Obsession of the Moment: Zevia Soda

For those of you who think diet soda is really "Diet" - sister, you are soooo wrong! The body interprets sugar substitutes as sugar. process it as sugar, makes you crave other nasty foods just like sugar does, has a glycemic impact. Splenda, Sweet and Low, Equal , etc - I don't care- they all the same nasty side effects and gross aftertaste - look it up, people. It's science!!

... unless it's Stevia. A herbal supplement recently approved by the FDA for use as a sugar substitute, stevia has been used for a while as a nutritional supplement. It's got a wonderful sweet taste without glycemic impact (so it's not processed by the body as sugar and safe for diabetics). The taste is very similar to sugar without an aftertaste. For those of you who know, the whole "allergic to yeast" deal also means I cannot have sugar (sugar feeds yeast). While I love sparkling water with lemon or lime and tea... it gets a little boring, and I can't deny I have always loved a nice soda to go along with lunch or at least my popcorn habit. And vanilla vodka tastes really good with cola. Deeelish!

My good friend Rebecca H. introduced me to an AH-MAZ-ING discovery: Zevia Soda. All natural, great tasting soda sweetened with stevia and all natural ingredients in Cola, lemon/lime twist, orange, root beer, ginger ale and cherry. I have tried the Cola, twist, orange and ginger ale - all wonderful. Good flavor, just sweet enough and no aftertaste. The only drawback, it's about a $1 a can. But for girls like me who can't have sugar or sugar substitutes, Zevia is WORTH EVERY PENNY! And yes, it tastes wonderfully delicious with vanilla vodka! Pick up a case at Better Health (Detroit, MI), Amazon.com or Zevia.com and request Zevia be carried at your local grocer!

Cheers!

Thursday WTF - ZOMG! Zombies attack san fran

Apparently, zombies run free in San Francisco... and they wear prom dresses, have oozing wounds and really, really like brains.

Don't get me wrong. Who doesn't love a good Zombie Movie (Shawn of the Dead), Thriller remake, or hacked road sign warning of impeding Zombie doom... but if i had to choose Zombie or Ninja - I think I'd go Ninja.

If you disagree and feel Zombieism is for you, and happen to live in San Fran - check out the following websites:

SFZombieswarm

Emergency Zombie Swarm photos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMWMeLTjnxA&feature=player_embedded

Welcome to the Motherhood - Reviews, Giveaways, Coupons, Review, Coupon Codes: Zevia Giveaway

Welcome to the Motherhood - Reviews, Giveaways, Coupons, Review, Coupon Codes: Zevia Giveaway

Zevia will be the feature of my next "Obsession of the Moment Tuesday"but stumbled upon this great give away from "welcome to the motherhood" (No, i'm not preggo - i was searching for coupons for Zevia thank you very much) . But the site is very cool - and so is the giveaway! free case of zevia! tasty stevia soda pop!

Obsession of the Moment: Bob's Red Mill: Gluten Free All Purpose Flour

Tuesday's Obsession of the Moment goes to Bob's Red Mill's Gluten Free All Purpose Flour!

Recently, I was diagnosed with a whole slew of random allergies from outdoor to mold, yeast, gluten and dairy (incidentally, everything but cockroaches!!) . Now, for those of you who are unaware, my family is hardcore Italian - Sunday pasta dinners filled with meatball mowing, home-made wine drinking, cheese nibbling, sausage devouring, salami rolling, bread making, espresso drinking and cookie dunking goodness. I'm talking about GOOD TIMES!! Now - I can't even eat minestrone (most soup bases have MSG and yeast - two things I'm allergic to). Convinced my true calling was to become sommelier or chef - I relished the opportunity to practice my culinary craft. Now relegated to salads with lemon juice, lean meats and veggies - I have had to absolutely re-define eating...but did not want to give up my affinity for really, really good food.

One product I am grateful for is Bob's red mill - particularly the gluten free all purpose flour. Now listen up, peeps- this flour is THE BOMB for frying and pan sauteing. Great flavor, creates a wonderful brown and crispy crust - it's simply fantastic for cooking. In fact, I would use this flour even if I had the option to use normal flour - it's that good!

Recently, I made a super tasty meal with tilapia salted with kosher salt and pepper and dusted with Bob's red mill gluten free all purpose flour seasoned with fresh parsley and garlic salt. Lightly pan fried in olive oil then squeezed fresh lemon. SOOOOO simple, very fresh and incredibly yummie. I encourage you to try it! You can find Bob's big red mill products in Meijer, or on Amazon.com. Hey, while you're at Amazon - check out the reviews. I'm not the only one who loves it!!!

Thursday WTF

WTF moment: Budweiser & Clamato Chelada


According to the folks at Budweiser, this unholy combo is " La Combinacion Perfecta!" Granted, i am not the target demo (Hispanic males) but I happen to fundamentally disagree with that statement.

1) Budweiser (ok, ok, ok - Bud Light)- consumed in any way beyond beer pong - is reprehensible

2) Clamato - outside a bloody mary - is something I have not experienced, nor do I want to.

But the two together wins my Thursday WTF!!??!! award. Congrats, Bud. This sounds totally gross and I thank my new found allergy to beer and all things nasty for never letting my curiosity get the best of me.

Reviews available on Beeradvocate.com, expotv.com, the impulsive buy blog

Spring cleaning the makeup bag

Fact: annalisa+winter = miserable

Fact: annalisa+spring = blissful

To celebrate the onset of Spring- I decided to re-vamp my make up bag with some fresh, new spring treats.

1) Fragrance: Viva la Juicy - My good friend Nicole introduced me to Viva La Juicy last week - WONDERFUL!! and she had the "To-Go" purse friendly rollerball. It's Luscious, feminine with sweet floral overtones with amber/vanilla finish - perfect spring scent. I have been wearing CK Euphoria through the winter (indeed, a lovely scent) but felt it prudent to start spring with a light, feminine scent. Run over to Nordstroms and get a free sample..I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! More info: check out the review from Sephora.

2) Blush : Nars Orgasam - Nars, hands down, has the best blushes out there. Great color selection, excellent wearability, go on smooth and last all day. Now, for those of you who haven't picked up a beauty mag or perused a beauty blog - you may not be aware everyone and their sisters are enamored by Nars Orgasm. As the name suggests, it is ooohhh so good. Peachy/pink in tone, it imparts a wonderful, fresh glow. My winter color tends to be a bit darker to give color (Nars blush in Sin), but spring and summer time beg for a lighter shade. You can find Nars in many places, primarily Sephora .

3. Neutrogena Triple Moisture Hair Mask: Dry winter air makes my curly hair brittle and dull. Neutrogena triple moisture is a great hair care brand from shampoo to conditioner to mask and is very, very affordable. I especially adore the mask and use it once a week. For an added treat, heat it up for 30 seconds in the microwave to encourage penetration and aid in overall relaxation. Leave on your hair for 15-30 minutes, rinse in warm water and style as usual. I credit this product for taming my unruly, frizzy, thick mess of hair into a glossy, soft, manageable mane. For $5 a tub, can you really go wrong? And if you are an Ebates.com fan, you can click your way through to drugstore.com, get an amazing discount AND money back!

Spring cleaning means more than your closet, sister! Enjoy the excuse to indulge and renew!

Obession of the moment: Yoga Shelter, Royal Oak

Gentle Reader - I know you have heard all the hype - "Yoga is great!", "Yoga is SOOOO Amazing!", "OMG you have to TRY it!!". And your friends are right. It is indeed all those things. I used to practice at least twice a day to Yoga DVD's (Shiva Rea's videos were my FAV - highly recommend)...but found them routine after a while and fell out of it in favor of Turbo Jam (great workout!), Kickboxing and running. Then asthma and allergies hit and I found myself unable to work out for 3 months while I struggled to find the energy to breath. Now, those who know me understand I get crazy ant-sey during winter...I hate being indoors!!! And find myself on "the wet sock" as my D.H. would say. The whole not working out thing was just killing me. Wisely, my D.H. encouraged me to find an outlet. Perhaps dodgeball or yoga - he suggested.... serendipitously, the very next morning two friends (thanks J.E. and N.B-S!) encouraged me to join them for evening yoga at Yoga Shelter in Royal Oak.

"Free week trial"! they said "Great music and energy!" they pointed out. So I grabbed my inhaler, dusted off my yoga mat and went. They were right. The workout is done in a 90+ degree room to contemporary music (rock, pop, rap) - something I thought would be distracting but was an AMAZING enabler! Beginners classes do not exist. The philosophy is simple: Yoga is done at your pace - honor yourself. You will SWEAT your FACE off - in the most fantastic way! It's challenging, relaxing and rewarding. My fav classes so far are Sanya Vinyasa and Fusion. Check out the site - I'm happy to go to a class with you!! http://www.yogashelter.com/

Welcome!

I have tried a few times (albeit unsuccessfully) to try and get a blog going, but now feel I have found my groove! And Voice!! I can't wait to share my thoughts with you...and hopefully, you will be inspired to follow, read or post comments. And if you just wanna hang out - that's ok by me!

...I will do my best to post on Tuesday and Thursday of every week...but as the title dictates, I have a tendency to embrace distraction... :)

Enjoy! Feel free to leave your suggestions and thoughts!