| Life and Style |
Revel! |
| Do your revel in your own life? |
Do you feel fabulous about the woman you are? Do you like what you
see when you look in the mirror? Or do you pick at yourself? Do you
focus on fat thighs? Do you start cataloguing your flaws? Or can you
spend a minute reveling in your own beauty as a woman - your own innate
uniqueness and sexiness?
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Photo by: Karin Pacione
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| Beauty, uniqueness, sexiness. All three are the birthright of vibrant
women. If you don't see and appreciate them in yourself, who will?
I find so many women are judging themselves, or other women, and I
don’t get it. I have never understood why some women hold so
many opinions about what other women choose to do in the quest for
beauty. Who cares if one woman prefers a “natural approach”
and another wants a little more “enhancement”? Why does
it often get so heated? |
| I’d love to see women feeling fabulous, whatever that takes.
For me it takes great skin and whatever care needed to stay that way.
It takes enough exercise to be able to walk several miles in my high
heels and not feel pain or fatigue. This certainly is not for everyone,
so wear your cute flats, adorable keds, or whatever makes you feel
fantastic. It’s all about you. |
Lovely lingerie, esoteric biographies, and lots of French fragrance
to slip into around the house every hour of every day makes me purr.
What does it for you?
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| Life among the Porcupine by Carol Matthau – The Original Breakfast
at Tiffany Girl’s Memoirs. |
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| The little things make being a woman glorious. It's also knowing
that the little things that I don’t like about myself are fixable.
All it may take is more time in a gym with my trainer. It’s
a pleasure when I get there. Or maybe it’s time to take better
care of my skin or get more sleep. Sometimes it’s as simple
as figuring out what is bothering me. When was the last time you gave
yourself time to take care of yourself? Twenty minutes a day can do
it, if you’re really pressed. Everything affects reveling. It’s
seeing the whole picture and not just the flaws that let's me revel.
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| Do I think I am a ravishing beauty? No, darlings, but that’s
not the point. I just enjoy being a woman. I was shocked to hear an
interviewer in The New York Times Magazine
recently ask a famous author why she bothered with beauty treatments
if she didn’t think she was “a great beauty”. What
a foolish question? Why not bother, if it feels good? |
| Do women not bother to take care of themselves because they are
afraid of looking foolish? Vain? Do they think: Why bother if I am
not a great beauty? What schadenfrueden. |
| Wherever you are in your life, if you revel in it, you will never
be more gorgeous. If you choose to share your light, love, and - yes,
darling - your beauty with the world, you will never be more stunning.
You may want to lose a few pounds, tone-up, get a little Botox, change
your hair, or get a little wardrobe advice. So get started. Or you
may think you are perfect as you are. But darlings, in the meantime,
revel. |
| I just love what actress and former beauty queen Delta
Burke had to say about self appreciation. She has battled
her weight for years. When she was in her 20s and crowned Miss America,
she thought she was fat. She couldn’t enjoy her own beauty then.
She says she knows now how foolish she was. She looks back and knows
she was a goddess then - and she should have enjoyed it! |
You can never learn to enjoy being a woman too early. To revel in
your beauty and appearance is as much of female legacy as your strength,
friendships, and intelligence. Curse those who try to tarnish it.
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Photo by: Karin Pacione
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| So darlings, get up in the morning and revel in being women. Love
your lips, your hair, your legs. Make your own list. Smile and spread
your joy. |
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| Health and Beauty |
| Summer’s revealing fashions are just weeks away. But if you’re
feeling a little larger than you would like, you may want to check
out Dr. Melissa Hershberg’s new book,
The Hershberg Diet. She knows losing weight
can be frustrating, and she has used science to make it easier. Below
she shares the secrets of “hotty” foods and eating smarter
to slimmer with DolceDolce readers. |
| DD: In the Hershberg Diet you talk about the 4th
macronutrient. Can you explain it, please? |
Dr. H: The term - the 4th macronutrient - refers
to water. But the emphasis is not on drinking water, but rather on
eating water. Most people, doctors and dieticians included, only address
the three basic macronutrients – protein, carbohydrates and
fat - when they discuss nutrition. However, using food labels and
basic math, I’ve proven that it is actually the water content
of food that is the most important factor to consider when it comes
to judging how good a food is for weight loss. Water-rich foods such
as fish, poultry, lean meats, vegetables, fruits, and dairy are mathematically
proven to be the best for weight loss, as they fill you up for very
few calories. They have low ratios of calories to mass and volume.
Dry foods, however - cereals, crackers, breads, cookies, chips, nuts,
raisins, beef jerky, etc. - can lead to quick weight gain, as every
bite that's put into your mouth is a calorie. There's no calorie-free
water to take up space. People easily overeat these foods and pack
on the pounds quickly as a result.
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Photo by: Natalie Chiu
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| The World Health Organization agrees.
It attributes the epidemic of global obesity to an increased consumption
of foods that are energy dense. In other words, people are eating
foods that have too many calories of energy packed into too small
of a package. This caloric density often occurs as a result of drying
and dehydrating, a process that is largely done by the food industry
for the purpose of creating foods with long shelf lives. For example,
grapes, which are water-rich, go bad, whereas raisins, the dried form
of grapes, do not. Beef tenderloin spoils quickly, whereas beef jerky,
the dehydrated version, does not. Crackers, chips, cookies, pretzels,
cereals, dried fruits are calorie-dense foods that are low in the
4th macronutrient (water) and therefore lead to unnatural spikes in
blood sugar and insulin and easy over-consumption with the end result
being weight gain and a host of chronic diseases ranging from diabetes
to heart disease and even some cancers. |
| DD: You also discuss “hotty” foods
that can help burn calories. How does this work? |
| Dr. H: Certain foods actually cause our body to
burn calories, simply by eating them. This is because it requires
energy to break down the chemical bonds in the food. As a result of
this work, calories are burned off and heat is released in the process
– hence the name “hotty.” Think of eating “hotty”
foods as exercise for your digestive tract. |
| Protein rich foods, such as fish, chicken, seafood, egg whites,
turkey, nuts, and lean dairy and meats are the most “hotty”,
whereas simple and low fiber carbs, including candy, juice, pop, white
bread, rice, pasta, chips, pretzels, and doughnuts are the least “hotty.”
If we want to maximize our calorie burning potential, we should include
protein at meals and snacks as often as possible. Here are examples
of other “hotty” foods and beverages: |
| Carbs: The more complex and high in fiber, such as the veggies,
fruits, and starches listed below, the more “hotty.” |
| Veggies: White and Green (lettuce, spinach, asparagus, green string
beans, celery, mushrooms, onions, water chestnuts, cauliflower, broccoli,
and brussel sprouts) are excellent. |
| Fruits: Fruit that you eat along with skin or fresh are the most
“hotty”: ex. Oranges, berries, grapes, grapefruit , apples,
and plums. |
| Starch: Grains that are very coarse and high in fiber are best,
for example: Slow cooked oats, high fiber bran cereals, and stone
ground whole-wheat unprocessed breads. |
| Protein: The lower in fat and less processed, the more “hotty.”
For instance, tuna packed in water, egg whites, boneless skinless
chicken, and turkey breasts, white fish like cod, haddock and tilapia
are among the best. |
| Beverages: Green tea is the most “hotty” of all of the
beverages followed by cold water. Green tea contains catechin polyphenols
which are proven to be “hotty” as they burn fat calories
to produce heat. Try to sip on green tea throughout the day to maximize
calorie burning. Cold water is also “hotty”, as our body
is encouraged to burn calories to create heat to warm the water back
to up to normal body temperature. |
| DD: Is exercise important for weight loss? How
so? |
| Dr. H: Yes! Exercise burns calories. This is why
we feel warm and sweat when we work out. Fat is being burnt off: it’s
being converted to fuel and heat is released with the reaction. This
is why the body heats up and sweats. Furthermore, after a session
of exercise, our body continues to burn calories as it works to repair
the micro-muscle damage that occurs after an exercise session. |
| Exercise also decreases insulin resistance and therefore helps to
lower insulin levels. When our insulin levels are low, our body is
encouraged to burn fat rather than store fat. |
| DD: How important is it to restrict fat and carbs
for successful weight loss? |
| Dr. H.: On The Hershberg
Diet, you can eat fat, you can eat carbs,
you can even eat fatty carbs and the weight will come off. This is
because the diet is all about balance. It teaches readers how to structure
their diet such that high water food – foods that are filling,
low in calories, and optimal for blood sugar and insulin levels –
make up the majority of the daily menu. As a result, it is okay to
eat moderate amounts of less healthy foods. That’s what makes
the diet sustainable - a lifestyle rather than a fad diet. |
| DD: How much weight can a person lose in month,
following your plan? |
| Dr. H.: A weight loss of between 5-12 pounds is
typically experienced in the first two weeks of the plan (Phase One)
and between 5-10 pounds in the second two weeks (Phase Two). Weight
loss then proceeds at a steady rate of approximately 1-3 lbs per week.
The Hershberg Diet offers the best of both
worlds, rapid weight loss and a sustainable healthy program. |
| To learn more about this program and start slimming today, pick
up The Hershberg Diet, by Dr. Melissa Hershberg. |
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| Not registered yet to receive DolceDolce’s free weekly email
newsletter? Help us grow; sign-up
today, and forward
to your friends. Because life should be sweet. |
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| Fashion, Life, and Style |
Bag Lady Chic |
| Are you a chic bag lady, or have you missed the boat on the latest
rage? No darlings, we are not talking handbags, although top designers
are jumping to get in the craze. The buzz is about shopping bag chic,
and everyone from Hermes to grocery store brands have pledged to Go
Green. |
| The desire to cut back on junky plastic and spare our poor planet
is more than a passing fancy, and the alternatives - like all good
fashions - range from high to low. |
| The President’s Choice Shopping Bag
is made from six 500-mL or two 2-L plastic beverage bottles and is
fully recyclable, including all tags, threading and handles. Upon
the end of its useful life, consumers are encouraged to return bags
to the store for re-recycling into more reusable bags. Weekly use
of one PC® GREEN® Reusable Shopping Bag
is expected to divert 100 plastic shopping bags from Canada’s
landfills in one year. The bag is good for about 50 shopping trips.
At 99 cents apiece, that is a cheap-chic for a little black bag. Some
President’s Choice products are available
in U.S. grocery stores. The Trader Joechain
offers a wild selection of colourful and sturdy bags from about $1.99
up. Whole Foods has an earthy selection.
There is a bag from chic basic black to granola garmento to help you
stop the plastic tidal wave. |
Hermes has a chic alternative for just
under a $1,000. In a glorious print that folds into a chic envelope
you can stash in your handbag. I have to admit that long before I
was worried about landfills, I was totally turned off by plastic bags
and have always shopped with a chic tote. I like fold up bags from
Longchamps. These great bags have long
been a shopping standard for savvy French women.
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| I also have fun floral cotton totes from Chinatown,
bought for a song. I am just about to order a dozen monogrammed canvas
totes for the household shopping. They will look tres chic, be masculine
enough for my husband to use, and can be popped in the wash. |
| www.logosandgifts.com |
Darlings there you have it: I am bag lady and proud of it.
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Photo by: Natalie Chiu
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| Food |
Sweet Anti – Oxidants |
| Why is I that every time I turn around, there is some exotic new
supplement or food that will save or extend my life? Enough is enough!
The more we know, the more we know there are few things better for
us than wholesome, fresh food. |
Good, old-fashioned sweet potatoes or yams are among those often
over-looked foods. They’re delicious, and loaded with anti-oxidants.
They are a good source of Vitamins C, B6, iron, and copper. Eaten
in reasonable portions, they are a great addition to a healthy diet.
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Photo by: Natalie Chiu
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Sweet Potato
Oven Fries |
Serves 2.
Preheat oven to 425f/225c. |
| Wash and do not peel one large potato or yam. |
| Cut into fries. |
| Toss in 1 tsp. of oil – one will do it. Keep tossing. |
| Add 1 tsp each: kosher salt, paprika, rose pepper or black pepper,
and toss. |
| Bake on a foil-covered baking sheet and cook in the preheated oven
for 35 to 40 minutes. |
Toss half way through the cooking time. Check after 30 minutes time,
the cooking time will vary according to the oven and how you cut the
fries. They are delicious with everything.
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Sweet Potato Mash |
| Serves 2 |
| Peel and cut one large sweet potato or yam. |
| Boil till tender in salted water. |
| Drain and add into the same hot pan ¼ cup low fat or skim
milk. Mash. |
| Add the same seasonings as above plus the oil olive oil or same
amount of butter. |
| Whip with a fork and serve. So delicious, especially with a savory
dish. The pink pepper adds something special, if you use it. |
| If you are not reveling then I have failed. But I am sure most of
you are, at least a little. You are too darned smart not to be. This
week’s recipes are simple, but how often do we forget to do,
make, and enjoy the simplest and lushest things? And finally darlings,
for the planet’s sake be a bag lady. Just get some of those
reusable ones and leave them in your car. Or splash out with a set
of monogrammed bags or a fancy French number. But do it. |
| Last but not least, please sign-up
to DolceDolce if you haven’t already - we are free. And forward
us to your friends. Have a sweet week and revel darling. You are fabulous.
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| Gracey Hitchcock |
| Editor |
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