A guide to living the good life in Modern America. This blog will contain advice on how to look, cook, and feel like, "American Royalty," on a less than regal budget. RR will also serve as a commentary on changes taking place in our culture; both positive and negative.
I know that I owe you the results of my delivery diet experience, which I promise to deliver very soon. I also know that I have quite possibly lost your interest with a title that mentions raw food, but trust me, you want to know about my secret snacking surprise. I have talked a lot about diet, healthy food, and how to achieve the impossibly small 19 inch waist of our favorite Royal. What do chips and incredibly tiny waists have in common???? KALE
You see, about six months back, during our weekly grocery stop at Wegman's, I snatched a sample of a delicious, yet healthy new snack...Brad's Raw Chips. All of Brad's Chips are; not baked, not fried, gluten free, all natural, and raw. Brad's dehydrates all sorts of vegetables (Kale, sweet potato, sun dried tomato, red bell pepper, and beet), and they taste awesome, particularly the kale chips. Much to Rob's chagrin, I proceeded to immediately buy 2 packages (he balked, first because they were kale chips," which could never be tasty," and secondly at the price...not because they are too expensive, but because Rob loves to scoff at my need for, "designer groceries"). Rob, of course, refused to try the delicious kaley morsels....GOOD, more for me!
I mean, seriously, kale chips at restaurants are amazing, but have you ever tried to make them...It's not so easy. They always end up too soggy, or too burnt, or too oily (you get the not so pretty picture). Brad's Raw Chips are perfectly crisp and perfectly delicious, because they are dehydrated not baked, and they are supremely healthy, so you won't feel a touch of guilt (unless you eat more than two packages, which is totally possibly due to their addicting nature; note that I ran downstairs for a chip break while writing this post (a handful of 'Spicy Hot' if you must know). They also come in 4 amazing flavors: my personal favorite, "Vampire Killer," an insanely garlicky yet entirely delicious chip, "Natural Nacho," a vegan version of Doritos (think all the joy with none of the Doritos induced guilt), "Nasty Hot," a super spicy yet tasty treat with hints of jalapeno and, "Naked," the original, but definitely not boring, kale chip.
A few weeks back on a spectacularly sunny Saturday, Rob and I were drinking, um, I mean, eating lunch at, "The Landing," restaurant in New Hope, PA. Midway through vodka soda numero dos, I noticed a man and his wife, sporting shirts that said "kale is cool." Either they were that super creepy matching couple (you know the type), or had some affiliation to Brad's (I was hoping for the later option). Being my usual inquisitive (OK, nosy) self, I asked if they were by any chance affiliated to Brad's Raw Chips and what do you know, Walt and Dennyse Gruger were proud members of The Brad's Raw Chips Family!
The Grugers are a charming couple, and were more than happy to talk to me about my favorite kale chips. They explained that Brad's was a local Pipersville, PA based company (who knew?!), and talked me not only through the painstaking process of making such incredible products, but also offered to send me a case of kale so I could taste all four flavors (I love them all). Brad Gruno, as in Brad's Raw Chips, was a self-described cheese steak junkie back in '06, who saw the light and began a raw diet. Along the way he lost 40 lbs., gained energy, and created some crazy good chips!
Ladies and Gentlemen, I do believe that we have found, "The Holy Grail,"......... of snacking that is... So go out, and buy your Brad's kale and while you are at it, force your reluctant partner to try the chips...Rob is now in love with "vampire killer," which is great because now I'm not downing the garlicky goodness alone(if you both eat garlic, you cancel out each other's bad breath)...For more information, to find a local retailer, or order online, please go to bradsrawchips.com
Until next time (when I owe you a detailed account of the Fresh Diet and Weight Watchers Points Plus)
Your snacking sweetheart,
Boldbroad xoxoxoxox
Picture of Kate Middleton courtesy of USweekly.com, Pictures of Brad's Products courtesy of Bradsrawchips.com
Being that my wedding is drawing near, and the fact that I am overall just body obsessed, I decided to try yet another celebrity diet. I mean after all, celebs are the only freaks of nature that can fit into their size 0 skinny jeans, one month after giving birth to a 10 lb. baby. Besides, If I want an ass like Pippa, I better get cracking. I have tried pretty much every diet known to man and figured it was high time that I experience, "The Holy Grail" of diets...The Meal Delivery Service...Before we talk meal delivery, however, I want to discuss the other extremes to which I have gone, when battling the bulge.
Let us start with cleansing...I've done the juice cleansing thing, as well as the Master Cleanse (you know, the diet that helped Beyonce shed a purported 25 lbs)...I'll touch on juice cleanses first, which work, if you can stomach the green juice(Not for the faint of heart...think dandelion and collard greens--Never should the aforementioned ingredients be eaten, much less juiced). If you are going to juice, I recommend "The Blueprint Cleanse," (buy it online not at Wholefoods). When done effectively (start 2 days before, removing all meat, sugar, and solid food, alcohol and caffeine from your diet, then take at least 2 days post cleanse, before you return to your normal eating habits), you will reset your metabolism as well as your appetite. Don't do everything I mentioned above...and you will be in a world of hurt my friends (gas, bloat, nausea, etc....you get the not so pretty picture). I have also done "JTD" (Juice Til Dinner) from "The Blueprint Cleanse," which tastes a lot better than just juice, but sadly I didn't see any results when I ate raw food and drank the juice. I lost 8 lbs. in 5 days on the Master Cleanse. Surprisingly, I was not hungry between Day 2 and Day 5. The downside is that you must reintroduce solid food extremely slowly, or you risk the same consequences associated with improper juice cleansing .
Now lets talk regular diets...I have done them all...Barry Sears, "The Zone Diet." You know the old 40% Carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat. It totally works, just ask 20 year Zone devotee, Jennifer Aniston. The only problem with, "The Zone Diet," is all the cooking and measuring and weighing you have to do in order to stay compliant, which is simple when you have a personal chef (A girl can dream, can't she?). If you are considering "The Zone Diet," do yourself a favor and read some of the recipes first. I went to culinary school and even I don't have the energy for these high maintenance meals.
Then on to, "The Atkins Diet," which has been reincarnated into, "The Paleo Diet," and is older brother to, "The South Beach Diet." The main premise of all of the aforementioned diets is carbohydrate restriction, which helps reduce sugar cravings, bloat, fatigue, and water weight. In my not so humble opinion, "The South Beach Diet," is the healthiest of the three low carb options, as it limits high fat meats and allows for healthy nuts like pistachios. I was done with, "The Paleo Diet," when I realized that alcohol was strictly forbidden. Clearly the no alcohol quotient of Paleo does not bother famous fan, J-Lo, but then what reason could she possibly have to need a drink (See 24 year old super cute dancer boyfriend, a booming career, a fabulous body, and enough money to keep the previous three things in check). If you want a good laugh because you are cranky from not eating carbs, check out:
I have also tried old school Weight Watchers, which works, if you feel like eating pre-prepared foods with more sodium and chemicals then China has rice, or you have both the money and the time to buy a million rare ingredients, that will eventually go bad because you use 1/4 teaspoon for each recipe. Then again if you are Jennifer Hudson and you have someone to cook for you, this diet will work like a charm (provided you work out with Harvey Pasternak 5 days a week). I should note that I will be supplementing my 7 day "Fresh Diet," experience with the new PointsPlus System from, "Weight Watchers." As for, "Jenny Craig," and "Nutrisystem"...The food tastes like cardboard on a good day and is delivered to your door, frozen like a statue. The spokespeople for, "Nutrisystem" and "Jenny," look great, but don't even try to convince me that Marie Osmond and Janet Jackson, eat those frozen bricks and don't work their asses off....
SO on to my latest journey...a pricey, but necessary step in my quest for near perfection (LOL). "The Fresh Diet," the love child of, "The Zone Diet," and a pseudo-personal chef. Supposedly, Maria Menounos and Julianne Hough eat The Fresh Diet, though I'm sure their food is free and of much higher quality It is pricey, but claims that since I won't be buying groceries or eating in restaurants, I should come out even (probably true considering our alcohol bill is usually 3/4 of the check). To start you pick a number of days (for me 7), state your dislikes (I love cheese, but I hate goat cheese), confirm your allergies (no gluten, no scallops), assign a calorie count (1200 a day to start), and voila, 3 meals and 2 snacks (all fresh, all gourmet), will arrive at my front door by 6 AM every day...OK, so its a bit extravagant, but you only get married once (I hope), and if it the diet works...I will use my 1/2 culinary education to continue this diet on my own....So wish me happy dieting and I will leave a list of links should you be interested in trying any of the aforementioned diets!
