Luvalla: Oganic, Healing Skin Toners

Many of you know me - and as you know I am all about the least amount of steps to get the job done.

This also applies especially to the end of a long day, when I want to get ready for bed but I do not want to do the six steps necessary to fully clean your face after the end of a busy day on the job and around town.

Enter Luvella into the equation, an organic, natural toner that is super gentle on your skin. This product is alcohol-free so it does not dry your face and is therefore great for make-up removal and basic cleansing needs. The toners also PH balance the skin to a 4.5 acidity, which is why the skin looks even and soft all around.

I often just tone my face when I'm too tired to go through the whole face cleaning and make-up removing routine at night. At least that way I know I'm going to bed with clean, PH balanced skin in just one step.

Luvella is especialy helpful and healing for those who have skin that is too sensitive for regular toners.

Bethenny Frankel's Mock-a-mole!

Guacamole is one of my own personal favorite dishes, but the problem is when too much dairy or cream (or mayo even) is added to the mixture. Also, too many avocados might be a little too harsh on the tummy - not to mention calorie heavy.

Skinny guru Bethenny Frankel has the solution - in her NY Times Best Seller book, The Skinnygirl Dish, she includes a low fat mock-a-mole, which, as she explains, has more fiber and less fat than its "regular" cousin.

Try it out and tell me what you think on your blog or in the comments below!




* 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and mashed

* 1 cup cooked green peas

* 1/4 cup chopped fresh tomato

* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro plus more for garnish

* 1 tablespoon chopped red onion

* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

* 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

* 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

* 1 teaspoon garlic salt

* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

* 3/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

* Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with tortilla chips, whole grain crackers, and raw vegetables.

Use any of these variations, or mix and match them according to your tastes

* Variation 1: Instead of cooked peas, try an additional avocado.
* Variation 2: Instead of tomato, try chopped pear, grape, or cherry tomatoes.
* Variation 3: Instead of cilantro, try doubling the amount of parsley.
* Variation 4: Instead of red onion, try: Any other onion -- scallions, white parts and some of green -- chives.
* Variation 5: Instead of fresh parsley, try adding 1 extra tablespoon fresh cilantro.
* Variation 6: Instead of fresh lime juice, try other citrus juice.
* Variation 7: Instead of Worcestershire sauce, try soy sauce (including tamari or shoyu).
* Variation 8: Instead of garlic salt, try: 1 clove garlic, minced, plus ¾ teaspoon regular or seasoned salt.
* Variation 9: Instead of Tabasco sauce, try: any other hot sauce -- 1 dash cayenne pepper -- 1 pinch red pepper flakes



*Photos from Bethenny.com.

Vitamineral Green: Heather's Favorite Multivitamin

You just know that you're screwing up by not taking your vitamins because you drew a blank when your MD asked you "so what multivitamin are you taking?". But with so many selections to choose from - so many brands and different types - it's really hard to know whether you are choosing the right one.

Enter Vitamineral Green, which I swear by. It increases my energy and my mental state, and makes me feel refreshed and awake. I still try to get as many serving of veggies as possible, but it's especially great to know you are getting your veg nutrients on days that you might not be getting enough - because you are rushed for time or simply can't stand to look at another arugula.

You can buy Vitamineral Green at Amazon or at the HealthForce shop.

Ever some of our best friends use this stuff!

Pilates Plus HBV Does First Fridays, Joins Meals on Wheels West

Pilates Plus HBV had a fun, wonderful weekend the first month of November. We were able to throw a fun little event to support Meals on Wheels West and their Team Meals during Abbot Kinney's First Fridays, which included wine, appetizers, and a donation-based class.

Meals on Wheels West will participate in the 2011 LA Marathon. It's a great group - join them as a volunteer, join their running team, or support by donating funds. Visit their website at http://www.mealsonwheelswest.org/



Our Meetup group also kicked off with its first running meet. We met everyone over at the Brentwood Pilates Plus HBV, we checked out the studio, and then Heather took us on a running tour of Brentwood and the nearby neighborhood. Head over to Meetup.com and join us on our monthly meetups.

Get Fit With Tracy Conner At Pilates Plus HBV

During exercise our bodies primarily use carbohydrates and fat to fuel our workouts. So what is a great pre-workout snack?

Yogurt and ½ a cup of berries

Toast with nut butter and honey

Healthy eating habits and exercise are essential to a healthy life. Optimal nutrition contributes to a great workout and exercising contributes to a person’s ability to use and store nutrition optimally. Proper nutrition and exercise have many benefits such as increased self confidence, easier weight control, more energy, less stress, enhanced immunity, and more.

Who doesn’t want all of that?

But poor eating habits can contribute to poor fitness, low energy, and development of such diseases as heart disease, diabetes, obesity and some types of cancer. We need to be aware of what we are consuming and the effects it has on our bodies.

So how can I eat healthier? Well we have a special event going on this weekend! We will be having a lecture on the importance of balanced nutrition from Tracy Conner. Tracy has been a nutrition coach and fitness instructor for 10 years now working with a wide variety of people and lifestyles.

Tracy will speak with us this weekend about why a balanced nutritional lifestyle is so important, diet myths, great pre and post workout snacks and more. Plus a great special we will be running. The times to come are:

Sat. 2 pm Hollywood location

Sun. 12:30 Brentwood location

Sun. 2:30 Venice location

See you then!

Map Your Own Run at Mapmyrun.com!

I travel a lot - at times I may only be home just a few days out of the month. But regardless of how rarely I am home, it is always super important for me to keep up on my cardio.

Whether I am in Hawaii, Texas, Barcelona, or even here in LA, I turn to a very useful tool to assist in my daily jogs: mapmyrun.com.

On this site, you enter your home address and a personalized running or jogging route is created for you. The info you get includes a map and info entered by other users that might be on the same route.

I know I can always rely on this site, whether I am in the mood - or have time for - a 2 mile run or a 6 mile run. I map it out, put on my shoes, crank up my iPod, and head out the door for a run. What I love about this service is that I can enjoy the run without trying to calculate how far I have gone and without worrying about time - I get to just focus on my running and fitness.

What online tools do you use for your own jogging and running adventures?

Get Your Own BluePrint!

Are you feeling like you want to cleanse your system for a few days but the thought of only drinking juices scare you? I felt exactly the the same. There's just something about being able to chew and enjoy your food that obviously turns most people away from the idea. But I tried it out to see how it would make me feel - and if it does what it promises. Boy was I pleasantly surprised.

I have never done a cleanse, but was feeling brave last week and wanted to try what everybody has been talking about. I went out and signed up for the Juice Till Dinner cleanse by those amazing folks at BluePrint Cleanse - and let me tell you, I am hooked

I did the cleanse for three days. The four juices, raw meal and two raw snacks are sent to your doorstep through FedEx, so it arrives really quickly.

From the website:

JTD is a hybrid between a juice cleanse and a raw food diet that delivers delicious raw food meals and fresh-pressed juices. A daily supply consists of four BPC juices, a delicious two course vegetarian meal, and two tasty snacks. It's 100% vegan, gluten free, wheat free and about 95% raw.

The Juices:
Juice one, two, three and four were all delicious. They have perfected their recipes to the point where I was looking forward to the juices the next day.

After you finish all four you get to enjoy a raw meal. Mine this time was carrot soup, raw kale salad a raw nut/fruit bar and a little raw dessert. AMAZING and DELICIOUS...and after three days my stomach felt completely flat, but I was not starving and felt energized and satisfied.

Mind you, this was the first cleanse that I have ever done, so I was a totally newbie - but I was able to do for three whole days! And if your preferences differ, they do have a lot of options for juice cleanses, including complete daily juice cleanses that last for days on end.

Try it! You will fee great on the BluePrint Cleanse.

Heather Dorak At Cure in the Canyons

Heather Dorak attended Cure in the Canyons on October 3, 2010, to support and honor breast cancer survivors, in a beautiful private estate in Beverly Hills, CA. To find out more about this great organization and event, visit Cure in the Canyons and the upcoming Run 4 her Life.

Lunch In Morocco!

My first two days in Morocco have been totally amazing. The wonderful food out here makes it easy to keep healthy and fit while having fun. It’s tough to eat right while on vacation, but if you try and stick to it, you’ll be fine.

Yesterday I started out with fresh fruit at the airport, because the only other option was pastry and McDonalds. When traveling you should always rely on fruit – it’s all natural and all healthy. Lunch consisted of Gaspacho soup and a Caprese Salad. It was delicious! Dinner turned Italian – a mixed green salad, which didn’t even need dressing because the lettuce and tomatos were locally grown and thus juicy and full of flavor. If you ever do need dressing, always ask for it on the side! Also, the next best thing is to use balsamic vinegar, with fresh lemon and a tiny teeny bit of olive oil.

I also asked for a nice piece of grilled fish – but I asked for light oil, and they infused it with salt-pepper and garlic. On the side, I got steamed broccoli, grilled eggplant with diced tomatos and one small peeled and boiled potato. The key is portion control!

Another great tip while traveling? Stay away from bread! To make it easier, instead of reaching into the bread basket, chow down on olives and nuts.

Check back this week for more tips and trips to having a great vacation while still watching what you put on your plate!

Traveling The Healthy Way With Backroads.com

I'm heading out on a two week trek, and I am traveling with the ultimate companion - Backroads Travel Company.

Backroads is a type of agency that coordinates your trip and basically makes it more efficient. They find the best of the best trails and paths, and they assist you in finding your favorite spots and restaurants. I don't have to worry about carrying books or googling till' I'm blue in the face.

Backroads does the research for you and provides everything that you need along the way.

What ends up happening is you have more time to meet amazing people from all around the world - folks who are just as adventurous as you and who also love to work out.

They make your trip the most amazing experience, always finishing your days in gorgeous hotels and the best restaurants.

I am heading to Morocco with Backroads next week and I will be blogging along the way about how to eat and work out in different countries, and remain healthy - even when you don't know how the language. I hope you join me on my trip!