Monday, April 25, 2016

New Website & Resource for Healthy Eating


If you're procrastinating with your Monday to do list, let me help you continue. Carolyn and I have been working away at our Foodtrainers.com  NEW WEBSITE. It has been some time and we needed something fresh. One of my favorite parts of the site is a Q andA we did on our bio page. Please check it out. Let us know what you think and if you haven't be sure you sign up for our Monthly Morsels newsletter.
What do you look for in a website? Do you look at sites on your phone or mostly on your computer? And while I have you favorite part of our new site?
A thank you to Scott at Bellina Creative for tweaking this until we got it right.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Caitlyn Jenner's Coffee


I’ve watched a few episodes of I am Cait. If you’re not familiar with the show, it’s Caitlyn Jenner’s reality series. Recently on the show, a group of transgender women have been on a road trip of sorts and each person shares her story along the way. It’s fascinating. On Sunday’s episode, amidst an important conversation about gender confirmation surgery, Caitlin made coffee.
I tried to see what else was in the fridge, hard to say
She reaches into her fridge, it’s a pretty/glass front type, and pulls out a bag of coffee (I paused it about a dozen times and I’m fairly certain it was Starbucks Christmas Blend).  And despite the voiceover in Caitlin’s slightly slurry accent about the touchy topic of surgery, I was thinking about coffee. Should I be storing my coffee in the fridge? I took to Safari on my phone and started to investigate.

I quickly realized Caitlin was wrong. Seriouscoffee.com says, “the fridge is not the place to store coffee of any form.” Pact coffee explains,  “you want to protect coffee from air, moisture, heat and light “I’m happy to say I am protecting my coffee from all four. However, the National Coffee Association (NCAUSA) says clear containers are to be avoided- oops. I do have my clear container but it’s in the cabinet so I’m thinking I’m safe. I know storing ground coffee isn’t ideal but I can’t do the daily grind thing. And in case you think the freezer is ok, it isn’t the place for coffee you’re taking in and out of the freezer each morning. You can freeze for long-term coffee storage.
via Pact Coffee, yes- my coffee is happy!
There is an exception to the fridge/coffee rule. Coffee can neutralize fridge odors. So if you’ve ruined your current coffee refrigerating it. Empty coffee grounds into a bowl, place on one of the fridge shelves and it’ll remove stinkiness. 
Where do you store your coffee? Do you grind beans daily? Watch I am Cait?

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Don't miss out on our Pre-Summer Squeeze

We had our first taste of summer yesterday with 80-degree weather in NYC. We also sent our April newsletter featuring some new Foodtrainers’ favorite products. Snickerdoodle almond butter sound interesting?

In the newsletter, we announced our May Pre-Summer Squeeze Program
These programs have been an unexpected hit. We pride ourselves on providing reasonable, doable, livable advice. What we’ve found is that while that works week in and week out there is a time for a push. And there has to be something better than a juice cleanse. After our most recent program, we asked participants for words to describe how they felt. They said:
“virtuous, healthy and slim”
“disciplined, energized, proud”
“in control, leaner and lighter”
“empowered, more in tune with myself”
“back on track”
“much, much better”
We are offering two 10-day Squeeze sessions this May. You don’t have to be in NYC as it’s all email based
May 9th -18th Carolyn will Squeeze you
May 16th-24th Lauren will Squeeze you
If you’d like a jump-start before summer or need to add some newness to your routine, let's Squeeze. Email info@foodtrainers.net with subject line “Squeeze me” for more information.
What are 3 words to describe how you feel right now? 

Monday, April 11, 2016

More reasons to skip skim (in case grey coffee isn't reason enough)

We’ve said it before…if you do dairy (and we do), you have to skip the skim. It’s better for your weight, your skin, your bones and your fertility. Recent research adds further evidence to our skim-stance. A study published in Circulation analyzed the blood of 3,333 adults for 15 years. It’s difficult to “skim” over (had to) their findings.  People who consumed more full-fat dairy had a 46% decreased risk of getting diabetes. Another study published in the American Journal of Nutrition looked at obesity risk with full fat versus low fat dairy among 18,438 female participants. Those who consumed the most full-fat dairy products lowered their risk of being overweight or obese by 8%.

At Foodtrainers, we believe fat makes you thin. Fat keeps you full. It’s crucial for your skin, hair, nails and Vitamin D absorption. Cutting back on calories by cutting out fat typically results in eating more sugar/carb calories. And when your sugar and carbs increase your body stores more fat (remember the “fat free” 90s?).

Aside from skipping skim, fermented dairy is your best bet.  Fermented dairy contains probiotics that help your weight, cravings and mood.  These good bacteria break down some of the lactose. If you find dairy difficult to digest, fermented dairy may be easier. We adore four percent Siggi’s yogurt, Maple Hill Creamery plain kefir and Nancy’s (probiotic) cottage cheese. And it’s not fermented but Ronnybrook’s half and half and their glass bottles make life better.
Hate to say we told you so (well before fat was where it's at), but PLEASE skip the skim and grey coffee… you’re welcome. 
Speaking of dairy, Lauren and I are checking out a new cheese headquarters this week… details to follow!

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Maybe you'll never "love your body" (and that's OK)

Monday, I admitted to a major meltdown. I joked (or bitched) about being kitchen-less before a beach vacation. The subtext was that I like to clean things up with my diet before the whole bathing suit situation. That same day, a colleague’s Instagram post caught my eye. I should preface this by saying this person is awesome. I had the pleasure of meeting her during our recent California/Expo West trip and she’s funny and smart and none of what I’m writing is about her…just about something she wrote.

Let me set this up:
The photo I referred to shows this nutritionist in a jog bra. What’s interesting was her commentary on showing your stomach. The stated intent was to show her followers she understood this was a thing (showing your stomach).

I’ll stop for a minute and say while abs may be the ultimate reveal, many women don’t like “showing” in general. It could be insecurity about a certain body part (arms, thighs or abs are common) and it’s also possible it stems from personal preference. In my case, I have way more A-line items in my closet than body hugging ones.  And if I’m being totally honest my Instagram feed is never going to be filled with photos of me especially not sexy photos. And this is not a judgement about people who have  a ton of selfies (OK minor judgement).

The RD I referred to explains she loves her body and is unfazed by bathing suiting but didn’t always feel that way. In her effort to diffuse body anxiety she assures readers “it gets better with age, you will evolve, mature…three will come a day where you don’t care if you ate pizza the night before you get into a bathing suit.”

I think things struck a chord as I had just articulated my pre-beach mindset. I am over a decade older than this person;  I think I've evolved and matured but wearing a bathing suit isn’t "thoughtless" to me. From counseling clients all these years, I know that sometimes body stuff fades with age, we can laugh at it more, be more accepting. Other times, with aging bodies, previously body confident women (or men) get more self critical.  I watched an episode of The View yesterday and the gorgeous, ageless, super fit J-Lo saw a photo of herself and uttered, “I was chubby there.” They gave her major shit for that comment but it came out.


I wholeheartedly agree with the author of the post that we need to be kind to ourselves. But I want to point out that it’s not a failing if you’re 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 or 80 (I have an 80-something client who is very mature and still pinches her body fat and grimaces) and think about being in a bathing suit or wouldn’t rate your body a 10 on a 1-10 scale…it may just be who you are. I can say I’m a thin person, I like who I am and there are many days I feel great in my clothes. But I will note when I feel distended in the same way I’ll watch a clip for work and think about things I could’ve done better. Maybe self-acceptance comes in all different flavors.
What do you think about this? Are you more the happy naked flavor or semi-sweet on the whole thing?  Do you think it's ok not to love your body (by this I mean be 100% in love with every part)
*I love that my body works and every time I go for a walk or a run thank God I am capable of this...that's not what I'm referring to.

Monday, April 4, 2016

I freaked out majorly: warning 1st world problem


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 at 7:30AM. The doorbell rang and I answered it in my pajamas. There were five men with tools standing outside with the head honcho kitchen guy. I had been told the kitchen work would be done while we were away. As I stood in the doorway, Marc emerged freshly showered and smiled at the guys “that’s great that you’re getting an early start.” And the unraveling began. I guarantee these nice men will tell the story of the crazy upper west side lady for years to come.
“You told me this was happening when we were away”
  He said
“I thought it was a good idea for them to start before we left in case there were questions.”
While that’s totally logical in retrospect I said
“It’s a good idea for you but what about me, I am supposed to eat days of take-out food right before a vacation?”
And he said
“I think having a new kitchen is worth a few days of non-organic food.”
It went downhill from there and I decided to go get dressed and calm down.
When I came downstairs, four men were carrying my fridge into the dining room.
The fridge was unplugged. The fridge with a freezer full of grass fed meat and wild salmon, the fridge with my kombuchas and organic berries.
And while I now know I must’ve sounded like a spoiled baby, I freaked.  Mid fit the kitchen guy plugged the fridge into a dining room outlet. The light went back on and I started to breathe.
I will never admit this to my husband but I kind of liked running out to Juice Generation to get smoothies breakfast for all of us and a few newspapers. Having no kitchen meant no pillaging for dark chocolate. And we plugged the coffee maker in the home office and it was fine.

This past Friday, the men were putting the kitchen sink in and the kitchen guy said “was it worth it?” and, with my tail between my legs, I apologized knowing that nothing I cold say would erase my crazy. It was totally worth it.  The problem is that now I don’t want to cook and mess any of the newness up.