Foodtrainers' Fancy Food Show Finds

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. We are also all about Primal Kitchen’s paleo Avo-mayo which now comes in chipotle lime   And you might know The New Primal from their super spicy jerky  but they have a new, clean bbq sauce line  – sweetener from pineapple juice which also helps tenderize meat before you BBQ.

Alternative flours: Almond, cassava and chickpea oh my. We love seeing these gluten free alternatives in wraps, snacks and yup even pizza. Our faves go to Cappello’s pizza and pasta, Siete cassava wraps and Simple Mills crackers. 

the far right had basil, wow

Chocolate: we are so happy that chocolate isn’t going anywhere - we are forever Eating Evolved and Hu faithful (Hu  assured us single serves are coming) but the beauties from Moonstruck and the drinking chocolate from Treehouse Chocolate caught our eyes and tastebuds too. 

There wasn’t a ton of new kombucha but we did dig Revive, which uses alternatives to black tea for some fermenting… coffee kombucha anyone? That was Lauren’s pick of the day and we also loved their white tea with cucumber and mint. 

We have some ideas for summer travel snacks and our next September Squeeze. Make sure you are signed up for our newsletter to stay in the loop. Have a wonderful long weekend!

Which of the items mentioned are you most curious about? What do you see as the current trends in healthy eating?

Easy, Cold-brewed Iced Tea, No Boiling Required

 In a session last week, a client mentioned it was too hot to drink warm tea. Even though I like hot coffee hot, regardless of weather, I agreed regarding tea. I suggested she make iced tea and she looked at me confused “do you just chill hot tea, how do you make iced tea?” As I explained to her what I outlined below I realized iced tea probably baffles a lot of people. We have to fix that.

To answer her question, I don’t like making iced tea from hot tea. It tends to have a burnt or harsh taste. Instead, I make it cold-brewed in the fridge.

All you need:

Large Mason jar (or as large as you have) or any container with a lid

Tea- loose or in bags, in the photo I used Bellocq's Green Mint tea

Water

Strainer

Optional: stevia

Add tea to the jar (I use 2 tablespoons of loose tea in a 32 ounce jar) but 1 teaspoon loose tea or 1 bag per six ounces of water is a good ratio. I gravitate toward loose tea as I generally have a lot to use up. And I find the flavor is better with loose tea but use what you have.

Add water, filtered water if you have a water filter (or a top-notch bottled water like Core).

Cover the jar. This is why I use a jar, many people use a pitcher but I’m weird about fridge scents and prefer a closed container. Also, I can take the Mason jar to work. Again…use what you have.

I steep the tea overnight, it needs at least 4 hours of brewing time.

When it’s done, strain it. I put a strainer over a bowl and pour the tea in. Discard the used tea that’s in the strainer, rinse Mason jar if any tea is stuck to it and pour iced tea back into the jar.

If I’m making a green tea, I’ll add stevia. Otherwise add sliced lime or lemons, fresh mint or just drink as is. Easy tea-sy. 

Ice Cream Diet

You may know, from our newsletter this morning, that we had a Foodtrainers’ ice cream crawl.  We went around the city taste testing. Sure, we tried to balance things out by walking from place to place (next year we’re going to run) but we know how that math works. We summarized our favorite pops and shops in the newsletter but we had so much information it didn’t all fit.

Raspberry Nice Cream

This recipe may not seem groundbreaking on paper but my sons (including the teenager), babysitter and husband all loved this.

Ingredients:

2 bananas on the riper side

1 container organic raspberries

couple tablespoons water (if needed)

and stevia optional (I used NuStevia)

Freeze bananas and a container (6oz) of organic raspberries.

Add bananas to food processor or high-powered blender (I used Vitamix).

At first they will splinter and you may feel it’s not working, keep going

Blend until creamy.

Add berries to the blender, you may need a tablespoon or two of water and I added a few drops of new stevia.

If using a Vitamix you need the plunger thingy and a little elbow grease.

Makes 2 nice-sized servings. You can freeze leftovers but you’ll need to thaw a bit to get smooth/soft-serve texture.

Konery

When we were at Victory Garden (home of our ice cream champion Sesame Mucho Miso Sundae) we were introduced to the Konery’s gluten-free cones. As someone who is gluten free, ice cream cones have been a thing of the past. We tried their gluten-free cardamom cone…yum. Konery sells boxes of the glutenfree goodies.

I scream, you scream, we are definitely screaming after all the “healthier” ice cream we’ve tasted…but enjoyed every bite.

What are your favorite healthy-ish frozen treats?

Ice Cream Diet

You may know, from our newsletter this morning, that we had a Foodtrainers’ ice cream crawl.  We went around the city taste testing. Sure, we tried to balance things out by walking from place to place (next year we’re going to run) but we know how that math works. We summarized our favorite pops and shops in the newsletter but we had so much information it didn’t all fit.

Raspberry Nice Cream

This recipe may not seem groundbreaking on paper but my sons (including the teenager), babysitter and husband all loved this.

Ingredients:

2 bananas on the riper side

1 container organic raspberries

couple tablespoons water (if needed)

and stevia optional (I used NuStevia)

Freeze bananas and a container (6oz) of organic raspberries.

Add bananas to food processor or high-powered blender (I used Vitamix).

At first they will splinter and you may feel it’s not working, keep going

Blend until creamy.

Add berries to the blender, you may need a tablespoon or two of water and I added a few drops of new stevia.

If using a Vitamix you need the plunger thingy and a little elbow grease.

Makes 2 nice-sized servings. You can freeze leftovers but you’ll need to thaw a bit to get smooth/soft-serve texture.

Konery

When we were at Victory Garden (home of our ice cream champion Sesame Mucho Miso Sundae) we were introduced to the Konery’s gluten-free cones. As someone who is gluten free, ice cream cones have been a thing of the past. We tried their gluten-free cardamom cone…yum. Konery sells boxes of the glutenfree goodies.

I scream, you scream, we are definitely screaming after all the “healthier” ice cream we’ve tasted…but enjoyed every bite.

What are your favorite healthy-ish frozen treats?

"Reduce your stress" is the most stressful advice

Stress is bad; it’s bad for our health, for our weight and certainly our mood. But telling a stressed out person to decrease their stress is like telling an overweight person to lose weight…#nothelpful.
In our Foodstalking program, we ask participants "how do you feel?" each day. One of my clients today said "homicidal" she was joking (promise) but I totally get it.

If you want to decrease your stress but don’t have the time to sort out how, here are some ideas that work for me.

Relaxation Rituals

When I get to the office, I light our official office candle and put on Pandora. I may only have five minutes before a client but a little Ray LaMontagne radio injects a little relaxation into my morning.

Perhaps a podcast?

I am somewhat new to the podcast world. I find podcasts help me zone out when I’m commuting or just walking down the street. Sure, there are meditation and relaxation podcasts but many podcasts work. Hey, last night I went to sleep listening to Not Here to Make Friends (a VERYsmart podcast about the Bachelor). I close my eyes, set the sleep timer and fall asleep much faster than I would if I were watching TV. Dear Sugar is another favorite podcast.

Get outside

You have a million things to do and you feel you have to be chained to your desk OR maybe you’re overwhelmed and somewhat stifled. Get outside. I cannot tell you how many times I step outside and feel “ok things aren’t that bad”. Sure, it’s not going to solve all your problems but it’ll put them in perspective.

Plan a trip

I recently read a review of a travel writer’s book. I’m paraphrasing (I can’t even recall the author to go back and find the quote) but he said, whenever I’m feeling a little low it’s because I don’t have a trip planned. I know this is definitely one of Carolyn’s mood-boosting strategies. It doesn’t have to be exotic…maybe you look up a place to go hiking but there’s something powerful about shifting your focus to the future. And it’s usually when you feel you can’t get away or the thought of packing is too much that you need it most.

Take a bath

I realize not everyone is a bath person. If you are, it’s an inexpensive way to chill out. Whenever I can I take a bath before bed. I’m a fan of magnesium bath flakes…currently loving these from Naturopathica.

As you can see, these are not complicated hacks but they help. 

I’d love to know what stress-busting hacks you employ. Any rituals, tricks or tweaks you’ve made to reduce stress?

Father’s day foods- key, healthy foods for men to eat

There is certain dietary advice that pertains to everyone. But we can be sexist when it comes to nutrition as there are foods I recommend specifically to men due to their anatomy (wink) and health risks. So tell the men in your life to eat these “dude foods”.

Watermelon

Watermelon contains lots of lycopene, which is important of prostate health. There is also an amino acid in watermelon that helps with exercise recovery and post-exercise soreness. And if that’s not enough? There’s an amino acid in watermelon that’s known as nature’s Viagra (may be a little awkward to tell your dad about that).

Clams

I feel shellfish gets ignored when it comes to nutrition. Clams have impressive potassium, which helps keep blood pressure under control. They’re also rich in B vitamins to control cholesterol.

Try using bone broth (we love the Nona Lim Thai curry and lime broth) for clam cooking.

And fried clams don’t count.

Spinach

If forced to pick, I’d choose spinach over kale. Spinach is a great source of magnesium and over three quarters of men are magnesium deficient. Studies show when mag (we have nicknames for our minerals) is low, levels of C-reactive protein are higher. C-reactive protein is a marker for heart disease and inflammation. Maybe get dad drinking green juice?

Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin seeds are a great source of zinc. Zinc is important for testosterone production, sperm health and immunity. Our bodies don’t store zinc so it’s important to get enough via diet.

Saw Palmetto

I think men over 50 (or all men depending on their family history) should take this supplement for prostate health and there’s some encouraging info about saw palmetto and male pattern baldness. Some studies show it leads to hair regrowth.

And if you’re in need of a Father’s Day gift? A little flavor and metabolism booster for dad? Or, you can always give the gift of Foodtraining...send your father, husband, grandpa our way.

Happy Father’s day (and summer solstice) too all.