This Mama Cooks! On a Diet

Meet me at the club - 24 Hour Fitness

I’ve been approached to review 24 Hour Fitness, a sponsor of one of my family’s favorite TV shows, NBC’s The Biggest Loser. My little local rec center is a nice facility, but it has its limits - namely being overrun with unsupervised tweens and teens in the summer.

So, I’m excited to be given a chance to try out a bigger facility, meet with a personal trainer, try different equipment equipment, and attend a few yoga classes. A chance to sit in a hot tub without my kids jumping all over me would be nice, too.

You can see my first post about it at My workout routine, summer break and 24 Hour Fitness.

Click here to see all my 24 Hour Fitness review posts.

Home cooks need professional chef supplies

I’m a home cook who loves using professional knives and pans. While there are all kinds of home furnishing stores that have good kitchenware, you should check out the restaurant supply stores in your area. You never know what cool stuff you can find.

Unfortunately, the closest one to me is a 40 minutes drive one way, that’s why I’m interested online restaurant equipment stores like LionsDeal.com.

Click here to read my review…

A review of the Slendertone Enervive muscle conditioner

Have you had physical therapy where they used electrical muscle stimulation to soothe sore muscles after your session? I’ve had it used both on my back and on my knee after surgery.

When I was approached by Role Mommy to review a similar product by Slendertone, I took on the challenge. Could a product made for home use be like the one at my physical therapist's office? Boy, that would save a lot of money on deductibles for sure if it worked.

I’ve posted a review of the Slendertone Enervive here.

Learning about diet food delivery with bestdietfooddelivery.com

Do you ever wonder about those ads on TV about those diet plans like NutriSystem that deliver food right to your door? Well, www.bestdietfooddelivery.com is a new site that promises reviews of some of the more popular diet food delivery plans.

Click here to read more...

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Making PB&J isn't as easy as you think it is

If you’ve seen the movie Meet the Robinsons, you may remember that Lewis invented a peanut butter and jelly dispenser that had a tendency to malfunction. But it did make preparing PB&J sandwiches an adventure, if a somewhat messy one.

There’s a real life Lewis. Well, a few of them that is - the Wurtz family of Abington, PA. Joe and Mary Wurtz run a home catering business around their three children’s busy lives. They both have culinary degrees and hope to open a restaurant someday.

However, their home catering business is very low tech. Mary goes to a neighbor’s to print menus and they don’t have a website to promote their business. Their second-hand computer is eight-years-old and “haunted.” Mary dreams of creating menus and having a website to point customers to, which is why they partnered with My Home 2.0

Click here to read more…

Take a hot bath and lose weight

Last summer I read The UltraSimple Diet: Kick-Start Your Metabolism and Safely Lose Up to 10 Pounds in 7 Days by Mark Hyman, MD. One of his "secrets" for weight loss was stress reduction. This included meditation, reflection, and taking a hot bath each night to "detox" and relax.

Dr. Hyman believes that by taking a 20-minute hot bath before bed - and adding Epsom salts, baking soda and lavender oil to the water - you will lower stress hormone levels. He claims that by lowering your stress hormones, you can detox your body, boost your metabolism, and potentially lose weight. Wow, all this just from taking a hot bath! (You can read more about The UltraSimple Diet and Dr. Hyman at AOL Coaches.)

With a busy schedule and a demanding family, finding the 20 minutes to do this is nearly impossible for most moms. But if I had the time I would love to try it. And no, going in our hot tub is not the same. First, it's not relaxing having the kids diving jumping and splashing around you. Then there's the neighbors' dogs' who bark at you if you dare set a foot in your backyard. No stress reduction there.

Click here to read more...

Strawberries aren't just for dessert

Two foods that make me think of summer are strawberries and salmon. Both are usually on sale this time of year, and both are low in Weight Watchers POINTS. 1 oz. of salmon is equal to 1 POINT and 1 cup of strawberries is 1 POINT. While salmon is a good source of Omega-3, strawberries are full of anti-oxidants and fiber.

So why not combine the two for a low POINTS, highly nutritious dinner?

Grilled Salmon with Strawberry Ginger Salsa
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 pint strawberries, hulled and coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped red onion
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
• 4 skinless salmon filets, 6 ounces each
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Mix strawberries, onion, lime juice, ginger, and honey in small bowl. Set aside for flavors to combine.
2. Place a ridged grill pan over medium high heat. Oil salmon with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Grill 5 minutes on one side, turn, and grill 4 additional minutes. Transfer to serving platter.
4. Add basil and cilantro to strawberry mixture. Spoon over salmon.

Weight Watchers POINTS per cooked filet = 7 POINTS

Click here for more strawberry ideas...

The continuing quest for the perfect energy drink

As you can tell by my enhanced water and energy tea drink reviews, I'm on the lookout for the perfect energy drink. Here are my requirements:

• Not too expensive. This is a big one since the low-carb canned energy drink I now buy is $30 a case at Costco or about $1.50 a can.
• Low calorie. I don't mind sugar substitutes too much if they're not too sweet.
• Healthy. I want B vitamins for energy and anti-oxidants (C or E), too. I also like added fiber, real juice, and green tea.
• Caffeine. The more the merrier I am.
• Fat burning. L-carnitine, chromium, guarana, hoodia, ginseng, etc. I'm not really sure that any of this stuff works, but I'd like to think so. And if I'm paying a premium for an energy drink that supposedly boosts your metabolism (like a bunch of them claim) then bring it on!
• Convenient. Cans or bottles are fine as long as they are recyclable. But I really like the single servings of powders available in the drink mix/iced tea aisle, too. Less waste and cheaper.

The latest energy drink I tried comes from a trusted fruit juice source.

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Not your average energy drink

I'm addicted to energy drinks. I'm thinking about contacting my current favorite energy drink company for a sponsorship. You know, "This mommy blogger brought to you by X Energy Drink." Or "Motherhood made possible by X Energy Drink." Honestly, with my schedule and my bad sleep habits, I rely heavily on them.

They're expensive, but cheaper than getting a latte at Starbucks, especially when you buy them by the case at Costco. Still, it does bother me that I drink them. Except for vitamins and herbs, most energy drinks are full of crap and a lot of things I cannot even guess to pronounce.

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Lusting after dishware

My every day dishes are the Autumn Leaf pattern by Franciscan by Glading, McBean & Co. And if you've seen my food photos, like this odd pairing of kiwi and pizza (what was I thinking?) you've seen my dishes!

The Autumn Leaf pattern was made in the mid-'50s, and they've held up very well. (Yes, I put them in the dishwasher.) I have dozens of the bowls and smaller plates and enough dinner plates for a large sit down meal. But there are pieces I never get down from the cupboard, like the matching mugs, which I paid $35-50 each.

Lusting after dishware is a genetic thing for me. My mom had special bowls for fish soup, and special plates for eating steamed artichokes. So you'll understand when I occasionally indulge in some online dishware porn - fancy china, crystal, and dinnerware.

The Martha Stewart in me comes out for a second until I realize how much good dishes cost. But that's o.k. because it makes me feel less guilty about buying that $50 Autumn Leaf Teapot a few years back.

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