I Was Lifted (and not talking levitation or any weird crap like that)

I started this week feeling like shit, full of self-doubt, it happens. I looked on Instagram (as if that’ll help any insecurities) and found that I had been tagged by Heather in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

She posted a quote from LittleBook of Thin and explained she was home with a sick baby. She could sit on the couch and eat Cheeze-its or get up and “be the boss of her body.”  My messaging was helping someone else, that’s why I do what I do, thank you Heather.

The next day, Marc and I watched the docu “if you’re not inthe obits, eat breakfast” on HBO.

It’s about kicking ass in your 90s. One woman, who is still running at 100, told her story. She used running to get over a family tragedy (tragedies actually). It got her out of bed, it got her to climb out of her grief. Jerry Seinfeld (not 90 but his mother was in the film) talks about his life principles, one of them is “bust your ass”. Whatever you’re doing, bust your ass at it. Get up, bust your ass- a theme was building

And on Wednesday, I’m telling you it was a week weird signs and signals, I ran into a friend. We have a high profile friend in common. I say that only because it’s relevant. My friend said, “do you know how I met her?” I didn’t. She explained that this high profile person wasn’t as high profile when they first met. She found out my friend’s husband was in a position to help her take her career to the next level. She didn’t mince words and asked my friend to meet her husband. I joked with my friend “wow, she just flat out asked for what she wanted, I could do more of that.” My friend, as she walked away, said “yes, you could.”  For the record, I’m a terrible “asker”.

Finally, last night Carolyn and I went to a book party at Hu for the fitness phenom Holly Rilinger. Holly’s new book “Lifted” offers fitness advice but also life advice (and my favorite nutritionist contributed to the book). Holly joked that she’s a journal keeper. When she reviewed her journals, in writing the book proposal, she constantly said “again”?  Holly said, “10 years later and the same issues?”We all have these reoccurring emotional themes we need strategies for. So whether you’re 40-something or 90-something, your words can “lift” someone else. Or, as Heather in Kentucky or the 100-year-old runner (I need to go back and learn her name) did, lift yourself.

Anybody or anything lift you up this week? Are you someone who asks for what you need?

Are you going to order LBT or Lifted right now?

Foodtrainers' Fancy Food Show Finds

Yesterday was our annual summer trip to the Fancy Food show. Basically, the Javitz Center is filled with a million food booths, some healthier than others. I have to give us a little credit and say we have become pros at the food fair thing. We didn’t eat ourselves into complete food comas or sample any more ice cream. Plus, we hit our 10k steps right away. It was great to see many Foodtrainers’ friends – Banza, Organic LivingSuperfoods (love the new look) and Grady’s cold brew . As always, we were on the hunt for new products too. Here are a few Fancy faves we’ll fill you in on, others we’re keeping a secret for our September Squeeze program and the Foodtrainers’ shop.

Super Sauces: do you believe in love at first bite? Filfil garlic hot sauce was my first taste of the day and my favorite. With over 20 cloves of garlic per bottle you may not want to consume this before a date or important meeting, but I  promise you’ll fall in love with this spicy new Brooklyn based brand. We are also all about Primal Kitchen’s paleo Avo-mayo which now comes in chipotle lime   And you might know The New Primal from their super spicy jerky  but they have a new, clean bbq sauce line  – sweetener from pineapple juice which also helps tenderize meat before you BBQ.

Alternative flours: Almond, cassava and chickpea oh my. We love seeing these gluten free alternatives in wraps, snacks and yup even pizza. Our faves go to Cappello’s pizza and pasta, Siete cassava wraps and Simple Mills crackers. 

the far right had basil, wow

Chocolate: we are so happy that chocolate isn’t going anywhere - we are forever Eating Evolved and Hu faithful (Hu  assured us single serves are coming) but the beauties from Moonstruck and the drinking chocolate from Treehouse Chocolate caught our eyes and tastebuds too. 

There wasn’t a ton of new kombucha but we did dig Revive, which uses alternatives to black tea for some fermenting… coffee kombucha anyone? That was Lauren’s pick of the day and we also loved their white tea with cucumber and mint. 

We have some ideas for summer travel snacks and our next September Squeeze. Make sure you are signed up for our newsletter to stay in the loop. Have a wonderful long weekend!

Which of the items mentioned are you most curious about? What do you see as the current trends in healthy eating?

Coffee, Crickets, Kombucha and other trends from Expo West

So sad this is among best photos with both of us from the trip

I’m sitting on the plane. My magazine binge is complete (Food & Wine’s “The New Healthy” issue good but Bon Appetit’s Culture even better), inbox has been cleaned out, the book I’m reading at a lull and it’s not yet time for a snack…so I thought I’d tell you a little about Expo West. Expo West is this massive Natural Foods Show; all the big players have booths and events and rookie players or new food companies come to get a jump-start. People spend days at this show. Carolyn and I were determined to see it all in one day and 23, 000+ steps later we did.

If I were to pick out a few trends or things we saw a lot of I’d say jerky is a big deal. These new offerings are a world away from Slim Jim. If you don’t think you’re the jerky type I’d do some taste testing. Carolyn said she felt many more products geared toward men and I’d agree. “Mancakes” is an example of this  (get it man + pancakes?). We saw some tea but coffee, particularly jazzed up coffee, was everywhere. There was coffee mixed with other ingredients (maca and guarana) and also coffee blended with nut milks. And our favorite of course….lattes on tap.

There was a whole lotta kombucha happening but many of the newer brands had more sugar than the Heathade and Synergy we covet. In terms of other beverages, a few of our favorite companies have come out with unsweetened versions. We’re saving our winner for May and our Pre-Summer Squeeze  program (so good, sorry to tease). In terms of sweeteners, monk fruit is making a name for itself. It’s zero calories and has no aftertaste. To be honest, I haven’t monkfruited a lot and initially dismissed it so I have to do some tasting.

 

And for anyone who said gluten free was a fad, read this study and take our word for it, it’s bigger than ever. And I’m not talking gluten free treats or gluten free crap but gluten free meal items like our beloved Banza. See their new packaging?

Carolyn and I were determined not to over sample. We tried to divide and conquer- Carolyn would taste sweet and I’d cover savory. We ended up both tasting both. I refuse to really ponder what I ingested but there was gluten free pizza (sample size but it was 9:30 am), Banza’s new mac and cheese, every coffee product offered, apple cider vinegar and more.  Did I mention we walked 10 miles? I said to Carolyn we’d need to do it again to make up for our excessive testing.

Oh and the nastiest item of the day was definitely a nutrition bar made from crickets  (not Exo…those are fine) and flavored with matcha. It had the worst aftertaste and we felt ill but as we rounded the corner Hu Kitchen to the rescue, a chocolate chaser makes every better.

Which of these trends or categories would you like to hear more about? Would you eat products made from crickets (you will likely see more…protein)? What’s your favorite magazine or podcast these days?