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The 'Victim': Tracy H., Social Marketing Coordinator
The meal: PB/J sandwich on whole grain bread, with Trader Joe's flax seed peanut butter and organic raspberry fruit preserve, organic fruit, hummus and dark chocolate with almonds and sea salt.

Kimberly Snyder's assessment: "I think it's great that Tracy starts with the organic fruit, and I would encourage her to make sure she is waiting at least 20 to 25 minutes before eating the other foods, or having the fruit as a late morning snack for optimal digestion of the fruit.

There are some good items in this lunch, but there are also a lot of different food groups jumbled together -- starch (whole grain bread), protein (peanut butter), protein and starch together (hummus, which contains chickpeas, has both). There is also an absence of dark leafy green vegetables, which are among our most important foods. We should ideally strive to incorporate them into every meal in some form."

Next: See Snyder's changes/suggestions for Tracy

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Changes/Suggestions:
"I would substitute the flax seed peanut butter for almond butter. Almonds are a healthier, more beautifying nut with lots of minerals, and don't have the potential risk of aflatoxin mold, which accumulates in peanuts and definitely in peanut butter, organic or not. Next, the 'jelly.' Cooking and processing fruit makes it really acidic, and I think all fruit preserves are a bad idea for beauty, especially on a regular basis. Though they may have 'no added sugar' and are 'low in calories,' these cooked fruit spreads are not adding anything to increase our beauty or health, and Tracy also gets enough fruit sugar from the fresh fruit she is eating earlier. Instead of whole grain bread, she should switch to sprouted, and preferably gluten-free bread, which digests better. Sprouted breads, such as the Ezekial brand, can be found at Trader Joe's. An avocado, lettuce and tomato sandwich is a better sandwich combination, from a digestive standpoint.

Instead of the sandwich every day, at least a few times a week she should have a large green salad topped with carrots and other veggies, and use the hummus as a thick salad dressing, or as a side dish with one piece of the aforementioned bread. The almond butter could come later in the afternoon with some celery sticks as an afternoon snack instead.

Dark chocolate plain without almonds digests better with all food groups, and she is getting enough nuts already in her diet with the almond butter. Tracy, please make sure you eat the chocolate in moderation -- one to two ounces a day is enough! Remember dark chocolate, while containing flavonoid antioxidants, still contains added sugar, which causes inflammatory responses in our body and may contribute to wrinkles. Try some of my raw cacao recipes, like my Happy Cow Dairy-Free Hot Chocolate, which contain raw cacao for antioxidants, and stevia and other natural sweetener alternatives."

Next: Coming next week ...

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The next 'victim':
Coming next week in our final installment of Lunchbox Makeovers, Kimberly Snyder reviews Christine's lunch -- a Trader Joe's Reduced Guilt Based Ziti meal. Christine has lost 25+ pounds -- will Kimberly Snyder like what she's eating to accomplish her goal?

At this time of year it seems like every woman is on a diet. Makes sense since summer's around the corner and we all want to be able to wear cute little sundresses, short(ish) shorts and, eek, perhaps even a swimsuit.

The thing is that a lot of us simply don't know how to eat healthily -- whether we're dieting or not. And, since a personal nutritionist is cost prohibitive for all but a lucky few of us, we're pretty much left to our own devices when it comes to figuring out what to eat. Even here at Total Beauty, where looking good and being fit is our business, most of us fall short in the "eating for optimum health" category.

That's why we thought it would be fun to enlist the help of celebrity nutritionist, and natural health/beauty expert Kimberly Snyder in making over our lunches. We asked Snyder, whose diet expertise has worked wonders on all sorts of celebs like Drew Barrymore, Fergie and Channing Tatum, to critique Total Beauty staffers' lunches. We wanted her honest (read: sometimes harsh) opinion on the choices we're making and her professional recommendations for what we should be eating instead.

See the dramatic lunchbox makeovers.

The result? Nine complete lunchbox makeovers. For the next couple of months, Tuesday will be "Lunchbox Makeover" day and you'll get to see what Snyder thought of an individual staffer's menu and find out her suggestions for making the meal more healthful. (She's the consummate pro at this as her new book, "The Beauty Detox" illustrates beyond the shadow of a doubt.)

Did our staffers take Snyder's advice to heart? You bet. Will they forever and always adhere to her every word and suggestion? Probably not, but knowledge, as they say, is power and we're all definitely wiser when it comes to nutrition now thanks to her frank assessments.

So, without any further ado, let's begin with the first "guinea pig"�
BY AUDREY FINE | SHARES
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