Foods that Make you Mean

Do you find yourself grumbling at co-workers, barking at your mate, or in the middle of a road rage attack? Did you ever stop to think maybe you’re not really a bitch, but maybe your blood sugar levels are the culprit?

Nothing affects your mood more than what you put in your mouth. Food can be the best medicine and the worst poison for your brain and what comes out of your mouth. The brain depends on blood sugar for all of its energy and if you are not providing it enough fuel regularly or junk fuel it will not function properly.

A meal high in sugar and refined foods raises the hormone insulin which raises blood glucose and gives you a shot of energy. However, your energy plummets as quickly as it soars, leaving you cranky and lethargic, ready to snap at the slightest irk.

What are highly refined/processed foods you ask? Simply put: JUNK FOOD. These foods are not really made from food but rather from chemically altered substances like hydrogenated fats and cheap, low quality sugars like high fructose corn syrup. Using common sense it is easy to discern a fake, processed food from real food. Does it come in a bright colored plastic package? Is the list of ingredients sound more like a chemistry experiment than a recipe? Is it a fluorescent color? Do you feel compelled to eat the whole package in one sitting? If you answer yes to one or more of these questions, chances are you are face to face with a mood-killing food that will spike and plummet your blood sugar and leave you mean, nasty or depressed, looking for your next victim to lash out on.

Valentine’s Day is this coming Sunday. If you have a hot date, a stay-at-home with your sweetie night, or a girls/guys night out, keep your blood sugar even-Steven, keeping you sweet, sexy and attractive by:
- eating every 4 hours
- avoid refined sugar and highly processed junk foods
- eat clean protein and healthy fats at every meal
- carry a piece of fruit or some raw nuts with you when you are having a long stretch of time without eating

Enjoy and Be Sweet 

Stay Tuned for tips on replacing junk foods with high quality foods that boost your mood....

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Healthy Valentine's Dinner

Staying in for Valentine's Day? Whether you are on a budget or not, staying home and cooking a healthy meal is a great way to save on calories, funds and show someone that you really care. Here's a heart healthy meal idea for your Valentine's Day.

Seared Salmon with Cilantro-Cucumber Salsa (Serves 4)

Ingredients:
½ cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, halved lengthwise again and thinly sliced crosswise
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
½ yellow or orange bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 inch julienne
2 tbsp chopped shallot or red onion
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, plus sprigs for garnish
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 ½ tsp olive oil
1 tsp honey
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
4 wild salmon fillets, each 4-5 ounces
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Lime wedges for garnish

Directions:
Combine the cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper, shallot and cilantro. In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, ½ oil, honey, pepper flakes and salt. Pout this mixture over the cucumber mixture and toss. In a large, nonstick frying pan, heat ½ tsp of oil over medium heat. Add the fish to the pan and cook, turning once, until opaque throughout when tested with a knife, about 4-5 minutes on each side. Transfer the salmon to plates and top each with ¼ of the salsa. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and lime wedges. Serve immediately.

Serve with a delicious salad like this one:

Beet Salad
Recipe of the Month: Beet Salad

4 cups of greens (arugula, baby spinach or mixed greens will do)
4 medium red or golden beets, stems and root ends removed
1/3 cup of walnuts, chopped
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
2 oz. goat cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap each beet in foil. Roast until soft, about 1 hour. Cool slightly; remove foil. Rub off skins; cut into wedges. Toss with nuts and vinegar and serve over a bed of greens. Season with salt and pepper. Add oil, toss and add crumbled goat cheese on top. Enjoy!

Then finish off with an incredible vegan dessert that won't make your stomach explode!

2 dates, chopped
1 banana
2 tbsp of peanut or almond butter
2 tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp of agave nectar
1/4 cup soy, almond, or coconut milk
3 to 4 ice cubes

Blend all ingredients in a blender. Serve in a chilled martini glass and garnish with some fresh berries. Serves about 3.

Folks, I made up this recipe and I never measure when I cook. So this is an "estimation recipe". You want to keep it thick like a mousse so add the liquid slowly. Add more if you need it. It's really delicious, I promise.

Ideal Cardiovascular Health

What It Means to have Ideal Cardiovascular Health (Taken from an email directly from the American Heart Association)

For the first time, the American Heart Association has defined what it means to have ideal cardiovascular health, identifying seven health and behavior factors that impact health and quality of life.

Ideal Cardiovascular Health is determined by a set of health facts and lifestyle behaviors called Life's Simple 7.

* Abstinence from Smoking
* Healthy Body Weight
* Adequate Physical Activity
* Healthy Diet
* Fasting Glucose < 100
* Blood Pressure < 120/80
* Total Cholesterol < 200

One of the components of achieving a Healthy Diet is reduced sodium intake. The American Heart Association recommends that all Americans reduce the amount of sodium in their diet to less than 1500 mg a day. This is a change from previous American Heart Association recommendations for the general population that set the limit at no more than 2300 mg a day. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released in 2009 showed that 70 percent of the U.S. population is salt sensitive, which means that their blood pressure is prone to rise in response to excess sodium in their diet.

Warrior Workouts by Jennifer Cassetta

Yay! Yesterday I shot my first workout video. These kick ass workouts will be available for downloading to your computer or smart phone some time in March. Just in time to get your butt in shape for spring. We will keep you posted!

Jennifer Cassetta's Warrior Workouts include 6 ten minute workouts to help you tone, tighten and slim down all while learning very cool self defense techniques inspired by the ancient art of HapKiDo.

On a personal note, I am so happy to have teamed up with the perfect people to get this project out to you. The shoot went smoothly and the day (into the evening) was actually a lot of fun while being very productive. My big thanks to Gillian Clark, founder of Swerve Studio and creator of Yoga Booty Ballet (pictured above).

Big shout out to Ron and his crew, Bobby and Eton, for an incredibly seamless and professional day of shooting and for all production work!

And a special thanks to World Martial Arts Center in NYC where I have spent the past 10 years training and learning from the best of the best in martial arts. Without this training I would have nothing to teach!

We will keep you posted on exactly when and how you can get these very hot workouts into your hands so you can sweat, focus, and train your mind, body and spirit into a real modern day warrior! COMING SOON............................

Stilettos and Self Defense at Swerve 2/21

Sunday, February 21st
3:30 - 5:00

A Women's Self Defense & Empowerment Workshop

Last month's Stilettos and Self Defense workshop was empowering for all those that attended. A second workshop is scheduled for Sunday, February 21st. New ass-kicking techniques will be taught and techniques in the first workshop will be reviewed.

For those who attended the first workshop you have earned a discounted rate of just $20 if you preregister by Friday, February 19th (otherwise $30 at the door). For first timers, the fee is $30 for preregistration ($40 at the door).

All are welcome so keep your sisters, friends, daughters and loved ones safe and let Jennifer Cassetta, 3rd degree black belt, teach you all how not to become a statistic!

Swerve Studio.com | 8250 West 3rd Street #205 | Los Angeles | CA | 90048

Stilettos and Self Defense in LA

This Sunday I will be giving my first Stilettos and Self Defense Workshop on the West Coast. I hope to see you there. This class is open to all women so invite your friends, sisters, loved ones and anyone you care about.

Stilettos and Self Defense: A Women’s Self Defense and Empowerment Workshop

According to statistics, 1 out of every 6 women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. How many of these instances can be avoided? In the workshop, Stilettos and Self Defense™, Jennifer Cassetta, 3rd degree black belt in HapKiDo, will teach you how not to become a statistic.

For more info: http://swervestudio.com/classes_workshops.php

Sunday, January 17th
3:30 to 5:30pm
$30 to sign up before 1/15. $40 after.

Swerve Studio
8250 West 3rd St. #205 in Los Angeles, just blocks from the Beverly Center.

5 Ways to Slash Calories on Thanksgiving

Good old Turkey Day is right around the corner. What started as a holiday to give thanks for the harvest has now turned into a day where most Americans eat until their pants burst and sit around watching football afterwards. (Or you’re doing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen. In my family this was determined by your sex, but not sure about other families. Wink wink.)

So, here are a few tips to slash calories on Thanksgiving and to not let all of those extras turn into fat on our bodies.

#1: Know your math.
I’m usually not a fan of calorie counting per say, but on a day like this with so many temptations it is a helpful tool to use. An excess of 3500 calories will add one pound of fat to your body if it is not used for energy. The amount of calories in a typical Thanksgiving meal is close to a whole day’s worth of calories or more depending on your metabolic rate.

Here is a quick guide to a typical Thanksgiving meal:

2 glasses of sweetened tea, wine or cider: 300 calories
1 oz. of cheese: 100 calories
6 oz. white or dark turkey: 340 calories
1/3 cup of gravy: 100 calories
1/6 can of cranberry sauce: 100 calories
1/2 cup of stuffing: 180 calories
1/2 cup mashed potatoes: 150 calories
1/2 cup sauteed green beans: 50 calories
1 dinner roll w/ 1 pat of butter: 155 calories
1 cup of eggnog: 400 calories
1 piece of apple pie (1/8 of 9" pie): 410 calories

Total Thanksgiving dinner: 2185 calories


Tip #2: The morning burn.
Before you start cooking (or whatever you do), schedule time to get to the gym on Thursday morning. If you can’t get to a gym, go for a walk/jog/run outside or do an exercise video. No excuses. Wake up 40 minutes earlier if you have to to squeeze it in. This will fire up your metabolism for the rest of the day and you will burn more calories.

Tip #3: Plan your drinks wisely.
We all know by now that soda is just empty calories and loaded with sugar, so skip it and drink water instead. Egg nog alternatives like those made from soy (Silk nog), are delicious and less than half of the calories. If you drink juice or sweetened teas, dilute them with water and slash your calories in half. If you are drinking alcoholic beverages have a limit. Also, if you use spirits don’t use mixers that have sugar like fruit juices and soda. Use club soda, tonic and a fresh squeeze of lemon or lime to save on calories.

Tip #4: Put a Rainbow on Your Plate.
Include green vegetables like broccoli and salad, orange sweet potatoes, red tomatoes, yellow squash and purple eggplant and before you know it there won’t be too much room left for white foods like bread, pasta, white rice and white potatoes. These white foods have higher glycemic indexes and will spike your sugar faster setting you up for weight gain. Eating from the rainbow will ensure that you get a wide array of antioxidants, minerals and fiber.

Tip #5: Make your own desserts.
Store bought desserts are loaded with gross trans fats and high fructose syrup. Follow a recipe but cut the amount of sugar you use or better yet, substitute maple syrup or agave nectar for sugar in recipes. You never need as much as the recipes call for. Make an apple pie without the bottom crust or make a pumpkin pie that has half of the calories than an apple pie.