Sunday, June 20, 2010

Cooking with Love in Chef Ameera's home....




My good friend and amazing Director, Coodie Simmons was in town so I invited him and the fam over for dinner. We had always talked about shooting a little something but could never align our schedules. An hour before he was due to arrive, he said he was bringing his camera and we were going to shoot!This is what we came up with........If you'd like the recipes, email me at info@lagirlsdocook.com...Ciao



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Thursday, June 3, 2010

The Simpsons gave me the BEST Diet advice



Everyone is familiar with the hilarious antics of the Simpsons cartoon. But the best diet advice I had ever learned was from one of their episodes. It was the episode where Homer Simpson had received a serious health scare and was prompted by his doctor to change his eating habits. The lovable and rotund Homer is a junk food addict so the fruits and veggies spiel was not enough to stop him from eating foods he wasn't supposed to. The doctor told him, that he cannot eat foods that leave a greasy residue on surfaces that he rubs them on. As a result, throughout the episode Homer and Bart were rubbing food products on windows, papers, pretty much anything they could find (which I don't recommend you do) however, take that concept and run with it. Anything that you wouldn't rub on your face, don't eat it! It ends up on your face anyways. Or anything that you wouldn't massage into your own skin, don't consume. It's really your call, what you put into your body. The lesson I pulled from Homer was to be able see and process what you are putting into your body before you eat it. If you do your body will thank you!!!!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Operation Slimdown


So in shedding our winter layers of thickness, the LA Girls DO Cook team has devised a plan of attack! We call it our "Calendar of Comestibles". Comestibles means articles of food. Basically, it is a calendar of designated food allowances! For example, Monday is a free day where we can eat sensibly but it is pretty much free reign as far as cuisine. Mondays are hard enough to manage without curbing food preferences right? But remember, portion size is key on this day! Proteins eaten are to be no bigger than your fist. Anything larger is unnecessary. Fast food (ie.McDonalds etc) is off limits at all times).

Tues is pescatarian day. Pescatarians are able to incorporate fish into their diet, but red meats, poultry etc, are not consumed.

Weds is juice day. All meals are in juice form. You do not have to purchase a top of the line juice in order to do this, but if you are gung ho about the process, (which you should be for the sake of results) we recommend a Breville juice fountain Elite. It is about $300 but it is an investment in yourself. The beauty juicing, is that you control the elements that go into your meal. Do not add artificial sweeteners! Agave is the best thing to add if you want a kick to your juice. Organic elements are best, and believe me, your body WILL thank you for it.


Thursday is Vegan day. Vegans do not eat animal products ( like milk, cheese, meat) Many people think that they are limited in their choices for vegan cuisine, but it cannot be further from the truth!!! We must admit that we were on the skeptical side, but there are soooo many accommodating restaurants. A personal fave would have to be Veggie Grill! Delicious. Not all items are vegan, but the staff can help you and the taste combinations are explosively good. You would never know that you are NOT eating meat unless they told you!!! Another good one to try is Lotus Vegan. Until you become grounded in my techniques in vegan cooking skills, there is nothing wrong with eating out to take out the guess work and consult the staff on ways to prepare meals.

Friday is Vegetarian day. I find vegetarian day easy to accomodate by finding recipes and strategies on creating dishes! Its is also delicious, and you can really taste the foods that are not over shadowed by red meat flavors.

Saturday and Sunday are the weekend (as you know) & especially with summer coming up, we don't want to feel deprived as we're sure you probably don't want to either. Try to stick to chicken and fish on the weekends (again in controlled portions). Lots of deep green leafy veggies, and stay away from sugary juices. DON'T DRINK YOUR CALORIES!!! DRINK WATER! That is the only hard and stead fast rule of the weekend. Drink water with every meal, when you wake up, you can't have too much water! If you go out and have some drinks fine, but really try to make a conscious effort to stick to water.

Well that is what our week is looking like in terms of dietary matters. Can't wait to drop the weight! In no time, pictures will be posted, and the journey of our transformation will be posted for the world to see. Feel free to post your responses and your progress as well.