Archive for RWF

Working “Man Parts”, Weight Loss, Youthful Skin, Joint Pain, What Do They Have In Common? They all benefit from Bone Broth and Gelatin.

January 18, 2015 / / Comments Off on Working “Man Parts”, Weight Loss, Youthful Skin, Joint Pain, What Do They Have In Common? They all benefit from Bone Broth and Gelatin.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI’ve done Posts on Bone Broth and Gelatin before, but I still get a lot of questions about it.  Here’s some facts, some recipes, and at the end several resources, that will inspire you to incorporate bone broth most days of the week. Remember:  Food is Medicine, or Food is Poison.  Bone broth and gelatin are Medicine.

First issue: “man parts”, you know what I’m talking about.  Men, those parts are full of arteries that should fill with blood, on demand.  If the endothelial cells that line those arteries are damaged ( from high blood sugar, insulin, chemicals, or hydrogenated fats) you’re not functioning like God intended.  Plaque and hardening of the arteries doesn’t just happen to the arteries near the heart….. If you have athlerosclerosis,  and/or high blood pressure, you’ve got endothelial dysfunction. If you have high blood sugar, you have endothelial dysfunction.  The gelatin in bone broth contains an enormous amount of collagen and other nutrients that HEAL THE ENDOTHELIUM.  ( check out link below for an interesting study )

Weight Loss; how does this tie in with bone broth or gelatin?  Easy.  Our liver – which is the MAIN SOURCE OF OUR DAILY CALORIE BURN, has hundreds of jobs to do every day.  A sluggish, toxic, clogged liver doesn’t burn as many calories as it could, nor does it adequately perform it’s jobs. The liver “detoxes”, or breaks down, old hormones, chemicals, alcohol, toxins, etc; it uses protein-based (amino acids) pathways to do that.  Bone broth and gelatin contain the amino acids that the liver wants and needs to do it’s many jobs.  If our liver’s happy, our daily metabolic rate increases.  If our liver is NOT happy, weight gain is more likely than weight loss.

Youthful Skin:  Again, easy.  It’s the collagen, along with the fatty acids and nutrients from bones/joints/hide/marrow etc, that supply the nutrients our skin needs to both regenerate and fight off assaults from the sun and (sugar)glycation.  Do you remember what glycation is?  It’s when our blood sugar stays high too long, and the sticky sugar molecules glycate, or attach themselves to protein molecules, basically destroying them.  Our skin ( just like our endothelium) is LOADED with protein molecules.  Age spots are glycated skin.  Wrinkles are glycated skin.  Saggy skin is glycated.  ******Our skin is made from NUTRIENTS, not the man-made chemicals ingredients in most skin care products.*****

Joint Pain, this is interesting.  I’m going to include links at the end to VERY NEW research(*) on connective tissue and rehab.  For all my friends and readers with shoulder/knee/hip etc problems, PURSUE THE LINK(*). It’s so new that your Ortho or PT might not of even heard of this.  Apparently, connective tissue isn’t the lost cause it’s been deemed all these years.

Tendons, ligaments, and the connective tissue that honeycombs throughout our muscle fibers, are made from ………..COLLAGEN.  To quote Professor of Sports Medicine Michael Kjaer, Ph.D., who’s using techniques and technology only recently available: “we always thought connective tissue was inert,”… but “Connective tissue is alive and has the ability to renew itself!”  There’s specific training protocols showing HUGE success with damaged tendons and ligaments, truly worth looking into. (*)

More relevant to this Post though, connective tissue is almost entirely collagen.  Molecular Biologist Keith Baar, Ph.D, says that after testing hundreds of damaged ACLs ( pieces of them actually) by soaking them in different solutions to see what compounds influence formation of new collagen:  “Gelatin is the big one.”    Nough said.

HOW DO I USE GELATIN OR BONE BROTH EVERYDAY?   Some people drink it straight up. I don’t. I treat it like water.  I cook my meat, fish, chicken and vegetables in it, and I make soup.  I even add it to my Low Carb Cheese Cake  Recipe!

How to make Broth:

Fill your Crock Pot or Stock Pot with water

-1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or white vinegar ( helps break down bone matrix – and we want all those bone building minerals!)
-chicken bones/fish bones/beef/lamb/venison bones
-OPTIONAL:  chicken feet – wow, does this contain a lot of gelatin, 
-Low and slow heat for 24 to 48 hours.

THIS IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE I SWEAR.  I add herbs and spices later, to the individual dishes I make, not to my stock. That way I can go in any direction I choose.  People who drink it straight up tend to add (their favorite) veggies and herbs to the pot.   EITHER WAY WORKS.

I save my bones throughout the week in a big ziplock, and keep them in the freezer until I’m ready to make the broth.

Don’t want to make broth? A couple of options.

1) Buy Gelatin.  I use Great Lakes brand, because I think it’s the best.  Check out their site, or go straight to Amazon. Mark and I put gelatin in our morning smoothies, and this is what I add to my Low Carb Cheesecake recipe (to follow).

2) Buy already made REAL bone broth.  Broth is no one’s secret anymore.  A Broth Cafe has opened in NYC; if you google “buy bone broth”, you’ll see several good options; and if you live in my neck of the woods ( Fauquier Co, Va), we have 2 stores carrying fresh made:  IGA in Marshall, and The Whole Ox in The Plains.  (You can also buy bones at either of these stores, or your local butcher shop.)

Now for the Recipes!  Our dinner tonight:  Chicken and Vegetables with BROTH

20150117_174036

A 1 Pot Meal:

2 c broth

1 c slow roasted tomatoes
1 c shredded chicken
1/2 head of cauliflower
3 c collard greens
4 garlic cloves ( we LOVE garlic )
dried: oregano, sage salt, chives, salt & pepper

And Dessert:  Low Carb Cheese Cake with Gelatin – to die for!  This recipe actually makes 4 mini cheesecakes AND a regular size cheese cake.

20150114_162654

Crust:

1 1/2 c almond flour
1/2 c coconut flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup coconut oil or butter
1/2 c Swerve
1 tsp Celtic sea salt
1 egg

Blend and press into your spring foam pans. The crust will be on the thinner side.  If you like a thick crust, just make 1 big cheese cake.  Warning: this makes a LOT of crust.

Filling:

4 8-ounce packages Organic Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 -1 c Swerve
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs room temperature
1/2 c Great Lakes Gelatin

I always wrap my spring foam with aluminum foil ( if any drips out it’s a huge mess ).  Bake your smaller cheesecakes for 35-45 minutes, and a large cheese cake for 55 -to an hour.  When you insert a knife it should come out almost clean.  REFRIGERATE FOR AT LEAST 12 HOURS, 24 IS EVEN BETTER.

If you’re struggling with your weight or your health, focus on changing your mindset from Food is about Calories to Food is Medicine or Food is Poison.  The more you shun Poison Foods, and Adopt Medicine Foods, the leaner, healthier, and more energetic you’ll become, I promise.

Learn More:
*http://www.mensfitness.com/training/build-muscle/harness-power-your-muscle-matrix*

http://paleogrubs.com/chicken-soup-recipes

http://www.judytsafrirmd.com/gelatin-for-anxiety-sleep-and-appetite-suppression

http://www.amazon.com/Nourishing-Traditions-Challenges-Politically-Dictocrats/dp/0967089735  GREAT COOKBOOK!!

Category: Cooking, Paleo Recipe, RWF, Weight Loss / Tags: , , , , , , ,

DIY Lotion, Carrot Soup, Elderberry Syrup; Homemade is Worth the Effort, Here’s Why

January 11, 2015 / / Comments Off on DIY Lotion, Carrot Soup, Elderberry Syrup; Homemade is Worth the Effort, Here’s Why

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAttitude is everything, and my attitude is that I’m Smart, Organized, Energetic, and Able. Believing this about myself makes a busy day much easier mentally, because thoughts affect words and actions.

You are also Smart, Organized, Energetic, and Able.  God didn’t make duds.

In light of those statements, here’s a few recipes. Please don’t move on after reading the word “recipes”.  Homemade is so worth the time and effort, for many reasons; WEIGHT LOSS IS ONE OF THEM.

Our world is a Toxic World.  We literally breath in chemicals, sleep on chemicals, rub on chemicals, and ingest thousands of chemicals every single day.  84,000 chemicals are legal in the US; many are untested, many are unregulated, and many are deemed potentially or definitely dangerous and still allowed in our food, water, and body care products.

These chemicals, which make things smell good, taste good, look good, or feel good, have consequences.  Many of them are hormone/endocrine disruptors, mimicking estrogen.  This has led to men and women and children having higher estrogen levels than what’s healthy, resulting in a long list of problems, from low sperm counts to cancer. Other chemicals cause disease, behavior problems, headaches, and I could go on and on.  You get it.

Remember in my last post I said that Food is Medicine or Food is Poison, and EVERY SINGLE POST IS ABOUT WEIGHT LOSS?  The weight tie-in here is that estrogenic chemicals, along with the sheer volume of total chemicals we ingest/breath/absorb, stress our liver to the point where being a normal healthy weight, or weight loss, isn’t possible.

Our liver has to break down and get rid of every chemical that comes into our body, whether by mouth or skin.  Our liver is responsible for breaking down old hormones. Our liver metabolizes fats and proteins.  Our liver compromises the largest portion of our daily calorie burn ( the brain and heart come in next, and then our muscles ); if our liver is tired, toxic, and over-burdened, happy weight is practically impossible, so is good health.

Read the labels of EVERYTHING; look up some words you see on EWG.org, learn what these chemicals do and you’ll become increasingly motivated to Do It Yourself, I promise. 

I’ve got 3 recipes here that I promise are easy, and wonderful.  Compare the store bought ingredients with the DIY ingredients.

This is Elderberry Syrup, aka, Sambucal, it’s used as either a preventative tonic, or a cold medicine.  Here’s the ingredients:         20150109_060142⅔ cup black elderberries

3.5 cups of water
2 T fresh or dried ginger root
2 tsp cinnamon powder
½ tsp cloves or clove powder
1 cup raw honey (we get from our farmer’s market)

Compare that to the ingredients in Tylenol Cold and Flu:

Acetaminiphen, Dextromethorphan HBr, Guaifenesin,Phenylephrine HCl, and finally,carnauba wax, croscarmellose sodium, D&C yellow no. 10 aluminum lake, flavor, hydroxypropyl cellulose, hypromellose, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, polyethylene glycol, pregelatinized starch, sucralose, titanium dioxide.  O.  M.   Gosh.  Why would we put this in our bodies, or our children’s bodies?

Here’s Carrot Soup,  DELICIOUS! (and easy)

20150108_171941

The ingredients were:                        20150108_165456

5 cups of homemade chicken broth
1 can of coconut milk
a Vitamix full of cooked carrots
1 cooked onion,4 garlic cloves
1 TBSP garam marsala; cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt&pepper

Compare that to Campbells Vegetable Soup Ingredients:

TOMATO PUREE (WATER, TOMATO PASTE), POTATOES, CARROTS, WATER, PEAS, CORN, DICED TOMATOES IN TOMATO JUICE, GREEN BEANS, ENRICHED MACARONI PRODUCT (WHEAT FLOUR, EGG WHITES, NIACIN, FERROUS SULFATE, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), SUGAR , CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, CELERY, ONIONS, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, SALT, FLAVORING, YEAST EXTRACT, LOWER SODIUM NATURAL SEA SALT, SPICE, ASCORBIC ACID, DISODIUM GUANYLATE, DISODIUM INOSINATE, PAPRIKA EXTRACT.

Last, Homemade Lotion I made yesterday morning for Macy before she went back to school, it took 10 minutes:

The Ingredients are:                  20150109_055505

coconut oil
shea butter
cocoa butter
almond oil
Wild Orange essential oil

Compare that to Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizer:

Water, Mineral Oil, Sesame Oil, Propylene Glycol, TEA Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Lanolin Alcohol, Petrolatum, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Yellow #5, Yellow #6, Red #33.

The old advertisement:  Better Living Through Chemicals…… it’s not true.  We have way too many chemicals in our life; DIY ( unless you can hire someone to Do It For You ) is important!  Not convinced?  Learn more through the links below:

http://www.liverdoctor.com/liver/the-liver-and-detoxification/

http://foodbabe.com/2013/02/26/are-over-the-counter-medicines-making-you-sick/

https://ispub.com/IJU/2/1/7519

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2726844/

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/03/opinion/kristof-how-chemicals-change-us.html?_r=1

Category: Cooking, Food Additives, Hormones, Natural Therapies, Paleo Recipe, RWF / Tags: , , , ,

Recipe Makeovers: Cauliflower Pizza Crusts and Caesar Salad Dressing that make you Lean and Healthy

January 6, 2015 / / Comments Off on Recipe Makeovers: Cauliflower Pizza Crusts and Caesar Salad Dressing that make you Lean and Healthy

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI received an email from a reader, asking if I could do another post on weight loss soon.

My response:  EVERY SINGLE POST IS ON WEIGHT.  Food is Medicine or Food is Poison, and our weight is a side effect of that fact.

If Weight Loss is our first priority when it comes to food, We’ll NEVER SUCCESSFULLY LOSE WEIGHT AND KEEP IT OFF. Ever.  95 – 99% of everyone who loses weight on a Diet gains it back.

Low calorie foods, low fat plans, starving ourself, skipping meals, exercising a ton, and STRESSING ABOUT OUR WEIGHT are literally guaranteed to make us gain weight in the long run, because we’re eating toxic food and/or employing toxic behaviors.  Poison.

Weight Loss is never a priority for our body or brain.  For women particularly, losing weight is the last thing our body wants to do, even when we carry excess fat.  Fat’s crucial not just for building our Brain, Glands, Organs, Bones, and Immune System, but our body makes many of our Hormones from fatty acids.

Healthy fats, vegetables, herbs, spices, clean proteins, seasonal fruit, nuts, seeds…..Medicine.

My point?  To lose weight and keep it off, we HAVE to eat Medicine Foods.  Also, cut the Grains, Sugars, and Chemicals; those things ruin our liver, our brain, our arteries and destroy our hormones. Permanent weight loss is impossible as long as they’re a regular part of our diet.

Here’s some recipe makeovers that I promise are husband and kid approved. These recipes contain Nutrient Dense Real Whole Foods (Medicine) guaranteed to satisfy our body and brain, and help us lose weight.

WARNING/ADVICE:  Sometimes with picky kids and husbands, it’s best NOT to tell them what’s in the food.  Don’t set yourself up for snide (or worse) comments about the ingredients or your efforts to make you and your family healthier.  Just do it.  Stay strong and determined no matter what mud a teenager slings at you.  The great thing about Real Whole Food is that fat, herbs, and spices make EVERYTHING taste good.  Broccoli with butter, parm, and sea salt?  DELICIOUS.  Chicken with skin on/bone in?  Delicious.  Bacon, brussels, butter, sea salt and pepper?  Delicious.  Stay with the program, be persistent, and eventually,… you’ll win.

Here’s a picture of our dinner last night:  Cauliflower Pizza and Caesar Salads with homemade dressing.                                                      dinner 1:4

If you look online for Cauliflower Pizza Crust recipes, you’ll find 1.6 million; they’re nobody’s secret, and they’re all pretty similar.  (Helpful hints to follow) Here’s the recipe I use:

CAULIFLOWER CRUST PIZZA

Full head of cauliflower, RICED ( in your food processor or Vitamix )

1 egg
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1/2 cup of your favorite cheese.  You’ll see recipes that use goat, parm, mozzarella, and cheddar, just pick one.

Directions: Set oven to 450.  “Rice” the whole head of cauliflower, and then either steam it ( more dishes, but better ) or put it in a pot of 1″ water and cook it, just for a couple of minutes.

IMPORTANT:  YOU HAVE TO GET ALL THE WATER OUT OF THE CAULIFLOWER.  Don’t whine.  Think positive thoughts, like, you’re going to have pizza and you’re not going to feel stuffed/bloated/or regretful the next day, PLUS, you’re eating a sulfur containing cruciferous vegetable that prevents cancer and disease.  Good thoughts.

I put my cooked cauliflower in a fine mesh strainer and press with a big wooden spoon, then I put it in a dishtowel and twist and wring until even more water comes out.  Cauliflower contains a lot of water, and you need it fairly dry.

When you’re done, mix it in a bowl with all the other ingredients; if you used a big head, you have enough for 2 pizzas, or one very thick crust. You only need about 2.5 cups per thin crust. Thicker crusts may not act like “real” pizza, i.e, you’ll have to cut them with a fork instead of holding them.  MOMS:  if your kids are suspicious of your efforts, make the crusts thin so they’ll stay together when they’re held. I’ve been at this long enough that I can make a thick crust and we all use forks, but switching the family diet from Fake Foods (poison) to Real Foods  (medicine) needs to be done gently, and wisely.

Put a piece of parchment paper on your stone, and use your hands to form your crust, then bake it for anywhere from 10/12 minutes for a thin crust, to 25 minutes for a thick crust. (read my hints at end of post)

When it’s baked, load it with your favorite toppings.  Last night I used slow roasted tomatoes, sausage, onions, herbs, and cheese.

Back in the oven at 425, for 16 minutes, and you can make your salad and dressing.

Caesar Salad and Dressing:   Look at these ingredients! How did we ever start thinking that brain food like this could be bad for us???

3 eggs ( I use farm fresh eggs, but use pasteurized if you want )
1 can anchovies
1-2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp Red Wine vinegar
1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 c lemon juice
1/2 c parm
1/2 tsp yellow mustard

1/2 cup of Extra Virgin olive oil

Directions for dressing:  put the first 8 ingredients into your BLENDER or VITAMIX, and blend for a minute.   Then sloooowly pour in the olive oil; you’re emulsifying it, that means you need to drizzle the olive oil into the mix for it to set up thickly.

Pour this over a bowl full of romaine, shredded parm, and bread crumbs made from COCONUT MILK bread croutons.  Or just make your favorite salad, and use this dressing because it’s absolutely delicious and your family will love it.

A few last words of advice:

1) I’ve heard juicing the cauliflower is the best way to go, no wringing, but I haven’t tried it.

2) If your cauliflower head is extra big, add an egg white.

3) Judge your crust by how it looks more than time; it should turn light brown and “crusty”.

4) If after all your efforts the “dough” is still pretty wet, add 1/2 to 1 tbsp of coconut flour.  Coconut flour absorbs liquid;  start with the 1/2 tbsp and go from there.

5) To make croutons with Coconut Milk Bread, cut off a slice, tear into pieces, drizzle with olive oil, salt, and bake for 10 minutes on 350.  Judge from there if they need a few more minutes.

 

Category: Cooking, Fats, Hormones, Immune System, Paleo Recipe, RWF, Uncategorized, Weight Loss / Tags: , , ,

Holiday Eating Gone Bad? 8 Facts To Scare You Straight.

December 6, 2014 / / Comments Off on Holiday Eating Gone Bad? 8 Facts To Scare You Straight.

me:girlsIt’s the holiday season, you’re busy, you’re struggling, you want motivation, so I’ll be fast and effective.

I’ve had several emails and comments in the past two weeks full of regret and remorse over Eating Gone Bad.  There’s definitely the sense of, ” I couldn’t help myself because…”

A client friend said to me yesterday, ” I want to become scared of flour and sugar, like you are.”  I want ALL OF YOU TO BECOME SCARED OF FLOUR AND SUGAR, like I am!  Let me scare you straight, quickly.

Simple carbs from Grains and Sugar cause high levels of sugar and insulin in your blood/arteries/veins. The negative health effects from this are PROFOUND:

1) Excess blood sugar ( from sugar and grains) is converted to Triglycerides and stored in our fat cells.

2) Excess blood sugar “GLYCATES” proteins and lipids in our blood and body.  EXAMPLES OF GLYCATION ARE WRINKLES, AGE SPOTS, AND IMPOTENCE.   Alzheimer’s is being called Diabetes Type 3 because of the plaques/glycation of the brain, which is composed of fats and proteins.

3) Alzheimer’s, Migraines, Dementia, and all sorts of Neurological Conditions, including ADD and Mood Disorders, are highly associated with high blood sugar and insulin.

4) Cancer cells are covered with Insulin Receptors.  Cancer cells eat SUGAR.  The insulin receptors that cover cancer cells make sure those cells get all the sugar they want and need to grow and thrive.   APPLY THAT THOUGHT TO YOUR KIDS THE NEXT TIME YOU FEED THEM MAC N CHEESE WITH A SIDE OF BREAD.  Seriously.  That stuff is poison!

5) Heart disease is caused by several conditions initiated by sugar and insulin:  excess sugar thickens the blood; excess sugar robs the heart of it’s favorite mineral – Magnesium, and it’s favorite vitamin – the Bs ( that’s because digesting/metabolizing sugar requires an enormous amount of Magnesium and B vitamins ); and excess sugar and insulin severely damage artery walls, in several ways.

6) Damage to the artery walls ( whether those arteries are near your heart, in your neck, or MEN:  IN YOUR FAVORITE ORGAN THAT FILLS WITH BLOOD!!) means they need to be “fixed”.  In an effort to mitigate the damage we do, the liver puts together PLAQUE patches, and sends them to the sites of the damage.  This keeps us alive for years, but eventually, the high blood pressure, the thick blood, the extra stress on the heart, comes back to Bite Us In The Butt.

7) Excess sugars can completely change the Bacterial Composition of your entire gut: from the stomach, which needs to have just a tiny bit of H-Pylori and a TON of acid to be optimal, to the small intestine, which should be intact but more often then not is “LEAKY” or plagued with SIBO ( small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.  If you bloat badly, ask me about this.),  to the large intestine, which should house at least a few POUNDS of beneficial bacteria that perform literally THOUSANDS of jobs for our bodies.  Constipation, Bloat, Reflux, Diarrhea: NOT NORMAL!  It means you’re not breaking down and absorbing your nutrients which sets the stage for all sorts of disease and dysfunctions.

8) Excess sugar and insulin suppress your immune system, IMMEDIATELY, for up to 24 hours.  This means if you let your kid eat a breakfast of pop tarts or crappy cereal, and then send them to school to sit by someone on the bus or in the classroom who’s coughing or sneezing, they’re an EASY TARGET for the germs to set up house and proliferate. Same for you: a quick muffin or sugar/chemical drink at Starbucks, then off to an office/gym filled with bad germs?  You’re a sitting duck!

I could go on and on, but say this to yourself:  Food Is Medicine, or Food Is Poison; for me, and for my kids.

Then, delete the ancient notion that eating well means Dieting; eating low fat/no fat chicken and steamed broccoli is a recipe for a Rebound Binge.

That’s why I love the Paleo Diet:  Real Whole Food with plenty of good FAT, good meats and proteins, TONS of vegetables, some fruit, some nuts and seeds, and GOOD dairy if you can tolerate it.  The Paleo Diet even includes Real Whole Food DESSERTS, what’s not to like?  ( Christmas Paleo Party at my house, 12/12/14, from 12 -2. Everyone’s invited, and you’ll get to see just how good Real Whole Food is!)

If Food Addiction is your struggle, then all the common sense/information in the world doesn’t help too much.  Read my last post.   If you have trouble staying away from grains and sugar, know that they contain compounds that trigger addiction centers in your brain, and your child’s brain.  That doesn’t happen with Real Whole Food. 

Finally, in this stressful, busy season of the year, acknowledge that “eating for stress relief” doesn’t actually Relieve Your Stress, it makes you MORE STRESSED afterwards.  Just the opposite of sitting down to a Real Whole Food meal, which actually satiates your mind and body.

Change today.  Don’t wait til the season is over.  We’re talking about your health, your mind, and the example you’re instilling in your kids.  The food you put in your mouth matters.  I’ll say it again:  Food is Medicine, or Food is Poison.

Category: Carbs, Fats, Food Cravings, Gut bacteria, Hormones, Immune System, Mind/Body, Paleo Diet, RWF, Sugar, Weight Loss / Tags: , , , , ,

Hate Your Thighs, Stomach, and Butt? What’s Changed in 2014; Holiday Recipes

December 2, 2014 / / Comments Off on Hate Your Thighs, Stomach, and Butt? What’s Changed in 2014; Holiday Recipes

thanksgiving2014Last November (2013), I had a theme running called Change Your Brain, Change Your Body.  Here’s the premise:  our every word and action is precipitated by our thoughts, and our thoughts make habit patterns in our brain.  These “habits” are chemical and structural in nature; they’re as real and concrete as a tree or a rug or a skin cell.

If you have Bad Habits that have led to you being overweight or sick ( such as the habit of eating every time you’re lonely or stressed, eating sugar/grain flour, or binging on the weekend); then the simple desire to change, or the feeling of hating body parts, won’t make a dent in the brain patterns you’ve nurtured and developed.  Those things are like steel train tracks, and getting rid of them requires a solid plan that focuses on getting rid of destructive old thought patterns and replacing them with productive new thought patterns.

When I work with a client who needs to lose weight or change eating habits that have led to poor health, I have them work just as much – or more – on their Brain Plan as I do on their Food Plan.

Here’s a quote from a Nov. 2013 post:

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.  Stop thinking about what you don’t like on your body, and start focusing on improving your mind. Focus on being kinder, more loving, more productive, healthier, more energetic – anything other than weight and calorie counts. Use Mantras, Meditation, and Prayer; write positive or meaningful quotes on 10 or 20 sticky’s and post them all over: your mirrors, wallet, fridge, doors, car. PRACTICE changing your thoughts. 

I asked some questions at the end of 2013, and I’ve been thinking about them for the past few weeks:

What did I manifest this year?  What did I change?  What’s stayed the same? What will I work on?

Don’t let 2015 be more of what bugs you about yourself, be different!  Get in touch with me and we’ll develop a plan to free you from destructive habits.    If those destructive habits include food addiction, it’s going to take awhile.  If it’s just a matter of information… not so long.

On to something more fun: Thanksgiving Recipes, and a Paleo Party Invite.

If you’re in my area ( Northern Virginia ), I’m hosting a Paleo Christmas Party on Friday, December 12, from 12-2.  Everyone is invited!  Bring – or don’t! – a Grain Free, Sugar Free, Real Whole Food appetizer, dessert, or main dish.  If you aren’t on the Evite list, send me your email so I can put you on it 🙂

Last, a few recipes we made for Thanksgiving:

* Low Carb Green Bean Casserole – this was EXCELLENT!  A few changes:  1. I didn’t use Avocado oil, too expensive and I love the taste of butter.   2.  I added a quarter cup of raw yogurt, it acts like sour cream.  This dish is going to be a tradition at our house.

* My sister wrapped medium sized sweet potato chunks in bacon  and then roasted them- EXCELLENT!

*  Low Carb Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake – OMG Delicious:

CRUST:
1 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp aluminum free baking powder
1 cup coconut oil or butter
3/4 cup Swerve (or erythritol and 2 tsp stevia glycerite)
1 tsp Celtic sea salt
1 egg

FILLING:
3 8-ounce packages Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup Swerve (or erythritol and 1 tsp stevia glycerite)
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 dash ground cloves

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
CRUST: In a medium sized bowl combine all the ingredients. Press onto bottom of 9 inch springform pan.

FILLING: Beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup of the Swerve and vanilla with electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Remove 1 cup plain batter; place in small bowl. Stir remaining 1/4 cup Swerve, pumpkin and spices into remaining batter. Spoon pumpkin batter into crust; top with spoonfuls of reserved plain batter. Cut through batters with knife several times for marble effect.

If using a springform pan, wrap the outside of it with tin foil so any oils don’t leak out into oven. Bake 55 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Cut into 12 slices. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator. Serves 12

Category: Cooking, Mind/Body, No Recipe Paleo Meals, Paleo Recipe, RWF / Tags: , , , , ,

It’s Time To Break Up With Grains, Because They’re Killing You and Your Family.

November 22, 2014 / / Comments Off on It’s Time To Break Up With Grains, Because They’re Killing You and Your Family.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWhat a dramatic title, I know my kids are rolling their eyes, but it’s true.  At this point in the information age, I think many actually believe that grains do cause disease, and definitely weight gain.  It’s just that………the thought of No More Grains is so Sad.

Let me help you get over that.  No one’s more addicted and in love with grains than I was, and I’m free.  You can be too.

It’s like getting off drugs and alcohol; you’ll feel SO GOOD without it.  You’ll be free from bloat, brain fog, headaches, bad periods, high blood pressure, resistant weight loss, sore joints, and the list goes on and on and on.

If you’re carrying extra weight, you’ll be free from that too.  

Grains, both gluten-free and gluten-loaded, are a veritable boat load of problems.  If your doctor’s telling you ( like ours does ) that whole grains are “good”, ignore that.  Main Stream dogma has created a U.S. that’s 70% overweight, 70% on medications, and a population literally riddled with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Add to that, our kids are on more medications for behavior and health issues than we could have ever imagined.

Every single paradigm that’s been pushed on us for the past several decades needs to be identified, examined, and stopped.  One of those paradigms is that Grains Are Good For Us, and we need carbohydrates for energy and health.

Pure lies.

Grains make most of us Fat; and if they don’t make us fat ( they didn’t make me fat ) they make us Bloated ( I had the stomach of a 7 month pregnant woman every afternoon for years ), or sick.  Grains are digested in the gut to simple sugars, either Glucose or Fructose.  ( White sugar and honey are also digested to Glucose or Fructose, hence, a carb is a carb is a carb. ) Glucose goes through the intestine wall and into the blood stream, then it’s known as “Blood Sugar”.

Americans, and much of the World, have notoriously high blood sugar. ( China has the most diabetics, India’s next, and we’re 3rd.))  Insulin is the hormone sent out to lower blood sugar.

Read this:  High blood sugar wrecks havoc on our arteries, our nerves, our brain, our hormones, our skin, and our weight.  Excess blood sugar is converted to triglycerides /fat and stored, mostly in our torso region.  High insulin is also incredibly damaging, leading to inflammation all over the entire body.

High Insulin causes the body to hold on to salt, high insulin inhibits the body from absorbing magnesium, high insulin damages artery walls;  high insulin causes Diabetes, high insulin is highly correlated with several cancers; high insulin causes high cortisol – which is damaging in it’s own right; high insulin upsets our sex hormone production and balance.

I could go on and on, but that’s a little surface scratch of the damage high blood sugar and high insulin cause in us, and our children.

To add insult to injury, grains contain “anti-nutrients”.

“Gluten’s” a notorious term; there’s constant debate about whether it’s okay for us if we’re “not-sensitive”, or is it bad for everyone.   It’s bad for everyone, honest.

Glutens are proteins found in grains that are nearly impossible to digest.  Wheat alone, “is capable of producing no less than 23,788 different proteins”  Proteins from grains wreck havoc that proteins from animals don’t even come close to causing.

No matter what Main Stream says, NO HUMAN ON EARTH HAS THE DIGESTIVE ENZYMES TO BREAK DOWN GLUTEN PROTEINS.  No Human.  What this means is that eventually… gluten is going to get you.  Your body might be able to repair the damage gluten does for years, decades even, but not forever.

70% of reactions to Gluten don’t even happen in the gut, so if you don’t experience bloat, pain, gas, but instead have joint issues, skin issues, headaches/migraines, trouble focusing, or Moms:  behavior problems, there’s a good chance it’s a gluten sensitivity or allergy; possibly even full celiac.  (  GET TESTED FOR CELIAC AND GLUTEN ANTI-BODIES IF YOU’RE SYMPTOMATIC. )

One last fact about the proteins in grains:  many of them are OPIOD in nature.  This means their structure is compatible with opiod receptors in our brain.  THIS IS WHY THE THOUGHT OF BREAKING UP WITH GRAINS IS SO HARD, THEY’RE LITERALLY AN ADDICTIVE PLEASURE.

How do you quit? Make a plan! You’ll need to shop, cook, and pack.  Moms, I hear you already:  “My kids/husband will ONLY eat pasta/bread/pizza/chicken nuggets.”  I know.  We lived that way for yeaaarrrs.  We’re American, and that’s the crap we eat.  When I put a cold turkey moratorium on Grains, there was an honest to God uprising in my house.  Teenagers and husbands are a tough mix to battle, but it’s a battle you need to win.

What to do initially: start replacing the wheat flour products with gluten-free products.  (Weaning is always easier than cold turkey. Trust me, you won’t be able to just change your household with the blink of an eye.  If only… )  Simultaneously focus on replacing the breads and desserts with grain-free flour recipes. (There’s a learning curve, but it’s worth it).  There’s hardly a store in the world not selling almond or coconut flour, but if you live some place that doesn’t carry it, order them on line.  I promise you, after the initial upheaval, practice/persistence/patience will prevail.

If you’re intimidated by the thought of the time it takes to make Real Whole Food for yourself and your family, as opposed to throwing pasta in water or chicken nuggets on a pan, GET OVER IT.  Honestly!  We’ve been brainwashed since birth that Fake Food/Crappy Food is “Okay”.  It’s not.  Ever.  Work on changing your thoughts from “ugh, too much time”, to the sequence of steps you need to take to make a meal.

Don’t focus on the Problem, Focus on the Solution.

Some of my favorite recipes?  Coconut milk bread, everyone loves this.  Pizza crust from Zen Belly.  And if you’re looking for sweets ( and anything else), the options are literally endless:

http://www.rocksolidnutritionandwellness.com/food/what-am-i-eating-today/

OMGPaleo

Elana’s Pantry

Simple Stupid Paleo

All Day I Dream About Food

Finally, with Thanksgiving in a few days, here’s a post from last year (2013) on our Thanksgiving food and recipes; 100% totally grain free and delicious:

http://www.rocksolidnutritionandwellness.com/thanksgiving-recap-and-choose-your-attitude/

Resources:

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/page/opening-pandoras-bread-box-critical-role-wheat-lectin-human-disease

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/page/dark-side-wheat-new-perspectives-celiac-disease-wheat-intolerance-sayer-ji

http://authoritynutrition.com/6-shocking-reasons-why-gluten-is-bad/

Category: Carbs, Cooking, Food Cravings, Hormones, RWF / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Action Plan to End Food Cravings, Forever.

November 13, 2014 / / Comments Off on Action Plan to End Food Cravings, Forever.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWhether you have a weight issue or not, cravings can be a bear.  Cravings are incredibly powerful; and weight loss with cravings is almost impossible.

What to do?  Here’s several ideas, but first, what creates cravings?  Low calorie diets, low fat diets, and low nutrient diets, fatigue, stress, and habits.  Sound daunting?  If I eliminated my cravings, you can too.

Here’s a Big List of How-To’s:

– Get rid of your fear of fat, now.  Fat satiates; and not because it fills you up, which it actually does, but Fat triggers satiety hormones – really!  Fat makes our Brain say, “aaahhh”.

– L-Glutamine, an amino acid that helps build Dopamine ( an anti-anxiety neurotransmitter ). L- Glutamine also helps balance blood sugar.  Anxiety and low blood sugar ALWAYS causes cravings. ( I use Biotics, and I LOVE this product. I also take it on heavy leg days, and I suggest it to all my leaky gut clients.  L-GLutamine is used by muscle cells and endothelial cells to rebuild themselves.  It’s a different dosing/timing than when using for neurotransmitter building.)

– Stop eating sugar and grains, which trigger hunger hormones and addiction centers in your brain. Sugar is more addictive then cocaine in lab studies.  No one in your house needs this stuff. A little here and a little there?  It just keeps you addicted.   SUGARS AND GRAINS ARE 99% OF ALL CRAVINGS, RIGHT?  No one’s craving broccoli.  Stop buying the stuff.  Seriously.

– Hot drinks mid morning and mid afternoon:  Bullet Proof Coffee and Bullet Proof Tea:  organic tea/coffee with (Kerry Gold)  grass-fed BUTTER and (Biotics) MCT oil or coconut oil.   This is delicious, and the fat knocks out appetite and cravings while at the same time stimulating your brain.  (Ditch the Mad Scientist concoctions they sell at Starbucks, they’re loaded with sugar, artificial sugar, and chemicals.)

– 5 HTP, an amino acid that helps build Serotonin.  We need level moods to not have cravings. Again, I use Biotics brand.****Serotonin builds Melatonin, Melatonin helps us sleep well.  Fatigue is a HUGE inducer of cravings.  I know a couple other great supplements for sleep, email me.

– L-Tyrosine, I LOVE this and have used it every day for 18 months.  It’s an amino acid that helps build your catacolamines.  That means it helps with energy ( among other things ), and we often drift to snacking/cravings when tired, right?  ( I use Biotics)

( ****   One of my favorite ENERGY/DON’T SNACK tricks:  mid afternoon tea with a little MCT oil, and 2 tyrosines.  It’s magic. ********)

– Digestive enzymes and HCl.  (again, I use Biotics products).  You might have the best diet in the world, but if you’re not breaking down your food so that nutrients can be absorbed, you’re Nutrient Deficient.    Nutrient Deficient people are loaded with cravings.

– Probiotics, probiotic foods, probiotic drinks. Cultured and fermented vegetables, keifer, kombucha, and real yogurt. There’s millions more bacteria in cultured food than in any probiotic supplement. If you’re trying to improve health, use the pills along with the foods/drinks, at least initially.    If your gut bacteria is out of whack, you’ll have cravings for sugar, because that’s what Bad Bugs eat.  Candida is a prime example of this. 

– Exercise APPROPRIATELY.  If your workout leaves you STARVING, which leads to cravings, you worked out too hard. Dial it back.

– Clean your liver.  Our liver plays a vital role in getting nutrients into our cells and “trash” out of our body. But did you know our livers are the BIGGEST source of calorie burning in our WHOLE BODY?  Our heart and brain are next, and then comes our muscles.   A slow, clogged, overworked, exhausted liver craves nutrients. Drink alcohol, take a lot of meds, eat sugar and chemical/processed foods, eat late at night, I guarantee it’s over burdened.  I use a Biotics liver detox twice a year, and 2 tinctures by Herb Pharm every couple of months:  Milk Thistle and Liver Health.

– Go on a Ketogenic Diet:  High Fat, Moderate Protein, and a TON of greens and cruciferous vegetables.  This literally knocks out cravings of any kind, honestly.  Check this out for meal ideas and guidelines.  

– Stop eating Processed Foods.  They’re created in a LABORATORY and specifically designed to trigger desires in your brain for more and more and more.  Really.  McDonald’s milkshakes and Doritios are NOT delicious food creations, they’re chemical cocktails created by PhD’s to get you hooked.

– Eat bigger meals, and ONLY eat 3 times a day.  Multiple ” Mini-Meals” are DUMB. They’re guaranteed to make you (1) hungry (2) have cravings and (3) mentally habituated to eating all day.  Besides, “mini-meals” are a joke; studies show American’s are pretty incapable of actually having a mini-meal; in reality, the multiple mini-meals turn into “too much food all day long.”

( Moms, we  have to apply the “Stop Eating Sugar/Grains/Processed Foods” guidelines to our kids; they’re sugar/carb/chemical addicts.  The snacking, the cravings, the “can’t stop eating”….. we have to HELP THEM develop great eating habits. )

– Work on your habits and thought patterns.  It’s all so mental, isn’t it.  This is just about my favorite area when it comes to health. Our subconscious rules over the conscious, always.  If your subconscious is constantly sabotaging your health efforts, get in touch with me.  It’s not Rocket Science, but you’ll need a plan.

My wrap up?  Eat Real Whole Foods, consume plenty of fat, eliminate addictive grains and sugars, use Smart Supplementation, and train your brain to work for you, not against you. Cravings are a sign that your body, your mind, and your hormones, are “off”; they’re not a sign you’re weak.  You don’t have to be a slave to bad habits.  Let me know if you’re ready for help with a food plan, habit change, or supplements. ( The amino acids need to be dosed and taken on a specific time table.)

Category: Carbs, Fats, Food Cravings, Gut bacteria, Hormones, ketosis, Natural Therapies, RWF, Sugar, Weight Loss / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sugar Cravings, Pimples on Your Butt, Fatigue, and Cracks at the Corner of Your Mouth? You Can Heal That.

November 6, 2014 / / Comments Off on Sugar Cravings, Pimples on Your Butt, Fatigue, and Cracks at the Corner of Your Mouth? You Can Heal That.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWe’re officially into The Season Of Eating, where many of us will actually EXPECT to gain weight, somewhere between 5 and 10 pounds, by January 1, 2015.  Not me.  Not Mark.  And I want you to say, Not Me Either.

I don’t want you on a diet, I don’t want you to count calories or carbs or fat.  I want you to start thinking of Food as Information, because the Food We Put In Our Mouth Becomes Who We Are.

So how are you?

Symptoms, like those listed in the title,  are a “sign of the existence of something, especially of an undesirable situation.” Sugar cravings, pimples on your butt,….they’re signs of Nutrient Deficiencies, not medicine deficiencies.  Do you want to be a Happy Weight, with great energy, hair, skin, low levels of inflammation and perfect digestion?  You need to feed your cells what God intended for them to eat.

Our bodies are made from Water (~60%), Proteins/amino acids (~16%), Fatty Acids (~15%), Minerals (~4%), Vitamins (~2%), and LESS than 2% (made from) Carbs/Sugar.  If we eat a diet LOADED in carbohydrate ( say…..11 servings of grains a day per My Plate),  plenty of Low Fat foods, chemicals that make things taste/smell/look like ACTUAL food, bad oils, and Drugs – for all our ills – we’re in trouble.

“Food is Information; we’re NOT a calories in/calories out model, we’re a chemistry set.” JJ Virgin.

Look at this short list of Symptoms.  I’m going to attach possible deficiency causes, and I want you to start thinking of FOOD in terms of What It Does To Us, the good (glowing health), the bad (weight issues), and the ugly ( CANCER and DISEASE):

Sugar Cravings:  You could be deficient in L-Glutamine, an amino acid that builds Dopamine. Dopamine alleviates anxiety (sugar momentarily does that, but long-term actually worsens the dopamine deficiency – it’s a vicious cycle).  Is your addiction to sweets overpowering?  Practice thinking of simple sugars as Devils Food, seriously.  Processed sugar’s links to CANCER, Heart Disease, and Diabetes are concrete and undeniable.   Supplementing with L-Glutamine is a great way to deal with cravings and addictions; ask me if you’re interested in trying this.

Pimples on your butt/arms/thighs/checks:  You could be deficient in Omega 3, Vitamin A, or Vitamin D. Make a big effort to eat foods high in those nutrients: salmon, sardines, grass fed dairy, leafy greens, and orange/red fruits and veggies.  Green Pastures Fermented Cod Liver Oil is a great source of all 3 nutrients, as are the Fruit/Veggie and Seafood areas at the grocery store.

Fatigue: So many possibilities, let’s just look at Adrenal Fatigue.  Do you get enough fat? Your adrenal glands are made of fat, and the Fight/Flight hormones they make are produced from fat and cholesterol, and the Sex Hormones they make are produced from fat and cholesterol. Eat a low fat diet, and you’ll have low functioning Adrenal Glands, guaranteed.

Cracks at the corners of your mouth:  iron, zinc, and B vitamin deficiency, and iron absorption is enhanced by Vitamin C, so maybe C deficiency.  Do you get enough good red meats?  Eggs from chickens allowed to eat bugs and plants, uncaged and free?  Do you eat plenty of fruits and vegetables?  Do you occasionally eat oysters or liver?  They’re super nutrient dense.

Dry Skin: your skin is made from proteins and fatty acids.  Do you eat enough?  Look at your skin closely in the mirror and access it.  Your skin is an ENORMOUS reflection of your diet.  Do you eat too much sugar?  Sugar, from grains, alcohol, and the white stuff, GLYCATES our skin cells.  That means glucose molecules ( from sugar/alcohol/ and grains ) improperly attach to our skin cells and destroy both their function and their ability to communicate.  This is evidenced as premature wrinkling and age spots.  Quit eating sugar, and add Bone Broth.

Headaches/High Blood Pressure/Diabetes/Cardiovascular Issues/Muscle Cramps:  there’s a good chance you’re Magnesium deficient.  Statistically, 80% of Americans are Magnesium deficient, which is a bad thing.  Magnesium’s involved in several hundred chemical reactions necessary for good health.  Foods which SHOULD be high in Magnesium are leafy greens, avocados, nuts, and seeds.  We’ve got a problem though;  food gets it’s minerals from the soil, and our soil is almost devoid of Magnesium; this also applies to organic food unless it’s been grown in soil to which minerals have been added.  Another depleter of Mag?  Round-up;  actually the chemical in Round-up called glyphosate, which “chelates” or grabs on to and EXPELS from our body, several minerals including Magnesium.  (A good reason to avoid GMO)

My point here, Magnesium Supplementation is pretty much a MUST for everyone. Even a diet full of Magnesium rich foods probably won’t supply the levels we need.  Let me know if you need a recommendation, because the quality and origin of supplements matter.

Back to my opening; PRACTICE and FOCUS on thinking about food in terms of your health and your energy and your skin and your immune system.  When you become careful about what you put in your mouth because your know that certain foods can cause Cancer, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Bad Skin, Thin Hair, and Depression, you have the strength and motivation to Just Say No without the stress.

Moms, this is why it’s easy for me to say NO to Shelby when she asked for “a Real Cake with Flour” for her 18th birthday.  I’m not giving her cigarettes, I’m not giving her alcohol, I’m not giving her drugs, and I’m not giving her gluten and sugar.  It’s Toxic. ( BTW, she’s my #4, so YES I know she eats crap, but on her own dime and not in the house. )

Be determined to become very conscious about what you eat.  Every single food we eat sends signals and information and has hormonal effects that either make us healthier, or less healthy. Every single food.  There are No Neutral Foods.  Practice thinking of food in terms of what it contains in every way EXCEPT CALORIES.  Calorie counting is a SHAM.  It’ll just make you sick, CRAZY, and probably overweight ( 95-99% of EVERYONE who goes on a diet gains their weight back, 50% gain more than they lost.)  

Need help?  Get in touch with me.  You can do this!  You can change, you can lose weight, you can become healthier, you can improve the health of your whole family.  Ditch the sugars, the grains, and the chemicals, and eat Real Whole Foods.

Category: Food Cravings, Hormones, Immune System, RWF, Sugar, Weight Loss / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Immune Tonic Recipes Everyone Should Have In Their Home

October 30, 2014 / / Comments Off on Immune Tonic Recipes Everyone Should Have In Their Home

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI’ve been on an Immune System kick for my last several posts.  With Halloween around the corner and Sugar Season  the Holiday Season about to start, I want to load you up with ideas that will allow you to make it though the holidays, and then winter, strong and well.

Immune Tonics are AMAZING.  Two years ago, my oldest daughter, Megan, gave me Fire Cider for Christmas.  It’s a blend of herbs and spices that are both immune boosting and germ killing.  I made my own last year, and have just bought the ingredients to make another batch this weekend.  It has to sit and brew for a few weeks, and I want it to be ready for when all my kids are home from mid-December to mid-January.

Why not use an OTC cold/fever/flu medication?  Have you seen their ingredients? The artificial dyes, the artificial flavors, the petroleum products and artificial sugars.. disease in a bottle masquerading as medicine.

Here’s the ingredient list for Vicks Dayquil:

Inactive Ingredients: Citric acid, FD&C yellow 6, flavor, glycerin, polyethylene glycol (aka PEG, I wrote about this in the Miralax post), propylene glycol, purified water, saccharin sodium, sodium citrate, sucrose.

Active Ingredients: Acetaminophen ( #1 cause of Liver Failure in the U.S.),Dextromethorphan HBr, and Pseudoephedrine HCl ( banned from store shelves since 2006).

It’s time to get rid of the false notion that fevers, coughs, runny nose, and watery eyes are either Virus or Bacteria getting the best of us.

Fevers, Coughs, Runny Noses, and Watery Eyes are OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM COOKING, KILLING, AND EXPELLING BUGS.  We actually WANT those “symptoms”, they’re signs of a strong immune response.  Even fatigue is good for us when we’re sick; the less energy we exert on activities, and the more we lie around or sleep, the harder our immune system can work to Kill the Bugs.  

Instead of Vicks, next time you or one of your kids gets sick,  (or even better, BEFORE you get sick as part of your supplement routine) reach for one of these tonics:

Elderberry Syrup.  Why?  In addition to Elderberry’s long history of medicinal use, numerous studies have verified it’s efficacy against cold and flu.  Elderberry has very high levels of Vitamins A, B, and C, which are great for our immune system.  You can buy Elderberry Syrup in any health food store, or you can make it, which is honestly super easy, and potent!  My local health food store sells Elderberries ( cheap ), but you can also buy them on line.

Parents:  This is delicious, your kids will actually WANT to take this.

Here’s the Recipe for Elderberry Syrup from the Wellness Mama site:

⅔ cup black elderberries
3.5 cups of water
2 T fresh or dried ginger root
1 tsp cinnamon powder
½ tsp cloves or clove powder
1 cup raw honey (we get from our farmer’s market)

Instructions
Pour water into medium saucepan and add elderberries, ginger, cinnamon and cloves (do not add honey!)
Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce to a simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour until the liquid has reduced by almost half. At that point, remove from heat and let cool enough to be handled. Pour through a strainer into a glass jar or bowl.
Discard the elderberries (or compost them!) and let the liquid cool to lukewarm. When it is no longer hot, add 1 cup of honey and stir well. ( you don’t want to kill honey’s live nutrients )
When honey is well mixed into the elderberry mixture, pour the syrup into a pint sized mason jar or 16 ounce glass bottle of some kind.
Ta Da! You just made homemade elderberry syrup! Store in the fridge and take daily for its immune boosting properties. Some sources recommend taking only during the week and not on the weekends to boost immunity.
Standard dose is ½ tsp to 1 tsp for kids and ½ Tbsp to 1 Tbsp for adults. If the flu does strike, take the normal dose every 2-3 hours instead of once a day until symptoms disappear. 

Here’s the recipe for Fire Cider, which is DELICIOUS served over vegetables or salads.  Or you could just be tough and drink a tablespoon mixed in water.  Again, this is Immune Boosting and Germ Killing, which is far, far smarter than just suppressing symptoms.  (Recipe from Mountain Rose Herbs.) 

1/2 cup fresh grated organic ginger root

1/2 cup fresh grated organic horseradish root

1 medium organic onion, chopped

10 cloves of organic garlic, crushed or chopped

2 organic jalapeno peppers, chopped

Zest and juice from 1 organic lemon

Several sprigs of fresh organic rosemary or 2 tbsp of dried rosemary leaves

1 tbsp organic turmeric powder

1/4 tsp organic cayenne powder

organic apple cider vinegar

raw local honey to taste

Directions

Prepare all of your roots, fruits, and herbs and place them in a quart sized jar. If you’ve never grated fresh horseradish, be prepared for a powerful sinus opening experience! Use a piece of natural parchment paper under the lid to keep the vinegar from touching the metal, or a plastic lid if you have one. Shake well! Store in a dark, cool place for one month and remember to shake daily.

After one month, use cheesecloth to strain out the pulp, pouring the vinegar into a clean jar. Be sure to squeeze as much of the liquid goodness as you can from the pulp while straining. Next, comes the honey! Add 1/4 cup of honey and stir until incorporated. Taste your cider and add another 1/4 cup until you reach the desired sweetness.

Make this year’s cold and flu season the least annoying/invasive/troublesome ever.  Focus on giving your immune system what it wants and needs to fight the millions of germs we come into contact with every single day.  Real Whole Foods.

Category: Food Additives, Immune System, Natural Therapies, Paleo Recipe, RWF / Tags: , , , ,

Coconut Oil – It’s a Super Food You Should Be Eating Every Day.

October 24, 2014 / / Comments Off on Coconut Oil – It’s a Super Food You Should Be Eating Every Day.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI want to wax poetic about Coconut Oil. If you’re thinking, “oh, I already use coconut oil, I know it’s good for me”, I bet I’ve got some facts you DON’T know, but should.

Coconut is a SuperFood. In our house, we consume several giant containers of coconut oil a year. We use it in cooking, personal care products, and medicinally.

Here’s the why’s and how’s.

Coconut oil is about 50% saturated fat, 35% monounsaturated, and 15% polyunsaturated.  Most of the saturated fat is a fatty acid called Lauric Acid.  The only other natural source of Lauric Acid?  Human breast milk. ( coconuts……breasts……….coconuts………breasts…….hmmm)   Our body converts lauric acid to Monolaurin; monolaurin is a powerful anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal agent. Monolaurin can actually destroy lipid-coated viruses such as HIV and herpes, influenza, measles, gram-negative bacteria ( such as LYME ), and protozoa (such as giardia lamblia).

Other components of coconut oil include capric acid, caprylic acid, tocopherols and tocotrienols. (Vitamin E lipids that act as potent anti-oxidants). (Trick: a combination of coconut oil and oregano oil  has been shown to be better than antibiotics against certain staph bacteria; use the same recipe to defeat the herpes virus.)

Coconut oil has excellent healing properties, both internally and externally.

For wound healing, coconut oil actually increases collagen production, and skin regeneration.  Do you battle candida, or yeast infections? Supplement with coconut oil:  “In 2004, 52 isolates of Candida species were exposed to coconut oil. The most notorious form, Candida albicans, was found to have the highest susceptibility.”

There are antioxidants in coconut oil that are so anti-inflammatory, they have positive effects on arthritis, swollen prostates, and ulcers ( yes, ulcers are inflammation ).  What about Heart Health?  The studies consistently show that the fatty acids and nutrients in coconut oil lower LDL and raise HDL; which should eliminate any arguing about this fat clogging our arteries. As a matter of fact, the high lauric acid content helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure.

Coconut and Brain/Neurological Health:  Grain Brain neurologist Dr. David Perlmutter says that coconut oil is such a powerful brain superfood, that it’s part of his “triumvirate approach” to restoring and improving brain function.

For those of us with kids in school where occasionally Lice rears it’s ugly head:  According to research published in the European Journal of Pediatrics, a combination of coconut oil and anise was found to be nearly twice as effective as the commonly prescribed permethrin lotion for the treatment of head lice.

Nursing a baby? According to the research, when a lactating mom adds coconut oil to her diet, the amount of lauric acid available in her breast milk increases to three times the original level and nearly double the amount of capric acid. A single serving of coconut oil affects the breast milk fatty acid composition for 1 to 3 days.  Wow!

Want more testosterone?  Did you know that ALL our sex hormones are comprised of saturated fat and cholesterol? ( Statin users, this is a problem…)  It matters that we eat HEALTHY fats because ANY fat we put in our mouth goes on to be incorporated – in a million ways – into our body.  Bad fats = an Unhealthy Body.  No fats/low fats = an Unhealthy Body.

What about the fat?  What if it ends up on our stomach or our butt?  Not going to happen. The saturated fat in coconut oil actually accelerates the loss of belly fat (the most dangerous kind). And coconut oil helps boost metabolism; some of it’s fatty acids are called Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs), which travel directly to the liver where they’re used for energy and not stored as fat. There are now two solid, human studies showing just two tablespoons a day (30 ml), in both men and women, is capable of reducing belly fat within 1-3 months.

Personal Experience:  Mark and I have been eating about 3 tablespoons of coconut oil most days of the week for a couple of years now – zero weight gain.

How do we use it? Obviously in cooking, that’s easy.  You can either saute your meats and vegetables in the oil or use it as your fat in baking.  We add coconut oil to smoothies, tea, and coffee, it’s delicious, but it’s not just for eating. I all use it in our homemade lotions and creams.  From acne to wrinkles to age spots, coconut oil works. Not a homemade type person?  No problem, it’s easy to find great products containing coconut oil, try Tropical Traditions ( Mark loves their face creams – he’s 50 with NO wrinkles ).  As a make-up remover and hair conditioner, it’s excellent.

Coconut water’s a great staple to have around; it’s very high in electrolytes, and minerals.  Use this as a sports drink, the liquid in your smoothie, or for your sick kid on the couch who needs the nutrients.

Then there’s my all time favorite:  Coconut Butter.  Coconut butter is different from oil; oil is 100% fat, but butter is 60% fat and the rest is fiber.  Coconut butter is made from blending all the coconut meat together including it’s natural oil; it has a texture, flavor, and consistency that makes it perfect for adding to desserts.  

My favorite treat that I have several days a week?

COCONUT CANDY

2 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp coconut butter ( it’s expensive, so I use less )

4-5 drops stevia

pinch of salt

EITHER:  lemon oil, or cocoa powder, or pumpkin pie spice, or or mashed bananas and pumpkin seeds ( weird? ) Freeze

That’s the tip of the iceberg when it comes to incorporating coconut into food.  Want great recipes?  Try the Spunky Coconut,  All Day I Dream About Food, or Elana’s Pantry.

Eat for Health, and your Happy Weight happens, I promise.

Category: Fats, Hormones, Natural Therapies, Paleo Diet, RWF, Weight Loss / Tags: , , , , ,
« Older Entries   Recent Entries »
Wordpress Theme by ThemeZee