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The Inside Guide has gotten a lot of love this past week, which makes me feel like writing all of my reviews has definitely been worth the time!

Bakersfield.com earned first-place awards in Inland Press Association’s New Frontier competition for Inside Guide as the “Best Innovation.”

Woohoo!

The Inside Guide also had a four page spread in this month's Bakersfield Life Magazine. This current issue highlights the local culinary scene and of course, highlights some of the awesome reviews that have been written about local restaurants. Click here to see where you can pick it up a copy for free and if your reviews were included.

Also, faithful reviewer Bryan Jackson had a  Letter to the Editor (you'll have to scroll down to the bottom) published this past Sunday about how much he enjoys the Inside Guide. It's really rewarding to know how much our users appreciate it. Bryan is one of our best and  most active reviewers, so be sure to check out his reviews ( the links are at the bottom of his profile page).

Well, what do you think of the Inside Guide? Do you think it deserves an Innovation award? Or do you think it's lame?

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I've become a bit obsessed recently with a show on BBC America called "You are What You Eat." The show's host, Holistic nutritionist Gillian McKeith, works with unhealthy eaters to break a lifetime of bad habits in eight weeks. They really seem to be glowing and healthy even after 2 months.

She does this by showing them how unhealthy their diets really are (which unfortunately seem very similar to mine) and shows them how to improve their eating habits. The premise is if you put garbage into your body, you get garbage out.

Gillian has gotten me motivated. I ran out and bought a juicer so I can make some fresh veggie and fruit juices. I also stumbled across her book at Borders and of course I had to buy it too! It also got me motivated to crank up my workouts. I signed up for kickboxing classes 4 days a week.

So, how do I try to become a health nut in Bakersfield?
Where can I find things like Nettle Tea and Aloe Vera juice like Gillian recommends?Plus, I don't like to cook all the time, so what are some healthy places to eat out?

Have you been to the following local businesses:

Lassens
Cone's
Health Unlimited
......and there's more in our Health Food Category.

Please review them and let me know your recommendations.

What's your advice???