So here’s what’s been happening…
Hilary Clinton’s Diet Trick
Hilary Clinton has revealed her secret to diet success while trying to maintain her hectic schedule: hot chili peppers. Due to the capsaicin levels, chili peppers boost your metabolism and provide a jolt of energy to reduce fatigue and keep you powering through the day. They also flush out the system of toxins, and such a cleanse is in perfect timing with swimsuit season approaching. So add some chili peppers to a chicken taco salad, a juicy hamburger or even a slice of cornbread. The chilis make cornbread healthier, right?
Bloomberg’s Ban on Soda Fails
Let’s toast to New Yorkers! The Supreme Court Judge Milton Tingling’s final ruling has been announced and Mayor Bloomberg’s attempts to ban soda and large cup sizes of sugary drinks have failed. The judge found Bloomberg’s request to be “fraught with arbitrary and capricious consequences.” While the Public Health Board has met quite a defeat, they still have time to fight back. There are no recent updates on a possible rebuttal from Bloomberg and his supporters, but news may arise shortly.
New Phone App: Hoppit
The newest phone app, Hoppit, is free of charge and functions as a “lookbook,” providing restaurant options based on your current mood, setting and party of friends. Founders Steven Dziedzic and Emad Saghir hope to provide an easier, more straightforward interface than Yelp or UrbanSpoon with which to discover hot new restaurants. Hoppit lists twelve ambiances to choose from: romantic, hipster, watering hole, vintage, Mad Men, coffee, brunching, cozy, classy, kid friendly, chill and business. It also has a section for party number description: family, “a good book” (for those dining in solitude), date, child, colleagues and friends. In addition, the app provides access to greater descriptions of the restaurant location, Foursquare reviews, and menus through OpenTable. Hoppit currently has 75,000+ users and counting, so get in on this app while it’s still cool.
Brad and Angelina’s Wine Sold Out in 5 Hours
If you wanted to grab a bottle of Miraval, too bad. Brad and Angelina sold their entire collection of 6,000 bottles within 5 hours online. Miravel rosé, produced in Brad and Angelina’s Chateau Miravel, has a light pink hue and floral flavor profile of white fruits, strawberries, citrus and herbs. They were sold for $139 a pop — a pretty reasonable price for being bottled by the Jolie-Pitts and the Perrin logo. They plan on releasing 150,000 bottles of Miravel in its rosé, red and white wine varieties this coming year, so be on the lookout and don’t miss your second chance.
Don’t Be Fooled By the Green Label
Researchers at Cornell University have found that people’s minds can trick them into perceiving any green colored label to be healthy. This green label may appear on items ranging from a low calorie protein bar to a box of chocolate chip mint cookies. Regardless, they make these products appear healthier to the consumer eye. Green calorie labels are becoming more prevalent on sugary, high calorie and fat snacks, so don’t let your mind be fooled – that Snickers bar is not as healthy as it looks.
Wine Goddess Opens in Evanston
Wine Goddess is the newest guide, or “guru” as owner Diana Hamann deems it, to wine, and it’s right here in downtown Evanston. Hamann believes people should drink wine daily, and she hopes to inspire her customers to get excited enough to pop the cork on the spot and tell her what they think. She wants to help people truly taste the notes of the wine and sense all the flavors, rather than guzzling it down and missing the beauty of it. Hamann has taken wine classes at The Chopping Block in Chicago for nine years, and she was the wine director at Japonais and Le Coloniel restaurants. She ran a consulting business, also called Wine Goddess, as well. The store will feature about 225 different wines, ranging between $7.99 to $150.
Petition to Remove Dye From Kraft Mac N’ Cheese
Following Gatorade’s removal of brominated vegetable oil, Change.org has built a consumer protest with over 50,000 signatures to get rid of harmful dye found in Kraft products. Although Kraft provides 14 different mac n’ cheeses without the use of artificial coloring, people are wary that the other remaining products with added dye can be the cause of hyperactivity in children and health concerns like asthma and migraines. Kraft has not yet responded to consumers’ complaints.