The Accidental Healthy Girl

I'm almost on week 3 of my organic, whole grain, grass-fed, free-range and minimally processed diet. I have to say it does get easier and easier. Once you get used to eating certain foods (and not eating certain foods), it really doesn't feel like you're missing out.

A few friends have asked me to post a few tips, staples and recipes. Please keep in mind that I am brand new to this!

Tips

• Only eat red meat once per week.
• When you do eat red meat or chicken, it should not be the main part of your meal. Think of it as a garnish from now on. Seriously.
• Pack in as many veggies as you can.
• Always have a salad with your meal. Choose romaine lettuce or mesclun greens over iceberg lettuce as it has very little nutritional value.
• No more white anything. Stick to whole grain bread, whole wheat pasta and brown rice.
• Start eating leafy greens: kale, swiss chard, collard greens. They don't look very yummy but if you saute with a bit of garlic and olive oil, they're actually pretty good.
• Olive oil is great but high in calories. Don't overdue it.
• Only use olive or canola oil for cooking.
• Try to eat only minimally processed foods.
• READ LABELS.
• Do not eat anything with high fructose corn syrup. It is what makes you fat and diabetic. There is no reason why it should be in ketchup, bbq sauce or frozen "health" foods, and it is.
• Try to buy organic when you can.
• Drink more water. I'm still hooked on diet Pepsi but I'm drinking more water than ever.

Staples (excluding fruits & veggies, of course)

Larabars
Kashi TLC granola bars
Tufayan whole wheat pita bread (small)
whole wheat flour tortillas (any brand is fine, just read the labels first)

Smart Puffs by Robert's American Gourmet
almonds
organic ketchup
Annie's salad dressing (low fat honey mustard is amazing)
Annie's bbq sauce (great with grilled chicken)
Fage 0% Greek yogurt
Bear Naked granola - 9 grams of protein per serving!
Morningstar Farms vegetarian products: veggie burgers, mushroom burgers, chick'n patties
Lundberg organic long grain rice

Recipes (well, sort of)

Beef Tacos
lean organic steak
organic/natural chunky salsa
real low fat cheddar cheese
real low fat sour cream
chopped romaine lettuce
chopped tomato
avocado (mashed, with a bit of salt added)
brown rice
black beans

Cut the steak into strips and saute. When cooked, add about 1/2 cup of salsa and mix together. Set aside. Take the whole wheat tortilla add the steak, brown rice, beans, more salsa if desired, lettuce, tomato, a tiny bit of sour cream, grated cheddar cheese and the avocado. Done! The great thing about this is that you are using organic, "clean" beef. When you buy hamburger meat, you are probably ingesting hormones, antibiotics, and quite possibly fecal matter. If you prefer ground beef, just do it yourself at home with a food processor. Additionally, using the salsa is much better for you then those store bought taco seasonings. If you think there are nothing but spices in them you are wrong. Plus, this tastes much better.

Mushroom Burgers
Morningstar Farms Mushroom Lover's Burger
Tufayan Whole Wheat Pita
chopped romaine lettuce
chopped tomato
sliced red onion
organic ketchup

This makes a yummy sandwich. You would think you were eating a burger, and its super healthy. I have this for lunch quite often with a side of mesclun greens.

Fish Tacos
any flaky white fish (tilapia works well)
lime
cilantro
red onion
tomato, cored and seeded
avocado (mashed, with a bit of salt added)
1 whole wheat flour tortilla, cut in half to make 2 separate tortillas

Grill the fish with a tiny bit of olive oil or cooking spray. Once cooked, shred with a fork. Set aside. Chop the onion, tomato and cilantro. Mix together and add the juice of 1/2 a lime. You just made pico de gallo! To make your tacos, take each half of the tortilla and add the fish, pico de gallo and the avocado. Add a bit more lime on top if you wish.

This is really nothing, but I hope it helps!

Somewhere In New Jersey, Pigs Are Flying

Image courtesy of Danielle Levitt/Harper's Bazaar

If you don't recognize these lovely ladies, they are in fact Jersey Shore cast members Jennifer "J WOWW" Farley, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Samantha "Sammi Sweatheart" Giancola.

They look AMAZING. Granted, just replacing their regular clothing with anything else would have made a tremendous difference. That said, its wasn't going to be easy to pull this off, and they've managed to do so even with overly tanned skin and acrylic nails. Go them.

And to think, when they arrived for this photo shoot they were probably dressed in all kinds of loveliness by Christian Audigier. Ick.

Carrie Bradshaw Would Approve

I absolutely love giving baby gifts, clothing and accessories in particular. One of my favorite baby gifts to give is the Mary Jane baby socks set by Trumpette.

A six pack of these darling little socks retails for about $25.

A bit expensive for socks I suppose but I just adore them and they make a great addition to any baby gift. I usually purchase them at Giggle, a baby boutique in Soho. You can check them out online at http://www.giggle.com/.

I stopped at Target tonight to pick up a few things, and as I was making my way to the register area something caught my eye...

Trumpette for Target! Ok, it's actually not called Trumpette for Target. The name of this lower-priced line is Trumpette Too. A pack of three pairs costs just $8.00. In addition to the socks, they offer tights and shoes. Baby boys are included, with their very own socks that look like little pairs of sneakers. Too cute.

I cant get enough of these little things. I have a feeling a little lady in my life may be getting some new "kicks" soon!

Love, Luck & Diamonds

I've always wanted an evil eye bracelet. It is supposed to ward off negativity from others, protect you from their envy and ill will and hopefully bring you some good luck as well. That's great I suppose, but I just like it because its simple and oh so pretty.

Ideally, I'd like one from Greece, but seeing as though I'm not heading to Santorini anytime soon, I will have to settle for this beautiful alternative. If my family or friends are reading this, I'd like one for my birthday. :)

http://www.sydneyevan.com/

Did I Slip?

I had a work function scheduled for early this afternoon, but as it was rescheduled for another day I decided to go shopping with friends. We ended up at the Westchester Mall in White Plains, NY. If you ever find yourselves in White Plains you need to visit this mall, otherwise known to me as Mecca.

We were a bit hungry and decided to just eat lunch at PF Chang's (of the Chinese restaurant chain) located inside the mall. It's not your typical greasy Chinese, a bit more upscale but still loaded with all kinds of very bad things like fat and calories.

Though I am technically not allowed to eat ANYTHING on their menu, I decided I would just go with the flow and do the best that I could. I ended up with the vegetarian lettuce wraps, made with tofu, mixed vegetables and served with iceberg lettuce. It is actually an appetizer, but worked very well as the actual meal. In addition to this I had a bit of brown rice, which I have strangely come to enjoy. Maybe it's because I'm not giving myself an option anymore. It's better for me, so I'd better get used to it as its going to be a part of my life whether I like it or not.

The only reason I am writing about this meal is because I wanted to share that it is quite possible to eat (somewhat) well even when you seemingly have zero options at a restaurant you otherwise wouldn't choose.

I don't think I slipped....do you?

Sorry, there are no photos to go along with this post. I didn't want to be the strange girl taking a picture of her lunch in the middle of a crowded restaurant.

Things Are Lookin Up

Day six of my new life changing (thank you Oprah) diet plan and I'm feeling ok. Withdrawal had set in and I spent the past two days with a monster headache. As mentioned in my previous post, I am only eating organic meats and dairy, fruits, veggies and whole grains. No more processed foods (for the most part, healthy/organic ones are allowed). Under absolutely no circumstances am I allowed anything with high fructose corn syrup. That my friends, is the devil.

So far I have watched Food Inc., & Super Size Me. One scared me from eating chicken or beef again, and the other just reinforced what I already suspected about the multimillion dollar monster that is the McDonald's corporation.

I have zero regrets about deciding to no longer eat harmful processed foods, though to be honest I imagine its going to be tough; they've been a huge part of my life. Lean Cuisines, those handy 100 calorie snacks, Skinny Cow ice cream and 90 calorie chewy granola bars are just of few of the "regulars" on my old shopping list. Any girl who watches her calories (which I'm sure I can safely say is 90% of the female population in NYC) will have these staples in her pantry. Now that they are no longer allowed in mine, I'm going to have to get a bit creative and work a little harder. When I say work a little harder I mean actually prepare a meal versus peeling back the plastic and nuking it.

Eliminating processed foods from the meals I eat at home isn't as difficult one would expect. There are plenty of organic counterparts to the foods and snacks I used to enjoy. However, the idea of eliminating fast food of any kind for the rest of my life has been a little hard. For the record, I don't eat fast food very often, if ever. When I do, it's a grilled chicken salad from McDonald's. That said, once a year I do like a great burger. Not from a fast food restaurant, but a burger from Piper's Kilt (google it, they are amazing) or even at a local diner, is a wonderful thing.

Then I starting thinking about it, this is New York, there has to be something out there for us. And, there is.

Shake Shack! Yes ladies and gentleman, Shake Shack is the answer to all of your problems. Hungover? Shake Shack. Still drunk? Shake Shack. Not able to eat anything unless its organic, unprocessed or grass-fed? Shake. Shack.

Shake Shack is a New York institution that sells burgers, hot dogs, fries, shakes and some custard creations (much like its West Coast counterpart, In-N-Out Burger). They use grass-fed beef and offer french fries free of harmful artificial trans fats. Plus, they are yummier than any other burger in NYC. I won't be having one anytime soon, but its nice to know quality junk food does exist.

I'm not sure how I got from veggies to burgers; must be my subconscious talking.

Rollable Shoes to the Miu Miu Rescue

I know, the title is campy but I just couldn't help myself.

Recently, I came across a new product called Footzyrolls. Footzyrolls are rollable shoes, ballet flats really, that come in a tiny pouch you can toss in your handbag. At the end of the evening when your feet cant take being in your heels any longer, you slip off your heels, slip on your Footzyrolls, and place your heels in the convenient pouch also enclosed.

I was sent a sample pair to present to clients, and I liked them so much I decided to purchase a pair for myself. I love this product. The rollable shoes are thin enough to be rolled into a ball and slipped into a small bag, and thick enough for use on tough city streets.

Due to the lovely weather we've been having here in NYC, I decided to bring out my favorite Miu Miu wedges. I love them, but they hurt. This may have something to do with the fact that I've spent as much time possible in my Uggs for the past 6 months. Either way, after a few hours in these shoes, I was done.

Thankfully, I threw my Footzyrolls in my bag and was able to swap my shoes for those comfy things. I thought they would fall apart after a few blocks but they held up well. And to think, I thought these would only be useful after a long night out.

To purchase your very own pair: http://www.footzyrolls.com/

Damn You Melissa!

One of my very good friends recently decided that she was going to become a vegetarian after reading Skinny Bitch and watching Food Inc.. She had some sort of epiphany and decided that she needed to change the food she eats in an effort to change her life. For her, its about morals and achieving optimal health for herself and her family. She is slowly but surely on her way to leading a vegetarian lifestyle, and dragging me along for the ride.

I am 100% for of the ethical treatment of animals, and I admire her for taking a stand. That being said, I'm not sure I am brave enough to become a vegetarian. I don't eat meat very often, red meat in particular, but I don't think I could say farewell indefinitely. I practically live on grilled chicken salads, and I would miss my biannual steak burrito from the best Mexican restaurant in New York City.

After thinking about it, I decided to watch Food Inc. for myself, hoping it would not impact my life too drastically (read: hoping it would not scare me away from chicken or beef). I braced myself for what was coming, and I got what I expected plus a whole lot more. Not only is there the issue of how the animals are slaughtered, but how they are raised was a horrifying revelation.

Chickens are injected with antibiotics and growth hormones, making them so disproportionately heavy that in some cases they cannot lift themselves up to take a few steps; their only option is to simply lay down and die. Cows are kept without room to roam free, and stand a foot or so deep in their own manure. Finally, there is the corn conspiracy. Almost everything we eat comes from or has some indirect connection to corn, which I've just learned is a very bad thing.

So here I am with this information. Do I ignore it and continue to consume chicken that has been injected with hormones and antibiotics? Beef (that has been injected with similar hormones and antibiotics) that may or may not contain fecal matter? Am I to take part in the absolutely unconscionable actions of these multimillion dollar corporations that only care about the almighty dollar and not the lives of these animals or the men, women and children that consume them? The answer is simple. No way.

I quickly thought about what exactly I would change about my diet, and came up with the following. I would eat and drink only organic red meat, chicken and dairy. No exceptions. Additionally, I would make an effort to eliminate preservatives, additives and any unnecessary ingredients from my diet. This means no processed foods (bye bye Lean Cuisine) or anything that contains high fructose corn syrup.

I went to Trader Joe's and came home with organic chicken breast, whole grain bread, whole wheat pizza dough (ick), goat cheese (double ick), organic peanut butter, organic skim milk, a few other things plus a ton of Lara bars, which are quite possibly the world's perfect snack. They each have less than four or five ingredients, and they are quite yummy.



To be clear, this is not a declaration of vegetarianism by any means. This is my effort to be more cognizant about what I eat, and not just because of how many calories it may contain. I am allowed organic meats and dairy, whole grain pasta, grains, veggies, fruits, and foods with only a few quality ingredients. Here's to good health.

My head hurts already. Withdrawal is a real thing people.

Lancome Is Magic

My mother and I just had a conversation about moisturizers. Specifically, we were arguing about who's is better. Mine is the incomparable Creme de la Mer. Hers is Lancome's Renergie Microlift, which she has been using faithfully for the last 10 years.

Now, I must tell you, she looks amazing and is quite the beauty. I am thirty years old, so you can guess how old she is. I'll never tell, but you can guess. No nevermind, don't guess, she would kill me for even saying that.

During our conversation she pointed something out that I had never noticed before. I should give you a bit of a back story first. My mother is left handed. She uses her left hand to apply the cream to her right hand, where she warms it up a bit with her fingertips before applying it to her face. She noticed after some time that her right hand (which received the daily application of the cream due to her left handedness) was smoother than her left. And, it actually is. I saw it with my own two eyes, and below, you can see for yourself:

Left Hand (never treated)

Right Hand (treated with Renergie, daily)

Look. I mean, LOOK. The right hand is visibly smoother. It is! My mother tells me that after sharing this discovery with some of her good friends, they ran to purchase their own jars of Renergie. I'm actually not allowed to mention this (although I'm sure she figured it out when I asked to take a photo of each hand) because she doesnt want to deal with waitlists in case word gets out. Leave it to a mother to think that her daughter's blog would be powerful enough to move thousands of units overnight. Love her!

Creme de la Mer, Revisited

I use Creme de la Mer. Yes, it costs $130 per ounce, but it's worth it. I initially tried it because I was looking for a great new moisturizer to achieve that "dewy" complexion, and was told by friends and family that after using this product I would never look back.

After using La Mer for a few months, I was in love. It did in fact give me that dewy glow I was looking for, and completely changed my skin for the better. I received more compliments on my skin (I'm talking serious compliments: "you're skin is flawless", "you have perfect skin") than I had ever received in my entire life. Ok, mission accomplished. My skin looked great, making this product well worth the price tag.

Then, I read somewhere that a very inexpensive product from the UK was proven (based on years of independent research) to reduce the amount of lines and improve the overall appearance of your skin. The company is called Boots, and the product is The No. 7 Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum. It is sold at, wait for it....Target. The entire one ounce bottle retails for just under $20. It had become so popular in the UK that it was actually sold out for months. How could I not at least make an attempt to switch to this very popular and very inexpensive moisturizer?

Could this be? Is there a product out there that might be better (gasp) than my beloved Creme de la Mer, and it costs pennies? Well, not pennies, but relatively speaking......

The answer is....NO. And thank the good Lord because I had already fallen in love. To be clear, I used the Boots No. 7 Protect and Perfect Intense Beauty Serum for about two months, and did not see the same results that I saw with La Mer. It did nothing to improve my overall complexion. For the record, I really have no "lines" that need erasing, so maybe an older woman would have been a better judge. This product is very popular for a reason, so if you're in the market for a new moisturizer, go ahead and try it. I will stick with what works for me.

To all of you that have put yourselves through the same experiment because you felt silly or guilty for using a moisturizer that costs more per ounce than caviar, fear not my friends. There are simply no comparable options out there for us, and there is nothing more important than our skin. That's my story and I'm stickin to it.

L'Oréal USA Doesn't Care About My Eyelashes

The Shu Uemura eyelash curler. For a mere $19, you can go from regular girl to Bambi. It is considered an icon in the cosmetics industry, widely regarded as the only eyelash curler that can achieve the perfect curl.

Going forward, its going to take a bit more than $19 to achieve that curl. L'Oréal USA, which took a 20 percent stake in the company in 2000, has decided to pull the luxury brand's product from US shelves. Carol Hamilton, president of L'Oréal USA's Luxury Division explained: "We love the brand, but it is a very small part of our portfolio." "It's a simple decision after a very complex analysis: we have a very large portfolio, and we want to focus on growing the brands which have a larger presence in the U.S. market."

There is a bit of good news. The products will continue to be available via the brand's website, http://www.shuuemura-usa.com/. Nevertheless, I might have to hit Sephora tomorrow to stock up. You never know.