I'm back!

Hi everyone!

I'm sorry for being M.I.A. I've been on vacation but now I'm back! I will update shortly...

Thank you for reading!!

Organic Lisa

How much water should you drink?

You've heard it a million times: drink 8 eight-ounce glasses of water a day, but who bothers with measuring and counting throughout the day? I just drink when I'm thirsty. Drinking water does a lot of good for your body - it flushes out toxins, keeps nutrients flowing to your cells, and makes your skin glow ; ) But rather than putting away glasses, I think it's more important to notice your internal body signals.

If you don't drink a lot of water, start by drinking it simply when you feel thirsty. Also drink water when you're feeling sluggish for a natural pick-me-up. And drink water when you're hungry (hunger signals are often confused with thirst). Pretty soon your body will get used to it and will naturally ask for more.

Your body will need less drinking water if you eat a lot of water-dense fruits and vegetables. And you'll need more water on hot days and when you exercise. Water is the only drink I promote. All those other fancy vitamin and 'health' drinks are just a waste of your money. More on that in another post!

One way to tell if your body needs more water is by looking in your toilet! You need to drink more if your pee looks very yellow instead of clear or light yellow (unless you just took vitamins, which also changes the color of your pee).

And I better not catch you with a disposable water bottle! Get with it and get a reusable water bottle, already! Thanks.

Book Review: The Ethics of What We Eat

The Ethics of What We Eat, by Peter Singer and Jim Mason, is one of my FAVORITE books of all time. It was actually my dad who recommended it to me, and it has basically shaped the way I eat. In contrast to the Omnivore's Dilemma, this book sucks you in by getting straight to the facts. If you saw the documentary "Food, Inc." and liked learning about food issues, this is a great way to go deeper. Some topics covered: the hidden cost of cheap chicken, veganism, "animal care certified" eggs, Niman Ranch bacon, fair trade, and eating locally. Whether you're a food know-it-all or would rather not know where your food came from, it's all about gaining knowledge. I give it an A+!

Phony Foods : Flat Earth Veggie Crisps

The claim: "Flat Earth veggie crisps are deliciously fun, baked snacks with the goodness of real vegetables and other wholesome ingredients. These "Impossibly Good" crisps make it possible to have great taste and nutrition." Each ounce contains a half serving of real vegetables!

The reality: I was skeptical that a half serving of real vegetables could be packed into ONE ounce of "crisps" so I flip the package over to read the ingredients:

Rice flour, potato flakes, corn oil, dried vegetable blend (pumpkin, tomato paste, onion, sugar, sunflower oil, red bell pepper, beet juice concentrate with citric acid [color]), modified corn starch, whole oat flour, sugar, corn maltodextrin, salt, lactose, soy lecithin, mono- and diglycerides, ..... and the list goes on.

Congratulations! You ate a half serving of vegetables in the form of potatoes and corn oil! (Plus a pinch of vegetable blend powder) Remember that the ingredients list goes by weight, so you're basically eating more oil than "real vegetables" ... Not quite the "wholesome ingredients" and nutrition we were thinking. Sure they're slightly healthier for you than deep fried potato chips, but they're no miracle food!

Food Labels, Demystified!

Get your calcium - eat more butter!

Reduced fat! Sugar-free! Seal of approval by the American Heart Association!

These claims may sound good, but know the facts on what they really mean! Though the claim itself may be true, it's not showing you the whole picture.

Reduced fat = Contains at least 25% less fat than the original product. So even if a deep fried Twinkie went from 100 grams of fat to 75, they can call it reduced-fat. Also, just because it's 'reduced fat' doesn't mean it's reduced in anything else. Take for instance a "reduced fat blueberry lemon muffin" from Peet's Coffee. It still has 13 grams of fat, along with a whopping 470 calories (120 from fat alone), 36 grams of sugar, and 75 grams of carbs. Reduced fat usually means the fat is replaced by sugar and processed fillers such as isolated soy protein and high fructose corn syrup.

Trans-fat free = Contains less than 0.5 grams of trans-fat per serving. It seems like nothing, but the 0.5 grams add up quickly. To make sure your food is truly free of trans-fats, look on the ingredients list for the words "partially hydrogenated," which is the complicated word for trans-fat!

Sugar-free = Less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving. Removing sugar from a product does lower the calories, but the artificial sweeteners used in its place can be even more harmful. There are research studies that artificial sweeteners can cause weight gain because of the trick the sweetness plays on your mind. Sugar-free doesn't mean it's low in calories, fat, cholesterol, and especially chemicals.

American Heart Association = Meets AHA standards of being low in fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium. But a food can have as much sugar, calories, and everything else and be called heart-healthy! My favorite example - Chocolate Lucky Charms Cereal: it has minimal fiber, tons of sugar, and added artificial colors and flavors, but is certified "heart healthy" by the AHA!

Light = 1/3 fewer calories or 50% less fat. Such as light cream cheese.

Low fat = 3 grams of fat or less per serving.

Good source of "X" = Contains 10-19% of the daily recommended value.

Excellent source of "X" = Contains 20% or more of the daily recommended value.

Made with "X" or "Contains X," as in made with real vegetables, fruits, contains whole grains, etc = Add just a pinch of this ingredient, and it's a legitimate claim.

Cage-free = Chickens aren't kept in cages, but if you've seen the documentary "Food, Inc" you know that it doesn't mean sanitary or humane conditions.

Free-range = The animal lived in a pen or shed where a door was open, even if the animal can't even get to it. The end. No roaming on sunny pastures here.

High in antioxidants = Antioxidants include vitamins A, C, and E, which is in basically EVERYTHING, from beans to fruits to fortified cereal, so don't fall for fancy packages with this claim, and just eat an orange.

Conclusion: Don't rely on flashy claims on the front. Read the ingredients and the nutrition facts for what's really in your food. If a packaged food needs to be embellished with such labels and claims, it's probably trying to hide something.