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!

How not to finish the cookie pack

This one is from Dr. Oz - if you really must have that cookie go ahead. But then drink a glass of water. It will make you resist the hedonistic impulse to finish the box.

Well, cookies aren't my weakness. I must try it on snap pea crisps which is my latest addiction.

Computer tip for Chrome

This goes out to all my fellow gmail users in Chrome. If you find yourself writing long emails only to press the wrong combination of keys and having all the text disappear, don't tear your hair out.

There is an undo command - Ctrl Z. I found it on a help message in Google of course. :-)

Non toxic nailpolish

The title sure has an oxymoron! But you read all about chemicals like formaldehyde (oh wait, is that for the remover?) and toluene. While link hopping I found this brand called Butter London which has gorgeous colors. It has also been vetted by The Daily Green as one of the best natural nail polishes. Do check out Priti NYC too.

The one downside? If you see their location list the product is available only in San Francisco. I'm not sure ordering online makes sense. I hope it is available in Elephant Pharmacy or Whole Foods in the near future.

More products for dry skin

So these recommendations come from Anjali. The first one is green and is rated well on the hazard score on the Cosmetics database from the Environmental Working Group. I've seen all of them in Target.

1. Yes to Carrots exfoliating cleanser.
2. Burt's bees lip shimmer. This does double duty of lip protection plus color.
3. Olay Regenerist daily facial moisturizer

I'm definitely going to try Yes to Carrots.

Dry lips

So if you don't want to pony up $$ for the fancier stuff check out this little gem from Carmex. I picked it up in Target for less than a price of a latte. It does sting a bit if your lips are super dry but I like the SPF15. I got the clear one but the sheer colors sound nice too!

Observations on labels

Not clothing labels, nutritional labels. I saw some good reminders on how to eat from Sujatha's post on what she read off a grocery bag. My other friend told me she lost a lot of weight in France and that everything in the US has more sugar and salt. She even showed me some proof and I quote "First example in my house right now: Oroweat 100% whole grain whole wheat bread: ingredient 1 is flour, 2 is water, 3 is .. sugar!"

Her proof is offered above. I confess I was more amused by the name of the manufacturer Bimbo Bakeries.

Really good almond butter

My trainer used to suggest eating apples with a bit of peanut butter or almond butter as a pre workout snack. I was ambivalent about almond butter till I tasted Justin's maple almond butter. It is vastly superior to other brands found on supermarket shelves. Though the calories are same, almond butter is way lower in sodium than peanut butter. If you are a fan of almonds, try it!

First post of 2011

Sorry for the absence from the blog. I can come up with a zillion excuses but ultimately it is my responsibility. :-) Happy New Year 2011. I hope all your wishes come true. So a friend offered this tasty addictive snack (thanks J!) - Kirkland signature cashew clusters. I'd say this is an ideal snack for hiking because of the nice blend of cashews, almonds and pumpkin seeds. Do make sure you bag them in a snack size Ziplock bag to limit your portion to 5 clusters.

Winter is also a bad time if you have dry skin on your arms and legs. I've done a bunch of window shopping at the mall on and off vacation this winter. I love Body Shop's Shea body butter which is now on sale for half price. In summer I love this light souffle. I have seen this line of products in Target's cosmetic section. Both these products are significantly cheaper than bigger, more famous brands. But they work well.

I'd love to hear any recommendations you have for very dry skin.