This Whole Dieting Craze…
Posted: December 28, 2011 Filed under: Food and it's Impact on Our Health, In The Kitchen with Millie- How To's 1 CommentIt’s funny how the word "diet" has come to mean something you do for a time to achieve weight loss. "Diet" is what we eat each day; Humans have a diet we should follow just like all other animals. It should not vary that much from person to person; 2000 calories a day from REAL food, not products, nothing out of boxes or cans, plenty of healthy saturated fats from organic sources, organic protein from animals that are grass fed, free range, kindly treated and NATURALLY fed (NOT corn)…and don’t make it low fat…and vegetables as our main source for carbs.
When will Americans learn there are no easy, quick fixes…no gimmicks or diets that will let you do something short term, get healthy…and then go back to doing what got you there in the first place?
Let this be the year you get healthy and as a great side effect, lose that weight…
- Eat more protein
- Eat more fat
- Learn about the glycemic index and use it!
Want to learn more? Click here- Criterion Living
- Book a cooking class with a group of friends
- Schedule an appointment for a Month of Nutrition Coaching
- Use my Personal Cooking Service to jump start getting healthy…use it to learn how to eat while you are getting healthier.
Call or email me today 904-520-3448 mangogirl@comcast.net
Michelle Obama’s Food Plate
Posted: December 20, 2011 Filed under: Food and it's Impact on Our Health, In The Kitchen with Millie- How To's Leave a commentWeston Price Foundation posted this on Facebook this morning and it got me curious;
OF COURSE Americans do not adhere to these recommendation! Eating low fat and restricting food intake is ridiculous. Americans keep eating because they are truly HUNGRY! Your body will tell you to keep eating if you have not met your nutrient level needed for that day…You can take in 3000 calories a day and if a high percentage of those calories are carbohydrates too are STILL going to be hungry!
I went to the site, plugged in my stats and the first thing the site recommended was that I see a health professional to see how to gain weight! Are they kidding?? I am in perfect health at 58 years old, am 5 feet 5 inches and weigh a perfect 110 pounds. My waist is the same size as it was before I had 5 kids, I never get sick, have recovered from Meniere’s Disease, chronic allergies and sore throats, recovered a partial hearing loss, gotten rid of arthritis, acne and been teaching nutrition for 26 years. No doctor ever helped with my health issues, according to the government (obviously bought and paid for by big food, agri-food I call it) I eat all wrong. LOL!
Now don’t take this the wrong way, I’m not trying to be catty…but do I really want to look like this woman who is recommending how Americans should eat?….
While she may very well be eating how she recommends it obviously isn’t working for weight loss. Because it contains TOO MANY CARBS! And a lot of empty carbs if we follow the recommendations to eat grains. (we shouldn’t).
Wee need 50% of our 2000 calories a day to come from fat; butter, fat from meat, coconut oil, avocados. We need 30% of our calories to come from protein, NOT lean protein. The remaining 20% of the 2000 calories should be from carbs…and all of those should be from low glycemic veggies, mostly green leafy vegetables. One serving of fruit with breakfast should be all that is taken in each day…and make that one count; make it blueberries or other deeply colored fruit. Depth of color means depth of nutrients and anti-oxidants.
And enjoy some dark chocolate each day..and a little wine. Both are not only good for the soul, but are rich in anti-oxidants. Can you believe that dark chocolate isn’t even in the government data base?? Crazy!
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!
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.
·
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.
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.
Yoga; A Bad Backs Best Friend
Posted: November 16, 2011 Filed under: Food and it's Impact on Our Health Leave a comment
Strengthening yoga postures like this Four-Pointed Staff
© Renata Ferraz is pictured in can lend to a healthy back.
Nothing makes you feel older than a stiff back. That’s what I remember thinking as a recent post-grad in my early twenties. It was exhilarating getting my first salary and a gig at a prestigious company– it was debilitating sitting at a desk for eight hours, plunked down another four hours for my daily train commute. I started scheduling bi-weekly chiropractic adjustments to cope. I was just one of countless Americans, "spending $50 billion a year on medications, physical therapy and related costs" for back pain alone as the New York Times‘ Well Blog reports.
That’s until I met yoga. My back pain is nevermore and now science has just corroborated the same. Yoga is a bad back’s best friend.
Start chatting up other yoga practitioners. They’ll likely tell you the same. My yogi boyfriend found himself literally stuck on his back for a month or more after working for an advertising firm. Hours were long, hard and yes, at a desk and in a car commute. He had started practicing yoga earlier but was in a period of intermittency.
The Science of Yoga and Back Care
No, you don’t have to jump ship from your career for the life of an aspiring yogin, but you can jump in and obtain the body-soothing findings from the latest study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
228 participants suffering from chronic low back pain were randomized and divided into 12 weekly classes of yoga (92 patients) or conventional stretching exercises (91 patients) or a self-care book (45 patients). After 12 weeks, the patients were given a questionnaire and asked to rate their pain using a numerical scale. The results: yoga practicing patients felt better than those using the self-care book, but conventional stretching methods — when combined with strengthening exercises — were just as effective as yoga.
Skip the Meds! Build a Yogin’s Back
The yoga group was given only 5-11 yoga postures. I’m convinced that if the yoga group were given a more comprehensive practice, they would have outshone the stretching group.
If you’re looking to build a strong iron-clad back through yoga, look for a quality instructor (even better if they’ve had a history of back challenge) or class that’s offering just as much strengthening postures and transitions as it does stretching, and commit to a thorough, consistent practice. It requires discipline, but man is it worth it.
Grand Canyon Abandons Bottled Water Ban, After Meetings With Coca Cola
Posted: November 14, 2011 Filed under: Food and it's Impact on Our Health 1 CommentTHINGS DON’T ALWAYS GO BETTER WITH COKE — Did Corporate Donation Sway Reversal of Grand Canyon Plastic Water Bottle Ban?
Washington, DC — Just days before Grand Canyon National Park instituted a ban on sale of individual plastic water bottles, the ban was indefinitely suspended on orders from the Director of the National Park Service (NPS). After receiving reports that this abrupt about-face was tied to large donations from the Coca Cola Company, which sells bottled water, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) today filed a lawsuit to obtain records on this policy u-turn after NPS declined to surrender them.
Disposable plastic water bottles represent nearly one-third of Grand Canyon’s waste stream. To reduce litter, save money from trash hauling, and shrink its greenhouse gas footprint, in 2010 the park told its concessionaires to prepare to cease all individual-size plastic water bottle sales by January 1, 2011. Both Zion and Hawaii Volcanoes National Parks have already imposed similar bans.
According to documents obtained by PEER from Grand Canyon under the Freedom of Information Act –
- Grand Canyon spent more than $310,000 to build ten new water “filling stations” so that visitors using canteens or other reusable containers would have ample access to high quality water;
- On December 22, 2010, little more than week before it became effective, then-Superintendent Steve Martin informed park concessionaires in a terse letter that the ban is “delayed until further notice. The Director of the National Park Service is supportive of the park’s direction but is reviewing the matter further and will advise us in due time.”; and
- The NPS provided no written explanation to the park of the reasons for Director’s action, no indication of what aspect he is supposedly reviewing or when he expects to be done.
“Why in the world would the Park Service Director swoop down at the last minute to veto a common-sense conservation measure that a park had spent significant taxpayer dollars to implement?” asked PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, noting that NPS Director Jon Jarvis often speaks about climate change and how national parks need to “teach us how we relate to the natural world.” “In this agency, when a matter goes under ‘director’s review’ it never reemerges – in other words, the bottle ban is likely dead.”
After hearing from NPS employees that a major gift from Coca Cola to the National Park Foundation (the donation-receiving arm of NPS chaired by Jarvis) was made contingent on lifting the Grand Canyon bottle ban, PEER filed formal requests with both Jarvis and the National Park Foundation this past summer for relevant records. Today, PEER filed a federal Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against both for failing to produce a single document explaining the bottle ban reversal or conditions on Coca Cola contributions.
“It would be outrageous if corporate contributions are influencing national park management decisions,” stated Ruch, noting that Jarvis has called for creation of a billion dollar endowment drawn largely from corporate donors. “As the Park Service expands its dependence on corporate largesse, we need to make doubly sure that no strings that come attached. The circumstances of these gifts and how they are used should be on the public record.”
Borsari Seasoned Salt
Posted: November 4, 2011 Filed under: Food and it's Impact on Our Health, In The Kitchen with Millie- How To's Leave a commentI generally do not use spice blends, I prefer seasoning with individual spices as I go…but a nutrition client recently gave me seasoned salt she said I just had to try. I poured some of it into another container, added some powdered seaweed for nutrition and use it liberally on eggs, meats and my favorite…in chicken stock to drink or use as soup.m
She was right! Check out these blends at http://www.borsarifoods.com/
Meal Delivery Service by Millie Barnes 