Archives: December 2009

There is an advertisement made by the NYC Health Department about sugary soda drinks and how it will add 10 pounds to your body in a year.

What a wonderful ad! There has been many negative comments about it because it seems that people don’t want to know the truth about what they are eating/drinking. I give the health department a lot of credit for putting the ad out there anyway, even though I’m sure they knew that it wouldn’t have a positive response.

I hope people stop having such faith in the soda companies because they haven’t realized until now that these companies are making them fat. That seems like an extreme statement and of course it’s not just the soda but I will tell you that it’s definitely not helping.

When you watch the video, which I have posted here, you will see the extreme measure that the health department is taking to get people to make a change in their diets.

Even if you try quitting soda for just 1 week to see how you feel, it’s worth it. This commercial was worth every penny they spent to bring awareness to you and your family.

Spread the word!

Drink water, seltzer or natural drinks made without any added sugar.

I created a soup, which I adapted from a restaurant called Mana in NYC. I don’t exactly know what they put into their soup but I had to try and recreate it since it was THAT delicious. I call mine the “yum bowl” and you’ll see why once you try it.

1 yellow onion, sliced

2 medium carrots, chopped

1 cup mushrooms

1 bunch kale, chopped

1 cup extra firm tofu, chopped into cubes

1 tbs tamari

1 tbs mirin

6-8 cups water (depending on how much you want to make)

2 tbs miso (make sure to read ingredients so that it doesn’t contain any wheat or barley)

1 inch of wakame (seaweed found in the Asian section of your supermarket/health food store)

1 package buckwheat soba noodles (gluten free)

1-2 tbs olive oil

Start by sautéing the onions in olive oil until soft. Once they get soft pour in the water, tamari and mirin. Then throw in the veggies and tofu (these are the veggies I chose and had on hand, but you can use anything that you like or have in the fridge) and let simmer on low until soft. While this is simmering bring a separate pot of water to boil and cook the soba noodles until soft and to your liking. While these are both on the stove take out two small bowls. Cut an inch of the wakame and put into one bowl – then immerse it with the liquid from the soup and let it get soft. Then transfer it into the soup pot. In the second bowl take your 2 tbs of miso and put it into the bowl and cover it with soup liquid (same as with the wakame.) Let it break up in the bowl so that it’s not clumpy in your soup. This may take a few minutes but trust me, its better then having clumpy miso soup! Don’t pour this mixture in until the very end when you turn off the soup pot and it’s finished boiling.
Taste the carrots or the hardest veggie that’s in the pot to see if they are soft enough for you. It may take about 20-25 minutes and maybe longer depending on what you’ve put in it. Lastly drain the noodles and throw them into your soup pot and stir everything together. The longer the soup sits in the pot, the more the flavors combine and the yummier it will taste! This will make quite a bit of soup so be prepared for leftovers.

With the New Year coming up, everyone is scrambling to come up with his/her New Years resolution. What if you told yourself that you WEREN’T going to make a resolution this year? Instead, what if you set out to make a change, not only in light of the the New Year, but a real, long-lasting life change?

Maybe that sounds a bit too scary, but try to think back to this past year and tune in to how your body felt. If you felt/feel tired, generally lacking energy, experiencing cramps, bloating and any other ache or ailment that I have not listed, then tell yourself that ENOUGH is ENOUGH!

It’s time to FINALLY do something about it!

You shouldn’t be waking up tired, or have a constant stomachache or bloating. Life is good. You’re alive and breathing and you should feel that way. Make sure the food you’re eating is alive and not completely deadened by chemicals and preservatives. Eating fruits, veggies and whole grains will make you feel better – TRY it. Check the labels – if you can’t understand what the ingredients are then you probably shouldn’t be eating it.

Do not let this New Year mean starting a strict diet for merely a month or two – it’s much more straining on your body to do that rather than working on changing your overall habits for the long term. Set a future goal that you’ll work towards in the years to come and strive to bring yourself into a healthy state both mind AND body. I know you can do it – you deserve to be happy and healthy at the same time.

If you have questions, please feel free to ask and leave any comments that you would like below.

I have to admit that one of my favorite snacks is humus with rice crackers. In the past I wouldn’t think twice about buying Sabra humus because of how delicious it was. When I finally got the courage to look at the ingredients I never bought it again. I didn’t want to give up my yummy snack just because of the chemicals that they put in the Sabra – so, I started looking for healthier versions of humus but found that it goes by really fast (meaning that we eat a lot of it!) AND it’s pretty expensive.

I’ve come up with a recipe that will give you some pretty tasty humus that will last you quite a while. If you double this recipe the humus will definitely last for the week and maybe even a little bit longer.

I hope you enjoy this – I know I sure do.

1 15 oz can of organic chickpeas

1/4 cup organic tahini

Juice of 1 lemon

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp sea salt

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp water

Use your food processor or a blender and first add the chickpeas along with the lemon and garlic. Mix together while slowly adding the tahini, sea salt and olive oil. Lastly, slowly add the water until you have a creamy, delicious consistency.
Enjoy with any type of cracker or bread that you prefer. I like Brown Rice Crackers – they are YUMMY! You can find them at most supermarkets near the Asian foods. The wasabi flavored rice crackers are my favorite! AMAZING.