Is it time for a tequila, rosé or chip intervention?

Clearly not my stash, no Summer Water or Miraval, also enjoy the cans (portion control)!

On Sunday nights, I remind our Foodstalking clients they signed up for the week ahead. If you have no idea what I’m referring to, Foodstalking is our e-nutrition program. For a week, we send a tip to participants in the morning and they send a complete food log to us at night. It’s a great way to tighten things up with added accountability. Typically, clients say “yup” or “got it” when I send the reminder. Last night it was, “I really need this” or “I’m looking forward to structure” across the board.

Whether your “thing” is chips or dessert or wine or portions, summer eating is tricky. Summer can be more social and there are many seasonal temptations. Here are a few tips if you’re looking to tighten things (or yourself) up:

 Pop a probiotic: sugar, carbs and wine wreak havoc on your intestinal flora. Why does that matter? Well that flora is sort of like a control tower for your body. One of the things it controls is cravings. 

I like this one.

Build momentum on Monday. If summer weekends are indulgent, make Monday matter. Skip booze and carbs to start the week.

Sprinkle cinnamon. Sugar cravings are caused, in part, by yeasts in your body (candida) that feed on sugar.  When no sugar is present they signal brain for more. Cinnamon wipes away these evil yeasts. Cinnamon also keeps you fuller longer. Put 1/4 to 1/2  teaspoon cinnamon in your morning coffee or smoothie.  This is the best type of cinnamon.

Lavish fats- as you’re working on decreasing carbs, sugar or wine consciously increase good fats in your diet. Coconut oil (despite recent brouhaha), avocado, chia seeds, olive oil and walnuts are some Foodtrainers’ favorites.

Give fruit a friend- summer fruits are tricky too. I’m pro fruit but, for now, try not to eat fruit on its own. Fruit and nuts, fruit and cheese, fruit as part of breakfast fine (once a day).

I know summer is about kicking back and relaxing and that’s all good. I just want you to feel your best and be without rose’ regrets come September. Fair?

Tell me how your summer eating has been, what’s your biggest challenge? Any questions or topics you’d like me to cover?

What this Foodtrainer Eats on a Travel Day

Lauren and I have the travel bug in a major way; we are both Semester at Sea alums and plan our lives around our next trip. She’s off to Nicaragua; I’m Moab and Amalfi coast. But first we have a quickie work trip to California this weekend (Expo West, anyone?). Quick trips can actually wreck you more than long ones. There’s little time to recalibrate or workout but there are still restaurant meals -- ok and drinks too. We all can all fall victim to “plane pounds” if not careful.

So here is a sample day or a “walk through” for my travel day tomorrow:

Night before

I’ll pack my Foodtrainers’ Food First Aid Kit. I never go away without it. Contents vary but I always have our nutcase and nuts (current love: Organic Living cinnamon pecans), 1 snack per day away (I’m thinking Yes Bars) probiotics, tea, cocochia, natural calm and green magic.

En route to airport

Water spiked with with apple cider vinegar + coffee, coffee, coffee.

Pre flight fuel: 

2 hard-boiled omega-3 eggs (Lauren will likely force hot sauce packets on me)

Water and we’ll pop our probiotic

Pre-flight shots- green elixir

Beverage cart upgrade

I ask for hot water and lemon and add Wakaya ginger

Plane snack  

I'll grab a Greek yogurt once through security (I’ve even spied my beloved 2% coconut Siggi’s in many airports) and pair with a packet of cocochia

More water and tea, probably a green tea this time

Travel-avo: 

Lauren has taught me the magic of the travel-avocado. If needed we’ll cut it in half; it’s the best snack on the planet (or at least on the plane).

Post flight bite

Gargantuan Greens

We’ll be on the hunt for a great salad, ideally a spinach salad (vitamin B6 is a VIP for trim travel) with salmon or tuna.

Afternoon Ammunition: 

Kombucha or green juice (1 fruit max) + nutcase.

We are hoping to hit up Moon Juice and the Bulletproof mecca, so afternoon snack is up for edits. (but trust me, we don’t skip snacks).

Early Bird Dinner 

Cocktail (ok maybe 2), poke or tartare/sashimi and we’ll likely go for cooked veg, if I’m dreaming there will be asparagus action.

Sleep Secret Weapon

Natural calm and BED! 7+ hours so we don’t get those “munchieZZZ”

IF you’re traveling any time soon, check out our latest newsletter and pick up our beach bundle but 3/10 (today) is the last day orders will go out until 3/21. 

What’s your typical travel routine?  Any travel trouble or potential "plane pounds"?

What Lianna Sugarman, founder of Lulitonix, does everyday

 I’m going to start hump day with an apology. Yesterday our newsletter featured the daily rituals of top fitness and food experts. Sounds good, right? I think it was except somehow my friend Lianna Sugarman became Leanna Silverman. Even pre-caffeinated Foodtrainers know better than that. Lianna is the founder and  CBO “Chief Blending Officer” at Lulitonix and is always experimenting with cutting edge ingredients and flavors. We asked her a few questions:

What is your #1 daily ritual?

While there are a million rituals for life that I really love, and that I mean to implement every day [At Foodtrainers, we call these “wish-uals”] truly the only one I do EVERY day, and the only non-negotiable, is to make and drink a big, huge, green blend with avocado.

How does this affect the rest of your day?

Whatever else I do, eat, drink, or think, whether I sleep or not, am happy or sad, whether I oil pull, spin, meditate (ha!) or just sit on my butt working in front of my computer, the daily custom blend, the perfect mix of greens, avocado, and lemon and water, creates that incredibly necessary sense of grounding, energy, harmony, clarity and balance.

OK, I definitely want all that you describe (harmony please!), any tips for blending at home?

For me, nutrition is about more than staying physically healthy or fit. What I take in impacts my mind and my emotions; I feel like I get to play at being a wizard every day. I’m very interested in both Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese medicine and often use aspects of those constructs to make myself the perfect blend of the day. I base this on what is going on with my emotional landscape.

Anger and stress- these are stored in the liver. If that’s what you feel add a handful of dandelion leaves and some turmeric, liver boosts.

Sadness or grief – are stored in the lungs and the large intestine, so if that’s on the emotional horizon, opt for foods that nourish those organs, spicy blends with avocado, daikon radish or garlic.

What do you suggest for “blending” when you travel?

Even when I travel, I bring green powder, some adaptogens and a nutribullet. You can generally find avocados most places that I go (ahem, Mexico!), and I blend myself a little substitute blend. I walk around with my mason jar on the beach like a crazy person. People probably laugh, but we've all been laughed at for worse, right?"

Um totally but I now know why we are friends, by the way I’d steal your mason jar versus laugh but you know that. Maybe we’ll organize a healthy retreat if you’ll forgive us for botching your name. Thank you LIANNA

Do you have any questions about blending we can ask Lianna? Have you tried Lulitonix? What’s the craziest gadget or food you’ve traveled with? 

There's something about mayo

 I love mayo. I love tuna salad and egg salad and of course lobster salad (but even borderline mayo folks like lobster salad). I know there are people who shun anything creamy or mushy  but I say 'bring it". Mayo is one of those foods I feel I shouldn’t love as much as I do but I can't help it.  Of course we have Hellman’s “real” mayo in our fridge but I can’t completely ignore mayo’s truth.  It contains EDTA (pretty much poison), soybean oil- soy is sort of GMO’s mvp and don’t get me started on Unileaver who owns Hellman’s.  Oy, not so "real" after all.

So I’ve found a mayo substitute I really like (and usually I don’t like any sort of food substitute) Avocado Mayo (avocado oil, eggs, vinegar and salt). One of my favorite easy lunches is 2 hard-boiled eggs (I make these 6 at a time and usually have on hand) mashed with avocado mayo over greens. In this photo I used my boys’ fave pea shoots. The egg salad is satisfying and feels a little indulgent. And this is a mayo that’s ok to love.
Are you a closet (or open) mayo fan? Have you tried Avocado Mayo? What are your favorite, easy lunches?

Eat these foods to keep eating in check Memorial Day weekend

Me/laptop and bulletin board (why crop)

 Thank goodness there’s a shift away from tiresome calorie counting. If you counted the calories in your breakfast, step away from My Fitness Pal. it’s not a real pal. Instead, think about the quality of your food. What your food to do for you (as always it’s all about you). Do you need more energy? Maybe some “GI” assistance, I discussed a reliable remedy for that in Tuesday. Or are you hungry all the time? Do you you overeat? Often want something more after a meal?  I hear you.

Last week, I sat down with CBS at the beautiful, new Madison Square location for Dig Inn. The topic? Foods that cut your cravings, at Foodtrainers we dubbed these foods Full Foods.

Here are five foods to keep you satisfied longer:

1. Yogurt- yogurt is a fermented or probiotic food. Greek yogurt or Siggi’s Skyr is also higher in protein. Fermented foods improve appetite signals to the brain (shortens that lag between eating and realizing you ate) and protein at breakfast results in eating less later in the day.
2. Raspberries- every food group has a hierarchy. For fullness, raspberries are on top. They are the highest fiber fruit, 8 grams per cup, and they’re also in season (if you’ve read Little Book of Thin you know that I warn about overfruiting so stick to that cup of raspberries). And I’m not lying when I say some (favorite) clients reported rereading LBT as a refresher. Swear. Try it while you eat your raspberries.
3. Avocado- full disclosure the avocado people are involved in these avo-studies I reference but I don’t care. Half an avocado at lunch reduces snacking later in the day and makes lunch worthwhile. So long snack monster. And potassium in avocados is a “delicious debloater”. Pack avocados in your overnight bag, snap a photo if you do. 
4. Eggs- eggs may be the numero uno Full Food even though I’m listing it forth for no reason. Eggs decrease ghrelin (horrible hunger hormone, I always envision Little Shop of Horrors “feed me Seymour feed me all night long”). Boil half a dozen eggs and use them on salads or as snacks.
5. Beans- I said during filming no bean jokes. If you’re worried about “beaniness” at the beach stick to mung beans- the gas free bean. After eating beany meals people reported they were 30% more satisfied than similarly composed bean free entrees. Not legume-inclined? Try these bean pastas I mention in the segment.

Have a great weekend. No need to be hangry (or gorging), got it?

What are your “Full Foods” that satisfy you most? Are these five a part of your diet? Do you calorie count?

Top 10 Savory Breakfasts

Why is breakfast a sugar fest? Even if you’re not eating cold cereal and pancakes what you’re having is most likely a desserty start to the day. Whether you’ve quit sugar with us for June or you’re just becoming more sugar conscious breakfast can be a challenge. I’ve suggested dinner forbreakfast before, but here are some of our favorites from the past couple of weeks.

Eggs- My son and I rush to the farmer’s market on Sunday morning to buy eggs before they sell out. There’s a huge difference in taste between these eggs and supermarket eggs so that would be my first suggestion.

1. Try eggs scrambled in coconut oil (virgin if you like a coconut taste, refined if not). Sprinkle with a little hot sauce and voila.
2. Green Eggs- in LBT I have our Green Eggs or muffin frittatas (see below)
3. Be a Poacher- I'm currently conquering something I hadn’t been able to without a microwave and that’s egg poaching thanks to this there are many versions be sure what you purchase is BPA free.
   
4. Paleo bread, without gluten the only bread I eat is this Paleo Bread from Food Matters- I’ve been topping it with coconut butter or avocado and Malden sea salt.
5. For a little “tartine” try our Orgran quinoa crackers with and wild smoked salmon and Greek cream cheese
6. Plain, unsweetened yogurt isn’t for everyone. I’ve been using Siggi’s plain and topping it with cinnamon or cardamom. Almond and coffee extract have been useful too.
7. Sohha Savory Yogurt- Carolyn discovered this savory yogurt and if you can get your hands on it do so. I think we’re going to see more yogurt along these lines.
   
8. If you're yogurted out try Nancy’s Cottage Cheese- this organic cottage cheese contains probiotics. Probiotics can improve mood, digestion and immunity. Probiotics also impart a little tang that I like but may come as a little surprise.
9. Miso soup- if you were in Japan you’d have this for breakfast (or part of breakfast). It’s a fermented food, in my opinion it's the best soy to eat. My two favorite brands are South River and Miso Master. I would skip the tofu and instead use sea vegetables or mushrooms. Click the South River link for an easy recipe.
10. Savory smoothie- OK so smoothies were a little sad when we first started this no sugar experiment. I don’t even need my smoothie super sweet but super bland was another story. I'm pleased to say I discovered the secret. Blend 1/2 avocado or 2Tbs unsweetened almond butter (or other nut or seed butter), 1/4 cup almond or coconut milk (yup unsweetened), 1Tbs protein powder (love my Green Dream), you can add greens or spiralina and then throw in a handful of ice. And drumroll….the key to smoothies that aren’t sweet and pretty much all of these breakfasts is salt. Add a nice pinch of Himalayan salt. You will not miss the sugar.

I’ve used lavender salt, truffle salt and Malden salt this week so a salty shoutout.

What do you usually have for breakfast? Have you thought about the sugar in your breakfast or your children’s breakfast (a whole other story)? Why do you think breakfast here is super sweet?

From The Little Book of Thin
Green Eggs 
Makes 4 Servings

1 cup sautéed or steamed kale (or other leftover vegetables though if not green, change title)
4 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp chili powder
Black pepper to taste.
Preheat over to 350 degrees. Spray four cups in a standard-sized muffin pan with Spectrum cooking spray. Divide the kale between the 4 cups.
In a small bowl whisk together eggs, salt, paprika, chili powder and pepper. Pour eggs evenly over the kale in the muffin cups. Bake until just set, 15 to 20 minutes. Let the frittatas cool in the pan for 5 minutes then gently remove.