Organic Apple Cider Vinegar and the Magic Elixir! Confession time…this has been a process for me, and I’m still working on it. One thing that I love that has been easy for me to incorporate into my daily routine is apple cider vinegar. And not just any apple cider vinegar; organic apple cider vinegar. I often enjoy what I call an “elixir”. I make it partly because I really like it, and partly because I know it’s good for me! I use only organic apple cider vinegar, and Bragg’s is a brand that’s easy for me to find at my local grocery store. Apple cider vinegar is the fermented juice…

A food label can be very confusing, and it’s designed to be that way!  Did you ever stop to think that if you knew what was in that package of food you are about to put in your shopping cart, you would put it back on the shelf? Today I want to give you a crash course on the basics of how to read a food label; so what does the writing on the package really tell us? The first thing to remember is that the front of the package is advertising, and it is not regulated by the FDA.  They do not have to put the truth on the…

Did you know today is National Vanilla Ice Cream Day? It is! And although I don’t often eat dairy these days, I still have it once in a while. There are other ice creams that are delicious though and that don’t contain dairy. My current favorite is So-Delicious Ice Cream, and the vanilla is really good! I like to have it plain, with fresh fruit or with a little Morecello drizzled over it. Morecello is a blackberry liqueur. You don’t need much as it’s very potent stuff, but it is packed with flavor and richness and dresses up the vanilla ice cream! My point in sharing this is that you…

Who Does the Food Shopping? I don’t mean when you go to the store with someone else.  I mean when you go by yourself, who is choosing what food to buy…who does the food shopping?  Is it the person you were as a child, is it the young person who ate with no cares about weight or about the affect foods can have on your health, or is it the person you are today? It’s important to think about how you grew up with food, about eating patterns and habits and about whether they serve your health as the person you are now. Do you make conscious deliberate decisions about…

My Favorite Diet Plan I am frequently asked by my clients and audiences what my favorite diet plan is.  While it’s a really good question, the answer is not so simple. I don’t believe in diets.  I think they scream deprivation, misery and “temporariness”, if that is a word.  Have you ever seen someone thrilled to be “dieting”, excited to be counting calories and starving themselves?  I haven’t… I believe an eating style is likely to be healthier and easier to stick to than a diet.  The eating style that is the closest to how I eat and to how I encourage my clients to eat is the Mediterranean eating…

How do I Read a Food Label? This is a drum I beat constantly with my clients and audiences.  The food labeling practices are so deceptive, we are tricked into buying food we think is healthy all the time. Today, I want to share with you a few basics you should always follow to know the answer to the question “how do I read a food label?” The front of the package is advertising; it’s marketing.  By law, the food companies do not have to tell the truth on the front of the package.  This is where they can grab you, pull you in and entice you to take their…

Anyone Out There Confused About How to Read a Food Label? There’s so much confusion and misinformation about how to read a food label.  I wish I could say the confusion created by food companies is unintentional, but I don’t believe that.  For the processed food companies, profit is the name of the game… The simple fact is that the front of a package is for advertising. It’s marketing pure and simple, and what most people don’t realize is that it doesn’t have to be specific or really even be the truth.  The front of the package or box can scream the buzz word of the day or the popular vitamin…