My eBooks Coming Soon
Posted: December 14, 2011 Filed under: Food and it's Impact on Our Health, In The Kitchen with Millie- How To's Leave a commentI am on the home stretch of writing my new book, actually two new books.
Criterion Diet is a 30 Day Guide to how to quickly change the way you feel, lose approximately 20 pounds if needed, get rid of allergies and have substantially more energy. It is based on a Traditional Human Diet of 2000 calories a day that meets all of your nutrient needs. Caloric restriction is a theory that just doesn’t work when it comes to weight loss, you lose weight faster when the body is well nourished.
The book is in a 4 Week Format; a quick introduction and overview, and a week by week menu plan broken down daily with recipes and shopping list.
The Criterion Kitchen Toolbox is a guide to setting up a kitchen. It is broken into 3 parts; a bare bones, just what you need to cook for yourself, what to add to it as you can, and the ideal kitchen set up.
For each piece of equipment or utensil I give three recommendation; least expensive but good quality for the price, a moderate choice and the ideal. I give links on where to find the items and prices as well as my recommendations and why.
look for these book right around the Holidays and let them help you go into the New Year looking and feeling great!
How Supermarkets Trick You Into Spending More Money
Posted: December 3, 2011 Filed under: Going Green; How and Why... Leave a commentRemember that sales is all about manipulation. There are many ways grocery stores trick you into buying more.
The best advice is;
- BUY WHOLE FOODS! Buy a whole chicken, cut it up yourself. The savings are tremendous. And you will have bones to make stock. Don’t buy convenience foods; you are paying dearly fpor that convenience.
- Make a list and stick to it.
- Buy proteins and fruits and veggies. Do not buy food in boxes, cans. It is not as good for you and is wasteful of the earths resources. PLUS, those cans have BPA, really bad for you.
Huffington Post has a great article on tricks to make you buy more, check it out HERE.
Desserts- Gluten and Lactose Free and Decadent!
Posted: November 29, 2011 Filed under: Food and it's Impact on Our Health, In The Kitchen with Millie- How To's 2 Comments
My desserts are made with organic butter, gluten free flours, real dark chocolate, organic vanilla….in short, real food, all organic, healthy ingredients.
Muffins- These are sold by the 1/2 dozen; choices are pumpkin, zucchini, carrot cake with raisins, blueberry and plain. $12.00 per 1/2 dozen.
Cupcakes- These are available by the dozen or 1/2 dozen. Available in carrot cake, chocolate or vanilla with frosting. $14.00 per 1/2 dozen and $24.00 per dozen.
Chocolate Almond Biscotti– 
Crispy and mildly sweet these biscotti are flavored with chocolate, almonds, cinnamon and cloves. $8.95 for 1/2 Dozen
Almond Berry Tarts – Soft and buttery on the inside, crisp on the outside, these tarts are made with almond meal, real butter, and fresh blueberries. $12.95 for 1/2 dozen
Millie’s Chocolate Almond Macaroons– These chocolate and coconut delights have remained my customers favorite since I first made them. They have a hint of cinnamon. $12.00 a dozen
Pound Cake – This rich buttery pound cake is amazing topped with fresh berries. $28.00 Chocolate Pound Cake- $32.00
German Chocolate Cake – There is nothing better than a mouth watering piece of chocolate cake with coconut and roasted pecan frosting and almond cream filling. $60.00
Two Layer Cake or Sheet cake, Frosted- $45.00
Fudge Brownies- These are the best brownies you have ever eaten; fudgy, dark chocolate with a light flaky crust on top. 9 large brownies-$28.00
Gran Manier Brownies with Dried Cherries– 9 large brownies- $32.00
Gluten Free Coconut Almond Granola – This granola has gluten-free oatmeal and flours, coconut, almonds, sesame seeds, coconut oil, honey, fresh vanilla, and cinnamon. 1/2 pound- $24.00
Orange Almond Date Nut Bars– Gooey date filling, with crispy crunchy layers $18.95 a 1/2 dozen
The Best Carrot Cake ever!!! More like a fruit cake with raisins, dates, pineapple and butter cream icing..it’s amazing. It’s the most requested cake for a wedding cake. $60.00
Flour-less Chocolate Cake – this cake is lower on the glycemic index than other flourless chocolate cakes, it is made with coconut cream and butter, dark chocolate, organic vanilla beans. My diabetic clients find this is tolerated well in small amounts. If you are very carb sensitive this is the dessert for you! $45.00
Non-Dairy Cheesecake- This is an amazing cheesecake; rich, creamy, sweet but not too sweet…you will not be able to tell this from a real dairy containing cheesecake..I promise! $45.00 plain 
$60.00 flavored
Cheesecake Flavors Available: Kahlua, Chocolate, Pumpkin, Chocolate Polka Dot, Brownie
Squares, Key Lime Cheesecake with Macadamia Crust, Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan Crust and Gluten-free Oreo Cheesecake.
Coconut Fudge Sauce- This awesome sauce is completely organic, has organic honey and sugar for a sweetener (no corn syrup), and is amazing for dipping strawberries, drizzling over pound cake or Rice Dream Ice Cream.. 8 oz. for $9.00
Order your Thanksgiving and Christmas pies now…or any time of year! The choices are:
Pumpkin- $18.00
Pecan- 22.00
Lemon Blueberry- 18.00
Key Lime- 22.00
Raw pies; Strawberry Banana with Fig-Date Crust and Mango with Coconut Crust- 24.00
All desserts are available by special order. Please place your order 72 hours before your anticipated pick-up time. Thank you!
Nutrition Coaching
Posted: November 29, 2011 Filed under: Food and it's Impact on Our Health Leave a comment- Do you never feel like you have enough energy?
- Are you more tired when you wake up than when you went to bed? Feel like a truck hit you when it’s time time to get up?
- Are you over weight, tried diet after diet?
- Do you or a member of your family have IBS, or Spastic Colitis?
- Do you have an autistic child?
- Are you a cancer patient, are you going through chemo or have serious health problems?
Through Nutrition Coaching you can learn the basics of nutrition that will allow you to heal, meet your nutrient needs and feel substantially better within a few weeks.
· All Consultations Include;
· Three Day Diet Analysis- a look at your caloric and nutrient intake and percentages from fat, carbohydrates and proteins.
· Two Hour Consultation – A comprehensive look at all of the lifestyle choices you are making that effect your health, energy, weight and appearance.
- My book; Optimum Nutrition, a guide to making the changes, what will occur during that time and the latest nutrition information on what constitutes perfect nutrition…and why! It has a grocery store and health food store list, it walks you through grocery shopping, meal planning, how to eat out and/or travel, and eat healthy, how to get your kids to do this and love it! It guides you through restocking your kitchen, detoxing and losing weight while completely meeting your nutrient needs.
Nutrition Coaching Packages;
· Optimum Nutrition Consultation with Month long Coaching- $495. – You will begin by emailing me a food diary each day for 3 days. . The Initial Coaching Session is approximately two hours long. This will include a diet review and a look at overall health issues. You will receive my how to book on nutrition and a 800 recipe cookbook in software form.
o Optimum Nutrition Consultation – A Two Hour Consultation-$295. – You will begin by emailing me a food diary each day for 3 days. The Coaching Session is approximately two hours long. This will include a diet review and a look at overall health issues and my recommendations for the changes that need to occur to bring you to optimum health.
o Coaching by the Week- $175.- You submit your daily food intake by email and I will email you back an analysis showing percentages of caloric intake by fat, protein and carbs as well as showing all nutrient levels are meeting or missing. I will tell you how you can adjust to better meet your needs. This allows you to tweak each day and get on the right track.
o Coaching by the Month- $295. This is for people who have more than 10 to 15 pounds to lose, or who want a longer hands on experience.
o Student Package- High School or College Student (Under 24) $225- If cost is a factor, and you are under 24 years old, then my two week coaching Program is available to you at a reduced fee. (current student ID required).
· Buy My Book and/or Cookbook-My book, Optimum Nutrition, is a complete guide to following my dietary recommendations. Combined with the Cookbook, you have all the tools you need to get up and running and feeling better and lose weight quickly, but safely!
Health Food or Grocery Store Tour $150.- Overwhelmed by all the choices, don’t know where to start? I will take you to the health food store, guide you through the choices and help you create a personal shopping list to restock your kitchen with lactose and gluten free products, high quality meats, fats and oils.
Please email for appointment- millie@criterionliving.com
* Payment is required at the time the appointment is made, and before I begin analyzing your food diaries.
* Please allow 24 notice if you need to cancel an appointment or payment in full is required.
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7 Ways To Reduce Corporate Influence In Our Lives
Posted: November 26, 2011 Filed under: Going Green; How and Why... Leave a comment
Living lives controlled by our own choices and not by those of large corporations can help us live more consciously and sustainably. Need a few tips to get you started down that path? Here are 7 ways to reduce the corporate influence on your life.
Frugally Sustainable‘s list of 7 things you can do to reduce the corporate influence in our daily lives is worth checking out. Here are 3 examples:
Don’t eat at corporate restaurants
Instead you can:
- Stay home.
- Learn to cook frugal and nourishing meals.
- And when we do go out for a treat, we can choose to support the local ma and pop joint.
Don’t buy corporate coffee
Instead you can:
- Find a small company that sells fair-trade, directly from sustainable farmers coffee and buy from them.
- Set the timer on the coffee pot while we’re getting ready for work and make your own at home.
- Stop drinking coffee altogether (yeah…okay that’s a stretch).
- Look for the the little local coffee shop and go there if we have to have a hit.
Don’t buy new clothing made by a corporation
Instead you can:
- Simply live with less. I ask myself all the time, "Why do I need 6 pairs of jeans, 20+ pairs of shoes, God only knows how many shirts, and 4 different jackets?" At some point I felt proud to own all this stuff, now I see it as a burden.
- Exclusively shop consignment for the whole family.
- Learn to create, hem, repair, and re-purpose our own clothing.
- Retrain our minds…buying that new, super cute dress will not bring me happiness!
• Read More: Find the other 4 tips over at Frugually Sustainable
Choose Wines with Real Cork Stoppers
Posted: November 24, 2011 Filed under: Food and it's Impact on Our Health, Going Green; How and Why..., Non-Toxic Choices 2 Comments
What is "Real Cork Inside"?
Understanding that the screw cap and plastic are not environmentally sound closures, thousands of people across the country have made a commitment to support wineries that use natural cork.
Not buying a screw cap wine is easy; it can be seen right on top of the bottle. But how do you know what’s inside a bottle with a capsule cover, plastic or natural cork? Unless you’ve had that wine before, you can’t actively choose to buy natural cork, until now.
The Real Cork Inside assurance program eliminates that guesswork. By displaying the acorn logo on the bottle, a winery lets consumers know that the wine they are choosing has been closed with natural cork.
Why the Acorn?
The cork tree is a member of the oak family (Quercus suber), and as such produces beautiful large acorns. These acorns are a valuable source of food for the insects and animals that inhabit the cork forests, as well as containing the next generation of cork oak trees.
Why Participate?
Your winery has made the commitment to use the most sustainable, renewable and recyclable closure, natural cork. With consumers’ heightened awareness for products that are sustainable, the Real Cork Inside assurance program gives them another reason to support your winery. Please contact Patrick Spencer for details of the Real Cork Inside assurance program.
What Does Gardening Have to Do with the #Occupy Movement?
Posted: November 23, 2011 Filed under: Gardening, Non-Toxic Choices Leave a comment Colleen Vanderlinden
November 21, 2011
My colleagues here at TreeHugger have done an amazing job covering the #Occupy movement. Chris has looked into the idea of #Occupy being a building block to a Constitutional Convention. Lloyd has discussed the issue of police brutality, and Sami has looked at the misconceptions people have about the movement.
I’m here, as always, to look at it with a gardener’s eye. (Stay with me.)
A few weeks ago, my friend and fellow garden writer Mr. Brown Thumb started the #OccupyGardens hashtag on Twitter, kind of as a joke. But the more I looked at it, the more it made sense. Occupy is about fighting greed, about taking control from the corporations and their government cronies and bringing it back to we the people, the 99%.
What is more basic to all of our needs than food?
In Jenna Woginrich’s excellent book, Made from Scratch, she argues that:
"Vegetable gardening has been called ‘the peaceful sedition’ because at the most basic level, when a person can feed and shelter herself, she doesn’t require a government to provide for her. … It’s not about pride or independence, or even connecting with nature. It’s about wanting hash browns on a Saturday morning and being able to run out to the backyard in your bathrobe to grab some potatoes from the garden."
I would argue that, even more, it means that she doesn’t need a corporation to provide for her. And when we don’t need the corporations, they cease to have the ability to exist — or at least cease to have so much power that the will of the people means nothing. Look at the way we’re fighting for something as simple, as self-explanatory, as GMO labeling. 87 percent of Americans want to know if they’re eating GMOs or not. The hubris of corporate America, and their Congressional lapdogs, is what is keeping us from that knowledge.
"Certain gardens are described as retreats when they are really attacks." — Ian Hamilton Finlay
This is how I’ve come to see my garden, bit by bit, over the years. Where others see a peaceful place to while away a summer afternoon, I see a full arsenal in my fight against corporatocracy. The shake of a seed packet is my chant; rows of chard and beds of potatoes are my weapons.
Roger Doiron, of Kitchen Gardeners International, recently gave a TEDx talk about the power of gardening. It is definitely worth a look:
Every bite of food we grow ourselves, every forkful that comes from our own labor instead of from the troughs of corporate food, is a statement that we are taking our power back. We don’t need them to feed us. Whether from our garden, our farmer’s market, or our local CSA, we can feed ourselves.
#Occupy Wall Street, and L.A., and Detroit. But #Occupy the garden, as well.
Want to get started?
- 66 Things You Can Grow Yourself, in Containers10 Most Nutritious Crops, and How to Grow ThemGrowing a Garden to Feed a FamilyThree Easy to Grow Veggies10 Veggies You Can Grow in Shade
Time To Order Your Holiday Desserts!
Posted: November 22, 2011 Filed under: Food and it's Impact on Our Health, In The Kitchen with Millie- How To's Leave a commentOrder your Thanksgiving Pies today for pick-up tomorrow! Gluten and Dairy Free, made with all organic ingredients. You may also order gluten free pie shells; they are $4.50 apiece
Choices are;
Pumpkin– $16.00
Pecan- $22.00
Apple- $16.00
Apple Crisp– $18>00
Raw pies; Strawberry Banana with Fig-Date Crust and Mango with Coconut Crust- 24.00
Christmas orders need to be in by December 19th. The choices are;
Muffins- These are sold by the 1/2 dozen; choices are pumpkin, zucchini, carrot cake with raisins, blueberry and plain. $12.00 per 1/2 dozen.
Cupcakes- These are available by the dozen or 1/2 dozen. Available in carrot cake, chocolate or vanilla with frosting. $14.00 per 1/2 dozen and $24.00 per dozen.
Chocolate Almond Biscotti- Crispy and mildly sweet these biscotti are flavored with chocolate, almonds, cinnamon and cloves. $8.95 for 1/2 Dozen
Almond Berry Tarts – Soft and buttery on the inside, crisp on the outside, these tarts are made with almond meal, real butter, and fresh blueberries. $12.95 for 1/2 dozen
Millie’s Chocolate Almond Macaroons– These chocolate and coconut delights have remained my customers favorite since I first made them. They have a hint of cinnamon. $12.00 a dozen
Pound Cake – This rich buttery pound cake is amazing topped with fresh berries. $28.00
Chocolate Pound Cake– $32.00
Two Layer Cake or Sheet Cake, Frosted $45.00
Fudge Brownies- These are the best brownies you have ever eaten; fudgy, dark chocolate with a light flaky crust on top. 9 large brownies-$28.00
Gran Manier Brownies with Dried Cherries- 9 large brownies- $32.00
Orange Almond Date Nut Bars– Gooey date filling, with crispy crunchy layers $18.95 a 1/2 dozen
The Best Carrot Cake ever!!! - More like a fruit cake with raisins, dates, pineapple and butter cream icing..it’s amazing. It’s the most requested cake for a wedding cake. $60.00
Flour-less Chocolate Cake – this cake is lower on the glycemic index than other flourless chocolate cakes, it is made with coconut cream and butter, dark chocolate, organic vanilla beans. My diabetic clients find this is tolerated well in small amounts. If you are very carb sensitive this is the dessert for you! $45.00
Non-Dairy Cheesecake- This is an amazing cheesecake; rich, creamy, sweet but not too sweet…you will not be able to tell this from a real dairy containing cheesecake..I promise!
$45.00 plain
$60.00 flavored
Cheesecake Flavors Available: Kahlua, Chocolate, Pumpkin, Chocolate Polka Dot, Brownie Squares, Key Lime Cheesecake with Macadamia Crust, Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan Crust and Gluten-free Oreo Cheesecake.
REALLY AWESOME AND HEALTHY PECAN PIE
Posted: November 18, 2011 Filed under: In The Kitchen with Millie- How To's Leave a commentThis gluten free pecan pie has no sugar, but is really sweet, a great alternative to that gooey sticky bad for you southern pecan pie we grew up on.
Pie Shell;
1 cup butter
1-3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
1-3/4 cups rice flour
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
1-1/2 teaspoons GF baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon GF vanilla
Cream together butter, eggs and sugar in food processor. Add remaining dry ingredients. Mix well, and spread about 1/4 inch deep on bottom and sides of your pie pan. A deep dish pie pan is best, because this crust takes a little more room than the regular kinds of piecrusts. You will get at least 2 large 1-crust pies out of this.
Bake in 350 degree oven until golden brown. Use a pie chain to keep the crust from puffing up.
Filling;
3/4 cup dried apricots
3/4 cup pitted dates
2 cups apple juice
2 T. agar agar flakes
pinch of salt
1 1/2 T. kuzu dissolved in 1/4 cup cold apple juice
1 t. vanilla
2 cups roasted pecans
Combine dried fruits with juice, agar and salt in saucepan. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add kuzu and stir until clear. Puree fruit mix in food processor and then add pecans and buzz lightly until pecans are in pieces but chunky. Do not over blend.
Allow to cool. You may decorate top of pie with additional roasted pecans if desired.
Coca Cola Wins Again: American Idol Abandons REFUSE Plastic Message After Pressure From Sponsor
Posted: November 17, 2011 Filed under: Going Green; How and Why..., Non-Toxic Choices Leave a commentRachel Cernansky
Business / Corporate Responsibility
November 14, 2011
Millie- Perhaps a BOYCOTT is in order for all of their 3,500 product lines??
Plastic Pollution Coalition/Screen capture
It’s the second strike against Coca-Cola in under a week. Not only did the company play a likely role in dissuading the Grand Canyon from banning disposable plastic water bottles in the park, but it has also been pressuring American Idol to dissociate itself from a Plastic Pollution Coalition message featuring 11 Idol finalists speaking out against disposable plastics.
Forbes reports that the public service announcement had just started to get some traction—a mention by USA Today, some teen pop blogs, and about 5,000 views on YouTube—when the news broke that the show had been "pressured by a sponsor to have the PSA and any association with it removed."
The Forbes story reports the following conversation:
“One of the show’s sponsors was very angry at seeing the piece and demanded that the show have it removed,” says Plastic Pollution Coalition executive director Daniella Russo. “When I asked if the sponsor in question was Coca-Cola, they said, ‘You didn’t hear it from us.’ But even before all of this we were told that the PSA could only launch after the American Idol concert tour because Coca-Cola was a sponsor and might get upset.”
It gets worse. According to the Plastic Pollution Coalition:
Shortly after the PSA was posted online, we received a letter from [American Idol production company] 19 Entertainment’s parent company, demanding that we pull the PSA down. The stated reason was that we did not have appropriate permissions. We were threatened that if we did not comply by pulling the PSA down, they would contact You Tube directly and our YouTube channel may be shut down.
The coalition refused to take down the PSA, which it says was an eight-month collaboration between the coalition, 19 Entertainment management, and all of the season’s Top 11 finalists. The coalition says, "We sought and have obtained written approvals to launch the PSA. In fact, Haley’s Wish was recorded by 19 Entertainment themselves."
Forbes quotes Russo again, refuting any legal claims: “This is not a matter of us not obtaining permissions,” she says. “It is a matter of withdrawing permissions, AFTER a major sponsor was upset.”
Meal Delivery Service by Millie Barnes 