I used to call it the “creeping crud.” You know, the variants as sinusitis, bronchitis, laryngitis, coughing, sore throat and the like? Those of us who sing, teach, coach, or otherwise strain our vocal cords on a regular basis, need some relief and prevention.
Enter – Ginger tea!
A fellow singer keyed me into this years ago as a preventative, as well as a therapy. I’d see her going from one rehearsal to another, always clutching her ginger tea. After picking up her habit, I can vouch for the effectiveness of ginger tea; both, as a preventer of illness, and as an aide to healing when the “creeping crud” arrives despite every effort.
The recipe is simple enough:
Green tea
Fresh ginger
Fresh lemon juice
Honey
For two cups of tea, I boiled water, added about an inch of fresh ginger peeled and sliced, juice from ½ lemon, a teaspoon of local honey, and three green tea bags.
Let’s take a look at the healing and health-promoting properties of each ingredient:
Green tea: loaded with antioxidants with many medicinal properties, has properties that improve brain function, increases metabolism and increases fat burning, properties in tea called catechins, can positively impact oral hygiene and reduce infection risks, may help the body process blood sugar, has been shown to be heart healthy, and can decrease the risk of cancer.
Ginger: ancient Chinese source for digestive issues such as nausea, loss of appetite, motion sickness, morning sickness, and chemotherapy-induced nausea. Its pain-reducing capabilities can help with pain and inflammation seen with arthritis, headaches, and menstrual cramps. It has been shown to inhibit the virus that causes colds.
Lemon: antiseptic properties, vitamin C, calcium, potassium, and pectin fiber. Functions as an anti-inflammatory. The list goes on.
Honey: anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties among others.
Now you can see why drinking this is like putting the power of Superman into a cup. Antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, and antiseptic properties in every sip!
Wow!
Daily green teas:
Some people brew a super-strong cup of tea using 8 bags of Bigelow Green Tea. It’s their morning “shot” of goodness. I have found Bigelow brand to be the most authentic tasting tea in tea bags.
I have also discovered the joys of loose leaf green tea available on-line from Ten Ren Tea. The Oolong variety has a wonderful aroma and taste. A bag of loose leaf Oolong is expensive, but it lasts a long time. A little bit less than 1 tablespoon of tea leaves yields two of these small pots full of fragrant green tea which will fill my mug twice. Just enough to start the day off right, and my beverage of choice on Sunday morning before singing in choir or before going to special morning choir practices.
A couple cups of Ginger Tea or regular green tea will soothe the mind, tummy, and go a long way to boosting our wellness!
Enjoy a cup while you go through your Affirmations!
Are the basic tenets of personal wellness slipping as the hustle and bustle of the holiday season reaches a fever pitch? Add the daily responsibilities of work, family, and household needs, and we have a recipe for feeling over-whelmed and out of control. Just the opposite of what we want to be about! Let’s rein in this downward spiral by taking just a few minutes to return to the basics.
What are the basics?
As discussed in my new book, Toolkit for Wellness – Master Your Health and Stress Response for Life, before leaping into drastic changes in order to be “more healthy,” a few mindful steps must occur.
B-R-E-A-T-H-E and connect with yourself and your creator…
Amidst the hustle of publishing my book and the increasing responsibilities as a care-giver, I was just as guilty of dropping my stress-reducing practices as anyone else might. Today, that stopped.
Coffee brewing time exercises continued as usual; but calming breathing time and connecting time had slipped by the wayside.
I mean, if I don’t take five minutes for this, what’s the point to living?
So, sit down by the window if it’s too cold or wet to be outside and do the following:
• Close your eyes
• Rest your hands palm side up on your knees to be open to the universe
• Take several mindful breaths – feel the air enter, circle around your lungs, and exit gently
• Think only on the movement of air within you – if thoughts creep in, gently release them
• Acknowledge there have been times when you strove to be in total control and the sole source of power – sort of like relying upon a paper match that only dimly lights and is soon consumed; when, in fact, you should have plugged in to the Power of the Universe instead
• Connect with your “Forever Power Source” to recharge, praise, and seek guidance
• Renew you commitment to working with your body as a team. We all want our bodies to work properly 100% of the time, but are we fueling it properly 100% of the time? Knowing our cars won’t work properly to get us to our destinations if they are not properly maintained and filled with the proper fuel, how can we expect our bodies to get us there if we ignore how we treat and fuel them? At what point today do you not care if your body is functioning properly?
• Remember Thanksgiving! We should count our blessings every day; be thankful you have been equipped to meet the needs of this moment and this day
These basic steps to starting the day take just a very few minutes and will help us all refocus and keep our inner selves on track, even while we do the many extra activities that come with the holidays. These basics may also help us redefine what is really important and what is worthy of our time!
To a calmer, more centered December!
Deidre
Toolkit for Wellness is available as an eBook on Amazon for just $0.99 until December 24th! Just click on the tab under the banner to buy it.
Paperback version is going to be out very soon! I know many of you prefer holding an actual book! Not only will it be nice to have something to hold, but many of you have also said it will make a perfect gift to give this year! I’ll keep you posted about it.
This is a birth announcement! Toolkit for Wellness, Master Your Health and Stress Response for Life, is now on Amazon for FREE in its eBook version! Weighing in at 237 pages, it’s already at the top of 2-3 growth charts – depending on which ones Amazon displays! Loyal readers, please help me spread the word to others that improved health is just one easy breath, one anti-inflammatory meal, and one movement away. Help yourself and others know what tiny, daily steps can be taken, which are easily repeatable, and will pave the way to a healthier life.
How to help? Download your FREE copy today or tomorrow and share this opportunity with your friends. You do not even have to own a Kindle; there is a button to push that will enable you to download your copy of Toolkit for Wellness to ANY device!
If you miss the FREE days, don’t worry, Toolkit for Wellness eBook will be just $0.99 until Christmas!
To make sure you take advantage of this exclusive offer, CLICK HERE!
I know most of you want a paper copy as well. The soft cover version will be released VERY soon. There will be plenty of time to get your copies before Christmas. What could be a greater gift for someone than a ‘toolkit’ they can easily, naturally, and successfully use every day for their life-long health!
There will be a book signing in New Bern, North Carolina. Date, time, and location to be announced!
Thanks for everyone’s support in this huge project!
My absolute favorite morning routine sets me up for greeting the new day with renewed and centered energies. Whenever possible, this is what sets me on a great path. I call this a “Series of Good Things.” We started talking about this in the fall series of Designed for Health classes, and with my deeper understanding of habits and habit formation, it is all coming together for me with positive results.
Let me share:
Rise and shine at the same time each day! In doing so, I am waking naturally a few minutes before my gentle phone alarm announces itself. With more consistent bedtimes, waking up is not so problematic. Sleeping in has robbed me of too many retirement mornings, and I regret it when I do. No. Getting up at a consistent time is my first good thing.
Drinking that first full cup of cold water right after swishing out the “cob webs” from my mouth is good thing number two. Start the day with the best “hydrater” of all: water.
If my husband is up, I will make the bed on my way to the closet to dress. Good thing number three. The bedroom is neat and I am already on a roll!
Moving into the kitchen, I pass the refrigerator first, so I grab my cold Bragg’s apple cider vinegar from the door, pour a tablespoon-full into a glass, add about 6 ounces of water, and chug. This is a personal experiment; many in my spring Designed for Health class are doing it for cholesterol benefits. My research has netted a zero on scientifically proven health benefits except for well-documented benefit of improved blood sugars. I am doing it to add acid to my stomach in hopes to improve some reflux issues. While we refer to acid reflux, often it can be a result of not enough acid in the stomach. We will see. No harm for sure, and – hey- that’s more water! Good thing number four.
Then, I have to start my day feeding my menagerie of birds and squirrels! Watching their antics off the back porch is our major amusement and delight. That’s number five.
Taking a few deep, mindful, meditative breaths while pausing to sit on the porch swing helps me calmly set myself up for a new day. “Thank you, God, for this new day; thank you, Lord, in every way for your blessings great and small; make me a blessing to others this day. Amen.” Six.
Then, while the coffee or tea is brewing, number seven is my favorite to check off because, not only do I enjoy doing this, but getting to it can be hard for me. Plank time! Starting with a child’s pose to stretch my lower back, I move forward to do my two minutes of planks: full body plank followed by a “restful” half-plank from the knees.
The rest of coffee brewing time is dedicated to slow motion squats, kitchen-counter slow motion push-ups, palms up arm circles, ballet-bar style toe points to the front, side, and back: very good for balance. That is number eight!
Bing, bing, bing! Coffee’s ready! That’s number nine!
So – exercise minimums are met, bed is made, water is drunk, nature is fed; well… it’s a series of good things!
To keep that good vibe, I make sure half of my breakfast plate is veggies! Leftovers work great as a side to my two eggs or they can be scrambled together as a frittata. If all else fails, after frying the bacon and before cooking the eggs, I will grab a giant handful of greens to sauté with a bit of good oil (coconut, avocado, or olive). That’s number ten!
I hope that you, too, have a “series of good things” you are doing for yourself each day. Please share them with me!
To summarize some good things we have covered here and in class about improving our over-all wellness:
1. Mindful breathing
2. Gratitude each day
3. Drink some extra water
4. Taper-off and eliminate added sugars
5. Eat real food. Eat food without labels!
6. Half of your plate each meal should be (mostly green) veggies
7. Use good fats- butter and ghee from pastured cows, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil
8. Supplements should include Vitamin-D, omega-3 fatty acids, probiotics, and magnesium with your calcium
9. Toss the grains- they cause inflammation seen and unseen, and work against vitamin and mineral absorption
10. You may also want to toss the legumes: dried beans and peanuts- because they can have an adverse effect on digestion, can block absorption of vitamins and minerals, and can be inflammatory
11. Keep a regular bedtime and get enough sleep
12. Move and stretch your body every day. I have just started weekly Yin Yoga classes and am just loving it! More restful sleep; greater inner awareness and calm; and a more balanced feeling.
13. Set tiny, repeatable “tweaks” to move yourself toward better wellness.
14. Simplify, simplify, simplify!
15. Rather than getting more “stuff,” gather experiences in your life!
16. Smile!
As I concentrate on finalizing my book, preparing single day seminars, and simplifying my own possessions by cleaning and tossing out, I will be taking a bit of a blogging sabbatical. There may be the occasional summer recipe or thought, but I am going to practice what I preach by simplifying and daily application of things that make our ultimate goals come true!
What do I mean? Isn’t fruit full of goodness all by itself? You bet! I am not even going to try to enumerate all of the nutrient rich benefits there are in different berries, apples, and such, lest I leave something out!
But what if we could stir something up that expanded on the nutrient-richness of fruit? How about a truckload of omega 3 fatty acids? How about some collagen joint care? How about protein? Well, I’ve done it! All without added sugar of any kind if you don’t want; and if you do, a small dab of honey.
This warm fruit compote will delight your senses, build strong bones, provide satisfying protein, and increase your omega 3 fatty acid intake. Wow! Let’s get to it!
Warm Fruit Compote
Ingredients:
1-3 Tbs. coconut oil depending upon amount of fruit. I used 3 Tbs
Fruit sprinkled with cinnamon
. for this quantity pictured
1 gala apple, peeled, cored, and chopped into fairly small pieces
1 Bartlett pear, peeled, cored, and chopped into fairly small pieces
Assortment of frozen berries- today I used probably over 2 cups plus
a few slices of frozen peach
Pinch of salt
Cinnamon to taste- a “sweet spice” that can enhance fruit without the need for sugar. Cinnamon also helps control blood sugar levels
Powdered grass-fed gelatin
Ground flax seed
Optional- only if your fruit is sour- a spoonful of honey stirred in at the end
Simmering fruit mixture
Method:
Melt the coconut oil in an enamel non-stick sauté pan and add all of the prepared fruit over medium heat. Generously sprinkle the cinnamon, gelatin, and ground flax seed over the top of the fruit. Add a pinch of salt.
As the mixture warms and begins to get juicy, gently stir.
Both the gelatin and the flax will thicken this mixture as the fruit releases its bounteous moisture. If your fruit compote is too runny, just sprinkle on more gelatin and/or more flax. Lower heat a bit to continue cooking without bubbling.
This refrigerates well and can be eaten warm, cold, or at room temperature. This is my go-to evening snack. So satisfying, filling, good for you and not sugary!
Hungry as a bear for salmon? Try this terrific recipe from Deidre’s recipe book!
There are just some things we always need to keep around and canned salmon is very high on my list! Ever had one of those days when you just wanted to pull something together really quick with little fuss?
Well, this could be the answer for you!
But what to call them? Maybe they are just humble patties. You know, like a hamburger patty; plop them on a grill or throw them into a pan….few minutes on each side…dinner is served. Last year, I may have briefly described my creation without benefit of a recipe as a “fritter.” Sounded more colorful; a little regional, perhaps. Countrified. Then, this month’s Southern Living magazine had a recipe for “Salmon Croquettes” which really looked like MY patties… or…fritters!
A fishy Salmon!
Goggling the moniker dilemma just sort of muddied things up. Both croquettes and fritters, apparently, are deep fried. Nay! Nay! Even Southern Living did not deep fry its croquettes! They are both also dipped in egg and breaded before frying.
Please, so much messy work!
So, I am left with my humble patties. “Croquettes” just sounds like a restaurant raising their price on patties by calling them something elite. “Fritters” just sounds….I don’t know, maybe deep fried in a converted gas station come greasy spoon restaurant.
2 to 4 beaten eggs
I did not have the Greek yogurt Southern Living mentioned to fix up as a dipping sauce which I have done in the past; fortunately, these patties remained quite moist and did not demand a sauce. I will give you some ideas for the sauce, though. Cool thing is, this recipe can be adapted to a variety of ingredients at hand and measuring is not a must at all.
Southern Living’s recipe called for 2 – 14.75 oz. cans of salmon; I used just one. They called for 4 eggs which I actually used between 2 to 4, but I compensated by adding ¼ cup of coconut flour!
Celery
Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of this actual process and all the evidence is eaten, but I did have a couple file photos of a similar recipe to share. So here it goes from my memory for the Best Ever Salmon Patties!
Best Ever Salmon Patties
Ingredients:
1 (14.75 oz.) can salmon, drained
1 large celery stalk, finely chopped
3-4 green onions, chopped with green stalks
3 mini multi-colored bell peppers, finely chopped
½ small can water chestnuts, finely chopped
2 – 4 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. dill weed
Approx. ¼ cup coconut flour, as needed. to make the patties “stick” together
Method
Coconut flour
Beat eggs in a large bowl.
Add the remaining ingredients, except the coconut flour, and mix well to combine. I do this with my hands while wearing latex free gloves.
Add the coconut flour if the mixture is too moist and needs some ‘glue’ to stick together.
Using your gloved hands, form mixture into approximately 1/2 cup patties, pressing firmly to mold.
Pan fry the patties on medium heat using about 2 Tbs. good oil of choice: olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil. When the edges start looking a little crispy, flip patties over. Cooking time should be 2-3 minutes on each side.
Ingredient ideas for dipping sauces:
Mix Greek yogurt, lemon, Dijon mustard
Using a base of plain Greek yogurt add:
Dijon mustard, dill weed, lemon zest, lemon juice, pinch of ground red pepper
Or in a blender or food processor combine the following with the yogurt:
English cucumber, dill, salt, pepper for a Greek flair
The delicious end product – Best Ever Salmon Patties!
Ingredients are easily substituted and swiped out. When there is fresh parsley around, I always add it for added spunk and flakes of greenness. No water chestnuts? Leave them out! I just happened to have a few green onions that needed to be used up; any kind of onion could be used.
Just keep a few cans of salmon around to “save the day.”
Enjoy-
Deidre
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Since April of last year when this blog was officially “born,” many topics have been touched upon about moving to a more harmonious relationship with our bodies by eating foods that naturally promote health.
With the idea that we were designed for health and not disease, there must be a way to live, eat, move, and think that boosts health. The world-wide trend toward obesity, heart disease, and autoimmune diseases as western fast-food eating styles that are embraced can be reversed through eating what we were originally designed to eat.
These thumbprint summaries of last year’s material are hopefully a good way to see the bigger picture as we approach our health choices this year. Where we’ve been serves as a launch pad for where we are going, so to speak.
1. It starts in the mind. How we relate to our bodies, health, and the world around us all starts in our mind. The first class session of The Designed for Health series I teach in New Bern, North Carolina, always starts with a sort of “rededication” exercise whereby we reconnect with our body in appreciation for how we are so wonderfully made, and how we want to be in greater harmony with our body by actively listening to how it responds to what we feed it and how we treat it. We are accepting the responsibility for its care rather than just mentally going along for the ride.
2. Something “do-able”: a Keystone Habit. No matter how we want to improve our lives, whether we want to write the great American novel or we want to eat healthier, we have to concentrate on the steps, the repeatable steps, we must take each day to get there. Surely, we are not going to write that novel in one day, but writing for a short, set amount of time each and every day will eventually get us the first chapter. Similarly, we are not going to turn our health status around in one day, but making a single, seemingly ridiculously small and easy-to-repeat tweak to what we eat or drink each and every day will eventually lead to a collection of changes easily incorporated into a new eating and living style that will definitely impact our health. Hence our motto: gradual and consistent.
3. 80/20. Unless there are health dangers such as severe food allergies, becoming totally obsessed about “healthy eating” could ruin the day for you and those around you. Trying to squeeze out that last 20% of perfection each day can actually take some of the fun out of things. So while we gain an understanding what is good or bad for us, striving for perfection can, literally, spoil the party. Aim for the “good stuff” to keep up your promise to yourself, but once in a while a dab of this or that, in the absence of food allergies, can keep the fun in holidays, vacations, and life in general. Once you have converted to better choices, the standard temptations actually will hold less appeal and may not feel “right” when consumed, but- lighten up! 80/20 is good. Having said that, making exceptions back-to-back can be the start of a slippery downward slope!
4. Create an environment for success. Clean up what’s available to eat in the kitchen based on how you want to eat. No more chips and ice cream in the kitchen means you won’t be looking at chips and ice cream praying for the strength to turn away. Enlist the help and support of family and friends. Share what you are learning so you can be a part of a team. Reward your milestone successes frequently with appropriately healthy treats; maybe a walk around the waterfront instead of in the neighborhood.
5. Understand “macro-nutrients.” Understanding how our bodies naturally respond to proteins, fats, and carbohydrates really puts us in the driver’s seat for health! Want to stabilize blood sugar? Dedicate carbohydrate intake to veggies instead of grains and eat good protein and healthy fats which have higher satiety levels than starchy carbs and will not upset blood sugar levels.
6. Enhance your flavor palate. Looking for a sense of sweetness without the added sugar? Try spices and flavorings that remind you of sweetness by using cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and extracts such as vanilla or almond. These “sweet spices” are a great way to enhance the flavor of smoothies without added sugar. Explore various herbs and oils to add endless variety to veggies and salads. Simple asparagus is different each time when lightly sautéed in a choice of olive oil, ghee, grass-fed butter, avocado oil, coconut oil, or toasted sesame oil. Whenever I get a little tired of any cooked veggie, I usually turn to a finishing drizzle of toasted sesame oil to liven things up. Pesto can easily combine with shrimp, gluten free pasta, quinoa, veggies, or scrambled eggs to make a brand new eating experience.7. Keep this plate in mind. Strive for a plate balanced with these proportions. Imagine your plate is half non-starchy veggies. The other half is two-thirds protein and one third good fats and/or fruit. That’s pretty much it!
8. Inflammation is a key and common evil. Food choices can actually ramp up the inflammatory process which is bad because inflammation is at the root of every disease process. Sugar and grains are the biggest culprits; read: wheat, barley, rye for the inflammatory gluten and corn for the phytates.
9. Strive for nutrient dense foods. Nutrient density relates to higher concentrations of vitamins, minerals, and the essential fatty acids and essential amino acids which we have to get from our diet because our bodies can’t make them. Currently on a fat- free diet? Forget it! You’d be missing out on vital fatty acids that your body demands for proper functioning and certain vitamins must have fat in the diet for their absorption. Proper fat ingestion is vital. The good fats contain a better fat profile than we get from the Standard American Diet. Good fats have more omega-3 fatty acids and can be found in avocados, avocado oil, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, nuts and seeds. Protein ingestion is vital. Strive for clean protein sources that are minimally processed, grass fed if possible, and fresh seafood. There are NO essential carbohydrates; none. So carbohydrate consumption will best serve your body if coming from non-starchy veggies that are packed with nutrients and will not disturb your blood sugar levels.
Planking
10. Less exercise can be more! One of my Keystone Habits is doing a bit of exercise during coffee brewing time, and I have learned from many sources that slow-motion exercises can yield a better effect than those done at regular speed, and that fewer repetitions are needed. Works for me! Counter top push-ups and squats are infinitely more effective when done in an 8-8-8 fashion. For a squat: 8 counts down to the squat, 8 counts holding the squat, 8 counts up. You’ll know when to stop, believe me. A few will do! If that becomes easy, just add a small weight which will increase the workload of the muscles; that’s the key: workload, not repetitions.
11. Other possible Keystone Habits. Consider slipping in a daily boost to hydration by drinking a glass or two of water before leaving the bathroom first thing each morning. Try converting other hydration fluids from juices, colas, or coffees to green tea. Green tea contains poly-phenols that help prevent a host of diseases and conditions and also work with the body to burn fat! Try a more concentrated green tea brew to ramp-up consumption of those helpful components. Some experts aim for 10 bags of green tea a day which would necessitate concentration, indeed!
12. Non-starchy green vegetables. I have dedicated a lot of “blog time” non-starchy green vegetables and colorful vegetables. Eating non-processed foods necessitates cooking, but I have tried to show that becoming a master chef is not required. Basically doing a light sauté or stir fry in a healthy fat is all that is needed for most vegetables, possibly followed by a light steaming on lower heat with minimal or no added water. Cooking veggies without added water is vital because a good portion of the nutrients leech out into the water, never to be consumed. I still read recipes from those who should know better that call for boiling asparagus, for example. No! No! Just roll those babies around on low to medium heat in some good oil until desired doneness… not mush, but still a little crisp…sort of Al dente! Certainly, sneaking baby spinach or kale into a smoothie is a super easy way to add nutrient-dense goodness in a snap!
2014 is over??
Well, that’s foodtalk4you from 2014 in a condensed form. Next, my editor, Sheree, and I will be working on a free e-booklet of last year’s recipes for easy access. Such a feat will require some diligent work on both our parts…just part of my New Year’s goal to be more useful to you, my dear readers!
Please share this site with a friend or two, so we can reach more people with the message that improved health is within reach without reaching for another pill!
Remember “gradual and consistent,” the concept that success comes from consistent small efforts over time will yield greater results versus giant goal-setting?
With the New Year upon us and with conversations whirling around us about resolutions, it would seem an excellent time to reconsider how we can apply this gradual and consistent concept to our daily health and life issues.
Just because the calendar page now says “2015” does not mean we have to reinvent ourselves. But in looking at the array of life issues we are handling, does it not make sense to make sure our minds and bodies are at their best so we can optimally approach our personal challenges? We cannot be creative, resourceful, cooperative, considerate or anything else we may strive to be if we feel awful physically or mentally.
Want to lose 50 pounds by June? Forget it! Just concentrate on how your next meal looks. Then concentrate on how the next meal after that looks. Want to tone up to wear a smaller size by a particular date? Don’t spend a week shopping for the right exercise clothes; what kind of push-ups or planks are you doing right now?
I think one of the biggest successes at health transformation is balanced blood sugar. This may be of particular importance now as we are coming off of holiday indulgences. Even gluten-free starches can add to the waistline. To paraphrase Dr. Mark Hyman’s article from December 26, 2014, here are three thing that we all can do to help end that need to roam around the kitchen looking for holiday delights.
Broccoli and eggs for breakfast!
1. Commit to booting unnecessary starch. Carbohydrates are an important macro-nutrient vital to body function, but we need to embrace plant carbohydrates and use nuts and seeds as healthy protein snacks. My immediate goal is to incorporate plant carbohydrates at every meal; half my plate is usually vegetables. Even at breakfast.
Prior to the holidays, I activated many bags of nuts to prepare for gift-giving and snacking. My recent reading about nuts have again reminded me that daily eating of walnuts is extremely beneficial as an omega-3 and anti-oxidant resource.
2. Emphasize water and green tea consumption instead of calorie-laden drinks. Forget thinking artificial sweeteners are a caveat to this rule. There is a host of badness happening with those devils that I will share about in a coming post. At the very least, artificial sweeteners tell your body that glucose is on the way, and it’s not; many studies point to over-eating as a natural response to this conflicting communication with the body.
3. Make sure that every meal has high quality protein; especially the first meal of the day. Protein is a vital macro-nutrient that fills, satisfies, and energizes the body for the rest of the day. Do not start your day on an empty tank! From last night’s leftover meat to eggs, nut, seeds, nut butters, or a protein shake/smoothie, high quality protein will keep you going for hours and eliminate the need to roam to a snack machine. Also, use quality fat to cook that protein such as coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, or ghee. A quarter of an avocado will also augment your power resources as well.
So, how to gradually and consistently apply these guidelines?
Start now! Don’t wait until everything in your kitchen is perfectly aligned or the last slice of (gluten-free) bread has been consumed. Whatever you are going to eat or drink next is what counts. Reflect on the adage from Alcoholics Anonymous, “One day at a time.” How about one meal at a time? One snack at a time? Such next-moment goal setting is a proven winner!
In a restaurant? Wave off the bread rolls, peel off the hamburger roll as you eat the insides, double-up on the veggies instead of having a baked potato, choose broiled seafood or fish instead of breaded and fried. You get the picture.
Are you eating Frankenfood?
In the market? Stick to the perimeter of the store as you choose protein and veggies. Skip the isles which generally carry starchy packages of highly- processed “Frankenfood.” Better yet, stop by the farmer’s market for locally grown veggies picked that morning!
Plan for ease of success. I have really become partial to marathon cooking events. Many families gather in the kitchen during the weekend to share in advanced prep-work and actual cooking for the week’s menu. For instance, someone can peel the meat off of a rotisserie chicken in preparation for lunch boxes. Chicken is easily thrown on a salad for a handy meal at home or at work or school.
Today, I prepared a crock pot full of Italian Meatballs—recipe follows. A family could incorporate these in any number of meals or snacks. I will simply freeze half of them for future use. Gluten-free spaghetti is off the menu for a while, so pairing these meatballs with at least half of a plate of veggies and some good fat will more than fill our tummies.
Tonight, our plates will sport leftover collards, raw broccoli salad, and avocado. Mmmmm. When’s dinner?
Italian Meatballs
Yummy! Italian Meatballs!
For the meatballs:
1(ish) pound of ground turkey
1 pound of sweet Italian ground sausage (I used Johnsonville brand because it’s gluten-free and has the fewest ingredients)
¼ of a red onion minced and divided into 2 portions- one portion for meatballs, one portion for sauce
3 cloves of garlic, minced and divided into 2 portions- one portion for meatballs, one portion for sauce
2 eggs
2 tsp. Italian Seasoning (or to taste)
One handful of fresh parsley, chopped
1/3 cup grated Parmesan and Romano cheese
Few shakes of sea salt to taste
1/3 cup gluten-free Panko, Italian Style (I used Ian’s brand)
For the sauce:
1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
One portion of the minced onion
One portion of the minced garlic
1 can tomato paste (6 oz.)
2 tomato paste cans of water
1 tsp. gluten-free fish oil (for that “je ne sais pas” or umami effect)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Italian seasoning to taste
1 cup chopped Crimini mushrooms a.k.a Baby Bella mushrooms
Method
Scooping the meat into a ballReady for the oven!
Put all meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix well using gloved hands. Using a 1 ½ inch scoop, push a scoopful of meatball mixture into the side of the bowl to help pack it into shape. Eject the meatball into your other hand to gently finish and place the meatball on an ungreased baking sheet.
The 1.3 lbs. of turkey and 1 lb. of sausage yielded me just shy of 50 meatballs on two cooking sheets. Place cooking sheets into a preheated 350 degree oven or 325 degree convection oven. Roast meatball for 15 minutes, remove pans from oven, turn meatballs over, and return pans to oven for another 15 minutes.
While meatballs are baking, prepare sauce as follows:
Stirring spices into tomato sauce
Gently sauté minced onion in a sauce pan on medium heat for a couple minutes, add minced garlic, and continue cooking for 30 more seconds.
Add tomato paste, 2 cans of water, fish oil, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning.
Adding in mushrooms
Stir to combine.
Add chopped mushrooms and let mixture simmer.
When meatballs are done roasting, put meatballs and sauce in crock pot, making sure all meatballs have been coated in sauce. Set crock pot on low for longer cooking or on medium or high heat if dinner is to be sooner.
As mentioned in the last post, developing Keystone Habits was described as a way to set our bodies up for success. The earlier in the day, the better. Drinking two glasses of water first thing in the morning is a great way to prime our bodies for adequate hydration which, in turn, facilitates smoother operation of digestive function. Isn’t that what better health from better eating is all about? To get the digestive system functioning the way it was designed to be?
In our second session of Designed for Health classes held in New Bern, North Carolina, at the First Baptist Church, we spoke about a second Keystone Habit of consuming a great breakfast. Knowing that many of us are on a grab-and-go mode as we rush out to work, we pretty much polished off discussions about the practicality and convenience of smoothies. Please check out last week’s post that reviews the “method of the smoothie madness.” Enough said.
We will next broach the topic of solid breakfast food but what is the measure? What is the goal for a Keystone Meal that will jump start your day? To paraphrase the approach used by the author of the text we are using in class, our measure will be:
– Is this food going to satisfy my appetite or will it just make me want more?
Starchy carbs and sweets actually are not very satisfying. Who does not want more pasta or dessert? Carbs actually contain FEWER calories and provide LESS energy. Remember how you and others react to a carb-heavy meal? Everyone wants to pass out in the living room. Time for a nap. Think about it.
– Is this food more likely to easily turn to fat?
We are talking about foods that require insulin to bring blood sugar levels back to normal. Insulin is the hormone of fat storage.
– Is this food packed with nutrition; meaning, the essential elements that will keep my body going: vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids?
Protein structure
Did you know there are NO essential carbohydrates? Really! Don’t get me wrong, we do not need to eliminate all carbohydrates, but given a diet totally devoid of any carbs, you would not die. There are societies around the world that have no carbohydrates for months at a time. Our body can cobble together carbohydrates, but it CANNOT make proteins or fats. That’s why we talk about ESSENTIAL amino acids and fatty acids; they are the building blocks of protein and fat; we have to get them from our food.
Regardless of the moniker we apply (SANE, whole food, nutrient dense, clean eating, or Paleo); our food must be of the highest quality possible to make our “engines” run the smoothest and at an optimal level. We were designed to process clean, pure sources of protein, natural fats, non-starchy vegetables, and fruit in moderation. Read the label of your favorite packaged food, and you won’t find that. Most of the words are unpronounceable, reflect a high level of processing, and are filled with chemical additives that try pitifully to restore the food values lost in processing.
But cooking takes sooooo long! Nonsense! My breakfast plate is usually always 50% veggies. If there are no left-overs from the night before, it will take me about 60 seconds to wilt two or three handfuls of spinach or other greens in a non-stick fry pan on medium heat in coconut oil, olive oil, or “happy butter” (from pasture raised cows, you know; Kerrygold rules!). Today, I added a bit of ground nutmeg to my baby organic spinach…yum! Transfer greens to the plate. Whip up two eggs along with a splash of unsweetened coconut milk with salt and pepper to taste. Cook eggs in the same pan used for the greens with a bit of butter; today, I added a teaspoon or two of homemade pesto to mine, and voila! No sweat!
My husband likes toast, so I served his eggs folded around his beloved cheese, and placed it on top of a slice of pan grilled gluten-free toast. No greens I know. Bless his heart!
So how did your breakfast measure up? Good protein? Fat with a good profile of Omega 3s? At least 1 serving of non-starchy nutrient dense greens? Dairy-free? Gluten-free? Sugar-free?
It’s also called an anti-inflammatory meal. Knowing that virtually all diseases are rooted in some kind of an inflammatory process, a meal like this will not contribute to inflammation. Without a big sugar hit from starchy or sweet carbohydrates, you are guaranteed level blood sugars throughout the morning; especially without the toast. Your mind and body will have the fuel needed to be at their best, and you won’t need a trip to the vending machine mid-morning.
Another big breakfast favorite of mine is an ever-changing version of Original Joe’s. There’s a story here. Back when I was growing up in San Jose, California, my dear friend introduced me to a great menu item in a downtown restaurant. Behold, Original Joe’s! A ground beef and onion mixture with small broccoli florets glued together with the addition of eggs! Oh, heaven! Only salt and pepper needed.
So simple.
Depending on the leftovers available, my Original Joe’s could have flaked baked salmon, diced up steak, diced up hamburger…you name it, combined with spinach, okra, sautéed onions and peppers, or broccoli, and finished off with a couple eggs. All with leftovers.
Heat up ingredients without the eggs to get everything hot, then pour on the eggs and stir occasionally to cook. This can all happen while the coffee is brewing. No special skills involved. One pan. With a really BIG pan, you could feed an army!
I will touch upon some solid foods that would still work for the grab-and-go crowd in a future post.
One of the class participants thought a weekly challenge would be a good idea. Without even being challenged, most of the class is drinking two glasses of water each morning already! Way to go, team! As we are not focusing on a major life goal, but are looking at very small, doable, and repeatable improvements, I recommend a Keystone Breakfast. Don’t concentrate on the other meals. Just breakfast. I think that how your Keystone Breakfast will make you feel will automatically make you want to “keep that lovin’ feeling” all day long! Feeling better is kind of sneaky like that!
You know what a keystone is, right? It’s the V-shaped stone placed at the top of an arch. It holds the whole thing together. Remove the keystone and the arch, along with everything above it, it will collapse. There are keystone habits we can do each day that will set us up for a great day of feeling balanced and ready to meet the tasks ahead of us and will keep our “engines” running for a smooth ride.
In our first session of a seven-week series of classes called “Designed for Health,” held at First Baptist Church in New Bern, North Carolina, we touched upon the mechanics of habits and how we might nudge those habits in a way that would still give us the desired reward (which is emotional), but would yield improved results in terms of body chemistry outcomes (as in increased nutritional value).
Dr. Tom O’Bryan states that there are three important things we must do for great, balanced health:
1) Drink 2 glasses of water each morning,
2) Eat an anti-inflammatory diet, and
3) Basically, don’t sweat the small stuff; enjoy the moment.
Understanding how habits work is critical to modifying them. First, there is a “trigger”: something that initiates the habit. A trigger could be a thought, emotion or circumstance, just about anything that leads us to the actual thing we do which is the “action.” With the action comes the “reward” for having done the action. Rewards are usually mental/emotional. We like the results. Understanding the results we want is key to modifying habits in order to maximize positive habit results for long-term health rather than a fleeting flash of a blood sugar high, which can have dire results metabolically.
Case in point: I have made swishing out my mouth first thing each morning to be a trigger to remind me to drink a glass of water. Drinking the water is the action. The reward is the knowledge that I am doing my body a favor, assisting it to function at an optimal level, and I have already done something positive for myself before my eyes have really opened. The second trigger is right before I leave the bathroom; I drink the second glass of water. Downing two glasses of water at once is too much for me, so I have found that drinking a glass of water at the beginning and end of my morning routine works best. There! I am on a roll now of doing positive things, so that leads me into the bedroom to take 30 seconds to make the bed! Wow! Two pluses and the day has hardly begun! Keystone Habits!
Once we enter the kitchen, there is another Keystone Habit that can pave the way for a day of even energy flow, maximum nutrition, and stable blood sugars. A great breakfast is the answer, but so many of us do not have the time to scramble a couple eggs in “happy butter” (from pastured and totally grass fed cows) served with a generous portion of veggies.
Some of us actually dash out the door, stop off at the nearest fast food chain for a highly-processed, gluten-filled, greasy biscuit filled with some kind of highly-processed, edible food-like substances, followed with a sugary drink or a sugar-laden latte to be eaten at in the car or first thing at work. Stomach in knots, blood sugar levels guaranteed to plummet later, and require to be “fixed” by a vending machine snack…. So goes the day. Sound familiar?
If you do not have the time to reheat last night’s protein and veggies, or to cook from scratch each morning, may I introduce you to a Smoothie? I’ve spoken of them before, but would like to share some different ideas today. Smoothies can actually be made the night before. It’s fun to concoct a blender-full with someone else. It could be a family affair; chances for family-wide buy-in to drinking a nutrient-dense smoothie skyrocket when everyone helps.
First of all, smoothies are not about being sweet. The goal is nutrient density. Fruit is just a part of it. If your goal is for the most stable blood sugar levels possible, fruit choices should remain in the berry category. Blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries should be at the top of the list because of their low glycemic load, followed by strawberries. In any case, fruit should be measured at about ½ cup per 8-ounce drink. The rest is a choice of seasonings (salt, vanilla extract and “sweet spices” as I call them), fluid (water, coconut milk, almond milk, coconut water, or strong green tea), a good fat (avocado, coconut oil, or flax oil), and a good protein (nuts or nut butters, whey protein, powdered egg whites, and various seeds that also provide a good fat profile: hemp, chia, and flax), and greens (baby spinach, kale, and chard). Believe me, those greens really do not change the flavor substantially, but they are vital to make this the Keystone/Powerhouse drink we want to hold us for hours and help our bodies function optimally.
Now here’s the thing. You put the fruit, seasonings, fluid, and fat in the blender and blitz it; then you add the protein and seeds; blitz some more. Pause. Enjoy the color! If blueberries were your choice, you’d have a great blue/purple color. Lovely! If red berries or cherries were your choice, wow! Gorgeous pinks and reds!
But, wait! There’s more! We haven’t added our nutrient-packed greens, yet! OK. You remember art class back in school? Red and Green makes……right………brown.
Now this is where my being the instructor of future medical students comes to play. I remember the speech now…. Class, what color is blood? Red. Very good. Now is blood in its natural form dry or wet? Wet. Excellent. So, from now on, when you see blood, it will be pointless to scream like someone who has never seen that red, wet fluid, won’t it? Get over it. Blood is red and wet. Done! No screaming!
Either you can handle the potentially gloomy transformation of your beautiful, colorful concoction into varying shades of brown or puce, or you can’t. If you can’t “man-up” about it, or if your car-pooling colleagues might grab for a barf bag, or if you just don’t want to start “that” conversation again at work, I have a solution!
Before
Let’s look at before and after pictures of today’s recipe of 2-3 Tbs. coconut cream, 1 cup coconut milk (unsweetened), enough water to make things a good consistency (about 1 cup or so), cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, salt, 2 coffee scoops each of hemp hearts, ground flax seeds, and chia seeds, ½ banana, and 1 cup of mixed berries and cherries. This recipe is for at least 4 servings.
Beautiful, isn’t it?
See that spinach on top; yet to be blended?
After
Just makes you want to drink it, right?
Yummmmm!
Well, I can handle it; maybe because I used to be a nurse, but many people can’t. So here is my answer to the problem! Behold, the Mason jar decorating trick!
This could be a great family project! I selected watermelon shades that would remind me of the previous look of my beverage, before the greens.
First thing you do is clean the surfaces to be painted with alcohol
Then you apply the first coat, making sure to keep any painted area well away from the drinking area- at least ¾ of an inch.
First coat applied
Wait one hour for the first coat to dry, then apply the second coat.
With second coat
Wait another hour before painting in the watermelon seeds.
Finished!
Once your creation is totally dried, put the pieces in a cold oven. Shut the door. Turn oven to 350 degrees. When the oven has come up to temp, set the timer for 30 minutes. At the end of 30 minutes, turn the oven off and WAIT. Wait until the oven has thoroughly cooled down. I did this one evening and just waited until morning to take the jars and lids out. DO NOT open the oven to peek at any time because that could crack the finish. Once completed, the objects are dishwasher safe.
So, enjoy your smoothie! Whether it turns out to be a green monster (I like those, too!) or something that’s perfectly puce, you can have fun while enjoying your nutrient dense drink and get the reward of knowing you are doing something really good for your health and well-being that will set you up for smooth running all day long! Keystone Habit!
Hope arts and crafts time is fun for you and yours-
bronchitis, laryngitis, coughing, sore throat and the like? Those of us who sing, teach, coach, or otherwise strain our vocal cords on a regular basis, need some relief and prevention.
The recipe is simple enough:
has properties that improve brain function, increases metabolism and increases fat burning, properties in tea called catechins, can positively impact oral hygiene and reduce infection risks, may help the body process blood sugar, has been shown to be heart healthy, and can decrease the risk of cancer.
chemotherapy-induced nausea. Its pain-reducing capabilities can help with pain and inflammation seen with arthritis, headaches, and menstrual cramps. It has been shown to inhibit the virus that causes colds.
I have also discovered the joys of loose leaf green tea available on-line from Ten Ren Tea. The Oolong variety has a wonderful aroma and taste. A bag of loose leaf Oolong is expensive, but it lasts a long time. A little bit less than 1 tablespoon of tea leaves yields two of these small pots full of fragrant green tea which will fill my mug twice. Just enough to start the day off right, and my beverage of choice on Sunday morning before singing in choir or before going to special morning choir practices.
a or regular green tea will soothe the mind, tummy, and go a long way to boosting our wellness!
