The Amazing Benefits of Antioxidants
We have been hearing a lot about antioxidants lately. So what exactly are they and why are they so important to our health and well-being? We are exposed to many molecules in the form of synthetic chemicals like pesticides, plastics, and many byproducts that we call free radicals. These free radicals are very unstable and feed off of our healthy cells to survive. Chronic and degenerative diseases are caused by the cell damage produced from the tens of thousands of free radicals that are generated in our bodies every day.
The body is designed to produce a certain amount of antioxidants on its own but, due to the ever increasing number of toxins we are exposed to from our lifestyles and environment, the body is less able to fight off all of the harmful free radicals. Free radicals have been linked to most chronic diseases and cancers, including breast, prostate, colon, stomach, esophagus, bladder and pancreas. The free radicals thrive in the altered metabolic state of diabetics as well.
Antioxidants can neutralize cancer cells before they develop into a mass. A recent study at Harvard University found that men who ate the most tomato based foods (rich in antioxidants) had a 35% lower risk of developing prostate cancer than those who ate the least amount of tomato based foods. The necessary antioxidants that fruits and vegetables supply can neutralize the free radicals, protecting your kidneys, blood vessels, eyes and heart from harmful damage associated with diabetes.
There are two forms of Antioxidants: Fat-soluble and Water-soluble.
Fat-Soluble Antioxidants are best absorbed in the presence of fat. These are found in wild-caught fish, eggs, and seaweed. The main antioxidant in the flesh of wild-caught fish is called astaxanthin. Astaxanthin is a very powerful antioxidant that has been shown to increase strength, endurance and boost the immune system. It is what gives the flesh of sockeye salmon its beautiful red color and the red color in the shells of lobsters and crabs.
Water-Soluble Antioxidants are best absorbed in the presence of water. These are found primarily in the pigments that color fruits and vegetables. Phytochemicals are another name for water-soluble antioxidants. These antioxidants are the ones that do a great job of neutralizing free radicals, because of this you should have a steady daily supply of them coming into the body in the form of fruits, vegetables, and herbs so the free radicals do get a leg up. Some vegetables and fruits do contain fat-soluble antioxidants like beta carotene and lycopene.
10 Great Dietary Sources of Antioxidants:
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Berries—Blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries are loaded with proanthocyanidins, which are the antioxidants that may help in preventing cancer as well as heart disease. Additionally, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries have ellagic acid, which is a plant compound that fights carcinogens
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Broccoli—Along with other cruciferous veggies such as cabbage, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts, may help in preventing cancer and heart disease. In general, the crucifers contain indole-3-carbinol, which is a powerful antioxidant that breaks down estrogen and reduces the risk of breast cancer, along with ovarian and cervical cancer.
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Tomatoes—Lycopene is the hero within the much-beloved tomato. Lycopene is in the carotenoid family, which is also in pink grapefruit and is twice as strong as beta-carotene. Lycopene is also thought to prevent cancer of the lungs, colon, and breasts. Additionally, tomatoes contain glutathione, which increases immune function.
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Red Grapes and Red Wine—Red grapes contain reservatrol and quercetin, and those are potent antioxidants that get rid of free-radicals and keep blood vessels open and unobstructed. Reservatrol is believed to help prevent cancer and reduce inflammation, gastric ulcers, strokes, and osteoporosis.
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Garlic—Garlic has been shown to help prevent heart disease, cancer, and slow down aging. The key ingredients are the sulfur compounds that give garlic its pungent aroma and taste. Garlic is also an excellent anti-fungal and can help with asthma and yeast infections.
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Spinach—Spinach can help protect your vision because it contains the antioxidant lutein. Studies show that spinach-eaters are less likely to get cataracts or macular degeneration. Lutein accomplishes this by shielding your retina from sun damage and keeping free-radicals from hurting your eyes.
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Green Tea—Green Tea has been shown in studies to reduce significantly your risk of stroke, heart disease, cancer and other diseases.
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Carrots—Carrots are power packed with beta-carotene, a member of the carotenoid family of antioxidants. This free-radical fighter is also found in yellow-orange vegetables and beets. Beta-carotene fights cancer and can reduce arthritis from progressing by as much as 70%.
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Wild-Caught Salmon– Contains the powerful fat-soluble antioxidant known as astaxanthin that is hundreds of times more potent than antioxidants like vitamin C, E, and beta-carotene. Also known for its superb source of omega-3 fatty acid, it is one of the top ten miraculous antioxidant foods. Salmon can help with preventing sudden heart attacks, lessen the growth of artery plaque; and lower the blood pressure.
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Sweet Potatoes– is a wonderful miraculous antioxidant food. It contains beta carotene, which is converted into vitamin A slowing down the aging process and the risk of getting some cancers. Sweet potatoes have a lot of fiber, foliate and potassium, not to mention vitamins B-6; C and E.
When shopping for these great antioxidant foods look for local, organically grow, if you have the space thick about trying to grow your own. It is very important to make sure that your fish is Wild-Caught. Fish raised in tanks turns their meat whitish or even gray. Since this is not very appealing the farmers add a form of synthetic astaxamthin to the fish feed to give it a more orangey color.
Antioxidants also slow the effects of aging, slow down the loss of muscle elasticity that leads to wrinkles, and puts the breaks on memory failure. Just more reasons to get your vegetables and fruits in every day!
So eat your way towards better health!
Yours in Health,
Starting Your Own Garden
It might seem a little crazy to be talking about a vegetable garden in February. It’s the middle of winter! But, now is the perfect time to begin preparing for a successful garden. There is nothing like stepping out into your yard and picking vegetables when they are at the peek of freshness, knowing that they are free of chemicals and pesticides, then simply preparing them for you and your family to enjoy.
The benefits to starting a garden are numerous, and after you understand these benefits, I hope that you jump into action to start on your own journey with this wonderful hobby. Growing your own vegetables, herbs, and berries is a fun and rewarding way to save money. It is the most affordable way to have fresh, local, organic produce . What is more local than your own yard!
I came across this blog post that has great information on starting a garden so I thought I would pass it on to you and save myself some time basically writing the same information. Gardening 101: Plan Today for Summer Success.
Here are some local resources that you can utilize here in the Quad Cities Area:
The local Iowa and Illinois Extensions offer practical, how-to education based on powerful university research. It’s available to any resident of Iowa/Illinois and is tailored to meet the needs of its residents, needs they know firsthand. Their educators, specialists, and volunteers live and work in all counties.
Iowa State Extension: is a great web site that has lots of information and tools that you can use.
The Scott County Extension is located at 875 Tanglefoot Lane Bettendorf, Iowa 52722 and they can be reached at 563-359-7577 or by E-mail:bbray@iastate.edu. Office Hours are M-F 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
University of Illinois Extension: this is also a great web site with lots of information and tools that you can use for the state of Illinois.
The Rock Island County Extension is located at 321 W 2nd Avenue Milan, IL 61264. They can be reached at 309-756-9978 or by Email:uie-hmrs@illinois.edu. Office Hours are Monday-Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm
Take advantage of these great resources. They can also help you find community garden space if you don’t have a yard that you can use for garden space.
Another great tool to use is The Old Farmer’s Almanac 2012. In it you will find lots of tips and recommendations for every month of the year to help you know when to plant certain plants, what grows well in your area and more gardening advice for growing vegetables, herbs and flowers, not to mention worthwhile weeds. The Almanac can be picked up at most magazine stands or ordered with the below link.
One of the main things that need to be focused on this time of year is what plants you plan to start from seed. They should be started inside by the end of February, first week of March so they will be nice and strong to be transplanted into your garden when the weather is right. Here is a article from Organic Gardening Magazine (great one to subscribe to) on How to Start Seeds indoors.
My favorite place to get seeds is from The Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, IA. The Seed Savers Exchange is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds. Since 1975, there members have been passing on their garden heritage by collecting and distributing thousands of samples of rare garden seeds to other gardeners. You can access their catalog on line or request a copy to be mailed to you at this web site http://www.seedsavers.org/CatalogRequest.aspx. Last year they had a booth inside at the Freight House Farmers Market on Saturdays from 8-12. If you are down at the market see if they are there.
Remember you do not need to have a large backyard or living area to tend to a garden, although space certainly helps. Gardens can be started in the smallest of areas. The benefits one yields from gardening activities are more or less the same regardless of the size of the garden. You can start by putting a Cherie Tomato Plant in a large pot.
Just like anything you start to learn it takes time and you will make mistakes, but the reward is well worth it and every year it will get better and easier. Then before you know you will be like me and want to dig up your whole yard! LOL
Me in our garden 2011.
Some of my earliest memories are spending time with my family in our garden. It is such an educational tool for kids to learn how food grows and where food comes from. It isn’t the McDonald’s Drive thru!
So my husband and I are getting our seeds ready to plant and throughout the next year I am going to be updating you on the status of the garden on the Get Well For Life Facebook page. Click the link to Like the page. Get Well For Life FB Page and share it with your friends and family.
Happy Gardening!
Yours in Health,
The Truth About Statin Drugs
Cholesterol is not a deadly poison, but a substance vital to the cells of all mammals. There are no such things as good or bad cholesterol, but mental stress, physical inactivity and change of body weight influence the level of blood cholesterol.
A high blood cholesterol is said to promote atherosclerosis and thus also coronary heart disease. But studies have shown that people whose blood cholesterol is low become just as atherosclerotic as people whose cholesterol is high.
Alliance for Natural Health (ANH-USA) is committed to protecting access to integrative medicine. ANH-USA is a nonprofit organization. As a nonprofit, ANH-USA can conduct political advocacy initiatives at the federal and state level and serves as the voices of its members and supporters in the political arena.
Check out their web site: http://www.anh-usa.org/ There you can become a member and stay up to date about what is going on with legislature that will affect your freedoms when it comes to your health. They also make it easy for you to take action and have your voice be heard by your elected representatives.
They are a good source to get the real unbiased research that big pharma doesn’t want you to know about. Here is one of those articles relating to Statin Drugs.
This is a great article and worth the time to read and share with your friends and family.
Neither heart mortality or total mortality related to heart disease have improved with the massive increase in the use of these drugs. On the contrary, these drugs are dangerous to your health and may shorten your life. So what if your cholesterol is lower if your quality of life is decreased and you end up six feet under sooner!
Eating, moving, and thinking well to give your body what it needs to express your true health potential is your best defense against any sickness &/or disease!
So love yourself enough to eat, move, and think well Every Day!
Yours in Health,
Making New Year Resolutions Stick in 2012
At the first of the year millions of people will begin their New Year’s Resolutions. It is the time for new beginnings! Despite all of the hype, most people fail. So what can we do to help us increase the likelihood of our resolutions to become permanent positive changes in our lives?
One reason why most people give up on their resolutions so quickly is because they become disappointed when the results don’t come as quickly as they want, or they find that the changes are not making them any happier.
Making life-style changes requires a constant personal control and commitment. It is also common that life-style changes also come with physical discomfort. For example, changing your diet or quitting smoking can result in extreme cravings or withdrawals.
Set realistic goals for yourself. In order for life-style goals to stick for a life time, change gradually. Start by eliminating one bad thing and when that gets easier, eliminate something else, ect. If you try and drastically change everything overnight you might have success for a short time, but it will be short lived. So start small and move forward gradually to have the best chance of success.
Focus more on the life-style change than the end goal. If you want to lose weight, don’t focus on the specific number of pounds the scale says that you lost that day, focus on sticking to your sensible choices. Focusing on your behavior will give you control of your life. You will gain satisfaction from making good choices several times a day.
Allow for mistakes. No one is perfect. You should expect to give into temptation from time to time, but don’t use this as an excuse to give up. Start fresh the next day, learn from your mistake and move on.
It is almost never convenient to make life-style changes, but if you begin now rather than later you will be on your road to a healthier happier life in 2012!
So Eat, Move and Think a little better Every Day!
Defeat the Winter Blues with Exercise
Those cold dark mornings make it a little bit harder to get out of bed and get that workout in. We tend to want to go into hibernation mode. We are distracted with all of the holiday festivities and all of the to do lists that need to be done. With all of these exciting activities on our minds, exercise falls down the list of priorities.
Well the shortest day is only two days away so we can look forward to the days getting longer. With these short days many on us talk about the “winter blues”. We have lack of motivation, feelings of slight depression, fatigue, and cravings for all of those holiday goodies. Exercise is a great way to improve your state of mind and quality of life during these cold winter days!
Here a few benefits of maintaining your exercise routine in the winter months:
- Immune Function: In the winter months we are in the heart of the cold and flu season. Research shows that when you exercise your body increases the speed at which it removes waste products. Your breathing rate increases and you increase the amount that you sweat which helps remove more waste products. This decreases your risk of infection because fewer infectious agents are present in the body. Your body temperature rises when you exercise and many infectious agents cannot survive this increase in temperature. This is why you get a fever when you come down with a cold, it is your bodies way of killing off the invaders. Exercise also reduces stress, and any reduction in overall stress keeps the immune system functioning at its best!
- Endorphins: Endorphins are neurotransmitters that are released by your brain when you exercise. They are your natural pain killer and when you work up a good sweat during exercise they produce analgesia and a feeling of well-being, which helps brighten the spirit on those grey days.
- Self Image: When you decrease your exercise in the winter months you are setting your fitness goals back. This set back will only add to feelings of negativity towards yourself and it makes it harder and harder to get back on track. Most people will put on 5 pounds from Thanksgiving to New Years. Stay on track with your fitness regimen and give yourself something to be proud about.
Helpful tips to keep up with your exercise schedule throughout the winter:
- If you are a brave individuals who continues to exercise outdoors throughout the winter, be sure to do a proper warm-up beforehand, wear appropriate clothing so you are warm and can be seen if it is dark out. Also beware of ice or slippery surfaces.
- Break up your workout. Instead of getting on the same machine every time, pick 3 different machines and workout on a different one each day or use each one for 10 minutes during your workout.
- Try something new. We all have our favorite machines or exercises that we gravitate to every time we go to the gym. Winter is a great time to experiment with something completely different. When was the last time you tried the rowing machine or the stationary bike? What about the heavy punching bag in the corner? Moving your body in a different way can rejuvenate your workouts. You can also try some new winter sports like cross country skiing or ice skating.
- Try finding a new fitness class such as yoga, spinning, zumba, or a boot camp. Sign up with a friend to help you stay motivated and hold each other accountable to attending regular classes; this also makes it more fun!
- If going to the gym isn’t for you, try a workout DVD or book a session with a personal trainer who can set you up with a program you can perform in your own living room with very little equipment.
Don’t use the cold busy winter/holiday season as an excuse to just start again in the new year. This will set you back and make it very difficult to get back on track. So avoid the unwanted weight gain and the winter blues by sticking to a regular exercise routine.
So drop and give me 20!!!
Meal Planning
One of the most important things to staying on track with your healthier lifestyle is being prepared! One way to do this is to plan your meals. I have come across some tools that have helped me that I thought I would pass on to you.
Making a plan for the week has become one of the best time saving and stress reducing action step that I have been doing more and more. I have weeks that I think “Oh I don’t have time to do that this week”. Those tend to be the weeks that things creep in that shouldn’t, or carry out comes home for dinner.
It makes life so much easier when you have a plan and stick to it. The time saving and stress reduction comes from not having to think ”What am I going to eat” every day, every meal. Just stick to the plan!
Sit down once a week check your schedules and plan your week. One thing that I have found to be a time saver is to make extra at dinner so you can use all or a portion of it to take for lunch. If you are making some kind of backed chicken make extra and use it to add to a wonderful salad the next day for lunch, or cut up some veggies and make a good chicken and veggie soup. This is also a good tip for those weeks that you might have late days at work or obligations that keep you from having lots of time to make a meal. Save the leftovers for days like that.
I have been using MasterCook Software for some time now. It is a great program that comes with lots of cookbooks pre-loaded for your use. You can do specific searches to include or exclude foods to find recipes that fit your dietary requirements. You can also make your own cookbooks buy imputing the recipes that you love or coping and pasting the recipes from any online source. Over time I have organized my cookbooks so they are easy for me to make my meal plans. I have created cookbooks like smoothies, salads, juices, quick dinner, soups etc. So when I am planning my week I can click to add a recipe and I can quickly go to my smoothie cookbook and pick the ones that sound good to me for the week and so on and so on for the remainder of the week.
It takes a little extra time at the beginning, like everything new you learn, but once you have a core group of recipes that you love and are good for you entered into your cookbooks then it is a snap! Then you are just adding one here and there when you come across new recipes you want to add to your library.
You can also add your meal plan to your shopping list and modify it so you only get what you need. Remember if the junk doesn’t come into the house it doesn’t get into your mouth. The meal plan can then be printed out, which will have your week plan along with the recipes, your shopping list and nutrition analysis. Here is a link that you can use to order MasterCook. It is a steal at $19.99. It is also on my Recommended stuff page above.
I opened up an e-mail this weekend from Cozi Family Calendar, which is a free on-line calendar that I have been using for keeping track of personal appointments, bills, birthdays, etc. It is a great calendar. Your whole family can access it and you have everyone’s schedule at the tip of you fingers. I am not going to go into all of the features, here is a link that you can go to that tells you all of that. Cozi Features What this e-mail informed me of was that they added a Meals tab and a Shopping tab to the calendar. I got on and played around with it and found it very easy to use. I was pleasantly surprised. They have a great five minute video that shows you the basics on how to use it. Here is a link to that: Cozi Meals video.
I really liked the ease of adding recipes and the click and drop feature which makes planning the week really easy. I re-planed a week I had done in the past to see how much time it took me to get all the recipes added, put them into the calendar, add them to the shopping list, and edit the shopping list. It took me 25 minutes. WOW!!
The only things I thought could be easier is that you have to click on each recipe and then click to add to shopping list instead of being able to add them all at once. Then you are able to go into the list and delete the things that you don’t need. I do like the fact that you can click and drag the ingredients around to group things together and add the duplicates together so you get exactly the amount that you need. The other thing is that when you print out the plan it doesn’t print out the recipes so you have to do them individually. I would suggest keeping a file of all of your favorite and most used recipes so when you make your plan you can just pull out the hard copy to use for that week. You can also always review them online.
One really big advantage that the Cozi calender has is that they have apps for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry. This allows you to access your calendar and shopping list form anywhere. You can also send a grocery list or to do list to any family member’s phone via text.
The Cozi calendar is Free which is wonderful. You do have to put up with some advertising of course. If you don’t want to deal with the advertising they offer a upgraded version ad free for $2.99 a month.
What every you decide to try, having a plan keeps you on track and saves lots of time and energy.
Happy Meal Planning!
Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes
Well Thanksgiving is approaching fast, so I thought I would give you some healthier choices for your Thanksgiving dinner. Most of our standard Thanksgiving menus are full of empty calories and little nutritional value. Here are some substitutes that you can try so you can have a piece of pumpkin pie without guilt!
Ditch the Cream of Mushroom soup and Fried onions and try these delicious green beans!
Green Beans Almondine
- 1 Pound fresh not frozen Green Beans, trimmed
- 2 Cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon clarified butter
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- 2 Tablespoons of sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup of sliced almonds, toasted
- Saute green beans and garlic in skillet with clarified butter.
- When the beans begin to become slightly tender, add the lemon zest, sun-dried tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste.
- Throw in the almonds a few minutes before serving to warm them.
- 1 Head of Fresh Cauliflower
- 1 Cup of Chicken Stock
- 1/4 Teaspoon Red Pepper or seasoning of choice
- 2 Cloves of Garlic, Crushed
- Cut your cauliflower head into small chunks of the florets and stems.
- Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium heat, and cover, allowing to cook for 20 minutes until the cauliflower tender enough to be mashed with a fork.
- If all of the liquid dries up add more, or if you have too much, pour it off into a bowl and reserve. Cauliflower holds tons of liquid, so start with less than you think and add if needed.
- Place all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor, or keep in pan and use a immersion blender or hand mixer to mash.
- If the mash seems to dry add some additional stock or coconut milk for creaminess.
- Drippings from roasted turkey
- 1/2 Cup White wine
- 1/4 Cup almond flour
- 1/4 Cup Arrowroot powder, Mixed with 1/4 Cup water
- 3-4 Cups turkey or chicken stock
- salt and pepper to taste
- Remove your turkey from the pan, carefully pour the liquid from pan into a container and set aside to use for the turkey stock. If you don’t have 3-4 cups add chicken stock to it.
- Set the roasting pan over oven burners.
- Turn the heat to medium-high, and de-glaze the pan with the wine, whisking to break up all the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. This is the key to give your gravy great flavor.
- In a small bowl, combine the almond flour, arrowroot powder and 1 cup of the stock, stirring until no lumps remain.
- Slowly pour the almond flour mixture into the roasting pan, whisking to mix well.
- Whisk in remaining stock
- Once gravy starts to thicken, turn off heat and serve immediately.
- 31/2 Cups almond flour
- 3/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
- 4 Large Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon Honey
- 3/4 Teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit
- Combine all the dry ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, then add in the honey and apple cider vinegar.
- Pour batter into a well-greased loaf pan.
- Bake for 45 minutes or so, until bread is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.
- 1 3/4 Cups almond flour
- 1/2 Teaspoon unrefined sea salt
- 1 1/2 Teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
- 1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1/3 Cup coarsely chopped walnuts
- 2 Tablespoons coconut oil, warmed so it is liquefied
- 4 Tablespoon Agave Nectar, divided
- 1 Tablespoon gluten-free vanilla extract or vanilla flavor
- 4 Cups Gala apples, peeled, sliced thin, and chopped in half width-wise
- 1 Tablespoon arrowroot powder
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mix almond flour, sea salt, 1 tsp. cinnamon, nutmeg, and walnuts in medium bowl.
- Mix coconut oil, 3 Tbs. agave nectar, and vanilla in separate bowl.
- Stir wet ingredients into dry, then combine ingredients with hands to create crumbly mixture.
- Grease 8 – by 11 1/2 inch, 2-quart casserole dish
- Mix apples, remaining agave nectar, arrowroot, and remaining cinnamon together in mixing bowl.
- Arrange apple mixture in baking dish. Crumble topping over apples
- Bake 18-20 minutes, until dish is fragrant and top is brown but not burnt. Serve warm
The Dangers of Soda!!!
Carbonated drinks are the single biggest source of refined sugars in Americans diets. There is 10 teaspoons of sugar (actually high-fructose corn syrup) in a 12-oz can of regular soda. In a 20-oz can there is 17 teaspoons! Can anyone imagine consuming that much sugar at one time?
Many studies have linked soda to osteoporosis, obesity, tooth decay, diabetes & heart disease. We wonder why we have so many health problems and why we can’t lose weight and the truth is these problems do not begin on their own. We encourage illness and disease every day by our lifestyle choices and not preventing their cause.
So what’s in Soda that is so bad for us?
1. Sugar: Soft drink companies are the largest user of refined sugar in the US. It is a proven fact that sugar increases insulin levels, which can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, premature aging and many more negative side effects. Most sodas include OVER 100% of the RDA of daily sugar.
2. Aspartame: Chemical sugar substitute. There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame including brain tumors, birth defects, diabetes, emotional disorders and epilepsy/seizures. When aspartame is stored for long periods of time or kept in warm areas it changes to methanol, an alcohol that converts to formaldehyde and formic acid, which are known carcinogens.
3. Phosphoric Acid: Interferes with the body’s ability to use calcium, which causes toxins and deficiencies in the body that lead to osteoporosis or softening of the teeth and bones. It also neutralizes the hydrochloric acid in the stomach, which can interfere with digestion, making it difficult to utilize nutrients.
4. Caffeine: Can cause jitters, insomnia, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, vitamin and mineral depletion, breast lumps, birth defects and perhaps some forms of cancer.
Soda and refined processed sugary foods are one of the main reasons, nutritionally speaking, why many people suffer health problems.
The body has to process everything that we put into it. When the body doesn’t have the proper nutrients to process the nutrient empty sugary drinks and foods over time will start stealing the nutrients from other areas in your body. Over time this will result in increased organ deficiency, increased nutritional deficiency, increased toxicity in the body and more and more symptoms and disease!
How many sodas have you had today? How about your kids? The average American drinks an estimated 56 GALLONS of soft drinks each year! Before you or your children grab that next can of soda remind yourself of the price to your health you are paying!
Make a healthy choice today to start eliminating these toxic drinks from your diet and your families diet!! Remember any less is better and work towards elimination. Just by getting soda out of your diet and adding more good pure water you will move yourself towards better health!
Have a Wonderful Healthy Day!
Gluten-Free Muffins, Pancakes & More
When making changes in our lifestyle and diet to improve our health we are still human and have cravings for those comfort foods. A new cookbook is out called Paleo Comfort Foods Homestyle Cooking for a Gluten-free Kitchen By Julie & Charles Mayfield. I was very excited to receive my pre-ordered copy a couple of weeks ago.
There are some really great recipes in this book but, a lot of them do take time. Great ideas for those Sunday night special dinners that you spend more time on.
One area of the book I was very happy with was the Sauces & Staples chapter. I really try and stay away from bottled condiments because of the added sugar, flavoring, perservatives etc. There are some great recipes like Paleo Mayonnaise, Chipotle Dipping Sauce, Tarter Sauce & Cave Ketchup. Sauces are a great way to add a little flavor to ordinary fish, chicken and turkey. Here is the recipe for the Paleo Mayonnaise which helps make great chicken salad!
Paleo Mayonnaise
1 Large egg, brought to room temperature
1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 cup of light or very mild tasting olive oil
1/2 cup avocado oil (they didn’t have this at the store so I used grape seed oil)
1/4 teaspoon white pepper (optional)
1. Combine egg, lemon juice, and mustard in food processor and blend until frothy.
2. Using the drip hole in the top of the processor, or pouring teaspoon by teaspoon to start, drizzle the oil in drop by drop. Do not rush this process, or you will end up with scrambled eggs mixed with oil!
3. Once you have quite a few drops in there, you can pour the oil into the feed tube part of the food processor to let that useful drip hole control the rate of flow for you.
4. Refrigerate in sealed container. This will keep for a week or so.
Tips – You will be tempted to dump all the oil in at one time. DO NOT! The oil will not emulsify if you do. It will be runny, oily, slimy stuff that looks nothing like mayonnaise. Start the oil drip by drop, and you will end up with a great mayo. If you find that you only have olive oil, you can use just that, just be forewarned that the mayo may have a distinct olive taste.
This Mayo recipe is the base for the tarter sauce which I made and was very happy with on the side of the Georgian Pecan-Crusted Trout recipe.
Who doesn’t miss a good breakfast muffin once in awhile. I tried this recipe out and my husband and I both enjoyed them.
Morning Glory Muffins
2 1/2 Cups almond flour
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups carrots, finely grated
1 large apple, peeled, cored and finely grated
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup unsweetened raisins
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons of honey (optional)
1/2 cup coconut or avocado oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a standard-sized muffin pan (12 cups).
2. Combine almond flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Add carrot, apple, coconut and raisins and combine well.
3. In separate bowl, whisk eggs, honey, oil and vanilla extract together.
4. Pour this mixture over your dry ingredients and mix well. This batter will be very thick.
5. Spoon out into muffin pan and place on middle or upper rack of your oven for 40-50 minutes.
6. When a toothpick inserted in the top of a muffin comes out clean, they are done.
7. Cool muffins in pan for 8-10 minutes and then remove to a rack to finish cooling.
Tips – The smaller you can grate the carrot/apple the better. These muffins tend to end up a bit moister if you allow the batter to sit for 30-60 minutes before spooning into the pan.
I have never been a huge fan of pancakes, but I know that sometimes pancakes are just what is needed to get the day started right. I found this pancakes to be very yummy! I warmed up some frozen mixed berries and smashed them a little to make a great fruit syrup topping.
Pumpkin Pancakes
4 large eggs
4 large egg whites
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup pecans, crushed (optional)
1-2 tablespoons butter or coconut oil
1. Mix all ingredients in large bowl except optional pecans.
2. Heat a griddle or large skillet to medium heat and coat griddle/pan with butter or other fat source when hot.
3. From here, traditional pancake rules apply with a slight modification. These will not bubble like your traditional pancakes. The batter is a bit thicker. On medium heat the first side takes about 2-3 minutes to brown then another 1-3 minutes on the other side.
I was very excited to see that there was a tortilla recipe in this book. I was taught by my mom and grandmother how to make the best Mexican/Spanish food. One of my favorite comfort foods is a great enchilada. Over the years that I have been improving my diet and eliminating grains these are the foods I miss most. I wish that I had happier news about the tortilla recipe. I found it very difficult and just didn’t hold up well. So my search for a good healthy version for a tortilla is still on going.
All in all I am enjoying this cookbook I see lots of yummy Sunday comfort meals in my future. You can order your own copy of Paleo Comfort Foods by going to my Recommended Stuff Page above or clicking on the link below.
Happy Cooking!
