I’m always looking for a way to amp up my workout.  After all, I figure that if I’m gonna get my booty to the gym, and spend precious time and energy on the myriad of activities that make me sweat and deplete my electrolytes, I may as well take it as far as I can.

So, when I came across Bob Harper’s recipe for making your own electrolyte drink, I mixed it into my workout routine immediately.  The result?  A natural, inexpensive, workout booster.  It’s effects compare with all those candy-colored sports drinks that are full of sugar and other random ingredients, but this all natural concoction is all good for your bodacious bod.

Simply mix the following ingredients together and drink.

Yields 1 Liter

1 liter water
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 Tbsp. sea salt
2 Tbsp. agave nectar
(I like to add the juice of 1/2 a lemon for a little extra zing)

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Post Script:
The shoes above are the result of my attempt at designing trainers (with help from the excellent people at NIKE-iD).  To express your creativity and personalize your workout , visit them today!

Please understand.  I really love food.  Any ethnic menu will do.  I eat Japanese and Vietnamese cuisine at least four times a week, but having lived in France, I always appreciate a nice triple cream cheese, plump pate, and fermented grape goodness.  On a cold winter’s day nothing’s better than saag paneer and chana masala or maybe, a juicy blue cheese burger with rosemary garlic fries.

I obviously don’t think of myself as a health nut, but I do respect my body and like to practice eating in moderation (most of the time).  But, when some people I love recently went through treatment for cancer, I wanted to take more control of my own health and began looking at food as it was originally intended.  As nutrition and fuel.

After reading my fair share of medical, holistic, and off the charts coo-coo literature looking for answers, I came to this revelation. If we consume foods rich in nutrients and we choose natural foods that our body innately knows how to process, it works far less to process those foods so it can spend more time healing itself and fending off disease.

Ok.  I can hear how seriously “granola” I sound right now, so – from one foodie to another, let me just share with you a most unexpected and delicious recipe for a refreshing drink that’s full of all the goodness our bodies are hungry for.  I love to start the day with this yummy elixir, and it also makes for an energizing mid-afternoon treat.    I bring you…

pretty Green Lemade moustache

Green Lemonade
In your juicer, add the following:
2 leaves kale
2 stalks celery
2 medium lemons
1 large cucumber
1 large apple
1″ ginger
Stevia for added sweetness if desired
Pour over ice and enjoy!

Note:  If you don’t own your own juicer, simply take this recipe to your nearest Whole Foods or local juicing counter and have them make it for you!

Looking for a good juicer to invest in?  Check out my favorites below!

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Omega Juicer

Breville Juicer

Juicers I like:
Omega J8005 Nutrition Center Single-Gear Commercial Masticating Juicer, Chrome and Black
Breville 800JEXL Juice Fountain Elite 1000-Watt Juice Extractor

To borrow a line from SNL’s Weekend Update with Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler – “Really!?!”

Admittedly I’m always on the hunt for a weight loss miracle.  That one thing that will effortlessly get me back to my dancer’s body of old (without having to dance 3 hours a day everyday, of course).

I’ve never been too discriminating to refrain from trying the wackiest fads nor have I been too disdainful to ignore advice from the nuttiest “experts” in hopes of finding the magical recipe.  Until now.

I have to ask.  Who the hell actually believes that a diet plate will make them skinny?  Does it come packaged with new genes?  Maybe the plate’s ornate design hypnotizes you into a weight-reducing coma.  Honestly, I understand the urge to try any and every diet scam, but a pretty plate – Really!?!

To make the plate work, must you take it to restaurants and demand that the chef serve your filet mignon and mashed potatoes on the plate?  Are people plating every Oreo cookie and Pringles chip they consume?  Do ballpark dogs become healthful when served on this fancy piece of china?  Obviously these are rhetorical questions.

I think its fair to chalk this one up as another crazy concept invented by hungry (pun intended) marketers to turn a heafty (pun intended again) buck.  Even so, the consummate optimist in me wants to find that silver lining.  So, I’ll reluctantly give the plate the benefit of doubt and assume it’s intended function is to teach people healthy serving portions.  And that, without a doubt, is an important and fundamental lesson.  Albeit, a lesson you can learn without a fancy plate.

I suspect I’ll always be looking for the magical weight loss secret, but until I find it I’m doing things the old fashioned way – eating nutritious foods and exercising regularly.  If only I had my 18 year old dancer’s metabolism to go along with it.  Aaaah, a girl can always dream…