SEPTEMBER 2005

Welcome to September's edition of "The Main Squeeze"!

Last newsletter, we announced our True Lemon® Recipe Sweepstakes. Keep those recipes coming! Remember, you have until tonight, 11:59 p.m. CT (September 30th), to submit your recipe and have a chance to win $100!

We hope you enjoy this month's newsletter, filled with recipes, health tips, a Q&A with Heidi Carney, vice president of customer relations/marketing, and more!
CUSTOMER QUOTE OF THE MONTH

"I recently purchased 3 boxes of True Lemon® over the Internet. I have already used it with great success. I added it in place of lemon juice in a Pad Thai recipe. My guests were surprised to see me use this product instead of a real lemon. It was a hit. Sprinkling the True Lemon® over the finished dish gave a great "pop" of flavor and less acid. I am truly pleased with this remarkable product. I am diabetic and I used 2 packets with 2 Splenda® packets in a large tumbler of water and ice; it made great lemonade. I never take the time to write to a manufacturer but in this case I just wanted to say thanks for living up to your advertising - it is a refreshing surprise."

David Perreault,
Port Orange, FL
TRUE LEMON® SUPER FAN RENEE SANTIN

Meet 48 year old Renee Santin from Findlay, Ohio.

"It sounds a little far-fetched, but True Lemon® has honestly made my weight loss journey this time a lot easier. When I stick to my regimen of water with True Lemon® and walking, it is harder to fail as I see the results and I see a future. Finally, at the age of 48, I will live part of my life as a thin person - on the other side, if you will. Also, I have discovered that there is no magic pill to weight loss; it just takes passion to change.

The addition of 100+ ounces of water a day (and giving up diet soda) has helped tremendously in my weight loss - 50 pounds since May - and the lemon flavor has made it become a treat to drink my water. I actually look forward to the tartness, and it fills me up beautifully! In addition, I am walking and doing weight-lifting to build up my muscles every other day."

To read Renee's entire profile, please click here.

TRUE LEMON® SUPER FAN MINDY PRIAN

"I have always looked for ways to jazz up water, and tried flavored water (which I found too sweet) and drink mixes (which I thought were empty calories). So I'd grudgingly drink plain water, knowing it was the healthy choice. I always felt it was a 'task' to drink water during the day, that is, until I discovered True Lemon®. You will now always find a cup of water with True Lemon® on my desk, and I even keep an 'emergency stash' of a couple of packets in my desk drawer incase we run out in the office kitchen!"

To read Mindy's entire profile, please click here.
HEALTH WATCH
*Common Weight Loss Blunders and How to Avoid Them*
(as highlighted on msn.com)

If you are about to go on a diet, the following information can help you avoid some of the most common diet mistakes.

Miracle diet.
There is no such thing as a miracle diet. All of the "fad" diets going around may sound promising, but for them to work you have to actually keep up with them for the rest of your life. You can eat all of the grapefruit you want, drink all of the slim shakes you can get your hands on, but at the end of the day, it's eating sensibly and exercise that is going to be what works for you in the long run.

Not counting calories.
It's a well-known fact that to lose weight, you need to be consuming fewer calories than you are using. Healthyweightforum.org states, "As part of a healthy diet, it is important that you include counting calories as part of your diet routine. Losing weight by counting calories is about ensuring the amount of calories you consume each day is less than the amount of calories you burn up." Every calorie counts and keeping track of them will help you keep on track as well. For a quick and easy calorie calculator, visit www.healthyweightforum.com.

Eating too little.
Eating too little has been shown to slow your metabolism. Dean Ornish, MD from WebMD.com states, "If you reduce your calories by 20-25%, and your metabolism slows down by the same amount, then you stop losing weight even if you stay on the food-restricted diet. Like a thermostat that's been readjusted, your metabolic "set point" may change, causing your metabolism to remain at a lower rate. When your metabolism is lower, then you burn calories more slowly."

Expecting too much.
When first starting on the path to weight loss, make sure you set realistic goals for yourself. Don't start off with unrealistic goals such as aspiring to look like your skinny friend that never gains weight regardless of what she eats (everyone has one), losing 50 pounds in a month, or fitting into that perfect summer outfit from 5 years ago after a week of working out. Everyone is different, and everyone's results will vary. Instead of saying, "I will lose 20 pounds in the next six weeks", come up with a sensible goal (like 5 pounds in a month's time) that will make you feel good about yourself when you reach it. Then after that goal is reached, you can plan another, and so on.

Skipping exercise.
"I'll exercise later." How many times have you said those three famous words to yourself? Erase that phrase from your vocabulary! Instead of waiting until later in the day - after work, errands, etc., exercise in the morning when you get up! This way, you can't use the "I'm too tired" excuse, later on. We all have hectic and busy schedules, so of course you'll run the risk of being tired later on in the day. Some people have the dedication to save exercise for later. If you know you are not one of those people, then work out a sensible time to go to sleep, so you will wake up before your daily schedule and exercise! Not to mention, exercising in the morning will give you more energy throughout the day. If you are just starting to exercise and thirty minutes a day seems overwhelming to you, try starting with five or ten minutes, and then build from there.

Neglecting your exit strategy.
As soon as you reach your ideal weight, it's not over! Many people make the common mistake of reverting back to old habits after they work so hard to get rid of them. Make sure that once you are at your target weight, you stay there by maintaining the healthy living that you worked so hard to keep!

FROM THE RECIPE CLUB...

CITRUS REFRESHER
(A quick, light refreshing drink!)

Ingredients
1 can diet lemon-lime soda
Juice of one orange
1 packet True Lemon®

Directions

1. Mix above ingredients in glass and pour over crushed ice.
2. Sweeten to taste with Splenda® or Equal if needed or add or add more diet lemon lime soda.

Recipe by: Glynis Bushchmann, Yuba City, CA

Alternate Version:
Ingredients
1 can soda water
Juice of one orange
2-3 packets True Lemon®

Directions

1. Mix together above ingredients in glass and pour over crushed ice.
2. Add sweetener if necessary.

CHARLES'S SHRIMP DIABLO
(For one last grill-out, while the weather is nice!)

Ingredients
1 pound large shrimp, shelled
2 packets True Lemon®
1 small can Mexican tomato sauce
1-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1 - 1½ pounds charcoal
8 - 10 ounces Mesquite wood chips (pre-soak in water an hour before preparing recipe)
1 cube Mexican bullion
1½ cups water
2 tablespoons Mexican seasoning
1½ cups instant rice

Directions

1. Light grill.
2. Mix ingredients together and put in a small pan (meatloaf-sized pan).
3. Keep in refrigerator until the grill is ready.
4. Take 1 - 1½ pounds of charcoal, put in grill pit, light, and wait for the charcoal to turn white.
5. Add 8 - 10 ounces of soaked Mesquite wood chips (drained) and sprinkle them over white coals. Put pan of shrimp in, and shut the lid.
6. Cook until shrimp are pink.
7. While shrimp is cooking, take one cube of Mexican shrimp bullion, 1½ cups water, 2 tablespoons Mexican seasoning, and 1½ cups of instant cook rice. Cook rice according to package directions.
8. Serve shrimp over rice and enjoy.

Recipe by: Charles Kelly, Bacliff, TX

For our complete recipe library, click here.

If you have a True Lemon® recipe that you would like to share, please email Jennifer at jduerr@grandbrands.us.

Q&A with Heidi Carney, Vice President of Consumer Marketing

Heidi Carney joined Grand Brands in January 2004 to help spearhead the marketing and customer service efforts. "I have been in marketing for most of my career and I have never seen a product that generates such genuine customer enthusiasm as True Lemon. I don't think a day has gone by where we haven't gotten emails or phone calls from people contacting us just to tell us how much they love True Lemon."

What did you think when you first tried True Lemon?

I thought it tasted great and I knew that it was a wonderful alternative to fresh lemons and bottled lemon juice. I think I'm like many of our customers: I have children, I work, I'm health conscious, I like things that are convenient, I'm always watching my weight, I like things that are good for my family. As a consumer, True Lemon made sense to me on so many levels. The day I first met David, I probably had three old lemons sitting in my refrigerator and a bottle of lemon juice that I hadn't really touched in months so I thought True Lemon really addressed a need in the marketplace.

To read Heidi's entire Q&A, please click here.

Questions or Comments?

Please feel free to contact the editor:
Jennifer Duerr — jduerr@grandbrands.us

Disclaimer: This newsletter is not intended to provide medical advice, but for educational purposes only. For specific information or questions regarding your health, please contact your healthcare provider.