Mediterranean Cuisine's Great 0 Fat Hummus

Who doesn't love a good hummus, right? Unfortunately so many grocery stores and restaurants get the hummus flavor just plain wrong, and they either add to much of one thing or another - or you find yourself looking at a tub of hummus that has more preservatives than a microwave pizza.

If you're sick of the gunky weird stuff, try Oasis Mediterranean Cuisine's Hommus, a company that's been around for a good 20+ years and that gets their hummus juuust right.

The hommus contains no preservatives, additives, and no trans fats. And their flavor is just the right amount of fresh, yummy ingredients. Best of all, they have a special "0 fat" line.

Their flavors include shitake mushroom, roasted red pepper, Mediterranean medley, lentil dip and black bean dip - all zero in fat.

Find them at your nearest health food store or call them to order.

ZazaRaw Tortillas Are Zo Zo Good!

Sometimes you want a little kick to your tortilla, so what do you do?

If you're in the mood for some raw goodness, try my newest obsession, ZazaRaw's Spicy Raw tortillas. These are non-GMO, handmade and made with flax seed and all organic ingredients.

As an added bonus, these are only 25 calories each, which makes for a great snack with hummus or another one of your favorite dips. You can also use them as wraps or as buns for vegan patties.

Get them over at the ZazaRaw website or at the locations listed here.

Probiotics: Does A Belly Good

Ever heard about “live micro-organisms"? Do they sound gross? Well they shouldn't, because these little living creatures are great for your tummy. But sometimes, these guys need a little bit of help, especially when they get a little wild.

Probiotics does just this, they help your intestinal bacteria get healthy, especially after being harmed by stress, taking antibiotics or any other external toxin. After just a few days of taking probiotics, you'll probably find that you are less bloated and feel less intestinal pain or cramping.

One easy way of getting your daily probiotics is through Bio-K+, which can be taken in either pill form or as fermented milk. What's even better is that if you're lactose intolerant - which many of us are - Bio-K+ offers soy-based fermented milk. These even come in alternate flavors, like strawberry or pineapple/vanilla.

Before you worry that these things might taste as funky as they sound (bacteria!), they are actually delicious! They taste just like creamy, rich plain yogurt.

Try it out for a week and see just how much better your tummy feels.

Not Just A Cookie

I know so many friends who have completely sworn off cookies from their diets, because they are just so problematic in terms of keeping fit and healthy. Given that they normally contain flour, sugar, butter, and milk (problematic for some), cookies have gotten a really bad reputation, especially for health nuts like ourselves, and vegans/vegetarians who can't stomach dairy.

But luckily there's an alternative (isn't there always?).

Nut Just A Cookie offers a great way to snack with their Nutty Nibbles line of cookies, which are bit-size, completely organic ingredients, and without any refined sugars. They come in a box of 24 and come in regular or sugar-free options.

And of course, they are completely delicious. I have a box next to me as I type this!

Evolution Soups Are Evolution Fresh

Evolution Fresh juices are my favorite, but if there's another thing they do really well it's the soups. Did you even know these guys made soup? These are my absolute favorite meals - and they're just perfect for those cold winter/spring nights.

Evolution uses fresh veggies, fresh herbs and fresh spices, made every day! They are also low in calories and sodium.

My favorite soup is the lentil and carrot ginger, but they have plenty of other options:

• Butternut Soup
• Chipotle Black Bean Soup
• Jolly Green Soup
• Roasted Garlic Tomato Basil
• Southwest Roasted Corn
• Split Pea Soup
• Vegetable Minestrone Soup

Pilates Platinum Parties For First Friday on Abbot Kinney - Feb 4th

Pilates Platinum will be holding a First Friday event on February 4th at Abbot Kinney (at our Venice Beach studio) with a live DJ, lights, wine/cheese, snacks and 3 pilates/spin sessions throughout the evening!

There will also be giveaways for free Pilates Platinum sessions, free toezies, and other possible giveaways and discounts!

Come out, hang out, talk to us and chill out - participate and help us make this event a success, dogtown neighbors!

Love, Heather Nicole

100 Calorie Brownies! Oh My!

Chocolate brownies don't have to be scary. They can be an amazing, wonderful thing!

And they don't always have to be a million calories high - you can create your own brownies that are only 100 calories, thanks to Dr. Oz, using black beans, whole wheat pastry flour, and espresso powder. Crazy huh?

Check them out over on the Dr. Oz show, The 100 Calorie Brownie

They look amazing!

Tender Greens - Tender Great

If you live in LA and haven't yet tried Tender Greens you are absolutely missing out on a healthy and incredibly tasty place to eat.

There are three current locations - Hollywood, West Hollywood and Culver City and all of them are incredible. There fourth location is opening May 1st - and they will be new neighbors to our brand new Pilates Platinum studio in Santa Monica. Serendipity!

What's great about them is they have a great menu with tasty, healthy and always fresh salads, veggies and soups. My particular favorite is the Chinese Chicken Salad (hold the wontons) and dressing on the side. All calorie information is available online, which is also really helpful for those of us watching what we eat.

Their Hollywood location has a beautiful little patio where you can chill out at and drink a nice glass of your favorite white or red wine.

I was at the West Hollywood location last week and noticed they now deliver. Not sure how much better this restaurant can get!

Hollywood

6290 Sunset Boulevard
Hollywood, CA 90232

Culver City

9523 Culver Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232

West Hollywood

8759 Santa Monica Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90069

*photo from http://www.tendergreensfood.com

Comme Ci? Comme Ca!

Living in Los Angeles, you have plenty of restaurant options to choose from. But when you're hungry and feelin like getting out of the house on a Monday night after a hard day's work, what do to you choose if you want something hearty yet tasty?

One of my recent finds is Comme Ca on Melrose and La Cienega, a French brasserie dishes featuring locally ingredients. This place is healthy, tasty, and also hearty. Their Monday Night special is one of my favorites - they serve a whole roasted organic chicken, with two salads to start (always get dressing on the side!) and two veggie sides that are fresh and in season.

I just had a meal with broccolini and steamed spinach.

Add a nice glass of red wine and what else could you possibly need on a Monday night?

Pure french heaven.

Check out their menu here and visit them at the address below! Bon Appetit!

Comme Ca 8479 Melrose Avenue
West Hollywood, CA 90069
323-782-1104

*Photo obtained from http://www.commecarestaurant.com

Heather Does Breakfast

I know how many times you may have heard this, but it's true! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day....

Skipping breakfast can set you on the path to having a really bad day.

What are some of the benefits of having a healthy, hearty breakfast? (and I'm not talking bacon and eggs either).

• Reduces your hunger later on in the day
• Less snacking later in the day
• People who eat breakfast regularly make healthier eating choices throughout the day

So having said that, what breakfasts do I recommend? I actually have two new favorite breakfasts - one cold and one hot depending on my mood. Each one takes only three minutes to make, which is just what I need, because we're all busy people who are always on the go in LA.

Cold:

• One scoop of Clean Nourish in vanilla - 90 calories
• One scoop of Sun Warrior vanilla protein powder - 70 calories
• One cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk - 40 calories

Hot:

• Half cup of oatmeal - 150 calories
• Half a scoop of sun warrior protein powder - 35calories
• One tablespoon of chia seeds - 35 calories
• A dash of cinnamon