The City Blog

It’s truly easier said than done.  I’m talking about getting your daily five: two or more servings of fruits and three or more servings of vegetables. 

 

The thing is we’re falling way short.  In fact, according to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 33% of adults eat the suggested serving of two or more fruits and only 27% get the recommended three-plus of vegetables.  This in spite of the fact you see the message to eat more produce throughout the media and in stores.

 

            “I know I need to do better it's mainly just time,” said King Hollis outside a local produce market and grocery store, no less.

 

            “I think fast food has made it easy just to grab whatever instead of vegetables,” lamented Kelly Jandrucko.

 

            Both speak to a problem that really gets to one of the root causes of the problem.  I can personally attest to it.  When I am out on a shoot for eight hours a day, it’s tough to break open my cooler filled with red peppers and hummus or a salad.  I do pack a lot of apples and citrus fruits but when I’m running around crazy, I’m big eater of portable fruit bars, like LaraBars or Kashi TLC (raspberry chocolate is awesome) simply because they last and are easy to carry. 

 

“I think sometimes it just comes down to they (consumers) haven't planned ahead and it's just not the most convenient thing when you're on the run,” admits Baylor registered dietician Megan Moore.

 

            Moore suggests taking the time to prepare your daily menu.  Spend five to 10 minutes packing a cooler or lunch box so you’re not tempted with the fast food or vending machine choices. She has a good “rough draft” to help you get produce in your diet, again, it requires planning.

 

“Start at breakfast, don't skip breakfast and just get in one small serving.  So it can just be a small banana or a tablespoon of raisins in your oatmeal.  It could be grabbing an apple on your way out the door.”

 

“Then at lunch if you can get in two vegetables whether it's a can of soup or a salad,” she says.  Moore recommends loading your sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes; they also count towards your daily fill.

 

“Then at dinner get in two vegetables and don't be afraid to use those steamed microwavable or frozen vegetables,” she adds.

 

I was surprised that she admitted that things like salsa, applesauce or baked fruits also count towards your five-a-day.  You will lose a little of fiber and some nutrition but you’re still getting the bulk of the nutrients and antioxidants.

 

            She also says to eat seasonal produce so you’re not relying on the same thing every day.  Butternut squash, arugula, sweet potatoes and apples are all coming into season.  Yes, it some require cooking but I really believe the planning and effort are worth it for a balance, healthy diet.  Besides, it’s much cheaper to pay the grocer (or farmer) than the doctor.

 

I’m a sucker for anything involving bringing my best friend, Birdie, out and about with me.  She’s gone to many of the hotspots all over North Texas (North America really).  Yes, I’m an annoying dog person but it’s worth it.

 

This event looks like so much fun.

 

Come up with your cutest little doggie costume for your favorite four-legged friend and bring Fido to Hotel Palomar on October 22 from 6-8pm.  It’s a Halloween party that will feature human hors d’ouevres, cocktails and, of course, doggie bags.  There is a prize for most creative pet costume.

 

The cuter thing is, the party is in celebration of the hotel’s new Director of Pet Relations, Kora, an adorable yellow lab puppy.   

 

Hotel Palomar is a Kimpton Hotels property.  All of their hotels are pet friendly.  This past spring, I stayed at the Hotel Alexis in Seattle and the Pacific Palisades in Vancouver and they could not have been sweeter or more welcoming to Birdie.  (and no, there’s no stinky pet smell, trust me I am militant about that stuff).

 

Here are the details:

What: Kora’s Howl-O-Ween Spooktacular

When: 6-8pm on Thursday October 22, 2009

Cost: It’s simply a “suggested” donation of $20 which goes to Operation Kindness

Your Queen of Free is back with the one of the most fun (AND FREE) festivals North Texas offers.  Last year was the inaugural All About Uptown Festival in Dallas and it was fabulous.  This year promises to be better.  It really is a chance to discover Dallas’ most urban and vibrant core.

 

Bands will be playing and local chefs will be providing cooking demonstrations throughout the day.  There’s an entire pet-party-pallooza with an “Uptown Dog” and “Looks Like Me” contest.  There’s a great little Kids Korner that will feature face painting and all sorts of crafts.  

 

This is what I love: you can learn more about one of the more charming neighborhoods in Dallas as organizers will offer tours of the Uptown cemeteries and the State Thomas Historic District.  There’s some really fun architecture in State Thomas, not of the Lakewood, Oak Cliff or Highland Park variety but still very interesting.  State Thomas offers a glimpse into Dallas’ early development just north of the downtown area with beautiful homes featuring some unique Victorian homes mostly in the Queen Anne and Italianite styles.

 

The location is great, right in the heart of Uptown, just off McKinney Avenue on Fairmount between McKinney and Howell.  You can park anywhere (for FREE) in Uptown and take the trolley (again for FREE) up and down McKinney Avenue.

 

The All About Uptown Festival is Saturday September 26, 2009 from 11am-10pm in Dallas.

 

From peacock pose to headstand, yoga is a great way to increase your flexibility, strengthen your muscles and center your thoughts.  That’s just the tip of the iceberg or top of your head in tree pose.
 
“You're using your own body weight and when you do the movements in a really mindful or slower way you're just much more focused and working harder than you might if you were mindlessly doing some other type of exercise,” says Ginger Newberg who teaches at Karmany Yoga in Dallas.
           
Yoga has been around forever.  It reportedly originated in India more than 5,000 years ago but what’s interesting is that in a number of studios across North Texas, instructors are seeing an influx of students looking to escape from the stress and bad news that seems to be surrounding us right now.
 
“A lot of people do come to yoga because it does get you more physically fit,” Newberg said.  “But they find pretty quickly that the greater benefit is the stress relief which is the peace you get from it.”
 
“Lots of people who have lost their jobs are coming to take yoga in the middle of the day and they're using it as an opportunity for them right now," Newberg adds.  "It's helping them relieve the stress of not having a job.” 
 
“It's an hour. It's quiet time,” agrees yoga student Amanda Dalton-Bowen.  “When I practice I’m not thinking about my bills or the mortgage or stress of my job.  It’s a whole hour of resting my mind, de-stressing.”
 
A number of participants say the mental benefits begin to outweigh the physical.  Personally, I have practiced off and on since I was about four years old.  It’s one of those things I love to do but just can’t get around to on a consistent basis.  I haven’t progressed to that level of tranquility and “lightness of being” many practitioners experience (that’s my own personal problem...one of many) but I feel its positive affects in a number of ways.  After a tough class, I feel stronger thanks to the body control required to make it through a class.  The flexibility work takes me to a level I can’t achieve on my own.  And the more I think about it, I do breathe better and feel perhaps a bit calmer after a class.  I need all of that I can get.
 
If that doesn’t interest you, this might: a recent study conducted and paid for by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and recently published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, determined that people who practice yoga are more mindful eaters. Meaning, that the mindfulness which is a “skill learned either directly or indirectly through yoga – could affect eating behavior," according to Alan Kristal, Dr. P.H. who is the associate head of the Cancer Prevention Program in the Public Health Sciences Division at the Hutchinson Center.
 
People who eat mindfully pay closer attention to the eating process.  If they are full, they stop.  If they are hungry, they eat.  If not, they don’t.  They don’t eat if they’re upset or anxious – they learn to deal with those issues in another way.  Ultimately, if you are more aware of what you eat, you are generally less likely to be overweight. 
 
Give it a try, the worst that can happen is that it doesn’t do much for you and you experiment something else.  But, you could just get that “yoga high” and before long you might notice that you have better posture, toned arms, a smaller waist and a new outlook on dealing with difficult situations. 
 
Here's a rockin' Survive in ’09 Bonus: Karmany Yoga is a unique donation-based studio.  You pay what you can afford.  The suggested donation is $15.00 per class.  But if you can only afford a buck that day, that’s all you need to pay.
 
Very cool. Very Om.
--
Gina Miller

Cupcakes and Cowboys - a match made in heaven?  If you ask Cowboys center Andre Gurode, trust me, he would say yes.  He told me last week that heaven for him is eating a half-dozen cupcakes, with no guilt, right after the season.  He sees them as a reward after an entire football season spent watching his weight.  He's actually on a strict diet to help him maintain his 318-pound frame. 

When Gurode joined me live on CBS11 last week, he had to battle with cornerback Terence Newman who was trying to tempt him and playfully disrupt our live shot with Reese's Peanut Butter cups.  I think I am the only reporter in the country with whom Gurode felt comfortable talking diet and cupcakes!

Here's reason for Gurode (and you and me) to cheat: the Dallas Cowboys are teaming up with Sprinkles Cupcakes to support the Salvation Army.  Sprinkles is launching what it's calling a "limited-time" (aren't all cupcakes' time limited) Blue Velvet cupcake that is, well, a blue velvet cake topped with that ever-popular cream cheese frosting.  Red velvet is one of my fave cakes and this tastes just like it - the difference is simply the food-coloring.

For each Blue Velvet cupcake you purchase at Sprinkles from September 12 through September 19, 100% of each purchase will be donated to the Salvation Army.  There will also be a special silver star hidden in each cupcake (watch your teeth!) each day of the promotion.  The lucky cupcaker will get to be one of the eight daily "Touchdown" winners and will win one dozen Blue Velvet cupcakes, a behind-the-scenes tour of Cowboys Stadium and a bunch of other swag.  Those daily winners' names will be entered in a drawing for four tickets to the Thanksgiving day game against the Raiders with all sorts of special access.

Happy eating!

Sampling Simply Elegant Style

 

You know in this economy, we are all about a deal and there is nothing better than good, old-fashioned sample sale. 

 

Local clothing designer Abbi Ferrin, who has her wares in hip and hot stores all over the country, is holding sample sale at her studio at the South Side on Lamar in Dallas

 

She is a wonderfully approachable designed whose clothes are fashion-forward, yet feminine and elegant.  In 2007 Stanley Korshak and the Dallas Fashion Incubator named her Texas’ Next Top Designer. 

 

Check it out.  I’ll be there because I’m all about a fabulous deal.

 

Where: 1409 South Lamar Suite 103.

When: July 31-August 1 10am-6pm.

Why:  Because it’s always hip and cool to score a fabulously-priced fashion.

Ok, I admit it:  It's cool but dead.  Victory Park in downtown Dallas is pretty empty when there isn't a Mavs game, Stars game or a concert but that's not to say the fine folks there aren't trying.  They have a great little summer movie fest going on that won't cost you a penny. 

On Wednesday nights throughout the summer on the south plaza (better known as AT&T Plaza for those of you who hit Mavs game watching parties) they show FREE movies!  FREE!  No money out of pocket because you can also get FREE parking for 2 hours. 

Unfortunately, I am a little late to the party because there are only two nights left this summer but it's a great event.  I've done this before and it's so fun.  You can bring a blanket and have a nighttime picnic.  The two finals movies are perfect family affair!

Here are the remaining movies:

June 24, 7:30pm: Shrek the Third  

July 01, 7:30pm: Madagascar

 

A new running event will be hosted in Dallas starting next March.  

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Dallas Half Marathon will be run on Sunday, March 14, 2010.  The event is expect to draw as many at 15,000 runners. 

The Rock ‘n’ Roll event is already hosted in nine other sites including Nashville, San Diego, San Antonio and Las Vegas.  Dallas will become the tenth city to host the miscially themed running event that includes live bands, cheerleaders and themed water stations at each mile marker along the course.

Registration for the Dallas event is open on the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series website http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/dallas.  The first 500 runners to register online will receive a special entry fee of $50.  The half marathon registration fee is $85 through November 30.

Then learn how to make one!  This could be fun. 

CIBUS Restaurant and Cafe in Northpark is hosting  a margarita class.  Let's be honest, who doesn't love the lime-cocktail?

You will learn how to make three margaritas, using the good stuff: Patron Tequila, MixoloGisT and Matina Catania. Ok, no clue what the last two are but they sound good.  CIBUS will also be passing around appetizers (the food is YUM) and there will be live music.  It costs $15 in advance, $20 at the door.  The advance price is the cost of a top-shelf margarita in some restaurants.

Here are the specifics:

When: Thursday May 28, 2009

Where: CIBUS Restaurant and Cafe (located one floor below the AMC Movie Theater) at Northpark Mall (8687 North Central Expressway in Dallas)

For reservations call 214-692-0001

Wait there's more!  You knew we were gonna give you something for free.  Here's one of my favorite margarita recipes and I drink it knowing that it has antioxidant-packed blackberries to counter the alcohol (um, yeah, right).

2 cups blackberries
1/2 cup lime juice
3/4 cups white tequila
2 cups ice cubes
1/4 cup sugar or you could even used Splenda and that works quite well if you want to save calories.

Directions:

Puree blackberries in a blender. Depending on your preference you can strain the puree through a fine sieve into a small bowl and discard solids or keep them intact.  I prefer the latter because I like the seeds.  In a cocktail shaker, combine 1/2 cup puree and remaining ingredients and shake well.  VERY yummy and fresh!  You could put lime juice on the rim and sugar the rim if you like.  This is enough for 2 or 3 depending on your preference and the amount of ice you use.

Indulge intelligently, please!