More JOY of SOY

SOYJOY, the all-natural nutrient-rich food baked with whole soy and real fruit, now has a new flavor and it is really good. BLUEBERRY—it is like eating a compressed blueberry muffin—delicious and no crumbly pieces or ingredients you shouldn’t  be eating.  SOYJOY contains no wheat, only ground whole soybeans, which are mixed with real fruit and nuts to add flavor and additional nutrients, and finally combined with baking ingredients, like eggs and butter. This bar is a real tasty on-the-go food--very handy to keep in your bag or briefcase.

Each SOYJOY offers a combination of complex carbohydrates, fiber, complete protein and fat, which helps to provide sustained energy without a lot of calories. SOYJOY offers a healthy and delicious way to satisfy hunger without overindulgence. The Blueberry jouns other flavors such as Peanut Chocolate Chip, Strawberry, Mango Coconut and Apple Walnut to name a few. Another new flavor is coming as well—and soon.

 www.soyjoy.com

Fragrant Glade

After you have cleaned your surroundings you’ll want to keep the environment smelling fresh and fragrant. There are ever-increasing types of air fresheners out there—some passive, some active—some a combination.

Consider Glade’s lovely multi-wick Soy Based Candle. For about $8.99 you can have a delightful fragrance wafting throughout the room without even lighting the candle. Three wicks are better than one in a candle this size and the idea behind a soy-based candle is that soy wax is all-natural, burns cleaner and produces less soot and can burn up to 50% longer than candles made from paraffin.

There are six scents available including Currants & açai, Orange vanilla, and Sheer white cotton (a blissful blend of floral, woody and fruity notes such as freesia and lime), The six fragrances are also available in a single wick candle and a Reed Diffuser.The aroma is subtle yet heavenly.

Another option of course is spray fragrance. With the Sense & Spray you can have the fragrance without pushing the button. Sense & Spray has a built-in motion sensor and automatically releases concentrated burst of freshness. It works well and after about 30 days it can be refilled with cartridges in scents such as Clean Linen, Apple Cinnamon, Powder Fresh and Country Garden.

A favorite air freshener with a bonus is Glade's Wisp Flameless Candle. Not a candle at all-- there is no flame--you get the effect of a scented candle without any of the safety issues. The glow is very realistic and the scent that automatically puffs out over time is very refreshing, indeed. This is really an innovative product.

All these are easily available and affordable so you can put one of

each in rooms throughout your environment to create an atmosphere of inviting

and relaxing fragrance.

http://www.glade.com/

Once in Love with Amy…

...always in love with Amy's Kitchen, produced by Amy’s Kitchen, founded in 1987 by Rachel and Andy Berliner,--and yes, there really an Amy—their daughter, who was born around the same time as the company. Amy’s still retains the culture of a family business, even though it has grown over the years.

Amy’s Kitchen offers a wide selection of vegetarian meals and snacks. Focusing on pizza this time around, we tried several varieties: Margherita Pizza, Cheese & Pesto Pizza with Whole Wheat Crust, Spinach Pizza and regular Cheese Pizza.
(Some other varieties include Soy Cheeze Pizza, Rice Crust Spinach Pizza). Bought frozen at most grocery chains, they are best cooked in the oven for about 25 minutes.

Everyone loved them--the varieties, the freshness, the portion size, the ingredients. Some had thought that the pizzas would less caloric than they are. But, they were happy to just eat a little less and balance it out with a salad and/or soup.

These are not “diet foods.” They are foods for a healthy diet.

Soy—a (very) brief overview

Let's not even mention the website that proclaims “Soy is making kids gay….” Here are a few sentences about the influence of soy:

According to The Mayo Clinic http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/soy/NS_patient-soy “Soy was introduced to Europe in the 1700s and to the United States in the 1800s. Large-scale soybean cultivation began in the United States during World War II. Currently, Midwestern U.S. farmers produce about half of the world's supply of soybeans.”

And the Mayo Clinic goes on to state:

“Soy and components of soy called "isoflavones" have been studied for many health conditions. Isoflavones (such as genistein) are believed to have estrogen-like effects in the body, and as a result, they are sometimes called "phytoestrogens." In laboratory studies, it is not clear if isoflavones stimulate or block the effects of estrogen or both (acting as "mixed receptor agonists/antagonists"). "

The Mayo Clinic also proclaims that, based on scientific evidence, "Soy products, such as tofu, are high in protein and are an acceptable source of dietary protein. "

AND

High cholesterol--

"Numerous human studies report that adding soy protein to the diet can moderately decrease blood levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein ("bad" cholesterol). Small reductions in triglycerides may also occur, while high-density lipoprotein ("good" cholesterol) does not seem to be significantly altered. Some scientists have proposed that specific components of soybean, such as the isoflavones genistein and daidzein, may be responsible for the cholesterol-lowering properties of soy. However, this has not been clearly demonstrated in research and remains controversial. It is not known if products containing isolated soy isoflavones have the same effects as regular dietary intake of soy protein. Dietary soy protein has not been proven to affect long-term cardiovascular outcomes, such as heart attack or stroke. "

Since soy is good for many of us, why not enjoy it in a variety of forms?