healthy and beautiful

Yesterday was our annual summer trip to the Fancy Food show. Basically, the Javitz Center is filled with a million food booths, some healthier than others. I have to give us a little credit and say we have become pros at the food fair thing. We didn’t eat ourselves into complete food comas or sample any more ice cream . Plus, we hit our 10k steps right away. It was great to see many Foodtrainers’ friends – Banza , Organic LivingSuperfoods (love the new look) and Grady’s cold brew . As always, we were on the hunt for new products too. Here are a few Fancy faves we’ll fill you in on, others we’re keeping a secret for our September Squeeze program and the Foodtrainers’ shop. Super Sauces : do you believe in love at first bite? Filfil garlic hot sauce was my first taste of the day and my favorite. With over 20 cloves of garlic per bottle you may not want to consume this before a date or important meeting, but I   promise you’ll fall in love with this spicy new Brooklyn based brand. W...

I haven’t written in a bit but I have a good reason. I was in food shock.  It started a few weeks ago. We decided- I should say I decided to replace our cracked kitchen tile and countertops. My husband gave me the “is this really necessary?” line.   The truth is that his kitchen experience amounts to occasional coffee making, gluten free beer opening and table clearing when he’s in a helpful mood. I could’ve wasted my time pointing out that the kitchen to me was the equivalent of the golf course for him but I had a more productive idea. I selected the countertop material   (Caesar stone) and flooring (light wood planks). I presented my husband with two samples of each that were basically the same so he could “choose” and put him in touch with the kitchen guy. Our division of labor for any renovation is design- me and construction- him. This proved to be a mistake. Two weeks ago today, the boys had started spring break and I was enjoying not having to be out of the house a...

So sad this is among best photos with both of us from the trip I’m sitting on the plane. My magazine binge is complete (Food & Wine’s “The New Healthy” issue good but Bon Appetit’s Culture even better), inbox has been cleaned out, the book I’m reading at a lull and it’s not yet time for a snack…so I thought I’d tell you a little about Expo West. Expo West is this massive Natural Foods Show; all the big players have booths and events and rookie players or new food companies come to get a jump-start. People spend days at this show. Carolyn and I were determined to see it all in one day and 23, 000+ steps later we did. If I were to pick out a few trends or things we saw a lot of I’d say jerky is a big deal. These new offerings are a world away from Slim Jim. If you don’t think you’re the jerky type I’d do some taste testing. Carolyn said she felt many more products geared toward men and I’d agree. “Mancakes” is an example of this   (get it man + pancakes?). We saw some tea but cof...

It's always funny to me when I first learn of something and then seem to see it everywhere. I'll explain. About a year (or more) ago, I ordered a jar of the beverage pictured above. It's called switchel and I believe it's from Vermont. Then I saw other switchels at the farmer's market and Well and Good asked how I felt switchel stacked up. I told Well and Good that I loved the idea of switchel. After all, it contains apple cider vinegar and ginger, two of my go-to ingredients. But it's sweet, 16 grams or 4 teaspoons per serving sweet in the brand above. So despite the Vermont angle (we spend a lot of time there) and the intriguing ingredients, the kombucha crowd that's present in my fridge at ALL times (the lengths poor Fresh Direct must take to deliver this bubbly drink) is safe from switchel. If you're sad about switchel, I did green light switchel as a drink mixer for cocktails, although I must say Be-Mixed is my number one for that. We also did a ...

As I sat through the worst half hour of movie previews yesterday, my mind wandered. My mind has a few favorite places it wanders to but this time it went to food. I thought about movie theatre food. While my kids will get something from time to time, either when I’m not there or when I choose to ignore everything I know, I don’t really think about it. For my book, I tackled sports arenas and airports and many places that trip people up with food choices. I contemplated the movies and ran the idea by a friend who said, “I think if people want to lose weight part of that means saying no from time to time.” I’m pretty sure her wording was a little meaner but it was a good point.  Just for kicks though (interrupted by my son saying, “who is that guy, I have never seen him before?” Sean Penn) I contemplated my dream movie concession stand. I know some theatres have real food now but I’m not a fan. First, I am against anything in a theatre that smells. And let’s face it, it’s total darkn...

  I’m obsessed with probiotics. The more I researched them for The Little Book of Thin , the more I thought that if there is a weight loss secret- this may be it. That’s actually how I learned of this cutting edge (and I do think that’s what this is) new nutrition book. Brenda Watson, author and TV personality, liked what I had to say about probiotics  and now her new book The Skinny Gut Diet   explains everything you need to know about probiotics.  I was really excited to read this book. If you like to nerd out on nutrition and science, here’s your chance. For example,  gut bacteria are different for obese people versus lean. “Each of us has a unique balance of bacteria that protects and keeps us healthy or leaves us susceptible to disease. This same balance can contribute to either weight gain or weight loss.” However, as eager as I was as  I continued reading I was grew increasingly discouraged. There’s a discussion about how our bacteria are formed...