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!!!!

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.

What to do when dinner is being made for you!!!!

Cooking is a special gesture! Think about how intimate, time consuming, and memorable it is for someone to share this talent (or developing talent) with you. More than likely, if someone is willing to cook for you, they are willing to share their space with you; in other words they are comfortable enough with your presence to invite you into their home.

If you know someone is preparing a dinner for you, it is in good taste to bring something with you, such as a bottle of wine, perhaps some flowers, or dessert. This shows that you are considerate.

It is also a good idea to let the in-house chef know what your allergies or medical dispositions are. It would be terrible shame for them to create a 5 course meal and you are not able to eat any of it because they used peanut oil in all of the dishes.

If they prepare something that doesn't necessarily agree with your palate, be courteous and at least try a bite or two of whatever it is that they have created. Remember, it is the sentiment behind the gesture that counts. Highlight all the positives and if possible avoid talking about what you disliked, unless confronted. In this case, it is ok to communicate that you are unaccustomed to whatever it is that they have cooked and opt to eat other items they have prepared. Be sure to be sensitive to the other person's feelings in letting them how much you enjoyed the meal.

Have a couple topics to bring up over dinner in the back of your mind to keep lines of communication open. Avoid, politics and religion unless you are in the mood for low grade confrontation, or you are aware that your positions are the same for both topics. Being ready with conversation topics is a good idea to avoid long spots of awkward silence... unless the food is so good that the silence is called for.

Lastly, ask if the meal is themed. Are you supposed to dress up? Is it a casual dinner? Is it a stilleto or flip flop kind of party? You don't want to show up in your best shoes and a form fitting dress when he answers the door in jeans and a t-shirt.

Armed with the above, you should be more than ready to attend a special invite dinner. Most important of all, bring your smile and personality. It's the best thing you can bring to the table! Enjoy!

Striving for Summertime Sexy

It all started when we got our first summertime pool party invite, and had to turn it down because we weren't in bikini body basking mode (aka not in shape).

Summertime is almost here and the LA Girls DO Cook Team is focusing on losing our winter "snuggle weight" and strapping up for our "get it right, get it tight" mode. In order to keep us on task, we are using this blog to hold us accountable to our goals! The next couple of weeks we will be reporting on the consistency of our routine, what is working, what is not working, and in the end, the only cottage cheese you'll see around us is the kind you put on top of your strawberries!

Step 1 meet with a trainer- In our case, we met with Mark Jenkins celebrity trainer to P Diddy for the marathon, Mary J Blige, Beyonce, Busta Rhymes, the list goes on! We talked about our goals and the feasibility of time constraints! We recommend that you consult a doctor before any physical activity or supplement taking. He took our measurements and did some calculations and recommended specialized plans geared towards our individual body types!

You know all the things you are supposed to do: eat a healthy breakfast, cardio till your chest burns, drink enough water to drown a fish etc. You don't do them and neither do we. But we have resolved to stick to our guns on this one for a life changing experience.


Now you know that the LA Girls team loves to cook... meaning we also LOVE to eat... so half the battle is curbing the appetite or retraining our palates to lust for foods that are delicious and nutritious! This will be a a fun project along with all of our other adventures, we can't wait for the results!

DC Dining from an LA Girls Perspective

So the LA Girls Do Cook Team is back where it belongs... IN LA! However, we can't help but think back to the wonderful places we've encountered and recommend visiting if any of our readers ever travel to DC! We've found a little something for everybody.
Looking for simple, quick n filling... JUMBO SLICE in Adam's Morgan is the perfect bang for your buck! 5$ for a pizza slice bigger than your head!
Searching for something refined and foreign?

La Tasca is a Spanish Tapas bar with a fiesty flair in DC's Chinatown. The Decor is comfortable, the service is inviting, the food is delicious, the prices are easy on the pockets. Try the Gambas al Ajillo to kick start the metabolism and burn those calories!

If you are looking for something a little closer to home with a DC Twist go with Chicken, fries, and mumbo sauce. We admit that we were a bit skeptical of the location as to where you can find it (any quick stop express, usually Asian. When we feasted, it was like absolutely nothing we have tasted on the west coast!

Lastly,but definitely not least... we went to Philips. Phillips is a seafood cornucopia! Giant crab legs, lobster tails, oysters, clams, fresh fish.... just an overload of food for a Whale of a deal! Huge potent drinks, all you can eat, and the food is definitely fresh and the servers have smiles at all times!

What a great way to finish up our trip to the Nations Capital!

Thank you Industry Arts Workshop!

LA Girls DO Cook would like to thank Industry Arts Workshop for allowing us to cater their event hosted by Myla Morales on February 27th. We learned everything from how to contour the face to how to select the correct shades for skin tones! We served chicken satay strips, steamed jasmine rice, baby greens salad with a soy vinaigrette and yummy chocolate covered strawberries. As a vegetarian option, we provided a crispy tofu in red curry sauce which Myla particularly loved! The pleasure was ours when we witnessed the passion and joy each student applied when demonstrating their new skills on their respective models provided by IA workshops. We look forward to catering the next event and seeing what IA workshops has in store for us later on in the year!

For more information on the Industry Arts Workshop, visit www.iashops.com

Krys Ivory and the Berry Cameo

This week we had the pleasure of gifting the new up and coming artist Krys Ivory with a load of decadent chocolate strawberries at her video shoot for her new single called "Next to Ya". Upon our arrival she was greatful, pleasantly surprised, and found herself sneaking nibbles of a new strawberry between scenes. Her steamy video co-star Collins Pennie of Fame’s 2009 remake was also drawn to the delicious treats. The art director thought that Chef Ameera's berries were so beautifully done that he decided to debut them in the the video! The cast and crew of the set were extremely thankful, and if they weren’t believers before, they now know that LA Girls DO Cook…!!!

Too cute to cook or not?...

Cooking Challenge

If you are living in LA, pursuing your dreams, and you can make it happen in the kitchen..I want to meet you. Let me know what recipes you can whip up, and how fabulous you look doing it! If you can put aside the "Hollywood" lifestyle for a minute, roll up your sleeves and cook a delicious meal...Please email your best pictures, a small bio of yourself, and the recipe you're most proud of to chefameera1@gmail.com. The lucky lady chosen by our judges will get her dish cooked live by Chef Ameera on her web cast, and have your recipe tasted by some of your favorite celebs. Get blogged about, get talked about...Ladies of Los Angeles where you at??