FINISHING 'CLEVER COMBOS'

Sorry to leave you so soon last night - my computer was having conniptions. It couldn't decide on text color or size... seriously, it was not me changing it!!
So, on with the last two combos:

6.     brown rice + peas =
        a faster metabolism
Most women assume gaining weight as they age is just a fact of life, but it isn't. "As we get older we lose lean muscle, which is a natural metabolism booster that helps us burn calories," says Gans. A good way to maintain that beneficial muscle is to lift light weights and make sure that between 25% and 35% of your calories comes from protein. Red meat and poultry are great options, but they can contain a high amount of saturated fat. Plant foods like rice are loaded with protein. But when eaten alone, many of them lack a few of the essential amino acids needed for a complete protein. Rice, for example, is low in the amino acid lysine. But peas, on the other hand, are lysine-rich. Pairing rice and peas gives your body a healthy protein boost.     Throw some beans in with your brown rice and peas and you'll get a healthy dose of potassium, a mineral that further counteracts age-related muscle loss by making the blood less acidic.

7.     oatmeal + soy milk + plant-sterol-enhanced margarine + almonds =
        a healthier heart
Can a piece of coffee cake be just as good for your heart as a cholesterol-lowering medication? Perhaps, if it contains oatmeal, soy milk, margarine enriched with plant sterols and some almonds ( see recipe, below). A new study found that people who followed a four-week diet rich in these four ingredients slashed their LDL (bad) cholesterol by 30%. That's nearly the same as the 33% drop for volunteers who took 20 mg of a popular cholesterol medication and consumed a diet low in saturated fat.
Start your day with some oatmeal made with soy milk. Try some toast with enriched margarine (be sure it contains sterols). And have almonds for a quick snack -- limit the serving size to a small handful.


*almond coffee cake with oatmeal-crumb topping
makes 12 servings   PREP 20 minutes
COOK  at 350 degrees for 65 minutes

Heat oven to 350. Coat a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together
2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup melted Benecol Spread, 2 large eggs, 1 cup soy milk, 1 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon almond extract. Add egg , mixture to flour mixture and stir to combine. Fold in 3/4 cup coarsely chopped almonds. Pour batter into prepared pan. In small bowl, stir together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats, 1 1/2 tablespoons melted Benecol Spread and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until crumbly. Sprinkle topping evenly over batter in pan. Bake at 350 for 65 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes, then turn out onto rack to cool completely.