healthy and beautiful

  Oh structure we missed you so. We are midway though our Foodtrainers’ September Squeeze fall reset weeks.   Week 1, led by lauren, concluded Sunday and week 2, my week, is off and running (shout out to our Squeeze achievers doing both weeks). We design a new program, with new recipes each time (why do less work when you can do more?) but we never really know how it will go until we have a group of all ages, living in all different places, going through it. Many of lauren’s week 1 squeezers told us it was our best squeeze yet…nice!   We asked our week 1 Squeeze grads to tell us how they felt: I feel back on track/more confident/able to say no/in control/clear-headed, rested and resolved to continue. This Squeeze is NO booze, grains, sugar, cheese or scale (yup a full week no weigh ins).   While it sounds like a lot of no’s we have a lot of yes’s too. We select special ingredients and what we call “secret weapons” to spice things up. My favorite this go around is ash...

Just thinking about the title is bringing on a hot flash. Well, I must admit to being mad at menopause. Turning 50 was an exciting time and I still enjoy being in the club. The hormonal changes my body is experiencing right now not so much.  Brace yourself, I will be talking very candidly about my experience with hormone changes and my body. This is not meant to offend anyone. Going through the change is a subject many are afraid to discuss out of embarrassment , fear, or the belief it should be hush-hush . We have come too far to continue this way of thinking. Health involves discussing all things relating to the human body and aging. I for one am all about sharing, learning, and getting feedback from others on the subject. LIFE SAVER I have been frantically researching hormone imbalance for a few years now. I have tried supplementation, herbals, transdermal creams, and natural moisturizers attempting to restore balance in my body.  I am very aware of foods that help with h...

We field a lot of hormone-related questions. After all our hormones affect everything from our appetite to our mood, throw in 198 other potential symptoms and you have a major wellness impediment. Last month, Carolyn and I filmed a video we called “ WTF PMS ” because a) we didn’t feel the need to choose a classier title and b) let’s face it we have no issue with semi taboo topics. The strange thing is that cycles, hormones and periods have sort of come out of the closet. Yesterday, the New York Times ran a story called “ Candidly Spelling Out the “P ” word about period tracking apps. One could argue that using “P” instead of period is neither candid nor spelled out. On the same day, I received an email from Greatist “ what’s up with digestion during your period ”. I feel one-upped by them because they hit two taboos in one title, dang. Check out the video for our Food First Aid Kit for PMS, find out why the snack below from Navitas Naturals is a PMS crusher and hear our PMS theme son...

I’m a clipper. Even though everything is available online when I read an article I like, I rip it out of the newspaper or magazine(when it is my newspaper or magazine, I mean I have manners). This weekend, for some reason I was fascinated learning Tupperware parties are huge in Indonesia . Of course I left thinking that I hope the Indonesian women do not microwave in plastic, do they know about BPAs? How can I tell them? Then, I moved to the Style section.   I’m always a sucker for the Modern Love column but this one about a mother and daughter and poems in her shoe ? I saved that. But there’s always one article each weekend that is my #1. I am still thinking about “ Medicating Women’s Feelings ”.   While the author, Julie Holland, discusses that mood meds are overprescribed, particularly to women, she also explained that part of what makes women women is our moods. “But we are under constant pressure to restrain our emotional lives. We have been taught to apologize for our te...