You are Not Eating for 1;You are Eating for 1.5 trillion!

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As most of you are aware, I was in Austin this past weekend to listen to doctors, researchers, and holistic practitioners shed light on their areas of expertise.  This year’s conference focused on the microbiome.  What is the microbiome?  Well, in short, it is all the organisms that live within us and result in our health, or lack there of.  I often say that we are nothing more than walking houses for the bacteria that have taken up residence.  I’ve been saying this since I learned that we have 10 times the amount of bacteria in our body then we do cells!  That means that we are not eating for 1 (or 2 for you preggers out there), we are eating for about 1.5 trillion!  That’s right.  Every time you put something in your mouth or environment, you are either helping beneficial bacteria to survive and thrive or you are opening the door for opportunistic bacteria to wreak havoc.   Based on the abundance of their existence, 99% of the DNA material being expressed is not even yours.  Take a moment and let that sink in.  You are nothing more than a hotel.  How clean your hallways are, how good your vibes are, how efficiently your operation runs is all dependent on your staff: the bacteria.

In cell physiology, I teach students about organelles.  Organelles are all the things living within the cell membrane that help accomplish cellular tasks.  Organelles are things like lysosomes, rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum, vesicles, and mitochondria.  If I just lost you, hang on for a sec.  Mitochondria are considered the powerhouse of the cell because of their ability to produce ATP, aka the cell’s energy.  What a great member of a cell’s staff, right?!  Well, you may be shocked to know that thanks to a woman scientist by the name of Lynn Margulis, we now know that mitochondria actually used to exist as its own free-floating bacteria.  Yup.  They existed on their own and decided to take up shop inside of us instead! ( Side note: the longer I study science, the more women pop up as huge contributors to our understanding of things.  I hope my teachings inspire more young women to ask questions, seek answers, and make more major contributions to the world.  It will be my most important legacy.)

If we know that bacteria existed on Earth prior to humans, and we serve as their home, and our health is a reflection of their health, what we can do to make sure they are healthy?  Asking this question will only allow us to open doors that will create a better quality of life and a better health status for us as humans.  Metaphorically speaking, making sure our bacteria are happy will majorly improve our hotel vibes.  Just sayin’.  There is NOT a single disease or disorder that doesn’t have some impact from bacterial function.  We all think of digestive disorders when we think about gut bacteria, but we should also start recognizing things like autism, diabetes, anxiety, MS, diabetes, obesity, and depression are also directly related.  Stool tests can be a great tool to see what bacteria you’ve got going on and how they are doing.  1g of poop contains 100 million terabytes of information, and if you know computers, you know that’s a crazy amount of information for such a small quantity of poop.  You clean up baby diapers with more than 10x’s that amount of poop; let’s be honest!

The take home message here is that you are only as healthy as the bacteria living within you.  You create an environment for that bacteria based on your diet, exposure to toxins, medications taken, and lifestyle choices.  This environment that YOU created is either helping you or hindering you.  Working with a doctor that recognizes this significance may be the key to unlocking underlying issues that may be keeping you unhealthy.  If you have frequent infections, take antibiotics or heartburn medications, or suffer from an autoimmune disease, diabetes, or psychological issues, I encourage you to read, become informed, and makes changes to create a healthy internal environment.

Christmas Cookies: My Paleo Favorites

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The holidays always pose obstacles in the nutrition arena (even if you are a health practitioner who believes in healthy practices 110%!).  So, I often tell people to keep it low stress because unless everywhere you are going to be is going to have choices congruent with your ideals, you are going to face options/decisions/challenges.  Make the best decisions possible and only indulge in the unique things that come about once a year.  In other words, make it count.  Don’t indulge on anything that came from a box; it’s probably not real food anyway.  ;)

However, I find that making goodies that you can have on hand or bring to gathering with you is an awesome way to ensure you are not the ONLY person not eating dessert.  Last year, I baked Christmas cookies with my mom, and I want to share some of my favorites that I would definitely repeat.  This year I think I am doing a paleo cookies exchange with the girls from the gym, so I will be able to try out other people’s favorites, too!

Truffles: (from Mark Sisson’s Primal Blueprint Cookbook)

Ingredients:

  • 1 can full fat coconut milk
  • 2 tbsp unrefined coconut oil
  • 1 bar (500 grams) of chocolate (70-75% dark) broken into small pieces
  • Optional: cocoa powder, nuts, coconut, flavored extracts

Directions:

Place coconut milk and coconut oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until coconut oil is melted and mixture comes to a boil. Do not let it go to a rolling boil.  Remove from heat.

Off heat, add chocolate pieces to the milk mixture and stir until it is completely melted.  Continue stirring until the chocolate thickens and cools a bit.  (If you choose to add flavored liquor, now is the time!  Add 2 tbsp of liqueor or 1/4 tsp extract).  Transfer to a shallow dish for faster cooling, then to the refrigerator. Let mixture thicken at least 2 hours, stirring 3 to 4 times as it cools and thickens. Place whatever outer mixture you would like in a shallow dish. (I have used cocoa powder, chopped nuts, shredded coconut, etc)  Remove the chocolate from the fridge when it is in a clay consistency.  Form into balls and roll in the covering!  Put in the fridge and consume within a week or freeze up to a month!

Chocolate chip cookies: (from Detoxinista)

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups almond meal, or almond flour
  • ¼ cup coconut oil, softened (or grassfed butter)
  • 3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ½ cup enjoy life chocolate chunks

 Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond meal, salt, and baking soda, then add the coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract and mix well.

Fold in the chocolate chips, then drop batter by rounded tablespoons onto a baking sheet lined with a Silpat, or parchment paper.

Bake at 350F for 8-9 minutes, until the edges are golden brown.

Allow to cool on the pan for 10 minutes, then serve warm or allow to cool to room temperature.

Ginger Molasses Cookies: (from my lovely brain)

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour
  • 1/2 cup grassfed butter (or coconut oil)
  • 1/4-1/2 cup organic unsulfered molasses (depends on how much you like molasses)
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp real salt
  • 1/2 tsp cloves
  • 1/4 tsp cardamon
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • chopped crystallized ginger for topping (the only ingredients should be sugar and ginger)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, and dry spices together in a large bowl.

Place the molasses in a sauce pan on the stove top and heat until it begins to form bubbles.  Take off the heat and add in the butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and ginger. Stir until completely combined.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

Place the bowl of dough into the fridge while you place parchment paper on your baking sheets and chop up your crystallized ginger.

When ready, use a tablespoon to portion out the dough, roll it between your palms, press it onto the cooking sheet.  Sprinkle the chopped ginger onto the top of each.

Bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies start to set!

Lemon Shortbread Cut-Outs: (from Nikki Young)

Ingredients:

  • ⅔ cup almond meal
  •  ⅓ cup arrowroot flour
  •  1 tbs finely grated lemon rind
  •  2 tsp lemon juice
  •  1 tbs honey
  •  ⅔ cup macadamia butter or cashew butter (would prob be great with coconut butter too!)

Preheat a fan-forced oven to 160° Celsius/325° Fahrenheit.
Place the almond meal, arrowroot flour, grated lemon rind, lemon  juice, honey and macadamia butter in a bowl and combine well.
Roll out the shortbread dough onto a sheet of baking paper, place  another sheet of baking paper on the top of the dough to prevent
sticking. Roll the dough until 5mm thick. Use a cookie-cutter to cut  shapes from the dough, re-roll when necessary.
Place the cut shortbread on a baking tray lined with baking paper  and bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until they are slightly
golden.
Cool the shortbread in a refrigerator before serving.
Lemon Shortbread Makes 14-16
Replace the grated lemon rind with orange or lime rind to vary up this delicious shortbread.

Chocolate Coffee Caramel Bars (from PaleOMG)

Ingredients:

Crust:

  • 12 dried figs (or dates, if you prefer), stems removed
  • ½ cup almond butter
  • ¼ cup Unsweetended Shredded Coconut
  • 2 tablespoons Raw Honey
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • pinch of salt

Caramel:

  • 12-14 medjool dates, pitted and soaked in water for an hour
  • 5-6 tablespoons canned coconut milk
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt

Topping:

  • 1 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips or dark chocolate, melted
  • ¼ cup canned coconut milk
  • 2 teaspoons ground coffee
  • coarse sea salt, to top

 Instructions:

First make your crust. Add all of your crust ingredients into a food processor and mix until well combined. Add the crust mixture to a bread pan and push down until the mixture is flat. Like a crust.

Now add your dates and pulse until dates have broken down (less than a minute) then add your coconut milk tablespoon by tablespoon to the dates while the food processor is still running. Then add your water as well.

And add your vanilla extract and pinch of salt.

Process until you get a caramel.  May take 3-5 minutes, tops.

Pour caramel over your crust and spread evenly.

Now you will want to melt your chocolate. You could do this in a double boiler or just the microwave.

Melt chocolate and coconut milk together in the microwave. Heating for 30 seconds then mixing well and reheating when necessary.

Once your chocolate is completely melted, add your ground coffee and mix well.

Pour melted chocolate over your caramel and spread evenly.

Add coarse sea salt on top of the chocolate.

Put in freezer to let chocolate harden. Around 10+ minutes.

Eat!

These should keep you busy for a while. ;)  I’m not going to lie though, my favorite Christmas cookie when I was a kid was this peanut butter chocolate rollup thing.  I think this Christmas I may try and make it Paleo…bring back the goodness. ;)

Paleo Butternut Squash Soup

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The weather is changing around here which means so is the produce from the CSA!  Luckily, I am starting to get a little less in my box every week.  I have been working like crazy to make/freeze/preserve all the veggies this summer.  I have been doing a good job, but even I get a little tired of having to worry about how on earth I am going to consume it all!  One thing I love to make in the fall and freeze is butternut squash soup.  I have tried many varieties, but I think this recipe I the best one I’ve ever tried and it is the most simple!

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, chopped into cubes
  • 2 apples, chopped into cubes (choose gala, Fuji, jonathan, etc.)
  • 2 onions (you could use your leek from the CSA as 1 of the onions)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 Tbsp butter (I like butter but you could use any cooking fat)
  • 4 cups chicken stock (homemade is best!)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat butter in a dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onions and a pinch of salt and pepper and sauté until translucent.  Add the garlic and sauté for another minute or so.  Add the apple and butternut squash cubes and pour the chicken stock over the veggies.  Allow to simmer until the butternut squash and apples are fork tender.  Use an immersion blender to blend it all together until creamy (you could also move batches to the blender).  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  If you consume dairy, some plain Greek yogurt dolloped on top makes this a hearty, satiating, complete meal.

Radishes w/Peas and Dill and Turnip and Potato Hash

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I am obsessed with the Cooking Channel in case you hadn’t realized that yet.  I love watching the traditional cooking shows because so many recipes from traditional cultures follow the same dietary guidelines that I employ in my life!  They know how to spice things up, enjoy fresh ingredients, and pair foods well for digestion.  Of course most people aren’t thinking about that when they are watching these shows, but I notice these things!  One show I’m hooked on right now is “French Food At Home.”  One day, after picking up the CSA veggies, she was cooking radishes with peas and dill.  I had just picked up radishes and dill!  Perfect for trying out a new recipe and using up all my goodies.  This recipe is a variation on her original.

Radishes and Peas w/Dill

  • 2 tablespoons grassfed butter
  • 2 bunches radishes, quartered or sliced
  • 2 cups frozen peas
  • 1/4 cup chicken stock
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 green onions, thinly sliced
  • Generous handful chopped fresh dill

Instructions:

Melt the butter in a saute pan and gently cook the radishes until half cooked. Add the peas with the chicken stock. Continue cooking until the peas and radishes are tender. Season, and scatter over the green onions and dill.

After making the daikon fritters last week, my senses have been craving some good ole hash.  It’s perfect for breakfast, and I will most definitely be eating mine accompanied with bacon and eggs!

Turnip and Potato Hash

  • 3 turnips, peeled and shredded
  • 3 purple potatoes, shredded
  • 1 garlic clove, diced
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • salt and pepper
  • oil for frying (I used the bacon grease from making my bacon to go with it!)

Instructions:

Heat skillet over medium high heat with the oil in the pan.  Add all the ingredients into the skillet and fry up until it meets your standards for hash crispy-ness.

As for all that zucchini, get ready.  There will be more to come.  Check out my zucchini bread in the recipe section!  Mine from last year ALMOST made it through to this season.  Make sure you make and freeze it while you can!

Dr. Angela’s Guide to Your 2015 Plans

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skinny-girls-think-theyre-normal

Lots of people make New Year’s resolutions that last…oh…I’d say about…2 weeks!  What’s the problem?  The problem is often that they are making resolutions that are not congruent with their wants, beliefs, priorities!  They are making resolutions based on what they believe they need to be doing to be better for EVERYONE ELSE.  If you hate exercise, and resolve to exercise more, you do it for a week.  Then, you hit snooze and remind yourself how much more you like sleep.  Therefore, I’m here to tell you, if you make resolutions, make those that actually get you excited!  DO NOT make it be things you will be resistant to.  Please.  For the sake of the rest of our insanity.

If you like cookies, don’t resolve to not eat anymore cookies.  Decide to experiment this year with cookies that nourish your body.  See it as a quest to find cookies that do 2 things, nourish your body AND make you happy because they taste so good!  The real reason you would resolve to give them up is because you believe they are bad for you….so what if they could be GOOD for you?!

If you hate exercise, please don’t tell yourself you will go to the gym every day in 2015.  Humans only have so much willpower.  Instead, tell yourself you would like to play more of your favorite sport (what golfer wouldn’t love that?!), or put small exercise into routine.  Park at the back of the parking lot so it forces you to walk up to the store.  Do something with a friend.  Do you ever notice how much more fun things are when you are doing them with people that make you laugh?!

If you hate cleaning, maybe instead of promising to stay organized and perfectly clean, make room in your budget for a cleaning lady.  You will get the same happy result without all the feet stomping resistance.  You will still be deciding to sacrifice something in order to pay for it, but I know I would rather give up buying more clothes to come home to a clean, organized space!  I know that used to be my mom’s favorite day to come home from work.  It melts off your to-do list and makes time for you to experience and enjoy life…especially if you have kids.

Basically, I’m telling you to think about what you really WANT in the end.  The way you get there is not by doing all the things you hate to do.  The way to get there is by figuring out how to get that result via the path of least resistance.  Those will be the lasting changes.  The next step is to think about what you WANT and ask why you want that.  Is it because you want to do all the things it takes to get there?  Or is it because you think it’s what everyone else wants you to do?  Don’t set yourself up to feel guilty everyday because you’re too fat, and then you’re a loser because you couldn’t stay on your diet for longer than 2 weeks.  That’s a vicious cycle.  If you want to look different, then you also better want all changes that come with it.  If you don’t TRULY want to make changes, then maybe the resolution should be to love yourself the way you are.

Think about it.

2015 Book Club: Why you should consider joining…

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fed up3

The 2014 book club left me new recipes, new ideas, new friends, and the same old love for teaching.  I wanted to take a moment to share the things I will continue to use from book club….

  • I learned that I love grassfed butter with lemon on my sweet potatoes.  This is addicting!  Try it!
  • I learned that I like grape leaves.
  • I learned that many of the most simple dishes are the most delish.
  • I learned that no matter how many foods I’ve eaten in my life, there will always be new stuff to try.

I also wanted to share my favorite quote/concept from the last meeting:

 

Shirley: “Dr. A, you are lucky for learning all of this info so young!”

Dr. A: “It’s so true! I am!”

Laura: “I didn’t know it when I was young, but I see it as a gift to my kids that I know it now.”

 

I went home after the meeting and thought about this a lot.  It’s so true.  It’s never too late for someone to make lifestyle changes for the better.  Heck, I’ve worked with elderly people to get them off their meds successfully!  However, there is no better reason to learn and make changes than to be that example for the future generations.  No one pays attention to what you do more than your children.  They will follow your lead.  Are you leading them down the path that you would love for them to take?

This is the single reason that someone should think about joining the 2015 book club.  Not only will you learn important concepts that will change your world, you can do it in a fun, approachable way.

Knowledge is power.

CSA Week 16:

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rise up farms
Can you believe I am already 16 weeks into my CSA season?!  Tomato sauce has been my big preserving crop this year, but I am not going to lie, I appreciate the break from having so much I don’t know what to do with it.  I am still trying to finish up stuff in the freezer from last year!

The weather is getting cooler and therefore fall crops should be doing well. Think broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, and cauliflower.  What you don’t think about is warm weather stuff like cucumbers.  However, the CSA is trying something new and growing some warm weather plants in straw bails in the greenhouse so they will produce even in cooler temps.  I’m sort of excited to be able to contribute to their experiments!

I have 5 more weeks of veggie pick up. I DO NOT buy any produce at the grocery store all summer with the exception of a few fruits from time to time. However, between the Blueberry ranch, Earth First Farms apples, and my own fruit from my yard, I don’t do much of that either! They start collecting money for the following year’s CSA around Feb/March. So, take a look at your budget this summer and see if there’s a chance you’d save money eating produce from a CSA that is all organic. It works itself out to be $14/week for a 1/2 share (that’s what I do). It really is a great way to support local farmers doin’ it right, save some money, try new stuff, and eat all organic, local, and vine-ripened!

CSA Week 16 bounty:

  • 1 sack of potatoes
  • 6 tomatoes
  • 1 bunch kale
  • 3 bell peppers
  • 2 hot peppers
  • 1 bag salad mix
  • 1 bag green beans

Christmas! Start Thinking Ahead!

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health with a bow
If you are one of those people that likes to give a thoughtful gift at Christmas time, now is the time to start thinking about it!  A couple of reason you should think ahead, one is that you gift will actually be thoughtful instead of last minute whatever-was-in-the-store, two is that some homemade gifts take time, three is that if you decide to buy something, you can price shop!

Homemade gifts for your Tree Hugging Friends or Foodies:

homemade vanilla extract (this takes little effort, but it does take time, so plan a few months in advance)

homemade laundry detergent (this takes little effort and little time!  just do it…maybe for your new moms who don’t want toxic chemicals on their baby clothes)

homemade candy (do this a month in advance and put truffles in the freezer so you aren’t trying to do this around all the schedule commotion)

If you knit, a cute infinity scarf is always a must have! I wish I knew how! Maybe I can have someone teach me…

If you want to buy:

The Olive Branch has awesome flavors of Balsamics and Olive Oils

The Salt Sisters have amazing salt blends and seasonings

A massage! 574-522-2255. These are always a health-oriented crowd pleaser!

There are dozens of cookbooks you can easily find on amazon.  Some of my favorites that would suit anyone would be Primal Cravings, Make It Paleo, and Nom Nom Paleo.

A book is always good, too!  Maybe a book from my 2014 Book Club list (It Starts With Food, Make Shift Happen, Practical Paleo, or Omnivore’s Dilemma), or one from the 2015 list. ;)  Or heck, maybe the book club membership in order to have fun with your friend for months to come! (We will be revealing details later on this don’t you worry)

A cooking class gift certificate. Nothing better than cooking together and bringing us closer to our food.

CSA Week 12: A Story About Cinnamon Rolls

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cinnamon rolls

CSA Week 12 Bounty:

  • 2 cucumbers
  • 1 bunch kale
  • 4 tomatoes
  • 1 bunch basil
  • 4 beets w/tops
  • 1 bag onions
  • 2 sweet peppers

Between my old blog and this one, I think I’ve posted plenty of recipes for these veggies. So, lets get to the real question: What about those cinnamon rolls?! I made them…again…with the changes that I thought were needed. I will say that I liked the flavor better. Nailed it in the that category for me. The original recipe just wasn’t sweet enough for me when I think cinnamon roll. However, I still didn’t care for the texture. If you are going to go out of your way to make something slightly complicated, then it better be worth it! I’m not posting a recipe because I don’t think it’s worth it…and you know I only post easy, awesome, repeatable food! However, once I nailed the flavor, I have to say that it tasted SO MUCH like the coffee cake I was making last year for nutrition class! So here’s my input…make the coffee cake. Easy. Tasty. Make it into cupcakes if you want individual servings. ;)

Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 C Coconut Milk
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1/4 C maple syrup
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 2 C Almond Flour
  • 1/2 C Arrowroot Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • Swirl: 2 tbsp Cinnamon
  • 1/4 C butter
  • 1/4-1/2C Chopped Pecans

Preheat oven to 325F. Stir dry ingredients together. In a different bowl mix the wet ingredients. Combine the dry and wet. Pour into a greased 8×8 dish. Combine the swirl topping ingredients and dollop onto the cake. Use the tip of a knife to make pretty swirls. Top with pecans if you want it to be cinnamon roll-esque. Bake for 25-30 minutes!

My First EVER Weight Loss Class!

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diet
Alright, big news. I have been doing nutrition courses for a very long time now. However, I have never done a weight loss class. Those of you that have heard my talks before know the reason. There is so much more to healthy eating than weight loss. I have always focused on eating food that will keep you healthy and free from cancer, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, etc, but some of you STILL want a weight loss class. So, I’m doing it.

I will be hosting a month of class that will meet every Monday thru September, and we will be learning all about what to eat for weight loss. It will be easy, mapped out, and fun! We will not be counting calories, but we will be losing weight! This class focus will be the reverse of what I usually present. I usually present eating for disease correction with weight loss as a side effect. This go round will be all about weight loss with better blood work and symptom relief as a side effect!

Here are the logistics:

2014 Body Transformation
September 8, 6-7pm Meal Plans
September 15, 6-7pm The Skinny on Fats
September 22, 6-7pm The Carb Confusion
September 29, 6-7pm Making the Connection
October 6, 6-7pm Weight Out Party and Carry in
Cost: $125 (includes body composition tracking, meal plans, 4 health modules, a book, support, and fun!)
Sign up deadline: August 29th

I only have room for about 15 people in the office at one time…so…that’s the cap!
Call 574-522-2255 to get signed up!