids to your diet, and then in Part 2 of this series shared some thoughts concerning brewing tea and its caffeine content as well.

Now we’d like to share some other potential health benefits of drinking a not-too-hot cup of freshly steeped tea and mention just some of the supermarket accessible brands of holiday tea offerings.

Did you know that tea you brew (in either loose form or from a tea bag) can help you stay hydrated year round, may contribute to your oral and bone health, potentially help you age better, and possibly even help you lose a little excess weight?

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It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and inadvertently forget about setting aside time to help keep yourself healthier during the holidays.

Sometimes you need to just stop, catch your breath, and maybe even sit down and treat yourself to a wonderfully aromatic warm cup of tea!

It’s important to keep up your antioxidant intake during the winter months and as we noted in Part 1 of 3 of this blog series, especially green and/or black tea made from the tea leaves of the Camellia senesis plant can be an excellent source of important flavonoids.

(Image of Christmas Tree + ornaments courtesy of dyet at rgbstock.com)

You might be wondering how to get the most “bang for your buck” out of the tea you steep, so let’s see if some researcher insights can shed some light on that.

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Are you a tea drinker?

As of the year 2010, the Tea Association of the USA estimated that there are at least 154 million people in the US who drink some form of tea.

If their 2010 Tea Fact Sheet still holds true, then in effect before the year ends approximately 1 out of every 2 persons in the US will have consumed some form of tea this year.

(Image of Christmas Tree + ornaments courtesy of dyet at rgbstock.com)

In Part 1 of this 3 part series we’ll review a little background on tea and tea events, and mention some potential health benefits from its flavonoid content.

In Part 2 of this 3 part series we’ll discuss how to potentially obtain the most flavonoid content by how you steep your tea and some information about caffeine and tea.

In Part 3 of 3 in this series we’ll mention about some other potential health benefits & concerns surrounding tea consumption. We’ll mention tea consumption’s possible impact on hydration level, how it may contribute to better oral and bone health, how it may help with more graceful aging, and even how it might play a role in helping someone to lose a little excess weight.

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Food Safety App

Holiday time is a busy time for everyone.

It is easy to get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season that one can lose track of time and/or could easily forget some critical aspects of proper food handling.

Staying on top of food safety awareness can mean the difference between a Happy Holiday or running the risk of needless food poisoning that could have been avoided.

(Photo of fresh, whole, skin-on, bone-in, unbrined, plain, raw 6.63 pound turkey breast ready for oven roasting shown prior to adding any herbs and/or spices, basting, etc. ©2012 courtesy of GH in conjunction with Sensory Nutrition.com)

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in collaboration with Con Agra Foods earlier this year launched a food safety app via the Home Food Safety program named “Is My Food Safe?”

The app has details such as proper temperatures for cooking food items, as well as details such as shelf life of leftovers and additional food items, a kitchen food safety quiz, etc.

To see what can go wrong with food when leftovers get forgotten or food is past its use expiration date, you can also check out an online interactive quiz  “What Was It?”

 CeliacNow Site Launched

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA launched a new site, www.CeliacNow.org, this past November 14, 2012.

Registered Dietitian (RD), Melinda Dennis, MS, RD, LDN noted in an email announcing it to fellow RDs that the primary mission of the site is to “help those who do not have access to celiac centers or experienced clinicians. It is written by celiac experts in nutrition and edited by celiac gastroenterologists and expert celiac dietitians.”

The site offers an email signup option if anyone is interested in “article updates, research opportunities, and new resources” noted Melinda.

As of the date of this blog post, the main content populated thus far deals with nutritional management of celiac disease, however, Melinda anticipates that a section with medical content will be forthcoming in early 2013.

FODMAPs Update

Management of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), as well as other Gastrointestinal (GI) Disorders can be very frustrating for both consumers and their health care providers alike. So much of our body’s immune system is inextricably linked to the proper functioning of our GI tract that gut health is of paramount importance for all of us.

At the cutting edge of research into this arena is the Eastern Health Clinical School (EHCS), Monash University, Australia, which has been looking into the dietary approach of focusing on the role of FODMAPs for quite some time now.

FODMAP stands for: Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides And Polyols.

A FODMAPs dietary approach protocol might be initiated if it is suspected that any of certain specific forms of carbohydrates (lactose, fructose, fructans, sugar alcohols, and galactans) might be implicated in what are often considered IBS related symptoms.

If after eliminating the sources of those carbohydrates (thus the FODMAP elimination dietary approach) for 1 – 2 weeks symptoms resolve, then one-by-one the carbohydrates are added back into the dietary intake as challenge foods and  follow- up symptoms are then tracked.

The focus at the EHCS is on bowel physiology, Crohn’s disease, chronic gastrointestinal diseases, dietary intake, gastroenterology, and IBD research.

In September 2012, EHCS released the latest hard copy 3rd edition (as of the date of this blog post) of The Low FODMAP Diet which can be ordered online (phone inquiries contact: Brianna McFarlane 03 9903 0526).

Note that Monash University has advised that the Monash University Low FODMAP Diet app for iPhone is coming soon. See Monash Magazine for details.

Other previously available resources from Monash University can also be ordered using a downloadable order form.

Sue Shepherd, PhD pioneered the FODMAPs dietary approach and is affiliated with Monash University where she completed her doctoral work. Dr. Shepherd has published a number of cookbooks and runs a bustling nutrition practice called Shepherd Works in Australia employing a staff of dietitians there.

In the USA, related to FODMAP principles, Kate Scarlata, RD has a FODMAPs Diet Grocery List description (also available as a downloadable pdf) and recently (October 2012) updated her FODMAPs Diet Checklist description (also available as a downloadable pdf). Kate is the author of the book:  The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Eating Well with IBS (Jul 6, 2010).

As Kate always says, be sure to re-check ingredient labels, since manufacturers indeed keep changing what they are putting into various products they sell.

Patsy Catsos, MS, RD also covers the subject of FODMAPs at her site http://www.ibsfree.net/.  She also has a book:  IBS-Free at Last! Change Your Carbs, Change Your Life with the FODMAP Elimination Diet (2nd edition)  (Apr 11, 2012)

On Patsy’s website are details concerning FODMAP content when it comes to herbs and spices which might be of interest to consumers during the holidays and more.

Other dietitians are also putting up blog posts on the subject of FODMAPs as more clinicians become aware of the approach.

Of course, as always, we urge you to contact your own health care provider(s) when it comes to issues of your own personal health or the health care management of any of your family members.

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