You know the drill: If you bring unhealthy food into your home, you’re going to eat it. Learn to work the market and make great decisions where it matters most. This workshop includes a one-hour tour of the brand new Market Basket in Waltham and a discussion of how to identify the most nutritious foods and ingredients, along with strategies for preparing quick and delicious meals, lunches on the go, and healthy snacks.

Where: Market Basket, 110 Market Place Drive, Waltham

When: April 11, 10:30-12

Cost: Cost of workshop is $40 – a bargain considering my private tour rate is $100!

Sign up here! https://fusion.myvolo.ca/club/store/shopcart.jsp?rand=0.12434291278429843

© 2015, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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We’re in the final crush leading up to Christmas, and chances are, you’re doing some merrymaking this weekend. While some trainers would encourage you to lay off all treats and sweets, I take a more moderate approach . . . maybe it’s my old age, but I *do* think that holiday food and family traditions are important. The trick is to fit those into your new healthy lifestyle . . . to indulge and enjoy without going balls-out. Here are my top tricks for doing just that!

1. Eat before parties and get-togethers. Fill your belly up with non-starchy veggies and lean protein. If you don’t have any on hand, try a cup of nonfat Greek yogurt. Even a large piece of fruit will help. The point is NOT TO SHOW UP HUNGRY. You can eat  at your destination, but you will be more apt to choose wisely if you’re not starving. Start with lean protein and vegetables, eat a little starch if you like, and think about skipping desserts. Want wine? Have a glass, but then definitely skip starch. Want an appetizer? Skip dessert. Trade off. Which item is the most important to you? Start there. Then stop.
2. Have a plan. Check out menus. Think about what’ll be served at a party. Figure out a strategy beforehand. What will you order? What indulgences are truly important to you? Your grandmother’s famous sweet potatoes? Have a small serving. One. The specialty of the house at a swanky restaurant? Eat a half portion. The point is to avoid unknowns when possible. Sometimes it’s impossible, and you’ll have to work on the fly . . . then it’s back to basics: protein and non-starchy veg first. Add-ons later. And not too many.
3. Don’t stuff yourself. Even if you’re eating lots of delicious and un-fatloss-friendly items, people, don’t gorge. You can taste and enjoy and not stuff yourself silly. You will feel more rotten if you do. It’s just food. It’ll be there tomorrow and also next Tuesday. You don’t need to clean house.
4. Move your body. Even if it’s for 15 minutes. Even if it’s “just” walking. Movement will help EVERYTHING during this busy time. Your mind will clear, your body will feel better, and you will remind yourself that you’re more than just a partying, shopping and wrapping machine. Try burst training: when you get a minute (or 5), drop and do some pushups, hold a plank, do some air squats (these are easy to do in someone’s bathroom, unnoticed – just sayin’) . . . see also jumping jacks, high knees, T-pushups, etc. Quick ‘n’ dirty. This said, if you can keep up with your regular workouts, even better.
5. Screw the “all or nothing” thinking. You are not “on the wagon” or “off the wagon,” you are living your life in the holiday season. You are eating well when you can, you are adding treats and indulgences in a planned way. A great way to moderate is to “automate” a meal or two every day. Eat the same breakfast every single day – that way you know you’re getting at least one healthful, balanced meal in. Shoot for two and even snacks if you can. I like to recommend breakfast and lunch on autopilot because the day usually gets more unpredictable as it goes on . . . a green monster smoothie, some scrambled eggs/whites, oatmeal, whatever sets you up right for the day, eat that. Try a big-ass salad with protein for lunch if you can swing it. Veggies will fill you up and keep you satisfied much longer than a ham sammie.

Enjoy yourselves. Don’t “should” yourself silly. If you practice compassion and flexibility, you might find the weight of all the holiday eating pressure just lifts off your shoulders “magically.” And if you’re eating cookies, taters and/or cheese, delight in them – don’t ruin it all by hating yourself with every bite you take. Drink your water, think of me . . . “what would Sarah do?” She’d eat the damn cookie, but try to get in some killer workouts all the while.

Be merry, all!

© 2013, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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This summer will mark a first for me as a blogger – my first conference. I’ll be attending the Healthy Living Summit, which will be held August 17-19 in Cambridge. Hundreds of bloggers in once place . . . many of whom I’ve been reading for years . . . 10 minutes from my home? Couldn’t pass this one up!

The Summit’s Gold Sponsor is Wild Harvest®, purveyors of healthy, wholesome goodness, available in conventional supermarkets like our local Shaw’s/Star Market. I love that this brand is dedicated to providing a more affordable organic option – they’re committed to ensuring that their prices are 10% lower than other organic brands on the shelf.

When I registered, I was asked if I wanted to participate in the Wild Harvest® Breakfast Showdown – a recipe competition. I said “yes!” and yesterday, a big box of Wild Harvest Goodies showed up on my doorstep.

My challenge is to use at least three of these products to create a fun and healthy breakfast. There’s an interesting assortment here:

Let’s see – from left to right we have mango-peach salsa, peanut butter, unsweetened applesauce, cherry vanilla granola, black beans, ground ginger, cayenne pepper, animal crackers and raisins. Until I figure out what I’m doing, these are all off-limits to the hungry hoards over here, except for the animal crackers and the granola, which I let L. rip into. She has pronounced the granola “delicious!” And it is – I need to hide it, it’s so good – this stuff is calorie-dense and loaded with sugar (14 g for a 3/4 c. serving size). I’m eliminating this and the cookies from the running for the recipe because to me, they’re dessert. Besides, neither wouldn’t stick with me well enough to eat for breakfast.

I have a week or so to work some recipe-development magic. Entries are awarded points in each of three categories: taste, creativity, and nutrition. The top five finalists will be announced on or before August 18, and the winner will be announced at the Summit – where the winning dish will be served to the attendees – how cool is that?  The winner gets a $500 gift card, redeemable at SUPERVALU stores.

Wish me luck!

© 2012, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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Hey friends – just a reminder that today is THE LAST DAY to sign up for this workshop!

And what if you want to come, but can’t? Why not contact me about setting something up? I’m available to talk to your school group, at your mom’s night out – to any group you want to assemble, on a wide variety of health- or food-related topics. We can tailor something to your needs/interests – curious about some new foods and not sure how to incorporate them into your meals? How ’bout a cooking class? Want to understand how to make small changes in your life to reduce your toxic body burden? I can help you understand plastics, BPA, and all that jazz. Look me up and let’s chat.

You know you need to eat more “healthful foods,” but how the heck do you prepare them? Flummoxed? Or, are you on top of your superfood prep, but looking for some new recipes? Come and be inspired on May 3, 2012 from 7-8:30 at Healthy Habits Kitchen in Wellesley. I’ll show you easy ways to prepare kale, quinoa and sweet potatoes – three popular “superfoods.” You’ll be treated to dinner and dessert, plus samples of a few of my favorite recipes using these three nutritional powerhouses. We’ll discuss why you should incorporate as many superfoods as you can into your diet, along with quick ‘n’ easy tips from me on how to do it. You’ll leave with a recipe booklet so you can super-charge your meals at home.

Would love to meet you in person, share some grub and chat! View the flyer here, and sign up here!

Why HHK? I’ve had a long love-affair with this place, starting back in ’09. HHK’s food is tasty, easy to prep, and healthful to boot! HHK is the ONLY Semi-Sweet-endorsed meal prep service around. It’s not “prepared food,” it’s real food, prepped for you. You order up your HHK meal kits and stow them in your fridge or freezer . . . then pull one out when you need a meal on the table fast. Everything you need’s included. Heck, you can even get home-made cookie dough to bake off for dessert! When you sign up for this seminar, you’ll receive a $10 credit toward any meal kits purchased that night.

So grab a friend, or three, and come out and join me! Register by April 27th, ’cause space.is.limited!

Never miss a Morsel! Subscribe to Semi-Sweet by email.

© 2012, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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So it’s the third week of the new year . . . how’re you doing on those resolutions?

One of my professional biggies for ’11 is to network more.  Since launching Semi-Sweet in August of ’09, I’ve read and admired so many fellow bloggers, many of them in Boston . . . but have I met any? Like, “in real life” (as L. would say)? Not until last night.

That’s right.  Mama hired herself a sitter, braved the chill, and made for Boston’s South End, where The Gallows welcomed a crowd for what can best be described as the hugely successful launch of the Boston Food Bloggers group.  The Gallows is a cool room – dimly lit, funkily decorated, great big bar . . . but bad for photogs.  So let me paint the picture for you – 150 or so enthusiastic, vibrant and literate folks crammed into a small space, clamoring for delicious vittles cheerfully supplied by The Gallows (poutine?! crazy bacon caramel Chex mix?!), Geoff & Drew’s Cookies, SoCo Creamery and more . . . and all so freakin’ friendly!

This old lady had to wear specs just to make out familiar faces gleaned from teeny Twitter avatars . . . so exciting to finally meet people in person – to hear the “out loud” voices of all these writers and personalities I’d been communicating with for the past 18 months.

And oh yeah, there was swag.  Each blogger went home with a big fat UrbanSpoon tote, full of goodies provided by Whole Foods Legacy Place (Um, hello? a jar of my favorite fig spread? Squee!), b.good, Aquitaine Dedham, the Yard House at Legacy Place, Wicked Pizza, National Amusements cinema de lux, Union Bar and Grille, Island Creek Oyster Bar, Treat Cupcake Bar, Chocolee Chocolates (another fav, discovered on the fabu South End Chocolate Tour last spring), Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps (suitably addicting), Biscotti Babies (betcha can’t eat just one!) and more . . . lots of new inspiration for snacking and dining here.

As I sit here and type this up, joyfully munching on my Geoff & Drew’s chocolate chip brownie cookie I’m excited I’m already on my way to fulfilling at least one new year’s resolution (the slimming down a bit resolution, not so much).  Thanks so much to Rachel Blumenthal (you can check out her fun blog here) and Christine Liu of UrbanSpoon (it’s no joke – she is “mighty in media”!) for putting this on.  This housewife enjoyed getting out of her kitchen and into the mix!

© 2011, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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Happy Friday, everyone! Some of you saw this post from mid-day the other day, but for some reason, my feed burner didn’t pick it up to let all the feed subscribers in on the action.  Would you take two minutes today to fill out my little survey?  Let me know if you’d like to participate in a Semi-Sweet Supper Club.

We could try new restaurants, cuisines, explore a new neighborhood, etc.  I’ve drafted a very short survey to get a read on your interest and availability.  Click below to let me know what you think – even if you’re not interested, I want to hear that, too!

[polldaddy survey="408BEA53B396B205" link_text="Take my survey"]

© 2010, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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Happy Thursday, folks!  As most of you know, I bought into a great winter CSA this year – the Shared Harvest CSA.  I’ve also already bought a share in the Picadilly Farm CSA for this summer.  It’ll be my first year with them, but I’ve heard great things and the produce they contributed to the Shared Harvest haul was outstanding.  If you’re interested in joining a CSA for the upcoming season, now’s the time to sign up.  Shares are going fast. 

But what’s that you say?  You don’t know where to go?  I have two resources for you.  One’s for anyone, anywhere – LocalHarvestprovides a searchable database so you can locate a CSA that’s near you (most have weekly pickup, so location is essential . . . don’t wanna schlep too far for those veggies, do we?).  The second is geared toward folks in the Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge and Lexington, MA zone -  a CSA Share Fair that’s taking place next month in Arlington – organized by the intrepid Gretta Anderson, the brains and brawn behind the Shared Harvest CSA.  See details below, and here’s to dreamin’ ‘bout all those “above-ground” veggies coming our way in just a few months!

What:  A CSA Farm Share Fair in Arlington!  CSA farmers will be on hand to tell you how their CSA works, what they are growing this year and how you can get a share of their harvest.

When:  Thursday, February 25, 6:00 PM

Where:  50 Paul Revere Road, Arlington, MA at the Park Avenue Congregational Church in Arlington Heights, the Parish Hall.

Who:  Farms that distribute CSA shares in Arlington, N. Cambridge, Lexington, Belmont, and nearby towns have been invited to participate, as have several local community farms.

Why:  If you haven’t lined up your CSA share yet, the Farm Share Fair is a great place to learn about what’s available. You will be able to sign up for summer and winter CSA shares at the Fair. For those of you who have already purchased your 2010 CSA share, this is a great opportunity to say hello to your farmer. We are also inviting farmers to bring and sell their produce to the Fair, so you may want to bring your shopping bags!

Want to help? Gretta’s looking for volunteers who want to help make this Fair a success. Contact her directly if you’d like to help in any way:  GrettaAnderson@earthlink.net, or 781.507.6602.

© 2010, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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Happy Friday morning, all!  We had a great time at Healthy Habits Kitchen last night – thanks to Sue for hosting us (and for providing tasty treats!) and to Liz Ward for giving us all great advice on how to make nutrition a family affair.  I think we all came away with some great ideas for how to feed our families (and ourselves) a little bit better. 

Liz’s advice was balanced and practical – and comes from a place of inclusion rather than exclusion of specific foods.  This anti-deprivation message works well for us and for our kids:  Instead of thinking of all the foods you “can’t” have (i.e., chips, cookies, Goldfish, Cheetos, etc.), think of all the nutrient rich-foods you can have (whole fruits, vegetables, whole-grain breads, low-fat milk, lean sources of beef, fish, chicken, nuts, etc. etc.).  These whole foods add value to your diet.  At our house, we call them “grow foods,”  as distinguished from “treats,” which taste great and are fun to eat, but which we eat occasionally, not regularly.  We let L. pick, choose, and eat as many “grow foods” as she likes, while we seek to limit (and have her self-limit) her intake of treats.

My #1 revelatory idea from the night was that it’s not a great idea to try to introduce new foods to your child when s/he is tired, overstimulated, etc.  This was a lightbulb moment for me because I realized that we most often try to get L. to try new things at dinnertime – a time of, well, bonkers behavior most nights.  So I’m going to try more during a weekend lunch, the afternoons or mornings on weekends, etc.

Another important take-away for parents is to try to manage your own anxiety about your child’s eating habits . . . let your desire for them to eat a balanced diet come from a place of love and interest, rather than a place of fear . . . because as Liz said, when fear takes over, all you-know-what can break loose.  Or, as I say, kids can smell fear – and boy, do they capitalize on it!

I hope you all have a great, healthy weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday!

© 2010, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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It’s well known that when it comes to eating, parents lead by example:  If you eat healthy food, your kids will too. But we also know that managing a family’s busy schedule while making good nutrition a priority is a challenge. We want to make it easier!

Healthy Habits Kitchen and Semi-Sweet welcome nutritionist Elizabeth M. Ward M.S., R.D. into the kitchen to help improve your entire family’s eating habits in 2010, without making the kitchen table a battle ground.  Liz utilizes her expertise as a mother and her wealth of knowledge as a dietitian to help cut through the health-hype to offer practical tips for feeding even the most challenging kids.  You’ll walk away from the evening armed with tools to make healthy eating a real “family affair”:  meal planning tips; suggestions for fostering healthy food choices for kids; and food swaps and additions savvy parents can make to squeeze more nutrition into every meal.

This workshop will be held at Healthy Habits Kitchen in Wellesley, the Boston area’s only source for pre-assembled meal kits featuring healthful, whole ingredients.  These meal kits provide all you need to easily prepare a healthy meal. On the night of the workshop, Healthy Habits Kitchen will offer a meal deal to workshop attendees:  $2 off any 2 meals, $5 off any 3 meals and $10 off any 6 meals.

Details:

When: January 21^st, 7-8:30 p.m.
Where: Healthy Habits Kitchen, 36 Washington Street, Suite 2, Wellesley (note: this is an office building)
How much: Free
How to register: Call 781.235.6325 or register online at http://www.healthyhabitskitchen.com/fp_menu/current_events.php
Register today! Space is limited.

About Liz:  Elizabeth M. Ward, M.S., R.D., is a freelance writer and nutrition consultant. She is the author of several books, including The American Dietetic Association’s Expect the Best: Your Guide to Healthy Eating Before, During, and After Pregnancy, The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to the New Food Pyramids, and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Feeding Your Baby and Toddler. Ward writes on a regular basis for USAToday.com, Men’s Fitness magazine, and WebMD.com. She is a member of the American Dietetic Association, and lives in Reading, MA with her husband and three children.  Visit her website: www.expectthebestpregnancy.com

About Semi-Sweet: The Semi-Sweet blog is indeed “A Practical Guide To Healthy Living.”  This entertaining and informative site offers cutting-edge news on local food, healthful living and food trends.  Semi-Sweet also offers quick, delicious, from-scratch recipes featuring seasonal produce and whole foods.  Each one is tested by Sarah Isenberg, a recovering lawyer, avid home cook, cancer survivor, nutrition/fitness/food enthusiast, wife and mother.  Visit Sarah at www.semisweetonline.com

© 2010, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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