04-13-10

Life In Balance? There’s An App For That!

Smart phones are proving to be, well, pretty darn smart. When it comes to health, wellness and a balanced lifestyle, they provide the ability to carry along a lot of information when we’re on the go. And many of the mobile applications designed for the iPhone, Google Android (including Motorola’s new Droid device) and BlackBerry are great, whether for maintaining your diet, workout progress or managing health records.

‘Weightbots’ for instance is a very straightforward, easy to use iPhone/iPod Touch weight tracking app, which actually makes losing some of that excess winter weight kind of fun with functions like its graph mode, a quick way to visually track your progress. And you may want to ditch your personal trainer in exchange for Android’s ‘Gym Buddy’ app, a very effective work-out tracking tool.

On the personal health side, there are apps like ‘Glucose Buddy’, a free iphone app, that helps diabetics monitor and control their blood sugar levels, diet, exercise and medication. Want to keep all yours and your family’s health records, doctors’ contact info and more in the palm of your hand? There’s an app for that called ‘Healthsync’. For Android, there’s ‘My Moble Med Box’ from mHealth and for Blackberry users, ‘My Personal Health Record’.

Many of the better food and nutrition apps are built for iPhone and Android, with many apps focused on vegetarians and special diet concerns. If you find yourself succumbing to your kids craving fast food, the ‘Fast Food Calorie Counter’ is an indispensible app for both iPhone and Android users, providing details of all the major chain restaurants, and nutritional details of every menu item. On the other hand, there’s ‘GoodFoodNearYou’
that recommends nearby healthy food options based on your current location, which is tracked via GPS.

Equally innovative are some of the apps that cleverly leverage inherent mobile functionalities like iTreadmill, which transforms your iphone into your personal pedometer (and virtual treadmill!) by using the device’s motion sensors to calculate your body movement. On the other hand, we’re not as convinced about the iPhone app, ‘Massage Me’ that uses the phone’s vibration motor to, “provide you with a relaxing massage.” And things start to get even more gimmicky with the plethora of self-hypnosis apps.

Still, The New York Times reported today that by the end of 2011, 50% of Apple’s total revenue will come from sales of the iPhone and iPod Touch – in 2001, 80% of Apple’s revenue was from its line of Mac laptops and desktop computers. So it’s easy to see that we’re quickly becoming a ‘mobile culture’.

Yet personal health apps trail entertainment apps, which obviously provide much greater returns on investment. But with our aging demographic, development will continue to grow out of necessity, and – according to mobile marketing expert, Erik Goldhar – with the steadily emerging, advanced capabilities of being able to surf the net on your smart phone, we’ll soon see a surge of extremely innovative ‘touch mobile’ websites designed especially for the touch screen devices.

In the coming weeks we’ll report on the many potential advantages of mobile websites and mobile applications with regard to health and wellness… plus exciting interactive developments in the digital world of Rose Reisman.

Stay tuned, or we should say, connected.

03-18-10

5 Healthy Approaches For Frequent Flyers

Whether business trips have you hopping from city to city or you’re off to a sunny locale for spring break, traveling can no doubt be disruptive to even to the most disciplined when it comes to eating healthy. We present 5 core approaches to help you stay on sound nutritional track, despite the destination…

1. Your Personal ‘Mise En Place’
We adapt the theory behind the classic French cooking rule, ‘mise en place’ (literally, ‘everything in place’). Just as you need to have all your ingredients and utensils fully thought through before you start cooking a dish from scratch, so to when you travel, ensure you have access to as many of the items you use to prepare your meals when at home. First off, where possible, choose a hotel that offers an ensuite kitchen. We’re not suggesting you cook every meal in your hotel room, but even the most modest kitchen setup in an all-suites style hotel, with a fridge, stove and microwave, plus basic cutlery, can work miracles when on the road.

The goal here is to be able to at very least keep a stock of healthy foods readily on hand. So, if a kitchen isn’t possible, a fridge almost always is. If you’re room has a mini bar, in advance of arrival, contact the hotel directly to ensure it is emptied at your arrival and duration of your stay—that way, you make room for stocking some healthy foods and at the same time rid yourself of all those tempting salty snacks and chocolate!

2. ‘The Healthy Food Radius’
As critical to having the access outlined in #1 is having healthy foods, both raw ingredients and quality prepared meals at arms length. This is what we call ‘the healthy food radius’, that is, walking or short cab distance to a local grocery store, green grocer, fruit stall, and even health food store. Stock up on healthy snacks such as nuts, dried fruits, fresh fruits and vegetables. And with you’re basic kitchen, you’re able to at least cobble together a healthy breakfast, likely much more so than in the hotel’s restaurant.

3. Take A Mini Pantry Kit
Depending on your destination, where you’ll need to take border crossing restrictions into account, it’s always helpful to take along some key utensils and cooking products, such a small non stick pan, a good pairing knife, a tin of cooking oil spray, as well as potential nutritional supplements like protein powder and even a powdered veggies such as ‘Greens+’, particularly if you know that vegetables might be a challenge where you’re going. Choosing a small suitcase on wheels to use exclusively for your ‘mini pantry kit’.

4. Be A Menu Sleuth
In advance of your trip, and having chosen a hotel with a ‘healthy food radius’, you’ll want to also research your local restaurant options. You can do a great deal online, even downloading menus and reading local food critics picks. But also contact your hotel concierge service before leaving to ensure they have all the local restaurant menus on hand for your review by the time you check in.

5. Embrace The Local
Almost always, regardless of the destination, eating local is almost always more healthy, and certainly more interesting. At vacation destinations like Mexico and the Caribbean, for instance, skipping the transplanted North American chains and seeking out the highest quality, independent restaurants and cafes are typically not only far more healthy, but also more memorable. A small local restaurant is also typically far more amenable to responding to special menu requests and modifications.

03-04-10

5 Tips To Satisfy Even The Most Time-Starved Families

There’s no question Canadian families are time-starved. After all, according to Stats Canada 65% of all women with children under the age of three, work full time. So, just how do mom and dad juggle life to maintain healthy nutrition for the entire family?

“It’s not easy,” says Rose Reisman. But having raised four kids of her own—while at the same time managing her several businesses, writing her bestsellers, participating in charity events and corporate speaking—somewhere in there she makes a lot of family meals.

Still, equally as important as nutrition for Rose is the importance of families taking time to stop all other activities and eat together. “The dinner hour is our only hope of catching up with each member of the family and finding out what’s going on in their daily lives,” she writes in her book, Weekday Wonders: Healthy Light Meals for Every Day.

So, to make eating at home with your family more than a weekend activity, we offer the following 5 tips and thoughts to help make mealtime a delicious and nutritious reality. Also, be sure to check out a litany of Rose’s wonderful recipes (which includes those referenced below, plus many, many more) at The Art Of Living Well

1. Curb the enthusiasm for fast food
Avoid fast food at all costs. “It’s economical to eat at home—fast food is not healthy or cheap,” says Rose. The cost of the very same raw ingredients are literally about 20% of what you’d pay for the fast food. Instead, try sly spins on fast food, “a wrap can be a quick meal,” says Rose. “Fast-food wraps are not so healthy. I’m just showing people you can do this stuff with low fat.”

2. And steer clear of grocery junk food too
You and your kids cannot be fueled by overly processed, empty calories. “All we’re hearing every day is diabetes, obesity, cancer,” Rose says. Most prepared retail meals are laden with sodium and fat.

3. Make wow factor meals, everyday
Nutritionally prepared meals needn’t ever forsake flavour… Rose’s wonderful recipes defy any perception that healthy be bland, boring and unsatisfying. “We are getting away from the meat and potatoes family,” says Rose, suggesting modern stand-ins such as main-dish soups and salads, one-dish meals, stir-fries like mango-beef and tuna with coconut Thai sauce, and vegetarian entrées.

4. Snacking is a good thing!
Kids who eat lunch at 11:30 are ravenous by 4:30 p.m. So Rose suggests either feeding them dinner at 4:30 (if you work at home) and let them have a little at the family dinner table later, or instead of dinner set out fruit or veggies. “When it’s there, they’ll gobble it up.”

5. Approach family eating as a life skill
We carefully plan and schedule hockey and band practice, but don’t bother to organize a week’s worth of menus. “We seem to wing it most of the time…people are still not putting it as a priority.” Do not let other activities get in the way of meal times, and as best possible, try to set times for snacks and meals. And to help hone your shopping list planning check out an entire month’s worth of complete shopping lists in Rose’s Weekday Wonders: Healthy Light Meals for Every Day (Penguin Books).

02-11-10

5 Healthy Tips To Get You Through The Winter

While this winter has hardly been typical (touch wood!) so far, snow or no snow, the cold temperatures do have an impact on how we eat, as well as triggering cravings for foods versus those our bodies actually need to survive these often sunless days. Here are few tips to tide you over until spring has sprung…

1. We definitely crave carb-heavy comfort foods this time of year (they contain the uplifting brain chemical serotonin, which gets depleted during cold months), but be sure to steer clear of refined carbohydrates and go for whole grains, use sweet potatoes in place of white in a mash and get re-acquainted with good old fashioned oatmeal dressed with dried fruits and drizzle of honey.

2. Another essential nutrient we get less of this time of year is vitamin D. Choose foods high in it like fatty fish, whole eggs – and because it’s hard to get vitamin D from food alone, consider taking supplements… best to consult your doctor or nutritionist to find out dosage and type best for you.

3. Load up on purple fruits like grapes, cranberries, blueberries, all loaded with vitamins and antioxidants—among the best antidote to fend off a nasty cold.

4. Be sure not to stay housebound—get outside and breath the crisp, clean air… guaranteed to burn lots of calories to get trim just as spring arrives.

5. Don’t forget to SMILE! Besides making you look better smiling has been proven to relieve stress, boost your immune system, lower your blood pressure and release endorphins into your body that make you feel better. Regardless of the weather these are great reasons to show off you pearly whites.

01-11-10

5 Core Approaches To Achieving Weight Loss Success in 2010

Make you New Year’s resolution to finally shed those extra pounds a life long resolution. It’s Rose’s proven belief that “life in balance” is not only the key to a sustainable, healthy weight, but to overall physical and mental happiness. There really are no secrets, just a conscious approach to tweaking, adjusting and re-learning how, what and when to eat. So, following we present our first 5, core Approaches to help you reach your goals…

Approach #1 – Eat For The Long Term
Meaning that there is no magic dieting bullet… in fact, the magic, is the cumulative results of consciously changing to good eating habits and learning to love food from a fresh, new perspective.

Approach #2 – Eat Often
When hunger attacks, the mind is not the most rationale, and we tend to reach for anything and everything in sight to quench it, with little regard to nutritional content. Eating regularly, which keeps blood sugar levels on an even keel, is the single most important remedy to curbing hunger, and healthy snacking between meals is a great way to stay on track throughout the day. And never, ever skip breakfast – it’s the single most important meal to kick-start your metabolism, and keep it going throughout the day.

Approach #3 – Variety Is Critical
We forget (or simply are not aware) that our bodies require 40 different nutrients for good health, so variety is not only key, but makes for a sustainable approach to shifting to healthier eating habits. Once you determine how many calories you need daily to either sustain your current weight, or to meet a weight loss objective (with which Rose Reisman Personal Gourmet is delighted to help you determine), the next step is to ensure those total calories are made up of a daily selection of foods that include dairy, whole grains, meat, fish and poultry and variety of vegetables and fruit.

Approach #4 – Beware of ‘Portion Sprawl’
Not only do portions grow out of control over the holiday season, ‘portion sprawl’ is endemic in North America. If you consciously keep portions to a reasonable size, you really can eat whatever you want… which, without question quashes any feelings of deprivation that often lead to back to unhealthy eating habits. Keep in mind portions are surprisingly smaller than which marketers have trained us to believe. For instance, a serving of cooked meat is 3oz., or roughly the size of a deck of cards. And beware: a single pint of ice cream (yes, a Haagen Daaz container) actually equals 4 servings!

Approach #5 – Keep Hydrated
Not only is water essential (8 or more glasses every day) for thorough digestion, aiding the liver and kidneys to flush out waste and fat, but it also serves as pre-meal appetite suppressant. Before each meal, have a glass of water and wait 2 to 3 minutes before eating – we guarantee you’ll slow down and appreciate the fresh, high quality food you’ve put effort into preparing, and you’ll likely eat less too!

12-24-09

That Perfect Holiday Dress

Holiday parties are here and it’s time to dress… thankfully there are lots of options to choose from this festive season. Let’s start with dresses. The reason Rose loves dresses is because once you put one on, regardless of the occasion, you instantly feel festive and great about yourself.

There are several types of dresses that just feel right this holiday season…

Look back to the 20’s
20’s inspired dresses are in. Whether you choose a dress in champagne colour or a stylish black dress with a V neck and a tasteful feather hem at the bottom.

Off the shoulder glam
Off the shoulder tops and dresses instantly make you more glamorous
This season most celebrities are sporting the off the shoulder fashions. Why not try a stylish black or vibrant red full length off the shoulder gown.

Throwback to the 50’s
For a holiday party, try a checkered dress with a tailored waist with the hem that is at your knee level. Be careful with the colour. White and black checkers are a safe bet.

The royal colour of gold
Yes, I know that the royal colours are usually purple, but not everyone can pull off a purple dress. Try a dress with gold circles on a lean, skinny-strap sheath with the slightly raised waist that would make your legs look longer.

12-23-09

Getting The Skinny On Fat

Heading into 2010, and no doubt many have committed to finally dropping those extra pounds, or at very least, modifying eating habits for the better over the long term. Fat… the good, the bad (and even the ugly!) plays a big role (no pun intended) in healthy eating. Yet, getting it all straight can be confusing, so here’s the skinny on fat…

First off, fat’s definitely gotten a bad wrap amid a decade or more of diet trend philosophy. The fact is, fat is one of many nutrients that’s essential for healthy weight maintenance. At a very primitive level, fat provides a taste and texture element, and innate physiological effect regarding the way we enjoy food. But even more importantly, it’s a vital energy source, which carries fat-soluble vitamins essential for growth.

Still, too much fat leads to obesity and related negative effects, such as heart and vascular disease and diabetes. The Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation cautions that a lot of the fat in our diet is not seen – it’s already in the foods we have purchased. However, added fats like oils used in stir-fries, dressings on our salads and spreads on bread, can contribute even more fat to our diets. The Food Guide suggests limiting these types of visible fats and using mostly unsaturated varieties.

Nutritionists widely agree that Canadians should consume 30 percent or less of their total daily calories from fat, with 10 percent or less of those calories from saturated fat. Remember, the 30 percent refers to your total fat intake over time, not single foods or meals. The nutritional panel on food packaging is helpful to determine how much fat is in a particular product, and how much of that product therefore relates to your optimal, daily dietary intake.

Always be on guard for saturated fats (those that are solid at room temperature, such as animal fats and hydrogenated margarine) and steer instead to really good fats and oils that come from UNREFINED vegetable sources like olive oil or oily fish. Remember, foods high in fat can be part of a healthy diet – it’s all about balance with other lower-fat food choices.

The bottom line is regardless whether saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids (most fats we eat are a combination of each of these) all types of fats contain 9 calories per gram.

For even more information about fat, nutrition and health, check out the The Hearth & Stroke Foundation.

12-14-09

12 Tips & Tricks To Curtail The Calories This Holiday Season!

At Rose Reisman Personal Gourmet, even decadence is in balance. All year long our personalized programs work so well for so many who need and want to shed extra pounds, and who ultimately are able to maintain a healthy weight without uttering that dirty word, diet. “It’s all about lifestyle,” says Rose Reisman. “Eating well should come as naturally to you as brushing your teeth, even during the holidays.”

Still, this is the time of year that that tempts us at every turn – so much so, that the average adult gains 5 to 7 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day! “A healthy holiday table doesn’t have be about deprivation or starvation,” Rose reassures, whose following tips and tricks let you savour and sip but will help curtail the calories throughout the holidays…

Holiday Cooking

• Traditional favourites tend to be loaded with fat. Start with substituting good for bad, such as olive oil instead of butter or chicken fat in the stuffing; multigrain instead of white bread will also add fibre, or better, try substituting some of the bread with cooked, protein-rich quinoa grain or wild rice

• In place of cream in soups try swirling in evaporated milk or even pureed sweet potatoes, which will add a creamy texture, but not the fat

• Skip the butter or fatty sauces with vegetables – but no need to steam or boil, instead roast vegetables with a drizzle of maple syrup and olive oil, and dusting of cinnamon and nutmeg for an aromatic punch of flavour

• Make gravies ahead of time, then refrigerate – the fat will rise to the top and congeal, and can be easily skimmed off with a spoon; simply reheat and serve

• For dips and spreads, substitute lower fat or no fat versions of sour cream and mayonnaise, or even try plain yogurt

• Try skipping the cured meats like ham, which are loaded with nitrates and salt, which is one of thes leading causes of hypertension

• For festive desserts, switch out oil in the mix for butter and use real, dark chocolate chips for a more potent, and healthier chocolate hit in cakes and cookies; for cake batters, try substituting one-third to half of the oil with pureed bananas, applesauce or crushed pineapple

Surviving The Party Circuit

• Be mindful of hidden calories in beverages – alcohol is high in calories, and even the driest of wines can easily pack 200-400 calories per glass; try cutting a glass of white wine with sparkling water, and substitute the cream in eggnog with low fat milk and even butter milk

• Before heading off to a cocktail or dinner party, have a light, healthy snack – a piece of fruit, low fat cottage cheese or yogurt – to curb your appetite and more easily survey your host’s food and drink and make better decisions

• At the buffet table, consciously serve yourself smaller portions – a trick alone which saves lots of calories; it’s also best not to think about post-holiday dieting, which may trigger anxious thoughts of ‘deprivation’ and lead to needless over-indulging

• Be sure to be active every day throughout the holidays – there’s nothing like an invigorating winter walk an hour before a festive dinner or between dinner and dessert

• Most of all, be sure to enjoy your good friends and family, and be mindful about what you’re eating and drinking, but don’t sweat it if you over indulge once or twice – just return to a healthy

11-24-09

Snacking Is Healthy… But Beware!

Diet dogma has us believe that snacking leads to weight gain. Not so! Rose believes that healthy snacking keeps you energized, prevents blood sugar drops, and keeps you from being overly hungry by mealtime. But all snacks are not created equal, especially many processed and foodservice products, which often conceal fat, sugar and sodium under the guise of a healthy choice.

Take movie theatre popcorn, for instance. Last week the advocacy group, Center for Science in the public interest unleashed some heart-stopping findings. It revealed that on average a medium-sized popcorn and medium soda at several leading movie chains packed 1,200 calories, 60 grams of saturated fat, and 980 milligrams of sodium. That’s equal to three Quarter Pounders… plus an additional 12 pats of butter!

Making matters worse, some chains still use coconut oil, which is about 90% saturated fat. The next time you place your popcorn order be sure to ask the oil type used – an unsaturated oil like canola is best. At home, as we learned several years ago, the healthiest way to enjoy popcorn is using an air popper.

Just as popcorn can swing from lethal to healthy depending on fat and sodium levels, be on the look out for other empty calories lurking in the form of excessive sugar. The nutritional panel on food product packages provides fat, sodium and sugar content, and how it importantly further relates percentage-wise to daily healthy intake. You obviously always want to avoid getting anywhere close to 100% of any one of the above culprits in a couple fleeting bites.

Opt instead for naturally sweet, seasonal fruits to satisfy your sweet tooth – berries and grapes are particularly satisfying as they have ‘built-in’ portion control allowing you to enjoy them over time. Rose likes to also recommend keeping a little stash of treats always nearby – such as a baggie of baby carrots, walnuts, edamame, or rice crackers at your desk, in your coat pocket, or purse, which will get you through the afternoon (and away from the vending machines!) with a clearer mind and mood.

A final note: avoid portion distortion… while definitely healthy in moderation, the likes of too many almonds, rice crackers, even naturally sweet grapes, can escalate the calories very quickly.

11-12-09

Enter Rose Reisman’s Personal Gourmet Meal-Away!

Rose Reisman’s Personal Gourmet is excited to announce the launch of its Facebook Fanpage and Twitter profile. With these two new Social Media outlets, we feel we’ll be able to communicate with you our loyal and new customers even better. We’d love to hear what you have to say about our food and our service offerings, and begin an open dialogue about your likes and dislikes so we’re even better able to offer you exactly what you want…when you want.

So to help us celebrate the launch of our new Social Media group, we’re excited to announce Rose Reisman’s Personal Gourmet Meal-Away.

Because proof is in the pudding (yes, we even offer great tasting snacks!), we’re offering the chance to experience Rose Reisman’s Personal Gourmet first hand by entering to win a sample of the wonderful and nutritious meal plans, freshly delivered to you daily!  Click here for all the details on how to enter…