Learn How The PGA Tour's New Bag & Purse Policy Will Affect You

The PGA Tour is taking a page from the NFL and has implemented a new bag and purse policy for 2014 that restricts what patrons can bring into tournaments.

How will this affect you if you're heading to the HP Byron Nelson Championship May 11-18 or Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial May 19-25th?  Well, the policy is a bit more liberal than the NFL's because it allows opaque diaper bags, something the NFL prohibits.

Louis Vuitton Mini Pochette

The PGA Tour's purse restrictions call for tiny bags, though, allowing a bag that is 6"x6" or smaller.  Finding a purse 6 inches (roughly the length of a dollar bill) or smaller is tough. I scoured the internet for bags that work.

A Louis Vuitton Mini Pochette works for just about any purse policy.  It measures at 5.5" wide and 3.7" tall.

Prada Small Zip Saffiano Crossbody Bag

This small Prada crossbody bag is another stylish option.

Let me vent: This screams of another policy designed by a mostly male staff that has no clue about real world problems women face when it comes to carrying our crap.

Here is the actual policy:

For more information visit the PGA Tour's website.

This is Only the Beginning
Expect restrictive bag and purse policies to become to the norm.  Leagues and organizations claim that the policy is primarily for security, citing 2013's Boston Marathon bombing as the impetus for tighter restrictions.

One NFL source told me that these policies simply make the security screening process easier.  Meaning fans can get into the game quicker because bags are easier to check and security screeners have fewer judgement calls to make.

The source indicated he wouldn't be surprised if the NBA and MLB followed suit.

Shop Purses That Fit Within the PGA Tour's Purse Policy

A Closer Look at The Parisian Diet

Eat sumptuous food and lose weight? On The Parisian Diet you can do it.

La Duree

Parisian Diet mastermind Dr. Jean Michel-Cohen is a popular French nutrition expert. He released a cookbook Light French Recipes: A Parisian Diet Cookbook here in May.  There are three phases to the diet:

• The Cafe Phase - a kickstart, lasting 8-10 days which includes plenty of liquids
• The Bistro Phase - a 2-3 week period in which you consume fiber and protein-rich meals
• The Gourmet Phase - the longterm phase you maintain until you reach your ideal weight. 

The main tenets of his diet are simple:

• Quality, not quantity - meaning smaller portions of food.  No supersizing.
• Savor your food and avoid mindless eating.  A meal is a ritual in which to celebrate, not chow down at your desk.  I have a bad habit of doing this. 
• Don't deprive - skip a salad if you don't love it!  Instead eat a smaller portion of something you love rather than a large salad you'll hate consuming. 

It's somewhat along the lines of Mireille Guiliano's French Women Don't Get Fat.

I tend to lose weight when I visit France (and any other foreign country, for that matter).  But what's interesting when I visit France is that I indulge.  Granted, we usually walk about five or more miles a day but there isn't one bit of restraint.  We eat cheese, drink wine, eat desserts, macarons and sumptuous, multi-course meals.   Here's the thing: the portions are small and the ingredients are fresh.

Here is a typical Parisian vacation diet, in pictures.

Breakfast

I visited Eric Kayser every morning to pick up pastries. 

This was my daily breakfast which is a departure from my normal routine of a green smoothie, oatmeal or toast and peanut butter.  We would get four pastries: one for me, my husband, my daughter and one to share.  Notice how these aren't huge.

Lunch

Lunch at Ma Cocotte

This was a normal lunch.  We would usually also have salad and dessert....and a few more glasses of wine.

Dinner
The final meal of the day was either one of two things: a blowout dinner or not much at all.

Dinner at Maxim's

Dessert at Maxim's

Treating my daughter like a queen! 

We celebrated my birthday in 2013 at Maxim's at around 10pm one evening.  Sure it's touristy but it was a wonderful experience.

Crepes, cheese, champagne and fruit for dinner

On other nights, after having a large lunch we would eat a smaller dinner featuring what you see above.  The thing about dinners in Paris is that there is no late night snacking, something I struggle with at home.  Once the kitchen is closed, it's closed.  No more food after dinner.

The ubiquitous bottle of wine

We had wine at almost every meal.  Generally a bottle split between the two of us.

Oreos! Mon dieu!

Don't think the French are perfect.  Look what I found at the grocery store...processed food!

The Takeaway 
The Parisian Diet isn't a new concept.  It's one that most nutrition experts advocate: eat real food, smaller portions of it, be mindful when you eat and enjoy your food.

Whether in Paris or not, that's something most of us can do every day.

What foreign eating principles do you like? I love the Mediterranean approach to eating. Please share your favorite foreign diet concept in the comments section.

Buy the Books Mentioned in this Post:

Healthy Tex-Mex: Chicken Margarita Tacos

Inspired by the delicious meal I had at Rosario's in San Antonio on Friday, I'm in a Tex-Mex mood.  As many trips as I have made to San Antonio, I can't believe I just discovered this local gem in the King William Historic district.

Friday's lunch was full of chayote squash, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, peppers and more.  Amazing.

Tex-Mex doesn't have to be loaded full of fat, cheese and grease to be delicious.  Look at this wonderful Tex-Mex recipe I found from the Well Fed Newlyweds blog: Chicken Margarita Tacos.

I am not a huge Panko bread crumbs fan.  I would stick with simply grilled chicken.  Either way, it's fantastic.

Image via thewellfednewlyweds.blogspot.com

For the Tacos:

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup tequila

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

Zest of 2 limes

1 tsp. ground coriander

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced

3 cups panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup flour (I used whole wheat)

Zest of 3 limes

1 tsp. ground coriander

Corn tortillas, warmed

Fresh cilantro, chopped

For the Salsa:

1 avocado, diced

1 medium tomato, diced

6 to 8 large strawberries, chopped

1/4 red onion, finely chopped

Juice of half a lime

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a large bowl or baking dish, whisk together the olive oil, tequila, lime juice, zest of 2 limes, 1 tsp. coriander, salt, and pepper.

Are Some of Us Born to Loathe Exercise?

Forget love.  Do you have a hate relationship with exercise?  It might not be your fault.

Running the Jerusalem Half-Marathon in 2009

Apparently some of us are simply hardwired to loathe exercise.   Researchers at the University of Missouri bred pairs of rats that voluntarily spent a lot of time running on wheels in their cages and compared their baby rats with the offspring of rats that didn't seem to enjoy running.

The rats of "active parents" were likelier to exercise.  When scientists examined their brains, they found that the running rats' Nucleus Accumbens lit up while exercising.  WTH are Nucleus Accumbens?  Well, it's part of the brain that is associated with pleasure and enjoyment.

All of this is published in the Journal of Physiology and is better explained in Parade.

So are are you destined to hate exercise?  Not so much.  The lead researcher in the study, Missouri biomedical professor Frank Booth, Ph.D., indicated that no matter what deck of gene cards you're handed "people can decide to exercise".

Taking a barre class at exhale spa

C'est Vrai.  I personally believe I am one of the folks hardwired to love exercise.  As far back as I can remember, I loved running, riding bikes and horses.  That has translated into a lifestyle as an adult that enjoys participating in these activities as well as working out at the gym, taking classes and more.

Hardwired to exercise or not, it's one of the few things you can do that can instantly lift your mood.  Don't believe me?  Go for a walk for thirty minutes.  I dare you to tell me you don't feel better.

As I have gotten older, exercise isn't so much about looking better.  It's about feeling better.  This approach to exercise can work for you, too.  It's the one thing you can do to set the tone for the day and improve your outlook automatically.

More Good News on Green Tea

The good news on green tea just keeps coming.

Assam green tea/Image via Wikimedia

Drinking it on the job can help you stay sharper.  A recent study showed that green tea improves your working memory.  When you pair this news with green tea's anti-wrinkle and anti-inflammatory properties, it's a home run.

A small study recently done by biomedical researchers at the University of Basel found that participants performed a working memory task in which they had to watch letters flash on a screen and press a button if the letter was the same one that appeared on one or two trials prior to it.

Those who took a shot with 27.5 grams of green tea extract did better than the control group who didn't take the green tea shot.  Learn more about the study here.

I drink green tea iced or hot.  There are so many wonderful varieties of it.

Kusmi BB Detox Green Tea

I love Kusmi Teas and adore their BB Detox Green Grapefruit Tea.  I found them in Paris and order them online.

I also like Premium Stash's Ginger Peach Green Tea over ice.

Browse More Delicious Green Tea Selections Here: 

Is Your Afternoon Snack Making You Fat?

Do you have that love/hate relationship with the vending machine?  I do.  I'll be starving at 3 or 4 and, if I don't prepare for a snack attack, will let the vending machine win.  Whether it be a bag of M&M's bar (I could a party size one, btw) or bag of chips, vending machines usually offer crap.

A recent British study (granted, done by a berry company), noted that 4:12pm is the time of day most Brits are likely to wreck their diets.  This isn't much of a shock at all.  If you eat a 250 calorie sugar-filled candy bar or 300 calorie bag of chips and throw on a 150 calorie soda with that, you're doing some diet damage

So you how do you fight back?  Preparation is key!

Bring snacks to work.  Think of it as your Desk Diet.  Here are some snacks, which hold up to sitting unrefrigerated on your desk or in a cooler in your car, that won't sabotage your diet:

• Apple and string cheese - one of my favorite snacks
• Five dried apricots and a quarter cup of raw almonds
• A slice of whole wheat bread or pita with natural peanut butter and raisins
• A serving size of all-natural crackers with a piece of string cheese 

I like bars.  They're easy and portable.  You can buy an entire box of bars and stash them in your desk.  It's an easy "set it and forget" way to fight the vending machine.

Here is a selection of some of my favorites that are all under 250 calories: 

Also drink a lot of water or herbal tea throughout the day (I LOVE Kusmi Tea).  Staying hydrating really does help you ward off hunger.

The Most Fattening Food Around the World

Part of the fun of travel is eating.  I believe that you can learn so much about a foreign culture by simply popping into bar, ordering a local drink and appetizers and chatting up the bartender and patrons next to you.  Those are truly some of my best memories.

Banana Nutella Crepes/image via Wikimedia

Some of those memories are made with some of the world's most fattening foods.  I would live on Nutella and banana crepes if I could.  This is a calorie nightmare though: Two tablespoons of Nutella is 200 calories (110 calories from fat), the crepe itself is fry-cooked batter and usually topped with whipped cream.  At least there's some fruit, right?  I'm going with that.

Paris, 2010

Not a sweet fan?  Try gruyere crepes like the ones I had in Montmartre one night.  I died and went to food heaven.

Other fattening travel foodgasms I've had?  The expected, like a typical breakfast of Churros dunked in jello-thick chocolate in Spain.  The most random?  A cheese-wrapped hot dog (or polser as they're called in Denmark) stuffed in a bun from a street vendor in Copenhagen.  Don't judge.  It was fabulous.

Smarter Travel lists 10 of the most fattening foods around the world.  It's such food porn, it's worth discussing. Breakfast Churros dipped in chocolate and Nutella crepes are both on the list.

Georgian Khachapuri/Image via Wikimedia

How about Khachapuri from Georgia?  It's a bowl of bread stuffed with melted cheese, topped with an egg and a large pat of butter.  It actually looks pretty good.

Aligot/Image via Wikimedia

If you're in France, you MUST try Aligot.  It's a mashed potato dish with butter, cream, garlic and melted cheese whipped together in gorgeous thick dish.  Don't ask about the calories.  Just don't.

Jalebi/Image via Wikimedia

Jalebi - this is a deep-fried dough that is soaked in a sugary syrup.  Eh, not so much.

Deep Fried Mars Bar/Image via Wikimedia

Perhaps the lamest one on the list?  A Deep-Fried Mars Bar from Scotland.  Please....that's just an appetizer at the State Fair of Texas.

Read the complete list here.

What About You?
Share your favorite travel memory in the comments section!