So you’ve got your list of local farmer’s markets that you frequent, you’re signed up for a CSA and the last time you went to a major supermarket was in 1998. But what happens when you’re expected to bring hot dogs to the company BBQ or your sister has a cupcake emergency for your nephews birthday party? Fortunately you can stick to your sustainable guns. Search the Eat Well Guide for a merchant in your area that sells to your organic, wheat and dairy free, grass fed and vegan needs.

The modern supermarket has successfully driven a huge wedge between the consumer and their food products. When we buy packaged and processed foods we are saying that it’s okay to feed our bodies crap. Our cows are filled with hormones and antibodies, our produce is covered in pesticides and our baked goods are kept fresh with preservatives. Fortunately there are farmers and growers who actually care about true farming, grass fed animals who live the majority of their lives on a pasture instead of a CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation), which is what most American eat. There are a number of farms that sell all-natural, grass fed products. Check out Eat Wild for a list of farms on your area. Most will ship directly to your home.

What to Michael Phelps, Lance Armstrong and other Olympic level athletes have in common? They drink chocolate milk for their post-recovery workout drink. Check out the research below for the facts on this post recovery workout drink.

Source: Drinking Chocolate Milk After A Workout Offers Advantages For Post-Exercise Performance And Muscle Repair

One of the best post-exercise recovery drinks could already be in your refrigerator, according to new research presented at the American College of Sports Medicine conference this week. In a series of four studies, researchers found that chocolate milk offered a recovery advantage to help repair and rebuild muscles, compared to specially designed carbohydrate sports drinks.

Experts agree that the two-hour window after exercise is an important, yet often neglected, part of a fitness routine. After strenuous exercise, this post-workout recovery period is critical for active people at all fitness levels - to help make the most of a workout and stay in top shape for the next workout.

The new research suggests that drinking fat free chocolate milk after exercise can help the body retain, replenish and rebuild muscle to help your body recover. Drinking lowfat chocolate milk after a strenuous workout could even help prep muscles to perform better in a subsequent bout of exercise. Specifically, the researchers found a chocolate milk advantage for:

• Building Muscle - Post-exercise muscle biopsies in eight moderately trained male runners showed that after drinking 16 ounces of fat free chocolate milk, the runners had enhanced skeletal muscle protein synthesis - a sign that muscles were better able to repair and rebuild - compared to when they drank a carbohydrate only sports beverage with the same amount of calories. The researchers suggest that “athletes can consider fat-free chocolate milk as an economic nutritional alternative to other sports nutrition beverages to support post-endurance exercise skeletal muscle repair.”
• Replenishing Muscle “Fuel” - Replacing muscle fuel (glycogen) after exercise is essential to an athlete’s future performance and muscle recovery. Researchers found that drinking 16 ounces of fat free chocolate milk with its mix of carbohydrates and protein (compared to a carbohydrate-only sports drink with the same amount of calories) led to greater concentration of glycogen in muscles at 30 and 60 minutes post exercise.
• Maintaining Lean Muscle - Athletes risk muscle breakdown following exercise when the body’s demands are at their peak. Researchers found that drinking fat free chocolate milk after exercise helped decrease markers of muscle breakdown compared to drinking a carbohydrate sports drink.
• Subsequent Exercise Performance - Ten trained men and women cyclists rode for an hour and a half, followed by 10 minutes of intervals. They rested for four hours and were provided with one of three drinks immediately and two hours into recovery: lowfat chocolate milk, a carbohydrate drink with the same amount of calories or a control drink. When the cyclists then performed a subsequent 40 kilometer ride, their trial time was significantly shorter after drinking the chocolate milk compared to the carbohydrate drink and the control drink.

Why Chocolate Milk?
Chocolate milk’s combination of carbohydrates and high-quality protein first made researchers take notice of a potential exercise benefit. The combination of carbs and protein already in chocolate milk matched the ratio found to be most beneficial for recovery. In fact, studies suggest that chocolate milk has the right mix of carbs and protein to help refuel exhausted muscles, and the protein in milk helps build lean muscle. This new research adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting milk can be just as effective as some commercial sports drinks in helping athletes refuel and recover.

Milk also provides fluids for rehydration and electrolytes, including potassium, calcium and magnesium lost in sweat, that both recreational exercisers and elite athletes need to replace after strenuous activity. Plus, chocolate milk is naturally nutrient-rich with the advantage of additional nutrients not found in most traditional sports drinks. Penny-for-penny, no other post-exercise drink contains the full range of vitamins and minerals found in chocolate milk.

Good Morning Breakfast Shake

• 1 scoop of Vega Health Optimizer
• 1/2 cup coconut water
• 1/2 banana
• 4 - 5 large ice cubes
• 1 T apple cider vinegar
• 1 t fish oil

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Drink up and enjoy!

• Obesity contributes to 147 million of health care costs
• Over 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese
• Americans spend over 60 million dollars a year on diet products
• Children are now getting diabetes at an early age due to obesity
• People pay over $2,000 a week to attend the Biggest Loser Camp and many are repeat customers

One Nation Overweight: Fighting Obesity in America
Premieres Tuesday, May 18th 7 p PST and 10p EST

Deep into its ninth season The Biggest Loser continues to help people shed hundreds of pounds during the course of the show through rigorous workouts and a strict nutrition plan. What happens after the cameras are turned off and the contestants go back to their pre-loser lives?

The struggle is not so much as losing the weight. The real work starts in maintaining the weight loss. Some of the contestants admit that keeping the weight off is hard work. And no wonder since studies suggest that only about 20 percent of obese or overweight people who lose at least 10 percent of their initial body weight can keep it off for at least a year. How do the Biggest Losers fare against this statistic? Check out The Biggest Loser Alums to see who kept the weight off and who experienced weight gain.

Finally. A book that understands the meaning behind food issues. This isn’t a diet book. This is a field guide to navigating the deeper issues that underlie your food addiction. Author Geneen Roth provides us with insight and understanding that may possibly change your relationship to food forever. If you find yourself stuffing down your emotions through food (you may even be able to use this for alcohol, cigarettes and drugs) then add this to your shopping cart now.

She explains that “the way you eat is inseparable from your core beliefs about being alive. No matter how sophisticated or wise or enlightened you believe you are, how you eat tells all. The world is on your plate. When you begin to understand what prompts you to use food as a way to numb or distract yourself, the process takes you deeper into realms of spirit and to the bright center of your own life. Rather than getting rid of or instantly changing your conflicted relationship with food, Women Food and God is about welcoming what is already here, and contacting the part of yourself that is already whole—divinity itself.”

Photo Credit: Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times

Want to end hours of frustration in the bathroom trying to get that perfect “just left the salon” look and not break the bank every time you want a professional blow dry? Then go see Westside stylist Alli Webb at her salon Drybar (11677 San Vicente Blvd.) which has eight blow-dry stations. Her team of stylists can produce a multitude of looks from a beach-glam to Oscar-worthy ringlets. Oh and while you’re waiting for your “doo” to be done you can peruse the bar stocked with great products or relax and have a glass of Champagne in the movie lounge.

About 230 years ago a group of expats from Britain declared independence from Britain and started the American Revolutionary War. Now there’s a new American Revolution started by another Brit, Jamie Oliver, who is now touring the American talk show circuit promoting his American Food Revolution.

On his website he states that “the American Food Revolution needs to start now! If you care about your country and the health of its children please help us make a difference. We need your support to get people back in touch with food and keep cooking skills alive before it’s too late. We want to make sure every kid gets good, fresh food at school. It’s proven that real food promotes more effective learning. If you want better health for your kids the junk food must go. I need to be able to show The President and industry how many of you out there really care about this issue so please don’t wait, sign up today. It will only take 30 seconds.”

So sign up and show your support for this UK Wunderkind who spreads a positive message worldwide.

Need some good food recommendations? There’s an app for that. The latest food app to roll out of cyberspace is Foodspotting which allows users to “post photos of their fave dishes on the site to share with others hungry for the same sort of thing, which is why Foodspotting’s motto is “Find dishes, not just restaurants.”