healthy and beautiful

You know we are coffee junkies around here but personally I’ve never had a   Starbucks habit. My fam tells me this makes me a coffee snob, so I guess I’m a snobby junkie then. I say it’s   all lauren’s fault “be choosy with coffee and anything you consume daily”.   I will admit, Starbucks does an ok job in a jam such as   an airport. The protein plate and a KIND bar have saved many a meal and their Blonde roast, crazy high caffeine, does make me feel like I can take over the world.   But as a daily, multiple-cup coffee drinker, I’m pretty much a psycho about using organic milk or organic half and half and those aren’t available at Starbucks. Lets be honest, Starbucks is all about quantity and not quality.   Then I heard about Starbucks coconut milk menu addition that debuted this month. Clients were curious, I was skeptical. If something sounds too good to be true it probably is. And then almost immediately, this ingredient label showed up on my news feed: ...

Yesterday I spoke to CBS about bone broth (segment airs Christmas week); Carolyn is going to “break” things down for us today . Bone broth is the new “hot” beverage (literally) of the season. Truth be told it’s not really new but newly popular thank in part to paleo peeps and GAPS diet. It’s gaining a cult following similar to kombucha. But let’s get to the “bare bones” if you will… bone broth, yay or stay away ? What is bone broth? As the name implies bone broth is made from chicken, beef or fish bones slowly cooked for 12 or more hours. While the thought of slurping on bone leftovers might make you lose your appetite, it’s not that different from regular old chicken stock. The main difference is that store-bought stock is cooked at high temperature for a short amount of time. Stock is about flavor and not about extracting goodness from the bones. So, why bones? Bones are nutritional powerhouses. During cooking, collagen from the bone breaks down into gelatin and this is where the goo...

Black Burger featured in Time magazine, more on this later If you’re thinking there’s always something “new” in nutrition we’re supposed to take or use, it can certainly seem that way. I roll my eyes at some most things that come our way. I am reassured though when what’s old is new or there’s a long history behind an ingredient. Enter charcoal. I was excited when CBS suggested this segment  because charcoal had just come into my life. you see, I’ve been brushing my teeth with a charcoal powder. We’re also seeing charcoal pop up at juice shops with “dark detox shots” and charcoal lemonade. So you know, I’m not suggesting you eat your BBQ charcoal. Activated charcoal is made when charcoal (from wood or even coconut shells) is heated with a gas to expand its surface area. It is this surface area (1tsp has 10,000 feet surface area) that’s responsible for its   “detox” action.  Activated charcoal was used in ancient Egypt and by Hippocrates in Greece. The appeal of activated...