Muffin man Allan Seiler shares a smile.

“In a regular muffin, the special ingredients—blueberries, chocolate chips, or whatever—are mixed throughout the batter,” Seiler says. “My idea was to concentrate the special ingredients in the middle of the muffin.”

He started experimenting, and eventually created a batter light enough to be palatable, but dense enough to hold filling mixtures on the inside.

Slice through the Lox, Stock and Barrel muffin and you’ll find a scrumptious filling of smoked salmon, cream cheese and scallions. Another favorite, The Italian Connection, has chicken, mushrooms, artichokes and pesto sauce in the middle. If you prefer sweet, try the Georgia’s Namesake (peaches, blueberries and a crunchy crisp inside) or A Fall Favorite, stuffed with diced pear, dried cranberries and pecans. Seiler’s menu includes 10 savory and six sweet varieties.

A London Debut
After working in high-end New York City restaurants and running his own catering company in Hong Kong, Seiler debuted his unique muffins in London in the early 2000s. He sold them to restaurants and specialty shops including Harrods until the economy collapsed and he decided to move back to the States.

Seiler settled in South Florida in 2011 and recently introduced his muffins at green markets in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Delray Beach. He’s developing a loyal following, and demand for his product spiked after a review in the Palm Beach Post. He hopes to open a retail location, possibly in Delray, toward the end of this year.

Meal in a Muffin
Seiler says he thought of the name Thoroughly Modern Muffins—a take on the popular 1967 musical film Thoroughly Modern Millie—after friends helped him brainstorm. An earlier name idea, Meal in a Muffin, just didn’t sound creative enough, he says, although it describes the product to a T.

Thoroughly Modern Muffins doesn’t have a website or Facebook page, but you can place a special order with Seiler by calling him at (305) 903-5576.

Joe BEFORE: 364 pounds

Joe AFTER: a buffed 247

If you’re a follower of The Biggest Loser TV show, you probably know about this season’s contestant named Joe. Joe survived episode after episode, losing nearly 150 pounds from his starting weight of 364—but lost out in the end to contestant Danni, a crowd favorite.

Here’s what many people don’t know about Joe. His last name is Ostaszewski (ah-sta-ZOO-skee), he’s a former Boynton Beach police officer, and he has an identical twin brother named Henry.

Henry Ostaszewski was not selected for The Biggest Losershow, but at 367 pounds he was every bit as big as his twin, and desperately wanted to lose the weight. So, week after week, as Joe trained and sweated and dieted on TV, Henry did the same at his home in Georgia.

Here's Henry burning calories on a kayaking trip, a welcome break from his 10-to-12-hour workdays in IT.

Only here’s the difference: Henry has a full-time job. He’s an IT supply chain manager for a major corporation, working 10-to-12-hour days. He also has joint custody of his two kids, which means cooking, cleaning, shopping, laundry, and chauffeuring. And the biggest real-life challenge of them all: squeezing in gym workouts before work (5:30 a.m.) or after (7 p.m.).

Despite his busy life, Henry managed to make those gym workouts, and to eat smaller, smarter meals: egg white omelets for breakfast, yogurt as a mid-morning snack, a piece of fish and some broccoli for dinner. “I used to eat a whole pizza in one sitting,” he told me during an interview for my column in The Coastal Star.

After shedding almost 150 pounds, Henry can fully participate in the outdoor sports he loves -- and inspire kids to stay in shape through the WearYourSoul Foundation.

Today, both Henry and Joe have transformed themselves into healthy, normal-weight people. Now that the TV show is over, the twins plan to “pay it forward” through a nonprofit foundation they created called Wear Your Soul. Their mission is to help reduce childhood obesity by introducing overweight kids to outdoor sports like kayaking, mountain biking, and hiking.

And for that, I name Joe and Henry the Biggest Winners.

As the health and fitness columnist for The Coastal Star, I wanted to find out more about those laid-back bicyclists riding down A1A in Delray Beach. After placing several calls, I was able to interview a few recumbent bicycle riders over the phone. But none of them rode along A1A, and that was the photo I needed.

With my deadline approaching fast, I begged my husband one Saturday morning to drive me up and down A1A in the family car until we could flag down a recumbent bike rider. I wasn’t confident we’d be successful; cyclists on A1A tend to have a “hate-hate” relationship with automobile drivers. I braced myself for rejection.

Ron Bernstein of Boca Raton cruises past Delray's public beach on A1A, part of his twice-weekly, 60-mile round trip workout on his recumbent bicycle. Photo by Kurtis Boggs.

After about an hour of driving, we finally spotted a guy on a recumbent bike traveling the same direction we were (north on A1A), somewhere between Boca Raton and Delray Beach. My husband slowed down alongside him while I rolled down the window.

I stated my proposition quickly and desperately, with a big smile. The cyclist smiled back.

“I usually don’t do this kind of thing,” he said, but he pulled over anyway.

I complimented his bike. He told us how much he enjoyed riding it. He said his name was Ron Bernstein, and that he rode the bike 60 miles round trip every Saturday and Sunday for exercise and mental decompression.  Bingo!

Ron agreed to meet Coastal Star photographer Kurtis Boggs and me at 8:15 the next morning to have his picture taken riding his bike down A1A.

It all worked out beautifully. Ron was very cooperative as we drove alongside him in my VW Beetle, me at the wheel and Kurt hanging out the window snapping shot after shot.

I got my story and my photo. Ron got in the Coastal Star. He didn’t even get mad when the paper came out, and the caption (written by an editor) erroneously called him “Rob” Bernstein.

Thank you, Ron/Rob, for being such a good sport!

To read the column, click here.

October 23, 2012: AJ Brockman and his mom Jo meet President Barack Obama in Delray Beach, Florida. The president is holding a copy of the portrait AJ painted of the First Family. The original rode back to Washington with the president aboard Air Force One.

Into that category I would put the story of AJ Brockman. How’s this for a plot line? Kid from Florida grows up in a wheelchair. As a progressive disease slowly claims his muscular function, he refuses to go negative. By the time he hits 24, the kid has the use of only one finger, but tons of artistic talent. He adopts a special painting technique, becomes a professional artist, and adds the president of the United States to his growing fan base.

This documentary hasn’t been made yet. But it will be, once the nonprofit filmmaking group called No White Flags raises enough money to do it. The group (which I am honored to be part of) is asking for donations online through a site called Indiegogo. To see a clip from the future production—and make a contribution before the countdown ends January 1—check out the group’s Indiegogo page.

AJ Brockman’s story (working title: “Differently Abled”) would be the first of many No White Flags documentaries about highly accomplished people who refuse to surrender to their limitations. I know AJ’s story will prove just as inspirational as inner city kids chasing their NBA basketball dreams, once-forgotten Cuban musicians making beautiful music again, and emperor penguins risking starvation and death to produce new life in frozen Antarctica.

So get thee to Indiegogo! And help make this indie possible.

The collection belongs to Randy “The Kite Man” Lowe of Delray Beach, a retired math teacher and kite-flying hobbyist.

Randy "The Kite Man" Lowe dazzles Delray Beach-goers with his colorful giant squid kite.

Lowe owns about 50 of these gigantic kites, purchased from manufacturers around the world at sky-high prices: about $5,000 each for the largest models. When the weather’s clear and the sea breeze is right (between 10 and 15 miles per hour), he carries some of his kites down to the beach and puts on a show. You’ll find him at the south end, near the Casuarina Road entrance.

“Most of the kites I have are one-of-a-kind,” he says. A crowd favorite is called The Top Half. It’s the torso, arms and head of an enormous volleyball player reaching for the ball. The ball is a separate kite, flying just beyond Top Half’s reach. Together, these kites get the most double-takes. (Is that a flying torso?)

“To me it’s art, you know? I don’t just float kites up there, I always have a theme,” Lowe says. “If I’m flying a whale, I certainly want to have a couple of lobsters on the side, and a crab or a jellyfish or a seahorse. It’s an arrangement.”

His anchor kite stabilized (orange kite in the distance), Randy Lowe prepares his giant squid to catch the Delray Beach sea breeze.

Lowe says he’s been flying kites for the last 20 years. During his math-teaching years in Boston’s public schools, Lowe used his hobby to bring math principles, such as the Pythagorean theorem, to life. During field trips, he’d have students figure out the length of the kite line—the hypotenuse in the imaginary right triangle—after giving them the measurements of the other two sides. “So when we got back into class, they understood what I was talking about:  A squared plus B squared equals C squared.”

Comfortably retired now at 60, married but with no children of his own, Lowe likes to see kids react to his colorful, whimsical kites. “I’ve had kids run all the way down the beach saying, ‘Mom, look at that!’ They are fascinated, and that’s what we need more of. Get the kids off the phones, away from the televisions, and out breathing fresh air.”

In fact, he’d like to take his kite demonstrations to local schools, either to celebrate special occasions (graduations, football games) or to use them for hands-on learning. He is licensed and insured through the American Kitefliers Association, and promotes his services on his website (www.randythekiteman.com).

“It’s something to do and I enjoy it,” he says. “I’m just living life, having fun. And I’ve earned every minute of it.”

Delray Beach's rich architectural history is exemplified in this new coloring book available for $10 at Hand's Stationers. Your purchase will help the Delray Beach Preservation Trust keep historic structures from being demolished.

You can find the answers in a fun new book produced by the Delray Beach Preservation Trust. It’s a cross between a coloring book and a brief primer on Delray’s wide assortment of architectural styles.

The Architectural Icons & Styles of Delray Beach consists of hand-drawn sketches of the city’s most significant architecture over the past 100 years. It includes such well-known structures as the 1925 Arcade Building and Tap Room, the 1926 Colony Hotel, and the 1935 Spady House.

Preservation Trust board member and interior designer Donna Sloan spearheaded the project, enlisting 16 local architects and design professionals to contribute black-and-white line drawings to the book.

“I tried to match each designer with either a project they worked on, or something representative of their style,” Donna says.

In the front of the coloring book is a beautifully illustrated map indicating the location of each architectural icon. Flip to the back to find detailed descriptions of each historic structure and its corresponding architectural style (Mediterranean Revival, Bungalow, Streamline Moderne, etc.).

A page from the coloring book. Here's a quiz for locals: what colors should Delray's iconic Colony Hotel be wearing?

The book costs $10 at Hand’s Stationers in downtown Delray. It makes a great gift idea for a child—or for the child inside you! Best part of all: proceeds go to the Delray Beach Preservation Trust, to support its noble goal of saving historic properties from the wrecking ball.

For more information, call Preservation Trust president JoAnn Peart at (561) 276-8968.

More and more aging recreational athletes with painful, worn-out knees are saying “no” to knee replacement surgery and “yes” to outpatient treatment in which their own stem cells are used to regenerate (theoretically, anyway) the knee joint. Many are getting positive results, and they’re spreading the word.

Mary Ellen Cook (foreground) and tennis buddy Joyce Joyner both say they have benefited from stem cell injections in their knees.

“I’ve heard from a couple of people that it’s like a miracle,” said one 78-year-old coastal resident who plays tennis frequently at local clubs.

Listen closely to the courtside buzz, and you’re likely to hear two other words: “Dr. Purita.” That would be Joseph R. Purita, M.D., of Manalapan, director of the Institute of Regenerative & Molecular Orthopaedics (IRMO) in Boca Raton. The Institute is an offshoot of Purita’s longtime surgical practice at Boca Raton Orthopaedic Group.

Purita is considered an expert in the use of adult stem cells for orthopedic repair. He’s lectured around the world, and taught his technique free of charge to doctors from as far away as Australia. He has treated 4,000 patients ranging in age from 40 to 70, including many high-profile professional athletes, and he claims an 85 percent success rate for the knees.

Here’s how it works. The doctor harvests mesenchymal stem cells (the type that repair and regrow muscle, bone, cartilage, and tendons) from a patient’s fat and/or bone marrow. Fat samples are taken via mini-liposuction of the patient’s midsection; bone marrow is extracted from the back of the pelvis. While the patient waits, the samples are spun in a centrifuge to isolate the stem cells, which are then injected into the patient’s joint the same day. Four to six weeks later, platelet rich plasma (PRP) spun from the patient’s own blood is also injected into the joint.

According to Wikipedia: “Mesenchymal stem cells, or MSCs, are multipotent stromal cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types, including bone, cartilage, and fat cells.”

“Think of the platelets as fertilizer for the stem cells,” Purita explains. “They release growth factors that give the stem cells signals to start working to repair things.”

PRP injections alone can help some patients, Purita says, by releasing growth factors and signaling proteins that may summon stem cells from elsewhere in the body to repair the joint. In these cases, a bit of the patient’s fat is injected to serve as scaffolding for the incoming stem cells.

Purita’s technique fits within FDA guidelines for stem cell therapy, but is not covered by insurance. He charges $600 for PRP only, and $4,800 for the complete treatment (stem cell injections from fat and bone marrow, scaffolding-fat injections, and three subsequent PRP injections).

One of Purita’s satisfied customers is Mary Ellen Cook, whose family owns Hand’s Stationers in Delray Beach. Now in her 70s, Cook says stem cell therapy has enabled her to stay active and keep up her tennis game. Her tennis buddy Joyce Joyner, 60, also sought Purita’s treatment to quell the pain in both of her arthritic, bone-on-bone knee joints.

“It worked great for me,” says Joyner. “I’m putting off knee replacement as long as possible.”

To date, however, there is little hard science proving the stem cell treatment really works. Some physicians, like Freddie H. Fu, M.D., chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, remain skeptical.

“Basically, there’s no evidence to show one way or the other that it makes any difference,” Fu says. “Why don’t we test it more vigorously before we shoot it into everybody?”

Purita emphasizes that not everyone is a candidate for stem cell therapy, and about 15 percent of the time, it just doesn’t work. But he feels strongly that “it’s not going away.”

“Stem cells are the next big revolution,” he says. “Some day we’re going to look back at knee and hip replacement surgery and say, how could we have done such barbaric operations?”

(Editor’s note: this article was originally published in the April issue of The Coastal Star.)

But in recent years, said Woodrow Lockett, who operates iShip Pack & Ship at 402 West Atlantic Avenue, “I’ve seen the transition that’s happening, and I think it’s awesome.”

Woodrow Lockett, owner of Delray's iShip Pack & Ship store on W. Atlantic Avenue, is encouraged by pending redevelopment in the area.

That “transition” is the ongoing redevelopment of the western portion of downtown Delray’s main thoroughfare. For many years, the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) has been acquiring and assembling property along West Atlantic Avenue in order to facilitate redevelopment, with the ultimate goal of extending downtown business activity westward to Interstate 95.

Milestones in the CRA’s effort have included development of the mixed-use Atlantic Grove project in 2006, the completion of the West Atlantic beautification project in 2009, and the creation of the West Atlantic Plaza in 2010. The CRA also assembled numerous land parcels that resulted in the development of the South County Courthouse and the new Delray Public Library, two key public facilities that attract hundreds of people to West Atlantic Avenue each day.

Now the agency is focusing on developing vacant parcels west of SW 6^th Avenue—and the effort is picking up steam. The CRA is currently finalizing agreements with a developer for construction of a moderately priced hotel in the 900 block of West Atlantic Avenue.

“Our hotel project has generated new interest in the area, so we’re now soliciting proposals for the redevelopment of additional property near the hotel site,” said CRA Executive Director Diane Colonna.

On March 12, the CRA issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the development of 5.07 acres of CRA-owned property on West Atlantic between SW 6^th and SW 9^thAvenues. Developers have until June 1 to submit their plans for consideration. Proposals may be for all or a portion of the properties, and may also include the use of the CRA’s development incentives, such as a long-term land lease through the Land Value Investment Program.

Economic Development Director Vin Nolan said the hotel project is a signal to the broader development community that there is new momentum in the West Atlantic area.

Evelyn Jones, owner of Salon on the Avenue, looks forward to the new business that a West Atlantic hotel could bring.

“There have been few new projects in and around that region for a number of years, partly because of the recent economic decline,” Nolan said. “But development of a hotel facility has definitely piqued the interest of other developers, for both the West Atlantic corridor and Delray Beach in general.”

Existing West Atlantic Avenue businesses are greeting the news with anticipation.

“The hotel will be a great improvement in upgrading Delray,” said Linda Singleton, deli manager at Tony’s Market & Deli at the corner of NW 3^rd Avenue and West Atlantic Avenue. “I live right over there, on Southwest 14^th, and I think it’s a real positive thing, especially because it will bring jobs.”

Evelyn Jones, owner of Salon on the Avenue at 301 West Atlantic Avenue, said she is excited about having a business-class hotel a few blocks down the street.

“All the merchants on the west end of the Avenue want the same action as the east end has. We want to see traffic in our stores,” said Jones, “and other developers coming in and building more things.”

What might those things include?

The RFP expresses preference for a single-phased project with a mix of uses consisting of Class “A” office space with retail, restaurant, and service use components as well as shared or public parking. A series of studies and public meetings revealed that the community would like to see service uses such as a pharmacy, a restaurant, or a medical or dental office along the corridor. Nolan said those uses make sense from an urban development perspective.

“Once you put a hotel in there, something like a pharmacy is even more likely to come, because it complements that type of facility,” Nolan said.

Among the factors that the CRA will use in judging developer proposals: the inclusion of a local employment hiring program, and the services and economic benefit the project will bring to the surrounding community—all of which is music to the ears of merchants like Lockett.

“Downtown should be all the way from the beach to I-95,” Lockett said. Then, referring to the area’s ZIP code, he concluded with a smile: “We need more in the 3-3-4-4-4!”

The inaugural issue of The Delray Beach Pineapple, January 2012.

The paper’s publisher, Jeffrey Diaz, moved to Delray Beach about two years ago. A longtime newspaperman, he had lived for many years in Palm Springs, California, where he was founder, editor and publisher of Golf Vacations magazine. Upon settling in to his new Florida residence, he thought Delray could use a community newspaper. After all, the city hasn’t had one since the Delray Beach News Journal closed in 1986. But unlike the News Journal, the paper Diaz envisioned would not carry the police blotter, birth notices, obituaries, or local sports scores.

“The Pineapple is more visitor-oriented, focusing on downtown Delray activities and developments,” Diaz said. “We carry news and information about upcoming events, emerging artists and musicians, new business developments, educational and recreational opportunities—anything that impacts our Village by the Sea.”

Because of its name, some people assume the paper focuses exclusively on the city’s Pineapple Grove Arts District. In fact, the publication covers all of downtown, from the oceanfront to Interstate 95. Diaz says the name was chosen in tribute to Delray’s history as a major pineapple-growing area, and because the fruit is a universal symbol of friendship and warm welcome.

Elizabeth Burrows, Marketing  and Grants Manager for the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency, likes the look of the inaugural issue.

“We really needed a new community newspaper,” Burrows said. “The Pineapple can focus on the stories and issues that are important but overlooked by other publications.”

That's me breathing deeply while relaxing in the Salt Suite's adult salt room. The lights are dim and meditative music is playing softly. I sense something healthy is happening.

What do the words “salt therapy” bring to mind? A handful of salty chips? An exfoliating foot scrub? A salt-rimmed margarita at the end of a trying day?

All valid interpretations. But if you follow health and fitness trends, you may also recognize salt therapy as a non-medical treatment for easing respiratory and skin conditions—one that’s been practiced for centuries in eastern Europe and is now catching on in the U.S.

Salt therapy, also known as halotherapy, involves breathing air infused with microscopic particles of mineral-rich salt. It’s based on early European discoveries that people who spent time in salt mines and natural salt caves suffered fewer respiratory problems than the general population. Today, doctors in Europe send patients to natural salt caves—or salt rooms designed to mimic the caves—for relief from asthma, bronchitis, and allergies, as well as skin ailments such as eczema.

South Florida’s first salt therapy spa, The Salt Suite, opened this month at 3100 S. Federal Highway in Delray Beach. Owners Elliot and Jessica Helmer of coastal Delray were kind enough to give me a tour and a trial session. It would be a good test; I was recovering from a head cold that had plugged up my sinuses.

My first question for the Helmers: how is this any different than sitting at the beach?

“Salt air at the beach has a lot of moisture, so the salt can only reach your upper airways,” Elliot says. “Our salt room is dry, so the salt penetrates deep into your lungs. Also, we use Dead Sea salt, which has healing minerals in addition to sodium chloride.”

They show me the machine that grinds the salt to the size of 1 to 5 micrometers and gently blows it into the salt room. “This makes the room three times more sterile than an operating room,” says Jessica. “The dry salt aerosol is pulled across the room and out. Never recycled. It’s a pure, anti-bacterial environment.”

She opens the door. I step into a white salt “sandbox” with salt-coated walls, white leather recliners, dim lights, and meditative music. Settling into a recliner, I close my eyes and inhale deeply. The air has no smell or taste.

Jacob Burrow, 5, who has a cold, and his brother Zachary, 3, who suffers from eczema, play on the granulated salt floor of the Kids Room at the Salt Suite. As the boys occupy themselves, they breathe dry salt aerosol that’s being pumped into the room.

I sense a mild stinging in the back of my throat, like when a little ocean water gets up your nose. I decide it’s a good thing. I ponder what Elliot told me about cyclists in Canada who visit salt rooms to clear out their lungs the day before a big race. And how insurance companies in Russia cover the cost of salt therapy. Unfortunately, U.S. health insurers do not.

A 45-minute session at the Salt Suite costs $45 for adults and $35 for children, who use a smaller, toy-filled salt room. The facility also has a dry-salt-aerosolized yoga room.

“We’re not doctors,” Elliot says. “We’re here to provide an alternative treatment that will give people relief from their symptoms.” Because salt therapy can boost the immune system, the couple hopes their new business will help people save money on costly prescription medications.

Driving home, I realize my sinuses are clear for the first time in a week. I can breathe easily and fully. The dry salt air seems to have nudged my cold along.