Confession time: I love musicals. I grew up in the theater, and I adore everything about it. When NBC introduced their hit new show “Smash”, I couldn’t have been more excited.

Uma Thurman has been a guest star in the last couple episodes as the celebrity Rebecca who is taking over the lead role in the shows musical. And Uma’s celebrity character has a huge demand – for SMOOTHIES!

Have you ever noticed how many celebrities love smoothies? Have you noticed how fabulous celebrities look? Is there a connection? YES – I believe so, anyway.

In fact, there is even a 1,200 calorie a day juicing/smoothie diet plan that celebrities like Gwen Stefani are fans of. If smoothies work to keep celebrities looking stellar, then it could work for you too!

Can I have my kale, coconut water, flaxseed smoothie please?!

These are the key ingredients in Uma Thurman’s characters smoothie! So what are they, and why do they work?

Kale: A super green powerhouse food that is quickly taking over in popularity. At only 35 calories a serving, it’s loaded with nutrients including, vitamin K (1,020%), vitamin A (180%), and vitamin C (200%). This leafy veggie also contains 40% of your daily required magnesium and 15% of your daily calcium and vitamin B6.

Kale is also a good source of minerals like copper, iron, potassium, manganese, and phosphorus. Plus, it has 5g of fiber in a single serving – which we all know keeps you feeling fuller longer and helps clean out your gut!

With all the nutrients, phytonurients, Carotenoids and flavonoids (antioxidants) Kale is a cancer fighting machine, which also lowers your cholesterol and promotes normal blood clotting, antioxidant activity, and bone health. It’s also great for your eyes thanks to lutein and zeaxanthin compounds.

Coconut Water: Naturally low in calories and fat-free, this electrolyte packed beverage will quickly hydrate your body! Coconut water is the liquid found inside young coconuts before they mature. It contains almost twice as much potassium as a banana.

Potassium helps regulate blood pressure, which in turn helps to prevent related issues like stroke, heart attack and hangovers! Coconut water also has a small amount of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, and is low in sodium.

Flaxseed: By simply sprinkling this little seed into your food, you are helping to reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. Rich in Omega-3’s, Fiber and Lignans (they can contain up to 800x as much lignans vs. other veggies! Wow!) flaxseeds also helps out with inflammation and hot flashes!

Make your own version of Uma Thurman’s Smoothie today!

Using the three primary ingredients above as the foundation, you can add different fruits to create your own adaptation of the SMASH smoothie!

• 1 cup frozen mixed berries
• 1 cup kale
• 1/2 banana
• 1 cup coconut water
• 1 tsp flaxseed

Tear kale leaves off of stems and tear into small shapes. Put coconut water in the blender followed by all the other ingredients. Blend until smooth and enjoy!

When I was a little girl, I would generally succumb to a guttural laugh whenever the words pea soup, were uttered – you may have done the same – that went something to the effect of “EWWWW, pea soup!”

Now, much older and wiser, I have come to love pea soup unconditionally…I find it to be light and refreshing. It’s the kind of soup that make you feel good when you eat it. It is green, and anything green gets the green light from me.

I equate this soup to a warm green smoothie that eats better with a spoon.

Springtime is the best time

With the season of renewal upon us, we are rewarded with a whole new crop of foods to choose from- especially peas.

Peas contain a unique assortment of health-protective phytonutrients. The unique phytonutrients in green peas also provide us with key antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. Included in these phytonutrients are some recently-discovered green pea phytonutrients called saponins.

Due to their almost exclusive appearance in peas, the saponins actually contain the scientific word for peas (Pisum) in their names: pisumsaponins I and II, and pisomosides A and B. When coupled with other phytonutrients in green peas – including phenolic acids like ferulic and caffeic acid and flavanols like catechin and epicatechin – the combined impact on our health have the potential to be far-reaching.

There are a few ways to go about making this. One could do like me and strain the soup, garnishing the soup with sautéed peas. However, straining isn’t necessary, as an unstrained soup will feel be very thick and hearty – which, if you’re in the mood, can be nothing short of perfect!

Serve this soup hot or cold, strained or unstrained – its carte blanche people, meaning it’s entirely up to you!

Pea Soup

Half of 1 leek, white and light green parts only

• 4 leaves of basil
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups regular chicken broth
• 2 ½ cups petit poids (peas)
• 1 cup petit poids
• 1 tsp canola oil
• ¼ tsp salt

In a large pot, sweat leeks and garlic together. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.

Once boiling add 2 ½ cups of peas, and stir for no more than 1 minute…remove from heat. If you leave the peas too long they will turn brown and that’s so unappetizing.

Add basil and blend the soup until smooth. Strain soup into a bowl.  Meanwhile in a sauté pan on medium heat, add oil, then sauté 1 cup of peas, season with ¼ cup of salt. Add soup broth back to a clean pot and heat. Garnish soup with sautéed peas.

Bon apetite!

I was born with a love for chocolate. A strong, deep down love. It soothes a part of my soul that is very hard to reach. When I started to change my diet to follow a healthier guideline, I was THRILLED to discover that chocolate can still be incorporated into my day!

Dark Chocolate is approved on most diet plans. I love to end my day with a little nibble of 60% (or more) cocoa dark chocolate. Even though dark chocolate is diet approved, the calorie content can still get a little high, so I started searching for an alternative.

That’s when I discovered just plain old cocoa powder and started adding it to my coffee and smoothies. Or now I’ll end my evening with a good ol’ fashion mug of steamy hot chocolate.

What can Cocoa do for you?

Harvard Researchers have released their analysis from 21 studies where the participants who consumed cocoa regularly showed improved blood vessel health, a decrease in blood pressure and an improvement in cholesterol levels. This is believed to be in thanks to due cocoa’s high content of flavonoids.

Cocoa contains polyphenolic flavonoids. Flavonoids are antioxidants that are commonly found in fruits, veggies, wine, coffee and tea. Cocoa is so packed with this rich nutrient that researchers at Cornell University have found that 2 tbsp of cocoa powder contains nearly three times more antioxidants then a cup of green tea.

Flavonoids found in cocoa are believed to not only help with heart disease but they also reduce risk factors for diabetes and cancer (especially colon cancer). Research has shown that those who consume cocoa regularly have less than 10% chance of having a stroke, heart failure, cancer and diabetes. PLUS, flavonoids help our skin look good!

Magnesium is another key nutrient in cocoa, which will benefit you in the bathroom. It helps to promote digestion and will keep you regular, avoiding constipation. Ladies, the high magnesium also helps relieve the dreaded pre-menstrual symptoms (PMS). Another benefit of the magnesium is its ability to reduce risks with diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Cocoa has been found to help reduce inflammation. It’s also found that it helps soothe problems with the trigeminal nerve, which helps with migraines and issues with the temporomandibular joint.

If you’re a nursing mother, cocoa increases your milk supply. It has also been shown to increase libido.

Best of all, cocoa contains phenylethylamines, which is a mood enhancer. Cocoa is a powerful tool in the battle of depression. It helps reduce stress hormones and lifts spirits.

Make a smoothie with Cocoa today!

Cocoa Crush Smoothie

• 1 cup milk (soymilk or almond milk work too)
• 6 oz non-fat or low-fat vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
• 1cup frozen blueberries
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 TBSP Cocoa

Add liquids to blender, followed by the fruits. Blend together and enjoy!

I’m always looking for new smoothie recipes to try with Cocoa. Please leave me a comment below with yours!

I say it all the time: Dine on a rainbow of fruits and vegetables to net nature’s full spectrum of health promoting nutrients. But what exactly does an eat your colors diet look like?

It’s an enticing concept, but besides salad bar creations, how does one keep it fresh while reaping vitality through a blend of vibrant foods?

Eat Your Reds

• Lycopene

Found in abundance in tomatoes, watermelon, red bell peppers and pink grapefruit, this rich nutrient contains carotenoids that may reduce the risk of prostate cancer up to 35%, one study suggests.

When cooking these crimson gems, combine them with fat as the body best absorbs lycopene when fat is present. And lycopene is further increased in these foods when they are consumed at a higher temperature; think tomato sauce, soups and the like.

Capsaicin

This scarlet enzyme is found readily in chili peppers, and those spicy little bites help stave off hunger and burn calories. Here’s a tip: to minimize the heat in chili peppers, remove the seeds prior to cooking.

Resveratrol

Brimming in red wine and grapes, resvertrol has the health world a buzz as of late, because it’s reported to be an amazing polyphenol with the ability to neutralize free radicals and inhibit inflammation.

Eat your Oranges

Cur-cumin

Found in turmeric, the antioxidant properties of cur-cumin may help counter the body’s negative response to high fat foods. To use this spice in cooking, mix it into salad dressing or sprinkle it over cooked vegetables like kale – and be easy – a little goes a very long way.

Alpha Carotene

Found in sweet potatoes, carrots, winter squash and cantaloupe. Alpha carotene is known for having anti-aging properties, which converts to vitamin A in the body and bolsters immunity. Like other carotenoids, it is best absorbed with fat. Try roasting the vegetables with oil or pair cantaloupe with avocado.

Eat your Yellows

Bromelain

The active ingredient in pineapple, this enzyme may ease indigestion and asthma. Pineapple paired with Greek yogurt is a stomach loving snack.

Limonoids

As the name would suggest, limonoids are found in limes and other varieties of citrus. They help protect against breast, skin and stomach cancer, and they lower cholesterol. Limonoids are concentrated in the citrus peel, so use the zest and juice to maximize your limonoid intake.

Eat your Greens

Catechins

This stuff is brimming in green tea, especially Matcha, as the whole leaf is consumed. Catechins may lower bad (LDL) cholesterol.

Chlorophyll

Best sources of this enzyme are watercress, leeks, arugula and parsley, but it’s present in nearly every green plant food- even pistachios! chlorophyll is also known to decrease the risk of liver cancer.

Eat your Purples

Anthocyanins

Found in red cabbage, grapes, berries and eggplant. This antioxidant has been proven to improve brain function and balance, as well as reduce the risk of cancer, stroke and heart disease.

Tasting the rainbow is not just for candy lovers. With a diet full of vibrantly colored food, health and wellness become effortless.

My body is the type that happens to look better when I omit carbs. When I walk by a loaf of bread, I gain a pound.

You can always tell when I’m having a “no carb” day though because I’m on edge! I might physically look better, but on the inside I’m a crabby, lightheaded, jittery mess!

This sent me on the hunt for the proper balance of carbohydrates that will keep me slim, yet functioning happily.

But first, I had to understand…

What are carbohydrates and how do they work?

Carbohydrates are a type of macronutrient that we consume in a variety of different products.

There are three different types of carbs; Fiber (the good stuff that keeps feeling fuller and takes longer to digest), Starch (my booty is not a fan of this kind) and Sugar.

Now, there are three main types of sugar, too: Fructose – from fruit; Sucrose – a.k.a. table sugar (my booty isn’t a fan here, either!); and lactose – from milk.

Often times carbs occur naturally, like in our grains, milk, nuts, seeds, legumes, veggies and fruit. Other carbohydrates are added to our food and beverages in the forms of starch and sugar by food manufactures.

Our bodies use carbohydrates as its main energy source. When we digest high amounts of carbs, our bodies turn most of it into glucose (sugar). Our bloodstream transports the glucose throughout our bodies.

When our body detects a rise in our blood sugar (glucose) levels, then our pancreas starts to produce the hormone insulin to help moderate the glucose level. The insulin absorbs the glucose and transports it out of our blood stream. The glucose is then either used as energy or is stored, either as fat or as glycogen in your muscles.

It’s important to note that our bodies can only store half a day’s worth of glucose.

What are “net carbs” and what is a “glycemic index”?

The Food and Drug Administration does not regulate these two terms, so there’s no proper definition for them. But here is what most diet plans and doctors mean when they refer to them.

Carbohydrates that are not absorbed into our blood stream are fiber and sugar alcohol (Splenda is an example of a sugar alcohol). When figuring out products “net carbs” you would subtract the fiber and sugar alcohol from the total carb amount. This remaining number is your “net carb”, giving you an idea of the number of carbs that would increase your blood sugar level.

The glycemic index classifies carbohydrate-containing foods according to their potential to raise your blood sugar level. A GI value of 55 and below is low, 56 to 69 is medium and 70 and above is high. The health benefits of a low GI diet include weight loss, maintaining weight, prevention of cardiovascular disease and prevention of type 2 diabetes.

Most (but not all) naturally occurring carbs are on the low glycemic index side. Higher GI produce you might consider avoiding while dieting include: potatoes, parsinps, pumpkin, watermelons, and dates.

Any questions or anything to add, class? Share with us in the comments below!

Artificial colors are being added to a mind-blowing amount of food and other products to help create an aesthetically-pleasing color. While some of the coloring is created from beets or flowers, others are created chemically in a lab.

What are Artificial Colors?

Exempt Color Additives (aka “natural artificial colors”) are derived from plant, animal or mineral sources which have been processed in some way.

Examples of some Exempt Color Additives include vegetable juice and spices like paprika, turmeric and saffron. When these colors are in your products, they are not required to be specifically labeled and can be simply called, Artificial Coloring, Artificial Color Added, or Color Added.

Certifiable Color Additives (aka “artificial colors”) are derived from petroleum distillates or coal tars and are essentially synthetic chemicals created in laboratories. These 7 artificial colors are required to be specifically labeled on products and will read as Blue # 1, Blue #2, Green #3, Red #3, Red #40, Yellow #5, and Yellow #6. (Other acceptable ways for the label to read is simply “Red 40”)

It’s important to understand the “FD&C” on a label.  In FD&C Red Dye #40, the “F” stands for food, the “D” stands for drugs and the “C” stands for cosmetics. If you see D&C Red Dye #3, that means it’s not approved for our food. So why would you ingest it with medicine?

Artificial colors are added in almost all our foods from dairy and cereal products to dressings, cakes, cookies, chips and beverages. It’s also added into our medicines and even vitamins. So make sure to read your labels!

The hidden dangers of Certifiable Color Additives

Blue #2 may cause asthma.

Green #3 has caused growth inhibition in rats. It’s prohibited in the European Union and other countries in food.

Those who have asthma and are allergic to aspirin have a high chance of being intolerant to Yellow #5. The side effects of this blend can include itching, hives, anxiety, headache, depression, blurred vision, rash, weakness, heat waves, runny nose, and sleep disturbances.

In children, it could cause obsessive compulsive disorder. It’s use is restricted in Austria and Germany and it’s banned in Norway.

Red  #40, Red  #3, Yellow #5, Yellow #6, and Blue #1 are linked to impulse control issues, attentiveness issues and hyperactivity (ADD & ADHD) in our children.

Red  #40 can lower your child’s IQ and has been linked to sleep disorders.

Red #40 in adults can trigger migraines, give you an upset tummy and make you feel jittery.

Those who are allergic to aspirin can have an adverse reaction to Red #40 and Yellow #6, including rash, diarrhea and nausea.

Red #40 is so awful for us that it’s not recommended for our children in most countries in Europe. It’s 100% banned in Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, and Norway. It’s even banned now in hummingbird food.

Did you know that if Red #3 and #40 were sprayed on weeds it could act as a pesticide? The FDA is currently considering banning Red  #3 because in large quantities, it has proven to cause cancer in lab rats, photosensitivity and birth defects.

Plato said it best, “Nothing more excellent or valuable than wine was ever granted by the gods to man”.

Recently red wine has been getting mass amounts of press for its health-promoting qualities and is even being credited with the French paradox. What’s the French paradox, you ask? Well, it’s the term used to describe the well known fact that the French have far less occurrences of heart disease than us North Americans, despite the fact that they consume far more high fat foods.

However, if you subscribe to the belief that fat alone is responsible for heart disease, then yes, it would appear very much like a paradox; but the “fat causes heart disease” debate is woefully out of date.

For years people have believed that the French could get away with such unhealthy fare due in large part to the liberal amounts of heart healthy red wine they consume, which is scientifically-proven to contain many compounds that support and protect our heart health.

This, however, is not the forum to go into depth about the French paradox, but it IS the place to go into the heart healthy, life extending compounds that are in nice glass of red grapes!

What makes red wine healthy?

Resveratrol in red wine is a powerful antioxidant that helps prevents heart disease, and rather recently, physicians and researchers have debated whether it should be formed into a supplement. But personally I much prefer to drink my red wine antioxidants – I know most of you will agree.

Resveratrol may be one of the best anti-aging substances around. Research has shown that a wide spectrum of test subjects, from yeast cells to fruit flies, to mice and worms have seen their life span dramatically increased by minute amounts of resveratrol. And although a supplement could potentially be on the horizon, red wine is still the best way to get resveratrol into your diet.

But there is a caveat to all of this, so before you go guzzling, listen up. The relationship between alcohol and breast cancer risk is murky, yet still troubling. Some studies have found an increased risk of breast cancer in women who drink, even moderately.

At least 10 studies have shown the relationship between alcohol and breast cancer, and the consensus is that alcohol does in fact increase the risk of breast cancer in women. So stick to a 5 oz. glass a night.

With moderation in mind, I say bottoms up!

 I first discovered tofu when I was learning how to calorie count, which had me paying attention to other food options available at restaurants. I realized that tofu vs. meat had less calories, less fat, less sodium, and almost the same amount of protein.

I fell in LOVE with tofu, though when my baby was diagnosed as anemic and was put on a high iron diet.

Tofu is an excellent source of iron, providing 33.7% of our daily requirement (in a 4oz serving). While tofu is low in fat, it does provide 15% of our daily requirement of Omega 3’s! It’s also high in calcium at nearly 40%.

100g of tofu contains an average of 17g of protein!

What are other health benefits of Tofu?

While some adults and children should be aware that they might have a food allergy with tofu due to soy (just like some people can’t handle gluten), the health benefits of tofu can’t be ignored. Tofu contains isoflavones, which are plant hormones that does our body good, including fighting breast and colon cancer.

The FDA just approved packing of tofu (with quantities of 6.25g of soy per serving) to be labeled as a HEART HEALTHY FOOD with the ability to help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease thanks to its ability to lower your bad/lousy LDL cholesterol.

Isoflavones can directly scavenge free radicals, which prevents premature aging. It also may help prevent bone loss, which lowers your risk of osteoporosis. And ladies take note: it’s believed that isoflavones may play a role in the reducing menopausal symptoms. Yahooooo!

Isoflavones are so fantastic that they were the primary ingredient in University of Minnesota’s scientist “smart bomb” drug which has the potential to cure childhood leukemia.

Blending with Tofu!

The thing that I love the most about tofu is that it takes on the flavor of whatever you’re mixing (or cooking) it with. This makes tofu extremely versatile in the kitchen. We add tofu to our smoothies to up our nutritional content and add great texture!

Orange Breakfast Dream (pictured)

• 1 1/2 cups orange juice, chilled
• 1 cup milk, or light vanilla-flavored soy milk, chilled
• 1/3 cup silken tofu or soft tofu
• 1 tablespoon dark honey
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 ice cubes
• 4 peeled orange sections

This tastes just like an old-fashioned Creamsicle! Remember that the orange sections at the end are going to add pulp, so it you’d prefer a chunk-less smoothie, than simply omit the orange sections.

Tofu Energy Smoothie

• 1/2 cup of soft silken tofu
• 1 cup of fresh strawberries (sliced or quartered)
• 1/2 cup of low fat milk, or light vanilla soy milk
• 1 large banana (peeled, sliced, frozen)
• 2 tablespoons of pineapple juice concentrate (frozen)

Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth!

Tofu can be saved up to a week in your refrigerator by submerging the tofu in water inside an airtight container with a lid. Make sure you change your water daily.

I’m always looking for new tofu recipes. Leave me a comment below with yours!

I was at a conference this weekend, spending my days in rooms full of people networking, shaking hands and sharing re-circulated air. It was awfully busy – late nights, early morning and meals that had little emphasis on health, but rather convenience.

And wouldn’t you know it – I can feel myself getting sick. I’ve got the ticklish throat, mild aches and an overall tired feeling that I cannot seem to shake, on the eve of a coming getaway, no less.

It figures.

I leave for my weekend sojourn in exactly two days, so how do I kick this sickness in the butt without having to set foot inside a pharmacy? You guessed it – juice!

My bet on juice as the cure

Whenever I am in a time crunch, like this one, I look to juice to help cure what ails me, for fast relief. Now, there are many juice combinations that are guaranteed to keep us healthy as a measure of prevention, but when sickness is at the front door, there a few juices that get the job done quite like citrus juice.

Citrus juice is packed with vitamin C, well known for being an extremely powerful antioxidant, with an ability to relieve and reduce many sicknesses and keep our body systems working at optimum level. The antioxidant powerhouse that is vitamin C is found in abundance in lemons, limes, grapefruit and oranges.

Typically you can often find me, early in AM, taking a shot of lemon juice on any given day, anyway. However, during this conference weekend, I let my routine get away from me – and that’s a lesson learned.

So this morning as I awoke, feeling less than stellar, I decided that I was going blast my malady with nutrients. I’ve been drinking juice all day – but specifically citrus juice.

My juice combination to relieve sickness

I combine two oranges, one grapefruit, one orange, one lime, and one lemon. You’d think the blend would be sharp and sour, characteristic of citrus fruits, but the sweetness of the orange takes the edge off quite nicely.

I will be drinking this juice blend three times today and three times tomorrow. Combined with rest, I firmly believe that wellness will be mine. I’ll report back soon!

With that, it’s back to my juicer and then back to bed.

What are your favorite juice blends to help relieve sickness? Share with us in the comments below!

When you take a look around at the waist lines of America, what’s the one of the main things you notice? For me personally, I notice that the “muffin top” is no more. Instead of a little extra fluff flowing over the sides, the whole stomach is round and solid. We’ve lost our top.

Did you know that the belly is actually the WORST place to store your fat? Fat stored here isn’t simply surface deep (also known as subcutaneous fat). Belly fat actually goes below the muscle line to build up around our organs (known as visceral fat).

Visceral fat is dangerous because it produces hormones and other substances that lowers your good/healthy HDL cholesterol, increases your bad/lousy LDL cholesterol (and remember that heart disease is the #1 killer of men and women!) It also raises our blood pressure, and makes it harder for our body to properly use insulin. All fat leads to cardiovascular disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, or worse.

The real kicker about belly fat is even if your weight falls within the healthy BMI range, if you have a thicker midsection, then you have an increased chance of premature death.

To find out if you’re at risk, take a soft tape measure and wrap it around your waist just below your belly button. Relax and exhale. If your measurement is 35 or above for women, or 40 and above for men, then it’s time to trim the belly.

Get your blood pumping!

 The quickest and easiest way to break up belly fat is to get moving. You need to feel your heart pounding and shortness of breath. Interval training is a great way to go about this. When exercising, try 4 minutes on, 4 minutes off. Run for 4 minutes, and then walk for 4 minutes. If you don’t want to time it, jog a song and then walk a song. Aerobics classes follow this timing technique and it proves most effective.

Take a look at your diet.

Juicing, blending and dehydrating are perfect place to start when it comes to lowering your belly fat. Those who eat primarily plant-based diets (fruits, veggies, and whole grains), lean proteins and calorie count are thinner in the middle. Whenever friends of mine are struggling with their midsection, I always suggest one other thing – cut out Partially Hydrogenated Oil and Hydrogenated Oils. 

This food ingredient is created by adding hydrogen to oil. It’s done so to extend the products shelf life, which unfortunately leads to trans fat. This ingredient is being added to more and more of our food, yet most countries in Europe have now banned its use. Look for it in margarine, shortening, crackers, cakes, cookies, chips, peanut butter and coffee creamers (boo!)

Especially watch out for Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil because it depresses your thyroid, which lowers your energy. Also, look out for Mono-and Di-Glycerides, which is a fancy new name for trans fat that don’t have to be reported on the labels.

What are your favorite tummy trimming tricks? We’re all in this together, so leave me a comment below!