That's Fit

Y Water is looking to tap into more than just the bottled water market by appealing also to the healthy and fit kids market and those shopping for ways to be friendlier to the environment. They offer four specialized low-calorie formulas to target the brain, muscles, bones, and immunity, plus once the water's gone, the leftover bottle (specially created by designer Yves Béhar) can be used as a building block of sorts to make toys and encourage creativity.

Sounds like a great way to get your kids to drink more water and get more vitamins and nutrients, all while helping the environment and stimulating their brains (or at least giving them a few minutes of entertainment).

Via Inhabitat

Eggs, the old standby breakfast food, are a fantastic source of protein. But figuring out what kind of eggs to buy is becoming more and more daunting. Labels boasting free-range, cage-free and fortified might leave you scratching your head -- luckily The New York Times in shedding some light on what they all mean. Here are a few pointers:

• Cage-free means the bird was kept out of a cage, but this doesn't mean they ever saw the light of day
• Free-range means they had regular access to the outdoors, but 'outdoor' could mean a parking lot.
• Pasture-raised means that at least some of their diet was natural (like greens and bugs.) But there's no regulation on how much of their diet needs to be natural.
• Animal Welfare Approved means they spent all their time outdoors in a pesticide-free pasture. They are bathed and not fed any animal byproducts.

Intrigued? Read more here.

(via Well)

Not only are we constantly barraged by noise and air pollution, we're regularly filling our bodies with garbage: chemicals, additives, even poisons. So it's never been so important to cleanse both our minds and our bodies of the toxins we can't seem to escape in our day-to-day life.

But detoxing doesn't have to mean forking out a small fortune at an uppity spa. Divine Caroline offers a number of ways you can give your body a break, naturally:

• Drink lots of water. It flushes the system.
• Sweat, either in a sauna or steam room, or through exercise.
• Meditate or pray regularly, and take deep, cleansing breaths when you do.
• Eliminate electronics from your bedroom.
• Cleanse your body with natural herbs like dandelion and ginger root.

There are plenty more tips where these came from -- head over to Divine Caroline for more detox data.

Our CSA Farm has begun to produce an abundance of tomatoes these past few weeks. Aside from eating them like apples, as my three-year-old often chooses to do, you can make fresh tomato salad, salsa, or fresh tomato sauce.

Our very informal uncooked recipe goes something like this:

• Chop a bunch of tomatoes and put them in a bowl.
• Add enough balsamic vinegar and olive oil to cover them.
• Stir fresh minced garlic and chopped fresh basil into the tomato mixture.
• Season with seas salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
• Let marinate at room temperature at least 30 minutes before serving.
  
  

This is such a refreshing summer meal when served on pasta with a green salad, or a tasty snack as a bruschetta topping.

I won't to lie to you -- I don't generally spend a lot of cash on makeup. I buy what you find at the drugstore, and even then, I look for a sale. My reasoning is simple -- I've never used something high end that felt like it was worth the price. If it's not all that different, why would I pay more?

There are reasons to pay more -- being particular about the ingredients is one, and of course, if it's can't-live-without-it amazing, I'm happy to save my pennies. But first, I need to know it's worth it.

I received samples of von Nature's Mineral Makeup Eye Colour, Sunset Light Face & Body Shimmer, and Magnolia Powder Foundation in the mail, and busted out my brushes immediately. For someone who is so involved in fashion and beauty, I have embarrassingly little experience with mineral makeup because it tends to cost more, and without trying it, I wasn't willing to spend the extra cash.

As Labor Day weekend platters of hamburgers, hot dogs, bbq'd chicken, corn, chips 'n dip, jell-o molds and brownies are shortly devoured, most will have no clue where the various foods come from. Also, the feast will likely be inhaled quickly so family members can return to the baggo game.

However the 40-50,000 people gathered for Slow Food Nation '08 in San Francisco this Labor Day weekend are doing things quite differently. Slow Food is a non-profit, eco-gastronomic organization founded nearly 20 years ago to combat people's diminishing interest in the food they consume, where the ingredients come from, how food choices impact the globe, and even the disappearance of a slowly eaten, homemade meal around a sociable table.

Slow Food Nation '08 is the first-ever American gathering to support this nation's growing sustainable food movement, fostering the wider public's environmental connection to their food. Taste Pavilions feature food from across the country, leaders of the movement are sparking provocative learning and group discussion throughout the Food for Thought series and the Victory Garden is showcasing how World War II communities throughout America fed and supported themselves. Very cool. Here's the full schedule of eclectic events.

Our family's making a small contribution to the Slow Food movement -- my mom's making pesto right now with basil clipped from her garden as my niece tosses a salad with cherry tomatoes, peppers and green onions from our garden. I hope Michigan corn is on the menu tomorrow. Luckily we have no problem lingering forever tableside for colorful conversation, followed by a rousing game of midnight Monopoly ... after baggo, of course. Wishing you a memorable, perhaps slower Labor Day weekend everybody! Pic from slowfoodnation.org.

Has anyone else noticed that TV and movies are providing us with more strong, kick-ass female characters? There's Yvonne Strahovski, who plays spy Sarah Walker on Chuck, and we had Angelina Jolie carrying Wanted. And, you might not have seen her yet, but Gabrielle Anwar is just as tough.

She plays the trigger happy ex-girlfriend to the lead character on USA's Burn Notice, and while I wouldn't go so far as to call her character a role model -- she's a little too good at making bombs for that -- she holds her own physically, especially considering she's quite petite. To get ready for her action-packed role, Gabriella adjusted her diet.

She said she cut out "foods with ingredients that I need a dictionary to define. I find that the less animal products I consume the better my general health; the less refined sugars, the less I feel the energy fall out; and the more organic fresh produce I eat, the lighter I feel."

Broccoli is so nutritionally awesome, I dare say I am not going out on a limb by declaring broccoli the Supreme Ruler of the Veggieverse. Clearly you all are realizing right about now that I spend far too much time with my super-hero-obsessed son.

Pardon my digression, but I'm right, aren't I? If broccoli can be death-defying, cancer-fighting, calcium-rich and just plain yummy, then why shouldn't we put it on a well-deserved pedestal?

Try putting it on a plate instead -- with these three recipes: one easy, one cool, and one stealthy.

Have you jumped on board the "eat local" bandwagon yet? We sure have, and we are loving our CSA Farm for the second season this summer.

One thing I look forward to is getting a variety of salad greens throughout the season: Bibb, Boston, Romaine, and Red Leaf lettuces, and my bitter favorite: arugula.

This easy recipe, Garden Greens with Yellow Tomatoes and Peaches -- and I mean easy! -- combines your favorite greens with arugula, tomatoes and peaches, all in a balsamic shallot dressing.

What's the lowdown on buying organic? It's pretty hard to tell, with the mixed messages we are getting as consumers these days. The definitive study, though, tells us that not only is organic more nutritious, but it is better for the ground water and soil.

A few facts on organic foods:

• they contain up to 90% more antioxidants than conventionally grown food
• they've got higher levels of minerals
• as cancer-fighters, they win the race

Seems as though we should always buy organic, with those stats. Due to availability -- and our budgets! -- buying everything organic may not be an option, and if we're looking to do a real service to the environment, buying what's available locally is a better choice.

A delicious source of vegetarian protein? Quinoa, of course! It is not a true grain, so it is more protein than carbs, and it offers a plethora of vital minerals as well.

Zucchini, chock-full of vitamin C and minerals, is abundant this time of year and healthy.

Garbanzo beans: high in potassium, vitamins B and E, and fiber; another powerful legume.

How can you go wrong combining these amazingly healthy foods in one delectable dish?

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose one per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hi Miss Fitzness, I'm a vegetarian, but still weigh 34 pounds more than I'd like to. What gives? I thought vegetarians were supposed to be skinny, and I hate being chubby! Meredith

A. Hello Meredith, Thanks for writing! Vegetarianism can have tons of benefits, and a trim physique can be one of them, if done right. Having said that ... it's very easy to go wrong as well. Here is the deal. Vegetarians don't necessarily eat all fruits and vegetables ... vegetarians just don't eat meat. There are tons of products that have no animal products in them, yet are still super high in calories and fat. Let's start with a short list of some vegetarian approved products:

• Flour
• Sugar
• Oil
• Frosting
• Gummy Bears

Greens fit for company -- I'm sure the balsamic makes this delectable, while the sliced garlic is a new technique for me (I usually mince). Do you think it really needs the sugar? I'm betting not. I'd skip the preboil step with chard.

Swiss chard wraps -- Wrap a tomato and a little mozzarella cheese with a chard leaf, bake and you'll have a testy -- and healthy -- new side dish.

Yep, we're crazy about belonging to a CSA Farm. Fresh, local veggies every week fit our healthy lifestyle, and we look forward to choosing fun recipes to use each week's harvest.

Lately, we've been getting red and golden beets, complete with rich, green beet greens still attached. Want to know our favorite easy recipes to use every part of the beet?

Beet Greens with Tamari
Simply saute your coarsely chopped beet greens and a clove or two of minced garlic in your favorite cooking oil, over medium heat until they turn bright green (about two minutes). Then, sprinkle tamari (or soy sauce or Bragg's) in the pan, about two teaspoons or so. Cook through, remove from heat, and serve.

Holy green beans, Batman! That is pretty much what my super-hero-obsessed three-year-old said when he saw how many green beans we picked this week at our CSA Farm.

In the interest of finding a healthy and exciting new recipe to try, I hit one of my favorite food sites, Epicurious, and found a recipe for Green Bean and Fennel Salad with Dill Pesto. A few quick alterations and we've got a dinner:

• I'm leaving out the orzo (since my son is allergic to wheat) and using brown rice instead.
• Double the amount of green beans? You bet!
• Since we have an abundance of fresh basil, I'll opt for the traditional basil pesto.
• I don't have white balsamic vinegar, so I'll use the regular type.
• To accompany this green bean salad, I'll grill some free range chicken breasts with pesto.

I'm looking forward to trying this recipe with my alterations. How would you change Epicurious' original recipe?