Chocolate snack

Bet you never thought I'd post about a chocolate snack to curb sweet cravings. Brookside Dark Chocolate Acai with Blueberry is available at Costco. But it did fill my mouth with a bittersweet taste and I lost my hankering for eating something sweet. This, after one piece. Try a tablespoon instead of the full 1/4 cup serving and see for yourself.

Suitable filters for water

We live in an area where the semiconductor industry among others has caused the creation of many superfund sites. I was alarmed to read this news about TCE being a carcinogen in the Mountain View Voice. It has contaminated the ground water.

So I was happy to get this update from EWG on how to choose a water filter. I think a reverse osmosis one would be the ideal choice to remove contaminants like perchlorate. The step 4 section allows you to choose from a pulldown menu, which I thought was very nifty!

Trends in Fall

I thought the bright red color pants were going to go away for Fall but browsing through catalogs of Loft, J Crew proved me otherwise. So get yourself a modern slim fit pair of pants in bright red. I see variants of this in Nordstrom but if you want other colors you can try blue available in New York and Company. Scarlet looks great if you want something less loud.

How to up your protein intake

So this is for all the vegetarians especially the ones enrolled in any kind of strength training or body sculpting class. To avoid getting stymied in your healthy eating efforts, try the French Vanilla Designer Whey protein shake with non fat milk. I tried two combinations, one with water and once with milk. It definitely tastes better with milk. It did not have the chalky aftertaste of Aria, a product by the same company. It kept me full for about 3 hours and helped me avoid going down the usual pastry-chocolate-Haldiram mixture spiral.

Here's something which will make moms feel less guilty

I often read the Times for comments from readers. I think the interaction and discussion for many online articles are as compelling, if not more engaging than the article itself. This is the big deficiency in print versions of newspapers.

While reading the gut vs data debate while choosing a daycare article I found this interesting observation. "A clean, orderly house (while the children are there) means something different to me; a red flag, and my guess is that these kids in this clean house are watching a lot of television."

So I'm going to rationalize the mess and clutter my kid makes at home now! Yay, win win situation!

Weight loss tip

So this definitely follows the French women don't get fat philosophy. Eat three meals and avoid snacking. If you feel super hungry, just eat that meal early and don't fret if you eat a bit more. This has produced good results for a friend. Whatever you do, drink water, coconut water etc and stay cool. We finally are seeing summer weather.

I see the virtue of avoiding snacks. Too often I reach for the wrong stuff. My snack of last resort is fruit.

Hat tip - Anu!

Modern Day Goddesses

This is not a tip at all but an observation by my mom. She noticed working moms in various situations these days carry so many things - their kid in one arm, lunchbag, purse, laptop bag, gym bag and more! At the airport you can replace some of these items with strollers and luggage.

She says you can imagine Durga with eight arms. Today's supermom!