Last year, the Dr. Oz show spearheaded a 21 day vegan challenge experiment to examine the effects that going meat free had on people’s bodies.  Four meat and dairy loving women participated in the challenge. Before they began the challenge, the women were ordered to go to bio reference labs for blood work to determine their initial blood pressure, weight and cholesterol levels. The women experienced some challenges as the foods that they usually ate were swapped out for a meatless substitute.   One woman had an issue with the taste of the dairy free half and half that she started using in her coffee while another experienced a challenge preparing food separately for her family who are meat eaters.  By week three, the women began experiencing changes in their bodies rather quickly.  One woman experienced significantly less aches and pain, more energy and weight loss. Dr. Oz discussed the results of the women’s health markers after completing the challenge and the...

Beyonce dropped her seventh studio album a week ago and it's topping all of the global music charts.  She even broke another record! She is the first woman to have 20 top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist and 10 hits as a member of a group. During 2021, she broke the record for having won the most Grammy's of any artist (male or female).  That record has now been broken by George Solti but she still remains to be the female artist with the most Grammy's.  Surely, she'll break the record again in 2023 during the 65th Grammy Awards for her album "Renaissance;" a chart topping, beat bumping masterpiece for the ages. Beyonce's love for alkaline water was first revealed a couple of years ago when her tour rider listed the drink as a must have.  Also on the list were requirements of how the water needed to be drank: At near room temperature of 69 degrees over hand carved ice balls.  And the kicker--the water must drank through special $1000 titan...

Fires and Heat...How could this be happenin g? The United Kingdom is experiencing a brutal heat wave where temperatures are surpassing 100 degrees Farenheit which is a record in UK weather history.  Multiple fires broke out during the past few days and have burned down grassland, properties and homes.  The fires originated in grass as the record temperatures continue soaring.  On Tuesday, temperatures reached 104 degrees Farenheit at Heathrow Airport.   A SkyNews correspondent, Laura Bundock, discussed her experience with the chaotic fires: "It was like night fall near the fire, with winds moving the flames at a terrifying speed. You could see the smoke spreading though fields, fueled by brittle dry ground, which crunched underfoot," Bundock wrote. "As the fire grew, we saw emergency services running through the village to evacuate homes." 104 degrees Farenheit in the UK? NO way it could be true! Still even with the confirmed research and science some British pe...

“Somewhere along the way, meals became complicated. We got overwhelmed about where our food’s grown How it’s raised  What it’s fed  And lost trust in the right decision It’s time to uncomplicated our plates again by getting back to the basics Serving less of the bad stuff more of the good Taking out the guess work and the legwork It’s time to fix dinner…” You’ll probably never guess where these words came from. There is so much truth in them.  As uncanny as it may be, the message here could even be used as an introduction for a speech focused on how the plant based movement came to be, how it’s impacting our grocery store shelves, science and our general beliefs about food and eating.   The First Wave of the Plant Based Movement The “plant based movement” began in the late 2010s by a somewhat well known organization.  PETA, an animal rights organization could be said to be frontrunners of the “plant based” movement before the term was even coined. If you kn...

Green Chef is up next for review on the boxed recipe delivery circuit!  I learned about Green Chef from a mailing ad insert.   Green Chef was acquired by Hello Fresh in 2018.  HF's goal was to reach the customer base of Green Chef and attain their organic menus while utilizing Hello Fresh's scale and resources for continued growth.   Green Chef is a certified Organic company who is very similar to Hello Fresh in its packaging, easy to follow recipe steps and pricing.   A weekly box with 3 meals at four servings per meal costs approximately $160 while a box of the same size at Hello Fresh costs approximately $112.  A Green Chef box with 3 meals and two servings will cost $91 compared to $70 at Hello Fresh.  The recipes at Green Chef are healthier and contain more vegetables from what I've noticed.  They also offer vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, keto and paleo meal options which incorporate whole foods.  The only gripe I had abo...

I wanted to get in on this social trend and experiment with the Tik Tok “healthy coke” craze. Amanda Jones shared a secret recipe that her pilates instructor deemed as a healthy alternative to coke. Now I’m certainly no coke fan but I am a sparkling water maestro. Jones stated that any flavor of sparkling water can be used to make the drink along with a dash of balsamic vinegar. I thought to myself…”hmmm, I should definitely try this.” I grabbed my Whole Foods balsamic dressing, a ginger sparkling water (Whole Foods) and a La Croix Kiwi Sandia. Two staples: balsamic vinegar (my favorite dressing flavor) and sparkling water. What could possibly go wrong here? Heck yea, I’m so excited to try this!!   After I mixed everything up, I took my first gulp and squinted my eyes as I entertained the thought of others that had willingly drank this potion and actually encouraged people to try it. Yes, it may look like coke but it does NOT taste like coke—not even the slightest bit! Y...

Burberry released a special silk square scarf in honor or Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee celebration.   The scarf  is hand illustrated with wildlife and pollinators such as butterflies, birds and yew trees from the nations of Scotland, England, Wales and North Ireland.  The Platinum Jubilee marks 70 years of service as a monarch.  Proceeds from the sale will be donated to Woodland Trust, a conservation charity. The scarf can be purchased here:   Platinum Jubilee Scarf