From My Family to Yours!

2013

Happy Thanksgiving 2013!!!

Thanksgiving 2013: Cider-Brined Turkey Breast!

Ingredients:
 
Brine
4 cups water
1 cup kosher salt
2 cinnamon sticks
3 whole cloves
3 crushed garlic cloves
2 bay leaves, broken into pieces
4 quarter-size slices fresh ginger
Peel and juice of 1 orange
Peel and juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon black peppercorns, coarsely cracked
1 teaspoon whole allspice, coarsely cracked
1/2 gallon unsweetened apple cider, chilled (8 cups)
 
Turkey
8 to 10-pound fresh turkey breast

Directions:

1) Place water, salt, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, crushed garlic, bay leaves, ginger, orange and lemon peel and their juices in a large saucepan. Coarsely crush peppercorns and allspice and add to ingredients in pan. Bring mixture to a boil. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Stir in apple cider and cool to room temperature. Submerge turkey in brine, adding additional water as need to cover. Chill for 12 to 24 hours.
 
2) Remove turkey from brine. Rinse well under cold running water. Pat dry. Transfer to a large baking pan. Refrigerate, uncovered, for several hours. This allows skin to dry and will allow it to crisp as it cooks. 

3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Transfer turkey to a heavy roasting pan. Cover skin with softened butter or olive oil. Add one cup of water to bottom of pan and place turkey in hot oven. Cooking time will vary depending on size of turkey breast. Check wrapper and cook according to weight. Roast until internal temperature at thickest part of breast registers 160 degrees F. Allow turkey to rest for 20 to 30 minutes before carving. 

adapted from: http://oneperfectbite.blogspot.com/2012/11/cider-brined-turkey-breast.html#.UpY9Ho0i2Q5 

Thanksgiving 2013: Pumpkin Pie Custard

 

Ingredients:

• 1 can (15 ounce) pure pumpkin
• ½ cup milk ( I used 1%)
• 4 beaten eggs
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla liquid stevia
• Optional toppings: Heavy Whipped Cream, Sprinkle of nutmeg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray 6 ramekin or custard cups with nonstick cooking spray.
3. In a large bowl mix together pumpkin, milk, eggs, spices and stevia.
4. Pour evenly into ramekins.
5. Bake for 40 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.
6. Best served cold. Top with heavy whipped cream! Sprinkle with more nutmeg!

 source: http://www.sugarfreemom.com/recipes/healthy-pumpkin-pie-custard-gluten-free-low-carb/

Thanksgiving 2013: Green Beans with Pesto!

Ingredients:

• 1½lb trimmed green beans, cut in half or into short lengths
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or ½ teaspoon table salt, or salt to taste)
• 3 tablespoons shelled, unsalted pistachios
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 1 small bunch basil, leaves removed (about 1 cup, packed)
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, peeled

Directions:

Put a saucepan of water on for the beans, adding salt when it starts to boil.
To make the pesto, put the pistachios, Parmesan, basil and olive oil in a small bowl. Grate in (or mince and add) a little bit of the garlic—about a quarter of the clove—throwing the remaining piece of garlic into the bean water. Using an immersion blender, blitz the pesto ingredients into a thick green paste.
Cook the beans to taste (check after 4 minutes), and, before draining, spoon a little of the cooking water (about 1 or 2 tablespoons is all you need) into the pesto bowl and blitz quickly to mix again with your immersion blender.
Drain the beans (discarding the rogue garlic clove), and toss them in the bowl with the pesto, then transfer to a serving bowl, and take them fragrantly to the table.

source: http://themessybaker.com/2013/04/11/nigellissima-pistachio-pesto-green-beans/

Thanksgiving 2013: Roasted Buttternut Squash iwth Brown Butter and Sage!

 

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash (about 3 1/4 lbs.)
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 24 leaves fresh sage 

 

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 425°F. Using a sturdy vegetable peeler, peel the squash. Using a large, sharp knife, cut the squash crosswise where the bulbous part meets the narrower part, and trim off the blossom and stem ends. Cut the bulbous part in half vertically and scrape out and discard the seeds and fibers. Cut all of the squash into 1-inch chunks. Spread the pieces on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil and toss with your hands to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 15 minutes. Stir the squash and continue roasting until tender and browned, 10 to 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven.

In a small frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat until the foam subsides. Add the sage and cook just until the butter turns a light hazelnut brown and the sage is crisp, about 30 seconds. Immediately pour the brown butter and sage over the squash on the baking sheet and toss to coat. Transfer to a warmed serving bowl and serve. Serves 6 to 8.

Variation: Root vegetables, such as carrots, potatoes, parsnips and turnips are also delicious served with brown butter and sage. Cut them all into 1-inch chunks. You can roast them together, mixing and matching the vegetables to suit your taste.

source: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/roasted-butternut-squash-with-brown-butter-and-sage.html?cm_src=RECIPESEARCH

Thanksgiving 2013: Carbohydrates in Spaghetti Squash

If you're looking for a low-carb alternative to a popular pasta side dish, or pasta in general, the aptly named spaghetti squash might be just the ticket. Spaghetti squash is a nonstarchy vegetable that contains about 5 grams of carbohydrates per half-cup serving, according to the American Diabetes Association. Its stringy flesh also provides about 20 calories and vitamin C, B-complex vitamins and fiber.

 

How to Prepare

Spaghetti squash is named for its flesh that, when cooked until tender, separates into threads that resemble spaghetti. It can be roasted in the oven or microwaved until tender. Let it cool and then use a fork to scrape out the flesh. Top it with a little olive oil or butter and serve plain or use it in place of spaghetti in your favorite pasta dish, such as as the base for "spaghetti" and meatballs.

Sweet Substitute: English Toffee Fat Bombs!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup coconut oil
• 2 tbs butter
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 3/4 Tbs cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup of Natural Peanut Butter
• 3 Tbs Davinci Gourmet Sugar Free English Toffee Syrup

Directions:
Put all of your ingredients in a pot on the stovetop on a medium/low heat.  
Stir until everything melts together and is smooth.
Pour them into a mold of some kind. 
Pop those suckers in the freezer for a few hours. After a few hours, they’ll be good to go.
Pop them out and try not to eat them all!
They store well in the freezer.

source: http://ketogirlblog.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/english-toffee-fat-bombs/

A Must Have!

 

For The Book, CLICK HERE! 

Dinner Fix: Cilantro-Lime Jalapeno Chicken Salad!

 

 Ingredients:

• 3 large chicken breasts
• poaching liquid (chicken stock, water, carrots, celery, onion, thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns)
• 1 jalapeño diced (with seeds scraped out)
• 4 Tbs cilantro coarsely chopped
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/4 red onion diced fine
• 1/3 cup mayo (plus a little more if needed)
• 1 Tbs Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp cumin
• salt and pepper
• 2 ripe avocados 

Directions:
Season chicken with salt and pepper and *poach.
Remove chicken from liquid and shred with a fork.
Once chicken has cooled add mayo, Dijon, cumin, lime juice, salt and pepper and incorporate. 
Add more mayo and lime if necessary.
 Mix in red onion, jalapeño and cilantro.
Cool in fridge for several hours to let flavors merge and serve with avocado
.
*To Poach – In a medium pot add chicken breasts to the poaching liquid.  The chicken should be completely immersed.  Bring to a boil and then immediately reduce heat and partially cover.  Reduce heat to a simmer for 10 minutes (be sure to just simmer and not boil….and no longer than 10 minutes since you don’t want the chicken to turn “rubbery”).  Remove from heat and let chicken remain in the liquid for about 15 minutes.   Reserve the liquid for future use.

source: http://dailycrave.wordpress.com/2011/08/17/cilantro-lime-jalapeno-chicken-salad/

Diabetes Update

Study: Lower Your Cholesterol and Raise Your Risk of Death Following Mainstream Diet Advice

You've been hearing for decades about how a healthy diet is one that lowers your intake of saturated fats and replaces them with "healthy" unsaturated oils. This, you have been told, will lower your cholesterol and your risk of having a heart attack.

What you probably didn't hear is that a study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) February of this past year found that though the first claim is true--swapping out saturated fats for vegetable oils will lower your cholesterol--if the oil you use instead of saturated fat is full of omega-6 fatty acid, like safflower oil or corn oil, the second claim is completely false.

The study found that when men who had already had a heart attack replaced saturated fats with safflower oil and ate margarine made with safflower oil they significantly raised the risk that they would die of a heart attack, stroke or, in fact, any cause of death, over the next five years.

How significantly was that risk raised? The study states: "Among the control and intervention groups combined, an increase of 5% of food energy from unspecified PUFA [polyunsaturated fatty acids] predicted about 30% higher risk of cardiovascular death and all cause mortality.

A reduction in SFA [saturated fat] and increase in the PUFA:SFA ratio were also associated with increased risks of all cause and cardiovascular mortality." In short, the more they replaced saturated fat with "healthy" polyunsaturated oil the more likely they were to die.

I was only made aware of this study last week, when the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) published an opinion piece questioning whether the government should be putting "heart healthy" labels on corn oil and other polyunsaturated fats. (Details HERE.) They cited the February BMJ study in their write-up.

What doesn't come across in the small amount of press the CMAJ article got is something that makes the BMJ study even more significant:  The data that this finding was based on was 40 years old. It was collected during the Sydney Diet Heart Study, a  randomized controlled trial conducted in 1966-73.

This was one of the many landmark interventional studies whose result was used to convince doctors that replacing saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats would lower cholesterol and, by implication, prevent heart disease.

But while the authors of the original study published the finding that the polyunsaturated fats would lower both cholesterol and triglycerides, they did not look to see whether lowering cholesterol with this intervention actually helped prevent heart-related deaths.

They eventually admitted in a study published in 1978--a full 5 years after they began to publish their results--that there was a higher "all cause mortality" in the group eating the safflower oil, but they did not look at whether these deaths were from cardiovascular-related causes. This was a surprising omission, given the point of the dietary intervention--to lower cholesterol in order to prevent heart attacks.

So it was only in the last few years that a new group of researchers were able to go back to the original study's raw data and take another look at it. When they did so, they discovered what they term "previously missing data."  This "missing data" was the data that led to the conclusion that there was a 30% greater risk of cardiovascular death among the people in the study who ate the cholesterol-lowering oil.

Where the Smoking Gun Was Hiding

Getting at this missing  data was not a trivial process. The original study data had been stored on 9-track tape--the kind you can see at left--which used to be used by IBM 360 series mainframe computers. There are only a very few data recovery specialists around who can still read these kinds of tapes.

Once they recovered the data, the researchers did a very careful analysis, teasing out other factors that might have affected the death rate and, most significantly, analyzing whether the transfat associated with the margarine the test subjects ate might have explained the higher death rate. They conclude it did not.

They also point out that this re-analysis of the data echoes what was found in two other re-analyses of 1960-70s era cholesterol/heart diet trials: Linoleic acid, with its high proportion of Omega-6 fatty acid and complete lack of Omega-3 fatty acid is really toxic stuff.

You can read the whole BMJ study here:

Use of dietary linoleic acid for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease and death: evaluation of recovered data from the Sydney Diet Heart Study and updated meta-analysis.

Omega-6 Fatty Acids Promote Inflammation

The researchers believe that the reason that the polyunsaturated oils used in these cholesterol-lowering diets were so toxic was because the vegetable oils used were very high in Linoleic Acid, an Omega-6 fatty acid, and devoid of the  countervailing Omega-3 fatty acids you need to consume to keep Omega-6 fatty acids from promoting inflammation.

So, okay. Safflower oil is now out of your diet. But it turns out that safflower oil is not the only common vegetable oil that is rich in linoleic oil.  Corn oil  is very high in it, too. You can see a complete list of oils sorted by their percentage of Linoleic acid HERE.

Finally, though health nuts who still fear that eating saturated fat will kill them will tell you that canola oil and flaxseed oil are healthier alternatives, neither of these oils has been a part of the human diet for any significant period of time the way animal and dairy fats have been.

Canola oil does contain Omega-3 fatty acids, but the process used to take away its rank smell and keep it from going rancid is likely to damage them. Damaged Omega-3 oils is not healthy. Flaxseed oil is the recently renamed stuff we used to call linseed oil and use for mixing up oil based paint--which it often tastes like.  It's safe to eat if you keep it refrigerated and don't let it go rancid, but since it is not a traditional food, I would suggest eating it in small quantities.

Palm oil is another fat that has recently made its way into our food system, as manufacturers are using it as a replacement for the hydrogenated oils full of transfat. But while there may be health benefits from consuming the palm oil eaten in traditional societies, the industrially processed palm oil that is appearing on supermarket shelves is very different stuff and may very well be harboring transfat-like molecules that escape the FDA labeling requirements. And besides that, it often tastes--and refuses to melt--suspiciously like lipgloss. Treat it with caution.

Stick to the traditional healthy vegetable oils and fats like olive, coconut , and melted butter, and you are more likely to actually improve your health.

source: http://diabetesupdate.blogspot.com/2013/11/study-lower-your-cholesterol-and-raise.html

How Foods Affects Our Bodies!

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Snack Shift: Bacon Wrapped Smokies!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound sliced bacon, cut into thirds
• 1 (14 ounce) package beef cocktail wieners
• 3/4 cup sugar-free maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Refrigerate 2/3 of the bacon until needed. It is easier to wrap the wieners with cold bacon. Wrap each cocktail wiener with a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place on a large baking sheet. Drizzle maple syrup generously over all.
3. Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until the syrup is bubbly. To serve, place the wieners in a slow cooker and keep on the low setting.

adapted from: http://www.piarecipes.com/2013/11/bacon-wrapped-smokies.html

Better Beginnings: Herb Baked Eggs with Parmesan & Kale!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened 
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
• 1/2 tsp fresh thyme, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
• 8 eggs
• 4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1/4 cup kale, sautéed and chopped 
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat oven to 375°F. 
Butter four ramekins. 
Combine the cheese and herbs in a small bowl. 
Crack two eggs into a bowl or cup, taking care not to break the yolks. 
Pour the two eggs into a ramekin and repeat until all four ramekins have eggs. 
Sprinkle bacon, kale, and the cheese-herb blend over the eggs. 
Finish with a dash of salt and freshly ground pepper. 
Bake the eggs for 10-15 minutes until the eggs have achieved desired doneness: less time for runny yolks, more time for firm yolks. Keep in mind that shallow ramekins will cook faster than deeper ramekins (uh, I found this out the first time around). 
Serve immediately. 

source: http://userealbutter.com/2010/12/28/baked-eggs-recipe/ 

New Research Finds Diabetes Can Be Reversed

I have recently spent more time in drugs stores than I would like helping my sister on her journey through (and hopefully to the other side of) cancer. Rite Aid, CVS and Walgreens all had large diabetes sections offering support for a "diabetes lifestyle" -- glucose monitors, lancets, blood pressure cuffs, medications, supplements and pharmacy magazines heavily supported by pharmaceutical advertising. Patients are encouraged to get their eye check ups, monitor their blood pressure, track their blood sugars, have foot exams and see their doctor regularly for better management of their blood sugars -- all apparently sensible advice for diabetics.

But what if Type 2 diabetes could be completely reversed? What if it weren't, as we believe, an inexorable, progressive disease that has to be better "managed" by our health care system with better drugs, surgery and coordination of care? What if intensive lifestyle and dietary changes could completely reverse diabetes?

A ground breaking new study in Diabetologia proved that, indeed, Type 2 diabetes can be reversed through diet changes, and, the study showed, this can happen quickly: in one to eight weeks. That turns our perspective on diabetes upside down. Diabetes is not a one-way street.

We used to believe that once cells in your pancreas that make insulin (beta cells) poop out there was no reviving them and your only hope was more medication or insulin. We now know that is not so.
Continuing misconceptions about what causes diabetes and our unwillingness to embrace methods know to reverse it have lead to a catastrophic increase in the illness. Today one in four Americans over 60 years old has Type 2 diabetes. By 2020, one in two Americans will have pre-diabetes or diabetes. Tragically, physicians will miss the diagnosis for 90 percent with pre-diabetes or diabetes. (Below I tell you exactly what tests to ask your doctor to perform and how to interpret them).

From 1983 to 2008, world-wide diabetes incidence has increased seven-fold from 35 to 240 million. Remarkably, in just the past three years from 2008 to 2011, we have added another 110 million to the diabetes roll call. And increasingly small children as young as eight are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes (formerly called adult-onset diabetes). They are having strokes at 15 years old and needing cardiac bypasses at 25 year old. The economic burden of caring for these people with pre-diabetes and diabetes will be $3.5 trillion over 10 years.

If we have a known cure, a proven way to reverse this disease, shouldn't we be focused on implementing programs to scale this cure? Unfortunately despite this extraordinary new research, the findings will likely be pushed aside in favor of the latest greatest pill or surgical technique because behavior and lifestyle change is "hard." In fact, with the right conditions and support, lifestyle diet and lifestyle change is very achievable.

What did research show?
Reversing Diabetes: Can it Be Done in a Week?
The study, entitled Reversal of Type 2 diabetes: normalization of beta cell function in association with decrease pancreas and liver triglycerides, was exquisitely done. The bottom line: A dramatic diet change (protein shake, low glycemic load, plant-based low-calorie diet but no exercise) in diabetics reversed most features of diabetes within one week and all features by eight weeks. That's right, diabetes was reversed in one week. That's more powerful than any drug known to modern science.

We know from gastric bypass patients that with rapid changes in diet right after surgery, within just a few days, without significant weight loss, diabetes goes away -- fatty livers heal, cholesterol levels plummet. Some theorized it was because of changes in the stomach hormones related to the gastric surgery. Others, including the researchers of this new study surmised that maybe it was just the drastic change in diet. So they went about studying just the diet change without surgery.
They studied 11 people with diabetes and compared them to a control group. Through very sophisticated techniques including MRI imaging, they measured their blood sugar and insulin responses, cholesterol levels and fat in the pancreas and liver (some of the hallmarks of diabetes) before and after diet changes at one, four and eight weeks.

What they found was revolutionary. The beta cells -- the pancreas' insulin producing cells -- woke up, and the fat deposits in the pancreas and liver went away. Blood sugars normalized in just one week, triglycerides dropped in half in one week and reduced 10-fold in eight weeks. The body's cells became more insulin sensitive and essentially, in just eight weeks, all evidence of diabetes was gone and the diabetic patients looked just like the normal controls on all the testing.

With focused, strategic, scientifically based nutritional intervention, combined with exercise, stress management and sugar and insulin balancing nutritional supplements, many of my patients completely reverse their diabetes. And the side effects -- more energy, better sleep, improved sexual function and weight loss -- are all good.
What most don't realize is that pre-diabetes and diabetes exist on a continuum and both dramatically increase the risk of heart attacks, stroke, cancer, infertility, sexual dysfunction, depression and dementia. You don't have to get diabetes to be at risk for all those problems. That is why it is so important to get your doctor to diagnose pre-diabetes early and implement an intensive lifestyle program to help you reserve it.

You may be at risk if you have extra belly fat, have a family history of diabetes, gestational diabetes, are in at risk ethnic group (Asian, Hispanic, African American, Native American, Middle Eastern), have high triglycerides (> 150 mg/dl) or a low HDL (< 50 mg/dl) or have high blood pressure.
If any of these apply to you or you have other cause for concern, here is what to do.

How to Reverse Your Diabetes
First, get your doctor to test the following:
1. A 75-gram glucose tolerance test measuring BOTH glucose and insulin fasting and one and two hours later. Your fasting blood sugar should be less than 100 mg/dl and your one and two hour sugar levels should be less than 130 mg/dl. Your fasting insulin should be less than 10, and your one and two hour levels should be less than 35.
2. Triglycerides should be less than 150 mg/dl and HDL (good cholesterol) should be over 50 mg/dl, and the triglyceride to HDL ratio should be less than four. These ranges are meaningful only if you are on no medication.
3. Newer cholesterol tests measure the size of your cholesterol particles and is very effective in diagnosing problems with pre-diabetes early. In fact, this is the only cholesterol test we should be performing.

And here's the program I use for my patients to reverse diabetes:
1. Eat a low glycemic load, high fiber, plant-based diet of vegetables, beans, nuts, limited whole grains, fruit and lean animal protein
2. Vigorous exercise (fast walking, running, biking, etc.) 30 minutes four to five times a week and strength training 20 minutes three times a week
3. Take a good multivitamin, fish oil, vitamin D and blood sugar and insulin balancing nutrients (including chromium and alpha lipoic acid)
Remember, pre-diabetes and diabetes is not a one way street and the solution is not at the bottom of a pill bottle or the end of an insulin syringe, it is at the end of your fork and in the shoes on your feet!

source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/reverse-diabetes_b_918539.html

Sugar Substitute: Healthy Key Lime Tarts!

For the crust:
1 1/2 cups almonds
1/2 cup pecans
8 medjool dates pitted
 1-2 T coconut oil

For the filling:
1 cup cashews soaked overnight and then drained
1/3 cup canned coconut milk (I used Organic Thai)
3 T sugar free maple syrup
Juice from 2 key limes (even more if you like a super tart flavor)

Directions:
Soak the cashews overnight and then drain and rinse.
In the food processor, grind up the almonds and pecans until they are a course/crumbly texture.
Add the dates and pulse until a dough starts to form. You may need to add a couple tablespoons of water or oil if the dough is not holding well.
Press the dough into individual greased  tart pans.
Once all the dough is formed in the cups, place in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm the dough back up.
While the dough is firming back up, you can start on the filling.
Throw the cashews, coconut milk, sweetener and lime juice in a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour the contents into the tart shells and let chill in the fridge for a couple hours.

adapted from:  http://mywholefoodlife.com/2013/07/03/healthy-key-lime-tarts/

Health Dangers of Eating Wheat

There has been a lot of talk about the dangers of wheat lately. A lot of it has been sparked by the book ‘Wheat Belly” by William Davis, M.D. It has a lot of information that is presented in a very believable way.

(Newswire.net -- October 19, 2013) Portland, OR -- Many experts are saying we are faced with an epidemic of gluten intolerance. There is a whole industry of gluten free products springing up. Many people are reading about gluten free lifestyles. Even if they aren’t having the classic symptoms of gluten intolerance they are opting for this change in their lifestyle.

Other experts are saying that it isn’t just the gluten we need to be aware of. One of the main health-harming culprits is found with wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), a category of lectins. Regardless if the wheat is soaked, sprouted or cooked, these compounds remain intact. Tiny and hard to digest, lectins can accumulate within the body and wreak havoc on physical and mental well-being. WGA is neurotoxic, crossing the blood brain barrier and attaching to the myelin sheath, consequentially inhibiting nerve growth - a serious consideration for those suffering from degenerative neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's. These and other aspects of wheat have also been linked to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

The link between grains such as wheat and schizophrenia goes back over sixty years. During WWII grains were rationed, therefore people cut back on eating them. The documented incidence of schizophrenia dropped dramatically. Since then studies have shown that people with schizophrenia have a distinct chemical reaction when they eat grains. They just don’t digest them the same way everyone else does. In addition to schizophrenia grains have also been linked to malaise, mania, addiction, and depression, among other neurological problems. The best way to tell is to get completely off grain products and see if the symptoms improve.

Many people are now saying that grains of all types contain anti-nutrients. One of these ant nutrients is phytic acid, which combines with magnesium, iron, copper, calcium and zinc in the intestinal tract when it's left untreated. This prevents the body from being able to absorb these nutrients. Therefore, consuming large amounts of our modernly prepared whole grains can cause the body to become mineral deficient.

Another scary link to grains is autism. No one is saying that grains are THE link to autism, but they are finding that if you take grains out of the diet of the autistic their ‘symptoms’ seem to improve. Autistic children tend to have a very narrow range of foods they will eat. If breads are on that list they may hesitate to take it away, fearing their child will starve. But, if doing away with the grain products decreases the child’s autistic symptoms then in the long run they should be eating a wider variety of foods. This would in turn improve their overall health.

People with frequent headaches may also benefit from eliminating grains from their diets.

One of the more frightening diseases associated with grains is ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. This is a disease known by the white brain matter lesions. When patients known to have this disease were put on a grain free diet the symptoms of the disease diminished or vanished completely.

These are just the problems associated with conventionally grown and organically grown grains. You mix in genetically modified grains (and they are mixing in themselves in the fields) then you add a whole new depth of health problems associated with these foods. The safest way to eat would be to avoid grains all together.

source: http://www.newswire.net/newsroom/financial/00077696-health-dangers-of-eating-wheat.html

Dinner Fix: Stuffed Zucchini!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp sour cream
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tomato
• 1 tsp thyme
• 2 zucchinis
• 1 onion
• cheese
• pepper
• crumbled bacon

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 (200C).
Give the zucchini a good scrub.
Slice them in half length-ways.
Spoon out the guts. . Just take it out (leave about 1/2 an inch in) until you end up with boat like shells.
Now give the zucchini pulp a good chop, also chop a small onion and 1/2 a tomato while you’re at it.
Sautee the onions in one tbsp oil or butter. It’s ok for them to brown a little this time ’round.
When the onions are almost done, add 1/4 tsp curry powder and cook everything for an additional 30 seconds. No longer or the curry powder will turn bitter.
When they’re done, transfer them to a big bowl.
Add 1 tsp dried thyme, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt, 1 heaping tbsp sour cream, a good pinch of pepper, the zucchini pulp, the tomato and crumble the bacon in as well.
Lightly butter a baking dish and put the zucchini boats in.
Grab a spoon and fill the shells with the mix.
Sprinkle some aged cheese on top.
Put them in a preheated oven, give them about 20 minutes and then turn on the broiler until the top is golden brown.
Sprinkle some coarsely chopped curly leaf parsley (the most underrated herb there is) on top and you’re done.

adapted from: http://www.kayotic.nl/blog/stuffed-zucchini

Robert Lustig’s New Talk on Sugar!

Robert Lustig's New Talk on Sugar CLICK HERE!!

Why We're So Fat: What's Behind the Latest Obesity Rates

It used to be that rich and fat were terms associated with people, not dessert. A portly shape, in fact, signaled the good life. If you ever saw the musical Oliver!, you may recall the number, "Food, Glorious Food," in which a stage full of scrawny orphans pine for the gluttony that money can buy: "Rich gentlemen have it boys, In-di-gestion!" Today, however, we often see the reverse scenario: the leaner your wallet, the fatter you are.

 "You have this coexistence of obesity and food insecurity in America," says Susan Blumenthal, former U.S. assistant surgeon general, clinical professor at Georgetown and Tufts University medical schools, and director of the Health and Medicine Program at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. Finding, and affording, healthy ood along with safe places to exercise, are among the challenges that low-income populations face.

So perhaps it's not surprising that the statistics released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that Mississippi, the poorest state in America, has the nation's highest obesity rate, at 34.9 percent. States in the South and Midwest, which, in some cases, represent the poorest parts of the country, showed the highest incidences of obesity. While financial health has a bearing on physical health, the correlation is a complicated one. Culture, gender, education, biology, and even politics, play a role. America's so-called "red" states tend to have higher rates of obesity, experts note. Plus, the prevalence of cheap, processed foods, the layout of our neighborhoods, and access to parks and public transportation also factor into one's risk for obesity and, consequently, disease. And while poor Americans may find it especially challenging to access the ingredients of a healthy lifestyle, obesity is clearly not limited to the province of the poor. More than one-third of the nation is obese, according to some data sets, and that cuts across all income levels.

"There is no single, simple answer to explain the obesity patterns" in America, says Walter Willett, who chairs the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. "Part of this is due to lower incomes and education, which result in purchases of cheap foods that are high in refined starch and sugar. More deeply, this also reflects lower public investment in education, public transportation, and recreational facilities," he says. The bottom line: cheap, unhealthy foods mixed with a sedentary lifestyle has made obesity the new normal in America. And that makes it even harder to change, Willett says.

In 1990, not one U.S. state had an obesity rate greater than 14 percent, according to the CDC. Ten years later, 23 states reported an obesity rate between 20 to 24 percent. And in 2010, 36 states had an obesity rate of at least 25 percent, with 12 states reporting an obesity rate beyond 30 percent. (The CDC notes that it used a new methodology for its 2011 survey, rendering comparisons with past years rather rough.)

"We now see that life expectancy is for the first time decreasing in many parts of the South and Southeast," says Willett.

Obesity puts people at risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer. These illnesses, of course, exact a financial toll too. In 2008, this country spent approximately $147 billion on medical costs, the CDC says. If every American were to lose an average of 10 pounds, the United States would save roughly $29 billion a year within five years, says Jeffrey Levi, executive director of the Trust for America's Health, a nonprofit organization promoting national health. "If you really want to bend the cost curves, it isn't doing things at the margins" that counts, he says, but "taking on the fundamental challenge of preventing and reversing chronic disease."

But the CDC's state-by-state picture of America's obesity epidemic may not be the best way to understand, let alone tackle, the issue.

Obesity is tied not to states, per se, but to certain populations who reside in those states, says Barbara Ormond, senior research associate at the Health Policy Center of the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. Each of these populations grapple with specific problems, she explains. "Take, for example, comfort food, she says, which varies by culture and nutritional quality.

According to the CDC, non-Hispanic blacks have the highest rates of obesity, followed by Mexican Americans, all Hispanics, and non-Hispanic whites. When it comes to socioeconomic status, the data differ by gender. For example, college-educated women and women who earn higher incomes are less likely to be obese than women who didn't graduate high school or earn lower salaries. However, such correlations don't exist among men, for whom obesity is roughly the same across income levels. In fact, higher incomes were associated with increased obesity rates among non-Hispanic black and Mexican-American men, the CDC reports.

Such complexities explain Ormond's caveat against labeling obesity a poverty problem. It's a "shorthand way of looking at it" that reduces it almost to something that's hard to do anything about, she says. "You can't make everybody not poor, but you could give them good schools, or you could make sure the school lunch you're serving is nutritious."

Fixing this problem is going to take a proverbial village, public health experts say.
 
"We need to mobilize all sectors of society," Blumenthal says, calling for policies that will create more places to walk and exercise, as well as physical and health education in schools and healthier choices in vending machines, for example. But communities can begin the intervention, she says, noting the Affordable Care Act's Prevention and Public Health Fund, which can seed local efforts. Neighborhoods might come together to organize a health fair, coordinate a race to motivate community weight loss, or plant community gardens, she advises.

And beyond that, those working to fight obesity in this country ought to be patient and persistent, Ormond says. "It took us many, many years to get as fat as we are as a nation, and it's going to take us a similar number of years, or certainly a lot of effort to reverse that trend."

source: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/08/16/why-were-so-fat-whats-behind-the-latest-obesity-rates?page=2 

Cap & Gown, Anyone??

Snack Shift: Thai Mango Salad!

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow Thai mango
• 1 zucchini
• 1 cucumber
• 150 gr snap peas
• fresh coriander
• fresh mint
• 2 tbsp tamarind juice
• 1 lime
• 1 tsp Splenda
• salt

Directions:

Slice mango, chop snow peas, coriander and mint. 

Using a spiralizer, make zucchini noodles and cucumber ribbons. 

To make the dressing, mix tamarind juice, lime juice, Splenda and salt. 

Toss together zucchini noodles, the snow peas and the fresh herbs and mix in the dressing. 

Top with cucumber and mango slices and serve.

adapted from:  http://www.veggie-wedgie.com/?p=2077

Better Beginnings: Mushroom, Green Pepper, and Feta Breakfast Casserole!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. sliced mushrooms (I used pre-sliced white mushrooms which didn't need washing)
• 1 large green bell pepper, coarsely chopped into pieces about 3/4 inch square
• 1-2 tsp. olive oil, to saute mushrooms and green peppers
• 3 green onions, white and green parts, sliced (also called scallions)
• 1 cup crumbled feta (or more, to taste)
• 18 eggs
• 1 tsp. Spike Seasoning (optional, but highly recommended)
• fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray 10 X 14 glass casserole dish with non-stick spray. (A dish slightly smaller than this will work. If your dish is much larger than this, just increase ingredients slightly.

Heat non-stick frying pan, add small amount of olive oil, and saute mushrooms 4-5 minutes, until softened and partly cooked. Spread mushrooms in bottom of casserole dish. Add a bit more olive oil to frying pan if needed, and saute green peppers until softened and partly cooked. Layer peppers over mushrooms. Crumble feta cheese over top of mushroom-pepper mixture.

Beat eggs with Spike Seasoning and black pepper. (Don't add salt because Feta cheese is salty enough.) Bake about 45 minutes, or until casserole is firmly set and top is slightly browned. Serve hot. I like to eat it with a little bit of low-fat sour cream and salsa on top.

Breakfast casseroles like this reheat very well in the microwave. It can be frozen. but for best results, allow to thaw in the refrigerator before reheating. Be careful not to microwave too long; not quite three minutes is about right in my microwave.

source: http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2007/09/south-beach-friendly-breakfast.html

Sometimes You Gotta Eat Fat To Lose Fat

To lose fat, sometimes you have to eat fat. I know, I know, this statement just "feels wrong." After all, years of anti-fat campaigning have convinced us that fat is what makes us chunky. But did you know that monounsaturated fats and certain polyunsaturates actually speed up the metabolic rate?

Eric Noreen, a lipid researcher at the University of Western Ontario, believes that the best of the fat burning bunch are the highly unsaturated omega 3s called EPA and DHA. According to Eric, these omega 3 fatty acids can potentially help burn blubber through 3 different mechanisms.

1. Allowing the body to burn fat in situations where fat oxidation (or fat burning) is normally turned off. Normally, when you eat carbohydrates, fat burning is slowed or turned off. Also, during high intensity exercise, the body prefers burning carbohydrate to fat. Therefore in both scenarios, fat burning is dramatically reduced. However, cells that receive a high daily dose of omega 3s actually burn more fat in both situations. The net result — more fat burned each and every day whether you're exercising or not.

2. Increasing your sensitivity to the hormone Insulin. Insulin is both a storage hormone and an anti-breakdown hormone. When insulin goes up, a consequence of eating, ingested nutrients are stored in muscle cells and in fat cells. Likewise, nutrients already in these cells (especially the fat in our love handles) are retained as a result of this insulin boost. Since omega 3 fatty acids can make your body more sensitive to insulin, meaning that less insulin will be released each time you eat, a diet high in omega 3s helps prevent large insulin increases with eating. If insulin is properly managed, more stored fat is released each day. And guess what happens to that fat. You got it... it's incinerated.

3. Increasing the heat of your cellular furnaces. In your cells, there are two metabolic organelles responsible for burning fuel to make energy. The most well known is the mitochondrion while the lesser known one is the peroxisome. Omega 3 fatty acids have been shown to increase the size of both metabolic fires, leading to an increase in the amount of energy burned in each organelle. What this means is that a diet high in omega 3s can make you a fat burning machine.

In a series of investigations conducted by Eric and his colleagues at the University of Western Ontario, Eric showed that a diet supplemented with omega 3-rich fish oil promotes losses of body fat with simultaneous gains in lean mass. That's right, more muscle and less fat, baby.

In addition to omega 3 fatty acids, several other fats have been shown to reduce body fat. The polyunsaturated fat CLA (conjugated linoleic acid — a conjugated omega 6 fat) has shown promise, as have foods high in monounsaturated fats — like olive oil. MCTs (medium chain triglycerides) are also noteworthy. These unique fats have a shorter chain length than many of the other fats discussed in this article. As a result of their unique structure, they are more readily burned than the other types of fat, meaning more energy with less fat storage.

Of course, if you overeat on any macronutrient, you're going to store body fat not lose it. So pay careful attention to your total energy intake and, as Walter Willett suggests, try to get somewhere between 25% and 35% of your daily energy from fat.

source: http://hallfitness.blogspot.com/2012/08/sometimes-you-gotta-eat-fat-to-lose-fat.html

Just keep swimming...

I had to share this, it is so true. We all want to concur the world, changes our lives, but a mountain is moved a stone at a time.

"Just keep swimming..." -Dorie, Finding Nemo

Melissa

Sweet Substitute: Strawberry Banana Creams!

Ingredients:

• 8 strawberries 
• 2 oz. vanilla yogurt  (sugar free)
  
• 1/2 small banana 
• 1 tablespoon sliced almonds

Directions:
 Mash the banana in a bowl with a fork. Mix in the yogurt.
 Using a knife, carve out the middle of each strawberry.
 Fill the center of each strawberry with the banana-yogurt mixture and top with sliced almonds.

adapted from: http://www.fitsugar.com/Low-Calorie-Strawberry-Banana-Yogurt-Dessert-23901070

How Much Protein Is Too Much?

CHICAGO (CBS) – Next time you’re at the grocery store, take a look around. You may be surprised at the number of products labelled with the word “protein. ”

CBS 2′s Mary Kay Kleist asks, are we getting too much of a good thing?

Stephanie Ward’s protein-packed diet includes smoothies, beans and a fortified chocolate bar.
“I’m more inclined to buy the ones that have the little label on it that says 27 grams of protein,” she said.

Experts say American like Stephanie have an insatiable appetite for protein, thanks to research showing it can help you shed pounds, and keep you fuller longer. Whether it’s natural or added protein, a lot of products in the stores are now grabbing our attention with labels indicating there’s added protein. “Protein is one of today’s diet darlings,” said registered dietitian Jean Alves, of Rush University Medical Center. That’s why products like granola bars, cereals, juices and almond milk clearly advertise that they’ve got protein. Alves said it’s important to read labels. “The basic issue is, is it a good quality source of protein? A lot of these things that are supplemented with additional protein are accompanied by high amounts of sugar, fat, and consequently calories,” Alves said.
Some of the hottest added proteins are vegetable-based coming from sources like hemp, lentils and peas.

Jim White, from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, said that’s good news. “A lot of these proteins are dairy-free. They’re soy-free. They’re gluten free and they’re a great additive, especially for people that don’t eat meat,” he said.

The CDC recommends women need about 46 grams of protein per day. You’ll get that much by eating a three ounce hamburger, one hard-boiled egg, eight ounces of milk and one six ounce container of Greek yogurt. Most of us eat a lot more than what’s recommended.

So, how much is too much?
“A good general kind of rule of thumb is try not to exceed more than one gram of protein per pound of body weight,” Alves said. For example, if you weight 120 pounds, eating more than 120 grams of protein one day could be unhealthy. “In the most severe cases, too much protein can actually cause kidney damage, and possibly dehydration,” Alves said., Stephanie hasn’t had any problems with the added protein in her diet. In fact, she feels fortified foods help fuel her workouts. “I just want to make sure that I have enough in my body to build muscle,” she said. If you’re on a high-protein diet, dietitians say you you’ll need to cut back on carbohydrates or fat. Otherwise, you risk putting on weight, instead of losing it.

source: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/07/04/how-much-protein-is-too-much/

Dinner Fix: Spicy Salmon Patties

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs, beaten 
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 3 (6 oz.) cans pink salmon, boneless and skinless (drained)
• 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
• 1 tsp. Cajun seasoning
• 1/4 cup finely minced onion (or 1 tbsp. dried minced onion) 

Directions:
Heat 2-3 tbsp. oil in frying pan over medium-high heat. 
Beat eggs in a medium-size bowl and add other ingredients, mixing together gently. 
Shape into small patties and brown in frying pan about 5 minutes on each side. 
source: http://www.busymomsrecipes.com/2011/06/spicy-salmon-patties.html

You Guys Are Great!

Thank you! Thank you!

Carb Free Cloud Bread

Ingredients

• 3 eggs, separated
• 3 tablespoons cottage cheese or 3 tablespoons cream cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Separate the eggs very carefully, there must be no yolk in the white.

In one bowl, mix together the egg yolks, the 3 T. of Cottage Cheese OR Cream Cheese until smooth.

In the other bowl add 1/4 teaspoon of Cream of Tartar to the whites and beat the whites on high speed until they are fluffy and form nice peaks.

Very carefully fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites until mixed, but try and not break down the fluffiness of the egg whites too much.

Spray two cookie sheets with Pam or other fat-free cooking spray.

With a large spoon, “scoop” the mixture into 10 even rounds on the sheets (about the size of the top-half of the McDonalds hamburger bun; roughly 3/4 inch thick and 4 to 5 inches across).

Bake on the middle rack. Here is when you have to watch them, because the cooking time the same on any two batches. It is somewhere around 1/2 hour, but it could be less or more. You just need to watch them until them become nice and golden brown (again, the color of a McDonalds bun).

Remove from the pans and cool on a rack or cutting board.

While warm they are crumbly and similar to cooked meringue – but don’t let this fool you! Once completely cool, seal them in a ziplock storage baggie or a tupperware over night. They will totally change their consistency, to something much more like bread – a softer texture that is nice and chewy. If you do not like softer chewy bread, then eat them as they are, nice and crisp.

Since the sides that were facing the pan are perfectly flat, you use these to spread things on, or make sandwiches, or even as a burger bun! The choice is up to you, and you will be quite amazed at how much like a bun these really are! 

source: http://what2cook.net/2013/06/11/carb-free-cloud-bread/

How To Burn Stored Body Fat — A Ketosis Primer

“So, how do you tell your body to start burning stored body fat?” my friend and fellow mother asked.

“Cut the carbs,” answered another mom. “I go into ketosis just about every afternoon.”
“Ketosis? Isn’t that bad for you?”

The short answer? No.

I talk to a lot of people who want to lose weight. They try all sorts of things — exercise, calorie restriction, you name it. Sometimes, they lose the weight. Inevitably, they gain it back. That’s because what they’re doing is going on a diet — a temporary fix at best. What they need is a lifestyle change, a perspective shift, a new paradigm. Of course, you all know the paradigm I espouse — a conversion to eating real, traditional foods. Yet even a conversion to eating real food won’t necessarily help the pounds melt away. If you’re still eating 200 grams of carbohydrates a day — even if they’re “traditional” carbohydrates like sprouted or soaked grains, unrefined sweeteners, etc, you’re not going to lose weight without making some serious changes. If your body is regularly storing body fat (you gain a little bit of weight each year), then something is wrong with how your body metabolizes food. Let me introduce you to a new concept: the body fat setpoint. The body fat setpoint is the mass of body fat that your body attempts to defend against changes in either direction.  It’s your body’s attempt to maintain homeostasis. This is why if you exercise more, you eat more. It’s also why if you restrict calories, your metabolism slows down to compensate.

Why should you care about the body fat setpoint? From Stephan at Whole Health Source:

We care because this has some very important implications for human obesity. With such a powerful system in place to keep body fat mass in a narrow range, a major departure from that range implies that the system isn’t functioning correctly. In other words, obesity has to result from a defect in the system that regulates body fat, because a properly functioning system would not have allowed that degree of fat gain in the first place.

So yes, we are gaining weight because we eat too many calories relative to energy expended. But why are we eating too many calories? Because the system that should be defending a low fat mass is now defending a high fat mass. Therefore, the solution is not simply to restrict calories, or burn more calories through exercise, but to try to “reset” the system that decides what fat mass to defend. Restricting calories isn’t necessarily a good solution because the body will attempt to defend its setpoint, whether high or low, by increasing hunger and decreasing its metabolic rate. That’s why low-calorie diets, and most diets in general, typically fail in the long term. It’s miserable to fight hunger every day.

One word: ketosis.

Ketosis is the state that your body enters into when it starts converting stored fat into ketones to use as fuel for your cells. If you eat plenty of carbohydrates, you will never enter into ketosis. Instead, your body will simply use all that glucose as a fuel.

Is Ketosis Dangerous?
Ketosis has earned a bad name, though. For one thing, your body enters a ketogenic state when it starts starving itself. But if you’re eating plenty of calories and sticking to a nutrient-dense diet, you need not fear starvation. Ketogenesis doesn’t destroy muscle tissue, but is rather the process by which stored fat is turned into ketones — a perfectly usable energy source for every major body system. Others object to ketosis because it gets confused with ketoacidosis, a dangerous state in which the body not only becomes ketogenic, but also causes the blood to become too acidic. If you’re still getting your limited carbohydrates from vegetables and fruits, you need not fear ketoacidosis.

From Mark’s Daily Apple:

Finally, ketogenic diets, which are generally lumped together by critics, have gotten a lot of bad press. While experts have generally recognized their effectiveness for weight loss, very low carb diets that result in ketosis (like the Atkins) have been criticized on health grounds. The problem with these criticisms? They’re based on diets that allow for 20 grams or less of carbohydrates a day. While I believe we are not meant to run primarily on carbohydrate energy, I do believe we depend on the nutrients offered by low carb vegetables and even some low glycemic fruits. A diet of 20 carbohydrate grams simply can’t allow for the plentiful intake of nutrient-rich vegetables.

When your carb intake is low enough, say 50-80 grams a day, ketosis kicks in when it needs to. Over time, this process becomes efficient as the body “unfolds” in its genetic expression. Yet this carb intake is high enough that you can freely include copious amounts of nutrient- (including potassium) rich vegetables to offer the body sufficient nutrition, fiber, and alkalizing minerals.

In other words, when you cut your carbohydrate intake to 50-80 grams per day and still include plenty of vegetables and fruits in your diet, then your body can safely enter into ketosis when it needs to. Once you’re at your desired weight and you don’t hope to lose anymore body fat, then sticking to anywhere between 100-150 grams of carbohydrates per day will help you maintain your new body fat setpoint.

The glory of thinking this way is that you absolutely never have to count calories! In fact, you probably don’t even have to count grams of carbohydrates. Just avoid grains, sugars, and sweet fruits. If you start craving those foods, eat more saturated fat from traditional sources like ghee, coconut oil, tallow, and lard. (I swear this works!) When you reach your desired weight, give yourself more grace to eat sweeter fruits and the occasional properly treated grain, tuber, or legume.

When you’re in your “maintenance” mode, what you’ll discover is that you’re eating a diet much more in line with traditional cultures around the world — a diet devoid of artificial and processed foods, a diet full of healthy fats from quality sources, a diet rich in fermented and living foods, a diet absent sugar, you get the picture. The exact quantities of meats, vegetables, and fats you eat can vary greatly depending on your cravings and preferences, but one thing will be sure: you won’t ever want to go back to how you ate before.

source: http://www.foodrenegade.com/how-to-burn-stored-body-fat-a-ketosis-primer/

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

+Pageviews!

Thanks!!!

Melissa

Twelve Benefits of Olive Oil

Snack Shift: Watermelon Feta Salad!

 

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds seedless Watermelon, sliced into rounds
• 1 cup crumbled feta
• 2 large shallots, sliced
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• Balsamic Vinegar, for drizzling

Directions:
Ok, this is one of the easiest recipes ever. Ready?

Toss feta and sliced shallots together.
Lay down a slice of watermelon.
Top with the feta/shallot mixture.
Add a little fresh ground pepper and a pinch of salt.
Drizzle on some delicious balsamic.
EAT.

sourcve: http://www.thenovicechefblog.com/2011/07/whatta-melon-whatta-melon-whatta-melon-whatta-mighty-good-melon/

Better Beginnings :Baked Eggs with Spinach, Ricotta, Leek and Chargrilled Pepper!

 

 Ingredients:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• a sprig fresh thyme, leaves removed from the stem
• 1/4 a leek (1/4 an onion)
• 1/2 a chargrilled pepper (or just 1/2 a pepper)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp ricotta
• 1 tbsp milk
• 2 large handfuls of spinach
• salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat the broiler in your oven, place the rack in the top third of the oven.
Peel and mince the garlic clove, and finely slice the leek into rounds.
Fry over a medium heat with the olive oil and thyme in a small skillet until the leek is softened.
Slice up the pepper into small squares, and add to the skillet.
Add the spinach too, and heat on a low flame until wilted.

Stir together the milk and ricotta, pour into the middle of the skillet (see notes), crack in the two eggs. Season generously with salt and pepper. 

Place under the broiler for a few minutes just until the whites have cooked. 

source: http://www.topwithcinnamon.com/2013/05/baked-eggs-with-spinach-ricotta-leek-and-chargrilled-pepper.html

What is Ketosis?

Answer: A lot of people are confused by the term "ketosis." You may read that it is a "dangerous state" for the body, and it does sound abnormal to be "in ketosis." But ketosis merely means that our bodies are using fat for energy. Ketones (also called ketone bodies) are molecules generated during fat metabolism, whether from the fat in the guacamole you just ate or fat you were carrying around your middle. When our bodies are breaking down fat for energy, most of the it gets converted more or less directly to ATP. (Remember high school biology? This is the "energy molecule.") But ketones are also produced as part of the process.

When people eat less carbohydrate, their bodies turn to fat for energy, so it makes sense that more ketones are generated. Some of those ketones (acetoacetate and ß-hydroxybutyrate) are used for energy; the heart muscle and kidneys, for example, prefer ketones to glucose. Most cells, including the brain cells, are able to use ketones for at least part of their energy. But there is one type of ketone molecule, called acetone, that cannot be used and is excreted as waste, mostly in the urine and breath (sometimes causing a distinct breath odor).

If enough acetone is in our urine, it can be detected using a dipstick commonly called by the brand name Ketostix (though there are other brands, as well). Even though everyone is generating ketones continuously, this detection in the urine is what is commonly called "ketosis."

The higher the concentration of ketones in the urine, the more purple the sticks will turn. The Atkins Diet, in particular, advises people to monitor ketosis as an indication of fat burning. Other reduced carbohydrate diets don't pay much attention to this, or aren't low enough in carbs to make much of an impression on the sticks. (The latter type of diet is sometimes called a "nonketogenic" low-carb diet.)

Why do some people think ketosis is a bad thing?

There is an assumption that if a body is burning a lot of fat for energy, it must not be getting "enough" glucose. However, there is no indication, from studying people on reduced carbohydrate diets, that this is the case (though there is usually a short period of adjustment -- less than a week, in most cases). Although it's true that our bodies can't break fat down into glucose (though, interestingly, they easily use glucose to make fat), our bodies can convert some of the protein we eat into glucose. Indeed, this works well for people who don't tolerate a lot of sugar, because this conversion happens slowly so it doesn't spike blood glucose.

A dangerous condition called ketoacidosis can develop in those with type 1 diabetes, and it is sometimes confused with normal ketosis. The body usually avoids this state by producing insulin, but people with type 1 diabetes are unable to produce insulin. Even most people with type 2 diabetes who inject insulin usually produce enough insulin of their own to prevent ketoacidosis.

source: http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/faq/f/whatisketosis.htm

Apple Cider Vinegar: Super Star!

Is also said to help with Dawn Phenomenon. Just sayin'.
Melissa

Small Fixes Make Big Differences!

Sugar Substitute: Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie!

Ingredients

• 1 -5 ounce sugar free chocolate pudding and pie filling mix
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup sugar-free whipped topping
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• almond pie crust

Directions
Mix together Pie Filling Mix and Milk.

Add Peanut Butter and mix until smooth. (HINT: Spray your measuring cup with PAM (or cheaper brand) and peanutbutter will slide out of cup).

Fold in Whipped Cream.

Add to pie shell.

Place in Refrigerator until set (3- 4 hours).

Almond Pie Crust

• 2 C whole raw almonds 
• 5 Tb butter 
• 2 Tb Truvia sweetener

 Heat the oven to 375 degrees.  

Process the almonds in your food processor until very finely chopped.  

Add the butter and Truvia, then pulse until combined completely.  

Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of a pie pan and bake until golden brown around the edges, about 15-20 minutes. 

Allow crust to cool

adapted from: http://www.food.com/recipe/diabetic-peanut-butter-pie-318799,
 http://www.mykitchenescapades.com/2011/12/low-carb-sugar-free-chocolate.html

I so had a craving for chocolate and peanut butter. Problem solved.
Melissa