In order to be beautiful cease all efforts to improve yourself

I am not writing about Gwyneth again but this story starts with her. Simon Doonan (perhaps you’ll recall his hilarious book Gay Men Don’t Get Fat) took issue with People calling Gwyneth the most beautiful woman in the world or “MBWITW” and it’s not because he doesn’t think she’s beautiful. Rather, Doonan suggests, via Slate,  that efforts to improve your looks actually detract from beauty.

Her strenuous efforts to achieve perfection—thrashing around a gym morning noon and night with Tracy Anderson and eating nothing but plankton and kale juice—leave us all shrieking, “What would she look like if you took away her battery of Pilates gurus and aura cleansers?

I’ll answer Doonan’s question, she’d still look great. Or let’s ask Doonan how he’d look without a shower, haircut or the great looks he puts together for Barney’s. Perhaps when women discuss their regimes, something I applaud, it takes away from the mystique but even if it doesn’t involve kale or exercise, most women have beauty rituals. Even Liz Taylor and Catherine Deneuve who Doonan feel were worthy of MBWITH status didn’t roll out of bed looking like that, please.

I’d argue that in order to be crowned the most beautiful woman in the world, you should be living your life full-throttle rather than tormenting yourself with some deranged, ascetic self-maintenance regimen. Non?

Part of me can see where Doonan is going with this. There is nothing more beautiful that someone, seemingly carefree, enjoying their life. However, why is it assumed that exercise involves torment? Personally, I feel more deranged when I’m off my “regimen” than on it. Is Doonan talking about his image of an ideal woman? It doesn’t seem he’s talking about real women, that’s for sure.

And Doonan doesn’t stop, for someone who feels beauty should be effortless, he sure has a lot of prerequisites. After fashion week he remarked:

But the most beautiful woman in the world should also have a cheeky demeanor and a decent rack. Sadly, these two attributes were in short supply.

The Slate article closes with Doonan’s request for entries into his MBWITW contest. I wish I was capable of illustration because the woman Doonan describes is a cartoon character with a rack and a smile, living her life full throttle. She’s not just beautiful but “the most beautiful” and achieving this status is effortless. She’s accepting the “pat on the head” and “goody bag” Doonan is offering as MBWITW.  I don’t know about you but all of this makes me want to go out for a run and if that makes me ugly and ascetic- awesome.

What do you think makes a woman beautiful? Why do you think exercise and food regimes, to the uninitiated, seem torturous? Do you think most women, even if they don't discuss it, have beauty or food systems?

Expo East: 5 of our Favorite Finds

I haven’t been down to Natural Products Expo East in a couple of years. My general rule with food expos is to talk but not taste. I learned early on as an RD if you take a taste, bite or sample size of many, many different items digestive distress ensues. So what did I do when confronted with hundreds of booths to sort through and see? I tasted everything in sight. I could blame this on the brevity of my trip (I only had a few hours in Baltimore) or the enthusiasm of our Snack Queen Joanna Li, at her first expo, who decided it was her “dream day” before we entered the convention hall or but I will fess up- I was in the mood to taste test.

From jerky to juice, smoothies to soup we sipped (and here and there spit out), crunched and

conversed with company reps. Here are some favorites.

Kimchi chips- I’ve written about Food Should Taste Good before. In fact, when we stopped by their booth I wasn’t paying that much attention thinking been there, snacked on that until I saw these Kimchi chips. These aren’t any wallflower, run of the mill snacks; they’re one of the most memorable spicy, vinegary bites I had all day.

I’m an admitted smoothiehaulic and coffee addict and it seems I’m not alone in my dual dependencies. Enter AmazingMeal Café Mocha. I know, I know coffee, greens and hemp protein don’t sound like anything you’d seek out but this was really good. We sampled it mixed with rice milk, I can’t wait to introduce it to the Vitamix, some ice, maybe even a little more cacao. Each packet or serving has 10 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber delicious.

Iced tea is usually either laced with sugar (or nastier substitutes) or bland and boring. These iced teas from Ayalas are unsweetened and delicious. And as with their herbal waters the flavors are interesting too. I went for nutmeg, cacao, cardamom while Joanna enjoyed the cinnamon rose rooibos (rooibos tea is fantastic for your skin).

Popcorn and coconut oil figured prominently at the expo this year. Joanna beelined it for BoomChickaPop, I fell in love with Ziggy Marley’s flavored coconut oils.  Seems the Marley family had some hemp seeds lying around. I’ve seen their seeds sold (great packaging) for some time but curry and orange, almond infused oils? Cinnamon Orange Almond Popcorn? Coco’mon it is.

As we rounded the corner of the last row of booths, my stomach was rumbling. I think it was a tiny spoon of ghee that didn’t sit well. I was done. And then we saw an adorable booth with a bubbly girl telling us about her juice company that launched that day. I have green juices everywhere and only tasted it because I thought perhaps it would settle my stomach?  So I took a sample sip of her “Duke of Kale” juice, Joanna did too.  We looked at each other nodding, this wasn’t a dirty, too-green juice or a fruit fest. It was refreshing and interesting (I recall dandelion greens). The company is so new that I cannot even verify the other ingredients. Look for Love Sam juices at stores near you.  I will be can’t say the same about that ghee.

Have you tried any of these products? Which sound interesting? How do you do with situations where there are lots of different types of food?

It’s OK to talk to your daughter (and son) about weight

Over the summer a blog post “How to Talk to Your Daughter About Her Body” made its rounds on Facebook. Many friends posted it, others reposted or commented, “this is great” or  “loved this”. I understand it was a very sweet message encouraging parents to have their daughters climb mountains, embrace teamwork and cook with 6 sticks of butter. But the advice for talking to your daughter about her body came down to this “don’t talk to your daughter about her body except to teach her how it works.”

Hmn, this is actually good advice for very young girls. When I speak in preschools and Kindergartens children embrace how their bodies’ function- what helps to heal boo boos and what’s good for the sniffles. Sadly, children (girls and boys) leave the cocoon of boo boos and rainbows and receive messaging about their bodies. At a certain point, saying nothing or as the author advises telling your daughter she looks “healthy” or “strong” isn’t going to cut it. And there’s more, I often hear from mothers who say, “she gained some weight but I don’t want to say anything”.  And you know what? The adolescent or teen tells me “my mother thinks I’m fat.” So much for silence.

Talk less, listen more

It’s difficult to give blanket advice regarding children and weight. I recall a meeting at my older son’s school. It was the summer before many children went off to sleep away camp. I was advised to “have the sex talk with your son before he hears it from his peers”. I bought the suggested books, psyched myself up and started reading with him. Two pages in he said “mom, is it ok if I play basketball now?” He wasn’t ready. Trust your instincts. I find a great way to glean information is to ask, “what are your friends saying about” (fill in the blank). This is a way to take a pulse. “Are any of the girls talking about clothes?” “Do boys comment about who is good at sports.” “Do you agree?” You don’t have to say much.

Car rides a great place for these conversations. There are no distractions, it doesn’t feel forced like the dinner table (a terrible place for weight-talk) and if your children are young and in the backseat, they aren’t looking at you. “Do kids say anything about who’s taller or shorter or heavier or thinner?” “Do your friends focus on healthy eating”? Starting with easy to answer questions paves the way for more touchy subjects. Sometimes, you don’t even need to “go there” your children will if they want to talk about something.

Use the D word

I am a fan of realistic advice when it comes to both nutrition and parenting. I know there are parents who don’t curse in front of their children or don’t let them watch the news. Perhaps these same parents nodded along when they read the bloggers (credentials?) advice to avoid the “D” word (that would be diet) and to tell your children that their thick thighs are good for running marathons.

In my NYC office, parents are so scared about “creating eating disorders” that they fail to have important conversations. Tell your children what a diet is, whether it’s a “nut free” diet they may be familiar with from allergic friends or the silly diet someone on a tabloid may have been rumored to try. Show them images before and after airbrushing so they know that most of us, even models and celebrities, have parts that aren’t perfect. And if you’re concerned with eating disorders, shift your concern to connecting with your child. How are they doing socially, academically? In my younger son’s fourth grade class they interviewed each other “what are you scared of?” was one of the questions. Knowing the answer to this is way more valuable than any nutrition facts panel or calorie concerns.

Make Family Style Adjustments

In many families children lie on opposite ends of the weight spectrum. One mom told me she had a “bipolar pantry” with items for her super skinny son on one shelf and others for her newly pudgy pubescent daughter. While we shared a laugh and I understood the mom’s intentions, we need unified family rules. Less sugar, more greens, slower eating and better hydration, to name a few, should be goals for everyone.

None of this is easy. We can dumb it down all we want but kids are smart. They live in the same world we do. As parents or teachers or mentors, let’s guide them with honesty and information rather than glossing it all over.

Have you talked to your children about weight? How have you approached topics of body image, weight and the media? Do you think it's a taboo subject?

The Top 10 Things We Learned in Sun Valley

This past weekend Carolyn and I took Foodtrainers on the road and headed to Sun Valley, Idaho for their Harvest Festival. It was a fantastic event in a beautiful location. Here are some of our favorite foods and facts from the weekend.

We learned from fellow food trend panelist and author of Cooking Up A Business (Rachel Hofstetter) that you need to hear about something from three different sources to consider it a food trend.

We learned that LA folks were right Intelligentsia coffee is pretty great

We adored Velocio coffee, coffee bar by day, wine bar by night), a cool concept. And don’t even get us started on Noosa Aussie Yogurts.

We learned about the next great sushi roll: smoked trout and mustard at Ketchum’s 2nd Ave sushi. This may be the new “Philly” roll especially with Sun Valley mustard. 

We learned that we like molecular gastronomy done right  (definitely hadn’t had it right before) and the magic of liquid nitrogen. We enjoyed Intermezzo of lemon basil sorbet, would’ve love more if hadn’t been the palate cleanser after foie gras (not our thing...) For a taste of lemon-basilyness try this “Giadaesque” smoothie 

We learned that if something doesn’t exist on the market, you can produce it yourself. Allison Evanow saw a need for organic spirits and started Square 1 organic vodka

Her cucumber, basil and botanical flavors tasted pretty good at the Martini and caviar party at 8000 feet in the fabulous Roadhouse restaurant. We loved the pour your own shot bar, no mixers required.

 

Butternut Squash and caviar mini tacos

We heard from an adorable woman who was saddened she didn't bring her Vitamix with the recent SV fires. The Vitamixers mom is 97 and healthy as ever, juicing and smoothing her whole life way before the trend

That hemp can be used to make hollandaise sauce, thank you Glo café

And that fab couple Mike and Autumn from Manitoba Harvest? Love them.

We learned it's best not to wing it mapless when you start a hike

But if you do, wear your Fitbit (20,000 steps = x miles?) and bring a camelback

We learned an arnica massage and a Bowl of Soul (coffee, spice and chocolate) “no whip” from Java coffee hits the spot after.

We learned of the Restaurant Walk concept as the new pub-crawl. We hit 18 restaurants for their offering of the day: goat cheese and watermelon skewers and organic grilled quail (in photo Carolyn is showing her quail fear) were highlights. Two other facts: you should always seize the opportunity to sit in back of a flatbed and it’s ok to be pill poppers: Digestive Enzymes and Zyflamend when needed.

So we learned a lot and enjoyed ourselves but would love to hear from you

What do you see as the next food trends? What are you hearing about? 
The winners from last week's giveaways are:
Ginny Bakes Cookies- Nina
Heath Warrior Chia Bars- Amber
Veggie Gos-Emaliah
Thank you for entering everyone.

Are you like RFK?

So tempted to put a subtitle but you have an idea what I'd say

As much as I love new foods and nutrition information, we can’t lose sight of the basics. I am always going to be a fan of proper hydration, vegetables and food journaling. My clients who keep their food journals (aka as food diaries or food bibles) get better results. In an effort to emphasize the positive side of losing weight or changing behaviors, I have some clients keep a “Victory List”.  This list enumerates successful choices in the course of a day “resisted the cookie plate” or “packed lunch for the office”. 

A couple of weeks ago, I was reading the highbrow NY Post. The headline spoke of a sex diary RFK kept. RFK was a serial adulterer and though exact reasons aren’t known his wife took her life last year. At first, I was sickened to read of his conquests with 37 women interspersed with details about his wife and 4 children. Then I noticed a few things. RFK used the word “victory” on the days he resisted the urge to philander. He describes his exploits as his “biggest defect” and was actually content when he is imprisoned (for protesting) because there were no women around him. All of a sudden I was sympathetic. I relate to this; in some ways this is oddly similar to what I hear day in and day out in my office.

Sure, eating a cronut is different from eating…moving on. In most cases, emotional eating, binge eating or simply overeating does not devastate those closest to us. And yet food- resisting food and managing food is an overwhelming struggle for many people. RFK accounted for his affairs with a 1-10 scale. So 10 indicated having sex, I have no idea what that makes a 3. This has a striking resemblance to the minutes of cardio or “b” for binge my clients use.  If you think about it, we also describe “cheating” on our diets (though I don’t love that term when it comes to food).

We each have our defects. While I judged away reading about RFK’s, I never judge my clients. When they stray, I try to redirect them. I would do the same for a friend or family member who struggled with drinking (as Mary Kennedy did), drugs, gambling or any other dependency. Then why, if I envision finding a racy journal like this from Marc do I know I’d go apeshit (going apeshit may be my biggest flaw)?

Do you think sex and food are similar “defects”?  If not, why do we view them differently? Do you keep a journal or food journal? And what is your biggest defect?
Update: the winner of the Quinn popcorn giveaway is Elyse and the winner of the Manitoba hemp giveaway is Jordan, congratulations.

Turns out, the best things in life are free (today anyway)

On Monday we sent out our September “Foodtrainers Fall Finds” newsletter. We only send one update a month and so it is always chock full of information. That’s the good news; the bad news is that while some readers order goodies from us or head to the market, others get angry. We start to field questions “where do I find this product in Plano?” Or the truly testy “you mention these great things and then I cannot find them.” Well that’s not my intention. I don’t like to be the mean girl showing off my super duper gluten free cookies when you can’t have them. I don’t. I want you to have the goodies too. And guess what? It’s giveaway day (actually giveaway week Monday we had hemp goodies and Quinn Popcorn). These great companies wanted to share their healthy goodness.

Ginny Bakes

Once upon a time I was a Samoa girl. While I no longer eat Girl Scout Cookies because they’re full of gluten (among other things), I loved the coconuty taste and texture.  I had sort of forgotten about my Samoa soft spot until I sampled Ginnys. Coconut Oatmeal Bliss. Fortunately, unlike Girl Scout cookies, Ginny makes single serving packs. Ginny, the mother of 4 boys, has a whole amazing line of organic, gluten free goodness. And they’re giving a lucky reader a Ginny Bakes basket.

Health Warrior

Perhaps you’ve been around the health block and think, “I already know about Health Warrior bars.” Well, do you know about their new flavors coffee, banana nut and apple cinnamon? If you’re saying, “actually I do” then you don’t need the 2 boxes they are giving away. If you’re open minded and nice (can you believe I can fight with an imaginary know-it-all reader) I’ll let you know the bars are widely available for sale throughout NYC, including at Foodtrainers, Whole Foods Market, Fairway Market, Juice Generation, Just Salad, and many other independent retailers such as Foodtrainers. They are only 100 calories but chia is a natural appetite suppressant (swells as it digests) so it's a powerful 100 calories.

Naked Edge

While I love, a la Ginny, when someone takes a typical treat foot and makes it healthy using quality ingredients, I also love when a childhood favorite is made over in a grown up version.  Enter Naked Edge’s Veggie Gos. Surely you remember fruit leathers well these are veggie leathers. My boys like Mountain Berry Spinach; I’m partial to Carrot Ginger. Did I mention that they’re less than 20 calories? Or, that the Naked people are giving away a mixed case?

Sure each of these products these are great for kids and  “back to school” but they’re even better for post summer “back to reality” for us adults. Don’t we deserve fun foods too? Yes, so here’s how to get them.

To enter

1. Comment below, tell us which of these you’ve seen or tried and which you’re most curious about.
2. Tweet “The best snacks in life are free @Foodtrainers @ginnybakes @thenakededge @health_warrior #giveaway” http://foodtrainers.blogspot.com/2013/09/turns-out-best-things-in-life-are-free.html
3. And like these 3 great companies Ginny’s, The Naked Edge and Health Warrior on Facebook.

You have until Tuesday 9/24 to enter.

Two of our Family Favorites and Giveaways

 I relax some of my food standards when we’re away from home. Despite my best efforts,  you cannot always control everything. Vegetables aren’t always organic, most restaurants don’t cook with coconut oil etc. Additionally, contrary to what my offspring think, my mission in life isn’t to embarrass them in any way possible. Even with the upcoming book, at one of our early meetings when we conceptualized it, my agent looked at me and said “the advice for each scenario cannot be to bring your own.” I agreed. But there are places when you should bring your own and one of those places is the movies.

My children eat candy and have treats but they don’t need sour patch kids the size of a clutch purse or popcorn popped in garbage. They used to give me a hard time over my need to smuggle in my own cinema offerings until I found a solution they adored. The solution’s name is Quinn and this popcorn is insanely good. Aside from the movies it’s now our football snack, road trip snack- we’re pretty into it.

As Quinn says it’s “microwave popcorn reinvented”.  I have many issues and phobias but the microwave isn’t one of them. If you don’t microwave, there are stovetop directions.  The bag is free of chemical coatings and such found in typical micro pop (and also compostable). All ingredients are non-GMO, popcorn is organic. You pop the popcorn, add oil and shake, add the flavor packet and shake again. Our only issue is that we live in a house divided. Two favor Vermont Maple and Sea Salt and two can’t think beyond Hickory Smoked Cheddar.

So there are times when I try to find a family friendly replacement for unhealthy options. Other times, I’m trying to pack the maximum amount of nutrition into our family meals.  One of my favorite ways to do this is with hemp (seeds, oil, powder). Hemp hearts (shelled hemp seeds) have a mild flavor and contain a variety of fats making them great for skin, cognition and mood.  They’re also a good source of protein. These go in our school day smoothies and get sprinkled over salads and in yogurt.

From our family (and the Quinn and Manitoba Harvest family) to yours.

Quinn is giving away a 6-pack of all flavors of their popcorn.

Manitoba harvest is generously supplying a lucky reader a hemp starter pack (with hemp oil, hemp hearts and hemp protein).

To be eligible

1. Comment below (with an email address so we can reach you)
2. Tweet “@foodtrainers family favorites @quinnpocorn and @manitobaharvest #giveaway http://foodtrainers.blogspot.com/2013/09/two-of-our-family-favorites-and.html"
3. And like Manitoba Harvest and Quinn Popcorn on Facebook

You have until Thursday September 19^th to enter 

How do you maximize nutrition in your meals? Have you tried either of these foods? And where do you try to smuggle food?