We spoke to Domino about dry January

I spoke with Domino about doing a dry January aka "dry-uary".  A little insight on how our Squeezers feel sans alcohol and what to do when a Cabernet craving hits.
Any of you bypassing the booze this month? Or, have you in the past? What works when you want a cocktail but are trying to avoid have one?

How to Kill Carb and Sweet Cravings

We tend to draw a line between foods we’ll try (anything) and what we’ll suggest to clients and readers. It’s affirming, that we’re headed in a healthier direction, when foods we previously felt were offbeat become mainstream. One such category of foods is fermented vegetables. Consumer Reports, Eating Well Magazine and Foodtrainers’ friend Max Goldberg, of the Living Maxwell blog, all list fermented foods as a trend for 2017.

 If sauerkraut, kimchi and pickles come to mind, you’re on the right track. I realize kimchi isn’t for everyone; there are also carrots, beets and other, slightly more user-friendly, fermented veggies available. As you may know, we’re also partial to shots. I mean, why beat around the bush? Our favorite, fermented food folks at Farmhouse Culture have “gut shots” (see photo). And, just yesterday NYC-based Lulitonix sent us their super shots too.

If being trendy is not a draw (and trust me, food trends are the only trends that interest me), there are still convincing reasons you should have fermented or “ferm”, as we affectionately call them, vegetables in your diet. First, ferm veggies have a staggering probiotic count. One tablespoon has as high a count as many supplements. And if you’re not already obsessed with your microbiome (the state of real estate in your gut), you should be. 

Fermented foods help with mood. The majority of our serotonin is produced in your gut. I got a kick of this study which connects fermented foods to lower social anxiety, specifically “neuroticism”. Fermented foods also play a role in reducing food cravings, specifically for carbs and sugar. They have beneficial effects on your weight via glucose metabolism. Bacteria-free mice were found to have higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol. And higher cortisol leads to weight gain. If mood, cravings and weight aren’t a draw (not sure why you’re reading this blog) it’s worth a reminder that fermented foods help us combat pathogens. They can knock out h pylori, that leads to ulcers, and even eradicate some forms of e coli…yum yum.

There are kits galore if you want to be a home fermenter. I’m less of a DIY-er. Personally, I’d prefer SEDI (someone else do it). As I said above, check out Farmhouse Culture (I’m already babbling but the kraut explosion that occurred, with a package from them, is a sour story for another day).  I mentioned their gut shots but their fermented orange, ginger carrots are delicious too. We also love Bubbies Pickles, Mother in Law's Kimchi and Hawthorne Farm's red cabbage. Look for these foods in the refrigerated section of your health food stores or Whole Foods.We featured ferm veggies as one of our “secret weapons” in our New Year’s Whipping Weeks but we have other ferm friends. Kombucha, kefir and miso are worth checking out. Your goal should be to have 1 “ferm” food daily but when it comes to good bacteria, the more the merrier…or less neurotic. 

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?

I freaked out majorly: warning 1st world problem

I haven’t written in a bit but I have a good reason. I was in food shock. It started a few weeks ago. We decided- I should say I decided to replace our cracked kitchen tile and countertops. My husband gave me the “is this really necessary?” line.  The truth is that his kitchen experience amounts to occasional coffee making, gluten free beer opening and table clearing when he’s in a helpful mood. I could’ve wasted my time pointing out that the kitchen to me was the equivalent of the golf course for him but I had a more productive idea. I selected the countertop material  (Caesar stone) and flooring (light wood planks). I presented my husband with two samples of each that were basically the same so he could “choose” and put him in touch with the kitchen guy. Our division of labor for any renovation is design- me and construction- him. This proved to be a mistake.

Two weeks ago today, the boys had started spring break and I was enjoying not having to be out of the house at 7:30AM. The doorbell rang and I answered it in my pajamas. There were five men with tools standing outside with the head honcho kitchen guy. I had been told the kitchen work would be done while we were away. As I stood in the doorway, Marc emerged freshly showered and smiled at the guys “that’s great that you’re getting an early start.” And the unraveling began. I guarantee these nice men will tell the story of the crazy upper west side lady for years to come.

“You told me this was happening when we were away”

  He said

“I thought it was a good idea for them to start before we left in case there were questions.”

While that’s totally logical in retrospect I said

“It’s a good idea for you but what about me, I am supposed to eat days of take-out food right before a vacation?”

And he said

“I think having a new kitchen is worth a few days of non-organic food.”

It went downhill from there and I decided to go get dressed and calm down.

When I came downstairs, four men were carrying my fridge into the dining room.

The fridge was unplugged. The fridge with a freezer full of grass fed meat and wild salmon, the fridge with my kombuchas and organic berries.

And while I now know I must’ve sounded like a spoiled baby, I freaked.  Mid fit the kitchen guy plugged the fridge into a dining room outlet. The light went back on and I started to breathe.

I will never admit this to my husband but I kind of liked running out to Juice Generation to get smoothies breakfast for all of us and a few newspapers. Having no kitchen meant no pillaging for dark chocolate. And we plugged the coffee maker in the home office and it was fine.

This past Friday, the men were putting the kitchen sink in and the kitchen guy said “was it worth it?” and, with my tail between my legs, I apologized knowing that nothing I cold say would erase my crazy. It was totally worth it.  The problem is that now I don’t want to cook and mess any of the newness up.

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?

Well and Good Said This is the Next Kombucha

It's always funny to me when I first learn of something and then seem to see it everywhere. I'll explain. About a year (or more) ago, I ordered a jar of the beverage pictured above. It's called switchel and I believe it's from Vermont. Then I saw other switchels at the farmer's market and Well and Good asked how I felt switchel stacked up.
I told Well and Good that I loved the idea of switchel. After all, it contains apple cider vinegar and ginger, two of my go-to ingredients. But it's sweet, 16 grams or 4 teaspoons per serving sweet in the brand above. So despite the Vermont angle (we spend a lot of time there) and the intriguing ingredients, the kombucha crowd that's present in my fridge at ALL times (the lengths poor Fresh Direct must take to deliver this bubbly drink) is safe from switchel. If you're sad about switchel, I did green light switchel as a drink mixer for cocktails, although I must say Be-Mixed is my number one for that. We also did a Foodtrainers' riff on switchel and the recipe is on Well and Good.
Have you heard of switchel? Tried it? Are you crazy for kombucha (I know, not everyone is)?