healthy and beautiful

Most people watching yesterday’s final round of the British Open were likely focused on who would win the Claret Jug (or is it mug). I watched, and although it was as exciting as golf can be, I wasn’t fixated on the jug/mug. Two topics were more interesting to me. The first was that these athletes breaking records and duking it out were both in their forties. And second, Phil trimmed down. It turns out Phil has gone Paleo and upped his fitness game and, as a result, he’s dropped 25-ish pounds (over 2 stones). I’m not sure that Phil got the idea from Lebron. It’s not as though Lebron started the paleo diet but of course “Phil lost weight following the Lebron diet” was a headline I came across more than once. Lebron was hardcore paleo for 67 days. This means their diets consisted of fruit, vegetables, protein, nuts and limited carbs (no dairy, no grains/gluten/sugar). For me, it’s one thing for average people to pursue paleo but quite a shift from old-school “carbing up” for athletes to...

You may know, from our newsletter this morning , that we had a Foodtrainers’ ice cream crawl.   We went around the city taste testing. Sure, we tried to balance things out by walking from place to place (next year we’re going to run) but we know how that math works. We summarized our favorite pops and shops in the newsletter but we had so much information it didn’t all fit. Raspberry Nice Cream This recipe may not seem groundbreaking on paper but my sons (including the teenager), babysitter and husband all loved this. Ingredients: 2 bananas on the riper side 1 container organic raspberries couple tablespoons water (if needed) and stevia optional (I used NuStevia ) Freeze bananas and a container (6oz) of organic raspberries. Add bananas to food processor or high-powered blender (I used Vitamix). At first they will splinter and you may feel it’s not working, keep going Blend until creamy. Add berries to the blender, you may need a tablespoon or two of water and I added a few drops of...

You may know, from our newsletter this morning , that we had a Foodtrainers’ ice cream crawl.   We went around the city taste testing. Sure, we tried to balance things out by walking from place to place (next year we’re going to run) but we know how that math works. We summarized our favorite pops and shops in the newsletter but we had so much information it didn’t all fit. Raspberry Nice Cream This recipe may not seem groundbreaking on paper but my sons (including the teenager), babysitter and husband all loved this. Ingredients: 2 bananas on the riper side 1 container organic raspberries couple tablespoons water (if needed) and stevia optional (I used NuStevia ) Freeze bananas and a container (6oz) of organic raspberries. Add bananas to food processor or high-powered blender (I used Vitamix). At first they will splinter and you may feel it’s not working, keep going Blend until creamy. Add berries to the blender, you may need a tablespoon or two of water and I added a few drops of...

There are certain ingredients many of you could identify as unhealthy. Artificial sweeteners, trans fats, BPAs and GMOs are likely on your radar.  However, a study in Nature raised health and weight concerns for a group of ingredients you may not even know about. Do emulsifiers ring a bell? I’ll be totally honest, I had to think back to Food Science classes…mayo is an emulsification. Without nerding out emulsifications are mixtures where one substance is suspended in another. In mayo, the egg emulsify or combine things. But egg yolks are natural emulsifiers, this recent study (and a couple prior) honed in on chemical emulsifiers. These additives are used in many products for texture and to extend shelf life. I talk a lot about probiotics; kombucha, kefir, miso and apple cider vinegar are Foodtrainers’ staples.   Having more good bacteria can improve our mood, immunity and weight. But what if something prevalent in healthy food is harming gut bacteria? Yup, that’s what these c...

You may have read about our Whipping Week we launched for the New Year. Clients have been "whipped" in our offices and via our Foodstalking program people are getting a virtual whipping in Chicago, Texas and Florida. See what happened when Carolyn (@onesmartbrownie) whipped herself . For the most part, I am fine with my vices and believe you should love what you eat and drink. But after a little too much “love” over the holidays it was time to rein it in. I enjoy a challenge but have to admit I’m always hesitant to go super strict. After all, I am the girl who creates my own juice/soup cleanse rules (why would I live without coffee?).   But we launched our Whipping Week and I was ready to give it a try. And so I “whipped” myself. If you’ve read our newsletter or blog posts, you know this entailed NO booze, NO grains, NO meat and NO dairy and limited fruit. Some people have a last supper before they start a new regime, I had to have a last “sipper”.   One flute of champagne wi...