UP4 Women Probiotics Review

In recent weeks, I've been suffering from lots of bloating and flatulence (not the harmless kind!). Although I've been eating the McDougall way for about nine months, this was pretty new to me. I was able to pinpoint the discomfort to beginning after lunch, which usually consisted of baked potatoes. My first instinct was to start taking a probiotic in the hopes that it would balance my gut flora and help with the after effects of digestion. I knew potatoes were the guilty party but I really couldn't bear the thought of giving them up! Everything here in Israel is significantly more expensive so I did what anyone would do if their parents were coming to visit on holiday- I ordered some to the states to be brought here.

I searched on Vitacost for a kosher and vegan probiotic and UP4 turned up. UP4 is a company founded in 1979 that focuses on probiotics. They have a few different products that are tailored to your specific needs, including one for children, one for women (the one I tried), one for seniors, etc, so they get points for having a nice selection.

All of the supplements aid in digestion, some just have some extra perks thrown in to the mix. The women's supplement has organic cranberry in it to help with urinary tract infections. I personally don't suffer from these and thought I made a mistake by ordering this one first but after emailing the company, I was reassured that this would serve my digestive needs just as well. I think the packaging is well designed-- I like the color they chose, and while this might seem strange to say about a bottle of pills, I felt like it was kind of down-to-earth and inviting, not like the typical blah, sterile looking bottle of pills. I also think the tagline they chose (A Happier Inside) is spot on!

A box of this probiotic contains a jar with a one month supply of capsules, meant to be taken twice a day, before meals or with food. Once opened, it needs to be refrigerated. Thankfully, the pills aren't horse pills (in my opinion), and I had no problem getting them down with food.

On the very first day of taking them, I had the slightest, barely even detectable discomfort, so perhaps that's just me. But the effects of the probiotics were immediate. Not almost immediate but immediate. Even after eating potatoes, the amount of flatulence and the nature of it was much different. A lot more tolerable, I'd say. I was pretty much sold on these right off the bat and continued to enjoy their benefits throughout the month. I haven't gone through the whole bottle yet, but I made sure to order another bottle to have around when it's finished so that I don't get stuck without. A I mentioned above, their tagline is pretty on the nose-- these really do make for a happier inside! That said, I think I have pinpointed the nightshades to be problematic for me so I am trying to cut back.

In any case, I highly highly recommend this company/brand of probiotics. If you're looking for one, this might be the way to go for you and they are often on sale, at the Vitacost site at least.

Cookbook Review: Appetite for Reduction

This cookbook review has been two months in the making, having cooked with it through the months of February and March. To sum it up, I really like this book!

Appetite for Reduction is Isa Chandra's book that focuses on low fat vegan recipes. I discovered it a while ago and ordered it but was initially unimpressed by the looks of it. Call me superficial but we do judge books by their covers! The cover and paper were a bit cheap feeling and there aren't a lot of pictures to go around. Looks alone made me put it aside and not give it much of a second look. When I started to meal plan I figured that this would be a good place to start as I'm on a low fat diet. Not only did I use this for my weekly meal plans but I used it whenever I could for my Shabbat cooking as well.

Cookbook Review: Thug Kitchen

After cooking through the Thug Kitchen, I'm finally ready to give it a review.

It seems to be that I am the last person on the planet to have heard of the Thug Kitchen, being a total stranger to the blog. I think I first came across them when I was looking for a burger recipe and I found their Smokey Spinach and Black Bean Burger on their site. I made it and actually quite liked it.

I will admit that I was kind of shocked by the language and in-your-face attitude. I didn't feel like there was any racism going on here but I'm kind of sensitive to foul language and so I was initially turned off. I took to Facebook to ask my McDougall Friends for their opinion and they warmly recommended it if I could get passed the language. The inexpensive price on Amazon was the impetus that drove me to buy the book as I was already placing an order.

So what did I think? Read on to find out.