Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Weight Management Center recently released the findings of a year-long clinical trial that determined overweight and obese participants who swapped a serving of red meat for a cup of white mushrooms lost weight and body fat.

Mushrooms make a GREAT meat substitute.  Plus, they contain no fat & almost no calories.

During the study mushroom eaters lost an average of seven pounds, as well as losing inches from their waists!

Below is a great Mushroom Slider recipe created by The Mushroom Council.

Photo courtesy of www.meatlessmonday.com

Serves 4

• 2 portabella mushrooms, stems removed
• 1/4 cup light balsamic vinaigrette
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 small high-fiber whole grain dinner rolls
• 8 slices red onion
• 8 slices tomato

Place the portabellas and vinaigrette in a large zip top bag. Zip and lightly rub the vinaigrette into the mushrooms. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes. Prepare the grill or a grill pan with a light layer of nonstick cooking spray. Line a plate with a layer of paper towels.

Remove the mushrooms from the bag, drain and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the grill to medium and place the mushrooms gill side down. Cook for 4 minutes, flip and repeat on the other side for about 4 minutes more, or until the both mushrooms are almost cooked through.

Transfer the mushrooms to the paper lined plate, gill side down. Cut each mushroom into quarters and place each quarter on the bottom half of the dinner rolls. Top each with tomato, onion and the remaining dinner roll half and enjoy.

Other meatless recipes you’ll love:

Mushroom Soup with Creamy Almond Butter

Spicy Veggie Frittata

Easy Peasy Roasted Vegetables

And recently, I discovered a lifesaver.  Nope, not dry shampoo (that’s another story) — the blow dry bar!  Now making their way across the US are these clever little shops which offer (you guessed it!) a shampoo and a fabulous blow dry.  That’s it!  No stranger’s newly-cut hair flying across the room at you or caustic chemical smells to contend with.  Just a relaxing shampoo following by a fabulous blow dry and style.  Oh, and a glass of wine or bubbly while you are gettin’ beautified!

There are two different options near me:

1) Drybar (founded by Ali Webb around 2009), which has salons in California, Arizona, New York, DC, Georgia, and Texas, recently opened a new location at Stanford Shopping Center.  It is so pretty inside!  The color scheme is white, gray, and buttercup yellow (Buttercup is also the name of their trademark yellow hairdryer and now available at Sephora!)

photo courtesy of Drybar
www.drybar.com

photo courtesy of Drybar
www.drybar.com

2)  Halo – a Bay Area outfit with 3 area locations founded by Los Altan Rosemary Camposano with the alluring tagline “Stop In. Float Out.”  I haven’t had the pleasure of trying one of Halo’s blowouts yet, but there Menlo Park location is basically within walking distance of my house.  It’s on my list!

photo courtesy of Halo
www.haloblowdrybar.com

For ladies that have neither the time nor the money for a full spa day, $35 and 45 minutes to an hour of your time, you can walk out looking fabulous and feeling great.  One of the receptionists at Drybar let me know that they often have Groupon offers, and I managed to snag one for a $17 special.

This video will have you running to your nearest location!

Have you been to a blow dry bar?  Did you leave feeling amazing?  Tell me about it below!

This French Toast recipe is amazing.  Seriously… I try French Toast any time I see it on the menu.  Just last week after we finished the OC Half Marathon, we stayed for a few extra days at the St. Regis Monarch Beach down in Orange County.  The morning after the half marathon, I had a pretty darn good French Toast with Mixed Berries.  I believe this recipe (taken and modified slightly from the Williams-Sonoma Breakfast cookbook) is THE BEST FRENCH TOAST I’VE EVER HAD.  Try it yourself!!

Ingredients:

• 6 slices sturdy French bread, about 3/4 inch thick
• 1 1/2 cups 2% milk
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier (or Cointreau)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Powdered sugar for dusting
• Maple syrup (warmed)
• Fresh sliced organic strawberries

Preparation:

1. Arrange the bread slices in a single layer in a large baking dish.
2. In a glass mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, vanilla, Grand Marnier, granulated sugar, nutmeg, and salt.  Pour evenly over the bread slices and let stand for one minute, then turn bread over.  Cover the dish with plastic wrap and let sit for 10 to 30 minutes.
3. In a large skillet, melt one tablespoon butter over medium heat.  When the butter has melted, add as many slices of the bread that will fit without overlapping.  Flip after 3 minutes.  Cook for 2-3 minutes on the opposite side.  Melt the remaining butter & repeat with the rest of the bread slices.
4. Transfer French toast to plates and sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top.  Add fresh strawberry slices and serve with warmed maple syrup.

Passengers can do these simple stretches at any time.  For drivers, it’s a good rule of thumb to stop ever two hours (or 100 miles) for a stretch break.  The following seated stretches are taken from the book Yoga to Go by Paula Carino.

Seated Twist

Place feet on the floor and bring your left hand to the outside of your right knee.  Twist gently to the right.  Hold for a couple of breaths, then reverse the twist with your right hand on your left knee.

Forward Neck Stretch

1.  Interlace your fingers and clasp them behind your head at the base of your skull.  Allow your chin to drop down near your chest.

2.  Let gravity and the weight of your hands stretch the back of your neck.  Hold for three to five deep breaths.

Side Neck Stretch

1.  Sit forward on the seat with your feet planted squarely and firmly on the floor.  Reach your right hand back and grasp the right side of your seat.  Lengthen your spine;  tuck your chin to your chest.

2.  Pull your body to the left and place your left hand on the right side of your head.  Carefully pull your head towards the left.  Hold for a couple of breaths & switch sides.

You might also like:

Workouts You Can Do Anywhere 

Motivation

Rescue Chocolate

Photo courtesy of rescuechocolate.com

With a motto of “the sweetest way to save a life,” Rescue Chocolate (out of Brooklyn, yo!) donates 100% of its net profits to animal rescue groups around the country.

All bars are:

• Organic & Fairly-traded
• Vegan
• Kosher

I haven’t tried these chocolates yet, but their bars called “The Fix,” which is made of 66% cocoa and “Pick Me! Pepper” (mmm… spicy!) are on my list to try next.

Check ‘em out here!

Endangered Species Chocolate

Endangered Species Chocolate (out of Indianapolis, IN) was born out of a desire to make an impact on the growing number of plant and animal species that are disappearing from Earth.

Their darkest chocolate bar boasts an 88% cocoa content (can you handle it?)

Photo courtesy of endangered species chocolate – chocolatebar.com

All bars:

• Use Rainforest Alliance Certified™ Cocoa
• Non-GMO Verified
• Gluten-Free
• Vegan
• Kosher
• Fairly-traded

10% of the net profits go to support species conservation & habitat preservation.

Theo Chocolate

Seattle-based Theo is proud to be the first Organic, Fair Trade, Fair for Life certified Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Factory in North America.

Their chocolates are:

• Gluten-free
• Vegan
• Kosher
• Soy-free
• Organic & Fairly-traded

In Seattle?  Go visit them!  I’ll bet they give out free samples  I’m hoping to try their new Congo bars (Pili Pili Chili, please!)

Photo courtesy of theochocolate.com

$1 from each box sold will benefit Eastern Congo Initiative’s work with farmers, mothers, and families in eastern Congo.

If you know of other socially-conscious chocolatiers, please share them with me below!

There is no milk, cream, or butter in this dish so it’s super low in calories, but the almond butter and broth make a nice creamy base so you’d never know it was dairy-free!

Here’s what you will need to make this tasty meatless soup!  Yields 4 servings.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced (2 cups)
• 1 pint of shiitake mushrooms (or your favorite mushroom), sliced
• 1/2 cup smooth almond butter
• 1 cup collard leaves (or kale or Southern Greens mix) coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions:

1. Combine the stock, onion, garlic, and sweet potato in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the mushrooms, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the almond butter and 1/2 cup of the soup mixture into a thick paste.  Note: if you mistakenly use chunky almond butter, the bits of almond will float on top of the soup once cooked.
3. Add the collard or other greens and ginger to the soup and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Stir in the almond butter paste. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Ladle the soup into bowls, and squeeze with lime wedge.

Other meatless recipes you might like:

Meatless Ground “Beef” Enchiladas

Thai Pumpkin Soup

Three Cheese Baked Ziti

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting sodium to less than 2,300 mg a day (1,500 mg if you’re age 51 or older, black, or have high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease).  The average American is actually getting around 3,400 mg per day — way over the recommended amount — and processed foods (like store-bought salad dressings) are very much a culprit.

This Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette recipe was created by Martha Rose Shulman, author of The Very Best of Recipes for Health: 250 Recipes and More from the Popular Feature on NYTimes.com

Ginger has many medicinal properties, including acting as anti-inflammatory and easing nausea or mild stomach discomfort.

Here’s the original recipe:

• 1 garlic clove, finely minced or puréed
• 1 teaspoon finely minced ginger
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar or agave nectar
• 5 tablespoons canola oil or light sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

1. Place all of the ingredients in a minichop or blender (because the amounts are small, I prefer a minichop) and blend until homogenized.

Yield: Makes 2/3 cup.

Advance preparation: This dressing keeps for several days in the refrigerator.

Nutritional information per 2 tablespoons: 177 calories; 2 grams saturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fats; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 1 gram carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 58 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 0 grams protein

Photo credit: Greatist / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

Here is a great Meatless Ground “Beef” Enchilada recipe with my homemade enchilada sauce that will put a smile on your face!

[gmc_recipe 2188]

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and grab a 13 x 9 baking pan.  Spray the pan with a little non-stick cooking oil spray.

In a large skillet, spray a little more non-stick cooking oil spray and heat for about 30 seconds on medium.  Add Lightlife Smart Ground Mexican Style meatless grounds and heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep from burning or sticking.

These meatless grounds are a great substitute for ground beef.  There is ZERO fat, ZERO cholesterol and only 60 calories in each serving.

Add 1/2 cup of homemade enchilada sauce (my recipe is at the bottom of this post) to the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch baking dish.  Tilt the baking dish to make sure the sauce completely covers the bottom (and your enchiladas don’t stick!).

Next, grab your tortillas.  I prefer flour tortillas to corn.  There are also some really tasty whole-wheat tortillas out there now!  For this recipe, you’ll need 8-10 tortillas.  Pre-heat the tortillas 4-5 at a time by stacking them in between two damp paper towels & microwaving for about 45 seconds.

Now you are ready to prep!

1) Grab a pre-heated tortilla & add about 1/4 cup of the heated Mexican meatless grounds, a sprinkling of cheese (I like the Mexican cheese blends for this recipe), and a drizzle of enchilada sauce.

2) Roll it up nice & tight, and repeat until you have filled up your 13 x 9 inch pan!

3) Pour the remainder of the enchilada sauce over the top of the wrapped enchiladas.  Cover with foil, and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

4) Take the enchiladas out of the oven and remove foil.  Top with remainder of cheese blend and put back in the oven for 5-7 minutes to allow the cheese to melt

 5) Serve with a little chopped cilantro on top, a little low-fat sour cream, and a side of sliced avocado.

[gmc_recipe 2211]

The first thing on my agenda was making sure I had the right socks (which incidentally ended up being Wright Socks

I’ve been using the Nike Running Coach Half Marathon Training Plan, which you can see here.  Since the race is on May 5th, I had to jump in at Week 5. Luckily, I’ve been doing lots of jogging & walking over the past several months so I wasn’t totally out of my league.

This plan has been working for me.  Not too many days per week of running, but a couple of days of short runs followed by one long run each week.  It also encourages strength training & yoga plus stretching.

Yesterday, I did some speed training & took a spin around Stanford’s amazing track Cobb Track & Angell field.  Pretty awesome to have such a great place to train within walking distance of home!!

Has anyone else every done a half marathon?  Any advice for this first-timer?

A 2009 Baylor College of Medicine study found that about 12% of adults are lactose intolerant, which causes swelling during digestion.  In many, the symptoms can be mild enough or we can grow to believe they are “normal” enough to where we may not even know that we have the intolerance.

Several experts suggest ridding your diet of both dairy & wheat products for 7-14 days before a beach vacation to appear as svelte as possible.

I love my morning coffee with 2% milk and my afternoon Tazo Awake Tea Lattes from Starbucks, so this is going to be a tough one!

I started substituting almond milk in my morning coffee, which isn’t bad at all.  I’m going to switch to herbal tea in the afternoon or a cappuccino with almond or coconut milk.  We’ll see!

I don’t think ditching wheat products will be too difficult.  I did it once before in the 2011 Whole Living Action Plan (and dairy too, for that matter).  I did feel immensely better after giving up dairy, caffeine, and wheat products for an entire week!

I’ll keep you posted on my journey!  Any ideas for your favorite milk-substitutes are much appreciated!  I do LOVE a good coffee in the morning since I don’t use any sweetener, a little splash of something creamy is a must!!  Thanks for sharing below!!