Hot chocolate and cookies

After exercise, particularly after intense exercise, our bodies need protein to repair micro-tears in our muscles caused by exercise. Hot chocolate made with water and a cookie, though delicious, does not provide enough protein for recovery. Instead, look for a snack that provides 10-20 grams of protein as well as 15-30 grams of carbohydrates within 15-30 minutes of finishing an activity. Greek yogurt is a great example of a protein rich food and is easily mixed with fruit or cereal to meet your post workout needs. After you’ve put away your gear and relaxed, plan to have a balanced meal within 2-3 hours. Here are some examples. 

Post ski snack ideas:

- Greek yogurt topped with 2 tbsp of granola and honey, a great dip for fruit

-Rice crackers with peanut butter and banana slices

-Hot chocolate made with warmed milk instead of water, ½ tbsp cocoa powder and 1 tbsp of sugar

-Smoothie made with greek yogurt:

Easy Post ski meal ideas:

-Vegetarian chili made with black beans and zucchini topped with a scoop of plain greek yogurt

- A tuna sandwich with cottage cheese, fresh fruit and honey for dessert

-Scrambled eggs with green peppers and salsa

Hot tubs and Saunas?

Hydration is another critical factor in recovery. We have a harder time staying hydrated in the winter as our desire to drink is less diminished and water bottles often don’t seem practical to winter athletes. Following a day of activity, drinking water to replace the fluid that was lost through sweat is critical. When we start the day even slightly dehydrated, we are more likely to have headaches, lack of coordination and our activity will feel harder to us than usual. Keep that reusable water bottle close after your activity and drink often.  Keep in mind that alcohol as well as hot tubs and saunas will dehydrate your body further, so be sure to compensate with additional water and keep the number of drinks (and minutes in the hot tub) to a minimum.

For more information on your nutrition needs for winter sports

New! We’ve updated the nutrition calculator created by the team of nutritionists at VIVAÏ for Liberté to include your favourite winter sports!

Carbohydrates and energy

We tend to burn more calories during a winter activity, partly because our bodies are working harder to keep our temperature steady. Before heading out on your skis, skates or snowshoes plan to have a meal rich in carbohydrates (at least 1-2 gram of carbohydrates per kilogram of your body weight) 2-3 hours before you head out. For example: a bowl of oatmeal, a serving of greek yogurt and an orange. The carbohydrates (sugars) found in the oatmeal and the orange are an important source of energy for your muscles during these types of endurance activities. By adding protein rich food like greek yogurt you will absorb these carbohydrates slowly, ensuring by the time you hit the snow or the ice your are at your peak energy level. If you plan to be outside for over 90 minutes, plan to have 30-60 grams of carbs per hour to maintain your energy level. You might try a cup of applesauce, some dried fruit or a granola bar.  Don’t forget about recovery- read our tips here!  

Drink up!

When it’s hot and humid, drinking water is easy. But everything changes at -10 o C! Our desire to drink water can decrease with the cold and wearing a high-tech jacket and base layers may prevent us from realizing how much we are actually sweating. When we are dehydrated, we may feel dizzy and find it feels harder than usual to do our activity! To prevent this, make sure you drink enough before you leave and plan to drink 60-125ml of fluid every 15-20 minutes, in small sips, throughout your activity.   You might even want to try warming up a mixture of water, cranberry juice and a pinch of cinnamon.

New! We’ve updated the nutrition calculator created by the team of nutritionists at VIVAÏ for Liberté to include your favourite winter sports! To receive a personalized menu based on your training, calculate your energy needs online with the nutrition calculator http://www.libertenutrition.com/

First, the market share of organic foods is expected to grow. Did you know that Liberté offers several certified organic products, including milk, Greek yogurt, flavoured yogurts and the Svelte line? By buying organic, you’ll be consuming foods of unparalleled quality that were manufactured using a special process to preserve the organic properties of the final products.

In 2012, natural foods are also set to take centre stage. And keep an eye out for locavores , who are gaining in numbers and prefer locally-grown goods. In Québec, a wide variety of local products is available year-round. For fresh local foods of exceptional quality, it’s always best to buy from neighbourhood grocers, butchers, fishmongers and cheese shops rather than supermarkets.

Another trend for 2012 is to focus on health and wellbeing. Consumers want products with the shortest possible ingredient lists and without any additives. Liberté’s plain Greek yogurt contains only two ingredients: skim milk and active bacterial cultures. It’s a great choice for those who want to keep things simple!

Eating well is always a priority. There is an abundance of local products and seasonal fruits and vegetables (including root vegetables such as yellow beets, Jerusalem artichokes parsnips and celery root) and healthy comfort foods. Cut out the salt to rediscover the natural tastes of the foods you eat.

Finally, my advice to you is to keep your healthy habits and always remember to enjoy what you eat! It’s time to broaden our environmental conscience and make enlightened choices. Which trends do you think will be all the rage in 2012?

Here is an example that illustrates the role of antioxidants. When an apple is cut, its surface is exposed to oxygen and begins to turn brown through oxidation. In fact, the slices of apple experience what could be qualified as oxidative stress. But a little lemon juice on the apple will stop the process. In fact, the vitamin C (citric acid) contained in the lemon juice is a powerful antioxidant that acts as a protective coating on the apple and intercepts the free radicals before they attack the fruit. The antioxidants in the human body work in the same way, protecting the system from cell oxidation by free radicals.

Antioxidants are found in several foods. Also, with the boom in the functional foods industry, it is now possible to buy several antioxidant-enriched products. Protective fruit pigments are among some of the most powerful antioxidants. For an optimal intake, it is best to consume fresh fruit that has not been transformed. When processed, the fruit added to preparations are often heat treated to reduce them to jam. The amount of real fruit in the final product is not significant and the addition of antioxidant-rich superfruits into processed foods does not provide a significant amount of antioxidant molecules.

A tried and true way of meeting your body’s antioxidant needs is to add fresh fruit like blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, acai, pomegranate or cherries to yogurt. Yum! Other foods such as cocoa powder, certain spices, Cayenne pepper, nuts, and delicious dark chocolate are also rich in antioxidants!

How will you transform your yogurt? Be sure to consult the ANTIOXIDANT content of foods added to Liberté plain yogurt table for food suggestions to help you meet your antioxidant needs.

First, all comparisons were made against reasonable serving sizes based on the recommendations from MyPlate . Given the impressive amount of protein in a 5 ounce serving of greek yogurt, it makes sense to compare it to other common protein rich foods. This will make it easier for you to make substitutions when comparing the different values. (See all values in the “How greek yogurt fits in” table above).

Does the smell of filet mignon make you salivate? Remember that a 2½ ounce serving contains 152 calories, 20.4 grams of protein and 7 grams of fat. Filet mignon is also a source of iron containing 2.23 milligrams per 2½ ounce serving. Like all meat, filet mignon is not a calcium rich food with only 20 milligrams in a 2½ ounce serving.

Do you prefer poultry? A 2½ ounce serving of chicken breast provides you with 110 calories, 22.4 grams of protein and 1.6 grams of fat. Poultry contain less iron than red meat. This serving of chicken provides only 0.81 milligrams of iron. If you like to put chicken in your salads, you can also substitute it with canned tuna which has a few less calories (87 calories for the same serving size). Canned tuna contains half as much fat as chicken, (0.6 grams), but it provides a little less protein (around 19 grams).

As for legumes, like beans and lentils, a reasonable serving size is about half a cup (4 ounces). This portion provides around 8 grams of protein, 0.5 grams of fat and 119 calories. Legumes also provide a valuable amount of iron (2.75 milligrams per 4 ounce serving!). However, this is non-heme iron (found in plants) and is not absorbed by the body as well as the heme iron we find in meat and animal products.

Eggs are also a great source of protein. A reasonable serving is equivalent to two eggs, containing 141 calories, 12 grams of protein and 10 grams of fat. However, because the fat is concentrated in yolk, it is possible to reduce it by only using the egg whites.

And what about greek yogurt? A 5 ounce serving of plain greek yogurt contains 120 calories, 11 grams of protein, 0 grams of fat. Out of all the protein rich foods mentioned above, greek yogurt is most comparable to tuna. Greek yogurt really does have exceptional nutritional value and can be easily added to your diet by eating it as a snack, in a smoothie, as a dip, in a tzatziki or by adding it to your favourite recipes. Of all the protein rich foods mentioned in this blog, it contains the most calcium with 179 milligrams per serving. This is because greek yogurt is made from skim milk, a great source of calcium.

 What do you think of Greek yogurt? Let me know your favourite recipes and your favourite flavours!

Agriculture et Agri-Food Canada

Part 1

In 1998, my supervisor announced that we’d be studying kefir to find out more about its microbial flora. Kefir? What on earth is that? I’d never even heard of it! That’s when my history with kefir began. But kefir’s own history started many, many years ago…in the earliest Antiquity.

The term kefir can be traced back to a region in Russia between the Black and Caspian seas known as the Caucasus, which is divided by the Caucasus Mountains, where kefir is believed to have originated. In ancient times, nomads would carry reindeer, goat, ewe and cow milk in pouches made of animal stomachs. The bacteria and enzymes in these pouches would cause the milk to ferment, transforming it into a thick and sour beverage that could keep for long periods of time. Through enzymatic action, the set milk that remained in the pouch – the very first kefir grains – would ferment the new fresh milk that was poured in.

 Today, kefir is made by adding kefir grains to milk. Kefir grains look a lot like tapioca or small cauliflower clusters and contain proteins, polysaccharides (complex carbohydrates that make the grains sticky) and different types of bacteria and yeasts. Through the centuries, the composition of the kefir grains has remained remarkably stable. Even if kefir is now found throughout the world, its flora is still rooted in the original grains.

 Kefir doesn’t taste like yogurt because the microorganisms used for fermentation are completely different. Kefir grain yeasts produce carbon dioxide, which carbonates the beverage. The yeast fermentation makes kefir slightly alcoholic (0.5%).

 Russians traditionally consume a lot of kefir. The beverage is even given to children since kefir is believed to have health benefits 1  . In hospitals, premature babies and their mothers drink kefir. In fact, the protein hydrolysis that takes place during the fermentation process makes the milk easier to digest than unfermented milk 2  .

Canadians are less familiar with kefir, but the beverage is becoming increasingly popular. It’s sold as a product that contains probiotics, which are known to be healthy 3  bacteria. There is actually a strong connection between the different types of microorganisms found in kefir’s flora. This relationship is known as symbiosis…it’s practically a love story!

Stay tuned for my next blog on kefir. You’ll learn more about our research into the different bacterial and yeast species found in kefir and kefir labelling in Canada.

1)      Edward R. Farnworth, Isabelle Mainville. 2008. Kefir – A fermented milk product. In: Handbook of fermented functional foods. 2 nd . Edition. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. USA.

2)      http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/label-etiquet/claims-reclam/probiotics_qa-qr_probiotiques-fra.php

3)      Véronique Ninane, Radegonde Mukandayambaje, Gilbert Berben. 2009. Probiotiques, aliments fonctionnels et kéfir: le point sur la situation règlementaire en Belgique et sur les avancées scientifiques en matière d,évaluation des effets santé du kéfir. Biotechnol. Agron. Soc. Environ. 13(3) : 459-466.

Greek yogurt has a creamy, thick texture and typically has higher protein content than traditional yogurt. I recommend this yogurt to my clients who find that they are often hungry or who are physically active. I also recommend it to clients with type II diabetes as the protein content can help to keep their blood glucose levels stable for longer. It can also be used in desserts or to make a dip by clients looking to lower their saturated fat intake

 The Greek yogurt we find in grocery stores in North America is made in one of two ways. The traditional straining method involves combining milk with active bacteria cultures and then straining it to remove a portion of the water. Greek yogurt can also be made artificially by adding cream, milk powder, milk ingredients and/or thickening agents like pectin are added to regular yogurt to mimic the thick texture of traditional Greek yogurt.

When it is made using the traditional straining method, using skim milk, the fat content is low (0%), and protein content is relatively high (16-18g/serving). Yogurt made using the second method contains upwards of 10-12% fat (17-20g/serving) and 7-14g of protein/serving making it more like a dessert yogurt.

Certain greek yogurts contain only 15% of the daily value value for calcium (due to the straining process) compared with liberté plain 2% yogurt that contains 30%. To boost the calcium content, I recommend adding 1 cup of chopped strawberries and ¼ cup of almonds to a serving of plain greek yogurt. Together, these additions provide 11% of daily calcium needs; bringing the total to 26%.

Finally for my clients who are trying to reduce their intake of “added sugar”, the “sugar” listed in nutrition fact tables can also be a source of confusion. Milk products are a natural source of carbohydrates or sugar in the form (lactose). Whether a food naturally contains sugar or it has sugar added to it, the quantity of sugar appears in the sugar section of the nutrition facts table. To determine whether a product contains “added sugar”, it is important to read the list of ingredients and look for words like: sugar, syrup, honey and words ending in –ose (glucose, fructose...).

Personally, I prefer the thick texture and taste of traditional strained greek yogurt and yogurt which has thickening agents added. Have you tasted the difference?

I’ve been taking part in triathlons since the age of 24. The beauty of the sport is that it combines three events, whose distances may vary. For example, the sprint triathlon is 750 m of swimming, 20 km of biking and 5 km of running. At the Olympics, the triathlon is 1,500 m of swimming, 40 km of biking and 10 km of running. Of course, each event requires different training. I prefer the sprints.

When I started out, swimming and cycling were my two worst events. After a year, I found a coach who miraculously improved my swimming in just 12 months. The following year, I worked with a friend and got so much better at cycling and running that I ranked first in my age group.

Two types of training help me to prepare for the season. In the fall and winter, I focus on muscular training and spinning. In the spring and summer, I increase my biking and running distances. I train for one to two hours each day. Diet is key to making sure I don’t tire out. I actually eat all day… in small portions! Proteins are very important, too much fat and sugar is very bad and rest is vital! In fact, two days before a triathlon, I stop all sports.

In the spring, I take a look at the race calendar on the website of Triathlon Québec and choose the triathlons I want to participate in (approximately five per year across Québec).

Triathlon is a complete sport that really challenges me. In my next blog, I’ll tell you about some of my best racing experiences.

Talk to you soon.

Isabelle Beaulieu

The body stores very small amounts of carbohydrates as glycogen, which is quickly burned while exercising. Maximizing glycogen storage will help you prepare your body for your next workout and rebuild muscle tissue. Glycogen-storing enzymes are more active after you exercise and remain active for only a short time afterwards.

To support muscle repair, it’s important to consume the right amounts of protein and carbohydrates as soon as possible after exercising. What you eat after a workout is just as important as what you eat before, and consuming the right foods at the right times means a faster recovery and better performances.

Practical and nutritious, fruit smoothies are a great way to ensure that your body gets all the nutrients it needs by combining calories, carbohydrates and proteins. As a rule of thumb, your nutrient intake should be 3:1 carbohydrates to proteins. Easy to digest, a smoothie made from a variety of ingredients is a simple way to achieve the right balance.

I like that smoothies are practical. Delicious and so quick to make, they provide a daily serving of fruit and vegetables and the nutrients I need to start my day off on the right foot. They’re also perfect after a workout.

I really push my body, and smoothies are an amazing source of energy that really keeps me going. It’s important to remember that the physical stress caused by an intense workout increases cellular oxidation. The antioxidants contained in foods like fruits neutralize this effect.

My smoothie recipes are simple. In the summer when home-grown fruits are in season, there are tons of choices! I like to mix things up: some fresh fruit, ice cubes or cold milk and I’m ready to go. In the winter, frozen fruit works great. All you need to do is use hot water instead of ice. Some people add tea instead.

It’s best to drink a smoothie right out of the blender to really benefit from the nutrients and enzymatic activity, before oxidation starts to change the colour of the drink. Also, nutrients in liquid form are absorbed more quickly because they’re easier to digest.

The fruit and vegetable combinations are endless and depend on what I’ve got in the fridge or freezer. My taste buds just love it…most of the time! Smoothies are explosions of colours, complex carbohydrates, fibre, vitamin C and antioxidants. I especially like mixing in:
• blueberries,
• strawberries,
• peaches,
• raspberries,
• mangoes,
• yogurt.

I’ve tried a lot of recipes! I’ve even discovered that adding fresh spinach doesn’t really change the taste but definitely increases the nutritional value.

And don’t forget yogurt! It really enhances the quality and texture of any smoothie, and the magnesium it contains helps with protein and carbohydrate absorption. New in stores, Liberté’s Greek yogurt is especially great in post-workout smoothies. It’s full of protein, fat free and delicious and helps my muscles recover after a workout. The Vanilla Greek yogurt totally transforms a plain smoothie into a fantastic one!

You can also increase the nutritional value of your smoothies and turn them into meal replacements by adding healthy foods. Here are some ingredients known for their nutritional benefits that should inspire a few new recipes or amp up some familiar ones:
• bee pollen,
• brewer’s yeast,
• chlorophyll,
• oat bran,
• nuts (Brazil nuts, walnuts, cashews, almonds, peanuts, etc.),
• wheat germ,
• goji berries (wolfberries),
• kefir,
• fresh ginger,
• hemp seed, flaxseed, ground sesame seed,
• soft/silken tofu,
• mint leaves,
• honey.

The last two ingredients will change of the taste of your smoothie, which comes in handy when your recipe doesn’t turn out so great! A banana will also do the job, and the potassium that it contains will help reenergize tired calf muscles!

Enjoy your smoothies and have a great workout!
 

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