My favorite new (bite-sized) chocolate

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 Zenbunni minis coming your way provided you swear you’ve never chosen vanilla over chocolate. We also have a "bundle of love" with three terrific new sweets in the Foodtrainers' store.

Are you a chocolate person? What’s your favorite chocolate? Do you like your chocolate straight up or jazzed up?

To be Eligible

Tweet: The best chocolate in the world? @Foodtrainers has a @zenbunni #giveaway http://foodtrainers.blogspot.com/2016/02/my-favorite-new-bite-sized-chocolat.html 

and

Comment below

*Enter by midnight on Valentines Day

I'm sorry Jennifer Weiner, "trying" doesn't make you superficial

We have another great giveaway coming your way, but an article I read this weekend pushed my “must write about” button.  Let me first say that I love Jennifer Weiner’s writing and I’ll even admit I appreciate her Bachelor live-tweeting. I didn’t enjoy  “One Day We Can Stop Trying,Right?” I may be in the minority because multiple Facebook friends posted the link to it.

If you didn’t catch the piece, JW starts out with the observation that magazines tend to stop focusing on women after 60.  “It’s as if, for the purposes of good looks and sexiness, older women cease to exist.” Ouch I thought but JW takes comfort in the notion of being cut off as “a finish line, a point at which you were no longer expected to perform what sometimes feels like a woman’s major duty in life- looking good for men.”

Though “perform” and “duty” made me cringe, I used to wonder about what Jennifer describes. Will I care about my skinny jeans, bathing suit body and scale surges and dips when I’m older? I’ve learned from clients in their 70s and even 80s that answer is I probably will. I hope I do. My older clients are doers. They’re traveling, socializing, exercising and they want to feel (and look) good in the process. For them, there isn’t anything onerous about it, and they definitely aren’t trying to look good for men.

The article isn’t just about aging. Jennifer Weiner seems to have joined the “we’re above dieting, caring about our looks and weight” brigade. There are now anti-diet books. The words skinny and thin are taboo as if to be truly evolved means you need to wave a “looks don’t matter” flag. I’m not waving the flag, neither are most women or most men for that matter.

 It’s not just a matter of looks; Carolyn and I just finished the first of our January “Whipping Weeks”. We asked participants to describe how they felt before they started and we asked again last night. After a week they said things like, “energized, motivated, healthy and proud.” Trying can leave you feeling a whole lot better than not trying.

JW also pokes Oprah. I agree with her (and wrote about) that there’s something inauthentic about the Oprah/Weight Watchers ads. However, Weiner decided that Oprah is too old and accomplished to care about weight. “Oprah, of all people, should be open to the possibility that she already is the woman she’s meant to be. And when you’re 61 are you really still expected to be fretting over whether you’ve got your best body?” I say, regardless of prestige or personal growth, you are allowed to want to work on your body AND you may not feel your best until you do.

Weiner quotes one expert and concludes that any time you lose weight you gain it back. Again, she’s padding her case that you may as well not try.

The conclusion of the article is what had me cursing at my Sunday paper. First she says, “Women are encouraged to measure out our lives in 55-minute barre classes and four-ounce servings of chicken.” She suggests that we donate our dieting dollars to charities and add new things, new skills, new classes (just not barre classes I guess) versus always taking things away. But she saves the most judgy for last,“in 2016, let’s look beyond the superficial and all resolve to make more of ourselves, not less. Really? We have to choose? You’re either charitable and interesting or weight-conscious and superficial? If that’s the case, it’s amazing someone like me even reads The New York Times. I don’t know about you, I enjoy “trying”. But I can’t type any more, I have to go measure my four ounces of chicken.

So, do you envision or hope for a time when you will stop “trying”? Why do you think it’s frowned upon to care about appearance or weight? Do exercise classes and mindful eating indicate you’re superficial? 
And the winner of the Young Living, essential oil giveaway is Erin. Thank you to those who entered and tweeted etc.

What The Fork Are You Eating? Giveaway

I don’t really respect that many people. In terms of nutrition, I could rattle of a dozen RDs whose work I applaud but I am picky.  love nothing more than people who are smarter than I am, know more and when they pair that with passion? They’ve got me. Enter Stefanie Sacks culinary nutritionist, radio show host (she hosted me with Little Book of Thin) and now author. I asked Stefanie a few questions and we’re giving away 2 copies of her fantastic, new book Whatthe Fork Are You Eating?IF you think you know a lot about food, I promise you this book will tell you more.

How did this book come about? Who would you say it’s for?

What The Fork embodies roughly 30 years of my learning: first as a kid trying to get well, then as a culinary student, nutrition student and ultimately a culinary nutrition professional and impassioned food warrior. What The Fork is meant for the food and nutrition neophytes as well as the mavens. There is something in it for everyone (hopefully). Even I have so much more to learn!!!

I love your “top-rated” terminators and you do a great job explaining the history and peril with many ingredients currently used. It’s not just “don’t eat this” but you provide the reason why. What would be the ingredients you feel people should cut out above all others?

 Food dyes are likely my number one ingredient to eliminate. There is extensive research linking them to carcinogenicity, neurotoxicity and genotoxicity (see Rainbow of Risks report by Center for Science in the Public Interest). Red Dye #40 in particular has been directly linked to hyperactivity in already hyperactive children. U.S. consumption of food dye has increased five-fold since 1955 and today children and adults consume products with not just one dye in them, but multiple dyes. And it is important to note that when studies were conducted years ago, they only addressed single use dyes (meaning one dye at a time) and their effects were not studied on children. Food can effectively be colored with healthier alternatives like turmeric or beet powder so I highly suggest opting out of the petroleum-based artificial colors. 

The whole Europe/US contrast in ingredient safety drives me nuts. Why are so many more ingredients banned in Europe? How can companies justify dye free or superior products produced there versus here?

 I am honestly blown away by this reality. The European Food Safety Authority was established in 2002 in response to a series of food crises in the late 1990’s. Their job? To assess risk relating to food and feed safety. They enlist a “precautionary principle” which essentially means that when there is substantial and credible evidence pointing to dangers to human or environmental health then protective action should be taken even though there may still be some measure of scientific uncertainty. Bottom line, the EU (European Union and its keystone European Food Safety Authority) care more about human and environmental health than the U.S. Government who, in my opinion, are playing roulette with true food safety (and health) daily because of their insidious relationship with Big Food and Big Ag. Food companies in the US use inferior ingredients because they can and because their bottom line is ultimately their priority.

Your pantry section is great. If someone is getting their food shopping act together what are the top 5 ingredient swaps that you would suggest?"

• If cereal is a must, go for the truly whole grain sort in rolled or steel cut oats (made with water and topped with a little maple syrup or honey, fresh fruit and nuts), even muesli (no sugar added version)
• Opt out of the corn, soy and canola oils (likely genetically modified) and opt into extra virgin olive oil (even grape seed oil) and coconut oil
• Dabble in sugar with honey, maple syrup or even raw cane sugar versus any of the artificials
• Instead of using too much salt to season food, become a mixologist with fresh or dried herbs and spices. Also have San-J low sodium tamari on hand (less sodium per serving than salt) to lift food flavor
• Instead of the pasta all of the time, try spaghetti squash as an alternative or simply spiralize a zucchini 


Your recipes look great; at my house we have a high degree of repetition with our recipes (makes it easy). What recipes from book do you make most often?

My go to recipes are the my Power Green “Fuice” and Untraditional Egg Salad (basically eggs and mashed avocado) for breakfast. Skillet Broccoli, Lazy Lentil Soup, Red Quinoa Tabouli, Cowgirl Chili and Mon Freres Meatballs are other favorites. 

Thanks Stef,  you can catch Stefanie this Saturday March 7th at TEDx Manhattan—Changing The Way We Eat. Her talk—What The Fork Are You Eating? Small Changes in Food Choice Can Make BIG Everyday Differences. To stay connected with Stefanie, sign up for her blog -- bi-weekly ruminations, radio shows and recipes, and follow her on: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Her book,What the Fork Are You Eating? (Tarcher/Penguin Random House) is available wherever books are sold.

Are food dyes on your radar? Which ingredients puzzle you most?

Any great, new food books other than this one you’re reading?

To be eligible for this giveaway

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And tweet “@Foodtrainers  is giving away 2 copies of the best new food book @stefanie_sacks #healthy #food #books #nutrition

You must read Slim By Design & Giveaway

Whenever I am asked food or nutrition books I recommend, Mindless Eating tops my list. So when I learned that Brian Wansink has a second book out, called Slim by Design I couldn’t wait to read it. That’s actually an understatement, I felt like a groupie who had to get their hands on that brand new album. The premise of this book and much of Wansink’s research is that our environment (think kitchens, offices etc.) influences the way we eat. From the opening lines of the book “becoming slim by design works better than trying to become slim by willpower. It’s easier to change your eating environment that to change your mind.” And the book is a page-turner (what, you don’t think that’s possible with a book about eating?) there’s humor and anecdotes, my family was making fun of me because I couldn’t put it down.

Some of my favorite lessons were:

• In buffet situations slim dinners scan all the options first, seat themselves as far away from the food as possible and do not face toward the food. Think about this the next time you’re in a cafeteria, food court or holiday (ahem) situation

• It’s probably not ideal to change too many things about your eating at once.  People most successful losing weight focused on a couple of changes but followed through on these at least 25 days a month. 

• Clear counter clutter, all food, except for fruit, should live behind closed doors. The most dangerous counter food? Cold cereal (which is also an LBT break up food).  If you haven’t broken up, you should know that women who have cold cereal visible in their kitchens weight 21 pounds more than those who do not.

• As far as the dinner table the only serving bowl that should strategically stay on the table is the salad bowl. The others should stay on the stove or counter top so access isn’t as easy.

 

• Wansink explains that the size of your dinner plates influence what you eat. The ideal size is 9 to 10 inches (or less). My son and I took a ruler to our plate, 11 inches. That night, we used salad plates for dinner. We had Indian food (my son who measured the plates joked that with a small plate he had much more of a mess) but I noticed there was more food left over.

• When you’re at the supermarket try the “half-cart” rule. Put your purse or jacket at the midline of the cart. One half of the cart should be produce and the other can be dry goods. And another trick, chewing gum short circuits cravings because we can’t imagine the “sensory details of crunchy chips or creamy ice cream.” I’m not a gum fan, wondering if a mint will work as well or if it’s the chewing action?

There are sections on cafeteria eating that I felt applied more to organizations than individuals but I could list a couple dozen other tips I jotted down while reading.

And the best news? Slim by Design has a signed copy of the book for one lucky reader.

To be eligible for the giveaway, by Sunday 11/16

Comment below

Tweet @Foodtrainers has a @slimbydesign #giveaway http://foodtrainers.blogspot.com/2014/11/you-must-read-slim-by-design-and.html

What are your favorite nutrition books? Are you familiar with Mindless eating? Anything except for fruit on your countertop?

Are soup cleanses the new juice cleanses? Giveaway too.

I want to start by saying Carolyn and I love soup. We’ve also been fielding questions about soup cleanses. Nicole Chaszar, the founder of The Splendid Spoon,suggested we meet and taste some of her concoctions but OneSmartBrownie and I had another idea. We wanted to give a full day of “souping” a go. *

Our packages arrived and Carolyn messaged me “they look good”. All of the soups are gluten free and plant based. You receive five soups for the day a mixture of pureed and chunky (chewing=awesome). Always looking at the pros and cons of new regimes I was initially surprised that one soup had steel cut oats, another lentils and one was butternut squash based. As someone who has a fairly low starch, low grain diet this didn’t seem too “cleansy”.

The next morning I woke up ready to go. I scratched my head at whether or not coffee was “kosher” for cleansing but recalled Carolyn’s cleanse mantra “your cleanse, your rules.” I had my typical coffee. Revived and caffeinated I realized I had to transport the still semi-frozen soups to the office. I heated the butternut squash soup first (this seemed the most breakfasty) but also had to heat the mushroom soup. We have no microwave at the office and I’m totally against microwaving in plastic so the logistics of souping if away from home for the day is something to consider. A large ceramic mug  or class container is needed.

The soups are delicious and I was determined to “succeed” as we scheduled our meeting with Nicole/Splendid Spoon mid day. Nicole is a great ambassador for her brand. Every question we had, she had an answer for. The sodium? She will not sacrifice taste and these soups are significantly lower in sodium than other soups. The produce? Nicole prides herself on using local, seasonal ingredients. The calories? Less than 800 in the day (more on that later). The containers are BPA free and the company worked with an RD for this cleanse. Nicole herself will have breakfast and then use the soups throughout the day.

I was headed to my son’s piano lesson but made a quick stop at home for soup #3. I love beets and it hit the spot. It was one of our first chilly days and there was something comforting about the soup but this is when things headed south. It was a little after 3pm and I had a headache. “Starving” I emailed Carolyn to which she replied “I may overdose on saffron pills”.  I peered in my purse and saw one of the new bars we were testing for our store. I closed my purse and tried to listen to the lesson. No luck, I ate the bar without an ounce of guilt.

I know too well that once your blood sugar drops it’s almost impossible to correct it. I know a bunch of things I violated that day.When I got home I knew I had my kale/lentil soup waiting. Lentils have never tasted so good. But I wasn’t done. My boys were enjoying lamb burgers (lava lake, grass fed!) and I was jealous. And so I had one, it was delicious. Carolyn emailed from the office, she was eating nuts and later confirmed “it’s official, over cleanses.”

I debated whether or not to post but decided to go ahead with it. These soups, available on Fresh Direct, are fantastic. I am a protein person, I could see having the soup for a light, veggie dinner or a breakfast (a hot “juice” if you think about it) but I need my “dunch” as I call it. For me (or us) a full day was too much but if you want to give souping a whirl Nicole is giving away one to two cleanses. You can use them as directed or spread them out over a couple of days. Remember- your cleanse your rules.

Have you heard of soup cleanses? Have you tried one? What's your favorite soup? 

To be eligible for the giveaway comment below AND tweet the link to this post and @Foodtrainers has a @SplendidSpoonNY #soup #cleanse #giveaway 

 *Full disclosure Nicole discounted our 1-day soup cleanses.

Winner of Skinny Gut giveaway is Danielle, your book should be on its way to you.  

We're quitting sugar, want to join us?

 

First off, I know how annoying it can be for someone to tell you to quit something. I read an article yesterday and one of the suggestions was “cut out alcohol and caffeine” and I made a face at the screen, a mean face. After all, I’m the person who sees no reason not to have a cup of coffee while on a juice cleanse. Carolyn says “your cleanse your rules.” So when I started hearing about Sarah Wilson’s “I QuitSugar” book I was skeptical. I was skeptical until I read the book. It’s really, really good and gimmick free. I found Sarah's approach similar in many ways to Foodtrainers.

If you read this blog you may know I’m not someone with a raging sweet tooth. So when Sarah wrote,  “I was a sugar addict but didn’t look like one. I hid behind the so-called “healthy sugars” like honey, dark chocolate and fruit” I was surprised, she could’ve been describing me. And bottom line I know sugar finds its way into my diet and I’m curious to see how I feel without it. Plus, from years of having clients undergoing cancer treatment the line “cancer loves sugar” is a scary one to me. It’s not just about weight or mood but long-term health. And I love the idea of focusing on one habit and recently made what I feel are permanent gains in the hydration department.

So we tossed the idea around at the office and we came up with our version of quitting. We’re starting today and continuing through the end of the month (actually until we attend the Fancy Food Show 6/30 where we're professionally obligated to taste).  Here’s a summary of what’s in and out for the next three weeks.

No

• Sweetener in coffee or tea. I realized there’s 8g sugar in a tsp. of the manuka honey I use; I only use a ½ tsp. once a day but still
• Mints- I have these anise mints I keep in my purse, I’m anti gum for reasons beyond sugar but no gum either (keep a toothbrush in your makeup case)
• Dried Fruit- I will miss you those raisins in my Juice Generation kale salad
• Nutrition bars- I usually have a Health Warrior or Zing bar once a week
• Stevia- as we say sweet begets sweet so no stevia and if you’re having yellow, pink or blue packets cut those out forever, not just the 3 weeks
• Pops/Sorbet – so tempting in this weather but so sweet
• Cakes, cookies, muffins or any other baked goods, gluten free or regular they're still sweet
• Dark chocolate- this was a hard one for me to sign onto but if you're going to quit...

Yes

• 1 fruit a day (this is different from what Sarah suggests)
• 1 small coconut water per day (IQS informed me coconut water low in fructose) OR green juice (with 1 fruit) OR kombucha. 
• Alcohol- we agree with Sarah alcohol has its own issues beyond sugar. However, alcohol is low in fructose. IQS suggests says wine, beer and pure spirits are ok. If you’ve read my book you know I think spirits are the way to go (sans mixers).

For the record, Sarah doesn’t recommend you go cold turkey/ cold sugar day 1.  She suggests a little time to assess where sugar is in your diet, to read labels and raise awareness. I have had the book for a couple of weeks and my “sweet-dar” (sugar radar) was heightened. Many gauges for sugar consumption are tossed around I would suggest aiming first for under 25 grams a day and ultimately going below 20 grams (approximately 4 grams is equal to one teaspoon of sugar).

Do you want to join us for these few weeks and give quitting a go? The Foodtrainers team is here for you on the blog, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@Foodtrainers. You know you can #TIDEI (tweet it don't eat it).  I would also suggest you pick up I Quit Sugar (and visit the website) it’s full of facts and encouragement not to mention fantastic recipes. At the start of the post I wrote that it’s not for someone else to tell you to quit something, from IQS “you’re doing this not because you have to, but because it might make you feel better. Please go gently and don’t punish yourself.” I told you this woman gets it.

Do you think about the amount of sugar you eat? How would you describe your relationship with sugar? Have you considered quitting? Read this book? Want to join us for these three weeks?
A couple of notes:

Since Sarah and I  connected, IQS read my book as well and posted some of my tips, they are doing a Little Book of Thin giveaway 

We're doing the same. If you comment here and retweet this post (or regram on Instagram @Foodtrainers) you'll be eligible. Our winner will be selected on Friday, June 13th.