Wellness PICKS: Restorative Oil, Botanical Facial Gel and Organics Tonic

Let's watch what we put on our bodies and try these products formulated without harmful ingredients.

Kiehl's Superbly Restorative Argan Oil This is nature's miracle moisturizer! It is fantastic on hair and even better on the body.  Fizz is gone wiouthout the oily feel and look.  The argan oil is easily absorbed by the skin and best of all Kiehl's sources fairly traded argan oil from a women's cooperative in Morocco. 

Mario Badescu, Botanical Facial Gel is a cleansing gel enriched with grapefruit extract to revitalize and energize the skin.  Know that grapefruit is a natural antioxidant and is a natural exfoliant.

Origins Organics Purifying Tonic. This 95% certified organic toner contains lavender alcohol, organic vinegar that sloughs off dead skin cells and organic willow bark which soothes and purifies the skin.

New Year + Change tactics = Wellness.

Lacking energy, lethargic, slow …we now know what “listless” is.   These harried times, the very word impresses just that, the lack of planning or coming up with a list can make one slow on the uptake – that is, short of saying, appear stupid.  


The decade's end is peeking closely and we are challenged once more with a challenging year ahead. In spite of our efforts to keep our cool and wear “wellness” with glowing regard, no one and nobody can really, totally, escape hassles and bothersomes.  We all have our fatigue moments.

Sigh. Fidget. Whistle.   

WELLNESS PICKS suggests that we come up with a NOT-TO-DO LIST for 2010.  To us, this is much believable rather than coaxing yourself to come up with a to-do list that resembles some complex military strategy complete with notes on psychological operations.  Why not launch a counterattack by rattling off a list of things you are NOT going to accomplish? On top of my not-to-do list? Stop making to-do lists that will never get done.

New Year + Change tactics = Wellness.

Such that:  JUST SAY NO.  I won’t over-commit.  I will weed out all the things I have felt obliged to do in the past and will decide to participate only in the volunteering, social and family activities that I truly want to do.  I don’t plan to increase my carbon footprint.  I will continue to look for ways to cut back on the amount of energy and other natural resources that I consume.  I won’t waste my time with negative people.  New Year, new mind-set!

What yours? Now get past - stop pinching your belly, wishing for a tummy tuck!

Wellness PICKS: Natural Organic Snacks in Vending Machines

A startup home business called Wholesome Foods Vending wants us to push the vending machine button for a bag of Veggie Straws and a Vitamin Water.  In the mind of this entrepreneur based in Delaware, people frequently make the wrong choices about snacking because there are so few choices.

Wholesome Foods Vending will be ready with their army of colorfully branded machines, filled with Chilean lime potato chips fried in avocado oil, or organic oats-and-soybean brownie bars.  So far, sales pitches have been sent to about a thousand companies in Delaware. Meaning, it’s not there - yet.   

WELLNESS PICKS like that Wholesome Foods Vending acts not just for profit, but for the common good.  We share in the growing concern about soda machines fixed in school hallways that lure children with doses of high-fructose corn syrup and carbonated caffeine.  It’s been a while that we heard of the New York state’s plan to clamp down on school junk-food vending.     

   

We are already imagining of pushing the button for an organic, all-natural…ah, so long, Doritos and Mountain Dew.   

Vow to Eat Eight Daily Must Eats

There is an on-going “eat-this-not-that” commotion that confuses we hardly know now what to swallow. All we know is a little protein such as turkey, salmon and lean beef everyday won’t hurt, or so.  But, in a seeming mêlée of nutrition experts over menu that packs needed nourishment, we go dumbfounded.  What “high phytonutrient content?” Ah, take me to the market.  Let us go find these eight food wonders.  

Spinach - This noted muscle builder is a rich source of plant-based omega-3s and folate, which help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and osteoporosis. Bonus: Folate also increases blood flow to the nether regions, helping to protect you against age-related sexual issues. And spinach is packed with lutein, a compound that fights macular degeneration. Aim for 1 cup fresh spinach or 1/2 cup cooked per day.  Substitutes: Kale, bok choy, romaine lettuce

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

Blueberries - Host to more antioxidants than any other North American fruit, blueberries help prevent cancer, diabetes, and age-related memory changes (hence the nickname "brain berry"). Studies show that blueberries, which are rich in fiber and vitamins A and C, also boost cardiovascular health. Aim for 1 cup fresh blueberries a day, or 1/2 cup frozen or dried.  Substitutes: Acai berries, purple grapes, prunes, raisins, strawberries

Yogurt - The 2,000-year-old food's health benefits are not disputed: Fermentation spawns hundreds of millions of probiotic organisms that serve as reinforcements to the battalions of beneficial bacteria in your body. That helps boost your immune system and provides protection against cancer. Not all yogurts are probiotic, though, so make sure the label says "live and active cultures." Aim for 1 cup of the calcium and protein-rich goop a day.  Substitutes: Kefir, soy yogurt

Tomatoes - There are two things you need to know about tomatoes: Red are the best, because they're packed with more of the antioxidant lycopene, and processed tomatoes are just as potent as fresh ones, because it's easier for the body to absorb the lycopene. Studies show that a diet rich in lycopene can decrease your risk of bladder, lung, prostate, skin, and stomach cancers, as well as reduce the risk of coronary artery disease. Aim for 22 mg of lycopene a day, which is about eight red cherry tomatoes or a glass of tomato juice.  Substitutes: Red watermelon, pink grapefruit, Japanese persimmon, papaya, guava


Carrots - Most red, yellow, or orange vege- tables and fruits are spiked with carotenoids--fat-soluble compounds that are associated with a reduction in a wide range of cancers, as well as reduced risk and severity of inflammatory conditions such as asthma and rheumatoid arthritis--but none are as easy to prepare, or have as low a caloric density, as carrots. Aim for 1/2 cup a day.  Substitutes: Sweet potato, pumpkin, butternut squash, yellow bell pepper, mango


Black Beans - All beans are good for your heart, but none can boost your brain power like black beans. That's because they're full of anthocyanins, antioxidant compounds that have been shown to improve brain function. A daily 1/2-cup serving provides 8 grams of protein and 7.5 grams of fiber. It's also low in calories and free of saturated fat.  Substitutes: Peas, lentils, and pinto, kidney, fava, and lima beans


Walnuts - Richer in heart-healthy omega-3s than salmon, loaded with more anti-inflammatory polyphenols than red wine, and packing half as much muscle-building protein as chicken, the walnut sounds like a Frankenfood, but it grows on trees. Other nuts combine only one or two of these features, not all three. A serving of walnuts--about 1 ounce, or 7 nuts--is good anytime, but especially as a postworkout recovery snacks.  Substitutes: Almonds, peanuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts


Oats - The éminence grise of health food, oats garnered the FDA's first seal of approval. They are packed with soluble fiber, which lowers the risk of heart disease. Yes, oats are loaded with carbs, but the release of those sugars is slowed by the fiber, and because oats also have 10 grams of protein per 1/2-cup serving, they deliver steady, muscle-friendly energy.  Substitutes: Quinoa, flaxseed, wild rice


Now, don’t dare us to go searching for a recipe that calls for a mix of all these eight.  Aiming for wellness perfection is sometimes awful.  But really, shall we vow to eat “eight?” “Eight’s” definitely well and good!  

Wellness BITS: Happy "Food and Drink Days"

Tis’ a season to be merry, so we go easy and share these cheeky bits of trivia about “Food and Drink Days.” Without us knowing, or ever we care if they exist, 'gustatory days' happen to be happening. Well, after all we eat and eat and drink practically every day so on some months and days when we are reminded of, say, a “Peking Duck Day,” we might just hit Chinatown and pat the bird a good cheer. Have some, if only for the occasion.

Today is Christmas Day and that is shared by the celebration of “National Pumpkin Pie Day.” Here’s what remains of this merry month:

26th: Candy Cane Day

27th: Fruit Cake Day

28th: Chocolate Candy Day

29th: Pepper Pot Day

30th: Bicarbonate of Soda Day

31st: Champagne Day

We can take that - actually, what a sparkling way to end the year. Toast!

Bet we will welcome the New Year with a January List of Food and Drink Days galore.

Cheers to Wellness!

Wellness NOTES: Insisting on biodegradable cafeteria utensils

Sipping a hot noodle soup from a Styrofoam cup…ah, one of those instant, convenient snacks that can come every day.  Then a take-out dinner later and a quick hot coffee to cap the night – all in Styrofoam, all good!

Good indeed if we consider that Styrofoam or Polystyrene foam is a petroleum-based plastic made from the styrene monomer.  It sure sounds toxic. Don't take our word for it.  EarthResource says that toxic chemicals leach out of these products into the food that they contain (especially when heated in a microwave). These chemicals threaten human health and reproductive systems. 

WELLNESS PICKS notes, and praises Taiwan, Portland (Oregon), and Orange County (California) for  banning polystyrene foam.  

And so we like the news that a lot of school cafeterias are is phasing out its use of Styrofoam and all non-biodegradable plates, bowls, cups and utensils, the traditional plastic or Styrofoam material.   

The transition to all biodegradable products is a conscious effort to promote sustainable food service practices and proper stewardship of natural resources.  And things are going favorable because there’s been an increase in price on petroleum-based products such as Styrofoam while there’s been a decrease in the price of biodegradable items due to the increased production of the items.

The California-based Biocorp Inc. has developed disposable bags and cutlery that are entirely biodegradable. Made from renewable materials, including cottonseed and cornstarch, the products are biodegradable in a normal composting process, yet provide the functional characteristics of conventional plastic.  The products have already received a seal of approval from the American Society for Testing and Materials.

This is a challenge for all campuses to become more sustainable. Next, are we seeing tray-less eateries? 

Wellness PICKS: Angelina Jolie's Favorite Lotion

Trust our favorite Angelina Jolie to always think of helping other and changing the world – even when she is in the shower.  Brad Pitt’s ladylove uses bath products Shea Terra Nubian Honey Shower Crème and Shea Butter Body Lotion of which fifty cents from each bottle sold goes to the Nubian Goat Project, which purchases goats for needy families in Ethiopia.

Talk about feeling real good after a shower, WELLNESS PICKS love Shea Terra Organics because its line of products is loaded with the highest quantities of shea butter than most shea butter products you find on the shelves today.  The natural ingredients include aloe ferox, bush mango, African potato, and honeybush – all known to promote skin repair and cell renewal.

Among their range of natural products - all free of parabens, sulfates, artificial fragrances or colors, our top pick is Miombo Mango Indigenous Silk & Shea Butter Lotion, a supple, rich moisturizer so named because it contains zesty mango extract from the African Miombo Rainforest.  The label reads: organic and wild harvested African herbs, 20% certified organic shea butter, moisturizing goat's milk and cruelty-free silk. 

Angie is right, shea’s got it all good.   

Wellness TIP: Non-Reactive Cookware

Dried foods or leftovers stored in plastic bags and plastic wares would taste like plastic.  It’s very noticeable - or haven’t you noticed? - unless you like them flavored ‘industrial’.  Same goes for sipping a hot tea in a Styrofoam cup, you are drinking more than tea.  We guess it is “T” for “toxic.”  This is attributed to the simple fact that food ions react with synthetic or metallic ions.   

Of course the makers of elegant cookware and cute lunchboxes are not telling you this.  So WELLNESS PICKS says that rather than wrapping a baked potato in aluminum foil, consider baking it directly on the oven rack or placing it in a covered casserole dish.

We can avoid adding toxins to our foods. You can use one of those inert, non-reactive cookware made from enamel, titanium, silicone or glass materials. Or go environmental with bamboo, earthenware or ceramic products.   

WELLNESS PICKS gives you award-winning author Rebecca Wood for more Guidelines for Choosing and Using Healthy Cookware.  She is quick to tell us that “foods vary in their reactivity” and that “It’s not necessary or expedient to ban all plastic from your kitchen.”  Check out this helpful site for more counsels on "Healing with Food."  Well then Miss Rebecca, gives us the wares.

Look, those cute "Microgreens" are creeping on my salad plate

There are many other salad greens out there and some really possess exquisite flavor such as the likes of arugula, mesclun, radicchio and lamb's lettuce. For chefs and passionate home cooks, the salad bowl is a culinary playground with tantalizing tumbles of bitter and tangy, of sweet, spicy and peppery.   Make it real fresh. 

How about “bulls blood beet greens?”

And now the “microgreens” (Sounds like you're in a lab).  Microgreens are filament-thin, delicate plants, the smallest possible incarnation of salad greens, leafy vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers.

The cute greens - those lovely little cluster of microgreens are flavorful Lilliputian members of the greens community which have been appearing with increasing frequency on today's restaurant menus.  We just had a halibut steak with Persian spices in saffron broth garnished with a rainbow mix of micros like upland cress, amaranth, and sorts of edible flower confetti.

WELLNESS PICKS is attracted to microgreens because of their punchy splashes of flavor - our favorite is the spicy, nutty and earthy microarugula - and their almost-evanescent beauty.     

At our choice restaurant French Laundry, at Yountville, California, the chef cuts what he needs from the living plants, so what we taste is a vibrant bouquet of just-harvested flavor.  A curious reading of trendy menus reveal, micro is extensive: Microfennel, microarugula, micro-spinach, microchrysanthemums, microcelery and others appear as toppings, as garnishes, or as explosive bursts of flavor.

The chefs at Martini House, in St. Helena, and Foreign Cinema and Campton Place, both in San Francisco, are now incorporating microgreens into a variety of dishes. 

We prod you to try a sampling of microgreens at these San Francisco restaurants:      

42 Degrees: Variety of microgreens tossed in a fennel salad with Meyer lemon and satsuma orange or on a warm arugula salad with salmon.

Alma: The popular bulls blood blend (beet greens) dressed with sherry vinaigrette

Andalu: Microgreens rainbow mix in Ahi tuna tacos or microarugula on rabbit potpie.

One Market: A mix of microbasil in a melted caprese salad or leek tart on salmon and a bed of micromustard greens

Kokkari: Lobster and shrimp cake topped with a mix of microgreens.

Lark Creek Inn in Larkspur: Arctic char is garnished with mixed bulls blood beet green and an English pea soup is topped with microcilantro. 

Wellness LIST: America's Best Healthy Foods

Klondike Slim-A-Bear Ice Cream Sandwich

How's a "Best Dessert for Your Blood Sugar?"

WELLNESS PICKS spotted them - we mean, we spotted Men'sHealth listing "The Best Healthy Foods of America."  Thanks for doing the walk. It is during these times of the year that we get extra super nosy about lists and listings: bests and worsts, ins and outs, hot and not.  You have a month-ful of time to actually try each at the rate daily. If some of the items are not available in your area, you might want to whip up some of your own. And, be reminded that you are not to over-indulge. Serving suggestions included. Have some: 

Best Restaurant Sundae: 
     Uno Chicago Grill's Mini Hot Chocolate Brownie Sundae
Best Restaurant Dessert: 
     Chili’s Sweet Shot Key Lime Pie
Best Frozen Treat:
     Fudgsicle Original Fudge Bar
Best Dessert for Your Blood Sugar:
     Klondike Slim-A-Bear Ice Cream Sandwich
Best Restaurant Sirloin:
     Ruby Tuesday Peppercorn Mushroom Sirloin
Best Restaurant Tilapia:
     Chili's Cedar Plank Tilapia
Best Restaurant Meal for Your Blood Pressure:
     Red Lobster Wood Grilled Sole with Fresh Asparagus
Best Frozen Dinner:
     Stouffer's Meatloaf
Best Mall Chinese Meal:
     Panda Express Mushroom Chicken with Mixed Vegetables
Best Frozen Entrée:
     Marie Callender's Oven Baked Chicken
Best Fast Food Kids Meal: 
     McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets with Apple Dippers, Caramel Dip, and 1% Low-Fat Milk
Best Drive-Thru Meal: 
     Wendy’s ¼-Pound Single with Small Chili and Medium Iced tea
Best Fast Food Burger: 
     McDonald's Big N' Tasty
Best Hawaiian Pizza: 
     Domino’s Thin Crust Ham and Pineapple Pizza (2 slices)
Best Frozen Pizza: 
     Kashi Mexicali Black Bean Pizza (1/3 pizza)
Best Fast Food Pizza: 
     Pizza Hut 12" Fit and Delicious, with Diced Red Tomato, Mushrooms, and Jalapeno (2 slices)
Best Drive-Thru Tacos: 
     Taco Bell Grilled Steak Soft Tacos, Fresco Style (2)
Best Sit-Down Mexican: 
     Baja Fresh Grilled Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos (2)
Best Restaurant Appetizer: 
     Outback Seared Ahi Tuna (small)
Best Supermarket Yogurt: 
     Fage 2% (7 oz)

Best Bottled Tea: 
     Honest Tea Community Green Tea (16 ounces)
Best Mall Snack: 
     Auntie Anne’s Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel, no butter
Best Nuts: 
     Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds, Dark Chocolate (1/4 cup)
Best Snack Dip: 
     Muir Glen Organic Garlic Cilantro Salsa (2 Tbsp)
Best Cracker: 
      Nabisco Triscuit Original (6 crackers)
Best Sandwich for Your Blood Pressure: 
     Cosi Tuscan Pesto Chicken Sandwich
Best Pita Sandwich: 
     Chili's Fajita Pita Chicken
Best Sub Sandwich: 
     Subway 6" Double Roast Beef
Best Vegetable Sandwich: 
     Cosí's Fire-Roasted Veggie Sandwich
Best Asian Salad: 
     Panera Bread Asian Sesame Chicken Salad (Half Portion with Reduced-Sugar Asian Sesame Vinaigrette)
Best Classic Salad: 
     T.G.I. Friday's Cobb Salad
Best Sweet Coffee Shop Drink: 
     Starbuck’s Vivanno Banana Chocolate with nonfat milk
Best Coffee Drink: 
     Tall Starbucks Skinny Latte + Protein (12 oz)
Best Fast Food Breakfast: 
     Platter Bob Evans 3 Scrambled Egg Lites with 2 Slices of Bacon & Fresh Fruit
Best Fast Food Breakfast Sandwich: 
     McDonald's Egg McMuffin
Best Fast Food Oatmeal: 
     Starbucks Perfect Oatmeal with Nut Medley
Best Supermarket Breakfast Sandwich: 
     Jimmy Dean D-Lights Canadian Bacon, Egg White & Cheese Muffin Sandwich
Best All-Fruit Smoothie: 
     Jamba Juice Peach Perfection (16 Ounces)
Best Instant Oatmeal: 
     Quaker Cinnamon Swirl High Fiber Instant Oatmeal (1 packet)