Bone Broth Magic Jello

 

 

This is the magical moment after letting bone broth cool.

 

Katie’s Kitchen’s Almost Pesto Chicken

Looking for a new spin on my baked chicken, I took inspiration from the food channel and made an almost pesto crusted chicken.

To make:

Combine in blender 2 large kale leaves, 3 cloves of garlic, a generous squeeze of lime, and just enough water to help the blender break it down (~1/4 cup).

Salt and pepper the chicken before topping with the almost pesto.

Bake at your preferred temperature and time for chicken.

It does taste better than the afterthought of a photo makes it look.  Enjoy!

 

Experimenting With Food Sensitivity

I decided to experiment on myself.  I did not randomize, have a control group, and it was not a blind study.  The results were still conclusive.

I have discussed my hypothesis on personal food sensitivities in the past.  Hypothesis in hand, I embarked on a testing method termed avoidance and provocative.

Diet Highlights

As the six month anniversary review continues, today the diet and food post highlights will be featured.

1. Food Sensitivity
2. Diet Wars
3. For the Love of Coffee
4. Eating Socially
5. Probiotics
6. Things to Add to Juice
7. Sugar Highs
8. The Start of the Fast

Fasting 10 Days

I started the fast on a bit of a whim.  It ended most purposefully with an apple and a big spoon of peanut butter.  It was not as good as I had been imagining all week, but I looked down at my stomach and asked it, “Are you happy now?”  It gurgled, thank you, back at me.

Lessons and observations from my adventure:

1. Just because I want to eat, does not mean I have to.  I give into cravings so often with the excuse that I should go ahead, otherwise I will never be able to stop thinking about it.  Another favorite excuse:  my body must need something, so go ahead and eat that chocolate milkshake and fries. 8)
2. Media has way too many pictures of food.  There are the obvious commercials for the -gotta have it now- fast food and sugary treats.  Pinterest can be evil.  My DVR has a list of cooking competition shows waiting for me.  I had never noticed how much regular TV shows flash food across the screen.  I envied Homer Simpson’s plate.  Really, craving cartoon food!

Accidental Fast

Have you ever gotten up in the morning and thought, “today would be a great day to start a juice fast?”  Me either, until Wednesday.  I have been feeling bloated and just blah.  With vacation eating and lunch meetings, I had strayed from my low gluten and lactose diet for the past few weeks.

My Favorite Grocery Stop

I am so lucky to have a great shop near me with organic produce and so much more.  I have alluded to it in the past but, as requested, here is the rest of the story (Paul Harvey’s voice here).

Sustain Natural Market has been open for a couple of years. There was a coffee shop there previously and they tried to use as much of the material as possible in building out their space.  Sustain is not just a name, it is their way.  One of the most impressive features of this store is that the products and their sources are researched.  If you are ever there, feel free to ask about a product and they will tell you with pride where it comes from.

I started shopping here shortly after I started juicing.  It is a relatively small shop, compared to the mega stores, and it shows in all the good ways.  There is always at least one person nearby to offer help and answer questions.  I must talk to at least three people each time I visit.  I do experiment and try other products but I go because of the produce.  This photo was from back in April and, I believe, everything in the picture was from this store.  When I venture

Probiotics, Beyond Yogurt

Last year I knew someone who contracted salmonella poisoning.  Part of the treatment included taking Cipro.  After a week in the hospital and finishing her antibiotic prescription, she developed a C. diff infection to go along with the Salmonella that was still there.  After another 2 rounds of taking multiple medications (including a new C. Diff medicine, Dificid) and then starting probiotics, she has been doing well.  Another lady I know has a stubborn H. pylori infection.  She has been taking multiple medications for a long time but still has some horrible symptoms.  She started taking probiotics and, although she still has some symptoms, she is doing significantly better.  This got me to start taking probiotics. I started taking it everyday for several weeks and now take it 1-3 times a week.  That is what works for me.  I know people who take it everyday.  I favor the brand pictured, but I think important points are that it contain several different types of bacteria and that it is stored in a refrigerator.  They are alive!  Refrigeration helps to keep it that way.

In an effort not to reinvent the wheel, here is a link that has a lot of good information about probiotics:   http://www.medicinenet.com/probiotics/article.htm

A little Less Guilt in Your Coffee

There are plenty of reasons people say that you should not drink coffee at all.  It is addictive.  It can increase anxiety and stress hormones.  It creates an artificial high that leads into a crash.  It stains our teeth.  It can negatively affect blood sugar levels.

Knowing all of that, I still love my joe.  It does have antioxidants.  It can increase alertness and metabolism, perhaps only short term, but it works.  It can help headaches and dilates airways.  Maybe that is why it is found in medications.  There are studies that found that it may help to prevent some illnesses, such as cancer and type II diabetes.  As I described in a previous post, I am usually tired.  Even with coffee, I sometimes have to use tools that I learned playing sports to jazz myself up to be productive.  Instead doing sprints at the end of practice, I am finishing up paperwork.

Social Eating

With Easter and Passover coming up, a lot of us are trying to figure out how to enjoy large family meals and stay close to our diets.  My immediate family has become used to my odd habits.  Many times I get asked if I can eat something as opposed to “here take this, it’s great”.  When it is a larger gathering, there are usually several healthy options and it is up to me to keep the deserts and other things off of the plate.  Everyone is there to enjoy the time together and catch up on everyone’s lives.  Eating is secondary.  Every family has its traditions and by all means you should take part.  A few bites of Grandma’s famous _____, is OK.  Do not feel guilty the rest of the day.  The four glasses of wine at a Passover Seder meal…well enjoy.  The important things are to celebrate the occasion and the family and friends that are gathered.  That being said, here are some of my tricks.  Please share your own.

• Take a dish of something that is on your diet with you.  Not only can you enjoy it but there are likely other people there that will appreciate having a healthy option.
• Workout before you go.  Today is actually National Walking Day.  Do not depend on working out after the meal.  You will be tired and it may be late.  That is a dangerous combination that kills many plans to work out.
• Drink a couple glasses of water before you go or when you get there.  I have heard that you should eat before going.  However, I always feel like I am eating an extra meal.  Like grocery shopping, it is not smart to show up starving.