Watch Sandy Candy and Hurricane Weight Gain

Wind? Rain? How about weight gain?

*Please note this was written before Sandy devastated the area, I would never make light of what's happening in our city. 
I would guess that, aside from water, our family could survive for a month with the items in our pantry, fridge and fruit bowl. Obviously, a loss of power would change those calculations. This knowledge didn’t stop me from hitting the grocery store. I felt compelled to get another bunch of bananas, milk (we had a ½ gallon and a spare), eggs, Mast Brothers dark chocolate with sea salt, you know “just in case”.  I was housebound during flooding in New Orleans, back in college, with carrots, tomato paste, ground coffee (not that interesting when there’s no water) and uncooked brown rice. Though I survived, it wasn’t fun. Clearly, I am not alone in my unfounded food panic Westside Rag reported a run on bagels, pasta, turkey burgers and scallions (scallions.. are people smoking them or something?). 

We are not in a low-lying area or “Zone A” so my Hurricane Sandy fear is not the legitimate concern for our home or property. We are not getting evacuated. If we were I’d be attending to all the goes along with that. Instead, I have the luxury of bitching about school being closed, my workday scrapped and hours upon hours housebound and sedentary. The idea of this makes my skin crawl. And compounding this there’s another source of anxiety, what will my cooped up clients be eating?  I want to grab the microphone away from reporters in windbreakers near beaches and scream "everyone knows that beaches during storms are unsafe, what about kitchens?" In the event that you’re inside contemplating cake or Halloween candy, some dietary sandbags:

Plan your food for the day.

It’s easy to use food to pass the time; however, if you’re less active and eat more you will roll your way into Halloween. You see where this is going. Make yourself a menu for the day. Maybe use up some perishable items or cook something healthy. Warning: cookie baking may lead to "storm surge" in unexpected places.

Juice

If you own a juicer, while you still have power, use the veggies you have lying around in a juice. Washing and cutting takes some time (you have plenty) and you’ll be able to start your Sandy day on a healthy note.

Don’t raid the pantry, organize it.

If you’re in the house for the foreseeable future and any of your shelf contents are unappealing, they will always be unappealing. Use the time inside to gather up giveaway items.

Carve

Do you have that pumpkin sitting around uncarved? Carolyn informed me pumpkins were sold out at Whole Foods yesterday so some of you snagged them. Maybe some Sandy-inspired art? While you’re at it, roast the seeds. What else do you have to do?

Dance

I’m the type who needs to move or I’m unpleasant to be around (my husband would likely have a different adjective than"unpleasant"). I don’t know if I’ll have the chance to risk my life to get to Flywheel at the JCC tomorrow (with a bike dangerously located near a window) but I will have a family dance party or we’ll shoot some hoops in my son’s room and I may even use some of the purged cans (hearts of palm that predate my children) for hand weights. Our intern Katelynn plans to embrace elevator-less-ness and she lives on the 19^th floor.

And when all else fails shop

We might not be able to get our Sandy Special to you during the storm but we can at least provide a light at the end of the hurricane.

Let’s have some fun with this.

As always you can #TIDEI (tweet it don’t eat it) if you’re tempted to eat any unnecessary Sandy snacks.

Post on our Facebook page how you’re “working out” during the storm. I welcome creativity but keep it PG rated (do what you want but just don’t tell me about some workouts) 

At the end of the day, Sandy may lead to a lot of devastastation; she doesn’t need to make you fat.

If you went to the grocery store before a storm, what would your essentials include? Why do you think we’re tempted to eat when stuck inside? Any idea about the scallion appeal?

App-etite: Top 5 Healthy Apps

I’m still a Blackberry girl which means my app-titude (I can’t help myself) is minimal. So I asked Carolyn to come up with her picks for the best healthy apps of the bunch.

We know, we know, as if you need another app. But there are so many foodie or health-centric apps out there we decided to put ‘em to the test. Our clients regularly mention the apps that they have tried for weight loss and counting calories. While this might seem like a dream come true for nutritionists, we’re not fans of these apps and often encourage clients to press the delete button.

  

What’s wrong with calorie counting apps?

It’s not a way to live your life. One of the (many) things I love about Foodtrainers is that we rarely talk numbers. Who wants to figure out how many calories were in that splash of half and half while trying to enjoy a cup of coffee? We’re all about being organized when it comes to your food but it’s no fun being (or being around) calorie obsessed people.

So now that we have what we don’t like out of the way, there’s plenty left that we do.

Fooducate: (Free)

Tired of standing in the grocery aisles, comparing labels to figure out which product is healthier? Let this app do it for you. Scan the barcode of Dannon’s Activia Light yogurt, and you get a Fooducate “Grade”  (B) with a list of pros and cons, and a list of “healthier alternatives”. While there is some work to be done (GG Brancrisps got a B+ while Wheat Thins have a B, and the several duplicates of food items), once it works out the kinks this app will be a grocery go-to (just like Market Melissa).

Monterrey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch (Free)

Fish farming, mercury content, endangered… Can you eat any fish without it weighing on your conscience? With this app, finally yes. Enter the name of the fish you’re about to order and find out the facts. Is it labeled green (go for it) yellow (okay alternative) or red (avoid)? It doesn’t get simpler than that. And there’s a new “Project Fish Map” where you can find and add on to the list of restaurants that use sustainable fishies in your area.

Harvest ($1.99)

This app is a savior for produce shopping. Did you know skin color of grapefruit doesn’t mean a damn thing when it comes to ripeness? Or that a watermelon should make a hollow sound when you knock on it?  Yeah, you’ll be the weirdo knocking on melons but your taste buds will thank you. Harvest gives info on when those kumquats are in season, tips for selecting the cream of the crop, and a scale of pesticide residue.

How To Cook Everything ($4.99)

With a price (and a name) like that, Mark Bittman’s app has a lot to live up to. It includes 2,000 recipes plus tons of variations, a grocery list, built in timer, and 400 how-to illustrations. If you’re anything like me and get totally overwhelmed by Facebook and twitterverse, exploring thousands of recipes plus their variations when you just want dinner sounds like hell. But this is surprisingly basic and user-friendly – it’s full of great lists like “11 ways to Jazz up Simply Cooked Vegetables” to get your stomach growling.  Bottom line: it’s the only recipe app you will ever need. Consider it an investment.

Couch to 5K ($2.99)

Now couch potatoes really have no excuses. I’ve had numerous friends and clients tell me about this cool app/program. “C25K” gets users off the couch to running a 5k over the course of two months. It has a really high success rate and great reviews because of its slow but structured style. Now just have to figure out how to casually and inoffensively recommend it to your loved ones...

For the kids:

Fruit Ninja $0.99

Ok this isn’t only for kids… Who knew destroying fruit could be so much fun? 
What are your favorite healthy apps? What are your favorite apps in general? What do you think a Foodtrainers' app should/would include? 

Market Melissa

Melissa O'Shea (aka Market Melissa) and I have developed an off-shoot of Foodtrainers called Market Foodtraining. Melissa guides small groups of participants through various NYC markets offering her expertise on organics, ingredients and more. I had a few questions for Melissa  and she will offer weekly tips, so check back with us!
Lauren: You’ve been touring around groups for your market foodtraining tours, what do people have the most questions about?

Melissa: What foods to buy organic is always a question I get and also how to work organics into their budget. On the tours, I give participants the organic do’s and don’ts. For example, DO buy the in-store organic brand, this can shave 20% off your grocery bill.

Lauren What’s exciting that’s in season now?

Melissa: I feel like in summer we all go crazy for the delicious variety of fruits in season, but in the fall some of my favorite veggies are in season. I am making soups and chili with butternut squash, pumpkin and kale and love roasted sweet potato fries. These ingredients make the chilly weather not seem so bad.

Lauren: You’re always tweeting (@marketmelissa) about ingredients and food-shopping, any tidbit you’d like to share?

Melissa: Oh there are so many to share! A recent one I found was that the average carrot travels 1,800 miles to your dinner table. We grow carrots in NY! It seems silly when we can get them from a farm that is less than 100 miles away.

Lauren: I love when you say “these jarred tomato sauces are great, I can’t use jarred ones, I have an Italian husband.” For those of us who don’t, what is your advice for making things from scratch?

Melissa: Oh I still remember the look on my husband’s face the first night I made pasta with jarred tomato sauce. What does an Irish girl know!? While I admit I was intimidated at first, it isn’t as hard as it seems. My husband’s grandmother says “if you have good ingredients, you can’t go wrong.” And she’s right, I now make all own soups and salad dressings…I’ve come a long way.

Lauren: Any favorite new product/discovery?

Melissa: I’m usually not a huge fan of cottage cheese, but I have to say Rachel’s (http://rachelsdairy.com) now makes ones that come in flavors like cucumber dill and pear mangosteen…yum!

Lauren: What’s new in market foodtraining?

Melissa: In September and October we were doing a lot of ‘back to school’ tours with parents on what’s to pack in school lunches and easy weeknight dinners. As we transition to winter, we are going to focus on flu-fighting foods, as well as comfort foods made healthy and winter produce. I am always looking to keep the tours fresh and exciting. Blog readers, come check them out!