Archive for RWF

Vitamin D affects Breast Cancer, Depression, and Immunity

January 2, 2014 / / Comments Off on Vitamin D affects Breast Cancer, Depression, and Immunity

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, that means it can’t be absorbed without adequate in the waterfat present.  It also can’t be absorbed well if you’ve got stomach troubles, you know, bloat, indigestion, excessive burping, trapped gas, etc.  (Stomach problems aren’t normal, no matter how much the Antacid Companies try to convince us otherwise; and antacids used more than 2 weeks do more harm than good.  But that’s a different post.)

Actually, Vitamin D is more Hormone than Vitamin, and it affects at least 3000 of our genes.  There’s a worldwide deficiency of Vitamin D, and despite supplementation, levels aren’t improving.  The best, most absorbable Vitamin D is made on your skin, from the interaction of Cholesterol and UVB sun rays.  During these winter months, when UVB rays are in short supply, and we’re not out very long anyway, it’s even more important to make the effort to get your D.

Here’s Dr. Mercola’s latest post, which also includes a link to the Vitamin D project, which I’m signing up for.

Take your health into your own hands. No one cares as much as you do, and no one else knows you as well as you do: your history, your stress levels, your habits, your life.  No one is sick because they’ve got a deficiency in a pharmaceutical, no one.   Just like no one is overweight because they’ve got a deficiency in a diet drug.  Read Dr. Mercola and let me know if you join the Project too!

Category: RWF, Uncategorized / Tags: ,

I Want To Feel Energetic, Vibrant, and Alive! (and a DIY lotion recipe)

December 18, 2013 / / Comments Off on I Want To Feel Energetic, Vibrant, and Alive! (and a DIY lotion recipe)

me cookingOh my gosh, one more week til Christmas! It’s a busy time, but we can still be healthy, right?  What we do when life is hard/busy/stressful, that’s who we really are.

I’ve heard from more than a few people expressing sadness about weight gain, specifically, weight gain since Thanksgiving;  the dreaded Holiday 5 Pounds.  You’ve got a choice here, you either go with the line, ” I’ve already blown it, New Years Day is right around the corner, I’ll start new then.”  or this line,  “More vegetables, more fruit, more healthy fats and proteins; I’m going to plan the next few days well and get back on track because I don’t like feeling this way.”

Pick a line and go with it.  If it’s the second line, MEDITATE ON IT.  Choose your thoughts; quit letting a momentary whim lead to actions that make you feel horrible later.   Do this for me:  next time you want some food that’s not healthy, set a timer on your phone and see how long the desire lasts.  Unless you’re genuinely starving, Hunger Is Temporary.  Seriously.  If you turn out to still be starving in 15 minutes, evaluate what you ate at your last meal.  Was there enough fat, enough protein, enough vegetables, enough Real Whole Foods,  or did you do the “diet” thing and now you’re hungry?  Give your body the nutrients it needs, and that compulsive desire to eat will start to fade away.  Weight loss (if you need it) is a side-effect of eating healthy.

On a different note, I’m obsessed with DIY lotions – they’re so fun!  But that’s not why I’m making them;  I’m making them because the ingredient list for store bought lotions is gross, honestly.   Look at Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizer, it’s a Best Seller:  16,300 bottles are sold A DAY; that’s about $700,000 A DAY for just this product.

Here’s the ingredient list:

Water, Mineral Oil, Sesame Oil, Propylene Glycol, TEA Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Lanolin Alcohol, Petrolatum, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Yellow #5, Yellow #6, Red #33.   For the $38 – $46 you’ll shell out, here’s what you get:  dyes that the FDA say cause cancer (this would be the “transdermal” way to get cancer), Glyceryl Stearate, which is a petrochemical; the mineral oil and Petrolatum are inexpensive by-products of petroleum, and the two parabens?  They’re estrogenic (that means it mimics estrogen), carcinogenic, and allergenic.  Think I’m exaggerating because dangerous products aren’t allowed to be sold to the public?  Think again.

Fact check your products with EWG’s site, skin deep to see what they contain; or look here.

bowl in panHere’s a lotion I’ve been making from the wellness mama site, talk about luxurious!

1/2 c olive or almond oil            ingredients

1/4 c coconut oil

1/4 c beeswax (beeswax is cool!)

1 tbsp vitamin E oil

2 tbsp cocoa butter  and/or

2 tbsp shea butter

essential oils.   I’ve used Peppermint, Vanilla, Sweet Orange, Frankensense, and Neem, so far.

Directions:  put a pot on the stove that has 2-3″ of water in it and turn the heat to med-high.  Place all the ingredients in a mason jar, and then place the jar in the hot water. Stir til everything’s melted, then add your essential oils.   After that, you can redistribute to smaller jars, like I did, or keep it in the one jar.

Some of you might be thinking I’ve crossed a line. First, I’ve been asking you to plan, shop, cook and pack;  now I’m saying personal care products need to be made in the kitchen.  I SWEAR I’M NOT SAYING THAT!!  I’m just planting a seed.  I know better than anyone that sometimes, changes need to be made slowly.  But true Growth, becoming a better person, that’s always a goal, right?  I want to feel good, energetic, vibrant, alive – you do too, I know it!  What we put on our body is just as important as what we put in our body. Those chemicals from the personal care products,  they’re through the skin and in our blood stream in seconds.   Just a little seed.  ( a mustard seed.)

Let me finish with the three quotes for the week:

* “Most of us have practiced doing things the wrong way for years, we can’t expect everything to turn around in a few weeks.”  Joyce Meyers

* “Change your thoughts and you change your world.” Norman Vincent Peale

* “Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life.”  Golda Meir

 

Category: Looks Healthy But Isn't, Mind/Body, Psychology of Eating, RWF / Tags: , , , ,

All Behavior is Belief Driven

December 16, 2013 / / Comments Off on All Behavior is Belief Driven

elfJust 9 days til Christmas – I feel the energy in the air!!  Along with a giant To-Do list in my notebook.

I’m going to blast some facts at you, because : All Behavior Is Belief Driven.  Think it’s hard to walk past platters full of doughnuts, cookies, or bagels without eating any? It depends on your belief:  do you believe that flour and sugar are literally toxic to your brain and body, or do you still look at food as calories that you can work-off or starve-off later?

Fact: flours that contain Gluten (a group of proteins that are in grains) have ADDICTIVE properties, they literally stimulate pleasure centers in your brain that make you want more.

Fact:  no human being on earth has the digestive enzymes to break down glutens from wheat, barley, or rye.  Think you don’t have a problem because you’re not a Celiac?  Celiac disease is an AUTO IMMUNE reaction to the glutens. That happens to some people.   For the rest of us, the damage accumulates over YEARS:  the undigested proteins leak thru the gut wall, inappropriately; our immune system responds to the foreign objects, and where we’re most vulnerable (joints, brain, nervous system, thyroid, etc) gets attacked.

Fact:  sugar has ADDICTIVE properties. Studies show that it’s MORE addictive than Cocaine.  In 1700, the average American ate 4 lbs of sugar a year; in 1800 it was 18 lbs;  in 1900 it was 90 lbs,  in 2009, it was 180 lbs.   

Imagine the power that foods containing both Gluten and Sugar possess.  Think you can have just a little?  Maybe,  there’s actually still some people left that can have a bite and walk away, but they’re in the minority.  Most people have their appetites seriously triggered, and it tends to stay triggered.

Fact: in 1890, 3% of the population was overweight,  in 2010, 70% of our population was overweight.

Fact:  Gluten and Sugar are conclusively linked to Cancer, Heart Disease, Obesity, Migraines, Diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Auto Immune Conditions, Depression, ADHD, ADD, Anxiety, and just about every disease out there.

Fact: 70% of Illnesses today are PREVENTIBLE.  70%.

There’s a sweet, sweet girl who’s wisdom I follow, her name is Charis.  She wrote one of the most profound statements this past weekend.  She said to spend time before the New Year thinking about what you manifested this past year.  OMG I LOVE THAT.  Our life, our body, our thoughts, our “luck”, our relationships, they’re all exactly what we made of them.  Evaluate where we are, where we want to be, and how to get there.  If it’s a different place, it won’t be doing the same old thing, that’s for sure.

We only have a few weeks left of the Change.   Nothing changes if our thoughts don’t change.  Nothing.  Actually, I should say, nothing PERMANENTLY changes.  Will powering through situations is do-able, for a little while.  Then there’s the backlash.  Remember that quote I used the other day, ” for every diet, there is an equal and opposing binge”?

Practice making the association between every bite you put in your mouth and your health, your energy, and your resilience.   If you have children, help them make that association too.  We live in a world that promises happiness if you drink diet coke or eat pop tarts and frozen pizza.  We’re bombarded with ads promising quick fixes with pharmaceuticals.  We see pictures of beautiful people indulging in alcohol, chips, and candy, sending the message that if they do that and look that good, we can do that and look that good.  It’s not true.  Our body, our brain, and our spirit need Real Whole Food, sleep, exercise, and love.

I’ve got 3 quotes for you; if you really want to change, write them down and meditate on them.  Post them on your lamp your mirror your steering wheel;  practice positive, productive thinking.

(1) “Most of us have practiced doing things the wrong way for years, we can’t expect everything to turn around in a few weeks. ”  Joyce Meyers

(2) “Change your thoughts and you change your world.”  Norman Vincent Peale

(3) “Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life.”  Golda Meir

 

Category: Mind/Body, RWF, Sugar / 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: , ,

Thanksgiving Recap, and Choose Your Attitude

November 30, 2013 / / Comments Off on Thanksgiving Recap, and Choose Your Attitude

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and a good start to the holidays; we did at our house:)  All four daughters were home, even the one who’s working in Puerto Rico; 3 boyfriends joined us, and we had our first 100% Flour Free, Sugar Free Feast.

Here’s a picture of everyone:

thanksgiving group

 

And here’s the menu:  Turkey from Dark Hollow Farm in Markham, Va ( shout out – they raise them in the woods and they’re delicious!).  Oh, I have to stop here.  We decided to roast the turkey in our Big Green Egg, which we’ve used for several roasts and a couple big chickens this past year, so I felt comfortable.  We live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, and it’s been super cold; when we went to light up the Egg, it was frozen shut!  Woops.  Mark was able to feed some starter bricks in the bottom, but even when the inside temp was 400*, the lid stayed frozen.   A little panic set in.  He poured water on it over and over and it eventually opened, but our dinner was a slightly delayed because of this.  Lesson learned though: the Big Green Egg can freeze shut in the right weather.  Plan accordingly.

We also had:  stuffing made with coconut flour bread; mashed potatoes, sweet potato muffins made with coconut flour, brussels with bacon, green beans, mushroom sauce/gravy which I thickened with a tablespoon of arrowroot starch(worked perfect), and carrots with butter and cinnamon.

coconut and barkFor dessert, we had pumpkin pie with a nut crust, apple caramel cake (OMG!!), homemade ice cream w/coconut milk, regular vanilla ice cream from the store, chocolate pomegranate bark, pecan pie bark, and toasted coconut flakes.   The pumpkin pie, apple caramel cake, the barks, and the mushroom sauce/gravy are all on my Pintrest page, but here’s the change we made:  we used Swerve Sweetener – and LOVED it!!  Definitely my new Go-To.

Paleo Cookie Exchange at my house on December 13, from noon to 2.  Bring a flour free/sugar free dessert – or don’t!  I’ll have plenty and everyone’s invited!

Are you remembering your mantra?  “Attitudes don’t just happen, they’re the product of our choosing?”  Our eating habits, our response to situations, how we react to people, these are all ACTIONS we can change or improve.  Nothing about us is set in stone, but plastic.  If you want to change your body, you have to change your mind first, this is an absolute.  If your thinking doesn’t change, nothing changes.  Instead of fixating over weight or thighs or food, think about your heart, your mind, and the vibrations and energy you give off or give away.  You can either start the changes today (or continue the changes you’ve started), and be a new person by January 1, 2014; or you can keep doing the same old thoughts, actions, habits, and attitudes and be the EXACT same person.

Enjoy your Holiday Weekend!  We’re off to the gym for HITT cardio, and biceps/triceps.  Catching Fire Tonight!!!

Category: Mind/Body, RWF / Tags: , , , , , ,

Is Quinoa Paleo? A Travel Workout; a Vacation Cut Short, and THANKSGIVING

November 24, 2013 / / Comments Off on Is Quinoa Paleo? A Travel Workout; a Vacation Cut Short, and THANKSGIVING

Our anniversary weekend was cut a little short thanks to snow – we brought a car that DOESN’T drive well on slippery roads 🙁   We still had a great two days, got to see a part of fallingwaterSouthWestern Pa I hadn’t seen before ( beautiful! ) and take a tour of Fallingwater, the home Frank Lloyd Wright built in 1936 over a waterfall.  If you’re in the area, or interested in architecture, this is a Must See.

We did have a great workout yesterday in the Nemacolin Spa/Gym, who wouldn’t?? The stone, the wood, the giant walls of glass so that you felt like you were outside – it was inspiring!   Here’s what I did (Travel Gym Workout):  7 rounds of leg press (25 reps) with 2 minutes on the elliptical after each set,  then 2 rounds of abductor/adductor machines with 2 minutes elliptical after each set, then 4 rounds assisted pull ups (12), 15 push ups, with 2 minutes elliptical after each set, and ball pullovers to finish up.

eggs and vegAfterwards, we had a quick lunch before we checked out: the leftover vegetables from the night before mixed with 6 eggs (yes, we eat the yolks – they’re nutrient BOMBS).  Then I ate a small bag of nuts and seeds in the car.

Dinner was back at home, and I just made what I was going to make anyway:  burgers stuffed with slow roasted tomatoes, topped with thick cheddar, a pot of vegetables cooked in bacon fat and butter (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, onion, and kale), a big sweet potato cut up and roasted, then doused in butter.  Two of our girls were home so I made a lot, but there’s vegetables left over to mix with eggs again this morning.

Now to the Quinoa question:  is Quinoa paleo?  Is it healthy? Is it a good substitute for bread crumbs in meatloaf?  Do I eat quinoa?  Answers:  quinoa is a seed not a grain, technically, seeds are paleo.  However, the carb count is high:  1 cup is 109 grams of carbs, that’ll send your blood sugar soaring.  It’s also got some of the anti-nutrients you’d find in grains, which means say hi to digestive/stomach issues.  Do I eat it?  Not in years.  I OD’d on grains and gut disruptive foods for so long, that I have NO leeway in messing with them; a couple years ago I even tried sprouted quinoa, and 30 minutes later I was in stomach bloat misery.  What about the meatloaf?  You can use almond flour, coconut flour, or ……. no flour binder whatsoever.  Have you googled Paleo Meatloaf recipes?  There’s about a million;  I never use a recipe, I just throw in whatever I’m craving or whatever’s available.  Meatloaf’s kind of a no-brainer in that it’s EASY to make it delicious.  Try this one:http://nomnompaleo.com/post/62028051471/quick-easy-paleo-comfort-foods-the-recipe-for-meat.

turkeysEnough about all that now, it’s Thanksgiving week!!!  We’ve been pouring over recipes  and this morning we’ve watched the Contessa, Giada, and Pioneer Woman.  I’ve started saving recipes on Pintrest, and we’re about to head to Wegmans.  We’re planning a solid, 100% Paleo/Gluten Free Thanksgiving ( sorry Shelby!).   What are you all making?

 

 

Category: Cooking, Question of the Week, RWF / Tags: , , , ,

26 Years of Marriage, and Eating in Nemacolin Woodlands

November 23, 2013 / / Comments Off on 26 Years of Marriage, and Eating in Nemacolin Woodlands

IMG_2768My husband Mark and I have made it to 26 years of marriage – Yea Us!  We’re away for the weekend in Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, and having fun 🙂  He rented us a townhouse here so that we’d have a kitchen,  because we both love home cooked food.  Here’s the low-down so far:  yesterday morning, I had my Kitchen Sink Smoothie for breakfast, and he had 2 scoops of protein with Raw Milk; have I told you he drinks half a gallon of raw, whole milk a day and has for almost 2 years now?   Some may say this is over kill, but I’ve got to admit, it works for him.  My husband has also (almost) totally given up bread, pasta, and desserts in 2013.  I say almost, because he probably still indulges once or twice a month, which is a HUGE change from a few times a day every day.  He’s also cut his beer consumption waaaayyy down for the past several years, and this year he’s switched to Hard Cider (gluten free, no sugar added) about half the times he does feel like a drink. The guy’s become LEAN.  He’s liking the changes – and so am I:)

By lunch time, we were on the road; he had another raw whole milk and protein before we left, and I ate a baggie of nuts and a pear.  We stopped right past Cumberland Md at a Sheetz ( which had a DRIVE THRU!!) for a tea and bathroom break. ( I’m so weird I travel with my own tea and stevia, so really, I just paid for the cup and the hot water.)

The townhouse is great, and as far as kitchens go, pretty complete.  I’m a good packer, so I’d food in fridgeincluded a sharp knife, a cutting board, salt and pepper, and a plug in food on counterfrying pan with a lid ( you never know what a kitchen is going to be missing).    Here’s the counter and fridge loaded with items I packed:  lamb, sausage, kale, brussels, cheese, mushrooms, carrots, onion, garlic, avocado, slow roasted tomatoes, bacon, a green pepper, eggs,  coffee ( go Paul Newman Vanilla!), stevia, raw cream, raw milk (2) and protein powder.  (I keep a running list on what I want to bring when I travel, it helps me not to forget anything.)

Here’s the dinner pic:  burgers stuffed with tomato and covered with cheese, and a side of brussels sprouts w/bacon, onion, and mushrooms.  That cheese plate in the middle was sent by a friend of Marks as an anniversary gift:)    After dinner, we walked thru the resort ( it’s probablynemacolin dinner around half a mile – inside), and split a dark chocolate bar.

Why do I enjoy packing and cooking on a vacation??  Because I’ve trained my brain to enjoy cooking; and it takes no training whatsoever to appreciate that after I eat home cooked food as compared to restaurant food, there’s no feelings of “too full/sick/indigestion/guilt/brain fog,  etc etc etc”.  In my mind, it’s a win-win.

 

The way we think is everything!!  That leads me right into our Positive Attitude/ Positive Changes plan:  the mantra is, ” Find someone no one else loves, and love them.”  Chase those negative thoughts about your body right out of your mind –  they just keep you in the same habits and patterns you’re in now.   Instead, focus outside of yourself, and if that’s hard to do, PRACTICE it.  We can do anything we train for and practice!

We’re off to the Spa/Gym now, we checked it out last night and it’s Beautiful!!!! Remember: choose foods and actions and thoughts that make you feel good later, and you’ll change your life.

Category: Mind/Body, RWF / Tags: , , , ,

You Can Be Better By January, 2014, Or Not…. & More Gluten E Summit Facts

November 18, 2013 / / Comments Off on You Can Be Better By January, 2014, Or Not…. & More Gluten E Summit Facts

debbie (27)It’s been over a week now that I’ve challenged you to Change your Thinking if you want to Change Your Body; and I’m specifically talking about those negative thought patterns that I’ve heard so many people express:  I hate my thighs, if only they were thinner;  I hate my stomach; I hate my butt; I want to lose weight; If only I could lose 10 pounds…. etc etc etc.  Ask yourself how long you’ve been spinning on these exact same thoughts and how well they’ve allowed you to change.  How long?

Change doesn’t happen when you keep doing the “same old same old”;  negative thought patterns NEVER produce positive results.  Never.  Get your mind off of what you don’t like, and start focusing on improving yourself in your soul.  Seriously.  Focus on being kinder, gentler, more patient, more loving, more thoughtful.  Get your focus off your body (and calorie counts).  Use Mantras, Meditation, and Prayer;  write a quote on 10 or 20 sticky’s and post them all over: your mirrors, wallet, fridge, doors, car.  PRACTICE changing your mind.  Work on it.  It doesn’t just happen, trust me.

We had a speaker at church yesterday who’s a life long missionary, and a Mother Teresa fan.  He quoted her and I’m going to make it my quote for the week:  ” Find someone that no one else loves, and love them.”  This goes right along with “loving-kindness” meditation, where you don’t just pray for yourself and your loved ones, but for someone “neutral” and someone else you’re currently having difficulty with.  We’re not supposed to focus on ourselves so much, despite decades of advertising hypnotizing us otherwise.  Nothing good comes of that.

Here’s something I’m really into:  the way Science is Solidifying the Mind/Body connection:  eat flour/sugars, and you create a brain that ONLY thinks about flours and sugars.  As your body becomes unhealthier, and you become unhappier yet continue to eat flours and sugars, NOTHING CHANGES; the negative thought patterns continue, the addictive eating continues, the thoughts, the addiction and so on and so on.  Too addicted to think about quitting?  Fill your head with facts about what Flours and Sugars actually do beyond making you gain weight, because it’s pretty profound.  I hope I’ve persuaded you all to tune into the Gluten E Summit – what a wake up call!  It’s not too late to register and catch the final day presentations and listen to them in kitchen, your car, or during a workout.  Here’s some recent snippets:

From Dr. Amen, MD Psychiatrist

* Neuroplasticity, or the ability to Change Your Brain, has been a scientific fact for 10 – 15 years, but many doctors are still unaware and don’t practice/prescribe according to this.   We can make our brain Better or Worse through our Life Style Choices:  Food, Exercise, and Thoughts.

* Low Fat Diets and Bad Fats have horrible consequences for the brain ( because our brain is about 60% fat).  This applies whether you’re 2, 12, 22, or 82.

* There are MORE than 100 studies which show that Big Belly’s correlate with Smaller Brains.

* Genes are NOT as important as Behavior and Choices (Epigenetics).

* “Food is Medicine, or Food is Poison.”  You know I love that one!

* Gluten is Poison for most of the population. ( No human has the enzymes to break down the gluten proteins)

* ADD studies show 100% of people affected with this disorder show some level of improvement when Gluten and Casein (milk protein) are removed from their diet.  (Diet or drugs, diet or drugs???)

* “Why do we celebrate with Toxins?”

* The less insulin we need over the course of our life, the longer we live.  Insulin triggers many inflammatory pathways.  ( what triggers insulin?  Carbohydrates.  Not Fat. )

* Cancer uses Glucose (the breakdown product of carbohydrates) as it’s main fuel.

* Anyone with Thyroid issues MUST go Gluten Free.  Gluten affects the Thyroid in a myriad of ways, including inhibiting the conversion of the Thyroid hormone T4 to it’s active and usable form T3.

* 2002 Study from Journal Of Neurology:  Severe migraine sufferers (the study group were actually unable to work and on Workman’s Comp because of the severity of the migraines) were put on a Gluten Free Diet,   70% NEVER had another headache.

From Dr. Davis, MD Cardiologist (the Wheat Belly doctor)

* Heart Scans that measure Coronary Calcium Plaque show that once Plaque gets started, it grows at the rate of about 30% a year.

* STATINS DO NOTHING TO INHIBIT PLAQUE GROWTH.  NOTHING.  (don’t even get me started)

* What’s the biggest factor in Coronary Plaque?  HIGH BLOOD SUGAR.   He says if you have Pre-Diabetes, Diabetes, or Insulin Resistance, no drug in the world will stop the Heart Disease you’re nurturing with your high blood sugar.

* Main Driver of High Blood Sugar?  Wheat, Grains, and Sugar.

*Wheat, Grains, and Sugar also are the only foods that cause the body to create Small, Dense, LDL (the bad stuff).  The ONLY foods.  Small, dense LDL is sticky, and lasts up to a week in the blood.  This is totally different from big, fluffy LDL, which has beneficial side effects, like carrying essential fatty acids to our brain and glands.

* The Gluten Proteins in wheat are highly “opioid”, which makes them appetite stimulating and addicting.   Who’s addicted to meat?  No one.  Who’s addicted to foods full of flours and sugars?

*  If we continue on the path we’re on now, by 2044 the amount of money the US will need to treat JUST diabetes ALONE, will be MORE THAN all the tax revenue the Federal Govt collects.

* Yet, Main Stream Medical Advice/  Governments Health Advice is to eat a diet of 60% carbohydrates, many of them from “healthy whole grains”.

Quit thinking of food in terms of Calories In Calories Out, that’ll just lead to weight gain and horrible health.  It’s a wrong paradigm that’s made a lot of people a lot of money.  The Scientific Evidence against Grains and Sugars is overwhelming, and concrete.  Take your health into your own hands.  Ditch the grains and sugars, and eat Real Whole Foods.  Practice your Mantra.  You can be a whole different person by January 2014, or you can be the exact same.  It’s up to you.

Category: Carbs, Mind/Body, Psychology of Eating, RWF, Sugar / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

What I Eat

November 2, 2013 / / Comments Off on What I Eat

debbie (22)I get asked – often – what I eat; I have a What I Eat Page, but I guess it’s not enough!  Here’s what I’ve eaten this week:

Smoothies every morning, since Monday.  You could call my smoothies, “Kitchen Sink Smoothies”, because I throw just about everything and anything in there.  My goal:  to get as many nutrients as possible.  I want the immune protection, the gut healing, the energy, the good skin, the satiety, muscle tissue repair, etc,  and I know all that comes from Food.  My gut breaks food down to it’s barest nutrients, which my body uses to remake every single cell.  Did you know that the average cell turnover in your body is 50 times????  Every cell in your body will die and reproduce a “daughter” cell an average of 50 times!  That’s a LOT of opportunity to improve your health, isn’t it.

I make sure to use a variety of vegetables, fruits, spices, and supplements in my smoothies everyday.  I also alternate my bases back and forth between Kombucha (fermented tea), Keifer, or Plain Old Soured Raw Milk or Raw Cream ( how do you think they made that stuff in the olden days before isolating fermenting bacteria?), and every now and then, plain water.  I want that good bacteria though and 90% of the time, that’s what I use as a base.  Fermented foods/beverages have TRILLIONSnancys yogurt more beneficial bacteria than pills.  They’re easy to make or easy to buy – sugary yogurts don’t count.   They’re not cultured very long, they have too many additives, and too much sugar.  It’s also almost impossible to find Full Fat – which is the ONLY dairy product you should consume.  Honestly.

I’m NOT a recipe girl.  I’m a: throw everything in the blender or the pot and see how it comes out girl.  (This doesn’t apply to baking, just cooking or smoothies.  Baking requires precision.)  If I like it, it goes in, if I don’t like it but I know it’s good for me, it goes in.  I’ve trained myself to not just eat palate pleasing foods.   Amazingly, my palate has adjusted to several of those foods and I’ve now come to LOVE :  liver, onions, garlic, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, avocados, really sour keifer, yogurt, and milk(you can ONLY do that with RAW),  brussels, blue cheese, and many other foods I didn’t grow up on.  It really doesn’t take long to “develop” a taste for something, it just takes effort and practice.

Here’s some common smoothie ingredients for me, I pick a few or several of these at a time:  kombucha/keifer/sour milk or cream (RAW ONLY !- pasteurized milk rots and would make you sick), a couple times a week protein powder, raw eggs, collagen, molassas, blueberries, cranberries, bananas, blackberries, strawberries, peaches/pears in season, avocados, coconut butter, coconut oil, coconut flakes, cocoa nibs, cocoa powder, stevia if using cocoa powder, frozen spinach, frozen kale, powdered greens, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger (powdered and whole form), and fish oil.    I rotate ingredients every day and mentally keep track of what I use.

nuts and seedsI ALWAYS have a smallish lunch:  leftover meat or fish, a fruit or vegetable; sometimes nuts and seeds; sometimes a coconut-chocolate mix, or a store bought dark chocolate piece.

Dinner’s usually on the big side for me:  meat and vegetables, sometimes cheese. I’m simple with dinner though:  baked chicken breast (bone in, skin on), baked fish, sausage (we make our own, half venison, half pork, almost 200 pounds every December!), burgers or meatballs(no buns!),  slow cooked/pulled roasts:   ANY/ALL vegetables (corn, potatoes, peas ,broccoli, brussels, squashes, eggplant, greens, – I don’t care if they’re starchy or not), and I LOVE “mixes”.  I use a lot of sea salt, pepper, and herbs/spices.  Two nights ago my dinner was brussels, roasted tomatoes, onions, and sausage in broth, with a big side of sweet potato cut up, coated in butter, and roasted.  Last night my dinner was a left over spaghetti squash with left over homemade roasted vegetable soup, and two paleo cookies my youngest made last weekend and I’d thrown in the freezer.  Sometimes I make paleo biscuits or muffins (they’re great to freeze and pull out for breakfast – which is my youngest daughter’s favorite thing).

Does this help?  Breakfast doesn’t have to be cereal and toast, lunch doesn’t have to be sandwiches, and dinner doesn’t have to be pasta/pizza/chicken nuggets.   It doesn’t have to be what I eat either!    Leftovers, eggs, sausage, bacon, soup, vegetables, nuts and seeds, they can all be breakfast and lunch foods.  If you’re really struggling with what to eat, try to focus on Real Whole Foods with fat and protein that keeps you full for hours.   Frozen waffles, bagels, english muffins,… they’re just drilled into your head fromthinking outside box years of commercials and advertising.  Change the way you think about food from a calorie/fat perspective to a nutrient perspective.  What are the foods you put into your mouth going to do for your cells?  your organs?  your brain? Or your kids cells, organs, and brain?

Real change, about anything, begins in the mind.  Make a plan.  Stick to the plan.  You can do this

Category: RWF, Uncategorized / Tags: , , , , , ,
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