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.  

Carrots and Beets, Have One and Skip the Other.

It’s no secret that I love to juice. I understand green juices aren’t for everyone and  there’s so many things to juice that aren't green. A recent study showed beet juice to be an excellent exercise aid. Cyclists who swigged beet juice (2 cups) before workouts were able to cycle 16% longer.  Beets are high in nitrates which increase nitric oxide relaxing blood vessels and improving blood flow. Another study in Hypertension, based on this same effect, showed beet juice lowered blood pressure.  If you’re thinking nitrates sound familiar, you’re right. Added, inorganic nitrites (hotdogs, cured meats) can react with compounds in protein called amines and produce carcinogenic compounds. Naturally occurring nitrites in beets and also radishes do not react in the manner and are in fact good for your heart and exercise. Beet juice is intense, I like to juice beets, cucumber, celery and ginger.

And now for the “bad”, not to worry I’m not one of those people who think carrots have too much sugar and therefore should be expelled from the vegetable bin, puleez. I do have a carrot issue and that’s with these

These don’t exist in nature. Baby carrots have greens attached to their tops, they’re not these uniform nubs which are actually “baby-cut” carrots. They’re large carrots that have been peeled, cut and washed in a chlorine solution (of course claimed to be safe) and then packaged. If it’s been a while peel an “adult” carrot, cut it up and do a taste test. You’ll never eat babies again.
Have to tried beet juice? Any foods you swear by for energy? And adult or baby-cut carrots, what do you prefer?

Foodtrainers Find: 4 Current Obsessions

As most of you know, we shouldn’t be eating too many processed or packaged foods. Most packaged foods are higher in salt or sugar or simply aren’t as healthy as fresh food sans package. For that reason, few items are listed here as Foodtrainers’ finds. Well every rule has its exception; I have 4 finds to report. Each of these comes in a package but none are heavily processed (I haven’t lost my mind just yet).

Tonnino Jalapeno tuna

 I have written before about Zoe brand tuna in a jar. I was actually purchasing Zoe when I came across Tonnino. Tonnino is delicious tuna with Jalapenos. As a person who adds hot sauce to her salads, this omitted one step from my routine. I would suggest half the jar over greens for a meal. I will warn you that you may, if you are like me, eat the other half straight out of the jar.





Melissa’s Baby Beets

I’m really starting to repeat myself as I’ve written about beets before too. I previously used the Roncal packaged peeled and pre-cooked beets from France. I was thrilled when I discovered Melissa’s makes them as well. These are a staple on my Fresh Direct orders and available on Melissa’s website if you are outside the NY area. Simply cut the bag open and add to salads or chop them up in grain dishes or pilafs.

Monterrey Artichokes

My friend Keri mentioned these to me when we were at the ADA conference back in October. I was at Whole Foods Market on Sunday and spotted them, purchased them and sort of forgot about them. When I arrived home Tuesday, I was on a snack search. There was hummus and of course every type of nut…there were also these artichokes. I poured the pack into a ramekin and devoured them. Minutes later I had that post-artichoke sweetness in my mouth. I could see these in egg dishes or combined with Melissa’s Beets.

Zing Bar Chocolate Coconut

There aren’t many bars I recommend to clients. Personally I am happy with dates or figs most of the time. We have Kookie Karmas and Zings in the office. I have the holistic chocolate chip kookie a couple times a month. I save the bars for when I am on the go. This may change. Yesterday, I tried the new chocolate coconut flavor Zing bar. Oh my. I feel the world is divided into coconut lovers and haters. I am a lover and I am in love. These bars are also wheat free, dairy free and soy free (as I try to be).

Let me know what you think when you try these. My obsessions may not be your obsessions but I have a sense these are keepers.

What are your current food obsessions? Any recent food finds?