Namaste Foods Review and Giveaway!

Mar 18th, 2010 by Missy

Hello! I am in a good mood since tomorrow is FitBloggin!! That means today is my last day of work..until Monday of course. Very excited to meet everyone! Today I present you with a giveaway sponsored by Namaste Foods.

They sent me two products to try: Say Cheez Non-Dairy Pasta and Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix!

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I made the Say Cheez Pasta a few weeks ago for dinner.

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As you can see, it is gluten free, non-dairy, and contains 270 calories and 4 grams of protein for one serving.

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Ingredients:
Brown rice pasta (brown rice flour, water), shelled hemp seed, salt, rice milk powder, onion powder, paprika, turmeric, garlic powder, natural non-dairy cheddar flavors, natural non-dairy butter flavor and silicon dioxide (added to prevent caking).

I was happy to see that it is made with brown rice pasta and contains shelled hemp seed, an added nutritional bonus!

It was very easy to make!

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I boiled the pasta for about 10 minutes. On a separate pan, I cooked the powder with some olive oil and then mixed the pasta and powder together.

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I enjoyed it with a side salad and steamed broccoli.

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The pasta was delicious! It had a delicious cheesy flavor and had a little bit of spice to it. It almost reminded me of Hamburger Helper! It is a great option for those with celiac or for anyone who is lactose intolerant.

Last week I tried the Gluten Free Pizza Crust!

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 The nutrition stats were pretty good. Just 100 calories per slice and made with brown rice flour.

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This was my first time ever making a pizza crust but it was pretty easy!

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 I just mixed it with water, oil, and spread it on my pizza pan.

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I added red sauce, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese slices, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning

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I had some side salad and beer on the side of course!

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I let the pizza cook for about 20 minutes! It looked and smelled delicious!

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I cut myself 2 slices. I think I put too much sauce on it because it turned out a little soggy. Now that I am reading the cooking instructions again, I think I missed that last sentence about cooking it for an extra 10-15 minutes! No wonder! It was still soft and delicious. I just prefer my pizza crispy and a little burnt.

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Wonderful dinner! I still have one more crust to make so next time I will be sure to cook it longer!

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Giveaway Time!!

One lucky winner will receive:

  • 1 Namaste baking mix
  • 1 Namaste Pasta meal
  • A Living Without magazine
  • Recipes
  • Coupons
  • Assorted goodies

How To Enter:

1) Head to the Namaste Foods website and let me know which product you would like to try!

2) Tweet this giveaway. Write,”@MissyMaintains is giving away a Namaste Foods Gift Bag! Enter Here: http://is.gd/aNpBM

3) Link back to this giveaway on your blog and let me know below.

4) Become a fan of Missy Maintains on Facebook!

I will choose a winner this Tuesday, March 23rd.

*This giveaway is open to U.S residents only

Disclaimer: Namaste Foods sent me products to review free of charge. I was not paid to post this review.
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Posted in Product Review, Uncategorized, giveaway | 66 Comments »

3 More Lite Choice Winners!

Mar 18th, 2010 by Missy

I will randomly choose 3 more winners to win a free cup/cone coupon to The Lite Choice!

missy122

This week’s winners are……

 

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

31- Carol from Uncovering Food, “I am bringing students across the three time zones to NYC in March. Can’t wait to try this flavor out! My favorite Valentine’s Day treat is actually chocolate covered strawberries so this flavor is PERFECT for me!”

29-Maria, “My favorite treat for Valentine’s or any other time is and always will be Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups!!!”

9- Gerlie, “I wish we had a Lite Choice outside of my work in Honolulu, very convienient lol!”

Timestamp: 2010-03-18 13:28:19 UTC

Congrats to the winners! Please e-mail me your addresses so I can send out your coupons!

If you did not win this week, don’t worry! I will be giving out 3 more coupons next week! Stay tuned!!!

  • A new giveaway starts in an hour!
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Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Veggie Burger Competition

Mar 16th, 2010 by Missy

Happy St. Patty’s Day! I’m not Irish but do enjoy holidays that involve green beer :) Who else agrees that we should have off so we can drink all day? Okay…going to change the subject now because I am getting thirsty over here! Time for a little food recap of yesterday! I pretty much lived on veggie burgers and fries! No complaints here.

No burger for breakfast but I did have a delicious Fage yogurt filled with banana slices and Cinnamon Puffins.

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I had a lot more Puffins throughout the morning! They are addicting!

I met up with a friend for lunch and we decided to try Bill’s Bar and Burger in the Meatpacking District.  It is always packed when I walk by so I figured it had to be good! It was very cute inside with a bar, high tables, and fun music. I was very happy to see that they had a veggie burger on a whole wheat bun!

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It came with a delicious roasted red pepper sauce and pickles. The burger was okay but nothing special. I seemed to be a fried veggie burger which kind of defeats the purpose. The normal burgers also just looked like something you would see from a fast food restaurant. We were expecting something huge and juicy. Oh well. The fries were okay but kind of boring!

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I think it is always packed there because the beers during happy hour are only $3.00.  I would go back there to drink but not just for lunch.

I met up with another friend for dinner! Anyone remember Amanda from this guest post a while back? Since that last post, she gained about 5 pounds and looks great now. We were roommates in college but hardly get to see each other so I was very excited about dinner!  We decided to go to Vynl. I started off with White Cranberrytini. It had Kettle One, white cranberry juice, lemon, and one more thing but I can’t remember.

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It was nice and strong :)

I thought about getting a salad for my entree but none of them seemed too exciting. Then I saw that they had a new veggie burger on the menu and had to get it! I did not care that I had one at lunch when I saw how good this one looked:

VYNL Roasted Veggie Burger *sweet onion, carrot, mushroom, red bell pepper, asparagus, sweet potato, tofu, black bean, spinach, lentils & chickpeas blended together and topped off with goat cheese on toasted multigrain bread. ** 

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Now that is a veggie burger!! It was 100 times better than the one I had at lunch! I loved all the goat cheese they spread on there! And those fries….also better than at lunch. I love when they are crunchy and well done! I ate about half of them and let Amanda help me with the rest! Delicious! Vynl definitely beats Bill’s Burger!!

1) What is your favorite place to get a veggie burger..or your favorite brand?

2) What are you doing for St. Patty’s Day?

Drink some green beer for me :)

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Posted in Restaurant Review, Uncategorized | 25 Comments »

Kopali Organics and Hummus Heaven

Mar 15th, 2010 by Missy

Today I am going to start off with a little product review and then move on to some delicious eats from the past few days. I received 2 products to try yesterday afternoon. They lasted all of about 10 minutes in my desk. Can’t resist dried mangoes and chocolate covered bananas!!

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I received these from a company called Kopali Organics.  All Kopali snacks are Organic and Fair Trade.

ALWAYS:

- 100% organic and natural
- 100% vegan (no dairy, no animal products)
- Rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber
- Sustainably harvested and fairly traded

 I tried the dried mangoes first. I was very happy to see that the only ingredient was Organic Dried Mango. There is no sugar, oil, or sulfites added.  They are also certified by the Rainforest Alliance.

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The mangoes were a nice big size and had the perfect chewy texture. One whole bag was just 140 calories and made the perfect afternoon snack!

I tried the Chocolate Covered Bananas shortly after because fruit and chocolate are my favorite combination! They looked just like chocolate covered raisins.

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They were just 120 calories and fair trade certified. They are made with organic dark chocolate and organic banana. Another delicious snack! I love that the company is very passionate about supporting small local farms and protecting the ecosystems that support all life. Kopali Organics can be purchased on Amazon, at the Vitamin Shoppe, and Whole Foods.

Hummus!

I’ve been on quite the hummus kick lately. My work cafe has the best hummus sandwich ever.

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Open-faced hummus & house-made tabbouleh on whole grain. Yum! 

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Yesterday for lunch I had some more hummus at a place called the Ronnybrook Milk Bar in Chelsea Market. They hand out samples of hummus and pita almost every day so I always make sure I walk by there before eating. The hummus is so creamy and delicious! I decided to get the real deal yesterday.

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I got the mushroom hummus served with warm, soft pita and pickles.

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It was wonderful. The hummus really is amazing there. I was sad when I had no pita left because I still had half the plate of hummus leftover! It looks like a lot of olive oil but was perfect when I stirred everything together. Look how creamy!

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I will probably go have more hummus during lunch in an hour!  For now I am going to chug some coffee because I feel like Daisy. Still not used to that time change!

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1) What is your favorite way to eat hummus?

2) What is your favorite kind of freeze-dried fruit?

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Posted in Product Review, Uncategorized | 19 Comments »

Margaritas and Lite Choice Meetup (Giveaway!)

Mar 15th, 2010 by Missy

Hope everyone had a nice weekend! I did not let the rain and wind get in my way of margaritas at 5 Burros! I ran there on Saturday to meet my fellow Queens blog friends, Mari and Mo! Mo already had a head start on her raspberry margarita so I immediately ordered one for myself but with apricot.

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It was delicious as always but I got jipped out of an animal toy! Boo. I went with the Vegetable Mexican salad since it was amazing last time I was there.

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I love how high they pile those veggies!!

Mo was very excited about her Steak Tacos!

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Mari got the Shrimp Mexican salad which also looked delicious!

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Mari and I shared a side of guacamole. It was creamy heaven.

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We all decided to get a 2nd drink even though one was probably enough! This time I got a froggie!

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We got very crazy and loud by the end of the meal! Those drinks always do the trick!

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It was still pretty early when we were done so we stumbled over to Barnes N’ Noble!

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I think everyone got really annoyed by us. Probably not the smartest idea to wander around a book store after drinking 2 margaritas.

We decided to continue our adventures at The Lite Choice!! The weather will never stop us from eating their soft serve! We were very happy to see our girl Stephanie working behind the counter. She was so helpful and friendly the last time all of us blog girls stumbled in!

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I got Oreo’s N’ Cream of course! So good!

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Mari got caramel with crumbled cone topping. Yum!

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Very fun day!

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Yes, time for another Lite Choice Giveaway!

tlc coupon

If you would like to be entered, just write, “ENTER ME!” at the end of your comment. 3 readers will win a coupon for a free cup or cone this Thursday, March 18th.

If you are not entering, let me know what your favorite part of the weekend was! Have a good day!

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Posted in Blogger Meet Up, Restaurant Review, The Lite Choice, Uncategorized | 25 Comments »

Horizon Organic Chocolate Milk Winners!

Mar 15th, 2010 by Missy

Morning! Time to choose 2 winners for my Horizon Organic Chocolate Milk giveaway!. As a reminder, each winner will receive 4 coupons each (2 coupons for a free half gallon of the Horizon Organic lowfat Chocolate Milk with DHA Omega-3 and 2 coupons for $1 off a half gallon of the same milk).

horizon

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

12- Sarah Levy, “I LOVE chocolate milk. It is the best recovery drink. I usually buy Horizon chocolate milk, but after a long run, I’ll drink whatever they have at the gas station. This is making me crave some now, I might have to stop at Whole Foods at lunch… yum!”

8- Cassandra, “I usually don’t drink chocolate milk, the calories and chemicals just don’t appeal to me. I am excited to give this one a try especially after hearing many times how good it is for post workout recovery. I adore chocolate so this is something to get next time!!”

Timestamp: 2010-03-15 13:44:43 UTC

Congrats! Please e-mail me your addresses so I can mail out your coupons!

Stay tuned for a weekend recap and giveaway!

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Attune Foods Review!

Mar 14th, 2010 by Missy

Hey! Hope everyone is surviving this rain! I had a great weekend so far! I might post about that later today but wanted to do a little review first! I received 3 chocolate bars from Attune Foods to try out.

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  • Dark Chocolate
  • Chocolate Crisp
  • Raspberry Dark Chocolate

About Attune Foods (from the website):

Attune probiotic wellness bars are a delicious way to enjoy the health benefits probiotics can provide. Each Attune wellness bar is packed with probiotics that help rebalance your digestive system, so your whole body can work better.

  • Attune probiotics are proven to survive in the digestive tract, where they can provide optimal health benefits.
  • The probiotics in Attune have been clinically tested to support a healthy digestive system and a strong immune system.*
  • Attune wellness bars also include prebiotics, which support healthy digestive function and work in harmony with probiotics.

Attune uses a blend of three different Kosher and GRAS certified probiotic strains selected specifically for their superior clinical efficacy and safety as well as demonstrated stability. These include Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM, Lactobacillus casei Lc-11 and Bifidobacterium lactis HN019.

I am always looking for more ways to get probiotics into my diet so I was very excited to try probiotic CHOCOLATE!!

About the Chocolate Bars!

  • Most clinically tested probiotic strains

  • 3-8 grams of sugar

  • Excellent source of calcium

  • Only 80-90 calories
  • 3 grams of fiber
  • Take it on the go

I tried the Chocolate Crisp first.

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It tasted just like a Nestle Crunch! Yum!! It only contains 90 calories and is made with gluten-free ingredients:

Milk Chocolate Coating (evaporated cane juice, chocolate, cocoa butter, inulin, non fat milk, calcium carbonate, anhydrous milk fat, soy lecithin [an emulsifier], vanilla), Organic Brown Rice Crisps (organic brown rice flour, organic molasses, calcium carbonate), *6.1B Probiotic Cultures (Bifidobacterium lactis HN019, Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM™, Lactobacillus casei LC-11).

Next I tried the Raspberry Dark Chocolate.

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I really liked this one too. It had a rich dark chocolate flavor with a hint of raspberry. This one was also just 90 calories and perfect for my chocolate cravings!

I tried the Dark Chocolate after lunch with an apple. Great combo!

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The Dark Chocolate has just 80 calories and contains 68% cocoa! It is also vegan and gluten-free!

Attune Foods makes other great-sounding chocolate flavors such as Blueberry Vanilla, Coffee Bean Dark Chocolate, Mint Chocolate, and Almond Milk Chocolate!! I must try those in the future!

Attune Foods Bars can be purchased online here. I give them an A+!

What is your favorite way to get your probiotic intake?

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Posted in Chocolate, Product Review | 10 Comments »

Horizon Organic Chocolate Milk Giveaway!

Mar 11th, 2010 by Missy

Good Morning! Giveaway time again! Last week Horizon sent me a coupon to try a free half gallon of their Organic lowfat Chocolate Milk with DHA Omega-3.

Print

About Horizon Organic Lowfat Chocolate Milk (from the website):

Mmm chocolate! Horizon Organic lowfat Chocolate Milk with DHA Omega-3 provides a great tasting and easy way to add calcium and DHA to your family’s diet. DHA Omega-3 is an important nutrient that helps support heart, brain and eye health,and it’s available in lowfat half gallons.

DHA belongs to a category of healthy fatty acids known as Omega-3’s. Found in high concentrations in the tissues of the brain and eye, DHA Omega-3 is thought to help support healthy function in these areas. DHA has also been shown to help support heart health.

  • DHA provides a nutritional boost for children’s growing minds and bodies. Children’s brains grow incredibly fast. In fact, the brain nearly quadruples in the first five years of life.
  • DHA is a key structural component of the brain, yet many young children don’t get their recommended daily amount of DHA as it is found in a limited number of food sources.
  • Horizon Organic Milk Plus DHA Omega-3 is fortified with a natural, 100 percent vegetarian and sustainable source of DHA – a safe, wholesome, delicious way to bring more of this important nutrient into your family’s diet.

Visit http://www.horizonorganicdha.com/ to learn more!

Flavored Milk is a Nutrient-Rich Beverage

  • Flavored milk provides the same nine essential nutrients as unflavored milk (calcium, potassium, phosphorous, protein, vitamins A, D, B12, Riboflavin and niacin), and can help kids meet their calcium requirements.
  • Flavored milk consumers did not have higher total fat or calorie intakes than non milk consumers
  • Kids Love the Taste of Flavored Milk
    · According to 2005 USDA data, 66% of the milk chosen by children in schools is flavored

Chocolate Milk is an Effective Post-Exercise Recovery Beverage

  • A 2006 study showed that low fat milk was as effective at post-exercise rehydration as sports drinks
  •  Because of the natural carb:pro ratio in flavored milks, low fat chocolate milk is an effective post-exercise recovery beverage.
    o The appropriate carb:pro ratio for improving endurance performance is about 4:1 However, effective ranges can vary from 2:1 and up to 5:1.
  • Consuming carbohydrate and protein post workout has been shown to:
    o Enhance muscle glycogen formation
    o Promote a hormonal environment that encourages muscle growth
    o Promote muscle protein production
    o May lessen immune-suppressive effects due of intense exercise

I was very excited to try this chocolate milk after reading all of the wonderful health benefits. I grew up drinking Yoo-Hoo and Nesquick (chemicals galore!) Yuck! I was unable to find the half gallon Horizon chocolate milk around here but bought a little single serve box so that I could try it out! 

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Ingredients: Organic Grade A Lowfat Milk, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Cocoa, Organic Vanilla Flavor, DHA Algal Oil, Carrageenan, Salt, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D3.

I like that they use Organic Evaporated Cane Juice instead of sugar or artificial sweeteners. The chocolate milk was delicious! It was thick, creamy, and very chocolaty. I think I inhaled the box in about 1 minute. I don’t think I would buy this on a regular basis just because I don’t really need almost 200 extra calories with breakfast but it is definitely a great option for when I am craving chocolate milk!

Giveaway!

There will be two winners!!

Each winner will get 4 total coupons (2 coupons would be for a free half gallon of the Horizon Organic lowfat Chocolate Milk with DHA Omega-3 and 2 coupons for $1 off a half gallon of the same milk). 

*This contest is open to US entrants only.

horizon

How To Enter:

1) Leave me a comment telling me if you drink chocolate milk and what kind?

2) Link back to this giveaway on your blog and let me know in a separate comment.

3) Become a fan of Missy Maintains on Facebook! Please also suggest to at least 5 friends. You may suggest it to as many people as you like. Let me know below.

4) Tweet about this giveaway. Write, “@MissyMaintains is giving away FREE Horizon Organic Chocolate Milk!! Enter here: http://ow.ly/1q9XV3

I will choose the winners this Monday, March 15th at 10:00 am.

Good Luck!

Disclaimer: Horizon contacted me directly to review their chocolate milk using coupons for a free half gallon. They will be sending 2 winners 4 coupons. I was not paid to promote Horizon.
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Posted in Product Review, giveaway | 42 Comments »

The Lite Choice Winners!

Mar 11th, 2010 by Missy

I will randomly choose 3 more winners to win a free cup/cone coupon to The Lite Choice!

missy122

This week’s winners are……

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

40- Nicole R. “My favorite candy is candy hearts!”
42- Melissa- “One exciting thing I did this weekend was take advantage of the first really nice weekend day in NY by walking the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday!”
50-Ashley Terranova- “”I went to SideWalk Cafe for dinner last night and there was a great drink special which was a great surprise. 2 for 1 drinks. Needless to say it was a great way to wrap up the weekend!”
Timestamp: 2010-03-11 14:33:52 UTC

Congrats to the winners! Please e-mail me your addresses so I can send out your coupons!

If you did not win this week, don’t worry! I will be giving out 3 more coupons next week! Stay tuned!!!

  • A new giveaway starts in an hour!
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Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Digestion and Happy Hour!

Mar 10th, 2010 by Missy

Hello! I’m glad you all enjoyed my little nutritional lessons from school over the weekend! I am going to try to cover a short topic in each post. Today I will talk a little about digestion since I got a lot of requests for that yesterday.

Common Digestive Disorders

Reflux:   Acid from the stomach that re-enters the stomach. It can be related to obesity.

Dietary Components: chocolate, caffeine, coffee, tea, peppermint, spearmint, alcohol, spices, large portions, tomato products, fatty foods, and citrus. Avoid eating to close to bedtime and eating too fast. High stress also plays a role.

Constipation

  • Usually caused by lack of fiber/fluids
  • Lack of exercise
  • Iron and calcium supplements
  • Increase fiber, fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, flaxseeds
  • Add magnesium
  • Increase fluid in the diet with non sugar/caffeinated fluids
  • Add exercise
  • Probiotics

IBS

  • Can cause constipation, diarrhea, bloating, gas, and abdominal pain
  • Can be triggered by stress, food intolerances, high fat, hormone imbalances, fructose, environmental sensitivities
  • Exercise is a great way to help with IBS

Diarrhea

  • Caused by bacteria, virus, food intolerances
  • Avoid high fiber
  • Add banana and white rice
  • Remove intolerant food
  • Add probiotics

Gas

  • Caused by high fiber diet, eating gassy foods (broccoli, cauliflower), constipation
  • Try to reduce foods that are not tolerated (i.e dairy)
  • Improve constipation
  • Reduce gassy foods (cruciferous vegetables, legumes, etc)

Hopefully this was a little helpful since so many of us suffer from digestive issues. It is important to just listen to your body and experiment with different foods to find what works for you. Everyone is different.

On a less serious note….

Happy Hour!

Last night after work, I decided to skip my workout and have a drink! I met Dori and a wonderful blog reader named Ashley at Merchants. Merchants is a nice bar on the Upper East Side that has the best Lychee Martinis ever!
 
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I had 2 lychee martinis plus a vodka soda with a splash of cranberry.

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We had a really good time! This was our first time meeting Ashley and we had so much to talk about. We ended up going to a 2nd bar called Baker Street for another drink. By the time we were ready to go, it was 9:30 and we were starving for dinner! Probably not too smart drinking all of that without eating for so long! Dori and I stopped at a cute little hummus plase that just opened near her apartment. We both got hummus pitas. They also had the most amazing pita chips there that we munched on while waiting for our food.

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This was seriously the perfect drunk meal! Much healthier than getting the usual late night pizza! The hummus was creamy and delicious!

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Fun night! I woke up this morning not feeling too hot so I got my favorite breakfast to cure a hangover.

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A mushroom and spinach egg white omelet on whole wheat bread. It did the trick! Tonight I will be back at Core Fusion ready to get my workout on!

I am off to go do some work! Stay tuned for a new giveaway tomorrow!

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