Jay On The Go

In addition to Render and Masa , we decided to go to lunch at this Indian restaurant in Boston's South End neighborhood.  On a Sunday, contrary to our expectations, it was dead.  In any case, there are several places to eat in the area, so we probably would not have liked to wait.  Thankfully, we also found street parking.  It is a small place but decorated well and I really appreciated the white napkins and nice dishes, things that are typically lacking in Indian restaurant brunches.  There were about a dozen dishes to choose from and I ate lentils, tandoor chicken, spinach paneer, stuffed dosa, and nan bread.  Overall, nothing worth talking about and the bread actually may not be as fluffy as it sometimes is.  Definitely, a pleasant experience eating there but I would not categorize it as anything special, but then lunch in Boston for about $13 is a bargain.

Since I am fairly slim and towards the low end of the BMI in the healthy range , I read with a lot of interest the study by Katherine M. Flegal of the CDC that overweight and obese people lived longer than healthy people.  Ouch!  All the diet and exercise I did, I thought, for nothing.  Why bother if I am going to die sooner and not be able to enjoy a long life?  Not so fast, ladies and gentlemen, to start pigging out and sleeping on a couch your whole life.  The reality is that no one knows, yet, why is it that healthy weight people die somewhat earlier and fat people live longer.  There are hundreds of other reasons that determine how long we live, for example, our stress levels, or how hard we work, or how spiritual we are, or how strong our relationships are.  It is definitely documented that overweight people, while living longer, have lower quality of life because they are more likely to suffer from all kinds of illnesses.  So I would rath...

Believe it or not but Kourtney Kardashian has lost a massive 44 lbs of pregnant weight.  That is one third of her body weight during pregnancy with Penelope.  She is now down to just 106 pounds.  So how did she lose all the baby weight?  The old fashioned way with diet and exercise with personal trainer Tracy Anderson (who made her do 90 minutes dance focused workouts).  Needless to say, she also reduced the portion sizes.

If you don't like the idea of reading those articles about how not to gain weight during the holidays , then you just need to remember one simple thing: eat in moderation . It is OK to eat almost everything as long as you keep the overall calorie consumption during the day unchanged. If you still want to eat more calories, you can burn the extra calories by exercising more than usual. And as I said about Thanksgiving side dishes , here is a nice video to try a slightly different set of dessert recipes.

Despite the Hispanic paradox , most Hispanics eat those delicious but deadly Latin dishes . The result: obesity and diabetes are widespread among them. That is not the way things used to be. In fact, during my travels to small towns in Latin America , I found that the food was fresher, healthier, and delicious, without the calories. In other words, the Latin people are cooking the wrong way. Lorena and I have come up with healthier versions of almost all Latin dishes , but a group Latino Nutritional Coalition has put together not only a new Latin Diet Pyramid but has also produced an excellent guide to healthy eating . While sponsored by food companies, the guide also has some healthy recipes for traditional Latin dishes. Yes, you can go once in a while to Rosa Mexicano type restaurants, but if you are trying to eat right and be fit , then you will need to make significant changes in your diet . Please, if you are a Latin person, download the Camino Magico guide for yourself an...

As a followup to our article " How to be healthy ," we also wanted to share more tips that come from AP9 At Home Rewards. We follow all of them, except the one on eating garlic. While we love the flavor and occasionally use it for most of our Italian dishes, the flavor is a bit too much later on during the day/night. So our tip for garlic: avoid it on warm days and when you know you will be intimate . Use olive oil . An essential ingredient of Mediterranean cuisine, olive oil contains polyphenols, the potent antioxidants that have been shown to help reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The extra-virgin is the best kind. Switch to brown rice . The taste is great, and it's a whole grain, which makes it an excellent source of fiber. Brown rice is also rich in vitamins, manganese, selenium and magnesium, elements that help produce energy, improve the health of the nervous system, and help reduce the risk of colon cancer. It's a little bit chewy but you wil...

When we first read of the "Hispanic Paradox" in The New York Times, we were indeed intrigued. Our assumption was that all those delicious Latin dishes were deadly if not consumed less frequently and in small volumes. Looks as if we were right. Maybe there is no Hispanic paradox ; the way some smokers outlive healthy people, similarly, a few Latinas may also do better than most others. According to research conducted by Dr. John C. Teeters (University of Rochester), compared with white women, Hispanic women develop risk factors for heart disease (and cardiac arrest) about a decade earlier. Dr. Teeters emphasizes that these disparities are most likely caused by both genetics and lifestyle. What can you do? Read how to be fit . Limit your consumption of those exotic Mexican dishes . If you are a Latina, head over to Lindisima.com and check out tips on diet , exercise , and weight loss . If you happen to know a Latina, do her a favor by telling her about this research. Fo...