STYLE of SPORT | Gear & Apparel Curated for the Stylish Sports Enthusiast

‘Tis the season… for Pumpkin and Spice! Right now this cozy fall flavor can be found in all your favorite foods — healthy ones too — adding a festive touch to everyday eats and drinks. These seasonal flavors are available for a limited time only, so get ’em before they’re gone!

 
ROW 1: PROTEIN BARS: KINDBAR Caramel Almond Pumpkin Spice, PERFECT BAR Pumpkin Pie, RX BAR Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter; HALOTOP Pumpkin Pie (just 360 calories per carton!); HU Pumpkin Spice Dark Chocolate (certified organic & paleo with no dairy or refined sugars)

ROW 2: TRADER JOE’S PUMPKIN BUTTER; BEER: SAMUEL ADAMS Jack-O Pumpkin Ale, BLUE MOON Harvest Pumpkin Ale, SHIPYARD Pumpkinhead; STARBUCKS Pumpkin Spice

ROW 3: GREEK YOGURT (lower sugar): SIGGI’S Pumpkin & Spice, CHOBANI Pumpkin Spice; THE REPUBLIC OF TEA Pumpkin Spice; COFFEE CREAMERS: ALKAMIND ACID-KICKING COFFEE ALKALIZER Pumpkin Spice, LAIRD SUPERFOOD CREAMER Pumpkin Spice

Fat free, low carb, high protein… every few years a new diet trend comes along, eliminating one major food group while promoting another, touting the miracle health and weight loss results. What goes around comes around, and the cyclical nature of what to eat and what not to eat can get very confusing. The diet and nutritional trends we feature on STYLE of SPORT are a trickle-down from elite athletes and what they eat for sport performance. Carbohydrates used to be considered the go-to fuel source, but in recent years that has shifted to fat, which as it turns out is great for weight loss too. But the latest trend lets you have it all!

Carbohydrates are the body’s preferred fuel source, generally because that’s what we feed it. The body converts carbs into glucose for fuel. What it doesn’t use, it stores as glycogen. But there is a limited capacity to how much glycogen it can store, 2400 calories in fact, and after that the excess glucose is stored as fat. Carbs are easier to access for fuel than fat, and what the body will turn to first for energy. “Carbo loading” used be the norm for endurance athletes, with bowls of pasta consumed the night before a long race, and sugary gels during the race.

When carbohydrates are not available however, the body will tap into other fuel sources, namely fat. If you think of your metabolism like a fire, carbs are the kindling. But kindling burns fast, as opposed to those slow burning logs underneath which you can compare to fat. As such, many endurance athletes have discovered that fat is actually a better source of energy, and trained their bodies to be fat burners instead of sugar burners. The low-carb, high-fat Keto diet is a popular reflection of that trend. Gone are the bowls of pasta before a race, replaced the body’s own supply of fat, something many of us have handily stored in places we don’t want it.  Read More

For many people now working from home, the delineation between breakfast, lunch, and dinner has blurred. Wandering into the kitchen for a break or distraction — the snack break is the new coffee break. While we could lecture on the extra calories this is adding to your daily intake, we’re providing some healthy options instead. So toss those Lays, Doritos, and Triscuits and try these tasty and nutritious whole food chips and crackers!

SIETE GRAIN FREE TORTILLA CHIPS. Available in savory flavors like Sal y Limon, Nacho, and Ranch — you’d never know these tortilla chips are grain, gluten, and dairy-free! Siete tortilla chips are made with the mineral rich root vegetable cassava, along with a superfood blend of coconut flour and ground chia seeds, and cooked in healthy avocado and coconut oil. They’re perfect for those on a plant-based and Paleo diet — and so tasty anyone will enjoy!

FROM THE GROUND UP CAULIFLOWER STALKS. From The Ground Up makes an assortment of plant-based crunchy snacks like chips, crackers, pretzels, and these Cauliflower stalks — all made with a blend of cauliflower, whole grain rice, and cassava flour. They’re available in such flavors as Lime, Cheddar, and Sea Salt. Also available are a variety of Butternut Squash snacks. Read More

Move over stevia… there’s a new all-natural, calorie-free sweetener in town! Monk fruit, or lo han guo, is a small gourd-like melon native to parts of China and Thailand, named after the monks who first cultivated it centuries ago. The health benefits of the fruit have been well-known in Traditional Chinese Medicine for decades, but its sweet little secret is finally making it into the wellness mainstream.

Monk fruit sweetener is derived from the extract of the dried fruit, and processed into crystal form. It is 150-250 times sweeter than table sugar, due primarily to naturally occurring antioxidants known as mogrosides, which give it a cleaner and more intense sweetness, with no bitter aftertaste. Monk fruit has zero calories and carbs, and does not raise blood glucose levels — making it a good choice for diabetics and popular with the Keto community.

Sweeten your coffee, sprinkle on oatmeal, or mix into cocktails (Swoon simple syrup), monk fruit is stable at cold or hot temperatures, and can be used in baked goods too. Just be sure the monk fruit sweetener you buy has no other sugar additives, as some do.

With no known side effects, and generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the Food and Drug Administration, Monk Fruit is the new sweetener of choice for the weight-watching, health-conscious, and wellness set.