Have you been Zanged lately?

-By Kallah Maguire, The Stylist

Leah (aka the Nutritionista) and I have been having so much fun sharing new spices and recipes with you on MTM.  So I was pleasantly surprised to find a package on my doorstep she had sent with treats from one of her favorite local restaurants.  Leah wanted to share a true taste of Michigan, since she’s a native and I’ve never been.  Apparently Zingerman’s is a local institution and now I can definitely see why!

The bars topped off movie night as my hubby and I watched The Visitor on Netflix.  My favorite was the “original” that tastes just like a gourmet Snickers, mmm!  Give me dark chocolate, caramel and nuts in some combination and you’ll have made a friend!

Order your own Z Zang gourmet candy bar from Zingermans.com

in Contributor, Food, Kallah, Snacks, Sweets
on Mar 2  1 Comments  by Kallah Maguire

Love is in the air, and so is chocolate!

By Kallah Maguire, The Stylist

Lovely and casual Valentine’s Day with the hubby, and Bottega Louie mmmm….

Bottega Louie

(213) 802-1470

BottegaLouie.com

Wishing you love and chocolate today!

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in Contributor, Food, Kallah, Sweets
on Feb 14  2 Comments  by Kallah Maguire

A mocha to warm the chill!

By Kallah Maguire, The Stylist

It’s cool enough that I feel like I’m having a mocha in between ski runs on the mountain… But really I’m enjoying a decaf soy mocha (my fav) at the Intelligentsia in my neighborhood, yum!

~K

in Cities, Contributor, Food, Kallah, Los Angeles, Snacks, Sweets
on Feb 9  4 Comments  by Kallah Maguire

Babycakes Moves West! (NYC and now LA)

Babycakes Moves West! (NYC and now LA)

My favorite “healthy” NYC bakery has finally made the move to the left coast, but for some reason settled down before they hit sand.  Apparently the LES native insists on keeping  “East” in their recipe! The trendy, gluten-free, wheat-free, sugar-free bakery is packed with downtown dwellers, but have left those of us living west of Hollywood salivating from afar. You would never know these sweet treats are better for your body than Sprinkles.

It’s definitely a step in the right direction, I am keeping my fingers crossed for a Weho location soon!

Los Angeles: 130 East 6th Street 213.623.5555

New York: 248 Broome Street (Btwn Orchard & Ludlow) 212.677.5047

in Cities, Food, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, New York, Photo, Restaurants, Sweets, Thursday - Food & Health
on Jan 14  0 Comments  by MaryRambin

Finding Your Sweet Spot

—By Nutritionista

Nobody wants to believe it, but it’s true. There is a sweet-spot calorie threshold for optimal weight loss. You can’t eat too much, BUT you also can’t eat too little. That’s where people tend to get confused. This has come up a few times lately in the form of reader emails and other posts I’ve seen, so let me set the record straight.

“But it’s not confusing! If I eat less, won’t I lose more weight?” (That’s the chronic dieter talking.)

No! Absolutely not. As a general rule, NO ONE should consume fewer than 1200 calories per day. You just can’t get all the nutrients you need on less than that. Furthermore, by eating fewer than 1200 calories per day, you’re sending a message to your body:

ALERT! FOOD IS SCARCE! UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE SHOULD YOU ALLOW ANY OF THESE CALORIES TO BE BURNED OFF.

If you aren’t eating enough, your body will hang on to every single calorie you consume. Your weight loss will slow to a halt and any loss you’ve managed to log so far will be rendered unsustainable once you start eating an appropriate amount again (or even after a few splurges!).

So find your sweet spot! Do this by:

• Checking out a calorie calculator. I suggest testing out a few and taking the average of what they give you (because your suggested calorie intake might differ dramatically). If you’re trying to lose weight, take note that many calculators provide the number of calories you need to maintain your weight. Subtract 500 from that number to lose a pound per week, or 250 if you exercise regularly.
• Learning to eat intuitively. Though you may have lost it somewhere along the way, your body does actually know how much fuel it needs. You CAN get back in touch with your body’s needs, but it takes practice.
• Realizing that your “sweet spot” can be cumulative over the course of a week. So you eat a few more calories one day and less the next. That’s totally fine. As long as your average is around your sweet spot, you’re good. Some people do this intentionally and call it calorie cycling. So really, it’s more like a sweet range.

This stuff can be pretty confusing, so it certainly doesn’t hurt to talk to a health professional about it. However, a word of caution: I’ve heard plenty of horror stories about nutritionists who tell clients to consume 1000 calories per day or less, so if something seems wrong or fishy, get a second opinion!

in Contributor, Food, Nutrionista, Nutrition, Sweets, Thursday - Food & Health
on Jan 14  0 Comments  by MaryRambin

Delicious Cake Delivery

Holy shit this is the moistest bundt cake I’ve ever had. Ever.

Creative Cakery provides a cheap, delicious alternative to flowers or cupcakes to congratulate someone. Prices range from $13-90. I can’t decide which one is the best. They’re all topped with cream cheese icing so you can’t go wrong.

www.MyCreativeCakery.com

in Food, Sweets, gift guide
on Aug 30  0 Comments  by MaryRambin

THE (BREAKFAST) COOKIE MONSTER

THE (BREAKFAST) COOKIE MONSTER — Nutritionista

Who doesn’t love cookies? I mean, really, is there a more universally adored food? Probably not. What if I told you that it’s possible to eat a cookie every day for breakfast that’s nutritious, filling, and won’t leave you sluggish like some other morning pastries? If you’re skeptical, that’s fair. But hear me out!

Ms. Fitnessista introduced me to the breakfast cookie a few months ago and it was love at first bite. Breakfast cookies can contain the same thing as your morning bowl of oats, but the texture makes them taste indulgent. They end up tasting more like cookie dough than a baked cookie, but who doesn’t like the dough better anyway? They come in at around 300-400 calories, depending on the ingredients, which is the perfect amount for a hearty breakfast. The best part is that they only take about 5 minutes to make (though you’ll need to make it ahead of time).

To create your own cookie, you’ll need to start with a base of four items: about 1/3 C rolled oats, 1/8 C milk of your choice (I use soy or almond), 1 T nut butter of your choice (I use almond), and 1/2 serving protein powder of your choice (I’ve been using hemp). For a bigger cookie, increase quantities of everything. The oats provide fiber and healthy carbs, the nut butter adds healthy fat and a bit of protein, the protein powder adds more protein, and the milk binds everything together. 

That’s just where the recipe begins. To make the cookie your own, add any mix-ins you like! Some ideas:

• Dried fruit
• Nuts
• Pureed pumpkin or squash
• Mashed banana or other mashable fruit
• Sweet spices like cinnamon and nutmeg
• Shredded coconut
• Ground flaxseed or chia seed
• Dark chocolate chips
• Healthy cereals

My favorite mix-ins are mashed banana (gives it sweetness), flaxseed (for added fiber), and coconut (for taste and texture), but go wild! 

After you’ve combined all the ingredients in a bowl, spread the mixture onto a small appetizer-sized plate. Let the cookie harden in the fridge overnight and enjoy the next morning with a spoon. I make this in the evening when I know I’ll be pressed for time in the morning I’m always thrilled to wake up to it. If you use a disposable plate, you can even take the cookie with you! Let me know if you create any amazing breakfast cookie recipes, but in the mean time, here’s the recipe for the one I enjoyed this morning:

COCONANA BREAKFAST COOKIE (makes one serving)

• 1/3 C rolled oats
• 1 T almond butter
• 1/8 C almond milk (or as much as you need to wet everything just slightly)
• 1/2 mashed banana
• 1-2 T shredded coconut
• 1 T flaxseed
• 2 T hemp protein powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Also try Noraleah’s Blueberry Breakfast Cookie!

in Contributor, Food, Nutrionista, Nutrition, Photo, Sweets
on Jun 25  0 Comments  by Nutritionista

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice – by Nutritionista

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice – by Nutritionista 

Okay, really, this post is about one thing: SWEETNESS. What’s the best (read: healthiest) way to sweeten food and drink? I used to be a straight up Splenda addict. You couldn’t convince me there was anything wrong with that stuff. It has zero calories and tastes fine, what’s not to love?!

SPLENDA IN FACT ISN’T SPLENDID

Well, turns out, a lot of things. Splenda, and all other artificial sweeteners, are made with… drumroll please… CHEMICALS. They’re made from different chemicals, but chemicals just the same. NutraSweet and Equal are made from aspartame and Splenda is made from sucralose. It’s true that some studies have shown that artificial sweeteners are safe in small amounts, but why would you want to consume them when there are better options? Why risk it? Not to mention, artificial sweeteners have been linked pretty extensively to weight gain.

WHAT LIES BENEATH THE SWEET

Most of the other popular sweetening agents are composed of a combination of glucose and fructose (honey, agave, HFCS, etc.).Fructose is the main component in High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and presents a few problems. It’s been shown to induce obesity in mice, doesn’t provide the same level of satiety as glucose (meaning you’ll eat more of it), and raises blood triglyceride levels (markers for heart disease) higher than glucose. That’s why I pass on stuff with HFCS, though other seemingly natural sweeteners contain fructose as well.

GO AU NATURAL

It turns out that in the end, most of the non-artificial (caloric) sweetening options are all about the same in terms of effects on the body. I’m on the fence about Stevia, so I just stick to the stuff that’s as least processed as possible: regular sugar, honey, maple syrup, etc. (though all are processed to some extent). Sure, you might be getting a few extra calories, but you also know it’s not going to do anything weird to your body.

As far as I can tell, the least processed sweetening agent you can use is simply fruit or fruit juice. You can use 100% fruit juice to sweeten tea or other drinks or real fruit/fruit preserves to sweeten things like oatmeal and yogurt. Another thing I think we all need to do is get used to the way things taste when they’re not so saccharin sweet. Gradually cut back on sweeteners of all kinds and you won’t need things to have that sharp, sugary taste. Appreciate food for what it really tastes like! Plus, so many foods are naturally sweet (nuts, fruit, even veggies) that it’s easy to satisfy the craving without ever touching the sugar jar.

in Food, Nutrionista, Nutrition, Photo, Snacks, Sweets, Thursday - Food & Health
on Jun 4  0 Comments  by Nutritionista

Kroger Cookies

There is not one thing healthy about the iced sugar cookies from Kroger.  But they are absolutely, hands down, no questions asked irresistable.

And cheap!  6 Kroger cookies = 1 Vegan cookie – approximately.

And I’m going to eat one two, despite the fact I’m going to lay out in a teeny bandeau bikini tomorrow in Miami (last minute whim, you know me and Miami).

in Food, Sweets
on May 28  0 Comments  by MaryRambin