New JOOS Depot at Bodyscapes Fitness at 1762 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington

We are pleased to welcome our newest JOOS DEPOT pick-up location, BodyScapes Fitness in Lexington. Beginning Monday, June 28th, we will be delivering to BodyScapes on MWF and expanding this as demand grows.

The address is:
1762 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd Floor, Lexington, MA 02420

Pick up hours:
M-F 7am- 5pm
Sat 7am - 1pm
Sun 8am - noon

Orders may be placed at orders@drinkjoos.com. For questions or comments please contact us at info@drinkjoos.com or call 617-942-JOOS (5667).

Obesity in the United States: A Tale of Two Davids

David Pre USA

David after spending 2 years in the USA

Sponsored by McDonalds, Burger King and Wendy's

Someone just sent me the above joke, which is obviously self-explanatory, but what struck me is that we Americans are so bent out of shape eating pizza and pasta; yet, this is a normal way of eating in Italy and the Italians who live in Italy are not fat.

I lived in Italy for a year. I couldn't believe the abundance in which the Italians ate. At lunch and dinner, they would have what the called their first plate (appetizer), their second plate (main meal) and a dessert. Here are the main differences I observed between how Americans eat and how Italians eat:

1. Italians sit for long periods of time conversing while they eat. They get into large political debates in the middle of meals that can last for a couple hours - even longer. No one takes the conversation personally. It's all part of the banter and they enjoy it. I don't need to tell you that we Americans, on the other hand, gobble down our meals without a second thought about the quality of our food.

2. The food in Italy is minimally processed and grown in rich soil, unlike us, who eat highly processed food in mineral deficient soil.

3. The portion sizes in Italy aer much smaller than in the United States. I don't know if we eat so much out of a sense of entitlement. In fact, I'd love to hear your view on why we eat such large portions. What I do know, though, is that these large portions are making us obese.

The Most Delicious and Nutritious Rice Crispy Treats - Made by my 10-year-old

Julia, my 10-year-old, is constantly concocting new recipes in the kitchen. Sometimes they're a miss, but sometimes they are a home run and last night she came up with a doosey.

We typically don't measure, but here's a stab at her most delicious and nutritious rice crispy treat recipe

3 Cups Erewhon Cocoa Crispy Brown Rice Cereal (Erewhon makes the best cereals I've been able to find on the market. A bit on the expensive side, but worth it)
1 cup agave, brown rice syrup or honey
1/3 cup peanut butter, almond butter

Melt the peanut butter and agave on the oven. Add the cocoa crispy cereal. Spread out on an 8x12 pan. Let set (preferably in the fridge)

This was Julia's dinner (with a vegetable) and breakfast this morning.

Overcome the Afternoon Blues the Healthy Way

Do you know that over all we're supposed to feel the same energy levels throughout the day? If you're feeling a mid-afternoon drop, I have a few questions for you - some are very obvious?

1. Are you sleeping enough? The best sleeping hours are between 10pm and 4 am. Many of us need 7 hours of sleep.

2. Are you drinking enough pure water? Remember, we're supposed to be drinking approximately half our body weight in ounces of pure water?

3. Are you eating a large enough breakfast and lunch?

4. Are you drinking too much coffee? I'll get into coffee in another newsletter, but simplistically put, when we consume caffeine, we are using energy that we don't have and ultimately, we end up feeling tired.

5. Are you feeling stressed?

6. Are you eating a high acidic diet of fried foods, processed and refined foods, animal protein, sugary, high glycemic foods?

7. Are you exercising too intensively and not giving your body time to rest?

8. Are you pacing yourself throughout the day or running around like a maniac?

9. Related to number 8, are you giving yourself a time during the day for quiet reflection and gratitude. I know this may sound hokey to many of us, but I started meditating for 20 minutes EVERY DAY and I can't tell you enough the calming benefits the practice has given me.

10. Related to no.6, are you drinking nutrient rich foods. Try drinking at least one JOOS per day - 2 even better - you will notice a difference.

I would love to hear your suggestions how to prevent the afternoon blues.

Can Eating Healthy be Correlated to a Brighter Outlook on Life?

Given my passion to educate people to eat sustainable healthy eating habits, I came across the following about Abraham Lincoln:

There was a man who lost heavily in business at 20, defeated in a legislative race at 22, failed again in business at 24, overcame death of his wife at 26, a nervous breakdown at 27, lost senatorial race at 34, lost his chance to be vice president at 47, but became the president of USA at 52. This is the history of Abraham Lincoln. Could we call his life as a life of failure? Get on with life! There is always a day after night.

So what does this synopsis on Abe Lincoln have to do with eating healthy? For me, a lot. First of all, we turn to food when we feel defeated, lonely, empty and/or depressed. Then we over eat and we feel even more defeated, lonely, empty and/or depressed. We forget that there can always be a brighter tomorrow, despite our current circumstances, but we're certainly not going to make tomorrow a better day if we're so focused medicating ourselves through food, alcohol or drugs.

Next time you turn to food to dull your emotions or fill a void, encourage you to take a simple pause. Is this really what you want to be doing? Remember, tomorrow will be a brighter day if you allow it.

As usual, I have to go back to our JOOS Cleanse, because it will enable you to kick start healthy eating habits and put you on a path to a brighter future.

How Committed Are you to Teaching Your Children to Eat Healthy?

Last night for dinner, William, my 7-year-old-son, made hummus from scratch all by himself. The only help I provided was gathering the ingredients, taking out the Vitamix and providing him with the recipe. He did everything else. I have to tell you that it was one of the most delicious hummus I've ever had, including when I was in Israel. Even better, all four children loved it.

If you really want your children to eat healthy, then I highly recommend that you involve them in shopping with you and in the kitchen.

If that sounds like a pain to you, try it. I actually find it easier to involve them than to do everything myself. First, I don't have to nag to get them to eat it because, since they feel invested in it, they have more of an incentive to eat it.

All four of my children started cooking when they were 2 years old. They feel comfortable in the kitchen and have a decent sense of spices and which foods are healthy or, what we call "strong" foods.

There are plenty of recipe books for kids, but have fun with this. I find that when they are responsible for cooking their own meals, they make healthier choices.

I'd love to hear your experiences with this.

Do you want radiant skin and lose weight while you're at it? Try eating cumcumers...

If you want radiant skin, consume cucumbers. They can soothe skin irritations and reduce swelling. Cucumbers are high in Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Potassium, Vitamin A, Pantothenic Acid, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Manganese. They are ideal for weight loss. Don't include too many cucumbers in your diet if you're interested in weight gain. They're ideally eaten during the summer months to cool us down.


Incidentally, we put cucumbers in all of our JOOS!

How to eat healthy while you work

When I worked strenuous hours on Wall Street, my eating routine was so much easier to maintain than spending time at home as a mother and taking care of children.

When I worked, I woke up, had breakfast, went to work, had lunch mid day and then typically ordered in dinner. We were working so hard, we didn't have time to snack in between.

The downfall of course is when the company orders pizza and soda for the trading floor, which I truly don't understand if companies are attempting to maximize employee performance, but do you know what? One piece of pizza and plenty of water is not going to make you gain weight. Look at the Italians; that is, those Italians who live in Italy: They're eating large lunches of soup, pasta, a main course and a salad and they're not overweight.

The problem comes when we wolf down the piece of pizza, barely realizing that we've eaten it, and then quickly gulp down a second and sometimes a third piece. If we slowed down for just a moment after we ate the first piece of pizza, chances are that we would have realized that we were not hungry for that second or third piece.

People who have done the JOOS Cleanse while they've worked have achieved considerable success in feeling vibrant and losing weight. Why? Because the JOOS Cleanse forces them to slow down and think about what they're eating, instead of chowing down almost anything that's in front of them.

If you've had enough of your current eating regimen and truly want to kick start healthy sustainable eating habits, please contact us at info@drinkjoos.com. We would love to support you on your road to a healthier lifestyle.

I'd love to hear your suggestions how to eat healty while you work!

Here's a way to make certain you're drinking enough water...

A friend of mine gave me the following tip to make certain she is drinking enough water:

Each morning, she pours three bottles of water: one she consumes in the morning, one during the day while she's at work or driving around with the kids, and the last in the evening.

I can not stress enough how important it is to hydrate. I'd love to hear your suggestions...

So what makes the JOOS Cleanse so unique? Read on for a healthier, happier and more fulfilling life!

The word "cleanse" is popping up all over the place. Every day I hear about a new type of cleanse offered or cleanse product.

For many of us who don't know what a cleanse is, this can be very confusing.

I'm weary of cleanses that involve eliminating food because, inevitably, while we may feel great while we're on the cleanse, most of us end up bingeing afterwards.

How many famous athletes do we know who went all out in their youth and now can barely function? Tom Fleming, a two time NYC marathon winner, comes to mind. Once, one of the greatest marathon runners and now he can barely go out for a jog without pain.

At JOOS, we want you to develop sustainable healthy eating habits. As a result, we have designed the cleanse so that you will be able to pace yourself and not feel these abrupt changes.

The basic premise of the JOOS Cleanse is to drink 2 JOOS per day, eat one meal (preferably vegan) and unlimited fruits and vegetables. The premise is to eliminate the high allergen/sensitivity foods and give your organs a break.

While we understand that three weeks sounds difficult, once you're past the first couple of days, the JOOS Cleanse can become routine.

Please contact us at info@drinkjoos.com for more information.

Do you want to cure your diabetes? Try adding chicory to your diet

Last week I blogged about the powerhouse "weeds" discussed in this month's Oprah Magazine article "Eat Your Weedies."

I wanted to specifically discuss chicory. The first reason is because it is the featured produce in JOOS this week. The second, as the article mentioned and we've been discussing, despite its strong, bitter taste, chicory is so unbelievably healthy for us. Why? First of all, if you're a diabetic, chicory contains insulin to help regulate blood sugar levels. It also may be cleansing to the liver and gallbladder and beneficial for the digestion, the circulatory system and the blood. It is a good source of calcium, vitamin A and potassium.

Do you really want to lose weight permanently? Here's your answer...

One of the key goals of the JOOS Cleanse is to establish mindfulness or, simply put, abiding to the present moment. In the context of food, if we're mindful, or present, we do not overeat from frustration, depression, emptiness, deficiency or loneliness. We eat because we're hungry.

Often, being present requires nothing more than a PAUSE. Before you open the refrigerator or cupboard doors, take a moment to feel if you're eating out of hunger or from an emotion.

Sometimes, though, the emotional sensation of loneliness, frustration, anger, etc. is so poignant that we are unable to control ourselves. As a result, we overeat and then we feel even worse.

This is why we turn to the JOOS Cleanse: it's our emotional reboot to get us back on track to healthy eating habits. Notice how I say "habits," because eating "well" encompasses WHAT foods we eat and HOW we eat those foods:

The WHAT means:
Are you eating a diet of 70% alkaline forming foods?
Are 90% of the foods you eat whole foods?
Are you drinking enough water?

The HOW means:
Do you pause before you eat?
Do you chew your foods?
Are you snacking all day long?
Are your portion sizes too big?

Please feel free to contact me with any questions about the JOOS Cleanse. JOOS would love to support you on your journey to get to the root of why you've developed the bad eating patterns and how to establish healthy eating habits.

As always, I'd also love to hear your comments!