BuzzSugar

Food Section Sampler - June 30, 2010

YumSugar — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:30:38 PDT

Tom Colicchio pledges to still serve Gulf seafood at his restaurants. - Times-Picayune
Cooler-free recipes for a Fourth of July on the road. - Washington Post
Mireille Guiliano, the author of French Women Don't get Fat, has come out with her first cookbook. - Chicago Tribune
How to make the most of bay leaves. - New York Times
FDA inspections find that some airline catering practices could pose a major health threat. - USA Today
Meanwhile, one Thailand carrier will start selling its airline food on land. - Wall Street Journal
Dress up those Summer salads with fresh and light homemade vinaigrettes. - Boston Globe
Health problems have prevented film critic Roger Ebert from eating, but not from penning a rice cooker book. - San Francisco Chronicle

Hilary Swank to Produce French Women Don't Get Fat

BuzzSugar — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 05:30:44 PDT

Apparently there's enough meat on the bones of this self-help book to make a whole romantic comedy - or at least Hilary Swank and her production company think so. Swank and her producing partner Molly Smith have signed on to turn Mireille Guiliano's French Women Don't Get Fat into a feature-length film.

Variety explains that the non-fiction book offers "insights on how French women manage to stay slim despite enjoying such calorie-rich fare as wine and pastries." There are a few plot details for the film version:

Swank may star in the adaptation that's being envisioned as a romantic comedy about a manager of champagne company who learns some tough life lessons which help her become the woman she's always wanted to be.

Have you read this book? Does this all make sense to you? And is it me, or is Swank not particularly well-suited for the romantic comedy genre?

Source and source

The Simply Surprising Reasons French Women Have Enviably Glowy Skin

Jaime Richards — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:02:00 PST

When Bertrand Thomas and his wife, Mathilde, (pictured above) launched Caudalie in 1995 with just three items on the roster, it was the first company to use the antiaging benefits of grape-seed polyphenols in skin care. Since then, the vinotheraphy-based brand has launched a full range of products, using practically all parts of the grape, from skin to stalk. In fact, its radiance-boosting Beauty Elixir ($16 to $46), which contains grape fruit extract, is so popular, even Victoria Beckham has been tweeting about it.

But what is it about French women that makes them seem so pleasantly content and perfectly complected? In the NYT best-seller, French Women Don't Get Fat, author Mireille Guiliano describes a lifestyle that is full of variety, where deprivation is replaced by savoring things to the fullest. And when it comes to beauty, Thomas explains it's a similar mindset: "Balance is the key word: French women balance food their food and balance their lifestyle." To see just what Thomas means on how French women get it right, keep reading.

The Secrets of the World's Healthiest Women

Health — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:45:10 PST

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Health.com here on our site.

From pouring on the olive oil like the Greeks to slashing stress like the Scandinavians, what we
can learn from the happiest, slimmest, longest-living cultures around the globe.

The secret to a long, healthy life in America? According to longevity researchers, it may be to act like you live somewhere else.

It seems like every year another country's lifestyle is touted as the new magic bullet to cure us of obesity, heart disease, and premature death: for an unclogged heart, herd goats and down olive oil like a Mediterranean. Avoid breast cancer and live to 100 by dining on tofu, Japanese-style. Stay as happy as Norwegians by hunting elk and foraging for cowberries.

Health.com: Weight-Loss Secrets From Around the World

The places we're usually told to emulate are known as Blue Zones or Cold Spots. Blue Zones were pinpointed by explorer Dan Buettner and a team of longevity researchers and are described in his book The Blue Zones: Lessons For Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest. They're areas in Italy, Japan, Greece, California, and Costa Rica where the people have traditionally stayed healthy and active to age 100 or older.

Keep on reading for more great tips from around the globe.

Nutrition Myths That Can Cause Weight Gain

Shape — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 04:04:23 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar.

Myth: Going Vegan Will Make You Lose Weight
"While various research shows that vegetarians and vegans, on average, consume fewer calories and less fat than omnivores (a 2009 Oxford study found that vegetarians weigh 3 to 20 percent less than their meat-eating counterparts, and a National Cancer Institute study found that subjects who consumed four ounces or more of red meat weekly were 30 percent more likely to die of any cause than those who ate less), these numbers may be misleading," says Rania Batayneh, MPH, a certified nutritionist and owner of Essential Nutrition for You.

Going vegan solely for weight loss can backfire, big time. If you aren’t vigilant with a vegan diet, it’s easy to lack in vital nutrients, vitamins, and proteins, which give you energy and help keep your metabolism stoked. Many first-time vegans may also find themselves reaching for more processed foods like vegan cookies, chips, or even ‘ice cream’ more often with such a restricted diet, and many end up packing on the pounds instead.

If you do decide to adopt a vegan diet, be sure to keep the ‘treats’ to a minimum and plan balanced meals (we love ‘Domestic Vegan’ Diva Jessica Olson’s tips for "going veg"). "Aim to get about 10 to 20 percent of your calories from protein (or about 1 gram per kilogram of body weight), replacing animal protein with healthy plant proteins, like those found in beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, and soy products," Batayneh says. "And, whether you are vegan or not, eating more green, leafy vegetables is great for your health and your waistline."

See which other diet habits may also being causing weight gain after the break!

Diet Tricks the Pros Tell Their Friends

Health — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 04:25:12 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Health.com here on FitSugar.

By Leslie Barrie, Health.com

Wish you had your own get-slim dream team? Well, you're in luck: we tapped celebrated weight-loss pros and asked them to share the one strategy they feel makes the biggest difference.

Weave these seven wonders into your daily routine, and you’ll be wowed by how the little changes really do add up.

Trick your taste buds
"Taste buds are malleable little fellas. When they can’t be with the foods they love, they learn to love the foods they're with. Make a short-term commitment to choosing more wholesome closer-to-nature foods with less added salt, sugar, saturated fat, and trans fat. Within weeks, you’ll start to prefer these now-familiar foods."
- David Katz, MD, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center

Health.com: Fat-Proof Your Life

Indulge every day
"Eat a small amount of dark chocolate - I'm talking a 100-calorie piece that’s made of at least 70% cacao-every day. I consider it ‘the daily dark chocolate escape.’ Doing this curbs your cravings for both sweet and salty foods. You’re much more likely to be satisfied and not reach for those cookies or chips. My clients say this allows them to pass up samples at the market without feeling deprived."
- Cynthia Sass, RD, author of Cinch! Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds, and Lose Inches and co-author of The Ultimate Diet Log

Health.com: 16 Little Ways to Lose Big Pounds

Keep reading! There are more helpful tips after the break.

10 Hilarious Modern Family Valentine Moments

LilSugar — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:30:54 PST

They call it funky love. Last night's "My Funky Valentine" episode of Modern Family sure beat a box of chocolates and a vase of roses. It was full of familial situations that would make any mom laugh to the point of tears. Here are the highlights:

Cam dresses Lily up as cupid and Mitchell dismisses her costume as a cut-up boa. Cam replies, "We re-purposed it. It was a Bob Mackie meets Martha Stewart project."
Dylan hands Claire a rose and says, "All women should look as tasty as you when they are old."
Phil and Claire realize that Dylan's gift to Haley isn't a painting, but a scanned photo of him shirtless lying with her turned into one.
Claire suggests that she and Phil spice up their date with some role playing and he tries out a few characters - Reginald Applebee, an English gentleman in town for a polo match, an honorable businessman from Hong Kong and a tiger trainer.
Phil arrives at the hotel bar with a nametag that says "Clive Bixby."

To see the rest of our picks,

5 Things: Cellulite

FitSugar — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 06:03:45 PDT

Celeb trainer Jillian Michaels is no stranger to cellulite. And neither is starlet Kim Kardashian. In fact, it's estimated that between 80 to 95 percent of women have cellulite somewhere on their body. If you've been worrying about a bit of dimpling on your backside, at least you know you're not alone. If knowledge is power, here are five things about cellulite to help you feel empowered about that unwanted dimpling.

From a purely medical standpoint, cellulite doesn't exist; it is nothing more than fat. The word cellulite is French and was first used in medical literature around 150 years ago.
Cellulite is more prominent in women than in men due to the structural differences of stored fat between the sexes. The connective tissues that create these storage units in men works on diagonals, where as we lucky ladies store our fat in a large vertical honeycomb like structure. This structural form unfortunately enhances the appearance of the dimples.
Here's the bad news - there is no way to get rid of cellulite. None of those creams, lotions, or rubs will get rid of the dimples caused by cellulite. Topical creams cannot penetrate the three layers of skin to eliminate the fat.

Learn what you can do about cellulite.

Weight Loss Sabotage: Eating "Light" Foods

FitSugar — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:47:43 PST

When you go grocery shopping, you'll see a plethora of "light" packaged foods. From crackers to chips to salad dressing to beverages, many people trying to lose weight pack these items into their carts so they can feel good about eating healthier versions of the foods they crave. The problem is, these foods actually end up being just as unhealthy, but in a slightly different way. Companies can't just remove the fat or lower the number of calories without affecting the flavor. To compensate, they add extra sugar, sodium, additives, or chemicals. Or in the case of these Light Lays, they add fake fat (Olestra), which is believed to interfere with the body's absorption of important vitamins, and can cause diarrhea.

Light foods are just bad news, so it's OK to embrace real food that contains real fat. According to Women's Health, "many nutritionists recommend eating full-fat food in smaller portions to lose or maintain weight." Balance is the key. Enjoy the foods you love - like steak, French fries, and ice cream - in moderation, and don't get obsessed and go on a fat-free diet. Our bodies need certain types of fat in order to function normally, and they also help satiate your hunger longer, so you avoid overeating. Be a label reader and give foods made with healthy fats such as olive oil, nuts, and fish the green light. Limit the amount of saturated fat you consume by opting for lean meat and nonfat dairy products, and completely avoid trans fat, including hydrogenated oil. Only 20 to 35 percent of your diet should include fat, so shoot for 44 to 77 grams of fat a day (for a 2,000-calorie diet).