Recommendations

Instead of posting a recipe, I wanted to share with you my two favorite food items this week.

The first is is called Kefir (pronounced kee-fur, as in Sutherland) and is a drinkable yogurt that I buy at Trader Joe's in the dairy section. It was recommended to me by a friend when I was suffering from chronic sinus infections and had been on 6 different antibiotics over a 3 month period. The antibiotics had caused me to have even more infections because they had killed all the good bacteria in my body and I was absolutely miserable. I was complaning about this to my friend Kate, who is married to an anesthesiologist, and she told me to go to Trader Joe's, buy Kefir and drink about 1/2 a cup everyday. Within a couple days of drinking Kefir, I could feel a huge improvement and my infections went right away!
The way Kate explained Kefir to me is "it's like Activia on crack."
According to the www.kefir.net:
Kefir can actually colonize the intestinal tract, a feat that yogurt cannot match.
Kefir contains several major strains of friendly bacteria not commonly found in yogurt, Lactobacillus Caucasus, Leuconostoc, Acetobacter species, and Streptococcus species.
It also contains beneficial yeasts, such as Saccharomyces kefir and Torula kefir, which dominate, control and eliminate destructive pathogenic yeasts in the body. They do so by penetrating the mucosal lining where unhealthy yeast and bacteria reside, forming a virtual SWAT team that housecleans and strengthens the intestines. Hence, the body becomes more efficient in resisting such pathogens as E. coli and intestinal parasites.
Kefir’s active yeast and bacteria provide more nutritive value than yogurt by helping digest the foods that you eat and by keeping the colon environment clean and healthy. Because the curd size of kefir is smaller than yogurt, it is also easier to digest, which makes it a particularly excellent, nutritious food for babies, the elderly and people experiencing chronic fatigue and digestive disorders.
Another good think about Kefir is that it actually tastes good! It's tart (like Pinkberry) and I personally like the strawberry flavor. It tastes just like strawberry yogurt, just a little more tart. It also comes in plain and pomegranate. You can use it in smoothies and as a substitute for buttermilk in any recipe.
My second recommendation of the day was found at Jamba Juice this morning. After Pilates, I stopped by to use a coupon I had and saw they had new items in their baked goods display. My eye was immediately drawn to the "sweet waffle." I was a little confused seeing a small, plain waffle just sitting there and thought there's no way I'd ever order that, so I had to ask the girl at the counter about it. She said "It's 300 calories and worth every bite!" She said it's her favorite baked good at Jamba juice and I had to try it. Well, I did try it and it was like heaven in my mouth! Honestly, one of the best tasting treats I've ever had. You've got to try it next time you go to Jamba!!