Friday, November 11, 2016

Why I Gave Organic Candy on Halloween


This post is in response to the many questions, side-eyes, eye-rolls, names (ehhem "food snob") and backhanded compliments that come my way on most holidays that involve food. Easter, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, birthdays, Christmas - many more in between - and of course, Halloween. If you're reading this, it's likely because you too have made the decision to detoxify or optimize your body, your life, the lives of your friends and family and ultimately the world we live in and you seek to support progress in our food culture. Because of that, I'm sure you've been on the receiving end of sometimes negative or passive aggressive comments and body language too.


I believe most people dish out these reactions, not because they are rude or disrespectful, but instead because they do not understand why I choose to buy and cook and bring and serve what I do. I can understand that. We've all cast judgement on someone at some point in our lives instead of seeking to understand. So, for anyone who wishes to better understand why I and others like me make some of the choices that we do, here is the #1 reason I handed out organic Halloween candy last week.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Ask Me Anything!

Hey everybody! How was your weekend? I spent the past three days in Hartford, CT taking part in a workshop as part of my training to become a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner. I thought I'd share a little bit with you about my trip and then we will officially kick off the LVO Video Q&A Series!

 I was so nervous on the drive up north and again in the morning as I signed in with members of the training staff. We were all vaguely familiar with each other from interacting through our online learning portal. For me though, seeing everyone in person was a lot like what I imagine meeting your date for the first time after flirting on match.com for the past 3 months is like. A little awkward and nerve-racking. I quickly realized though that I was in the safest place I could be. Out here in the real world it can be tough. You want to maintain a certain lifestyle and it can sometimes feel like everyone and their mother (or your own mother) is trying to sabotage you, question you and prove you wrong. Your typical conference would meet you with a spread of days-old pastries, bagels, hoagies, chips and sodas. Here at the workshop though, sprouting, kombucha, fermentation, ketogenesis, bone broth, butter and raw milk were the rule in conversation, not the exception. And the spread included farm-fresh organic hard-boiled eggs, organic teas, homemade kombucha jello, saurkraut, organic veggies, coconut butter and goat's milk. Dare I say... Heaven?

Friday, November 8, 2013

Dark Out Workout

Welp, the hands of clocks all across America fell back this weekend. That means dark commutes, chillier days and holiday craziness are upon us. After-work-exercisers like myself are faced with some major changes to their routine. As sunlight lessens and temperatures cool, it is common to feel a need to retreat indoors for exercise or lose motivation all together. Stay strong! Exercise is extremely important for your health, both mentally and physically. Regular exercises improves mood, lessens, anxiety, improves focus, helps regulate blood sugar, revs your metabolism, improves digestion and overall just makes you feel good!  We've all talked ourselves out of it though on that cold evening that you can't bear venturing back out into. Or because the Housewives of this that or the other city is on repeat... And how do we end up feeling? Pretty crappy. Especially when you remember that sexy dress you want to wear to the holiday party in a couple days. Don't let any housewife or the changing clocks jeopardize your health or your happiness! Stay focused and stay committed. Joining a gym can be a great way to find motivation and a sense of community. But gyms get awfully crowded during this time of year as the early sunsets force the herds back onto their sweaty hamster wheels. They can also be rather expensive, an added stress that nobody needs right around the gift-giving season.

My advice: Save your money and ditch the gym this year. 

Instead, grab your boyfriend, wife, mom, or best friend and take a drive around your neighborhood at [the new] nighttime. Locate some well lit areas: parks, soccer fields, school parking lots, housing developments. Pick out a few that look promising ( Some things I look for: flat area, maybe some grass, a field with painted lines, stairs, benches, bleachers). These will be your new gyms! There won't be any weight machines, treadmills or stretching mats; you'll need to get creative! The only grassy patch over there will be your stretching area. The distance between this light pole and that trash can 100 yards away will be where you sprint. 3 laps of this general will be your warm up and cool down and this flat area here will be where the rest happens! It will be chilly for the first few minutes, but if you invest in some warm gear like SmartWool running sock and a good hat you'll be warmed up in a matter of minutes and feeling awesome! As you get into it and see areas where you could use more of a challenger, consider adding some easy-to-make sandbags to your routine or pick up a weighted vest or set of ankle and wrist weights. Use your body, its own weight and your surroundings to work your muscles. Instead of breathing in sweaty-recycled air in a gym, breath the cool crisp air of fall and winter. Some argue you will actually get a better workout because there is more oxygen available! Save the 30-70 dollars a month you would spend on a gym and put it towards your vacation next summer, a weekend winter getaway, cute new (warm) gear or holiday gifts. My absolute favorite thing about working out this way though is I never ever get bored! 

Some days we go to a soccer field and take turns sprinting until we can't sprint any longer. 

Other days we hit up a base ball field, set a number, like 30, and take turns calling out exercises "Burpees!" "Squats!" "Pushups!" "Bear Crawl!".. and so on.

And others we jus head out for a nice light jog.

This was our workout from last night. We ran one mile to a church/school parking lot that is very well lit, worked out, and ran the one mile back. 

Warm Up
1 Mile Run


Set A

10 Pushups
30 4-Count Overhead Arm Claps
10 Pushups
20 Buddy Shoulder Press
10 Pushups
20 Tricep Dips
10 Pushups

Buddy Sprint Intervals

Buddy 1 Sprints Down & Back
Buddy 2 Sprints Down & Back

Buddy 1 Sprints Down & Back
Buddy 2 Sprints Down & Back

Buddy 1 Power Skips Down / Sprints Back
Buddy 2 Power Skips Down / Sprints Back

Buddy 1 Karaoke Down & Back
Buddy 2 Karaoke Down & Back

Buddy 1 Jog Down / Run Backwards Back
Buddy 2 Jog Down / Run Backwards Back

Buddy 1 Sprints Down & Back
Buddy 2 Sprints Down & Back


Set B

25 Sit-Ups
1 Minute Plank
25 4-Count Bicycle
1 Minute Plank
25 4 Count-Flutter Kicks
1 Minute Plank

Buddy Sprint Intervals

Buddy 1 Sprints Down & Back
Buddy 2 Sprints Down & Back

Buddy 1 Sprints Down & Back
Buddy 2 Sprints Down & Back

Buddy 1 Power Skips Down / Sprints Back
Buddy 2 Power Skips Down / Sprints Back

Buddy 1 Karaoke Down & Back
Buddy 2 Karaoke Down & Back

Buddy 1 Jog Down / Run Backwards Back
Buddy 2 Jog Down / Run Backwards Back

Buddy 1 Sprints Down & Back
Buddy 2 Sprints Down & Back

Set C

50 Walking Lunges (25 ea. side)
25 Squats
1 Minute Buddy Wall Squat (back-2-back)
25 Calf Raises (toes forward)
25 Calf Raises (toes pointing out)
25 Calf Raises (toes pointing in)
25 Squats
50 Uphill Walking Lunges (25 ea. side)

Cool Down
1 Mile Run


I hope this post serves as some inspiration and motivation to you as we dive head first into these chilly darker months! Please share with anyone who may enjoy be struggling with the time change and how its affecting their workout routine. And do share your own suggestions and ideas in the comment box below! I love hearing from you!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

COMING SOON: La Vita Organica Video Q&A !!

I'm super excited to announce the newest addition to La Vita Organica:
Our ALL NEW Weekly Video Q&A Series!

In the next couple weeks I will kick off a brand new video Q&A series that will air weekly. Each week I'll ask YOU GUYS to submit questions and topic ideas that interest YOU on the blog at www.lavitaorganica.com or over on the Facebook Page! I will choose one to answer or address in each video! You can ask me about how to health-ify recipes, how to shop strategically, my opinion on a certain brand or product, or something totally off-topic - really,  ANYTHING!
This is all about YOU and getting your questions answered! So, start thinking and stay tuned! I'll have more details for you in the next week! 
Until then, 
Keep it Real

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

25 Foods to Always Buy Organic


I guess it's pretty much assumed that I think you should only buy and/or eat organic everything. In an effort to keep my toxic exposure low, vote with my dollars, support organic farmers and avoid undue environmental damage, yes, I do try to buy and consume as much organic food as possible. However, I live in the real world where money can be tight and being a choosy and discerning consumer is necessary to get by. For this reason, I present you with 25 foods you should ALWAYS buy organic to help you prioritize, budget and meal plan! 

I feel it is important to mention to things before diving into the list:

1.) The findings presented by the USDA's Pesticide Data Program and analyzed by the Environmental Working Group are based on pesticide residues identified after the produce had been washed. I think it is extremely important to take that into consideration as you scroll through this list and notice just how high some of the pesticide residue quantities were. Many people believe washing their fruit removed the threat of toxicity, however this is just not the case. Conventional farming lends itself to heavy spraying practices. These foods are living things that absorb the chemicals they are doused with. Just as our cells, tissues and organs are made up from the foods we eat and the substances we're exposed to, so too are these foods. In many cases, chemicals become a part of the food and as a result, are not removed by washing.

2.) This list could really be much longer with this inclusion of Genetically Modified Organisms. I refrained from going too much into GMO crops in this post for a number of reasons though and I will post soon about the dangers of GMOs and how to avoid them. While a few GMO crops do appear in this list, both directly and indirectly, I also want to mention that corn, papaya, wheat, cotton, sugar beets (used to produce cheap sugar), aspartame (produced from genetically engineered bacteria), soy and canola should also be avoided unless they are organic or Non-GMO certified.      






Thursday, October 24, 2013

The Birth of the Chili Log

Did you know there is an International Chili Society? Me either. But they seem like the people to turn to when you find yourself wondering where chili got its start. Silly me to think there would be an easy answer; it appears chili has quite the tall tale attached to it, much of which remains up for debate and cause for banter to this day. . . I can't help picturing what happy hour at the World's Greatest Chili Cook-Off must be like. . . I have a feeling things get pretty heated (pun totally intended). Anyway, the history of chili as cataloged on the ICS website is lengthy and can be found here. It's exact origins cannot be agreed upon though they do explain that the quest for "greatest bowl of chili" probably started the moment the second person on earth mixed together their peppers, beans and beef and claimed it best in the land. Who knows! One thing is for certain though, it did not originate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania! And yet here I am mixing up and taking about the spicy stuff with just as much adoration as those who enjoyed it thousands of years ago. Ain't that the beauty of widespread cultural influence! The cool thing about chili is that since it's creation, whenever that was, it has partnered up quite successfully with some pretty popular palate pleasures, including hot dogs, burgers, macaroni, french fries, tortilla chips, cheese and sour cream (to name a few). And now, most appropriate for the fall season, it has teamed up in the LVO kitchen with the wonderful flavorful autumnal delicata squash.


I'm pretty excited about this recipe because I sort of stumbled upon the idea and it ended up being insanely delicious, so I can't wait for you to try it out and report back! Before we get to the recipe though, let's travel back in time down chili lane. Here is a spark-notes version of chili's history - complete with some of my favorite bits and pieces right from the experts themselves:

  • From the time the second person on earth mixed some chile peppers with meat and cooked them, the great chili debate was on; more of a war, in fact. The desire to brew up the best bowl of chili in the world is exactly that old.
  • The mixture of meat, beans, peppers, and herbs was known to the Incas, Aztecs, and Mayan Indians long before Columbus and the conquistadores.
  • Chile peppers were used in Cervantes's Spain and show up in great ancient cuisines of China, India, Indonesia, Italy, the Caribbean, France, and the Arab states.
  • Don Juan de Onate entered what is now New Mexico in 1598 and brought with him the green chile pepper. It has grown there for the nearly four hundred years since.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Why Going Organic May Be Your Weightloss Solution

Struggling to overcome excess body fat that won't melt away regardless of mileage, heart rate, calories burned or calories consumed, is down right frustrating.  Five years ago my doctor told me that I "just had an unusually slow metabolism" and proceeded to limit me to around 1,000 calories a day. This meant that I was hungry - in ever way a body can possibly be hungry - all the time. Even though I experienced some weight loss, this benefit was overshadowed by daily anxiety, mood swings, frustrating restrictions and guilt. And it sucked.


It wasn't until years later, after much research, trial and error that I found my answer: a life of nourishment, delicious food, mental and physical satisfaction, new-found happiness, self-love, my ideal weight, and absolutely zero guilt. It almost sounds too good to be true reading it back; and sometimes I get really emotional when talking about my transformation because I want everyone to be freed from the overwhelm and frustration - Freed from the influence of marketing ploys packed with lies meant to lure us from one money making scheme (100 calorie packs) to another (lean cuisines) only to leave us hundreds of dollars poorer, no healthier, no lighter, and no happier. The question that I continue to get asked is "..but..HOW?" How is it possible that I'm eating more calories and more food, but losing weight. I get it. I totally get it. After a lifetime of being told to restrict, restrict, restrict, I didn't buy it either. In fact, I was terrified to increase my calories at first, but I found out first hand that, nowadays, eating fewer calories will not always give you the results you're hoping for. But eating high quality calories - will. 



I know how many beautiful girls and women are counting every damn calorie, every gram of carbohydrate, sugar, fiber, fat and protein, being diligent and dedicated to their goal yet are still STRUGGLING. They're frustrated. They're getting discouraged. They're blaming themselves, like I blamed myself. Well, enough is enough. It's time that you know the truth: our food system, especially anything processed, but also many fruits, vegetables, dairy products, fish and meats, and the containers and packaging within which they are sold or consumed are polluting our bodies and making it insanely difficult, if not impossible, to shed that extra weight.



When a topic moves me as much as this one, it is difficult not to go off on tangents for pages and pages denouncing the horrific reality that is our food supply. But, taking Jon's advice, I'm going to keep it short and sweet - giving you what you need to know right now about how NOT choosing organic may be the EXACTLY why you're gaining and/or not losing weight.