I have a lot of respect for companies who are willing to listen to the informed and educated suggestions made by their customers to improve the quality of their products, take that honest feedback from the people who are investing into the company and give it serious consideration for future product development to make them better, and then follow through by producing a spectacular new and improved version of a desirable product. It just makes good marketing and business sense for companies to do this, but you’d be surprised how many companies all but ignore what their customers have to say thinking they know what’s best. But the reality is those companies that forget who supports them are the ones who will quickly be out of business especially in this tough economy right now. But thankfully there are wise companies who have been in business for decades through all the ups and downs because they’ve never forgotten the most important asset in their success is their customer base. That’s why I’m such a big fan of Julian Bakery.

Click here to find out more about their new and improved Smart Carb breads that are soy-free, high in quality protein, high in fiber from inulin, and contain just 1g net carb per slice!

In Episode 368 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we welcome DietToGo.com editor John McGran who shares all about the healthy low-carb meal delivery plan his company offers to customers who live a busy life but still wants to eat well. Listen to John talk about all the diet web sites he’s written for over the past decade plus, why the Atkins low-carb diet has worked best for him, his “Mr. Bad Food” persona, why The Center For Science In The Public Interest (CSPI) got mad at him, how the weight just “fall off” of him eating low-carb meals, why they embrace “low-carb” to describe their meal plan, the health improvements he’s seen when he eats low-carb, the five-week menu of all real foods adding up to 30g carbs daily, what the low-carb meal plans from DietToGo.com is based on, whether they are considering a “Paleo” version of their meal plan, the process of ordering and what happens next, the local pick-up option as well as home delivery, and how you cook the meals that come with the plan.

Click here if you’ve been struggling with what kind of meals to eat on your low-carb lifestyle or want to spice them up a bit to listen to what DietToGo.com’s John McGran has to share about his amazing low-carb home delivery meal plan.

All the talk of the Internet for the past month has been centered around a brand new sandwich introduced at a popular fast food restaurant chain that features two pieces of chicken, bacon, cheese, and sauce. The media has predictably been scoffing at the fat content of the new “Double Down” sandwich from KFC, but low-carb forums like mine have had people asking whether this would be an acceptable food to eat when you are livin’ la vida low-carb. My low-carb blogging buddy Tom Naughton “Doubled Down And Lived To Tell” and I have literally received nearly 100 requests from my YouTube channel subscribers to do a review. So when Christine and I received coupons for a FREE “Double Down” in our e-mail box, we decided the time was right to head on down to our local KFC to see what all the fuss was about.

In Episode 88 of “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube”, we tasted the “Double Down” for ourselves on camera while sharing about the nutritional information on camera. Interestingly, despite all the negative press this sandwich without the bread has received, I was pleased to see some responsible journalists exposing the hypocrisy of the feigned outrage. This was my favorite line from Katharine Shilcutt’s Houston Press column: “So it’s a sandwich that doesn’t have any buns. Good for the Double Down! It simply replaced all that sugar and starch and overprocessed “flour” with a bunch of protein…It’s closer to actual “real” food than those buns were.” WOW! You gotta love it when you see quality writing like that coming out of the mainstream.

Click here to learn more and to watch our 10-minute YouTube video review of the new KFC “Double Down” sandwich!

HELP PROMOTE THIS PODCAST! Want a simple and free way to help out the show? Just go to the iTunes page and write a review. That’s it! Currently the podcast listing is prominently featured at the top of the “New & Notable” section of both the “Health” and “Nutrition & Fitness” categories and I’d like to keep the influx of new listeners to the show coming in with lots of honest reviews from all my faithful and enthusiastic listeners who benefit from listening twice weekly. THANK YOU so much if you have already done this or if you are planning on doing this soon. It only takes a couple of minutes to do and will make a world of difference. Click here to help out the show and thank you as always for listening!

Kelly Herring realizes food can be a medicine or poison for your body

How many people are walking around and don’t have a clue about the impact of food on their body? Unfortunately, too many people believe that if a food tastes good, then it cannot be healthy. But in this day and age of advancements in cooking ingredients and techniques, that’s just not true anymore. Finding low-glycemic load foods and implementing these nutrient-dense foods into your diet is essential to producing weight and health control in anyone who is willing to try it. Today’s podcast guest specializes in delicious foods that are super-healthy that power-up your body and control blood sugar levels.

In Episode 289 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we hear from Kelley Herring, founder and CEO of Healing Gourmet and the author of a seven-book health series called Your Plate Your Fate. Additionally, she runs a company called Wellness Bakeries that offers scrumptious healthy low-carb foods and recipes that fit your palate. Kelley understands the food/body connection quite well and encourages people to find better choices rather than continuing to shovel in the garbage day after day. Switch out the sugar for erythritol and stevia blends like Truvia and substitute almond or coconut flour for the white flour to significantly lower the glycemic load, calories, and of course the carbohydrates. Most people can’t tell the difference between these low-sugar treats and the full-sugar versions. What an enthusiastic advocate of healthy low-carb and low-sugar living and I hope you are encouraged by what you hear from Kelley today.

Click here to hear my one-on-one interview with The Healing Gourmet Founder and CEO Kelley Herring.

Is Dreamfields pasta really low-carb? Your questions answered today.

Have you tried the Dreamfields pasta promoted as a low-carb alternative yet? If so, then you have very likely been impressed by how delicious it is and might be wondering if it is truly low-carb or not. More than just about any other low-carb product out there except for maybe Atkins bars, doubts about the veracity of Dreamfields pasta’s claim of being low-carb have been floating around out there in the low-carb community. To that end, I have been working hard to get someone from the company to appear on my podcast show to share more about this pasta and today we have the head honcho himself to explain what sets Dreamfields apart.

In Episode 277 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we hear from Dreamfields Pasta President Mike Crowley about the founding of his company, what is different about Dreamfields pasta compared with conventional pasta and even other low-carb pastas, the unique way Dreamfields products are created to make “protected carbohydrates,” the fiber/protein blend used to make Dreamfields, the noticeable complexity of the Dreamfields pasta matrix compared with typical pasta, why you don’t want to overcook the Dreamfields pasta, why Dreamfields doesn’t make a spaghetti sauce, some of the new rice and other products that are in the works with Dreamfields, why you need to be careful about eating too much Dreamfields, where you can find the Dreamfields products, and so much more! If you have ANY questions about the Dreamfields low-carb pasta products then don’t miss this interview with Dreamfields President Mike Crowley!

Click here to listen to my one-on-one interview with Mike Crowley about the Dreamfields pasta brand.

Dr. Brian Young’s “Carb Tracker” app from Healthy U Technologies

A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from a very nice gentleman named Dr. Brian Young, a periodontist who lives in Jacksonville, Florida, who wanted to tell me about a brand new iPhone/iPod Touch application he developed that he thought would be of great interest to my readers. At the time, he had submitted his software idea to Apple for inclusion in the Apple iTunes store for consumers to download what he had developed. The resulting product which is now available for purchase is called Carb Tracker.

Click here to learn more about this new Carb Tracker iPhone app software that tracks your carbs, water, and weight.

Atkins Nutritionals VP Nutrition Communication & Education Colette Heimowitz

A potentially ugly legal firestorm is currently brewing between two of the largest low-carb food manufacturers in the United States–Dixie Diner vs. Atkins Nutritionals.

As I shared earlier this week, Tomball, TX-based Dixie Diner has filed papers with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to secure use of the term “Eco-Atkins” that was first used by researchers in a published June 2009 study. Dixie contends that a low-fat, low-carb nutritional approach is what they have represented in three decades of being in business and that this new marketing term that they want to plaster on the front packaging of their hundreds of mostly soy-based food products helps to streamline that message.

I contacted Colette Heimowitz, Vice-President of Nutrition Communication & Education at Denver, CO-based Atkins Nutritionals (ANI), to request an official response to this possible trademark infringement by Dixie Diner on their name. They were unaware of the issue when I brought it to their attention, but Heimowitz quickly issued a response to this attempt to use the name “Eco-Atkins.”

Click here to read the reaction by Atkins Nutritionals to this attempt by Dixie Diner to use the Atkins name.

Dixie Diner’s low-fat, low-carb products fit the “Eco-Atkins” diet

Bob Beeley, chairman of Dixie USA Inc. which has manufactured and distributed the Dixie Diner product line for three decades, issued a statement last week to stores selling his products regarding his company’s decision to start using the “Eco-Atkins” term (using that logo you see at the top of this column) on the front packaging of their products to proudly promote their low-fat, low-carb products. He said this is a natural continuation of the work they have been doing since they first started providing a line of low-carb products to the Atkins Nutritionals company a few years back.

“From the beginning, Dixie was the leading supplier to Atkins Nutritionals of lower-fat low carb products. We were proud to have been their largest third-party vendor. Most of the original products were developed by Dixie for Atkins, and continue to be manufactured and sold by Dixie today. But it didn’t stop there. Dixie continues to develop better low carb products. Eco-friendly is a new word for Dixie’s original products. It still applies today,” Beeley stated.

He went on to say that this new research published last month confirms his long-held belief that a vegetarian version of the Atkins diet is much more preferred for people who are on a low-carb diet than the original high-fat version created by Dr. Atkins.

“Based upon the recent studies showing the substantial benefits of vegetarian-based low carb eating, Dixie has adopted (and registered) the moniker “ECO-ATKINS” and will begin using it on many of its low carb products,” Beeley added. “Dixie has been eco-friendly since its beginning more than thirty years ago. We will continue to do so and welcome you as partners in good health, good nutrition, and sustainable agriculture.”

But there’s only one problem for Beeley and Dixie Diner and it’s a pretty major one–the term “Atkins” they are so blatantly using is a registered trademark of Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. (ANI) and has been since 1999.

Click here to read more about this developing legal battle over a possible trademark violation by Dixie Diner.

Wanna work for a great low-carb company? Join Atkins Nutritionals!

Before I had the privilege of working full-time as a professional freelance writer and low-carb blogger as a career, I worked for nearly two decades in customer service. From sit down and fast food restaurants to Christian retail management and marketing to customer relations and risk management for a large national restaurant chain, I’ve seen it all when it comes to providing high-quality customer satisfaction. It was probably inevitable that all those years of training would positively mold the way I interact with the people who grace my web sites each day.

One thing I’ve tried to bring to my blog and corresponding sites is a genuine sense of care, commitment, and concern to my customers–MY READERS!–and making sure the experience you have here is the BEST it can possibly be. YOU DESERVE IT! Whether it is the simple gesture of responding to your e-mail when you have questions or even when I have the opportunity to call you up on the telephone and offer some timely advice to give you the confidence and direction about continuing on your low-carb path. That’s what I’m here for!

If you have this deep-down desire to give yourself fully to customers and want to work for a company that is completely sold-out to the concept of livin’ la vida low-carb, then I have quite an opportunity to share with you. Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. (ANI), makers of the bestselling low-carb Atkins bars and shakes, is looking to add some Atkins Information Agents (AIA) to their growing family of employees at their corporate offices in the downtown Denver, Colorado area. This is an important position that is responsible for providing customer care services via the telephone as well as e-mail inquiries through the Atkins web site.

Each AIA will utilize the Atkins Knowledge Base to handle in-bound telephone inquiries that require responses explaining the various elements of the Atkins Nutritional Approach and it is the responsibility of the AIA to handle all types of in-bound e-mail inquiries, including but not limited to order status questions, Atkins Nutritional Approach questions, and ANI product questions. In other words, you’ll be a part of educating the public about the healthy low-carb lifestyle. SWEET!

The DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES of this position include:
- Responding to customer inquiries
- Accepting calls and e-mails from customers
- Explaining the Atkins Nutritional Approach
- Answering order status and other questions
- Using product training to answer customer questions
- Providing pleasant, positive, and professional responses
- Using customized software to communicate via e-mail
- Operating computer system to document customer needs
- Responding to customers within 24-48 hours of contact
- Attending company training sessions
- Bringing ideas and suggestions to management at meetings
- Maintaining an open communication with supervisors

What QUALIFICATIONS is ANI looking for?
- Experience providing customer service
- An enthusiastic telephone voice and personality
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- A positive an enthusiastic demeanor
- Strong customer service skill set and focus
- Proficiency in communicating via e-mail and Internet
- A willingness to be trained on internal computer system
- Must be able to read, write and speak fluent English
- Speaking a second language is a plus
- An ability to accurately compose business communication

If this sounds like the dream job for you and you live in the greater Denver, Colorado area, then please forward your resume to Careers@atkins.com or mail it to Atkins Nutritionals, Inc., 1050 Seventeenth Street, Suite 1000, Denver, CO 80265.

NOTE: This job is located in Denver, Colorado and ANI will be unable to relocate any prospective employees who live outside of this area. Additionally, there are no “work at home” positions available with this job offer. They are looking for full-time or part-time people with good computer skills, excellent communication, and stellar customer service skills who are also well-versed in “livin’ la vida low-carb” to represent the company to the public. GOOD LUCK!

High-carb junk foods Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Twinkies a dying breed

The message is getting out there and more people now than ever before are starting to believe it. Consuming carbohydrates in the form of excessive sugar and flour is extremely unhealthy and should be avoided as much as possible. Regardless of your dietary philosophy, cutting out refined carbs is a nutritional must if you want to control your weight and improve your health. And the impact of such an epiphany happening in the minds of Americans is hitting some of the most famous American junk food brands hard.

Click here to read how the makers of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Hostess Twinkies, and Wonder Bread are suffering financially because of a consumer base wising up to the harmful effects of sugar and refined carbohydrates on their weight and health.