FitnessRum

Dried fruits are concentrated fruits. 300 g of fresh plums equals to 100 g dried plums, so dried plums are 3 times more concentrated talking about nutrients (proportion is 1:3 for example).

Dried fruits contain much more fruit sugar (fructose) than the fresh fruits, times more, that’s why I don’t think they are proper food for fat burning menu and as food at all. There are not many people who can eat some dried plums and to stop. My grandmother and great-grandmother prepared much dried fruits but they didn’t eat waffles, crackers, chocolate…. A their time carbs were bread, banitsa (it’s traditional Bulgarian meal prepared with flour and cheese), dried fruits, beans – and everything is home made, so you can’t prepare huge amounts and you spend energy on preparing it!

On the other hand, when I prepare desserts I take advantage of the sweetness of the dried fruits as a natural sweetener, and I am clearly aware that they high carbs food but also they contain the “antidote” – fibers, unlike white/brown sugar. I.E. I choose the better of white sugar and dried fruits.

Attention: much dried fruits are treated with fructose or glucose-fructose syrup to be more delicious, and to have long shelf life. Including in the Bio shops, usually cranberries are treated with glucose-fructose syrup. I think the goal is long shelf life but I wouldn’t buy cranberries for myself. No matter how much the dried fruits are concentrated, they can’t be too sweet. This is the sigh you can recognize if the dried fruits are natural or treated.

My grandmother’s dried fruits weren’t too sweet.

I like to use dates and prunes of the dried fruits. Dates taste to me too sweet to be naturally sweet, but so far I don’t have evidence that they are treated, if someone knows something, please share in the comments bellow.

Honey
A mixture of (mainly) fructose and glucose, exclusively concentrated food, high carbs (80%) and is pointed to be very healthy, not having in mind that now it’s so easily accessible and contains many calories.  My personal opinion is that people have to eat really small amounts of honey if it’s regularly. For example 1 tea spoon per day, of course it depends what the person eats all day, and how active he/she is, so the amount could be 1 table spoon per day. I eat honey realyyyyy rarely, 1 jar per year, and this is why I use it in raw desserts. I emphasis on word raw, not baked. I am always amazed when I see “healthy” web sites preparing baked desserts with honey?! It’s not clear what high temperature does to the enzymes and minerals in the honey, so there is no difference if you use sugar or honey.

Honey contains not only carbs but so many other ingredients: enzymes, minerals and also up to 20 amino acids (but in very low concentration under 0.1%, which is negligible; in Bee pollen amino acids are 20%). It is proven that honey helps for healing of different conditions, but note when it’s used for healing not as a food. One thing is burning fat, other healing yourself!

PH of the honey is about 3.2-4.5, this kind of environment stops multiplication of bacteria.

Since ancient times honey is used for healing and I don’t deny it’s healing properties! Usually when I inform readers for something some people think that I deny it. No, I just inform and everyone decide what to do! Have in mind that 1 peaked table spoon honey is about 50 g, which is 40 g carbs! If you consume honey regularly, have it in mind for the total food intake per day. If you eat honey, eat less of something else, don’t add also the honey to your menu. Add something, miss anything else 🙂