How to Kill Carb and Sweet Cravings

We tend to draw a line between foods we’ll try (anything) and what we’ll suggest to clients and readers. It’s affirming, that we’re headed in a healthier direction, when foods we previously felt were offbeat become mainstream. One such category of foods is fermented vegetables. Consumer Reports, Eating Well Magazine and Foodtrainers’ friend Max Goldberg, of the Living Maxwell blog, all list fermented foods as a trend for 2017.

 If sauerkraut, kimchi and pickles come to mind, you’re on the right track. I realize kimchi isn’t for everyone; there are also carrots, beets and other, slightly more user-friendly, fermented veggies available. As you may know, we’re also partial to shots. I mean, why beat around the bush? Our favorite, fermented food folks at Farmhouse Culture have “gut shots” (see photo). And, just yesterday NYC-based Lulitonix sent us their super shots too.

If being trendy is not a draw (and trust me, food trends are the only trends that interest me), there are still convincing reasons you should have fermented or “ferm”, as we affectionately call them, vegetables in your diet. First, ferm veggies have a staggering probiotic count. One tablespoon has as high a count as many supplements. And if you’re not already obsessed with your microbiome (the state of real estate in your gut), you should be. 

Fermented foods help with mood. The majority of our serotonin is produced in your gut. I got a kick of this study which connects fermented foods to lower social anxiety, specifically “neuroticism”. Fermented foods also play a role in reducing food cravings, specifically for carbs and sugar. They have beneficial effects on your weight via glucose metabolism. Bacteria-free mice were found to have higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol. And higher cortisol leads to weight gain. If mood, cravings and weight aren’t a draw (not sure why you’re reading this blog) it’s worth a reminder that fermented foods help us combat pathogens. They can knock out h pylori, that leads to ulcers, and even eradicate some forms of e coli…yum yum.

There are kits galore if you want to be a home fermenter. I’m less of a DIY-er. Personally, I’d prefer SEDI (someone else do it). As I said above, check out Farmhouse Culture (I’m already babbling but the kraut explosion that occurred, with a package from them, is a sour story for another day).  I mentioned their gut shots but their fermented orange, ginger carrots are delicious too. We also love Bubbies Pickles, Mother in Law's Kimchi and Hawthorne Farm's red cabbage. Look for these foods in the refrigerated section of your health food stores or Whole Foods.We featured ferm veggies as one of our “secret weapons” in our New Year’s Whipping Weeks but we have other ferm friends. Kombucha, kefir and miso are worth checking out. Your goal should be to have 1 “ferm” food daily but when it comes to good bacteria, the more the merrier…or less neurotic. 

Are You Juice-Confused?

I juice and when I’m not juicing I’m spending (too much) money on juices from juice shops or taking pictures of my juices. In this juice-centric universe I live in it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that when most people think juice it’s still apple/orange/cranberry that come to mind. A client asked, “what do you mean when you say green juice” uh oh I assumed (remember the grammar school spelling trick- don't assume  it makes an “ass” out of “u” and “me”). 

Since I'm an ass, I asked Joanna our Snack Queen to morph into a juice queen and answer some questions:

For my client and the others out there who are juice-confused, what is a green juice?

 It is exactly what it sounds, a juice made from greens. In the same way you get orange juice from an orange, green juice is derived from kale, spinach, collard greens, chard, watercress etc.

Ha, I always thought it sounds like a juice that is the color green. Greens are healthy but oftentimes there are other ingredients lurking; some juices are actually chock full of fruit, how do you pick a good one?

To steer clear of sugary green juices, your best bet is to choose a concoction with max ONE fruit per green juice not counting lemon or lime. You said in June’s Allure magazine that green juices can contain 6 teaspoons of sugar and that was shocking to me but sure enough options from Blue Print and Evolution have 19-24 grams of sugar (there are four grams of sugar per teaspoon).

How come people don’t think about organic when it comes to green juice and why is it especially important?  

Because so much produce (up to 6 to 9 cups) is used to make juice, you don’t want to be drinking a glass of pesticides. Some favorite NYC options to go for organic juices are One Lucky Duck, Gingersnaps Organics and Organic Avenue. And a great resource is Living Maxwell’s PressedJuice Directory that lists locations where you can find pressed organic juice all over the world. He also interviewed you about your juicing habit.

We’ve been on lookout for less sweet green juices (especially since we quit sugar our month ends today but still) what would you say are our top 5 less sweet concoctions?

1. One Lucky Duck -Mean Greens 

2. Juice Press- Mother Earth this was the first all-greens juice I really enjoyed, love the dandelion

3. Organic Avenue - Mellow Love  this is Carolyn's favorite.
These two have 1 fruit

4. Juice Generation Supa Dupa Greens- we have made with ½ apple

5. Gingersnap Organics- Go Kick -the pear makes this delicious.

Thanks J, see you at the Fancy Food Show. 

Do you juice? What are your favorite combinations? Any favorite juice shops in your area? 

A great juicing resource

Are you familiar with Max Goldberg or since we're all know by our handles Living Maxwell? If you're passionate about healthy food and juicing he has a  great feature Pressed Organic Juice Directory, he’s curated juicing locations in different states, even in different countries. Max is also a great resource, I follow his tweets and posts as I find he's always manages to locate information I have yet to hear (legitmate information). 

He interviewed me for the Juice Directory. I do a lot of these Q/As and I really felt this was fun and worthy of the repost. Here’s  portion of the piece below, the rest can be found here

Why do you juice?
I’ll admit a couple ulterior motives for juicing others may not have mentioned (or admitted). I juice because it makes me feel nutritionally virtuous – getting so many nutrients into a couple of cups – and I also juice because it helps me successfully use up the farm box.
But juicing energizes me and my workouts, and helps debloat me when necessary. And I swear that any compliments I get on my skin have more to do with juice than topical products (although I love Joanna Vargas’daily serum which she refers to as “green juice for your skin”).

Tell me about your juicing lifestyle?
I was a “smoother” before I was a juicer and still alternate between green smoothies and juices. Although there are some common “players”, I feel juicing is where I’m most creative. With cooking, I’m more of a recipe girl but for juices I feel there’s really no messing up. Either the Vitamix or the juicer get action daily.

Do you have a juicing habit that no one knows about?
Ooh you mean a juice secret (or juicy secret)? Hmmm – pretty much everyone I know or e-know hears about my juices since I Instagram them constantly. If there are ingredients that I find are secret weapons, those would be coconut, fresh herbs and fresh turmeric. My best-kept juice secret, the “bikini greenie”, is in The Little Book of Thin’s pre-beach chapter (rude and annoying to mention and make readers wait, I know).

What is one of your favorite pressed organic juices?
Ooh can I name two? I adore both Jalapina from Organic Avenue and Swan Greens from One Lucky Duck.

How has your juicing evolved over the years?
My juices are less sweet and more interesting, but greens, lemon, and ginger will always be staples. Some things don’t change.

What kind of juicer do you have at home and how often do you make it?
I have a Breville. I know some purists will say this juice gets “heated” but you know what? I love it!

What are the biggest mistakes people make when juicing?
Too much fruit. We don’t need more fruit juice in our lives. I suggest 1 fruit (excluding lemon/lime) per juice.

What are your thoughts on juice cleanses?
I love juice/clean food cleanses like The Squeeze and Not Just a Juice Cleanse from Pure Food and Wine.

What are your best tips for staying healthy when traveling?Arm yourself. We have a Food First Aid Kit that we send clients away with and a Nutcase to bring Foodtraining abroad. There’s a tonic for every travel trap from the minibar to vacation-constipation. I also find seeking out juice shops is a great way to locate the healthy folks in town.
Do you seek out juice when you travel? Do you juice at home? What are your favorite ingredients? What type of juice do you have?