Woo Hoo! Today I participated in the Tofu Takedown at the Highline Ballroom in NYC. The fabulous Matt Timms was the host and the turnout was amazing! This event was pure TOFU FUN. Lots of tofu-fans trying dishes from about 20+ chefs. I did my Tofu Lemon Bars which I re-named: Lemon-Aide Tofu Cups. My award: "Best Disguise of Tofu!" The judge who awarded me my title said she loved the dish and it reminded her of Key Lime Pie. So true. What a fun day and fun event. Click ahead to get the recipe for my winning recipe and see a few more photos from the event....

First the recipe, then the event photos!



My Lemon-Aide Tofu Cups were a twist on my Zesty Lemon Custard Bars. Here is the award-winning recipe:
Zesty Lemon Custard Bars
vegan, makes one batch of bars-around 12 squares

1 container silken tofu, medium firmness
6 small lemons, squeezed
2 tsp lemon zest
3/4 cup vegan dry sugar (I use Florida Crystals /minimally processed brand)
2 Tbsp Arrowroot powder (substitute for cornstarch)
3/4 cup powdered sugar (or any vegan dry sugar will work here.)
2 tsp sea salt
1 1/4 cups soy milk
1 vanilla pudding packet, (I use Dr.Oetker brand)
1 Tbsp canola oil, for shine and texture (may omit if desired)
8 large plain graham crackers or vanilla cookies, any crumbly vegan variety will suffice
a few thin lemon slices for garnish
Tools: blender, 8" or 10" brownie or cake pan, soup pan.

PHOTOS below....


In the cab on the way to Highline Ballroom...lots and lots of tofu cups in our cooler! Good thing I had a fabulous helper:



Lifeguard Lemon (my recipe mascot):



My Lemon-Aide Tofu Cups Station:

one tasting per taster!


Me at my station:



Me and my prize and Lifeguard Lemon Sign:



Me on stage with the other chefs, accepting my "Best Disguise of Tofu" Award:

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 5/15/2009 0 评论    

I participated in the TOFU TAKEDOWN COMPETITION today at Highline Ballroom in NYC. And guess what? My Lemon-Aide Tofu Cups won the "Best Disguise of Tofu" Award! Yay!

more details and photos later tonight...

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 5/15/2009 0 评论    

The other day I promised to discuss willpower.   What's often overlooked with the notion of willpower is that it has numerous components and it often doesn't even have anything to do with character or discipline. 

For example from a nutrition standpoint  willpower can be enhanced by consuming more whole foods, limiting dead processed foods and balancing your food intake appropriately. Willpower will be enhanced when you are eating in a healthier way.

Highly  processed foods frequently have ingredients in them which make you literally crave more and more of them, similar to an addiction.  So you need to get off the food "substance"  which is addictive to you, while  at the same time increasing your overall food plan with more nutrient dense whole foods. Trans fats, highly refined carbs, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, excess sodium and other additives are ingredients which literally may ignite cravings and willpower goes out the window.

Another aspect of this is balancing blood sugar. Many people eat too light, or really imbalanced meals (particularly too many carbs)  during the day which sets you up for being overly hungry. Who has willpower when you are feeling "starved?"

So, improve you diet and you may have more willpower than you think.

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 5/15/2009 0 评论    

A recent poll showed that it was mainly larger companies with more than 250 employees that offered wellness programs for overall health, weight loss, smoking, as well as other additional health oriented benefits.

So it seems from this poll that many smaller companies may not have the means to be able to provide wellness programs for their employees…

I thought a great solution to his problem would be to have employees organize their own healthy programs. For instance, a group of just 4 - 6 people could set up a meeting to have a weight loss provider come in and set them up with a 4 – 12 week program to help them stay on track. The group could also set up their own lunch time walking sessions or even small group workout classes.

What I'm trying to get across is that the possibilities are endless and that you don't need to wait for a HR department to organize a specific group meeting. It takes less time and planning than you think and the healthy rewards will really amaze you!

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 5/15/2009 0 评论    

A new line of Haagen-Dazs ice cream now only has 5 ingredients - skim milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks, and the 5th is the flavoring which could be mint extract, ginger puree and juice, coffee, vanilla bean, passion fruit juice, brown sugar, and cocoa powder.

This seems to be a trend to go back to natural foods and to leave out any chemical flavors and colors. This new line is not necessarily weight loss friendly since a 1/2 cup serving can contain up to 12 grams of fat, but it is 1/3 less fat than the regular ice cream.

I would definitely keep my eye open for an ice cream that is lower in fat and calories, but making sure it did not contain high fructose corn syrup or trans fats. I like that there are only 5 ingredients and I know what all of them are. This new product is something to enjoy on occasion...just remember to eat it slowly so you can enjoy it.

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 5/15/2009 0 评论    

Did you hear about a new law that could allow employers to give you health benefits tax free. That means if they reimburse you for things like health club memberships or nutritional programs you wouldn't have to pay taxes on that reimbursement.

Tom Harkin's who is a democratic senator from Iowa proposes that companies be allowed to receive tax credits for helping their employees to live a healthier lifestyle. Most people now believe that healthier employees lead to better work productivity and fewer absentee days. They also report better energy throughout the day.

In the future the pay back may be more, but for now companies can reimburse up to 20% of some of the health benefits that employees take advantage of. To see if you qualify you may want to get in touch with your employer or HR department.

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 5/15/2009 0 评论    

A few weeks ago a reader wrote in and was concerned about how often to weigh. This all depends on the individual. Some people are so obsessed about their weight they definitely should only get on the scale once a week.

Some people though, say they actually stay on track better if they weigh daily. I'm fine with that as long as they don't allow the numbers to discourage them when they don't lose.
Keep in mind there are weight fluctuations with weight that occur that may not have anything to do with real weight gain or loss. A high sodium food item like a dill pickle, popcorn, soy sauce, or even dining out (especially fast food) may make the scale go up. Then there are hormone fluctuations  which occur especially around a woman's cycle which can make the scale go up two to five pounds.  Airline travel may also cause water retention which looks like weight gain. I've even seen stress decrease weight loss efforts.
So do what you must do on the scale but pay attention to what you are eating and what happens in the context of your day to day life as well as how you personally react to scale numbers. Again, If you get discouraged easily definitely stay off the scale. You might just want to gauge your weight by your clothes and how they fit. For some this works too.
Readers what works for you?

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 5/15/2009 0 评论    

About a week ago the The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recalled some Hydroxycut products which were found to cause a number of serious liver injuries.

"The FDA has received 23 reports of serious health problems ranging from jaundice and elevated liver enzymes, an indicator of potential liver injury, to liver damage requiring liver transplant. One death due to liver failure has been reported to the FDA. Other health problems reported include seizures; cardiovascular disorders; and rhabdomyolysis, a type of muscle damage that can lead to other serious health problems such as kidney failure."

To make sure you aren't using any of these products I wanted to list all the particular Hydroxycut supplements the FDA is warning against using.

Here is the current list:

Hydroxycut Regular Rapid Release Caplets
Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Rapid Release Caplets
Hydroxycut Hardcore Liquid Caplets
Hydroxycut Max Liquid Caplets
Hydroxycut Regular Drink Packets
Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Drink Packets
Hydroxycut Hardcore Drink Packets (Ignition Stix)
Hydroxycut Max Drink Packets
Hydroxycut Liquid Shots
Hydroxycut Hardcore RTDs (Ready-to-Drink)
Hydroxycut Max Aqua Shed
Hydroxycut 24
Hydroxycut Carb Control
Hydroxycut Natural

If you have any of these products the FDA advises bringing them back to the place where you purchased them.

Source: FDA.gov 

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 5/15/2009 0 评论    

If you have not heard already another diet drug was taken off the shelves. The FDA said that Hydroxycut, a supplement that claimed to help with weight loss, received 23 reports of health affects from taking it. There was also a report of someone who needed a liver transplant!

The FDA does not regulate dietary supplements like they do prescription drugs - which are defined as products that prevent or cure disease. This is why there can be more risk of taking dietary supplements.The FDA is now on a campaign to monitor dietary supplements since many have been found to have potentially hazardous drugs in them such as anti-seizure medication. 

As glamorous as the people in the commercials may look from taking these dietary supplements the risks of taking unknown substances is not worth it. Diet and exercise is the way to go to get to your weight loss goals. It make take longer than you would like, but being at your goal weight and healthy is what is most important.

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 5/15/2009 0 评论    

I wanted to wish all of our readers who are mothers a very happy and healthy Mother's Day! I also decided to research some fun ways for you to burn calories with your kids or on your own outside today!

Check out the list of activities below for details on how many calories you will burn off over the course of 60 minutes:

Playing with your kids: 216 calories
Walking briskly:  297 calories
Gardening: 324 calories
Yoga: 360 calories
Tennis:  549 calories
Golf: 240 calories

These calorie burning stats are based on a 150 pound mother. If you weigh more then that then your calorie total will likely be higher, and if you weight less then you will probably burn a few less calories per hour. The intensity at which you do the activity also makes a big difference in terms of the overall calorie burning effect.

How you decide to spend your Mother's Day is up to you and I hope you enjoy the day!

Sources: American Heart Association, Calorie Control Council, National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 5/15/2009 0 评论    

As a usage of the Internet and things like computer games, and social networking sites like twitter, and facebook become more popular there is a growing concern that this may be partly fueling the obesity crisis that shows no sign of slowing down.

Susan Greenfield who is a director of the Royal institution, has pointed out that too much computer use could be infantilising, our brains when something tends to go wrong.

If a child does something wrong when it is younger for example it may fall over and hurt itself, it will learn not to do that mistake again.

If somebody plays a computer game and they make a mistake, there is a temptation to keep playing on in order to rectify this. The taking of risks and the pay off seem more appealing to us. What happens as a result of this is we can tend to eat more food without even realising it.

Susan who conducted the research has also found links to ADHD and autism, she says that too much computer use may be cutting our attention spans down, stifling our imagination, and lowering our empathy also.

The result of this is our brains can tend not to develop properly, and the old saying use it or lose it is very applicable to this particular to the way your brain may stop working. All these functions go on in a part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex.

When this part of the brain becomes damaged we tend to take more risks, and the more overweight you tend to be less active that part of the brain tends to be. To quote this source

"She said: ‘If you are stopping someone from doing something, that is not ideal.

‘If you are telling someone to not to do something, you must give them an alternative.

‘What we need is research to find out why it is so addictive.

‘Between the ages of 10 and 11, kids this this country spend 900 hours at school, just under 1,300 hours with their family and just under 2,000 hours in front of the screen.

‘Anyone who says that we shouldn’t worry and that I am scare-mongering should look at these figures.

Source  http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1180934/Do-Facebook-flab-Computer-use-make-eat-warns-professor.html

Post from: Weight Loss Blog (Lose That Tyre)

Do Computers and Facebook Make Us Fatter ?

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 5/15/2009 0 评论    

Drinking some vegetable juice once-a-day which contains sodium may help you to lose weight. In a recent study which was conducted participants drank approximately eight ounces of vegetable juice in conjunction with a carefully calorie controlled diet, managed to lose four pounds over a 12 week period.

This was compared to another group which was monitored whom only followed the calorie controlled diet, and didn’t consume the vegetable juice only lost a pound. One of the researchers said that drinking the vegetable juice somehow reduces the person’s appetite hence the reason they tend to eat less, there is also the belief that eating plenty of fruit and vegetables naturally encourages a lower body weight.

Among all of the 81 participants whom were involved in the study, have some form of metabolic syndrome this means the they had tone of the following health problems namely, high blood sugar, high blood pressure and high levels of cholesterol.

They were encouraged to follow the DASH diet which is short for “Dietary Approaches To Stop Hypertension” this diet is very high in fibre, fruit, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products and foods low in cholesterol.

Throughout the study they were encouraged to drink a vegetable juice containing high levels of potassium potassium is very good for lowering blood pressure and is found naturally in fruits like bananas etc.

A lot of adults both in the UK and United States don’t get their five day of their vegetable requirements so drinking vegetable juice is an excellent way to get it, if you have a juicer then this is a great way to make your own vegetable juice without having any added preservatives and it will probably taste better as well. If you have never tried fresh juice I highly recommend it it tastes lovely.

Source http://www.reuters.com/

Post from: Weight Loss Blog (Lose That Tyre)

Can Drinking Vegetable Juice Help With Weight Loss

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 5/15/2009 0 评论    

Well we had a run on smoothies for seven days so now here are fourteen days of healthy recipe’s here is day one

Breakfast

Some muesli and blueberries which is with skimmed milk click the linked blueberries text to see a post about blueberries.

Lunch

Wholemeal pitta bread with Greek tzatziki see here how to make it add some cucumber which is chopped and a grated carrot

Tea/Late Dinner

Steak with potato wedges

1 barbecued medium steak, with some potato wedges served with some salad and 1tsp of low fat mayonnaise.

See you on day two.

Post from: Weight Loss Blog (Lose That Tyre)

14 Days of Healthy Eating Recipe’s

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 5/15/2009 0 评论    

Power plates which are being used by certain celebrities such as Kylie and Madonna, have found to be very effective to help people lose weight. They help you lose weight better than aerobics or swimming. A study which was based around using these particular machines, where women used them three times a week, lost more weight compared to people who used conventional means of exercise such as the ones mentioned above.

One of the good things about using these particular machines is they are very good at moving belly fat, which is quite crucial when it comes to losing weight because this is where problems occur. If you haven’t seen one before they look like a pair of scales that you stand on, and you have a handle which you hold whilst the plate at the bottom vibrates and exercises your various muscles.  The theory behind how they work is they are supposed to make your muscles contract and relax faster than conventional exercise.

When the study was conducted the researchers tracked 61 people, to see what impact using the machines had on them, they were given a varied diet to eat and told to do various exercises, this was done over a period of six months.

The participants that used the power plate lost 11 percent of their weight, compared to those who didn’t do any exercise they lost six percent and people who cycled, did aerobics and running lost seven percent.

The people who conducted the study said that you can't just use the machine on its own you need to do some sort of other exercise to complement what you are doing. But at least there is something to be learned from this is at least it’s not just another weight loss/exercise machine that may not work.

Source http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk

Post from: Weight Loss Blog (Lose That Tyre)

Power Plates Shed Weight Faster Compared To Swimming and Aerobics

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 5/15/2009 0 评论