Do and Diet: Beauty and the Fountain of Youth
By Jody Stump/Special to The Malibu Times
There is an annoying paradox inherent in self-improvement. Much of the weight we carry around as “belly fat” is not fat at all-it’s water weight, liquid our body retains with loads of excuses: too much salt, too little exercise, chronic anxiety and, the paradox, too little water consumed. How is it that the way to rid your body of excess water is to flush it out with more? Lots more! One Westside nutritionist recommends consuming an ounce a day per pound of body weight. For me, that means 4 liter bottles a day, every day!
Of course, one way water works is by making us feel full without food, and another is that nobody has time to rustle up snacks from the refrigerator when they’re running back and forth to the bathroom, but water has other virtues as a self-improvement aid.
Water makes your skin glow. The best moisturizer in the world may be the one free to everyone-water on the inside plumping up the pores that cover the outside. Water really is a fountain of youth.
Still, knowing all this, I find it hard to keep water flowing through me, so I developed some pacing tricks, like an equal amount of water for anything else I drink-a cup of coffee/a glass of water; a glass of wine/another water.
Another more rewarding pacer is my morning bottle at Curves, the new exercise boutique at Point Dume. As I cycle the circuit, I drink a third of a bottle each round. When the bottle is empty, I’m done for the day.
Curves is one of the most fun, easy ways I’ve discovered for being good to oneself. A half hour chatting, laughing and bobbing from machine to machine really does take off the inches-11 for me-and people have done far better than I. For example, last month’s big “Loser” was someone named Ethel who lost a whopping 18 inches, not to mention 12 pounds. Way to go! At $10 a week, almost everyone can afford it, and for many of the women I’ve met, Curves is an addiction they don’t plan to give up.
All over America, Curves has taken hold-an astonishing 5,500 centers are open and a new one starts every four hours. If you join one, you can stop in at any other, so a trip is no excuse for skipping the gym. There’s just one catch-if you’re a guy, go elsewhere-it’s women only at Curves.
Leek Lasagne
I read that fellow columnist Paul Mantee is struggling to stick to the Atkins diet. His greatest lament? Paul has a fabulous family recipe for marinara but Atkins is a pass on pasta. Here’s a solution that makes a great party dish for everyone on your guest list.
And Paul, think about it, pasta is nothing but library paste- that stuff your kindergarten teacher told you never to eat. Flour and water.
Serves 12
Adapted from “The Silver Palate”
Sauce
3 Tbs. olive oil
3 Tbs. butter
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 large onions, chopped
4 celery stalks, diced
1 1/2 pound assorted sliced mushrooms
8 carrots, diced
1 cup dry red wine
1 can (28 ounce) tomatoes, drained
2 Tbs. dried thyme
1 tsp. honey
Filling- b/chamel
12 medium leeks, roots and dark ends trimmed, rinsed and spun dry
6 Tbs. butter
6 Tbs. flour
2 cups half-and-half, lukewarm
2 cups heavy cream, lukewarm
1/2 pound mild goat cheese, crumbled
1. Saut/ onions, celery, garlic, carrots and mushrooms in the oil and butter until tender. Add wine and cook 2 – 3 minutes before adding the other ingredients. Season to taste and simmer an hour.
2. Bring a large skillet of water and/or stock to a boil. Simmer leeks until tender – 20 minutes. Drain and rinse.
3. Melt butter and whisk in flour until it turns golden. Gradually stir in cream and whisk to thicken. Remove from heat and add cheese.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter baking dish. Separate leeks into strips. Line the bottom of the pan with a layer of leeks, then marinara, then b/chamel. Repeat until pan is full. Bake 45 minutes.
5. Optional: Some people like their lasagnas gooey-add thin slices of fresh mozzarella to the b/chamel layers.