Guilt Free Carbs?!

Hey Hey Diva Friends!!!

I've slowed down a bit on the blog posting recently because I've been focused on my Get Gutsy group, my new podcast and everything else in my busy life!! If you love reading blog posts though drop a comment and let me know what topics you're most interested in seeing!

Let's talk about carbs for a second. If you've followed me or know my story, I'm all about NOT dieting, and NOT restricting, counting calories, or portion control! Every time I've tried that it totally fails for me long term. The only thing I've found to work (that I think is the only thing that works for EVERYONE long term) is discovering your perfect #Youtrition and through that knowledge, eating intuitively. That means, eating when you're hungry, and eating what you crave! 

So back to carbs. They are your FRIENDS. Your brain, hormones, cell structure, and energy depend on carbohydrates (and fat but that's another blog post). To clarify, I always mean real food carbohydrates. I'm not talking about white sugar, cane sugar, or bread here. I'm talking about squashes, beans, fruits, root vegetables, and if you tolerate it, quinoa and rice! If you run on bread and sugar carbs then you are setting yourself up for blood sugar rollercoasters, insulin resistance and ultimately.....disease.

I don't believe in focusing on "low carb". But when you move from the S.A.D. diet (standard American diet) to a whole foods, nutrient dense, from the earth approach to nutrition, you naturally become lower carb. It just happens. You don't have to think about it. In fact, many who eat this way need to make an effort to INCREASE their carbs.

Stefani Rupert who is the founder of paleoforwomen.com recommends that women don't drop below 100grams of carbs/day and that they shoot for MINUMUMS not maximums. In a society where we are brainwashed into thinking less is more when it comes to calories and foods this type of thinking can be shocking. But let me stop and ask you....how is your energy? How are your moods? How are your hormones? How is your sleep? How are your cravings? Those are all clues to us that we are or are not getting the right nutrition. 

For women in particular we can really use MORE carbs than less when chosen in the right context!!!

So don't be afraid my friends....this recipe is CARB LOADED and you can feel GUILT FREE while indulging :) If you must, use it as a dessert, but in reality - let's have it for breakfast :P

Carb City Snack bar

• 1 cup macadamia nuts
• 1 cup pitted Medjool dates (packed)
• 1/2 cup goji berries
• 1/2 tsp (or generous pinch) of sea salt
• Blend it all up in a food processor. It will look crumbly.

1. Line a bread pan with parchment paper and pour the mix into the bread pan
2. Squish it down evenly with a spatula
3. Refridgerate
4. Cut into 8 bars
5. Enjoy!

p.s. Dates are packed with fiber, B vitamins, potassium, manganese and magnesium. Goji berries are rich in trace minerals that you need and nuts are a good source of healthy fats!

Interested in learning more about YOUR perfect #Youtrition, how to fix your gut health, ENJOY your food, and live a healthy LIFESTYLE? Join my second round of Get Gutsy March 18th!!!! Message me for details or click the link below to capture the early bird special by February 24th! 

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Mangos for Thanksgiving?

Hey hey Diva friends! WOW yesterday was a long but fun day!

Our morning began bright and early as we got up to meet the rest of my family for the annual Miamisburg Turkey Trot!!!

After the Turkey Trot everyone headed over to our place for a yummy brunch full of delicious yet GUILT FREE food! 

On the menu:

• Bacon Tart
• Fruit Salad
• Chia and Mango Pudding ( recipe below!)
• Sparkling grape juice 
• COFFEEEEEE :)

After brunch we relaxed (briefly) and then began the preparations for dinner at my Mom and Dad's! It was lots of fun and the whole family was together :) We laughed, we talked, we shared what we were thankful for, we played games, and we enjoyed the day tremendously.

One recipe I made was quite delicious and so I wanted to share it with all of you! It's a combination of recipes from: Paleocoupboard.com and TheBalancedBerry.com

My combo is below!

Ingredients:

For Chia seed pudding:

• 1 Can full fat coconut milk in a can
• 1/4 ground chia seeds
• 2 TBS sweetener (honey or maple syrup)

For the Mango pudding:

• 2 mangos
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 inch of ginger

Directions:

1. Mix all the chia seed pudding ingredients together. Let sit for a few minutes and re-stir. Then refrigerate overnight
2. Peel and cut the mangos
3. Peel the ginger
4. Blend the mangos, lime and ginger together ( I think there could be more ginger personally!)
5. Chill
6. Layer the puddings and top with toasted coconut, raspberries or whipped cream
7. I doubled the recipe and made 10 servings. You could make smaller portions as well. This made about 10 LARGE servings.

ENJOY!!!!

What was your favorite part of Thanksgiving? I'd love to hear some family traditions or recipes you enjoyed :)

p.s. TODAY ONLY I'm offering a sale on my January gut health program!!! Launching January 15th, it will include 8 weeks of menus, recipes, tips, gut health protocols, and more! ANY participant will have the option to upgrade the program to include personalize gut health testing! For more details and the sale (ending at midnight!!!) Click here!

Eating organic for under $15/day

Hey Hey there Diva friends!  I'm SUPER excited to bring this blog post to you today. As someone who used to eat the S.A.D. (The aptly named Standard American diet), I too once though that healthy food must be more expensive. 

Stated simply, eating whole food, natural, organic, unprocessed foods is NOT more expensive and doesn't have to be. When we originally began our pantry transformation our first step was to take all the wheat filled gluten foods we normally ate and replace them with gluten free processed foods that mimicked the familiar treats. In that instance YES we would spend more money if we continued to purchase gluten free oreos instead of regular oreos. The bills would also remain high as long as I continued to buy a lot of junky snacks, chips, ice cream in ADDITION to the healthier foods on the list....

What I noticed as we progressed in our thinking and continued to tweak our diets however, was that if you really focus on eliminating processed foods (gluten free and all) it is highly probable that you with either break even or SAVE when changing your diets. The KEY is to focus on real foods. The bulk of my grocery cart is almost always from the produce section (fruits, veggies, herbs...) with a little meat (grass-fed organic) and a few canned/boxed/bagged items here and there like flax seed, non-dairy milk, and canned tomatoes or beans.

As I became more aware, it's become a habit for me to listen for the persons total in front of me at the check out in curiosity. What I have discovered is that people who use coupons, shop the sales, and stock up on chips, canned goods, frozen goods, cheap bread, snack items and soda, almost always pay over $200 for their cart. When I check out my total ranges somewhere from $130-200 for the week depending on how thorough my list was ( aka if I have to go back later in the week), if I included any splurge/treat items, and if we needed any household items that week (those always add up).

It's very frustrating to me when people say they cannot afford to be healthy and eat clean foods. Fruit and vegetables are some of the most inexpensive things at the grocery store! Even if you do something "expensive" like juicing or blending your veggies which uses quite a few at a time, it's still way more affordable than going to out to eat for most of your meals or grabbing that daily coffee habit. Not to mention you are substituting incredible nutrition for harmful toxicity that can shorten your lifespan at worst and at best make the life you have less enjoyable. 

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To illustrate this point, I created an example meal plan, went to Krogers new Click List feature, input the items needed, calculated the serving size portion you would need per meal, and added up the total for one person in a day. I made sure the ingredients I chose were the ones I would personally use - organic, grass-fed when applicable etc...

With my ONE example ( which included a few more "expensive" items like juicing, Shakeology, and grass-fed beef) I found you could eat high quality, nutrient dense foods that will reverse disease and nourish your body for under $15 a day!

Here's the menu:

Breakfast:

• 2 pasture raised eggs = .81c
• Homemade green juice ( 1/2 bunch organic kale + 1 honey crisp organic apple + 1 organic lemon ) = $1.87
• Chia Seed Pudding ( 1 can full fat coconut milk from a can + 1/4 cup grand chia seeds + 2TBS honey) = .95...estimated over 6 servings

Breakfast TOTAL: $3.63

Snack:*

Many people balk at the concept of a $4.00 superfoods shake when I talk about incorporating Shakeology into their day. But when it includes superfoods from around the world, high quality adaptogens to help the body deal with stress, probiotics and digestive enzymes to help your gut health, not to mention the help it provides in curbing your cravings, I'd say it's worth it. Just replace the sodas or Starbucks with this instead.

*Replace this with some veggies, fruit, or a salad and while you won't get the nutritional variety, you will still spend the same or less and be getting quality foods in your day.

Lunch:

• Microwaveable Sweet Potato = $1.29
• Applegate organic, grass-fed hotdog = .75
•  Whole bag of frozen veggies like peas ($10/10)  ... may add some spices and/or grass-fed butter

See the recipe here

Lunch Total: $3.04  

Snack:

Organic honeycrip apple = .62c

1TBS peanut butter = .13c

Snack Total: $.75

Dinner:

Betty Crocker Crockpot Chili = $3.47 when having 4 servings

Dinner Total: $3.47

Total for the day $14.89

Of course your days will fluctuate, but this is approximately 1625 calories for $15.

Conversely you could always choose to have a day like this:

• Breakfast: McDonald's bacon egg an cheese biscuit (450 cal)
• Lunch: Subway 6 inch tuna sandwich ( 480 cal)
• Dinner: Chipotle burrito bowl with chicken, white rice, black beans ,mild salsa, cheese, guac and lettuce (890 cal)

For a grand total of: $13.94 and 1820 calories. This is all assuming of course that no beverages, chips, snacks, or extras were consumed.

You only have one body to live in.

Studies have shown that your gut health is directly correlated to your brain health. This means if you suffer from depression, anxiety, moodiness, or if you are prone to demential, Alzheimer's and brain fog in your family...these are things that can be prevented, and even reversed by the health of your gut. Processed foods not only provide lackluster nutritional value at best, but can cause inflammation to the gut as well as hindering the absorption of any nutrients you are actually consuming. 

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You won't be perfect over night. There is a learning curve. But the extra time and effort is ALWAYS worth it. Spending a few extra minutes looking at labels, making a meal plan, and cooking up some fresh veggies may give you an extra 15 YEARS in health, longevity, and LIFE. 

I don't know about you, but I want the last 20 years of my life to be living not dying. 

Change the mind, change the body.

Change the body, change the mind.

What are YOUR cost saving tips? I know there are many of you who are more budget conscious, and better at looking for cost saving tips that I am! I'd love to hear your tips below!!

To your health,

5 meals in 10 minutes (or less!)

Hey hey Diva friends!!! 

The biggest stumbling block to having success in your healthy lifestyle is mentality. If you don't DECIDE that it's non-negotiable then you will compromise at some point. For example when you get busy, if health isn't your #1 priority then you will grab that pop tart (hey now, why is that in your pantry in the first place?) instead of COMMITTING to finding fast and easy ways to get good nutrition in and stocking THOSE types of things in your pantry....

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I know I know, thinking it through and planning it out still takes time....so LUCKILY :) I like fast and easy too and I've compiled a little recipe roundup FOR you based on my own meals so you can save time and enjoy these recipes perfect for any busy lifestyle! 

Meal #1 Fajitato

What you need:

• Microwavable sweet potato ( I get mine at Kroger and stock up!)
• Mixed veggies ( leftovers or prepped over the weekend - this picture was a stir fry blend from Whole Foods with peppers and red onion, but you can always make your own over the weekend)
• Apple Gate (or other quality brand) grass-fed hot dogs
• Grass-fed butter

What to do:

• Place your microwave sweet potato in the microwave and cook per instructions ( mine takes 7 minutes)
• Pull out a small, non stick skillet and melt 1/4 TBS grass-fed butter.
• While the butter is melting and the pan is heating chop up 2 hot dogs
• Dump the hot dogs and as many veggies as you want in the pan and heat or sear until warmed up
• When the potato is done, cut it open and pour the contents of the pan on top.

Meal #2 Eggs and Toast

What you need:

• Quality gluten free bread like Eban or Sprouted for Life*. Wanna make your own? click here
• Eggs ( preferably pasture raised)
• Egg cooker like the Pampered Chef one I use,  or a non stick pan ( you can poach, fry, or scramble however you like).

What to do:

• Toast the bread and have plain or with grass-fed butter ( my bread is frozen and I've found that turning it once in the toaster gives me a better result)
• Cook the eggs according to the instructions or your own preferences. My egg cooker is about $20 and cooks these perfectly in less than 2 minutes!

*When looking for a gluten free bread, look for ones made with flours seeds and nuts and not a lot of starches, sugars or fillers.

Optional: Make your own bread with this simple recipe!

#3 Fancy Fancy French Omelet

What you need:

• 2 eggs
• spices (I used garlic, salt and pepper)
• Goat cheese
• 1/2 heirloom tomato
• Small, non stick pan
• Grass-fed butter

What to do:

1. Turn the pan onto medium and whisk the eggs with a dash of water
2. Melt about 1/2 TBS butter in pan (or spray with coconut oil)
3. Pour eggs into pan and periodically rotate/tip pan around to spread the eggs around, scraping down the sides as you go. Sprinkle spices on top and keep moving the pan.
4. Once eggs are almost cooked, crumble some goat cheese (aprox 1/2 oz) and fold omelet.
5. Chop the heirloom tomato
6. Let the omelet cook through ( you can flip it to cook on both sides for a few seconds if you want as well)
7. Top with chopped tomato.

Optional: pull out some fruit from the refrigerator and add as a side! I often "prep" fruit over the weekend by pulling grapes off the vine, washing my berries, cutting my strawberries etc. Makes it easy and fast to enjoy!

#4 Brunner

A combo of traditional breakfast, lunch and dinner foods you can eat this any time of day. 

What you need:

• Small non stick sauce pan
• Turkey steak
• Microwaveable sweet potato
• Egg
• Grass-fed butter

What to do:

1. Get that sweet potato in the microwave so it can cook for 7 minutes
2. melt some butter in the sauce pan and  add your steak and egg
3. Let the turkey sear and the egg cook through as you wait for the potato to finish
4. Enjoy!

#5 Gourmet Any Day

What you need:

• 2 eggs + egg cooker ( sauce pan, poacher, or pampered chef dish)
• Chocolate chia Seed Pudding (made ahead)
• Green juice: 1/2 stalk of greens (swiss chard, kale, collard greens, bok choy) + 1 green apple + 2 celery stalks + 1/2 honey crisp apple + lemon

What to do:

1. Cook your eggs any way
2. Scoop out 1/4 cup chia seed pudding
3. Juice your juice ingredients
4. Enjoy

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I know when I began changing my diet everything felt overwhelming. What could I eat? did I have to cook a lot? Was I going to waste my life in the kitchen trying to figure things out?

What I have earned over the years is to keep it simple:

1. Be willing to eat dinner leftovers for breakfast.
2. Be willing to eat vegetables at any meal - preferably all meals.
3. Don't overcomplicate the cooking process. Bake, steam, sear, microwave....
4. Meal prepping a little bit allows for a lot of time saved during the week
5. Leftovers are your friend

Any of the meals above can be eaten at any time of the day! Within these 5 meals are probably 100 other variations....switch up the proteins used, switch up the veggies used, add some fruit or an additional side....personalize and add to or takeaway as you see fit....

Life is an adventure and enjoyment is important. But delicious doesn't mean slaving for hours. Break it down...keep it simple...enjoy your day :)

Here's to your health! 

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Easy Peach Pie

Hey hey Diva friends!!

WHEW!!! There has been SO MUCH happening these past few weeks.... I just needed some pie. Anyone with me? Sometimes a girl just needs some pie!

Turns out, last year, my Mom went to the Peach Truck and got a TON of peaches....We weren't able to use them fast enough so we have had several bags of frozen peaches in our freezer just begging to be used. (yesterday they were screaming Kylene!!! Turn me into a pie!! turn me into a pie!!!)  So, I had the bright idea to see if all my practice of following recipes has paid off by attempting my own pie recipe from scratch!

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Turns out, I'm not too shabby a cook...or dare I say...chef?! Ok, Ok, I won't go that far. But side note, I plan to make the crust into cookies someday too because I liked it that much!

Crust:

• 1 cup almond flour
• 2 eggs
• 6-8 large pitted medjool dates
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 2TBS maple syrup

Directions for Crust:

1. Heat oven 350. Grease your pie pan.
2. In a food processor blend 2 eggs with the dates. You'll probably still have some date chunks and that's ok.
3. Add in the rest of the ingredients and pulse until dough ball begins to form.
4. Place the dough into the pie pan and press it evenly across. 
5. Here is where you may need to do some personalization. Bake for 8-15minutes. I used a stone pie pan and cooked it for about 15 minutes. I would keep an eye on it because your goal isn't to cook it through, just to begin the baking process. Set aside.

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I had Frozen peaches and from past experience they get really watery, so this process is a little awkward and I would recommend making this with FRESH fruit. Because of that,I'm including 2 options:

Frozen Filling:

• Aprox 2 cups frozen peaches mostly thawed and drained
• 2TBS coconut sugar
• 2TBS coconut flour
• Honey (optional - to  taste)

Filling Directions:

•  Place the peaches in an oven safe dish. Bake at 350 until they thaw completely
• Drain the peaches and mix with the rest of the filling ingredients
• Place them in the prepared pie crust ad bake until bubbly and the crust has begun to brown.
• Enjoy!

Fresh Fruit Filling:

• 3-4 perfectly ripe peaches sliced
• Sprinkle with honey and coconut sugar for desired sweetness 
• Toss with 1TBS coconut flour and place in prepared pie crust
• Cook until bubble and crust begins to brown

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Easy Protein Pancakes

Hey Hey there Diva friends! 

I woke up this morning and wanted some pancakes....so I looked up some recipes and decided to make up my own with what I have in the house. They turned out really well so I wanted to share :) You've probably seen the 3 ingredient pancake recipe floating around for banana + egg + cinnamon before....well, this isn't much more complicated.

Ingredients:

• 1 large plantain (mine was yellow with some black spots)*
• 1 Scoop of Ancient Nutritions Cinnamon Apple Bone Broth
• 2 eggs

*When cooking with plantains the greener the plantain the less flavor it has the more ripe it is the sweeter it is.

Directions:

1. Blend all the ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth
2. Heat up a non-stick skillet and spray with coconut oil or melt some grass-fed butter
3. Cook about 1/4 cup of the batter at a time about a minute on each side, but times will vary based on cookware and temperature
4. Top with some pure maple syrup and pair with some eggs or Applegate breakfast sausages. Don't forget your Foursigmatic chaga coffee. Enjoy!

Get creative in the kitchen! Mix some blueberries in the batter, or if you really want to splurge, add some Enjoy Life chocolate minis. 

Have a good breakfast! Bye for now :)