Tuesday January 10, 2012

January: Make Quick Fixes That Stick

Happy New Year. Many people say it’s a cliché to make losing weight your New Years Resolution. We say, better to be a cliché then let that extra eggnog get too comfortable. Many also say there is no such thing as a quick fix when it comes to weight. If you didn’t already know, we are diet dissenters, and we beg to differ. When things are out of hand as they can be post-holiday “fun”, let’s fix them pronto.

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The Quick Fix Toolset

The Tea Set's Organic Sexy Detox/Weight Loss Tea: tea is a lot of things but sexy is not usually one of them. Enter The Tea Set, a hidden gem in NYC's West Village who've combined green tea with yerba mate and herbs like lemongrass and rose hips. These hips can actually help your hips; the tea is ant-bloating and metabolism friendly.

The Picky Bar: you probably know we're very picky about what we eat, picky and proud. All of our snacks are carefully vetted and here's one of our favorite new finds: The Picky Bar. Created by elite athletes, this organic energy bar is gluten and dairy free, and the perfect mid afternoon healthy quick fix.

SoCal Cleanse Organic Protein +detox Powder: the queen of protein powders and the perfect, skinny start to your day. Blend with greens, Harmless Harvest coconut water, cinnamon, and pear (nu stevia or maple optional) for a delicious start to your day.

Grab one or all of our Quick Fix tools from Foodtrainer's Online Store today.

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The Quick Clutter Fix

We're fervent believers that less junk in your life leads to less junk in your trunk. So we asked Kim Parker, organizer extraordinaire to celebs, CEO's and even Foodtrainers, to let us in on her quickest clutter-fixing tips. Kim says that the bathroom is a great place to initiate mission: unclutter.

A good kind of purging: It's great to de-clutter bathrooms because they're small enough spaces that a little time can result in a major difference, plus the next morning it’s nice to open the medicine cabinet without fear of something falling on your head. In the spirit of multi-tasking, use your child's bath time (if you don't have children, do this while shower heats; kids are not a quick fix).

First, fill the sink with warm sudsy water and soak/clean makeup brushes. Then it's to the medicine cabinet, under the sink, and into the closet:

• Toss any expired sunscreens or medications. Can't remember what you took it for? Garbage.
• Look through your face products: Keep only those you’d never live without.
• Get rid of any make-up or samples that you somehow wound up with but have yet to use.
• Lose year-old bath salts, perfumes, or really any product. Regardless of how beautiful the package or how much you love the giver, you just don’t like the scent, and that's fine. Use it or lose it (and maybe some weight too).

Kim works in NYC, Westchester, the Hamptons or wherever disorganization lives. Contact her to handle your clutter (no one says you have to be the one to do it!) at kimparkermail@gmail.com (kimparker.org coming soon)

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Foodtrainers' Quick Fix Program

Our advice is different depending on the time frame. Long term, we're all about sane and steady. But January? Our clients want to see results. In our Quick Fix program, we meet with clients 2 consecutive weeks but email daily. You'll say goodbye to sweets, meat and wheat (and maybe a few other things) and say hello to weight loss, improved sleep and mood, better skin and, ahem, better "digestion". Unlike other "quick fixes", there's nothing weird, you won't be taking designer supplements or getting hypnotized.

After 2 weeks, guidelines relax but progress is maintained. Email info@foodtrainers.net for pricing and scheduling.

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"Use Your Veggies" Soup

Sometimes the week flies by and all your well intentioned salad plans are still sitting on the shelf, untouched and wilting. Luckily a salad isn't the only way to make use of that whole fridge full of veggies.

We created our Use Your Veggies Soup with a little help from two of the slim-soup holy grails: Weight Watchers' Garden Vegetable Soup and the Why French Women Don't Get Fat Magical Leek Soup. This super soup will warm you up, slim you down, and show those French mademoiselles why NYC women don't get fat either.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 3 cups kale, cut into ribbons
• 2 cups 365 brand miso soup (optional)
• 1 cup leeks, sliced
• 6 small carrots, diced
• 6 Shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 inch fresh ginger, cut into toothpick-size slivers
• Pinch of kosher salt
• Wasabi powder, turmeric and red pepper flakes to taste

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients in a large pot and cover.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer uncovered 30 minutes or until carrots soften.
• Sip at or in between meals.

We think the anti-inflammatory ginger and turmeric and the metabolism boosting red pepper flakes and wasabi are key. But feel free to tweak our super soup with whatever veggies, spices and herbs you have on hand, and sip your way to slim.  

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