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.