Archive for Cooking

Success Story!! and What I’m Eating: Real Whole Food Ideas

February 3, 2014 / / Comments Off on Success Story!! and What I’m Eating: Real Whole Food Ideas

I’ve got a Happy Success Story for you today, meal ideas, and Sad Stats on our Kids.  The sad stuff first, so we can get that out of the way:

All chronic diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and weight issues are on the rise, with no end insight (according to CDC predictions).  That means our children, who right now might be thin and active, will eventually become even heavier and more unhealthy than we are.  Studies show they’ll live shorter lives too.  Did you know that Fast Food companies are spending 5 Million dollars A DAY to advertise to our kids?  That the food and beverage industry spends more than 2 BILLION a year marketing TO OUR CHILDREN?  That the average American kid sees more than 4,000 food commercials a year?  That the average American kid doesn’t eat any vegetables outside of ketchup and french fries?

Some advertising is blatant, and some is very subtle, like when professional athletes promote crappy food to our kids, a la Subway’s SuperBowl commercial last night:  Michael Phelps, Apollo Ohno, and more Olympians promoting the new Frito’s Chicken Enchilada Melt. OMGosh.  Frito’s smushed in a sandwich! Subway’s done a good job of insinuating that they’re a fairly healthy choice (eat fresh, Jared, blah blah blah).  It’s not. It’s a giant bunch of chemicals put together to look like Real Food.  It’s not even close.  Please, please, look at the ingredient lists I just highlighted.

I often get asked questions like: what is Real Whole Food, and what else is there besides pasta/bread/cereal for kids.  I’m going to post some picture ideas this week of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, including dinner this past Saturday in a hotel (again), that we shared with our daughter Macy.

Keep reading, because after the pictures is the “good” news – another Success Story!

breakfast This is Shelby’s breakfast most mornings lately ( she’s my last one still at home, 11th grade).  Turkey bacon, one egg plus egg yolk ( I always have extra yolks because I make a lot of macaroons).

 

To the right is a typical lunch for her:  turkey/cheese roll-up in the aluminum foil, 2 clemmies, a big bag of nuts/dark shelby lunchchocolate/seeds/dried cranberries, and a macaroon.

sardinesBack to the left here is one of my lunches, a tin of sardines, parsley, salt/pepper, and sea kelp flakes ( iodine!), a macaroon, 2 carrots, and some pumpkin seeds.

Nothing tricky.  And last, over to the right, is our latest hotel dinner:  tomatoes, broth, brussels, carrots, cauliflower, onion, and fish – Oh my gosh was it good. dinner:hotel

Now for the Success Story, and when you read it, look at it from the angle that food makes or breaks us.  It matters what we put in our mouth. Feeling tired, feeling depressed, feeling bloated and bad, it’s not normal.  Food and lifestyle changes can fix these issues!

For the past 15 years, I would have considered myself a healthy eater. I’ve always been very ‘food’ conscious…and weight conscious. However I also have felt there was something missing in my ‘healthy’ diet. It left me never feeling quiet full and satisfied. As I got older, I was often drained and run down. I also have always experienced huge fluctuations in my blood sugar level-which often left me in a not so chipper mood! In May 2013, Debbie put forth a challenge of eating better, cleaner and less processed. I had to completely change the way I thought about fats and grains. I had to stop the mentality that I needed carbs (bread, grains, rice, etc.) for running and working out. What seemed difficult (even impossible) at first, has now become a way of life. A way of life I do not see myself ever changing. Within 2 weeks of the challenge I felt like a different person. I had so much more energy and a new zest for life. The addition of healthy fats has made brain function much more efficient. I was so excited about this new way of eating, I wanted to learn more about what was making me feel so nourished and ‘normal’. I took several classes from Debbie on digestion and read everything I could about eating grain and processed free food. It is truly amazing to see the difference in my life. Everyone in my family has noticed this change (and are joining in to the life of cleaner eating). I now eat primarily whole foods and have a new love of cooking. I’m excited to cook b/c I know what I prepare is going to make my family and myself feel good and nourished. I can easily run and exercise after a carbohydrate free breakfast. I NEVER crave bread, chips or crackers. It just doesn’t taste good to me anymore. My body now craves the food that makes me feel good…whole real foods!

 

Category: Carbs, Cooking, Looks Healthy But Isn't, RWF, Success Story / Tags: , , ,

Overweight Kids, Food Addiction, and Stupid Diet Tricks

January 26, 2014 / / Comments Off on Overweight Kids, Food Addiction, and Stupid Diet Tricks

thanksgiving groupCan you handle yet another post on Food Addiction?  Because I have one in my head, and it needs to get out.

One of my favorite radio programs is a syndicated talk show called New Life Live. it’s four psychiatrists on Christian radio, they get all kinds of questions and give great advice.  Until the other day.

A mother called in, concerned about her young, very overweight daughter.  Her description of the problem goes like this:  she’s athletic, involved in sports, is very, very heavy, eats fast, eats often, and eats more than her parents or her brothers, now she’s being teased at school and is feeling very sad about it.

Their advice:  get her to eat more slowly, it’s all about portion control, put down her fork between mouthfuls, chew more, and convince her to verbally express her feelings over the teasing and the weight.

O.M.Gosh.  Portion control?  Chew more?  Fork placement??  Oh, and how does she feel?  That’s easy: embarrassed, heavy, humiliated, starving, can’t control herself around food, wishes she looked like the skinny girls in class;  doesn’t take a mind reader.

Their advice was very well-meaning, they wanted to help; but it was horrible advice that doesn’t work, ever, for food addicts.  Food addicts are compulsively driven to eat food:  when they’re full; when they don’t need it; when they’re so stuffed they feel sick.  Telling a food addict to use portion control to lose weight and feel better about themselves is a joke.  Even the catchy buzz word “Mindfullness”, which is a practice I totally agree with and am trying to work on, is meaningless to an addict.  Mindfullness is impossible when the mind is full of buzzing neurons and hormones driving you to eat – fast,.. now,.. as much as possible.  The addicts brain isn’t “right”, and trite advice that really doesn’t work for anyone, makes them feel even worse about themselves when they can’t do it.

The Counselors didn’t spend one second examining the food situation in the house.  Not a second.  Like food doesn’t matter!

Here’s the facts:  if you’re eating processed foods, foods full of refined sugars and grains, hydrogenated oils, and chemicals, you’re eating foods that’s been chemically created in a laboratory to STIMULATE your BRAIN and MAKE YOU WANT MORE.  Honest!  Read Sugar, Fat and Salt, by Michael Moss, read The End of Overeating, by Dr. David Kessler.  These are just two books about the science and marketing behind the Food Industry.   It’s shocking and amazing, and it’s the truth:  processed food ( that includes fast food and chain restaurant food) is DESIGNED to make you want it BAD.  If they’re a regular part of your food habits, there will be no “managing” your intake.

There is no “portion control” with Doritos, Lays potato chips, commercial ice cream, fast food french fries, Keelbler cookies or CapN Crunch cereal.  If there was, they’d remake the formula. Big Food is big, serious business;  mistakes and failures are quickly corrected.  If processed food is part of your diet, even a little tiny part like just a little cereal, a few cheese crackers, or a bagel every day, then you’re stimulating your brain with substances that keep you enslaved and coming back.  Ending food addiction means 2 things: (1) giving up processed foods, it just has too.  ( Yes, breads, pastas and grain flours are “processed foods”, 100%), and (2) eating a diet of nutrient dense foods.  In other words, you have to quit eating foods that stimulate addictive neural behaviors and have bad hormonal affects, and load up on foods that don’t stimulate your brain, cause the right hormones (satiety hormones) to be released, and satisfy your bodies demand for necessary nutrients.

Are you thinking that you’ve lost weight before on Processed Foods, like frozen diet meals, diet drinks, diet candy bars, and diet ice cream?  Did you keep it off forever, or did you gain it back?  There’s almost a 100% chance you’ve gained it back.  You didn’t CHANGE YOUR BRAIN, you just white-knuckled/will powered through a period of dieting.  When your will power was gone, it ended.  Studies show that your period of dieting probably created even worse neural patterns than you had before, something called “famine brain”:  neural and hormonal patterns that make you compulsively seek out and eat food.

I’m telling you that if you change your diet to one of Real Whole Foods, and figure out how to make that work for you all the time (through work, weekends, nights out, vacations, and STRESS), your compulsive eating will end.  If you need help with this, work with me.  It’s only effort til it’s habit!

There’s so many great books out there on this, but two I recommend time after time are the Diet Cure and the Mood Cure by Julia Ross.  They’re fantastic.  Trust me, if you’re anywhere on the spectrum from full-blown addict to annoying food habits you can’t break, you’re going to need help.  These books and my blog are a great place to start:)

What should these counselors have said to this mom?  Time to change your kitchen and your pantry.  You’re going to have to use Real Whole Foods to make your breakfast, lunches, and dinners.  Everyone’ll have to get on board.  Processed bags of cereal, chips, and cookies will have to go.   You can’t control your kid’s whole world, but you can control your house.

(umm, actually, the other day I went upstairs and Shelby – who’s 17 – had bought crackers and candy, and had hidden it behind a chair!  I tossed it;  it happens in my house too!! )

If your child was addicted to cigarettes, would you smoke around them? If your child had a drinking problem, would you keep alcohol in the house?  It’s the same with food.  We all have to eat – food makes our body.  But we DON’T have to have foods in the house that cause addiction, stomach issues, bad skin, headaches, attention disorders, heart disease, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and cancer.  We don’t.  Seriously.  Fill your kitchen with meats, healthy fats, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, good full fat dairy;  foods that have to be cooked and prepared, not just munched right out of the box.  Real Whole Foods.  Will your kids complain, whine, cry, and rebel?  Yes……Learn to tune it out.  They’ll live; and you’ll live through those first weeks of negativity flying off them and onto you.  Persevere.  Nothing is easy in the beginning, but everything gets better when it becomes the norm.  If they don’t eat, they don’t eat.  Again, they’ll live.  Take control of your own and your children’s health.  Be a leader, a role model and an example.  Don’t let your kids go down the path of obesity and poor health that’s plaguing our country and shows no signs of slowing down. Processed foods are killing people.  Don’t let this happen to your family.  Be a Real Whole Foodie.

Category: Cooking, Food Additives, Mind/Body, Psychology of Eating, RWF / Tags: , , , , , ,

Paleo Pizza Crust Recipe; and a Weight Loss Success Story

January 16, 2014 / / Comments Off on Paleo Pizza Crust Recipe; and a Weight Loss Success Story

pizza

So my husband’s become obsessed with the show “Pizza Cuz” on the Cooking Channel, and it’s made him all antsy to have pizza. He was so entranced that he was flipping back and forth between the play-offs and the show; then he started pacing back and forth like a lion and then he threatened to go buy a Boboli crust and make his own!  I talked him off the ledge and set about finding a suitable replacement.

I did! I found a crust that’s Paleo/Gluten Free/Grain Free, and it actually works!  It’s easy too, unlike the more labor intensive (but delicious) Cauliflower crusts.  I got the recipe off of ZenBelly, who calls it “NY Style Pizza Crust”;  honestly, that’s stretching it, but it was still really, really good.  It’s actually a yeast dough, and it baked up airy and crispy at the same time.  Make sure you read her notes, because it’s not at all like making regular dough – it’s about 10X easier:  no kneeding, no rolling it out, and the dough is very wet instead of dry.  MOMS!!  This is a great alternative for your kids!!  I doubled the recipe with no problem.

My picky youngest daughter liked it, and my husband loved it.  This is his pizza here, loaded with toppings (sauce, lamb, olives, swiss, mozzarella, and herbs) and it held up perfectly to all that weight.

For the time being, crisis averted.  Amazing how jumpy brain neurons can get when they want something, isn’t it.

Here’s the link to ZenBelly NY Style Paleo Pizza Crust.

Next, I have another Success Story/Testimony I want to share.  I hope Jayme inspires you to take the actions to make huge, positive, changes in your life!

Debbie Abbott changed my life. At 43 years old, with 4 kids, two of which I had after 40, I was happy with my life but not happy with my body. I had never really learned how to eat or how to cook. Almost everything I ate came out of a box or can. So sad and so true. 

I started working out regularly after my 3rd child was born. I loved it. But I never really changed my eating habits. As a matter of fact I would tell myself, “you worked out, you can eat. Just eat in moderation”. But the weight was still adding up and at 43 years old I found myself at the heaviest I have ever been. I was taking prescription strength antacids everyday for almost 5 years. I had IBS most days and felt tired and bloated every day after about 3 pm. I thought this was normal. For me it was, and I hated it.

It was time for a lifestyle change. I knew it, I just had no idea how or where to start. So one day I was on Facebook and a friend shared a link to Debbie’s site www.rocksolidnutritionandwellness.com, I clicked it and never looked back!

It made sense, something finally made sense!  So I kept reading. I kept thinking, “I can do this, I can do this”. She gave me just enough science to make it stick. Not so much that you turn off the computer or skip to the meal plan part of the book. Which I was guilty of more times then not. 

Her blog was awesome and it made me finally think to myself that I CAN make a life change and it will work.  Debbie’s favorite way to end a blog is “Eat Real Food…Good Fats, Clean Proteins, and TONS of vegetables, some fruit, some nuts and seeds, and dairy if you can tolerate it.” In my brain this translated to things that come out of the ground, things with a mother, oh and CHEESE! I love cheese! 

I will admit the hardest part is only eating 3 meals a day. I was a big grazer. But, when you add the good fat to each meal you just aren’t hungry between meals. Some days I fall off of the wagon with this but I see the most progress with my weight loss when I wait at least 4 hours between meals on a regular basis. However, all the other benefits of clean eating are always consistent and to me that is HUGE.

I started this journey July 13, 2013. I am down 25 pounds, and completely off of the antacids. No bloating, and no more IBS. I sleep better then ever and my skin is awesome (for a 44 year old with 4 kids)!  I have more energy then ever and I don’t experience the huge mood swings that I used to. My husband, who has been following Debbie too, is down 27 pounds and looks amazing!

 Food doesn’t have to be hard. Planning ahead helps, but I don’t get fancy with meals most nights. I follow Debbie’s suggestions and always make sure we have something in the fridge to grab. I use my crock pot a lot! It works for me. Toss it in and forget about it until it’s time to eat dinner. Plus, most nights we don’t get to sit as a family and eat. But everyone can grab a bowl and serve themselves out of the crock pot.

 IT WORKS people and it is not that hard. It’s not and you can do it. Debbie makes it simple and easy. She takes the guess work out of it. She does all the research and I just follow along. I am a true believer and I am so lucky to have found her. 

Category: Carbs, Cooking, Paleo Recipe, RWF / Tags: , ,

Lose Weight Without Dieting, and No Recipe Paleo Meals

January 13, 2014 / / 2 comments

I’ve had more emails in the past week than in the past couple of months;  I’ve struck a nerve asserting that you can be slim without dieting.  Some women are asking if it’s actually possible, since we’ve all been brainwashed with Diet Propaganda since birth; and some women are lamenting their Food Addiction. ( They believe it, they just can’t stop eating.)

Two different issues, but the resolution is the same:  Real Whole Foods.  Make your meals comprised of Good Fats, Clean Proteins, and TONS of vegetables, some fruit, some nuts and seeds, and dairy if you can tolerate it. These foods contain the nutrients that make up every single cell in our body.  Glucose/Carbs/Starches/Sugars – they make nothing.  Our body uses a tiny MOLECULE of glucose inside the cells for fuel.  Our cells can also use fat and ketones for fuel.  That’s how people who live in areas with little to no vegetation thrive.  God designed our body to only be able to store a tiny bit of Glucose/Sugar/Carbohydrate, and convert any extra to Fat.

Changing gears here, until the mid 1900s, American’s didn’t have a weight problem. Health problems were horrible diseases like Typhoid or Cholera.   Check out this chart which relates changes in our food supply to how Heart Disease and Cancer went from almost unheard of in 1900,  to being the top two causes of death by 1950.  In 2013 we have a better chance of SURVIVING heart disease and cancer, but a GREATER than ever chance of developing it; despite Modern Medicine and all it’s advice.

What’s the link between our exploding weight and our horrible health?  Food.  By 1950 hydrogenated oils like Crisco and Margarine were household staples; in the 70s/80s, high fructose corn syrup became the predominant sweetener used in packaged/processed foods, in the 80s and 90s, chemically enhanced, fake foods and diet foods became a new norm.  Sugar went from 18 pounds per person in 1800, to 90 pounds per person in 1900, to almost 200 pounds per person in 2010.  Americans have drastically decreased their consumption of fatty meats and saturated fats, and vegetables and fruits.

The Results?  70% overweight, more than 30% obese.  Heart Disease, continually increasing, Diabetes – EXPLODING, Cancer – continually increasing, Depression/Anxiety/Migraines/Alzheimer’s – EXPLODING…. I could go on and on.

The take-away:  Dieting hasn’t worked; it’s actually had the opposite effect! Statistically, almost 100% of EVERYONE who loses weight on a “diet” gains it back. Most people gain MORE than they lost.  Reducing calories lowers Thyroid hormone, and increases Cortisol.  Eat a Low Fat/No Fat Diet, which means carby diet foods, and your Insulin increases. Losing weight becomes more and more difficult with each consecutive diet.  The hormonal effect of dieting is disastrous.  

What’s the latest in this line of research?  The effect dieting has on our Neurotransmitters, like dopamine and serotonin.  It completely depletes them or whacks out their levels.  If our Neurotransmitters aren’t level or normal, we can’t be normal.  This is where food addiction comes into play, along with depression and anxiety.  Want to learn more?  Read the Diet Cure by Julia Ross, it’s fantastic.  Want to work on this?  Get in touch with me.

Think you can’t lose weight by eating meals of Real Whole Foods that contain lots of fat and actually leave you feeling full?  You’re wrong.  The real fact is you can’t lose weight PERMANENTLY on a diet.  Just TRY a Real Whole Foods approach, try and see what happens for a month.  Really, what do you have to lose?

I’m going to close with some No Recipe Paleo Meals that I’ve cooked in the past few days.  (Power Cooking to a Walking Dead Binge!!)

This is Roasted Potatoes:  Put about 1/3 cup of butter (I used KerryGold) in a large baking dish (with sides) and let it totally melt in your oven (450) for a few minutes.  Scrub and chop a 5 pound bag of Russet potatoes.  Put the potatoes in your baking dish and mix/stir around so all the potatoes are covered in butter.  Sprinkle a LOT of salt and pepper, and Italian seasoning on top.  Bake for about 45-55 minutes, stirring/flipping at least twice.  Let these cool and then freeze flat in big ziplocs; you can just “break off pieces” and reheat in the oven or a pan with more butter.

roasted potatoes

 

Here’s Roasted Cabbage, Cauliflower, and Sausage:  I made a huge pot of broth (24 hour simmer of chicken bones in water and 1tbsp white vinegar) earlier this week.   I used 10 cups here, some Malt Vinegar, cabbage, cauliflower, onion, garlic, leeks, sausage, italian seasoning, salt and pepper.  This also freezes well.

broth:cabbage

And last, Mark and I went away this weekend;  here’s what I cooked in our cabin:  brussels and onions in butter, water, salt and pepper,  mixed with ground lamb, and a side of fried plantains.  The next picture is the leftovers mixed with a few eggs for breakfast.

dinner at high view

breakfast leftovers

 

 

Category: Carbs, Cooking, Fats, No Recipe Paleo Meals, Paleo Diet, RWF / Tags: , , , , , ,

Counting Calories? Raw Eggs? Milk for Everyone? Reader Questions-

January 11, 2014 / / Comments Off on Counting Calories? Raw Eggs? Milk for Everyone? Reader Questions-

me cookingMorning! I’ve received several good questions this week, which I’m going to answer here (questions are “condensed” for brevity).

(1) WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH ME EATING SO MANY RAW EGGS; AREN’T RAW EGGS DANGEROUS?

I eat raw eggs 4 or 5 times a week, usually 2 at a time.  All my eggs are from farmers, not commercial egg producers/grocery stores (except my local, small grocery store, the IGA, which sells Farmer Eggs).  I’d NEVER eat a raw egg from a commercial grocery store.  At this point, I don’t even want a cooked egg from a grocery store.  The egg’s nutrient profiles are a reflection of what they’re fed (grains for commercial chickens; plants and bugs for farm raised).  Also, I’d like to NOT support commercial chicken farming.  Have you seen how they’re raised?  There’s plenty of sneaky youtube videos, and here’s a synopsis to read.

There’s so many food myths that have been busted for me in the past few years, and this Raw Egg thing is one of them.  I use Raw Eggs for my self and my family several times a week for 4 or 5 years now, and no one’s become sick.  Our Real Whole Food diet’s made us all healthier.   Again though, I’d NEVER eat a raw commercial eggs.  Interested in learning more?  Read Dr. Mercola’s post on Raw Eggs, he includes plenty of sciency facts.  BTW: I pay $3.50/doz.

Ohh, I got a few emails in response to my milk post, suggesting I’m recommending milk for everyone.  Not at all!  I’ve said several times that Raw Dairy is a good food – if you can tolerate it.  A lot of people can’t.  My youngest daughter Shelby tested positive for Lactose Intolerance, although she can tolerate raw much better than pasteurized because Raw Milk has Lactase.    Here’s something interesting: there’s two reasons people are “sensitive” to milk.  (IMPORTANT:  Lactose Intolerance DOES NOT equal an Allergy; allergies can be life threatening.  Intolerance/sensitivities gives you bad stomach aches.)  Interesting research on milk intolerance is suggesting that it maybe a secondary reaction to Gluten Intolerance, via Molecular Mimicry.  Here’s the thinking:  No one has the enzymes to digest Glutens (grain proteins).  They go thru the small intestine wall, into the blood stream, NOT COMPLETELY broken down, causing “Leaky Gut”.  These big proteins aren’t supposed to be in the blood stream, so our immune system mounts an attack.  Casein proteins from dairy look VERY MUCH LIKE GLUTEN PROTEINS.  Eventually, our immune system MISTAKENLY attacks the casein proteins also.  What to do? Heal and seal your gut, quit eating glutens, and often the dairy sensitivities go away. Think that sounds crazy? No crazier than when our immune system attack our joints, our thyroid, our liver, our pancreas, or any other part it wants to in Auto Immune Disease.  Those are mistakes also; our immune system shouldn’t attack us, but it happens.  Want to learn more, read this piece by PhD scientist Sarah Ballentyne, aka The Paleo Mom.  She’s all about whacked out immune systems as she deals with it herself.
Last Question, how many calories do I eat a day?  Oh My Gosh I haven’t counted calories in a few years and WHAT A RELIEF!!!  I’m guessing, due to huge amounts of fat, that I eat close to 2500/3000 a day.  Way up from my compulsive decades of consuming Low Fat /No Fat foods, (until my inevitable binges), where I stressed, starved, and worried every single day about my weight.  I eat Real Whole Foods 3X a day, and I rarely EVER snack ( I eat too much fat and protein to get hungry ).  If I have dessert ( Paleo!) I have it WITH a meal.  My weight?  Unbelievably steady.  Stomach issues?  Zero.  Let me say it like this:  As I’ve COMPLETELY eliminated dieting/diet foods/diet thoughts, I’ve consistently had the best weight and the best health of my life.

I’m feeding my body the nutrients it wants, and I’ve deleted the negative cascade of hormonal results that happen with dieting (high cortisol, high insulin, low thyroid).

What’d I eat yesterday?

Paul Newman Organic Vanilla Coffee with 1/3 cup Raw Cream

B – raw whole fat keifer (1 cup) 2 raw eggs, frozen spinach and cherries, coconut flakes, cinnamon, ginger, Manuka honey (google it)

L – several slices of DELICIOUS deer sausage with jalapenos and cheddar, an orange, and a macaroon, handful of mixed nuts

D – baked fish, roasted white potatoes in butter and herbs, a mix of broth/tomatoes/cabbage/cauliflower/onion/garlic soup.

And last question: can I be more specific with my recipes, i.e amounts of ingredients:  Sorry, I don’t cook that way.  I only use recipe books for their pictures and ideas.  That mix I made for dinner last night or any night?  I had those things in the fridge, so I threw them together.  Three nights in a row earlier this week, I made brussels and coconutbrussel sprouts with various ingredients: broth/butter/bacon/sausage/onions/carrots/sweet potato/cheese.  I load on herbs and spices and heat depending on who’s home and what I’m feeling.  Cooking’s Not Brain Surgery. ( Baking however is, you MUST follow recipes when baking.)   Just put together foods and flavors you like.  Real Whole Foods ALWAYS taste good, so it’s hard to go wrong.

Keep sending your questions – I love them!  Make time to read the links:  when you make your health a priority by learning how your body works, it’s easier to make effortless changes to your eating.  It’s not a struggle to say NO to cake, cookies, crackers, or fast food when you think they’re poison.

Category: Carbs, Cooking, Fats, No Recipe Paleo Meals, Paleo Diet, Psychology of Eating, Question of the Week, RWF / Tags: , , , , ,

Mofongo Recipe; and, Want to Avoid Cold and Flu? Boost Your Immune System!

January 6, 2014 / / Comments Off on Mofongo Recipe; and, Want to Avoid Cold and Flu? Boost Your Immune System!

me in kitchenIt’s cold and flu season now, but that doesn’t mean you or your kids have to get sick.  Here’s a great article from Dr. Mercola that really goes into detail on how virus spread and how to prevent it.  I hope you can take a few minutes to read it.  If you can’t, here’s some bullet points:

* Even though the CDC says the Flu Vaccine is 56% effective for most, and 9% effective for people 65 and older, the Cochrane Datebase Review emphatically contests that.  They say studies show the vaccine only prevents flu for 1 out of every 100 people vaccinated.    Read all those numbers again, then check up on me if you don’t believe it.

* A virus can replicate itself by the millions very quickly.  Luckily, if we’re healthy, we have HUNDREDS OF TRILLIONS OF IMMUNE CELLS that can fight them.

* To Boost your Immune System:  optimize Vitamin D, because studies show it’s much more effective than the vaccine in preventing flu;  stay away from Grains, Sugars, and Chemicals, which destroy beneficial bacteria in the gut and immediately suppress immune responses;  eat foods that have anti-viral/anti-bacterial properties, like coconut oil, grass fed butter, beef, and eggs, garlic, onions, and oregano, to name just a few.

* Repeat: Your immune system is MORE important for your health than a vaccine.

mogongo dinnerI made Mofongo!!!  For a crowd too – and it worked!  If you saw my pictures from Christmas week, you know we went an island off Puerto Rico called Culebra.  Our oldest daughter, Meg, is working at a B&B there.  I’d heard from her and Andrew Zimmern/Bizarre Foods, that Mofongo is the native dish of Puerto Rico, and that it was delicious.  And it is!  I had it 4 days in a row for lunch, watched a you tube on how to make it, and finally was able to last night, for 7 of us.

Super simple: sauteed plantains, garlic, salt/pepper, and crispy pork rinds ( I used good bacon instead), and then you mash it all together and serve it with fish or octopus ( I had octopus everyday there bc I never get fresh octopus here.) Last night, I served it with Halibut and steamed kale.

Usually Mofongo is made one serving at a time in a pestle, I wasn’t about to do that, so I used a blender to mix all the ingredients.  Peeling and sauteing the plantains took a little time, because I had to do 6, and I sauteed in two batches, but after that it was fast.  I blended the ingredients, popped them into a muffin pan, and cooked on 400 for 10 minutes.  They were already warm from cooking the plantains and bacon.  Oh my gosh it’s good!

Category: Cooking, Paleo Diet, RWF / Tags: , , ,

How to Get Slim and Fit in 2014

January 1, 2014 / / Comments Off on How to Get Slim and Fit in 2014

5 of us snorkelingWe’re back from Culebra – Happy New Year!  On the one hand, it’s so exciting, and on the other, it’s hard to believe that a whole year has passed, …again.  Did you come out different or better or changed, or are you the same as when 2013 started?  I know from emails that many of you want to change, but are struggling with the “how”.  Here’s an email that sums it up:

“Hi Debbie, i was hoping you might be able to point me in the right direction…. i need some help. my weight is getting out of control again, and i know it’s because i’m not eating right and i don’t exercise enough. bottom line. and no magic pill is going to help me. i need to make a lifestyle change. i just need to. my problem is that i need to find something that is 1. easy to follow 2. won’t break the bank 3. i can still go out to eat on occasion and still enjoy myself when it comes to social functions 4. something i’ll WANT to do for the rest of my life 5. isn’t too drastic to the point where i’ll have to cook for myself and then make something different for my boyfriend – essentially, i want something that i can use for the whole family. and of course fancy dancy 30 item recipes that take hours to make aren’t on the single mother wish list either. i was looking at your website and see you follow paleo, maybe? ”

YES I can point you in the right direction:  make all your foods quality meats, fats, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds.  Shun grains and sugars, the body turns them into fats/triglycerides very easily, and you’ll get all the carbohydrates you need in the foods listed above. Don’t eat chemicals.  MOVE every day.  If you can join a gym, join a gym.  If you can’t, walk, do push-ups, follow YouTube workouts – there’s about a billion free ones.  Don’t make 30 ingredient meals:  meat, vegetables, butter/olive oil, salt and pepper.  Simple.

I LOVE that she says “no magic pill is going to help me”;  if there was a magic pill, we wouldn’t have 70% of our population overweight.  The same goes for gadgets and diet programs:  waste of money.  If you want to get healthy and lose weight, it’s ALL ABOUT YOUR MIND.  Easy to follow? Going out to restaurants? Cooking for a crowd? Paleo is the answer for me, because I believe to my depths that eating crackers, pasta, bread, soda, and convenience foods are poison to my body. When I travel or cook for a crowd or pack my lunch every day, there’s no struggle.  That’s the point you want to get to:  No Struggle.  Then it’s easy to pass up all the foods that make you sick and overweight.

How do you get to that point?  It’s what you fill your mind with.  Read books like Wheat Belly or Grain Brain (no time to read? get Audible or buy the books on CD);  read my blog, or Chris Kressers or Mark’s Daily Apple; listen to podcasts that are on LivinlaVidaLowCarb (kitchen, car, workouts, etc) from doctors and experts with the latest science. Order the Paleo magazine.  And here’s my biggie drum beat:  Plan Shop Chop Prep Pack.  You’re not going to “luck” into a healthy lifestyle and a healthy body, it’s only going to come with effort.  Pretty soon though, the amount of effort required becomes less and less as your brain changes from the “calories in calories out” model to ” food is medicine or food is poison” model.

You can’t change your body (permanently) unless you change your brain. Willpower is Very Limited; every diet ends with a binge.  Educate yourself about how your body works, and the effects different foods have on you. Make this a priority instead of “weight loss”.  Weight loss and Health are the SIDE EFFECTS of changing how you think/act/feel.  Want to work with me?  I can change how you think about food and eating; not in one magical conversation, but over several.

You can leave 2014 very very differently than you entered it if you realistically tell yourself that you’re going to take a whole year to re-educate your mindset. Be determined, be confident, be bold; 12 months sounds long, but it’s not.  Time flies and before you know it, a whole new you will be here.

Category: Carbs, Cooking, Mind/Body, Psychology of Eating, Question of the Week / Tags: , ,

Dessert Recipe and Inspiration: Contradictory? Nope.

December 23, 2013 / / Comments Off on Dessert Recipe and Inspiration: Contradictory? Nope.

firstpicmacyJust 2 days til Christmas and I’m so excited!  Not much time to write, but I do want to pass on a beautiful and delicious dessert idea, and a few success stories.

The picture posted today?  That’s my number 3 daughter Macy, who made Paleo Carmel Apple Bars, but instead of bars,appletrifle she did it trifle style.  It honestly tastes as great as it looks.

And just in case you haven’t been sticking to a Paleo Diet for the Holidays, here’s a few success stories from Mark’s Daily Apple.

(1) from a 40-something woman   (2) from a 34 year old man,  and (3) from a 54 year old woman.  They all had a lot of weight to lose, and the guy was INCREDIBLY sick.

You can change yourself.  Dieting won’t do it, but working on your mindset will.  Our actions are belief driven.  If you really believe that crappy food loaded with flours, sugars, hydrogenated oils, and chemicals will damage, hurt, and eventually kill you, you’ll stay away from them.  If you think your weight is just a reflection of ‘calories-in, calories-out’, you’ll be like the near-100% of all dieters, who lose weight just to gain it all back again.  Here’s a post on my own story.

To channel Charis again, think about what you manifested this past year.  Now my own thought: what do you want to manifest in 2014?

Category: Cooking, Mind/Body / Tags: , , ,

Paleo Christmas Party Recipe Links

December 14, 2013 / / Comments Off on Paleo Christmas Party Recipe Links

table at partyYou can have a Christmas party without grains and sugars –  we proved it yesterday:)  Thank you to everyone who brought the delicious food, and thanks for braving my snowy, hilly, driveway.  I’ve got the recipes links for about half of the food that was shared, and the whole recipe for the cauliflower soup.  NOTE:  No one expected “cauliflower soup” to be so delicious, but it was.  OMG:  herb-y, hot, creamy, wintery and warming.

Magic Cookie Bars, All Day I Dream About Food.  The sweetened condensed milk takes 90 minutes to make, plan accordingly.

Bacon Jam from the cookbook, Beyond Bacon.

Goji Berry Sea Salt Drops, from Food Babe.

Bacon wrapped dates stuffed with Manchego cheese, and Bacon wrapped dates NOT stuffed – both versions are delicious.

Paleo Snickerdoodles, Elana’s pantry.

Paleo Molassas Spice Cookies, Elana’s pantry.

Paleo Coconut Milk Bread, The Spunky Coconut.

Peanut butter Caramel Shortbread bars, All Day I Dream About Food.

Peanut Butter Cookies, Elana’s Pantry ( these were supposed to be Vegan, but I used butter)

Star Butter Cookies, Elana’s Pantry

Paleo Pecan Sandies, Elana’s Pantry

Chunky Monkey Muffins, Primal Cravings cookbook

Sorry, there was a lot more food on the table, but no cards with links on them:(  I’ll do a better job monitoring that next year I promise!

The Cauliflower Soup Recipe:

2 leeks, including 2 bunches of greens, roots trimmed

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1 celery rib, with extra leaves, coarsely chopped

2 tbsp finely minced garlic

2 tsp curry powder –   this ingredient surprised me bc I tasted NO hot spicyness at all

2 tsp ground ginger

6 cups chicken or vegetable broth (more if necessary)

Juice of half a lemon

1 head cauliflower, cored and broken into florets

1 cup half and half

salt and pepper to taste

Cut leeks in half lengthwise. Wash to remove dirt.   Pat dry and thinly slice crosswise.   (2) Heat oil w the butter in heavy pot over low heat. Wilt the leeks and celery w leaves until softened, 10 minutes, add garlic during the last 5 minutes.  (3)  Stir in the curry powder and ginger, cook over low heat to permeate the vegetables, 1 minute.  (4) Add broth, lemon juice, and cauliflower florets. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the cauliflower is very tender, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly. (5) Puree in a food processor until very smooth, adding half and half though the feed tube.  Add extra broth for desired consistency. Season w Salt and Pepper.   Sprinkle with crystalized ginger or sliced scallions.

 

Category: Cooking, RWF / Tags: , , , , , ,

Magic Cookie Bars!

December 5, 2013 / / Comments Off on Magic Cookie Bars!

Magic-Cookie-Bars-6Hope you all don’t mind another post on desserts, but I’m just like everyone else:  “Tis the Season”, you know?  I don’t mean to give the impression that I want everyone to have a sweet every day, but I know a lot of people do have a sweet everyday, and asking them to stop cold-turkey is rarely successful, especially at this time of year.   Desserts seem to pull at our heart strings and our minds; sometimes, we just want them, and sometimes, we need them.  Like sometimes I need chocolate.

The most recent issue of Time Magazine sites a study:  according to Canadian researchers, putting foods on your do-not-eat list makes you crave them more.   ( How much money did they spend to prove something so obvious?)  Sounds like even more reason to bake homemade Paleo Desserts!

Here’s links to two recipes I made this week:  Peanut Butter Cookies ( I used butter instead of coconut oil, and Swerve instead of honey), and Magic Cookie Bars (OMG – homemade sweetened condensed milk is from heaven.)  The condensed milk takes a while, just like caramel.  If you have a kid, maybe you can pay them to stir.  Since I didn’t, I made it while I was in the kitchen cleaning.

dinner every nightI get a lot of comments on cooking:  it’s hard, I’m not that good, my kids don’t eat the recipes I try, I’m too tired, my family’s picky….  Oh come on!!!  Food’s IMPORTANT.  Every cell in our body gets remade or repaired from the food we put in our mouth.  Junk in is honestly junk out.  It’s not immediately apparent, but that’s the truth.   Cooking’s only hard when it’s not a habit.  Everything’s an effort til it’s a habit, then it’s just normal.   To all the mom’s out there, your kids deserve Real Whole Food: their minds, their body, their energy level, their ability to learn, it’s about the food.  The same goes for you.  Plan, shop, prep, cook, pack, and freeze;  you can do it.

Check out the recipes, and if you want to see more ideas, check out my Pintrest page – I’m obsessed with Pintrest!! It’s so fun!  Oh, and don’t forget this week’s Mantra:  Grains and Sugars are deadly and fattening.

 

Category: Cooking, RWF / Tags: , ,
« Older Entries   Recent Entries »
Wordpress Theme by ThemeZee