It’s probably the last thing  you want to hear, but the latest is that sugar is making us dumb. This latest study from UCLA  researchers found that excess sugar, especially high fructose corn syrup, may be decreasing your brain power, disrupting learning and causing memory loss. Apparently the study was done on rats and the increase of sugar overtime “stupified” the rats from  ”performing easy tasks.” Of course I’m not sure what tasks exactly that these rats perform outside of running & eating, but whatever the case, it seems the effects on us are similar.

While I know everyone tires of hearing how everything is bad for you these days the study says that increasing Omega-3-fatty acids can minimize the effects. All in all, stop eating corn flakes for breakfast and consider brushing your teeth with a toothpaste rather than twizzlers. Try consuming less sugar. Eat an apple.

So it’s been a weekend of pure insanity with my sister’s wedding being in less than a week.  AHHHH! (think Macaulay-Culkin-jaw-dropping-AH!) It’s all good insanity, but craziness none the less. This weekend we had a Bachelorette Party and had good food for Mother’s Day, and so here we are on Monday, lacking sleep and sanity.

If you’re not familiar with Meatless Mondays (because they actually do exist) Goop can inform you further. It’s a pretty practical idea, to have a meat-free day once a week, for anyone trying to be, feel or look healthier.

Vegetarian dishes can get really complex, but the other day a friend (vegetarian friend no less) was telling me about her favorite salad and it reminded me how creative I used to be with salads. So it sparked up the idea for this quick fix. I’ve had this for lunch twice since last week and plan on having it again soon.

Hope this inspires you to have creative Meatless Mondays!

All you need is some:

Spring mix, romaine or spinach

black beans

green beans  (or any other leftover steamed or roasted veggies)

green peppers

dates (this is where the magic is – so don’t leave it out!)

red onion

slivered almonds

cilantro

balsamic vingegar (I used a pomegrate one) & olive oil

sea salt & cayenne pepper (if you can handle the heat)

squeeze of lime

Ok, so it’s a bit more than a 5 ingredients kind of dish, but what can I say? Sometimes lettuce and olive oil just doesn’t cut it.

Mix ingredient together and have a happy monday !

When many of us find ourselves gaining weight or are desperate to lose those last 5lbs, we often want to jump to an extreme to see fast results. For some of us, drastic changes means drastic results. In some cases this is necessary. But in most cases, drastic is not the most effective answer. When I initially made some changes in my diet to get healthy it certainly wasn’t easy, but I discovered a balanced approach that works best for me.

Sometimes, I trail off that path  (of what I know is best for me) and in order to get back on track, sometimes my knee-jerk reaction is to go to the extreme. “No chocolate for 2 weeks!”, “No eating past 8 pm – ever.,” or “No, dairy, gluten or processed foods …,” but the moment I let my head go there, I become overwhelmed, frustrated or already feel defeated. Because I can’t maintain any of these goals for a lifetime.

Losing weight (and keeping it off) doesn’t mean becoming a vegan, a calorie-counting-feen or a paleo-carb/sugar-phobic-eater. It doesn’t have to be this complex and daunting task we often make it. I hear some women, who makeit sound as if the moment you’re past 30 you’re doomed to gain and fight the pounds off for life. Some make weightloss sounds like a mental nightmare, that I want no part of. It doesn’t have to be so hard, so why do we let it be?

Eating healthy and slimming down in a sensible way meanss ome vary simple and obvious things…

Including more of what you need & less of what you don’t.

Learning to control your stomach and not let it control you.

Allowing occasional treats.

Eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re satisfied.

Eating everything in moderation and stop obsessing about food.

One word thats always straightened any frantic thought pattern for me, in regards food, fitness and physique is…

“All things are lawfull for me, but not all things are helpful.

                  All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved to anything.”

                                                                                                                    1 Corinthians 6:13

The K.I.S.S. approach, Keeping It Super Simple (or Simple Stupid – depending on the day,) helps me keep peace of mind in my most stressful seasons.  In college I knew, in order to feel functional the next morning, I needed at least 7 and a half hours of sleep a night. Nowadays I seem to have to remind myself this. Both to keep it simple and to sleep. Sometimes we complicate losing weight or how to “be healthier” means, when really it’s suppose to be simple. A simple tweek like more sleep may be what you need.

Consider this…

Most of us, when wanting to lose weight or feel healthy turn to diets and detoxes that guarentee speedy results. Of course these results are achieved quickly, but rarely last long. And to top things off, when you gain weight and are working extra hard to keep up with rigorous diet and excersice,  you tend to gain more stress. This only adds to your cortisol level, a stress-induced hormone ( which tends to add bloating and more weight. All that fun stuff.)

As one ages, we often want to blame age on things like  stress and weight-loss, when really it may just be lack of sleep, lack of a healthy diet and lack of planning ahead. First on my list to tackle (before I let age, my job or an insane schedule become a reason for any increase of  this stress-induced, weight-gaining hormone called cortisol) is to get more sleep.

Do yourself a favor,  keep things simple and sleep more.  I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to fall asleep right now…

Sweet dreams.

Hello to all the Better Vita readers that I’ve been out of touch with for too long!

For those just reading, about 2 years ago I was living in NYC and this blog was in the front of my mind most days. Simply put, since my short-lived stay in NYC and returning to FL, I’ve spent some time analyzing (probably over-analyzing) who I am and what I value; meaning everything from God, relationships, passions, even food. My time on Better Vita became inconsistent and, for a  lengthly period, altogether removed. I needed some time. Or better put, “time heals what reason cannot.”

Life is not meant to be so complex. Yet as human beings we tend to create more stress, more anxiety and more issues when it’s not necessary. Life is much more simple than we make it. Better Vita was becoming a little too serious, which if you know me, isn’t always my state of mind. My Dad, a master as keeping things simple (yet by no mean a “simple man”), has always taught his kids the KISS rule: Keep. Things. Simple. Stupid. I’m sure this is no revolutionary idea to you, but sometime in order to grow it seems we have to re-learn things we were taught when we were 6.

This summer I have some people who’ve asked me to teach them an approach to “Better Vita,” learning how to eat better, work out bette, and live better. It seemed the appropriate time to return…

Better Vita has been resuscitated.

Believe it our not there is a way to enjoy the holidays without overdoing it this year. You may be in turkey-coma still as you read this. You may still be snacking on leftover pumpkin pie that still lingers in the kitchen and the guilt hasn’t sunk in yet ’til sometime after monday. It’s the typical holiday routine. Probably something your used to and even comfortable with at this point, but there is actually a way to enjoy your turkey and not become one.

A few things to keep in mind it:

1. Eat to fuel, not to stuff yourself. It’s really common to think you need to starve all day because you’re heading to a dinner or party that night, but that is the worst thing you can do. You will like be ferociously hungry, eat too much and not even be able to enjoy it. So make sure before parties or family meals during the holidays to eat and eat healthy the day of.

2. Eat only what you like. If you don’t like it, don’t eat it. Unless of course your boyfriends mom is asking if you’ve tried her pumpkin pie yet or Aunt Sue slaved all day over her

3. Leave your plate 80% full. You don’t have to feel the need to take off your belt to know your satisfied. Leaving that extra room will make everything easier to digest and your eating throughout the day so it’s not like you’ll never eat again.

4. Focus on filling half of your plate with greens and veggies. I’m talking spring mix green, broccoli or green beans not so much the potatoes and starchy stuff. Keep that to about 25% of your plate. All in moderation…

5. Fill about 25% with carbs and 25% of protein, give or take. Granted you just have to get used to listening to what your body is craving and remembering how foods make you feel. Make sure to get about 3 oz of lean protein. Fish, turkey & chicken breast, eggs or even wild game such as venison.

6. Taste your dessert, don’t devour it. If you know there is going to be dessert that you will want to eat you may want to leave a little more room. A calorie is a calorie. And you don’t always have to eat a whole pie of pie or chocolate cake to get your satisfy your sweet tooth.

7. Drink lots of water. All drinks have calories or dehydrate most of the time, so you are much better off sticking to water. If you do choose eggnog, punch or coffee stick to one cup.

8. Don’t throw in the towel. We all have slip ups. We all eat too much pie or have had our fill of stuffing, but it doesn’t mean all your work is at a loss over one meal. And it doesn’t mean you have to encounter these “slip ups” every holiday. So if your feeling crappy over too much food go play a game of football or go on a long walk (on the beach if you’re in Florida ) and tomorrow you can start with a clean slate.

I’m an idealist. This can be a good thing and an absolute curse (totally inflicted upon me, by myself.) And they always say you learn more about yourself while teaching, it couldn’t be more true. Most everyone in my classes will, at the end of my spiel, look at me and ask “How do you cut calories?”, “What do you eat?” “What can & can’t I eat?” Ok, it’s not as hard as it looks and no I’m not going to direct you to Realage or Eatingwell to learn  healthy eating like it’s a science. Eating good should be good. Good and simple. So the idealist in me sees the web as a massive gift from God, full of instantaneous creative and personable resources. And as far as food is concerned, eating well is finally a beautiful thing! So I want to share with you (those attending the class and those not) a few places that keep me coming back.

101Cookbooks

We all tend to assume that cooking healthy means bland and boring. Heidi Swanson proves that philosphy to be a farse. This site is incredible for learning to work with herbs,  spices, whole grains, what goes with what and her healthy baked goods are actually good! Mainly a vegetarian feast can be found here, but that doesn’t mean you won’t find an occasion stick of butter or a need for cheese .

Sprouted Kitchen

Talk about aestically appeasing, this couple (brilliant chef and photographer duo from Cali) have created one of the most beautiful sites for food, let alone creative and fresh. Healthy sweets, the best lentil dish  ever (aka meat to vegetarians – which I no longer am, in case you were wondering) and a great french press tutorial (and  if you haven’t tried a french press you may want to check you’re pulse to see if you are indeed living and breathing.)

Have I ever mentioned coffee is good for you?

Sunday Suppers

Learning  how to cook well means together. This “art of cooking for yourself” is far from appealing to me. Family meals are memories I’m so indebted to my mom for and finally there seems to be a demand for it again. Incredibly tasty and and seemingly highly-involved cooking, this site is a great guide to cooking a meal. It’s all about cooking & eating together. And I could eat every thing on this site !

Bon Appetit

An indispensible resource for any weathered or aspiring cook. Apps are available on ipad (might just be one of the first I buy the day I have an ipad.) Or check out Epicurious, for it’s slightly-less-aestetically-appeasing iphone app equal.

Great  Free Apps:

Fooducate - Scan and rate food before you buy it. Now I really think common sense and the ability to read should be enough for us to be smart about what we eat, but hey it’s free. Watch them have this for rating  people some day…

Whole Foods Recipes – Simple, whole food. You can’t go wrong.

Jamie Oliver recipe app - What a beauty, eh?

                                                                       Bon Appetit!

Because there is so much more to living than food and fitness, I like to make this a place about all things that shape life. Music being one of them…

I can’t tell you how the sound of Diana Krall singing “The Look of Love” surrounds my head with autumn leaves and begs me to throw on a big burly sweater. I can’t explain why hearing John Mayer singing “3×5″ brings me to my naive and  unassuming state as a college freshman, or even why the chords of  “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High” faintly depresses me (due to countless Sunday nights I would let myself become quite upset about spending the last night of my weekend at church, knowing the school week was only hours away. Odd, I know.)

Music has a way of transporting us almost supernaturally. It’s a universal language that has the power to awaken the soul. A song can bring instant ease or immediate irritation. A song can make me high or make me miserable. My family has always had a deep connection to music. Awfully opinionated, but deep. Maybe it was being raised with a Dad who would come home from work just to immediately blast anything from Billy Joel to Steven Curtis Chapman, and get all  us kids wired before dinner, that marked the moods of music for me. That or it was the headphones that were on my Mom’s tummy all those 9 months. Still, ever since I was young (and to this day) my mom could tell what kind of  music I was currently listening to ( or more so, what I wasn’t listening to) just by being around me. Music is powerful and moods are the makeup of our personalities and character.

Moods are more easily altered, thoughts more quickly formed and hearts more swiftly swayed by a song than we dare say.

So here are a taste of songs that sway me.

For just making me happy to be alive…

For chilling out…

For setting me at ease…

For bringing me down to the dumps. ( Don’t get me wrong. I think his music is beautiful. It just depresses me. Don’t know why…)

For battling stressful situations. Don’t ask…

For the love of God that leaves me at a loss for words…

What songs move your moods?

Writing about “Cooking for One” has never been something I’ve been dying to do. The whole “Meal for one” craze never bit  because, well let’s be honest here, cooking for one is not nearly as fun as cooking for more than one. Whether it be 2, 4 , 6 or really any number over one (except for when you hit 30 +. Like this summer when I had my cooking class and was preparing to feed 30 mouths. Not so much fun. Quality in any catering seems afterthought for the sake of quantity. Not my kind of cooking.)

 But I do this to help you guys and “cooking healthy for one” is an area some of you have asked about.

Like I said, it’s a rare occasion when cooking alone, I get the urge to pull out all the pots and pans to cook and fork out some $30 on one solid meal that I plan to partake of in solitude. No thanks. I’d rather spend $30 on a night that consists of  sushi, a movie and coffee with the company of friends. When I do have a spare night to cook, I make something simple like roasted fish or herbed chicken stir fry along with a simple salad or roasted vegetables. And normally enough for leftovers. Cause I’m weird and I love leftovers.

 So how do you eat healthy and under $10? Simple, make the dish satisfying and sustaining. 

This meal I had last night and sat down realizing, gosh this is probably the kind of stuff people want to learn about.

A few random leftovers I had in the fridge:

 Baby Romaine Salad with carrots, celery & cucumber

&

Lime Balsamic Vinegarette : a squeeze of lime, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar & extra virgin olive oil

Cilantro Chicken Stir-fry

Avocado wedge with sea salt, pepper and a squeeze of lime

Whole grain toast

 To the side was a little bubbly (aka sparkling WATER, always drinking water – diet drinks are a joke and sugary sodas are like sucking on a lollipop during your meal.)

When eating on your own it’s easy to eat too much or too much of one type of food. So here are some things to keep in mind when concocting your solo meal.

1. Make 50% of your meal greens or veggies

2. Include lean protein lik fish, chicken, turkey, venison or tuna

3. Add fresh herbs (like cilantro, basil, oregano, italian parsely, mint), spices ( ginger, red pepper, paprika) and fresh citrus ( like a squeez or lime or lemon) to add flavor and depth to your meal.

4. Don’t snack while your cooking or just before, because it’s too easy to loose your appetite due to handfuls or pretzels or m&ms.

5. Try something new. We tend to be creatures of habit & habits are great, but try a new fish or a new recipe. New doesn’t always have to be difficult and time-consuming.

6. Pay attention to what you’re in the mood for (granted this doesn’t mean whip up kraft mac & cheese every night) but maybe one night your feeling pasta with fresh basil, lemon and some grated parmesan with a salad and another your craving roasted chicken or maybe even breakfast for dinner. Don’t be dogmatic about being healthy. Healthy should taste good.

7. Get creative with leftovers. Leftovers are sometimes my favorite, because you just open the fridge and voila, there’s dinner.

 Some ideas:

Toss last night’s roasted veggies in some greens (like baby romaine or arugula) with balsamic vinegar & extra virgin olive oil. My favorite Italian restaurant in NYC serves this as there house salad (soooooo gooood.)

Use leftover chicken meat in fajitas or leftover fish  in tacos.

Make dinner more like a meal of tapas with several small portions of leftovers: cut up  leftover frittata, chicken, some cheese and crackers, cold brown rice made into a salad. leftover grilled broccoli & garlic with lemon juice, then maybe some olives and pickles.

Though I’m not married to this “cooking for one” concept, I’ll send more meal ideas as they come…

There are times I feel like there is nothing left to say on the topic of eating better, that hasn’t already been said. I’m aware there is nothing new under the sun. Of course I realize most of you aren’t health-foodie book worms like myself and probably don’t spend your time at Books A Million browsing through the latest books on Gastronomy, that is if you choose to enter a book store at all. And likely most of you wouldn’t be spending time online catching up at  New York Grubstreet or Mark Bittman’s lastest “Opinion” on food.  At least I don’t suspect so. While there is little left new under this ever-beating Florida September Sun, this may be news to some. So here you go…

About a year ago, while training at Strala in the lovely Lower East Side of NYC, I touched a little bit on the topic of Michael Pollan’s philosophy on food. Michael Pollan is a brilliant journalist (0nce the editor of Harper’s Magazine) who’s interest in our Nation’s culture of food has exposed hidden truths of the food industry through such books as ”In the Defense of Food” and the documentary “Food Inc.” His latest book,”Food Rules,” is a collaboration of rules to eat by, for better health and a better environment.

So I want to introduce you all to some of his sensible “Food Rules”.

 # 1 Eat Food :

For a quick wrap up on this, watch my video from last year.

# 2 Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as edible.

Now when I first read this I thought, “my grandmother might eat canned meat every now and then.” I think many people my age would say they’re grandparent’s are quiet accostumed and comfortable with donuts holes, Happy Meals and Lean Cuisine Weight Watcher frozen dinner. But my Great-Grandmother? That’s a different story.

When I think of the times I ate at my Great-Grandmother’s, who we called “Mommie,” meals were never light or necessarily healthy by any means. Not in South Carolina. But they certainly were memorable. I can’t think of one thing she put on my plate that wasn’t made from scratch or freshly baked: chicken and dumplings, collard greens with black-eyed peas and rice, pound cake, fried eggs and freshly baked bisquits. I can even recall  a rare occasion of Mommie cooking at my Grandma’s, making chicken and dumplings. The two argued as Mommie searched for butter, flour and baking powder, even though my Grandma insisted Bisquick would be an easier route.

Mommie is with Jesus now, so it been sometime since our family fought over the last dumpling at a family dinner. Granted southern food isn’t always “healthy” per say. She did make the best sweet iced tea, back when I would drink syrup in a cup. Typically she’d just pick up a 5lb bag of sugar and pour it into the freshly brewed tea. So not to say everything your great-grandma makes is heart healthy. But I think you get the idea.

What do you eat that your great grandma wouldn’t recognize as food?

So this video doesn’t entirely apply I just had to get it in here, cause I couldn’t get it out of my head…