A couple months ago, I announced to the web that I will be moving on from my position at Amberwood.  Since then, there has been so much going on behind the scenes that I am just trying to keep my sanity!  I did not elaborate on where I was going from here until now…sometimes you gotta wait til the time is right. ;)

I have had many patients saying “Dr. Angela, why are you leaving me?!”  Let me address that.  I am not leaving anyone…..technically.  I’ll still be around and you can get a hold of me whenever you like! However, for the time being, all of my patient work will be nutritional in nature.  I officially started a nutrition company that will have so much to offer, and I love the idea of pushing those horizons to the limits.  I will still do group nutrition classes and all of my individual counseling, but I will also be adding some things that are more hands on!  Like I said, there is organized chaos going on behind the scenes, but my website with all the info you can imagine will be launched soon!

I am not a person that enjoys change that much, but I am also a person that is not afraid of making a change when I recognize the need.  I have had some questions about the chiropractic side of things and whether or not I will ever do that again.  Of course I will.  If I am being honest, every person working with another in my profession has a non compete.  I am a chiropractor, and always will be.  However, I have some legal agreements that keep me from practicing at this point in time. There are two ways I can look at that: 1. Oh poor me for going to school FOREVER and not being able to practice or 2. This is my opportunity to explore my nutrition work, teach students again, and help other chiropractors that need time away from their office.

Looking back over the past 5 years, I have had so many amazing things happen.  I have been able to give SO MANY patients their very first adjustment.  I can’t tell you how proud that makes me that people have trusted me as their doctor, brought their children to me, and valued my perspective on health.  I have helped women get pregnant, corrected issues as intense as Lupus and Crohn’s, and spoke at more conventions, hospitals, and companies than I can count on all my fingers!  I was afforded the opportunity to speak on the radio, be featured in a magazine, donate services to amazing organizations, and participate in so many lives.  I have diagnosed crazy things like aortic aneurysms, gall stones,  and DISH. I could go on for days.  I wouldn’t change all of those moments, but my focus from here is on all the amazing moments to come. One thing I learned along the way is that health and well being is a treasure for everyone….and without it, you have nothing.  I will continue to do as much as humanly possible to enhance the health of every person that I can.

Life presented a fork in the road and I chose the path that, while unknown, has all the passion and opportunity I could ask for.  I hope to see many familiar faces in addition to those I have yet to meet along the way.  Thank you to everyone who has been a part of my experiences up to this point!

Like many corporations, my mom gets a health assessment  every year to determine her insurance premiums.  The healthier you check out, the less you pay!  Sounds great, right?!  Well, I went over her results with her the other day and ran across something that I thought was telling in terms of the huge fears people have about saturated fat.  She gave me permission to share her results and recommendations with you….so I’m doing it before she retracts!

Blood Pressure:  112/72 (in other words perfect blood pressure)

Cholesterol:

HDL: 96

LDL: 121

Triglycerides: 50

Here’s the funny part!  She has AWESOME HDL!!!  Her Triglycerides (which are an inflammatory marker) are some of the best I’ve seen!

Now for Recommendations:

You can see what they are telling her to avoid with the red and what to do in green.  They specifically tell her to quit eating saturated fats such as butter (see last bullet).  They tell her she is putting herself at risk for avoiding dairy and grains.  They then recommend eating low fat dairy, more than 3 servings a day of whole grains, and cut down on saturated fat!

These AVOID and RECOMMEND lists are to enhance the health of the individual and to decrease their risk of heart disease.  WHAT?!!  She probably has the best labs of anyone there!  Yet, due to standard government guidelines, she is told to stop doing what she is doing and switch to what every other sick American is doing.  This is ludicrous.  For experimentation sake, I’d love for her to switch to eating what they recommend and see what happens.  However, I know better than that.  I want my mom around for a long time to come.  It makes me wonder if the health advisor doing this thinks to herself “Hmm, how can the person doing the opposite of my recommendations have the best labwork?”  People need to be asking these questions.  It matters not only for your health, but for the future generations.  Food provides your body building blocks to do what it is supposed to.  If you are not providing it with the right building blocks, or putting toxic building blocks in, disease results.  It is no surprise to me that humans are starting to have trouble reproducing, going to the bathroom REGULARLY, sleeping, being happy, and expressing health.  We are providing the wrong building blocks due to inappropriate recommendations and therefore we are developing autoimmune diseases, cancers, heart problems, and poor quality of life! I will not go on my soapbox this post, but I do want you to start thinking about what this may mean for you.  I became a doctor to help people find health.  Along the way, I realized food was a huge part of the answer.  I use foods to restore health, and people get better!  They have babies, go poop, sleep, smile, and have good labs all WITHOUT medications!  My mom has always had good intuition, and I’m so grateful for that!

I’m officially having a funeral for the flip phone that has been by my side for the past 7 years!  Do you know how many friends have gotten puppies in that 7 years?!  Flipping through the photos is like going through an old photo album!

I’ve always boycotted technology.  Period.  I have never been on facebook (until recently to get you guys recipes and good info!).  I boycotted CD players.  I still had my pager when everyone else was talking away.  I never liked the idea of being hooked up to my email 24/7.  Whatever happened to the good ole days when you could be “off the grid?!”  People are so obsessed with what’s going on in cyber space and feeling like they might miss out on something that they forget to enjoy the moments happening right in front of them.

Well, you pretty much have to have a phone in case of emergency because pay phones don’t exist anymore and even if they did, I wouldn’t know anyone’s number!  So, when my beloved flip phone finally stopped charging because the charger had to be in just the right spot, I decided it was time.  It has no visible letters left on the buttons, the battery cover comes off constantly, the charging dock cover fell off years ago, the camera lens decided it couldn’t stay glued anymore, and now it’s quite the balancing act (upside down and propped up to be exact) in order for it to charge.  This sounds ridiculous but this phone has been with me for 7 years!  It has been with me longer than my youngest dog.  It was with me before I could put Dr. before my name.  It has been with me for the “birth” of at least 4 friends’ puppies.  I never took any baby pics, but when friend’s moved away, I definitely got real baby pictures on this phone when they came into the world, too.  I am not sure anyone can remember what I looked like WITHOUT this phone!  I will get tons of comments when my new phone makes its public entrance, but believe me when I say that you shouldn’t be surprised if this one lasts me another 7 years. ;)  In some ways, it’s like my old worn out sweater than you just never wanna give up.

Week 17 Bounty:

Well, they did it again. I have never eaten delicate squash that I know of! So, roasted delicate squash is on the menu. I may just find a new fave because from what I hear, people like them even better than butternut! Say what?!

This brings me to the concept that I try and convey to everyone making dietary shifts. It is all about exploration. There will be things you hate and never eat again. There will also be things you love and eat regularly for the rest of your life! For a long time, I would pick up something foreign from the grocery store every week and figure out what to do with it. Ugly fruit, jicama, beets, tomatillos, papaya, plantains, weird spices, etc. Doing it one at a time made finding recipes manageable. It doesn’t take long before you’ve stumbled upon some pretty awesome foods and flavors!
I believe the key to success here is finding food you enjoy that also serves your body well. If you can find 5 staples that are easy, quick, and tasty, you will have go-to’s for everyday and save complicated stuff or experimentation for times when it can be fun! Every night doesn’t have to be from a cookbook. I encourage you to choose your “5.” Mine happen to be Tacos, Stir Fry, Burgers, Egg skillets, and Steak with sautéed veggies. All of them come together in less than 20 minutes, I always have the ingredients on hand, and the base recipe allows for changing out ingredients easily.

Lots of people comment about the cost of eating whole food diets. I want to make a couple comments before giving you some tips and tricks of the trade. First, QUALITY is important, and you pay for what you get. You want a cow that was fattened up with gummy bears and put on steroids to hurry the process along? You will save a few bucks a lb for his meat. You want a cow that ate grass and went through all the natural processes to mature? You will pay a few bucks a lb extra for his meat. Is it worth it? Yes. You will likely pay the extra money at some point in healthcare costs….invest in prevention or invest in the consequence…that is the question.

Once people start thinking more about quality, they realize that stuff they are used to is just not going to cut it. This is when they start cooking more at home so they have control over quality and what goes into things. This saves a ton on the eating out and junk food bill. You will spend more on groceries, but cut way back on other food expenses.

The initial investment in any large change is going to be slightly inflated compared to the cost of maintaining. If you don’t have ANY pantry items to make tasty food, or any quality meat in the freezer, or any veggies from your garden, then guess what? You will likely need to make an investment to get the operation up and running. However, once you have stuff on hand, maintaining the lifestyle costs about $300/mo per person including eating out, coffee, and wine (I calculated this over the past 10 months). That budget is ALL organic, grassfed, with wine and dessert regularly. If you don’t bake at all, then you will likely pay less than that.

Ok now for tips….
1. Cheap protein: eggs, canned tuna (make sure there’s no crap on the label), meat in bulk, and organ meats
2. Garden: grow your own veggies all summer (at minimum herbs!). Freeze abundance. Join a CSA that costs a fraction of the grocery for all organic.
3. Beans: They are not technically paleo, but if prepared correctly (soaked and cooked for long periods), they can bridge the gap in the budget
4. Rice: Once again, not paleo. However, if you are someone that works out a lot or has a manual job, rice is gluten free and a cheap easy source of carbs. This is a really good option for active kids, too.
5. Frozen veggies on sale: They are frozen when ripe and you can often get coupons for frozen veggies or they will go on sale for $1 a bag!
6. Make a menu based on sales: If the grocer has fish on sale that week, that’s what’s for dinner! Same with any veggie selection.
7. Eat out when it’s worth it: Eating out costs a fortune, especially if you are trying to eat healthy. So host more dinner parties and eat an awesome grassfed steak…IN. Have an awesome restaurant in town? Make it a special occasion and foot a larger bill for those special occasions. It’s worth it if it’s good quality.
8. Buy wine by half a case: grocery stores give you 10% off if you buy 6 bottles at a time. This will cost you more the month you buy it, but it will last for future months.
9. Make your own coffee: you can save a TON of money by NOT going to Starbucks at 2.25 a shot for a black coffee. Make it home. If you have a Keurig, get a reusable K-cup and not only will you be polluting less, you will save at least 50 bucks a month if you drink coffee daily!
10. Make it YOURSELF! Figure out what you are spending the most on at the store and see if it’s worth your time to make it yourself. I have found that making my own ice cream, vanilla extract, almond butter, chicken stock, laundry detergent, and deodorant are the easiest, cheapest things I ever could have adopted!

With industrialization, a lot of things changed in society.  Some good and some bad.  I have my favorites….and there are some I’d like to toss back!

Favorite Modern Wonders:

1. Refrigeration

2. The internet

3. Airplanes

4. Cameras

5. GPS

Things I’d like to throw back:

1. Microwaves

2. Desks

3. Most pharmaceuticals

4. Treadmills

5. Food made in a factory

I don’t know why I even started thinking about this.  However, I was making some tomato sauce to freeze and was able to dump all the scraps down the garbage disposal and thought “what would i do without it?!”  That made me think about all the things that have changed life in the modern world…good and bad…