Food + Wellness

Taking Note: Mindfulness During Summer

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Taking note of a tree branch in the foreground, puffy white clouds, blue sky, a dock, boats and canoes in the Charles River in Boston, with buildings in the background. On the right, two small pictures, the top is a square piece of cherry and pistachio tart on a napkin and minted lemondade in a plastic cup with the word "Tatte" printed vertically, the bottom picture shows the moon rising in a bluish grey sky over the tops of trees.

Summer is precious when the weather isn’t always beautiful. And by beautiful I mean, lots of sunshine and temperatures in the 80s. Having daylight past 8pm is an added bonus. For those of us in New England, we only get this perfect combination in July in August. So I’m taking note. Paying attention to how I spend my time.

Time is our most valuable currency. We can’t get it back. No exchanges or refunds. Plus, we don’t know how much we have. So we need to budget accordingly.

Enjoy what we have now and be able to look back at how we spent it and revel in the memories. For this first weekend in July, I met up with a friend on Saturday. We walked and talked. Strolling along the Charles and then went to Tatte Bakery for a snack. I had a pistachio and cherry tart and minted lemonade. So good!

Every Sunday I have dinner with my family. When I brought my mother home, we noticed the moon rising. At 8:30pm, the sky was still light. The beauty of July!

My mom’s lavender plants are blooming. Tomorrow, I’m going to get some to bring home and dry. She also has a lot of very tall mint plants that are ready to take over the place.

I’ll do her a favor and take some of that too! The minted lemonade that I had at Tatte was really delicious, so I plan to make my own. Of course I’ll be taking note and hope to blog these too!

There are so many things that I’d like to do this summer, but besides time, money is always a factor, so I will have to improvise. Good thing that there are so many free events around the city!

At the very least, like I say every year, I’d like to go to the beach (on the Cape, maybe the North Shore, or somewhere far away) at least a couple of times. Also, I hope to enjoy some outdoor music. Of course, I like eating outdoors whenever possible.

Hopefully I’ll also be able to attend a few of the free outdoor yoga classes as well. Maybe even just take my home practice outdoors. There’s a nice park nearby. I should use it!

By the way, I’m working on the new 2017 summer list of free yoga classes. Hopefully it will be up within a couple of weeks!

What about you? What are your summer plans?

Halo Top Ice Cream: It’s The Real Deal

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Collage with four containers of Halo Top ice cream.

Have you tried Halo Top? It’s the low calorie ice cream that everyone is raving about.

I first heard about Halo Top a few months ago and absolutely did not believe the hype. I heard that people loved it so much and that certain flavors were so hard to find that people would buy containers in bulk and stockpile them like they may never find them again.

According to legend, and the containers, a pint of their ice cream is around 300 calories or less. How do they do it? It’s made with natural sweeteners, stevia and Erythritol.

I’ve tried diet soda with stevia and it was so horrible tasting that I couldn’t drink more than a couple of sips. I had read before that sweeteners like Erythritol can cause bloating and digestive issues, so I’ve avoided anything like it.

But I was curious. Could it be that good? Even if the taste was good, what about the texture? Would I feel badly after eating it?

One day, I was in CVS and walked past the freezer section. I noticed several Halo Top containers and figured that I’d get some and make my own informed opinion.

They are a bit expensive, but I had CVS coupons and wanted something sweet. That day I bought sea salt caramel. Since then, I’ve tried birthday cake, vanilla bean and oatmeal cookie.

Let me tell you. You can believe the hype, because now I do! I’ve loved all the flavors so far. The texture is on point and I haven’t had any digestive issues either.

The only negative comment I have is that the oatmeal cookie wasn’t really oatmeal cookie. The flavor was still great and I enjoyed it, but it was just flecks of oatmeal. There were no chunks of cookie, so it’s misnamed.

Now that it’s almost officially summer, I’m especially looking forward to trying more flavors. And I love not having to feel guilty about the calories!

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Images: Halo Top website

Are You Using Turmeric?

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Two picture collage, left photo shows close up of turmeric latte bubbles, right photo shows bright red mug filled with the bright yellow turmeric latte.

See that beautiful bright yellow? That color is from turmeric — one of the main ingredients found in curry powder.

Turmeric is all the rage right now. I’ve been reading lots of articles about it and I’m a recent convert.

There are so many health benefits that it wouldn’t make sense not to use it. A Mind Body Green article by Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary, which includes a recipe, describes a few of the benefits.

Recently turmeric has gained the recognition of the scientific community for its potential for lowering cholesterol, reducing blood sugar in diabetics, relieving arthritis, supporting liver function, improving digestion, reducing menstrual cramps, and reducing inflammation in the colon. Its broad medicinal uses are likely due to its anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and antioxidant qualities.

The flavor is quite mild and I’ve been adding it to eggs. I’ve also noticed lots of recipes using it in hot drinks — usually combined with nut milks and spices.

The blog 3191 has a recipe for Spiced Turmeric Milk and Bon Appétit has a recipe for a Hot Turmeric Latte.

I’ve been doing my own versions which are mashups of all of these recipes and depend on the time I have to spend and what I have at home. I’m a fan and looking forward to trying more.

What about you? Are you using it?

Snacking On Right Now: Noosa Yogurt

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Picture of three stacked containers of Noosa yogurt.

It’s been months now since I first started eating Noosa yogurt. I know it’s spelled yoghurt on the package, but I’m American, so I’m going with the spelling that’s familiar to me.

Back to the yogurt. It’s the absolute best that I’ve tried so far. And I eat a lot of yogurt.

A co-worker first told me about Noosa. She raved and raved about how good it was. I didn’t think it could be that good. I mean, I love yogurt, but how good could it really be? I’ve tried so many different brands of yogurt and love them all in varying degrees. One day I noticed Noosa in the store and figured I’d try it. To me, it’s rather expensive, but I was very curious.

The consistency is more like pudding than yogurt and it’s bursting with flavor. I LOVE THIS YOGURT!! And I’m a person who does not use all caps. Because that’s yelling. Yes, I am yelling!

Collage of two pictures, left is color photo showing container of trailmix and trailmix in container of yogurt, left photo in black in white shows container of yogurt with trailmix mixed in and spoon.

So as much as I love this yogurt, I didn’t realize how readily apparent to others was my love for Noosa. Another co-worker mentioned to me how I start smiling when I’m eating Noosa and even just mention the name. Needless to say, she and another co-worker bought Noosa and also love it!

My new way of eating yogurt is putting trail mix into it for some extra protein and energy.  It’s a great snack and I am loving it. Picture me smiling. 🙂

Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day is April 4th!

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Stacks of upside down Ben & Jerry's ice cream cones.

What a week! Today is Opening Day for the Red Sox at Fenway.

To make things even sweeter, tomorrow is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s! Ice cream makes everything better right? And what’s better than free? Not much.

Ben & Jerry’s has locations all over the country, so find your participating store and grab a free cone tomorrow!

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Image: Ben & Jerry’s