The Balancing Act Teams Up With NXT Nutritionals to Kick Off a Tasty and Healthy Holiday Season!

Spiking the Holiday Punch-- Without Spiking Your Blood Sugar…

(Pompano Beach, FL November 2009) ‘Tis the season that you should be counting sugar plums dancing in your head-- not counting calories! The Balancing Act not only found the perfect sweet treat substitute—but also found one sweet actor to join the Healthy Holiday kick! The Balancing Act welcomes NXT Nutritionals, along with TV and film star Blair Underwood to the show! Tune in November 27th at 7:30am (ET/PT) as they air on Lifetime Television. Together they’re going to show you how to enjoy a tasty and healthy holiday season.

Blair has made it one of his priorities to help others eat healthier, and live a healthier lifestyle—even if they have diabetes. Blair says, “People need to know they have the power to prevent type 2 diabetes – or to keep the condition under control if they’ve already been diagnosed.

The entire team at The Balancing Act confesses to having a sweet tooth, but they’re also conscious about maintaining their health and waistlines. Thanks to a tasty, natural alternative to sugar, the party treats are no longer a no-no.

Halloween, Thanksgiving, Chanukah, Christmas, New Years, Bowl games… the reasons to celebrate the holiday season are endless and the heaping platters of decadent treats are hard to resist during the festivities. Then Valentine’s Day is on the horizon and that means more indulgence in candy and chocolates. While mom’s chocolate chip cookies or a spouse’s gift of candy may be hard to resist, the bottom line is that sweet treats cause us to consume far more sugar than is advisable for proper weight and nutrition.

In the United States, 94 million people suffer from obesity and 64% are characterized as overweight. Furthermore, 21 million Americans have Type 2 Diabetes. So, how can we still enjoy some seasonal sweets without spiking our blood sugar and our weight? The renowned actor and health advocate Blair Underwood visits the show to give great advice. He is a father of three young children, who naturally love sweets, and his mother has Type 2 Diabetes. Through his own desire to help his family maintain a healthy lifestyle, he discovered the all-natural sweeteners called Susta, from NXT Nutritionals.

Susta Sweetener & Packets can be used for coffee and tea while the Sustabowl can be used for baking. In addition to having a great taste that can’t be differentiated from sugar, it includes probiotics which help with the immune system and digestion as well as added fiber.

With guidance from Mike McCarthy, CEO of NXT, Underwood prepares two of his favorite recipes: brownies and bran muffins. For more information, visit www.nxtnutritionals.com.

Apple Raisin Bran Muffins
1 ½ cups Raisin Bran Cereal
1 cup milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups finely chopped apple
2 ½ cups All purpose flour
1 cup SustaBowl
2 ½ tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray regular size muffin pans with non-stick vegetable coating spray. Combine cereal, milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla into mixing bowl. Let stand 10 minutes then mix gently with electric mixer. In a separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and SustaBowl together. Gently fold into Cereal batter and mix on medium speed until uniform. Add chopped apples. Spoon batter into oiled muffins tins and bake for 15-18 minutes. Makes approximately 18 medium-size muffins.

Homemade Brownies
2 sticks butter (softened) or
1 cup SMART BALANCE
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1cup flour (all purpose)
½ cup cocoa (Hershey’s type)
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup SUSTABOWL
1 cup granulated sugar
(chopped nuts are optional)

Use an electric mixer or Kitchen Aid mixer: Whip butter until fluffy, add eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla and mix on high speed for 5 minutes or until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix together, flour, cocoa, baking powder, SustaBowl and Sugar. Slowly add dry ingredients into mixer and mix for 2 minutes until uniform.

Spread batter into 9 x 9 inch or 9 x 13 inch pan that has been well greased and dusted with cocoa. Batter will be thick and creamy.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes if using the 9 x 9 inch pan and 25 minutes if using the 9 x 13 inch pan or until toothpick comes out clean.
Yield: 16-20 brownies