Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Foodtrainers Five Favorite Finds


This past Saturday I ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon. I could tell you that it was the first nice day we’ve had in NYC in what felt like weeks. I could tell you about spotting Marc a few times during the run and the fun finish on the Coney Island boardwalk near the beach. It was a memorable day but I’m not dwelling on the scenery or the soreness (now gone). Instead, I’ve been thinking more about the delicious breakfast I had a 5am Saturday morning and that’s what I want to tell you about. I’ll throw in 4 other “fantastic finds.”

The morning of the race, after pouring a cup of Le Pain Quotidien coffee, I prepared a bowl of fruit. I had blackberries, blueberries and strawberries and cut in some banana as well. I sprinkled granola over the fruit. This was not just any granola this was Purely Elizabeth’s “ancient grain” gluten free granola. This granola is outstanding. It’s made with gluten free oats, chia seeds, coconut oil and other carefully chosen ingredients. I had the original but there’s cranberry pecan and pumpkin fig.  My only concern is that this granola is too good, measure out the 1/3-cup serving and put it away. Purely Elizabeth will send one of our readers a 3-pack sampler of their 3 granola flavors. Be sure to comment to be in the running.
As we left the apartment Saturday, I filled a water bottle with my new favorite pre-race drink. It’s made by a company called Vega that was started by a vegan triathlete. These are not your run of the mill sports nutrition products.  I use the lemon-lime Sport Performance Optimizer. It comes in single serve envelopes if you want to try it out. It has ginger and turmeric, yerba mate and kombucha. It’s 70 calories per serving and I’ve never had a bad run after drinking it. One note, no dyes are used and it will appear you are drinking sludge. It’s good sludge I promise. 

Over the winter, I tweeted about not wanting to show my “post pregnancy abs” when I inverted in yoga. I received a number of responses. Some people commiserated with me. Others asked when I had my baby (7 years ago, not recently) and then there was one reply offering up a solution (a non-surgical solution ha). The owner of Nuttzo nut butters said, “you have to try Yummie Tummie it will change your life.”  Yummie Tummie was kind enough to send me their appropriately named Skinny Tank.  This tank did in fact make my tummy look yummy (or flat). The problem? My tummy was initially a little too “yummy” for the XS I received.  While temporarily scarred that I wasn’t skinny enough for my "Skinny Tank",  I sized up and it was great. Order a size larger and save a therapy session.

My next “find” is something I should have used more during ski season this year. I am not someone who weighs or measures every morsel of food I eat nor do suggest my clients do so.  We all need check-ups from time to time. When that handful of almonds becomes two or you’re bowl of cereal (or Purely Elizabeth granola) is growing- I found the perfect gadget. It’s the EatSmart Nutrition Pro Scale. It doesn’t do much for me to know I am eating 30 grams of nuts (servings in grams are a whole other topic/pet peeve). With this scale, you plug in the code for almonds and the calories (145 the first time I tried) are displayed. There are over 1,000 foods in their database. We had my brother in law and his girlfriend over, not for the purpose of testing the scale I promise, and had fun with this contraption. Small glass of wine? 62 calories. Apple from fruit bowl 75 calories.  This is an incredibly useful weight loss tool. I have it permanently on my counter and use it for cooking but much more often for fun.


For my fifth find, I have to tell you about my current favorite snack. They’re from a company called Kaia foods. Although I refer to myself as a nutritionist, I could be more aptly called a professional food tester. We try a lot of products or order to find some keepers. Kaia’s sweet curry sunflower seeds are a keeper. Kaia makes kale chips and sunflower seeds in a number of delicious flavors. You can purchase all their products on the kaia website and amazon. You can also find them at Whole Foods Markets. Kaia’s philosophy is also noteworthy “kaia foods was founded with the belief that our health is best supported by eating an abundance of minimally processed whole foods. We sprout, mix and dehydrate our organic foods at low temperatures so that they remain 'raw.' No baking, frying, bleaching, or weird processing steps!” I’m not religious but I’m feeling an “amen”.
Which of these “finds” would you want to try? What are your new favorite foods or gadgets? Isn’t it nice that some great companies avoid “weird processing steps”? 



21 comments:

  1. Fun finds! I was laughing out loud at, "Order a size larger and save a therapy session". I would love to try any and all - I will def keep my eyes out for the sunflower seeds. I am really into seeds these days. My beau calls it my "bird food".

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  2. Great finds, Lauren! I want to try them all. Where can you find the Purely Elizabeth granola? The scale seems fun to have around. I love food gadgets :) I agree, it is so nice to find companies who don't use weird processing and use "real food" in their products. Kudos to all of the companies mentioned in this post for doing just that. These types of companies are the ones we should all be buying from and supporting.

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  3. Cameo- it takes a lot to make me excited about a seed but these are special. Melissa, I know you can order purely elizabeth on their site. Let me know, it's insanely good.

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  4. You know, I have a packet of Vega Sport that I bought on a whim and never tried - I must give it a go this weekend!

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  5. M let me know what you think. I love the ingredients but love that my runs feel "easy" too.

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  6. Yum, the Purely Elizabeth granola sounds really good. I love pumpkin and figs but I'm not sure I've ever had them together - interesting combination. I'll have to try ordering some! and that tank top - well, let's just say my post-pregnancy abs could use a little help these days too (and my son is 5 so I don't think they're shrinking on their own at this point!).

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  7. I love Kaia sweet curry sunflower seeds!!! And the scale sounds great! I know it would be very helpful to "check" my portions once in a while... I'm also very curious about the Yummie Tummie tank...

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  8. Andrea- I'm so glad you like the Kaia's too. The scale is great, almost fun to predict what I think the calories are and then pop something on to check.

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  9. That granola sounds amazing! I love pumpkin, so I would love to try out the pumpkin fig. Yum!!
    Congrats on completing the New York half marathon!

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  10. that pumpkin fig granola sounds too good to resist. Having just been diagnosed with food sensitivities to too many odd ingredients, finding foods that work is so hard these days, I am definitely going to have to check them out!

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  11. I keep hearing these kaia snacks are awesome! I haven't seen them in stores yet htough!

    The wontons were ah-mazing! There's a link to the recipe if you ever want to do some taste testing for me! ;) mwah!

    xoXOxo
    Jenn @ Peas & Crayons

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  12. I'm definitely interested in trying that sport drink. Someone else suggested I try ginger pre-run to soothe my stomach...it sounds like it's worth a shot

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  13. That granola sounds amazing!

    I teach pilates, so maybe with your theory about choosing instructors we can aspire to, I should be wearing some yummie tummie to my next class!

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  14. Great finds!! I'm always looking for a healthy granola - that tastes good - so I can't wait to try some!

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  15. Thanks for the coupon code for the scale. It's a very pretty design and will look great on my countertop. I'm going to check out the granola too.

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  16. I am such a granola fiend so I'm super-excited about trying Purely Elizabeth! Thanks for the recommendation.

    Sam

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  17. This granola sounds so good and it is the first time I hear about gluten free oats. My kids are gluten free and dairy free so I'm sure they'd love to try these. Thanks.

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  18. the vega sport sounds great, lauren! do you think you could do it before a workout other than running? how much water do you mix with it? as much as you want?
    i've been hearing a TON of good things about chia seeds...
    thanks for another great post!

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  19. Nice finds. I want to congratulate you on running the half marathon - good for you!
    :)

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  20. I'd love to try the Purely Elizabeth granola (I have never seen it in the stores), as well as those sunflower seed. Yum! I just got a kitchen scale to start using when I bake :-)

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