Some Discoveries

Here are some products that I've discovered in the past few weeks to help in my journey of a more balanced diet:

* Aloe Vera Juice - This came on the recommendation of several friends. It's to help regulate your digestive system, and I've found that to be the case. However, the stuff smells and tastes nasty! No big deal though as you can freely mix it with fruit juice.

* Sun Crystals - I've mentioned this product before in some of my recipes. It's an all-natural sweetener containing the herb stevia and pure cane sugar. The bag says to replace 1 cup of sugar with a 1/2 cup of Sun Crystals - but I've found that to be too sweet so I cut it in half again. I've used this successfully in cold drinks, cooking and baking. (Though it doesn't work well if a large amount of sugar is called for in a recipe due to the volume you're cutting it down to - it will change the texture of the recipe because of the smaller volume.)

* EarthGrains 100% Whole Grain & 100% Natural 7-Grain Bread - I LOVE this stuff! In the past, I have never been able to find a brown bread I like. No more - I grab a piece of this every now and again as a snack. I also like that it has a bit of brown sugar in it instead of high fructose corn syrup which, by the way, is found in the majority of store-bought bread - yes, even brown breads. EarthGrains makes other types of bread, too - the 7-Grain just happens to be my favorite.

* Metal Steamer Insert - My sister-in-law told me about this, and I have been enjoying using it to steam our veggies versus boiling them. By steaming veggies and keeping them out of the water, it helps to keep their nutrients locked in instead of being cooked out into the water.