healthy and beautiful

Expo West is the capstone of natural food shows. Carolyn and I love a challenge and decided we could cover this massive event in one day. Before every one of these expos we make a pact not to oversample. Let’s just say that at 9am, when Carolyn found me, I had gluten free pizza in one hand and bone broth in the other. The treat train had left the station and mild reflux was already setting in. But how can I know whether to recommend something without tasting it? By midafternoon we had reached our threshold. At this point, we’d jerkey-ed, dark chocolated, posed for the embarrassing photo du jour and walked over 10 miles (20K steps).  A booth with props? We're always  in. We just wanted to be finished. It’s mile 25 of the marathon and the high five supply is exhausted. As we entered an area with newer products, we saw the Fire Cider booth. We know and love the original Fire Cider but as we shuffled by the booth we heard the word unsweetened. Original Fire Cider is sweetened and...

I am such a chocolate person that I don’t understand how vanilla people exist.   Vanilla is a mistake. I like chocolate in all its forms though it’s probably no surprise I lean toward dark chocolate now. I’m not hardcore with the percentages; 85% is still too intense for my liking. However, sometimes dark chocolate that’s less than 70% is too sweet and too easy to overdo (the lower the percentage the higher the sugar). I tend to like a little flavor excitement with my chocolate. Mint, some spice, salt or even oddball flavors do it for me. I even fall for superfoods in my chocolate: matcha chocolate, reishi mushroom chocolate etc. I found a new company that checks all my chocolate boxes. Zenbunni , made in Venice California, isn’t just chocolate that I love; it’s chocolate made with love. Their mini or “microcosmic” bars contain organic, wild and foraged ingredients. My two favorites for now are: Lost Salt of Atlantis and Shiva Rose We have a sweet giveaway and an assortment of Zenb...

I wrote a Super Bowl (or super snack post) for Fitbit. If you’re curious about creative crudité, the world’s best guac or the secret to game day weight control (nobody, right?) check it out. Today, I wanted to be a little more snack centric and talk chips. Here are Foodtrainers' top 5 ways to “get chippy” Popcorn gives you so much more snacking leeway than chips (3 cups versus 10-15 chips). Two favorites here are Kettle Brand Sriracha or Quinn’s new ”farm to bag” popcorn in coconut oil (kale and sea salt a runner up) Carolyn and I were swooning over Seasnax Chompers when we tasted them at a fall trade show. Crunchy, salty and of course with that nutritious nori. Foodtrainees love these ParsnipChips , we cannot wait for our Ranch “Dipperz” with broccoli and cauliflower to arrive. And don’t forget their Brussels Bytes. And finally, I love a lime chip. Something about the flavor- does it for me every time. I bought these “for the kids” and this big kid really likes them. In Ne...

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...

So many of us have a hard time accepting the great things about ourselves, the accomplishments achieved, the results gained, and instead zero in on what we think is negative.  I have to admit that I am guilty of this on occasion and I know my hubby would like to beat me over the lack of “mental game” head when I have a vocal slip. Why do we go right for that juggler of what we “think” is not a great attribute on our bodies, even if it is a work in progress? I for one am going to toss any negative stuff that may pop out of my mouth about myself into the mental trash can.  I do not allow negative talk in my studio, and I will not be a hypocrite behind closed doors.  So, next time I complain about how my butt is not as lifted, and go for a squeeze of disappointment on the cheeks, I will slap my own backside for that behavior. The journey of this life is to be our BEST self at every age, and joining the  50+ club now means my bootie will not be as high and tight as my tw...

Simple is Healthy! Simple is Healthy ~ Food, Part 1 YES…I have lots to say about keeping it simple and being such a chatter box, and trying not to jump too hard on the soap box, I knew this was going to become a series of SIMPLE.   I came across a quote that struck me “90% of people avoided obesity and diabetes long before anyone knew what a calorie was let alone counted them…let’s make “healthy” healthy again” and it ended with the word…SIMPLE. WOW, I thought on that and realized just how dynamic and powerful this statement was to me and how true it is for my life.   As a child, my parents modeled living from the land in our back yard and boy do I ever remember how my weekends were spent…pulling weeds from the garden.   Talk about a bitter sweet chore as a child…dirty hands, dirty knees, blisters…and the smell of tomato leaves so strong it could choke you…anyone relate?   Fruit trees adorned our backyard, and my Dad was a master grafter trying to create the perfect...