Let's talk turmeric (and no it doesn't yellow your teeth)

“I stopped having turmeric, my friend told me it yellows your teeth and she’s Indian”

I would’ve gently dismissed this client’s reasoning if she wasn’t the third to mention turmeric teeth. I  had one of our research elves look into the topic and she concluded: 

I found no reliable research that turmeric yellows teeth. In fact, much of the research regarding turmeric and teeth found that turmeric is very good for teeth!

 One study found turmeric reduced plaque and gingivitis. And there’s a turmeric toothpaste hitting the market as turmeric “not only prevents tooth decay but also decreases halitosis, inflammation and tooth sensitivity”

In case you’re not dental-centric turmeric helps with mood (on par with Prozac), joint pain,

It lowers the risk of brain diseases and heart disease. It slows the growth of cancer cells. With some types of cancer, turmeric prevented cancer from developing (colon cancer).

My favorite way to turmeric is via golden milk, you can find the recipe here 

A lot has changed since I wrote that post in 2014, golden milk is now found on menus. In NYC Blakelane and bluestone both offer it. Whether you include turmeric in your diet or supplement it, be sure pepper is involved as it makes its potency skyrocket.

Any other myths you’d like me to look into?

Our best Squeeze program yet and fave new ingredient

 Oh structure we missed you so. We are midway though our Foodtrainers’ September Squeeze fall reset weeks.  Week 1, led by Lauren, concluded Sunday and week 2, my week, is off and running (shout out to our Squeeze achievers doing both weeks).

We design a new program, with new recipes each time (why do less work when you can do more?) but we never really know how it will go until we have a group of all ages, living in all different places, going through it. Many of Lauren’s week 1 squeezers told us it was our best squeeze yet…nice!  We asked our week 1 Squeeze grads to tell us how they felt:

I feel back on track/more confident/able to say no/in control/clear-headed, rested and resolved to continue.

This Squeeze is NO booze, grains, sugar, cheese or scale (yup a full week no weigh ins).  While it sounds like a lot of no’s we have a lot of yes’s too. We select special ingredients and what we call “secret weapons” to spice things up. My favorite this go around is ashwaganda. Ashwagandha is tough to say and tough to drink. Sunpotion politely says it tastes a little “earthy”, we say it tastes like dirt, unless you have it in our OMG Ashwagandha recipe. Why should you “ash”? It’s an Ayurvedic herb, used for over 3000 years, that lowers cortisol, helps body handle stress, balances thyroid hormones and improves body composition and sleep.

Try Ashwaganda and our other new favorites in our Squeeze Bundle 

Squeeze Nightcap: OMG Ashwagandha

We love us some golden milk and this ashwagandha nightcap is a spin on the classic. Don’t stress out about our recipe, if you don’t have all of these it’ll be ok.

And if you are stressing out…all the more reason to try this.

Ingredients:

·      1/4 tsp. Sun Potion Ashwagandha

·      1/2 tsp. Wakaya turmeric

·      1/2 tsp. Wakaya ginger

·      1 cup water

·      Pinch sea salt 

·      Pinch black pepper (pepper increases the effectiveness of turmeric)

·      1 cup almond or coconut milk

·      Optional drops NuStevia (optional)

·      *Add more sea salt or stevia as needed 

Instructions:

1.    Put ashwagandha, turmeric, ginger, pepper and water into a small saucepan, add water and simmer 8-10 minutes or until this mixture reduces and thickens.

2.    Add almond milk and stir, continue until mixture is warm (a few minutes).

3.    Add salt and stevia (if using) and stir again.

4.    Pour into a mug and sip. OMG, you’ve been ashwagandha’d.

If you want a reset, let us know and we’ll put you on the list for January “Whipping Week” info.

So what do you do when you need to reboot? Have you heard of ashwaganda? Any nighttime rituals you’d like to share?

Healthy Travel- Dos and Don’ts for Airport and Airplane eating

Since I’ve been up since 4:30, (I kind of like Euro jetlag) and it’s fresh in my mind, I thought I’d offer up my two cents on airplane travel with examples from my most recent trip to Amsterdam.

Outbound 8pm flight

I’ll admit, I felt virtuous as I prepped for this trip. With no kids to pack for, it was an opportunity for selfish self-care.  I planned to take Le Pain Quotidien’s frittatas (they boxed them up with sliced avocado) and cut veggies to consume pre flight.  Best-laid plans…while sitting in traffic on the way to JFK, I realized my Eat Play Rose’ bag with frittatas and crudité had stayed home. I called my (yes my babysitter, kids are away) babysitter and she popped it all in the freezer. I still bitched and moaned for the remaining hour to the airport. Marc finally snapped at me, “you’ll live” I wasn’t so sure.

At the airport, I had to forage. Not only was I meal-less but the long-weekend traffic had delayed us. I ended up with a very red onion heavy tuna with capers and olives (first class sodium) and a small container of Caprese salad I scarfed these at the gate, bringing tuna and onions on a flight is an aroma offense I wasn’t willing to commit.

Once on board, I chugged a bottle of water, put on noise cancelling headphones, and a cashmere scarf, and airplane socks. I know my next move flies in the face of typical nutrition advice (oh well) but when the drink cart comes around I get a scotch and a glass of water. I take magnesium and Zyflamend nighttime (anti inflammatory with valerian root), use a disposable toothbrush and go to sleep.

I have a strict no airplane food rule (just like Anthony Bordain) so no dinner or carb-inental breakfast they offered. I’ll have more water and coffee before landing.

Return flight 10:40am

The way back our flight was during the day, which can be tricky. It’s easier to avoid eating when you’re asleep. We always try to have a hearty meal before take off. Luckily, we found omelets with ham and green smoothies. Once on the plane I had water whenever it was offered, Wakaya turmeric tea and New Primal jerky halfway through the flight. My husband had a Yes Bar and jerky.

We both felt energized having kept our eating lighter. Once home, we went for a bike ride and early dinner to acclimate.

What’s your airplane eating routine? Any road rules to share? 

How about a post-weekend metabolism boost? Giveaway too!

Expo West is the capstone of natural food shows. Carolyn and I love a challenge and decided we could cover this massive event in one day. Before every one of these expos we make a pact not to oversample. Let’s just say that at 9am, when Carolyn found me, I had gluten free pizza in one hand and bone broth in the other. The treat train had left the station and mild reflux was already setting in. But how can I know whether to recommend something without tasting it?

By midafternoon we had reached our threshold. At this point, we’d jerkey-ed, dark chocolated, posed for the embarrassing photo du jour and walked over 10 miles (20K steps). 

A booth with props? We're always  in.

We just wanted to be finished. It’s mile 25 of the marathon and the high five supply is exhausted. As we entered an area with newer products, we saw the Fire Cider booth. We know and love the original Fire Cider but as we shuffled by the booth we heard the word unsweetened. Original Fire Cider is sweetened and so not a member of our innermost food circle. Unsweetened? Carolyn and I turned and took a shot. Wow.

If you’re among the uninitiated, Fire Cider is amped up ACV (apple cider vinegar).

There’s ginger, turmeric, habaneros, lemons, here are the ingredients:

It’s good for weight loss and blood sugar; it’s anti-inflammatory and a metabolism booster. And you’ll decide for yourself whether I’m right about this but when I have it I feel a little buzzed (not so bad). I have it first thing in the morning. With ACV I put a Tbsp. in water but with Fire Cider I go straight up. Start with 1 Tbsp., our friend Heather at Fire Cider has it three times a day but we’re still building up our tolerance. In the mean time, try this “secret weapon” shot and let us know what you think.Cheers!
Firecider is giving away 1 bottle of their sensational stuff to 1 of our readers. To be eligible, comment below and tell us why you want to try fire cider AND tweet Need a boost? @Foodtrainers has a @firecider giveaway? OK? Must enter by Friday the 13th.

Superbowl Challenge and Recipe

Most years, I have more interest in the food than the football on Super Bowl Sunday. But we love the Broncos; our dog is named Bronco so I’ll be watching. And according to statistics, so will most of you. This concerns me, I have heartburn just thinking about Super Bowl food where team healthy is the biggest underdog around.

Instead of suggesting what to skip, Carolyn and I decided to make a crudité plate that could compete. No sad, wet baby carrots and a hummus container can do that.

If you need some crudité coaching, check out our #CooCoo4crudite video

Crudite Starting Lineup

Here is the recipe for the dip we mention in the video

Super bowl Spicy Tahini

¼ cup Tahini

2 Tbs lemon juice

2 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs Apple cider vinegar

¼ tsp. Sunny Bang probiotic hot sauce

¼ tsp. Wakaya turmeric

Himalayan salt and pepper to taste.

Complicated Instructions: mix/whisk together & amp up spice, salt & pepper if needed.

*I’ve made with coconut oil but you need to increase the heat if you do so.

*Any hot sauce or salt will do, we used our MVP incredients.

I think our crudité can compete but can you beat us? We’re veggie voyeurs, please post your plates with the hashtag #coocoo4crudite on Instagram or Twitter. If you’re not that social, email us your cool creations and we’ll see who wins this crudité competition (and the game).

Will you be watching the game? Which football foods do you plan on eating? What do you think is the secret for crudité that can compete/interesting veggie plates?

And of course some pregame