Probiotic Goodness

I went to a press event for work today. It was at Red Mango for their new probiotic iced teas. The teas include GanedenBC30, a strain of probiotic bacteria. They help support digestive health and maintain your immune system. The teas come in 3 delicious flavors: Mysteaque (a vanilla black tea), Fanteasia (a wildberry hibiscus tea, it's brewed with hibiscus flowers mmm), and Lemonocity (a lemonade green tea, it has citrus flavors not lemonade in it). My favorite by far was the Mysteaque, with Fanteasia being my least favorite as it was very sweet but reminded me a bit of Passion iced tea from Starbucks.


Red Mango has also added this specific probiotic into their Original, Pomegranate (made with POM Wonderful) and Tangomonium (this is BY FAR my favorite, so delicious!) frozen yogurts in New York (will be everywhere by September). All yogurts, including the Green Tea flavor, also have active cultures, 100% natural ingredients, are fat free, are gluten- ree, are kosher, and have 100 calories or less per serving. A very healthy snack, especially in the hot summer! And you can top them with healthy fresh fruits and protein like almonds. Yummy!
Dr. Steven Pratt, M.D. was there to speak about the benefits of probiotics. Dr. Pratt is the author of the bestselling SuperFoodsRX and his new book SuperHealth: 6 Simple Steps, 6 Easy Weeks, 1 Longer, Healthier Life (which I will be reviewing and getting tips from for you all).


He explained that the GanedenBC30 is special because it is able to survive all the way down to the digestive tract where it's needed. Because it comes in spore form, it doesn't sprout until the environment is right- and that environment is your gastrointestinal tract! These bacteria help your digestion and your immune system since 70% is actually in your GI tract. However, you need to replenish the bacteria every one or two days so that you keep them in your body and growing.

Yogurt, berries, tea, almonds: all Super Foods. Add some to your diet and be a little healthier. Yogurt, such as DanActive Immunity and Activia are best- they help regulate digestion- try some and any bloating you have should go away soon.


Speaking of yogurt, there are two new smoothies I am in love with that I experimented with yesterday and today:

Pear Strawberry Bliss

1 pear (cut up)
4-5 medium strawberries (cut up)
3 tablespoons nonfat plain organic yogurt
1 tablespoon ground organic flaxseed
1 tablespoon Benefiber
A few ice cubes

Combine everything in blender until smooth. Feel free to add ground supplements. Makes about 2 cups

Pink Delight

1 pear (cut up)
5-6 medium strawberries (cut up)
2 medium bananas (cut up)
4 tablespoons nonfat plain organic yogurt
2 tablespoons ground organic flaxseed
1 1/2 tablespoons Benefiber
A few ice cubes

Combine everything in blender until smooth. Feel free to add ground supplements. (Bananas are calorie dense so this is perfect for breakfast or a quick lunch) Makes about 3 cups

Enjoy!

(Pics: redmangousa.com, barnesandnoble.com, thejuicecaboose.com)

Nuts About Tins

I packed all my clothes for the gym today but decided not to go. I've been nodding off at work all day due to the horrible 7 hours of sleep I had last night. Lets just say, there is definitely no energy left for the gym. The plan is more like leaving the clothes here for tomorrow and then heading straight home and into bed. I can't wait.

On another note: have you ever wondered how to bring a portion control of nuts to work? Well I love almonds, and I carry them in an empty, cleaned altoid tin.



The box is the perfect size for the 24 almonds in an ounce, giving me the perfect 160 calorie snack but with lots of filling fiber and protein (4g and 6g), AND 8% of my daily calcium. I plan to decorate my little tin and make it my own, like these great tins from makeitmyown.net.


Let me know if you have any great idea for transporting your snacks and lunchs to and fro. Until next time- it's nap time.

(Pics: dessert.net.au, candyfavorites.com, makeitmyown.net)

Real Smooth

The first weekend on the diet went well. While alcoholic drinks were consumed at the bars, it was only vodka sodas. If you're a big fan of gin and tonic or vodka tonics, try having drinks with soda water or diet soda instead of anything caloric and you'll slash hundreds of calories.

Also at a bar, dance. Dancing burns hundreds of calories and hour and you can have a great time with your girlfriends. Best (and most fun) workout ever.

In attempt for a healthy lunch today I attempted to make a smoothie. It included strawberries, blueberries, plain nonfat organic yogurt, ground flaxseed, and benefiber (about a tablespoon of each gives you great fiber/filling benefits). I also crushed my vitamin and two calcium pills and stirred them in, though this left a little odd taste. I would say avoid adding the calcium pills unless you also add some splenda.
Will try another smoothies tomorrow- I shall post the results.



Note on berries: raspberries go bad fast. Buy frozen fruit if you're a young, twenty-something girl like me who can only make smoothies at night or on the weekend and doesn't have time to grocery shop more than once a week.

I also plan on adding veggies, will let you know how the experiments work out.

(Photo: actionebook.com)

Pizza is Yummy

As a poor, 22 year old living in Brooklyn, there are not always a bunch of food options. Sure, I try to buy healthy things, and will continue to improve on it, but sometimes I just crave the food I had in college: pizza.

A friend of mine introduced me to these ready-made personal pizza crusts. They are great, but as I am ridding my kitchen of all processed grains, I cannot buy them again unless I find them in a whole grain option. If you do find some, just make sure that enriched wheat flour or wheat flour isn't in the first three ingredients (that means it has been enriched, i.e. the wheat germ is gone and so is most of the nutrition).

If you find whole grain pizza dough, you can use that too. I like to top it with tomato sauce (no salt added) spinach leaves to get in my dark leafy greens and goat cheese...I am addicted. Put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes and there you go: a healthy, personal sized pizza. Add more veggies on top and other low fat cheeses to increase the nutrition factor.


Of course...after dinner I indulged in the yummy chocolate I brought back from my recent trip to Germany. My logic is that once it's gone I can't eat it any more...I know, not very healthy. Definitely have a piece of fruit for dessert or a side of clear broth veggie soup that's low in sodium to fill you up.

Coming up: my first weekend on the health plan: no high cal drinks (goodbye LITs) and no late-night snacking (goodbye McDonalds fests). I hope you all enjoy the weekends, and don't indulge too much!

A Journey Begins

Every diet magazine contains success stories about overweight women who lose 40, 50, even hundreds of pounds. But what about those of us who have to lose 30 or 20 or 15 pounds to be a healthier weight? What about the "not fat" girls who want to be healthier, fitter, more toned? We have to work twice as hard to lose half as much.

Everyone always tells me I'm not fat, I'm "normal." Well, when the average woman in America is 5'4 and weights 165 lbs, normal isn't so great.

I recently discovered that not only had I been gaining weight consistently, but if I gained 6 more pounds I would be overweight. This was unacceptable, and I have decided it's time for a change. The task: get healthy, get fit and get slim.

History:

While I had about a year in college when I was heavy, I have been pretty slim or normal most of my life. Granted, when I was thinner I didn't eat, like ever. I lost weight in college by eating less and sleeping a lot during a semester where I had no part-time job. Then I moved to NYC after graduation. The pounds packed on.

I thought since I was walking everywhere I would lose weight: boy was I wrong. All the takeout, the cocktails, the meeting people for dinner: it packed on the pounds. At only 5'3, I went from a healthy 114 to a nasty 135 in half a year.

When I started working as an editorial intern at Shape magazine this summer, I knew it was time to change. I spent all day reading about diets and health food and have decided that it's time I started to feel better, fitter and healthier.



There will be no (or less) junk. I want to eat mostly vegetables and fruits and whole grains. I plan to throw some chicken and fish into my diet. I plan to exercise more and go to the gym at least 3 times a week to get fitter and stronger. I hope to get back to my goal weight...which will be somewhere between 108 and 112 lbs. I want to look good in a bathing suit next summer. Don't you?

Follow me on my journey (and start one of your own)...it's going to be a tough one.

(Photos: yell.com, deviantart.com, title image: Heidi Barbara)