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Discover how to lose weight while you're having the time of your life.

National Nutrition Month 2013:  Party Girl Diet author Aprilanne Hurley appears live on Good Day Sacramento with host Marianne McClary for the inside look at how to lose weight and keep it off without the deprivation and restrictions typical of fad diets.  On the Party Girl Diet you can drink wine, eat chocolate, even eat meatballs and spaghetti in addition to a wide variety of delicious foods…and lose weight while you are having the time of your life.

In addition to revealing how to lose weight with a healthy, sustainable lifestyle outlined in The Party Girl Diet,  Hurley emphasizes that the secret to weight maintenance is creating a balanced life by eating the right amount of food and getting the right amount of exercise.  Hurley is also a huge supporter of eating certain natural foods containing probiotics and prebiotics to help aid digestion and promote a flat belly.  Hurley recommends getting your probiotics and prebiotics from the foods you eat over taking an oral supplement.

The Good Day Sacramento Party Girl Diet segment below covers foods that aid in digestion, debuts Hurley’s Signature Fresh Flat-Belly Salsa Recipe, and demonstrates how to make The Party Girl Diet’s famous “Morning After Mocktail” as a natural and gentle detoxifying pick me up.

The Party Girl Diet enjoys cult status in books with a history of ranking in the Top 5 books on Amazon’s Best Sellers List for Kindle books in Weight Maintenance and Weight Loss, and #2 in Cooking, Food & Wine – Natural Foods on Amazon’s Best Seller list.

Special thanks to Good Day Sacramento cast & crew for a super fun day in Sacramento, CA.

Party Girl Diet’s Flat Belly Artichoke Salsa Recipe featured on Good Day Sacramento:

Makes 5 servings
Ready in 10 -15 minutes

2 cups marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (coarsely)
3 Roma or plum tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp red onion, diced
1/4 cup black olives, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp small capers
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste.

1. Mix together all of the ingredients above in a medium bowl.
2. Serve PGD’s Flat Belly Salsa at room temperature with julienned fresh, colorful peppers, baked chips, etc. It also makes a great topping for salads, pasta, and pizza. (You can also make PGD’s salsa ahead of time and chill before serving).

Party Girl Diet’s Naturally Detoxifying “Morning After Mocktail” (In the book)
This antioxidant packed elixir has been formulated to replace some of the vitamins lost through alcohol consumption while providing gentle detoxifying benefits.

1/4 cup Vitamin D and Calcium added Orange Juice
1/4 cup Cranberry Juice – no sugar added
1 fresh grapefruit – juiced (fresh is best, yet you can substitute 1/2 cup grapefruit juice)
1/2 lemon – juiced
Pinch of Cayenne pepper (optional)
Orange wheel or lime wedge for garnish (optional)

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. Pour all of the ingredients above into cocktail shaker and shake vigorously.
3. Serve it straight up! Strain contents of shaker into bar-ware for an fun presentation…Cheers!

Aprilanne Hurley has recently appeared LIVE on ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX Networks to discuss The Party Girl Diet’s healthy new diet & lifestyle that lets you “lose weight while you are having the time of your life.”

 Special Pricing for National Nutrition Month:  The Party Girl Diet Book is $9.98 and the Party Girl Diet Kindle Edition is currently $2.99 on Amazon.com for the month of March 2013.

Oahu Village Children and Teens Gather Around Aprilanne as She Teaches Nutrition Through the Use of Colorful Foods.

San Francisco Bay Area Author Aprilanne Hurley set out on a mission to teach nutrition to the mothers and children in a transitional village on the Island of Oahu…and came home with a lesson in the power of the human spirit.

It was all smiles and giggles as some 30 Oahu village children gathered around Aprilanne to learn about healthy food choices as part of Hurley’s “Eat a Rainbow” nutrition program.  Hurley designed this 4 module course to teach at-risk parents and children about making healthy foods choices through the use of color.

“We had an amazing day of learning, food, and fun,”  Hurley offers, adding, “and while all of the children were excited and thrilled to see the many colorful foods presented, the younger children got extremely excited when they saw they were going to have orange juice.  It broke my heart.  These children, most of them previously homeless, shared a glimpse of the amazing resilience they have no matter what adversities life brings.   Their beautiful innocence, and sheer exuberance for the little things in life like orange juice and fruit – will stay with me forever.”

With Weinberg Village Waimanalo’s Director Holly Holowach’s catering expertise in the kitchen – we served over 60 village members a tasty recipe from Hurley’s Party Girl Diet book for the main course:  Cavatelli & Broccoli.  This super healthy dish was made with fresh steamed broccoli, braised dark meat chicken, chopped garlic, and curly shaped pasta to attract the Keiki’s interest.   

Holowach offers, “the families at the Village really enjoyed Aprilanne’s visit.  The mothers were so attentive during her class and appreciated learning her tips on how to create healthy bodies through eating fruits and vegetables and adding more colorful foods to their diets.  The children loved the food, especially the fruit and yogurt. “

Holowach adds, “the parents are still talking about how much they liked the Chicken Broccoli pasta dish!  Several of them have read Aprilanne’s book and were so thrilled to meet her!  Mahalo to Aprilanne for coming to the village and sharing her love of healthy eating and good nutrition with our families.”

We covered The Party Girl Diet’s Top 10 Foods for Health & Longevity, and the importance of eating breakfast, healthy fats, fruit, vegetables, and fiber.”  The health benefits of daily exercise was also emphasized.”

Hurley’s “Eat a Rainbow” Party for the Keiki (meaning children in Hawaii) started off with a colorful “pupu platter” consisting of fresh veggies and tomato salsa. The fun kicked into high gear with dessert – as Aprilanne launched a “hands-on” food project with the Keiki – who all thoroughly enjoyed learning how to make their own fresh fruit kabobs with a wide assortment of colorful fruits.  Honey and cinnamon was mixed into plain – non-fat greek style yogurt to create a healthy fruit dip for the kabobs.

“It was spectacular,” Hurley beams, and so rewarding to know that by the end of our “Eat a Rainbow” Keiki Party – the children tasted as many as 9 different colors through the assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables in the dishes we served.  It is interesting to note that it was the first time many of the children tasted some of the vegetables and fruits we presented – which are very common foods to us on the mainland.”

“I look at my nutrition work in Oahu as planting seeds for a future free of obesity,” Hurley notes.  “Even if just one mother or child takes what they have learned about healthy eating through my nutrition program to heart ~ I am one step closer to ending the fight against obesity.” A Special Thank You goes out to Holly Holowach Director of Weinberg Village Waimanalo – who has been an integral part of this project.  It is because of Holly’s passion and commitment to see an end to homelessness in Hawaii that brought Aprilanne to Oahu, and the many hours of time, talents, and resources Holly has invested to see this project come to fruition for her village are appreciated beyond words…Mahalo!

A warm thank you also goes out to Holly’s dedicated staff who graciously supported and assisted us throughout the day – Mahalo!

100% of the net-proceeds for all Party Girl Diet books sold in Hawaii during National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week support the Weinberg Village Waimanalo’s L.E.A.P Fund – an Enrichment Program for the Children.

Aprilanne Hurley is a Certified Specialist in Fitness Nutrition, Author of The Party Girl Diet, and Registered Natural Foods Chef with The First Lady’s Chefs Move to Schools Initiative. The First Lady’s Chefs Move to Schools Initiative.

Aprilanne's Hot Tip: Fresh ingredients are the key to success.

 Aprilanne’s Authentic Italian Pesto Sauce Recipe takes just 5-minutes to make, and is Party Girl Diet approved.   You can enjoy this rich and decadent sauce “guilt free,” as the olive oil, walnuts, and garlic are 3 of The Party Girl Diet’s Top 10 Super Foods proven to enhance health and longevity. You will also get your share of healthy, “good for you”omega-3 fats from the olive oil and walnuts, and anti-imflamatory benefits from the basil.

Aprilanne’s Hot Shopping Tip: By cooking with ingredients that are fresh & local, and in season, you will experince foods at their peak of flavor AND you will save money because the more plentiful the product, the lower the cost to you.

Ingredients (For 6 servings)

• 2 cups packed basil leaves
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup low-salt chicken or vegetable broth to thin mixture (optional)
• Juice of 1/2 of a fresh lemon (This helps to keep the basil from turning brown)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon course sea-salt

Directions

1. Place olive oil, basil, chopped walnuts, garlic and salt in food processor (or blender).
2. Blend until thoroughly combined.
3. Add Parmesan cheese and blend 5-10 seconds more.
4. To thin the mixuture, add a little bit of chicken or vegetable broth in and mix. Consistency should be thick and smooth, not lumpy.

Aprilanne’s Hot Serving Tip: If you have stored the pesto in the fridge, just before serving, add 2 Tbsp of hot water or broth (the hot pasta water from your cooked pasta will work great).

Enjoy this fresh pesto sauce over veggies, as a healthy switch-up from red pasta sauce, and/or as a healthy marinade for your grilled fish, chicken, and meats.

Aprilanne’s Hot Cooking Tip: Make double the recipe and freeze the extra sauce in an ice-cube tray. This way, you will have extra pesto sauce on hand to whip up other delicious dishes. This recipe is great on steamed veggies, chicken, fish, and meats, and is delicious on pasta and pizza.

Until next time -”keep it healthy…and keep the party going” - Aprilanne