Archive for Healthy

Slim Star at UVA Sun: A Thinny Thursday Miracle!!!!!

By Dessert Darling · Comments (0)
Thursday, May 17th, 2012

Ohmygosh guys- I’ve always been a firm believer that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. That’s why, every time I heard about the SlimStar Infra-Wrap System at UVA Sun, I totally rolled my eyes. SUUURE you could burn 1,200 calories in 50 minutes just sitting there! And what of all those results people were seeing? Dropping a full dress size in 4 session? Um, clearly that was water-weight.. right?!

You guys, I tried it. It works. I’m a little dumbfounded… but after 6 months of not shedding those annoying 5-post-wedding pounds, I finally caved and decided to invest in some Slim Star sessions. First, you smother this stinky gel on your thighs and torso.

Then you come fully clothed in sweats and lie down on this bed, where you will relax for an hour, watch a movie, TV, read a book, or play Words With Friends (my current addiction ;) )

Here I am, wrapped up and ready to go! The infrared heat penetrates twice as deep as other heat sources to target toxins and cellulite trapped in pockets below the surface of the skin (though, I only noticed a change in weight-loss, not cellulite). These wraps get very Hot!

They had one plus size model who lost twenty pounds using Slim Star!!!! Holy smokes, I want to sing it from the mountain tops, this machine is insane!! Click here to see more about the science of Slim Star and how it works.

Normally it’s $345.00 for 3 sessions, but if you mention that the DD sent you, you can buy 3- get 3 sessions FREE! Hot-damn.

To book an appointment with UVA Sun (on 3rd Street between the Grove and the Beverly Center), click here.

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100 Calorie Ice Cream Sandwich by Julie’s Organic Ice-Cream

By Dessert Darling · Comments (0)
Friday, May 11th, 2012

It’s hard to find an actual ice-cream sandwich, you know, made with real ice-cream, that comes in a 100 Calorie serving size. I scoured the shelves at Whole Foods, my eyes cruising by the soy, coconut milk, yogurt, and even goat-milk options before I landed on on Julie’s Organic Ice-Cream sandwiches.

The “Juliette” has thin chocolate wafers that neatly contain a bar of delicious vanilla ice-cream. Made with natural and organic ingredients, Julie’s Organic “Juliette’s” won my heart.

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For more info on Julie’s Organic Ice-Cream, click here.

Click here to see ice creams that I won’t eat anymore, delicious or not!

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Favorite Ice Creams I’ll Never Eat Again & Why: Baskin-Robbins, Haagen Dazs, Breyers and Dreyers with rBGH

By Dessert Darling · Comments (2)
Thursday, May 10th, 2012

There are many articles, like this fabulous one in the Huffington Post, about Bovine Growth Hormones, or rBGH. But I’ll break it down into simple language for you here this Thinny Thursday.

Monsanto, the chemical company that’s determined to run the world’s food supply (and thus, the world), created genetically engineered growth hormones to make cows produce more milk. The cows utters get extremely large, tender, and soar.

This swelling and pain makes the cows get infections, which makes them need antibiotics. Furthermore, the infections lead to blood and puss being released into the milk.

So now, dairy from cows injected with rBGH have:

  • Genetically Engineered Hormones
  • Antibiotics
  • Puss and Blood

“Food is information,” per this article by Dr. Franklipman. What we eat directly interacts with our genes and can make us healthy and happy, or diseased and sick. Wonder why some kids are hitting puberty as early as six years old?! Consuming milk from affected cows with artificial hormones and antibiotics directly and adversely affects our own bodies.

Sadly, my ALL TIME FAVORITE ice cream brands: Baskin-Robbins, Haagen Dazs, Breyers, and Dreyers, all use dairy from cows injected with rBGH. :( Seriously guys, this is like the Day the Music Died for me. People often ask what my favorite dessert is, and it’s ice cream. I’m so bummed that my childhood staples are so careless with the quality of their ingredients. Furthermore, some have the audacity to outright lie with labels like “All Natural”- UGH!!! Good news though..

Ben and Jerry’s has always taken a firm stance against using rBGH dairy, long before I even knew what the labels meant. All Organic ice creams are safe as well, like Stonyfield, Alden’s, Julie’s, and pretty much any brand that you’d find in a health food store.

Hopefully, if enough of us demand quality ingredients with our shopping dollars, Baskin-Robbins, Haagen Dazs, Bryers, and Dryers will catch on and make the shift to natural milk products. Hey, it worked for Starbucks! Who, I’m happy to share, also refuses to use dairy with rBGH.

 

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Thinny Thursday Tip- I Never Drink Soda

By Dessert Darling · Comments (4)
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

Never Drink Sodas

This Thinny Thursday tip is pretty self-explanatory. Soda has been linked to pancreatic cancer, heart risks, rotting teeth, and of course, obesity. I know a guy who simply cut soda out of his diet and dropped 15 pounds. Wop-babaloo-bop, there you go.

And for you diet soda fans who drink a beverage as a snack or food substitute, you’re drowning your insides in disgusting chemicals for nothing, because studies show that “artificial sweeteners increase weight gain odds.” Studies also show that even sugar free sodas result in an increased incidence of metabolic syndrome (“a cluster of risk factors linked to diabetes and heart disease”).

Yikes!

Anyway, it’s a complete waist of calories to drink them, if you ask me. I’m a huge fan of the tall glass of water! If you need caffeine, drink tea! Tea can have incredible benefits for your body.

If you need bubbles, try fruit flavored sparkling water. Or if you want a cold palette cleanser with a kick, try Kombucha! This fizzy beverage is has many healthful benefits and is naturally low in calories :)

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Finally, if you must must must have “soda”, try all natural brands made with natural sweeteners (NO High Fructose Corn Syrup!!) and fewer calories. Hope that helps!

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Thinny Thursday: Eat Chocolate- Stay Thin with Hail Merry Macaroons

By Dessert Darling · Comments (3)
Thursday, March 29th, 2012

Well Glory Hallelujah! Yet another scientific study that touts the merits of Chocolate! This study essentially states that those who eat chocolate on a regular basis are thinner than those who don’t, even though they do not eat fewer calories or exercise more. WOW! So THAT’s how I do it! Seriously, I eat chocolate every morning after breakfast since I’m not a coffee drinker. :)

In honor of this outstanding Thinny Thursday news, I’m sharing with you these raw, vegan, gluten-free Hail Merry Chocolate Macaroons to feed your fix in an even healthier way. Made without refined sugar, these delicious treats still boast dark cocoa for all your chocolate needs. They’re Sooooo delicious I ate the whole bag in one sitting. Oops.

 

For more information on Hail Merry, click here! (I found my bag in Whole Foods).

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Gluten Free Lemon Bar by Bloom Cafe

By Dessert Darling · Comments (1)
Thursday, March 22nd, 2012

In this post here I promised that I’d keep on the look out for some great Gluten Free dessert options. In general, the more I learn about GE foods (see here), the more I’m attracted to and delighted by bakeries that make all natural and organic desserts. Bloom Cafe has now become my go-to organic restaurant for fresh food delivery when I’m too lazy to cook myself. I love their savory food and was curious about their Gluten Free Lemon Bar. While the crust was a bit crumbly and chalky in a Gluten Free kinda way, the lemon curd itself was lovely and mild. People who adore strong lemon flavor though, will be turned off by it’s lack of citrusy zest. Though my socks weren’t knocked off, I appreciated the natural attempt by Bloom Cafe.

For more information on Bloom Cafe on Pico, in Los Angeles, Click here.

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Dairy Free Gelato at Akasha Restaurant in Culver City

By Dessert Darling · Comments (0)
Friday, March 2nd, 2012

I adore Akasha Restaurant in Culver City for serving delicious, sustainable, and organic food for carnivores and herbivores alike. Their desserts have always delighted me, so it was no surprise that I inhaled these scoops of Dairy Free Gelato that you see here. I had two scoops of the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip made with soy milk (YUM!) and one scoop of the Chocolate made with hemp (decent). This gelato was a little on the sweet side since it lacked dairy fat to temper the sugar. However, if you can handle sweet desserts, the Peanut Butter Chocolate chip was a delicious dairy-free alternative to real gelato.

For more info on Akasha Restaurant in the newly happening and hip Culver City, click here.

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What is Coconut Palm Sugar? Yummy, Low Glycemic, Natural

By Dessert Darling · Comments (0)
Thursday, March 1st, 2012

This Thinny Thursday I’d like to introduce you to Coconut Palm Sugar, a delightful sweetener that I discovered on my honeymoon in Thailand. Granulated Palm Sugar has a very similar look and taste to Brown Sugar, but a much lower glycemic index (35 GI versus brown sugar’s 64), thus making Palm Sugar the perfect substitute for baking, sweetening my oatmeal, and other Brown Sugar like uses (yea!). Additionally, Palm Sugar is naturally rich in potassium, magnesium, zinc, and iron, and is a natural source of vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6 and C (more info here). The caramel like sugar is made from evaporating the nectar of a palm flower before it blossoms into a coconut. Whoo la la, who knew?!

As always, I recommend organic Palm Sugar, like this one by Sweet Tree. I bought this bag at Whole Foods and used it promptly to make my Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies (recipe here)!

For more information- Google it! Sorry, that’s an obvious statement, but really, there’re a lot of sites that wax poetic about this lovely sweetener. Enjoy!

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Best Gluten Free, Vegan, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe!

By Dessert Darling · Comments (4)
Monday, February 20th, 2012

Last week I explained what GLUTEN FREE means in this post here. Today I am sharing with you a Super awesome, Vegan and Gluten Free, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe that I adapted from Leslie Durso’s blog (the Veggie Dreamgirl) here. Yes, it is possible to be Vegan, Gluten Free, and Super Delicious. TRY these cookies and see for yourself.

The Ingredients:

 

Always buy Organic when you can:

  • 1 cup creamy Peanut Butter
  • 1 cup Palm Sugar or Brown Sugar (or half and half)
  • 1 small Banana, well mushed
  • 1 tsp Baking Soda
  • dash of Vanilla
  • 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips

How to Make Them:

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
  • Mix all of the ingredients, minus the chocolate chips
  • Blend well, making sure that the banana is well mushed up
  • Add the chocolate chips, then stir
  • Use a spoon to scoop out the balls onto a buttered pan (not Vegan, but makes ‘em tasty)
  • Press the balls flat, or or else they won’t fully bake and the’ll be shaped like balls
  • Bake for 12 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and let cool
Note: these are gooey cookies thanks to the Peanut Butter & Banana, but fear not. You can safely eat the dough, raw or cooked, since it doesn’t contain any eggs.

 

Enjoy!!!

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20 Naturally Gluten Free Desserts

By Dessert Darling · Comments (4)
Friday, February 17th, 2012

Yesterday I wrote about the significance of “Gluten Free” in this post here. While that information might seem devastating to a dessert fanatic, fear not, there are plenty of naturally gluten free dessert options. In no particular order they are:

  1. um, CHOCOLATE
  2. Ice Cream
  3. Pudding
  4. Macarons
  5. Meringue
  6. Pavalova
  7. Flourless Chocolate Cake
  8. Souffles
  9. Divinity
  10. Fudge
  11. Bananas Foster
  12. Milkshakes
  13. Sorbet
  14. Italian Almond Cookies
  15. Raw desserts
  16. Caramels
  17. Candy Apples
  18. Chocolate fondue
  19. Custard
  20. Peanut Butter Cookies

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow- there’re a lot of awesome options. So relax, Gluten-Free doesn’t mean Dessert-Free. As always, read the ingredients carefully, especially if you have a true allergy to gluten. For example, an ice cream with pretzels in it would have wheat. Other things to avoid would be traditional chocolate chip cookies, brownies, cake, cupcakes, and donuts. Woa- and pop goes the cupcake bubble! I kid ;)

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