With all of the holiday baking, the question comes to mind, “Which is better, pure vanilla extract or imitation vanilla?” It can be confusing when making a selection in the baking aisle of the grocery store. Such a simple and commonly used product, yet it eludes such mystery.

What is Pure Vanilla Extract?
Pure vanilla extract is made by soaking vanilla beans in an alcohol and water solution. Thereby the vanilla taste is extracting into the liquid. The process takes months to complete.

What is Imitation Vanilla?
Imitation vanilla is not made from vanilla beans. It is made mostly from conifer wood or coal. This is why it is considered an imitation because the flavoring comes from an alternative source than vanilla beans. Scientists have discovered how to best match natural vanillin, which is the primary flavor component of vanilla, using these alternative sources of flavor.

Taste Comparison
The big question is always, “Which tastes better?” Honestly, it’s not an easy answer. It is true that imitation vanilla and pure vanilla extract do taste differently including distinct aftertastes. As far as preference, it can depend on the dish.

For cold confections such as whipped cream, pastry fillings, and frostings, there is no doubt that pure vanilla extract is the best. It provides a sweeter and more intense flavoring, whereas imitation vanilla can prove bitter and bland.

For general baking, such as a batch of cookies, it doesn’t matter as much which vanilla flavoring is used. Surprisingly, in many taste tests of baked goods the imitation vanilla has found favor among the testers and proved to be the preferred ingredient.

Cost Comparison
Vanilla beans are costly therefore pure vanilla extract is more expensive than imitation vanilla. The exact price comparison varies greatly as some brands of vanilla flavoring provide a higher quality product, whether pure extract or imitation. If you peruse a specialty grocery store you can see for yourself the wide range of prices, but in general imitation vanilla costs about half as much as pure vanilla extract.

Measurements
It is often heard that the difference between pure vanilla extract and imitation vanilla requires a mathematical conversion to replace one or the other within a recipe. The truth is if you are using standard pure vanilla extract compared to regular strength imitation vanilla, the two can be used interchangeably. There is no difference between the measurements needed for the recipe.

The complications come in when you use double strength (or more) vanilla flavoring. What you find in your typical grocery store generally is the standard regular strength flavoring of both pure vanilla extract and imitation vanilla. If it is double strength flavoring it will clearly say so on the packaging, so otherwise you can assume it is the standard strength.

Overall Advice
It appears that many pastry chefs use both imitation vanilla and pure vanilla extract. They use the more expensive vanilla extract in creamy confections and the affordable imitation vanilla within the baked goods. Their overall advice for your typical household kitchen is if you only buy one bottle of vanilla purchase pure vanilla extract, or buy both but use the imitation vanilla for oven baked goods and the pure vanilla extract for refrigerated treats.

As I mentioned the last couple of months, as a StriVectin Insider I have had the privilege of testing a couple of the new line of StriVectin products–and I have LOVED them! I have been using the Concentrate for Stretch Marks and Wrinkles every day (at least once, sometimes twice a day) and the Instant Retexturizing Scrub twice a week. I’ve used both products on my face and neck and have seen a definite difference in my skin. The color seems to have evened out and it has more of a “glow” for lack of a better word that simply makes my skin look younger. Friends and family members, who have had no idea that I’ve been using the products have recently commented on the how good my skin looks. Holiday time may be a great time to get a StriVectin gift for a loved one–or for yourself! AND, you have an opportunity to get the entire set for free, right here!

StriVectin is conducting a special giveaway that they are making available only to their StriVectin Insiders network. Here’s what they are giving away:

StriVectin-SD™ Intensive Concentrate for Stretch Marks & Wrinkles
150 ml / 5.0 oz
SRP: $135.00

StriVectin-SD™ Eye Concentrate for Wrinkles
30 ml / 1.0 oz
SRP: $59.00

StriVectin-SD™ Instant Retexturizing Scrub
150 ml / 5.0 oz
SRP: $45.00

Total ARV = $239

To Enter:

So, how do you enter this giveaway. Easy! Just go to the StriVectin site and post the link of your favorite StriVectin product in the comments section here with an explanation of why you are grateful for that particular StriVectin product.

Extra Entry:

Share this contest on Facebook or on Twitter then come back here and let us know you did so in the comment section. (One extra entry per person per day.)

The winner will be selected in a couple of weeks, just in time for the holidays!

Good luck and happy holidays!

Contest ends December 22. Winner will be selected from all valid entries using Random.org and contacted via e-mail for mailing address.

A Second Wind

After menopause, the female brain gets a second wind of sorts, as the major hormonal changes in her body have settled and the nest is now empty. So, while her male counterpart is now more focused on family and relationships, she may be ready to travel, go back to school, or even start a business. The quest for adventure that marks men’s younger years tends to invigorate women in their later years.

Adolescence all over again?

The hormonal changes women go through between the ages of 43 and about 52 (it varies depending on the individual) can only be compared to the quick and major shift in hormones in adolescence. And, when the body and brain experience major hormonal changes in a short period of time, it affects both the physical and emotional in a big way. So, if you thought you cried a lot as a teenager, you may want to invest in Kleenex for this stage of your life. Interestingly, men’s hormones also change as they get older. However, their changes are much more gradual, so they don’t experience the same dramatic effects women do.

Pregnancy

Some research suggests that a woman’s brain shrinks up to four percent throughout pregnancy. (It grows back within 6 months after delivery.) There is conflicting evidence regarding the way a woman thinks–and, in particular, her memory–while she is pregnant. If most women are like me, I experienced very real memory loss (short term) while I was pregnant. I’m just glad that it eventually seemed to come back, I think. I can’t remember…

On Again, Off Again

For a woman to get in the mood for sex, it takes time. Certain areas of her brain need to be turned off. So, if any one of those areas is turned “on,” it could kill the mood.

A woman may refuse a man’s advances because she is angry, feeling distrustful — or even, because her feet are chilly, studies show. Pregnancy, caring for small children and menopause can also take a toll on a woman’s sex drive.

I think many of us moms can’t really relax to think about anything other than taking care of our baby until they are  sound asleep. My husband has learned that it’s not personal if I need more time. Sometimes it just takes turning the baby monitor down. Beyond that, our brains really do work differently altogether when it comes to sex:

“For guys, foreplay is everything that happens three minutes before insertion. For women, it is everything that happens 24 hours beforehand,” said neuropsychiatrist Dr. Louann Brizendine of the University of California in San Francisco and author of “The Female Brain.”

Brizendine’s advice to guys: plan ahead!

For some of us, the differences make sense. For others, the concept is a slap in the face to the idea that men and women are just the same. There may be a lot of unisex options in our world. However, Dr. Brizendine has this to say about the male and female brains:

“There is no such thing as a unisex brain.”

_______________________________________________________________
(Thumbnail photo by Dierk Schaefer, used under Creative Commons license.)

While in Chicago at the PepsiCo. Sustainability Center visiting with Tropicana, I had the wonderful opportunity to discuss healthy living with fellow writers/bloggers. Amy of SuperHealthyKids.com was telling me how most people don’t try to live healthier because they think it’s all or nothing; that they have to make some huge change or not even bother trying. We both agreed it’s better to do something rather than nothing. So when the video camera came around looking for healthy living tips for Tropicana’s Trop50 “The Juice” we all chimed in with our tips. Representing the real women of TotallyHer.com it became clear that my message needed to be “Just Do Something.” (Thanks Amy for the inspiration!)

Amy offered up her money saving and healthy eating tip. She buys large containers of olive oil, but buying in bulk can be awkward in practical use. So she purchases squeeze bottles for condiments and fills them with the olive oil. This way the olive oil is easier to use. And we all know when something is made easier we’re more likely to use it, so this is a great way to increase your use of healthy olive oil in your cooking.

Melissa of ConsumerQueen.com is a busy, working mom with little time to exercise. How does she fit in a workout into her full schedule? She multi-tasks. When she’s cleaning she turns on some fun, upbeat music and gets her boogie on while she dances and cleans all at the same time. She even gets her family involved too. The end result: a clean home, a good workout, and a happy family.

Jenn of FitBottomedGirls knows that it can be hard to find time for quality exercise. Rather than doing nothing, she advises even if you just have a few minutes for a quick workout the most effective thing you can do is a plank position. Hold yourself like you’re about to do a push up and stay in that position for as long as you can. It’s a whole body strength building pose so you get the most results for the least amount of time.

What’s Your Healthy Living Tip?
We know we’re not the only ones with useful healthy living tips. What have you found to be an easy way to make your life a little healthier?

_____________
(Original photo by Alysha Jordan, used under Creative Commons license.)

“Trop50 Farmstand Apple is a great choice for anyone looking for crisp apple taste with less sugar and calories.”

So it’s an apple drink with less sugar and calories than full on apple juice, but is flavored to taste as such. Sounds interesting… so I tried it.

What Did I Think?

Sure enough it tastes pretty much like apple juice, though it’s not. Only 50 calories per 8 ounce glass yet it also contains full day’s supply of vitamin C and is a good source of antioxidant vitamin E. It is sweetened with zero-calorie, all-natural stevia-based sweetener known as PureVia.

The diet taste was better than drinks that use Splenda or similar diet sugar substitutes, thanks to the use of PureVia as the sweetening ingredient. However, it did still leave a diet aftertaste, which I am not a fan of, but fortunately it was much less noticeable than the taste of most diet drink. Even if you’re used to the taste of diet beverages you’ll definitely find this an improvement over typical low calorie products.

No doubt the apple flavor comes through eloquently, but not too strong either. Expect the taste of iced apple juice in the summer heat that has kept its cool but the ice has melted and softened the sharp apple tartness.

Tropicana sure knows how to produce flavorful beverages and offer quality products on the market. The new Trop50 Farmstand Apple is just one of many flavors they have available. Thanks Tropicana for providing the sample for me to try!

Yoga from an Expert

This yoga DVD seems to be intended for hard-core yoga enthusiasts. Some of the terminology is unfamiliar to anyone accustomed to standard gym class or workout DVD yoga. This is more of an expert taught class utilizing the origins of yoga.

That doesn’t mean that your typical yogi can’t handle this. Plenty of what you’d expect from yoga is within this workout, but be prepared to come across terms you do not recognize, breathing techniques that you probably haven’t tried, and a few unfamiliar movements.

If you aren’t comfortable with spiritually based yoga that incorporates more than just exercise, then this probably isn’t the right workout DVD for you. However, if you enjoy it, or you don’t mind either way, you’ll find Shiva Rea: Yogini Vinyasa Flow Yoga for Women enlightening and physically beneficial.

Just for Women

Men can do this workout, but the entire instruction is geared towards women. Connect with your needs and abilities as a woman. Also, finally find relaxation (something most women naturally struggle with).

Filming Location Kauai of Hawaii

The filming location of this workout DVD is stunning. I’m not sure how they prepared Shiva Rea a flat surface for her yoga mat beneath that waterfall, but no doubt it’s impressive. The visual beauty enhances the relaxation methods being taught and practiced within yoga.

The Yoga Matrix

Shiva Rea: Yogini Vinyasa Flow Yoga for Women is designed like no other workout DVD I have seen. To get to the workout sections you click “Yoga Matrix.” Rather than just pressing the button towards your selection, you can actually customize your complete workout. You can choose any combination of the 5 sections, add them to “selected”, then hit play. Just the sections you selected will play, however, in a continuous format.

1- Healing Meditation for Women (7 minutes)
2- Flow of Love: Backbending Vinyasa (27 minutes)
3- Flow of Beauty: Fluid Backbending Vinyasa (16 minutes)
4- Flow of Empowerments: Standing Pose Vinyasa (22 minutes)
5- Shavasana (3 minutes)

————————————–
GIVEAWAY!

Acacia Fitness DVDs provided this workout DVD for review and have a brand new copy of Shiva Rea: Yogini Vinyasa Flow Yoga for Women for one lucky TotallyHer reader!

To enter:
Just leave a comment!

The winner will be chosen Saturday November 6th, 2010 and contacted via e-mail for their mailing addresses. US entries only, please. Good Luck!

Strength –

Instructor: Violet Zaki

Segment from: Weight Loss Cardio Sculpt

You will need light weights for this workout.

This one incorporates weight lifting with cardio so you will build muscle and get your heart rate up. Violet’s slight accent is delightful. She’s a firm but positive instructor. I like that one of the back-up girls, Chanel, serves as the modifier. If there is a less intense way to complete the moves she demonstrates it. Makes it so much easier to understand the modifications.

Yoga –

Instructor: Hemalayaa

Segment from: Hemalaya: Yoga for Everyone

Nice slow, calm warm up that leads into a low intensity yoga exercise. However, you will thoroughly loosen up thanks to this workout. Improving flexibility, basic core strength, and releasing stress and tension is extremely productive to your health. In fact, adding this workout to your regime will improve your abilities within other ones.

Pilates –

Instructor: Kirstin McGee

Segment from: Weight Loss Pilates

What I love best about Pilates is how it really works those abs! It looks easy enough, but it sure isn’t. Simple moves yet they produce an intense workout. Kristin McGee is an easy to follow instructor making Pilates accessible to everyone.

Dance –

Instructor: Desi Bartlett

Segment from: Dance and Be Fit: Latin Groove

If you ever wanted to add a little Latin flair to your dance moves but weren’t sure where to start, trying this workout is the perfect beginning. No matter how much of a beginner you are you can handle this dance. It may take a few times to perfect it, but even your first time through you can follow along pretty well. Plus, it’s actually fun!

Cardio –

Instructor: Petra Kolber

Segment from: Cardio for Beginners

Pretty typical cardio workout, lots of marching, moving, with some kicks and punches. Though Petra is a lovely instructor and you’ll immediately envy her being in such incredible shape at the age of 47. Take it as inspiration to follow through with her workout in hopes of being just like her (with lots of work, you have to earn being in shape, there’s no easy way out but it’s completely worth the work).

————————————–
GIVEAWAY!

Acacia Fitness DVDs provided this workout DVD for review and a brand new copy of Fit in 5: Ultimate Body Blitz for one lucky TotallyHer reader!

To enter:
Just leave a comment!

The winner will be chosen Saturday November 6th, 2010 and contacted via e-mail for their mailing addresses. US entries only, please. Good Luck!

If your party will have both kids and adults, many of these cocktails can easily have the alcohol omitted so the kids can partake of these yummy drinks, too!

1. Caramel Appletini

While this cocktail may not look scary, it’s certainly worthy for any Halloween celebration. The smooth blend of caramel and apple is a delicious treat worth savoring.

Ingredients:

1 oz. Bailey’s Caramel Irish Cream

1/2 oz. Green Apple Flavored Vodka, your choice

1 tsp. caramel

1 apple slice for a garnish, if desired

Mix both alcohols in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass, drizzle the caramel into the drink and garnish with an apple wedge, if desired. This cocktail is a yummy and delicious drink your party guests are sure to enjoy.

2. Vampire Cocktail

A friend turned me on to this creative cocktail, and it will definitely make a splash at your Halloween gathering.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz. rum, your preference

1/2 oz. Cointreau

2 oz. pineapple juice

Strawberry puree

Combine the rum, cointreau and pineapple juice in a shaker with lots of ice. Shake and pour into a chilled glass. Squirt puree into the bottom of the glass to create a “dripping blood” effect. Do not stir, or you’ll ruin the effect. This is a great cocktail to wow your friends for a spooky good time at your Halloween bash!

3. Brains

This creative cocktail tastes a lot better than it looks!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz. peach schnapps, your preference

1 1/2 oz. Bailey’s Irish Cream

Grenadine

Fill a wine glass a little more than halfway with peach schnapps. Slowly pour the Bailey’s on top and add a dash of grenadine for color. The Bailey’s will float on top with the grenadine to create a ghoulish looking effect. Trust me, it tastes great!

4. Witches Brew

A classic Halloween punch, skip the punch bowl altogether and throw a few ingredients into a glass to make a Witches Brew cocktail. If you prefer the punch route, you can easily double up on ingredients to make a cauldron full of this delectable drink.

Ingredients:

2 oz. pineapple and cranberry juice

2 oz. 7-up or Sprite

1 1/4 oz. coconut rum (I prefer Malibu, but use whichever brand you like)

Mix the juice and lemon lime soda in a glass. Pour the shot of rum down the side of the glass immediately before serving. Garnish with a pineapple wedge, if desired.

These festive Halloween cocktails are a great way to liven up any Halloween party. Omit the alcohol from these beverages to create family-friendly drinks that people of all ages can enjoy. You may have to do a little experimenting with some of them in order to do that, but get creative!

What are your favorite Halloween themed cocktails? Do you have a recipe you’ve used time and again? Share them in the comments!

In the Step By Step Belly dance with Leilainia Bonus Features there is a little spot titled “History of Belly dance.” It states:

“…Contrary to conceptions – [belly dancing] was traditionally performed by women of all ages, shapes, and sizes for other women. Danced for recreation, celebration, and to aid in childbirth, it strengthened community bonds and expressed the joy and pleasure of life.”

While we now commonly view belly dancing as a dance of seduction, apparently it didn’t start out that way. It was a celebration of femininity and exercise to support those life-creating areas of a woman’s body. So whether you want to learn some seductive moves, to connect with your sensuality, or simply to have a fun way to burn calories and keep your belly looking great, belly dancing provides it all.

Step By Step Belly Dance with Leilainia

Leilainia is a professional dancer with a lifetime of bellydance influence thanks to her parents. In this DVD she teaches three segments of bellydancing. I would say this DVD is beginner to moderate. It’s too fast paced for the brand new beginner, but she encourages to slow down and get the hang of things if that’s the case. Thanks to that attitude a beginner can take on this DVD and soon enough be bellydancing beautifully.

Whereas someone that has previously tried bellydancing will find some of the movement instructions tedious, but the quick pace from instruction to dancing will hold their attention. Going over the basics helps to refine the movements and serves as a nice refresher course. Since the dancing isn’t as focused on being “traditional” and more directed at being fun, anyone can find something new and interesting about this workout DVD.

Belly Dancing

This is definitely a modernized belly dance. While I’m sure some traditional moves are incorporated or have influenced this dance, it’s clearly about having fun with it, getting some exercise, and feeling feminine. I liked the laid back “Put your personality in it. There’s no wrong way, just dance it out and keep smiling,” approach that Leilainia takes. Don’t worry, she does take the time to instruct proper posture for safe exercise, but it’s nice that she isn’t strict with the dance elements.

If you are new to belly dancing, it is best to start with tutorial to learn the basics before getting into the real workout. Then move into the segments of the DVD.
· Warm Up (7 minutes)

· High Energy Basics (15 minutes)

· Toning Angels (15 minutes)

· Flirty Grapevine (15 minutes)

· Cool Down (5 minutes)

You don’t have to do them all at once. It’s broken up into segments so you can customize the workout to your own time schedule.

My Review

After going through the tutorial first and completing the warm up, Step-By-Step Belly Dance with Leilainia begins comfortably enough and starts to get fun. She makes it approachable and quickly I felt like I was getting hang of it. But then she throws in some little hops and quick changing from side to side that was too fast for my first time through. I tried but when I couldn’t keep up so I went back to the original move. I figured master the basics, add in more later.

I have yet to figure out how to properly shimmy… I think mine is more of a jiggle. Leilainia insists that it comes more naturally with practice. We’ll see.

Further on through the workout, when she would do “real time” as a beginner I would do “half time.” I just couldn’t keep up at first. It’s all right though. Leilainia reminds you to customize the workout to your level. Feel the music and worry less about keeping up. With that in mind, my frustration dissipated and I began to just feel the music, use the moves I understood, and have fun. This is one I want to do again as I’m sure it becomes even more fun the more often it’s done.

Much like yoga, belly dancing is an exercise that gives you back what you put into it. Going through the motions is a start, but to really get the most from it you need to give it more effort. Using your movements to the extent of your personal abilities will make a big difference. It’s a great workout as long as you make the effort.

————————————–
GIVEAWAY!

Acacia Fitness DVDs provided this workout DVD for review and have a brand new copy of Step By Step Belly Dance with Leilainia for one lucky TotallyHer reader!

To enter:
Just leave a comment!

The winner will be chosen Saturday November 6th, 2010 and contacted via e-mail for their mailing addresses. US entries only, please. Good Luck!

You probably know Andrea Metcalf as a fitness contributor to NBC’s Today show and a writer on Oprah.com. Andrea is 45 years old (born 1965) and in amazing shape. If only we could all be that healthy and fit in our 40s, but as she reminds us, there’s a lot we can do to for our health. This workout DVD set helps with that.

Keeping Fit: Strength, Cardio, Pilates DVD (3-pack) with Andrea Metcalf

Strength:

“Building muscle is like a fountain of youth.” – Andrea Metcalf

What you will need:

· Light weights 2-5 pounds

· Mat or Towel for floor work

· Water

DVD has ten 5 minute exercise blasts or you can complete the entire 50 minute workout.

In this segment, the music is energetic without being annoying. Think rhythmic drumming instead of techno, which helps to focus on the beat and the moves. Expect to hear some ballet references within the moves and use these postures to get the most from the workout.

If you get bored with basic reps and are looking for something more interesting to keep you motivated towards strength training with weights, then you’ll like this workout. With ten 5 minute workouts there’s plenty to keep you busy throughout the entire week.

Cardio:

“Keeping healthy from a cardiovascular standpoint is so important as we get into our 40s, 50s, and 60s. The heart is the most important muscle in your body.” – Andrea Metcalf

What you will need:

· Supportive Gym Shoes

· Open Space (Doesn’t have to be large)

· Water

DVD has ten 5 minute exercise blasts or you can complete the entire 50 minute workout.

Enjoyable dance music accompanies this workout; think more of a club sound with some understated lyrical musings. Since the cardio exercises are indeed dance, it’s a perfect fit. Be forewarned that it takes a lot of coordination to master this workout. Expect to have to do this workout DVD a few times before fully keeping up with Andrea. The good thing is that she’s chipper without being condescending, so you’ll take a liking to her despite being terribly envious of her amazing endurance.

Pilates:

“Having good alignment is like having money in the bank, it appreciates over time. It helps with easing and preventing joint discomfort, weight gain, and improving balance.” – Andrea Metcalf

What you will need:

· Band or towel

· Mat

· Shoes are optional

DVD has ten 5 minute exercise blasts or you can complete the entire 50 minute workout.

Andrea provides quick yet informative explanations of proper body positioning within these pilates moves. As we all know achieving desired results (and preventing injury) is all about using the right movements and keeping the body is proper alignment. I like an instructor that is direct yet detailed rather than assuming that I’ll immediately understand how to copy just by watching. The music has a little more of a techno type instrumental feel, but it’s nice to have energetic music rather than calming sleep inducing music with pilates.

The only problem I have with Andrea Metcalf is she makes this all look so easy. Seriously, I think we all wish to be just like her in our 40s. The choice of set / background for the filming of the DVD set is inviting. It looks like a classy loft apartment or charming modern house. Even though the entire DVD set is just Andrea directing these exercises she is such a positive presence that you won’t feel lonely working out with her. But if for some reason you do, just invite a friend over to workout with you.

————————————–
GIVEAWAY!

Acacia Fitness DVDs provided me with this workout DVD set for review and have a brand new copy of Keeping Fit: Strength, Cardio, Pilates DVD (3-pack) with Andrea Metcalf for one lucky TotallyHer reader!

To enter:
Just leave a comment!

The winner will be chosen Saturday November 6th, 2010 and contacted via e-mail for their mailing addresses. US entries only, please. Good Luck!