Food, Inc.

Now that I am off of the road for the summer, I am focusing on eating better, eating local, and working out a bit more.  Now, don't get me wrong, you know I love my bacon cheeseburgers and cupcakes, but I am making an even greater effort to read labels, eat food with fewer ingredients, and don't let the corn growers try and fool me by changing high fructose corn syrup into corn sugar.  Sorry, farmers, it's just not natural.

I spent part of my Sunday shopping for organic goodies at my local farmer's market.  For $22.25, I was able to buy fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, cherries, spinach, flowers, spicy red pepper hummus, fresh feta with sun dried tomatoes, and spinach and feta tortillas.  Everything was locally produced, organically raised, and I know exactly what I am eating.  I am tired of reading labels of processed foods with a huge list of chemicals, it bothers me that the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) finds this okay.  I am pretty sure it is no coincidence that we have seen an increase in cancer and other illnesses as processed food has become the norm in our grocery stores.

If this topic interests you, now is a good time to add the 2009 documentary (and Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary), Food, Inc., to your summer Netflix list. I will warn you, it is not for the squeamish, but I can bet you that it will change the way you eat meat and chicken. It sure had an impact on me.  While you cannot always control what type of meat you eat at a restaurant, you can sure shop for meat/chicken without hormones or antibiotics for your own home.  Grass fed, wild caught, and humanely raised will be words in your grocery shopping vocabulary after watching this documentary.  If you want to argue the cost on the organic meat with me, I will argue the cost of your medical care in the long run.  Give it some thought and let me know what you think.  Have you seen Food, Inc.?

*Update* 3 Suggestions for Healthy and Affordable Eating:
1.  I always hear that organic is too expensive.  It's not.  Check out your local farmer's market or go to Walmart. (This is the only time I am going to recommend Walmart, kids.)  Walmart has a strong and affordable organic produce line in their super stores.  These are the Dirty Dozen in produce, these are musts for organic. (The article also includes the Clean 15 where you don't have to worry as much.)

2.  Plan your meals.  Do you want the best recipes and the easiest, fastest way to prepare delicious meals for both carnivores and vegetarians?  Check out Sam The Cooking Guy.  Every recipe is amazing and simple.

3.   Coupons!  You know I am the queen of coupons and sales, I hate to pay full price.  Here is a great resource for organic coupons:  Focus Organic.

Feel free to share any other tips I might have missed.

Mad Men Delayed

Photo courtesy of AMC.

It's very rare that I love a show to its core:  Sex and the City (SATC), Gilmore Girls (GG), and Mad Men. While I can watch SATC and GG in its entirety in reruns and from my DVD collection, I am left hanging from Season 4's finale with Mad Men. Yesterday, AMC and Matt Weiner announced that I have to wait until 2012. The rumor I heard from an inside source is that March 2012 is the earliest we will see the show.  So, they are telling me it's okay for fans to have to wait 12 months until a new episode is revealed and the answers to my questions are resolved.  Is anyone else worried about Don Draper?  He was in the middle of an alcoholic breakdown!  What about Peggy?  She's so strong, yet so secretly fragile.  And Sally Draper needs some guidance!  Heck, by the time they start filming Mad Men again, Kiernan Shipka (Sally) will have grown six inches. So, in the meantime, I am in mourning.  I guess I will Netflix Seasons 1-4 and milk every episode until Don Draper pours another drink and enters my living room with a swagger.

Here are a few Mad Men posts to tide you over until 2012....yeah, right.
1. Mad Men Withdrawal--you are going to suffering through a lot of this in 2011.

2. Mad Men Monday--some fun places you can find little Mad Men nuggets of information from QVC to my interview with Kiernan Shipka at the Saturn Awards.

3. Emmys, Part 2:  Photos with my favorite gal, Kiernan Shipka, at the Emmys gifting suite.  Maybe I will run into her again during the Kids' Choice Awards gifting suite?  I will keep you posted on any Mad Men sightings.

Now the big question is:  What are you going to do with your Sunday nights this summer/fall?

First Weekend: LA Auto Show

I made it through the first weekend of the LA Auto Show with a hoarse voice and some sore feet, but the crowds were the largest I have seen in five years.  Maybe it is a sign that the economy is rebounding?  Sunday proved to be the most challenging in terms of crowds, traffic, and chaos thanks to the city allowing the American Music Awards, the LA Auto Show, and the Lakers game to occur at the same time at the same complex.  Phew, that's a lot of people in one place.  Here are a few highlights including a visit from Chelsea Sexton, EV proponent whom you might recognize from the fascinating documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car? (add it to your Netflix queue.) and a clip of the show.  If you live in Chicago, Detroit, or New York, Toyota Live will be hitting your city in early 2011.

Me and Chelsea Sexton

Bossing my co-host around on the LED wall.

Lots of crowds at the show.

My Exercise Wish List

The hardest thing about my job is being on the road and eating out....a lot.  It's easier to grab that bag of chips at the end of the day versus rising up an hour early to work out on the hotel treadmill.  And then, BAM!,  all of a sudden, you have five extra pounds creeping up on you.  I think many of you understand as we all struggle to balance, work, family, life, etc, and then try to squeeze a workout somewhere in there.  Well, one documentary changed my mind this summer:  Food, Inc.  The documentary was nominated for an Academy Award and it discloses the food practices and manufacturing in the US.  While I have always been a relatively decent eater, this movie changed my mind for good in less than 90 minutes.  Along with a change in the food I am putting in my mouth, I rededicated myself to a semi-regular workout routine out on the road.  It isn't always easy, but I feel so much better on the days I get my butt to the gym.  

We feel good in our Lululemons! On set
with fitness personality, Jennifer Galardi,
for the Rhythm Rocker

So, in order to feel better at the gym, I've decided to save up for some expensive, but over-the-top comfortable workout gear, Lululemon. A pair of their workout pants averages from $80-$100, but it's is worth every penny.  I first came across Lululemon when I was on the location shooting the Rhythm Rocker infomercial.  The wardrobe department took us to the Lululemon store in San Diego and had me try on a plethora of different styles.  When I saw how tight the pants were on the mannequins, I thought, "Uh oh, my butt is going to look ginormous!"  Well, I have to say, my butt never looked better in these pants, especially coming from someone like me who likes to wear baggy pants to my workout.  I was hoping that wardrobe would gift me with the pants at the end of the shoot, but darn, I had to return them.  It is now my mission to get a pair for my wardrobe since I feel like a million bucks in them.  I am already planning a trip to the Beverly Hills store upon my return to LA.  

My workout gear wish list.

Feel free to add any other workout wardrobe suggestions in the comments below as I am always in search of that piece gives me the illusion of being really fit. I would also love to hear your opinions on Food, Inc.  If you haven't seen the movie yet, add it to your Netflix queue.  Have a great weekend and I will see you on Monday at Red Carpet Closet!