0 Rewind on Starbucks Refreshers!

Should have known! ...a drink offered FREE on Friday the 13th would be bad luck!

Thanks to Lisa and Vani 

at 100 Days of Real Food and Food Babe, 

I got the REAL info about Starbucks REFRESHERS 

(a new drink with a description that had REAL HEALTH promise!)!

From 100 Days of Real Food and Food Babe!

Actual Ingredients List!

Here is the full post, which also includes reviews of several other Starbucks products!

I searched and searched for the nutrition information,

but in the end, relied on the Starbucks description for my previous, REMOVED post:

..."I am curious about ingredients LIST, haven't seen that yet"

Vani got the scoop reading the BOX the barista was using! 

For other drink ingredients, she direct emailed Starbucks Customer Service -- smart woman!

Click here for tips on READING FOOD LABELS.

The hip new drink CLAIMS ... FRUIT, Cucumber, REAL fruit juice, and MINT, as well as an ingredient called GREEN COFFEE EXTRACT, which may be a really healthy substance!

But here are the facts!

NO - fresh fruit, herbs, juice!
YES - sugar as the top ingredient (other than water).
NO - green coffee extract!
YES - "green coffee flavor".
But GREEN COFFEE EXTRACT has NO flavor, so what's the point?!

Unfortunately Unhealthy Option :(

Very Berry Hibiscus Starbucks Refresher
Made me think SANGRIA ...darn :(
Click here for a Berry post!

Cool Lime Starbucks Refresher
Made me think MOJITO ...boo-hoo :(

Instead of a pricey Kool-Aid drink, why not get some GREEN TEA and splurge on a yummy pack of Peeled dried mango! for a YUMMY STARBUCKS SNACK!

100 Days is an AWESOME WEBSITE! and

Food Babe does investigations on different topics for 100 Days.  

Vani (Food Babe) has a blog that looks pretty awesome as well -- 

Great recipes, visuals, and detailed information!

COMMENTS: I try hard to tell people what TO EAT, rather than what NOT TO, more fun and positive!  However, since I recommended this drink last week, I really thought I should correct myself with my new knowledge of the products!  On the bright side, perhaps, I will come up with a great drink, from Starbucks lovely Refreshers descriptions!  Which drink looks better to you?! 

Detail: Rewind on Starbucks Refreshers!

0 Awesome Website -- 100 Days of Real Food!

Tonight I simply want to share a SUPER website!  Have you ever considered eating healthier?  Since you're reading www.fresh-you.com, I know the answer!  100 Days of Real Food is a fabulous resource!

It is strongly based on the works of Michael Pollan:

And mainly, as far as I know, the website is specifically based on Food Rules and In Defense of Food.  Food Rules, by the way, is awesome!  Talk about concise -- there are, I think, 64 rules, each with a page or so explanation, and that’s it!  Good rules too!  If you began following just ONE of these rules, you would be doing yourself and your health SO much good!

Here are just a few examples from Food Rules:

• Don’t eat foods your grandmother wouldn’t recognize as a food -- like packaged products, such as Twinkies.
• Don’t eat foods with ingredients a 5th grader couldn’t pronounce -- avoiding nasty chemical preservatives so common in many foods today.
• Don’t eat anything with a face -- avoid animal products...this is can be a healthy option :)

100 Days of Real Food therefore focuses on WHOLE foods and eliminating processed foods from one's diet.  Both excellent choices for your health!

There are many tips and tricks, recipes and more available on the website!

They also offer a 10-day pledge which might be just the thing you need to jump start your way to a healthier you!  10-Day Pledge

Lisa Leake, the author, is a mom, so a lot of the suggestions and tips are kid-friendly.  This is an example of just one of the website's tabs!  Real Food Tips

The comments in her posts are also rich in quality as there is a large community that reads and participates in 100 Days of Real Food!

I was thrilled in January when I saw that this awesome website recommended www.fresh-you.com as a “REAL-FOOD BLOG”!  SO COOL!!  At the time, I wasn’t familiar with the website, and now I am a regular visitor/reader/lover of the site!  THIS list alone is a GREAT resource:

It’s been a pleasure to help more and more people (many who came from 100 Days of Real Food) become more and more healthy and happy!  Every time you “like” a picture, post, recipe, or other information that you enjoy from www.fresh-you.com, you help someone else discover my website!  That means I can make someone else healthier and happier, and that is what I really want to do!  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! ...Thank you TOO to the angel who recommended my website to 100 Days of Real Food!

COMMENTS: Which other healthy living blogs do you love?  Please SHARE, so we can all enjoy them too!

Detail: Awesome Website -- 100 Days of Real Food!

0 18 Quick Tips for the Kitchen

NEVER let an expensive avocado go to waste again!  This post was inspired by an amazing blog that I just love called 100 Days of Real Food  !!  Lisa, the author, and her family have taken to the challenge of consuming all "real foods", as in whole foods, foods without a label, foods that aren't made by a factory.

I believe, Lisa and her family were inspired by the books of Michael Pollan, including In Defense of Food and Food Rules.  I highly recommend checking out Food Rules first, as it consists of some 50 "rules" with a simple paragraph to page of explanation -- in a matter of a few hours you can learn a lot about making really healthy food choices!  Following any ONE of these rules will likely lead you on your way to a whole new you!

100 Days of Real Food is a wonderful resource!  I have only began swimming through the amazing site!  Each post is so thoughtful, useful, rich, and complete!  I highly recommend you check it out right away, but first check out these QUICK TIPS FOR THE KITCHEN:

Photo from localharvest.org -- a wonderful website about CSA (Community Supported Agric.)

1. Once AVOCADOS (give to pressure), PEARS (softened), and BANANAS are ripe, you can put them in the fridge to stunt ripening -- banana peels will turn brown, but the fruit will stay just right!  AVOCADOS will stay perfect for up to 2 weeks!  Pretty cool since once ripe, avocados get nasty within a day or so.  Can't let expensive AVOCADOS go to waste!

2. If brown peels aren't your thing, at least separate the BANANA bunch apart to slow ripening.

3. Too speed BANANA ripening, keep bananas in the closed paper or plastic bag.  If you add a ripe apple to the bag, the apple will give off gases that will further help with ripening.

4. Wrap fresh GINGER in a paper towel and store in plastic, air-tight container.

5. Always store TOMATOES at room temperature.

6. Knock on WATERMELONS -- choose one that sounds hollow -- always a great pick!

7. Once CANTALOUPE smells like cantaloupe it's ready to eat.

8. PINEAPPLE with lose bottom leaves is ready to eat.  THANK YOU 100 Days of Real Food  for this tip AND the ENTIRE POST IDEA!!

9. You can soak CELERY sticks, ASPARAGUS, and even LETTUCE in water to revive crispness.

10. Here is a new one for me!  Flip your SPINACH container in your fridge daily to keep it from wilting.   THANK YOU 100 Days of Real Food  !!

11. Wash fruits and veggies with a combination of vinegar and water to remove nearly all the pesticides and bacteria (1 part vinegar to 3 parts water).

12. Boiling the vinegar-water solution with a cinnamon stick to remove unpleasant or overpowering odors.  THANK YOU 100 Days of Real Food  !!

13. When preparing dinner, cut up some extra veggies to have ready in the fridge for quick and easy snacking.

14. DEFROST meat and other frozen foods safely ONLY THESE 3 ways: under cold running water, in the microwave, or in the refrigerator.

15. Non-instant OATS can be cooked in the microwave in just 2 minutes or so for a 1/2 c dry rolled oats.

16. Use silicone bakeware (muffin pans) or ice cube trays to freeze small quantities of food, pureed fruits and veggies (for baby food or muffins), PESTO SAUCE, pimentos (large can or jar divided), etc.  Transfer into resealable freezer bag, ready for use in a flash!

17. Rub your hands with stainless steel to get rid of ONION smell on your hands.

18. Test EGG spoilage by putting it in a bowl of water.  If it floats, bacteria has been busy contaminating the egg and producing gases, hence the floating.

19. Flip PEANUT BUTTER jars over for a couple of days before opening it, and you won't have to stir it up!  THIS tip is new to me -- I can't wait to try it!  THANK YOU 100 Days of Real Food  !!

One more thing about 100 Days of Real Food -- last month, it listed fresh-you on a list the site made called "Other Real Food Blogs".  This was SO very exciting!  I was thrilled and honored to be included, and the exposure from such a wildly popular website has been awesome!  I am so grateful to LISA (the blog's author), and LISA (a friend who told Lisa about fresh-you) for allowing me to REACH MORE PEOPLE!

It makes me so HAPPY to be able to help spread the word about simple ways that FOOD and HABITS can increase HEALTH, HAPPINESS, and of course QUALITY of LIFE to anyone who cares!  Check out the blog list!

IF YOU'D LIKE, WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!  Do you have tips to make time in the kitchen easier?  Please tell!

Detail: 18 Quick Tips for the Kitchen