3 Easy Swaps to Improve Your Health

24 Tuesday Oct 2017

Posted by ByCandace in Food, General, Lifestyle

Tags

#braggsgingerandsesamesaladdressing, #carbohydrates, #easyfoodswaps, #kasandrinos, #oilsandbutter, #primalkitchen, #sirkensingtons, #sweeteners, #thrivemarket, #tinstarghee

I find that making healthier option swaps for foods prevents me from feeling deprived and helps me to feel nourished at the same time. Swaps are the easiest place to start when making moves towards healthier foods and nutritious lifestyle.

The first and easiest place to start making swaps are in the foods that you use and eat every day, like the oils and fats, sweeteners, and carbohydrates. Bonus is that these swaps will not costs you much more than you spend already.

In Order of Importance….3 Easy Swaps for Big Positive Health Improvements

#1 Oils & Fats – Just say no to man-made highly processed oils.

Remove:

Seed oils: Corn, Canola (or Rapeseed) Vegetable, Soybean, Grapeseed, Sunflower, Safflower, Rice bran
Crisco or other Shortening made from any of the above
Margarine or “butter-like” products
Traditional Mayo
Traditional Salad Dressings

Side Note: When you eat out at restaurants you will be exposed to mostly the oils on the “Remove” list that is not healthy for your body and creates inflammation in your body. But I still eat out fairly frequently, so I keep to the ones below when eating at home.

Healthy Swaps:

Real Butter (bonus points and nutrients for buying grass-fed, pastured – I use Kerry Gold)
Ghee (clarified butter, for those with dairy allergies) (I use Tin Star)
Lard (grass-fed, pastured pork fat) or Tallow (grass-fed, pastured beef fat)
Coconut Oil (organic, old-pressed, extra-virgin or virgin) (I use Dr. Bronner’s Organic Virgin Coconut Oil)
Avocado Oil – (I use Primal Kitchen)
Olive Oil (I use Kasandrinos)
Sesame Oil (I use this as a finishing oil to add flavor to a dish, not to cook in)
Organic Mayo made with healthy fats (I use Sir Kensington’s Organic Mayonnaise)
Organic Salad Dressings made with healthy fats (I use Primal Kitchen’s Green Goddess, Caesar Dressing, Greek Vinaigrette. They just came out with Balsamic Vinaigrette that I’m sure I’ll love too. And I’ve not tried their Ranch Dressing nor Honey Mustard Vinaigrette, because I personally don’t eat either with any regularity. I ALSO use Bragg Organic Vinaigrette (I use this one as a marinade for roasting and grilling vegetables), but my favorite of Bragg’s is their Ginger & Sesame Salad Dressing.

#2 Sweeteners

Remove:

Equal, Nutra-Sweet, Sweet’N Low, Truvia, Sun Crystals, Splenda
Agave (mostly Fructose), Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup

Healthy Swaps: Organic

Stevia (the one I use is bleached but is organic.)
Raw Honey
Maple Syrup
Molasses
Dates
Raw Sugar
Fresh Whole Fruit

#3 Starchy Carbohydrate Sources

Remove: Boxes and Bags

Traditional Potato Chips
Traditional Crackers
Breads and Tortillas

Healthy Swaps: Whole Food Carb Options

All the Organic Potatoes and Yams
All the Organic Rice (I use Lundberg Farms) (Side note: organic rice is important, because conventional rice is known for having arsenic in it and who knows what other pesticides.)
Squashes (Butternut, Winter, Spaghetti, Pumpkin)
Root Veggies: Parsnips, Carrots, Turnips, Beets
Plantains

Treat Bag Carbs:

I’ve swapped traditional chips for brands that cook in better oils. Such as: Kettle brand cooked in Avocado Oil (Chili Lime, Himalayan Salt, Hawaiian BBQ). Or Jackson’s Honest brand (Purple Heirloom, Sweet Potato, Sea Salt & Vinegar, Sea Salt, or Rippled Red Heirloom).
Inka Crops Plantain Chips (Chile Picante, Plain)

Diane Sanfilippo has FREE 1-page tear out guides from her fantastic book Practical Paleo that goes into more detail about these three swaps and many others.

I highly encourage you to Sign-up for Thrive Market.

Thrive Market allows you to shop for all the healthy food items you know and love at discount prices, because they cut out the middle man, and it gets delivered to your door so it also saves you time. Not only to you save money, but for every paid membership Thrive Gives a membership to a family in need.

The second best part, aside from saving money, is that all your favorite pantry items will be delivered to your door and you don’t have to go to stores which also saves you time and energy. And who can’t use more money, time, energy?!?!

Side Note: Many to all of these products can also be found at various grocery stores near you: HEB, Kroger, Whole Foods, Sprouts – but it may cost you more money, time, and energy…

Recipe: All-In-One-Meal – Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls

30 Thursday Mar 2017

Posted by ByCandace in Food

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#bonebroth, #cabbage, #grassfedgroundbeef, #kettle&fire, #maindish, #meyerlemons, #onepotmeal, #recipe, #rice, #tinstarghee

Tools:

Chopping Board
Knife
Large Deep Pan w/ Lid
Spatula and or Large Spoon

Ingredients:

1 – 2 Lemons to taste
½ – 1 Cup of Broth
1 Can Tomato Sauce
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
1 Head Green Cabbage or Savoy Cabbage
4 Cloves Garlic
½ Large Bell Pepper (color of choice)
1 Yellow Onion
1 lb Ground Elk or Bison
1 lb Ground Grass-fed Beef

Seasonings:

Directions:

Chop onion into small even sized pieces and saute in pan with butter or Ghee, season with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder over a medium-high-heat. While you onion is cooking, chop bell pepper into small even sized pieces and mince garlic cloves.

Once the onion is ½ way cooked, add the bell pepper with a little more salt and garlic powder. Once they are soft and have some color on them (de-glaze pan with broth or lemon juice) add the ground meat and season with salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes (if you desire). Add in any seasoning or herb to the meat you prefer, the more flavor the better.

While the meat is cooking, chop the cabbage into large long strips. (Cooking Tip: Because cabbage cooks down, if you cut the pieces too small they will dang near disappear in this dish.)

Once the meat is cooked through and is nice and brown, add in the minced garlic and cook for a few mins. Add the chopped cabbage, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, juice of two lemons (I used previously frozen lemon juice), and more of each seasoning. Place lid.

Reduce to medium-heat and cook for approximately 20 minutes; after this time the cabbage should be wilting and easier to mix/stir. Stir well and if more liquid is needed to continue the steaming of the cabbage add in bone broth or white wine and maybe a little more lemon juice and salt and place lid back on and continue to cook for 30 – 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

If you so choose, this dish is served well over rice. This is the time to make rice, with approximately 30 – 35 minutes of cook time left. I personally like to cook rice in bone broth and a couple of dashes of salt instead of water to add in nutrients and flavor.

Cooking Tip: As you may have noticed, I season each layer as it goes in the pan, this allows for the flavor to build as the dish progresses through the cooking process, if you do not the dish may turn out bland.

Done. Eat. Enjoy.

I highly encourage you to Sign-up for Thrive Market.

The annual fee is less than Sams Club or CostCo at $59.95 per year. Since March 2015 and today, I have saved $1,222.28 purchasing through Thrive Market. The second best part, aside from saving money, is that it all gets delivered to my door and I do not have to go to stores thus saving me time and energy as well.

Vegetarianism & Veganism

23 Friday Sep 2016

Posted by ByCandace in Lifestyle, Nutrition

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#bonebroth, #energybits, #nutreince, #tinstarghee, #veganism, #vegetarianism, #VitalProteins

I have recently found that acquaintances in my life are choosing to eat vegetarian or vegan. I really did not want to get into a conversation or debate with them about their choice. But, it got me asking myself why they are choosing this? One person did tell me it wasn’t because of moral views, so why then? Well, I decided to put some thoughts and information out there in hopes of expanding some horizons.

Definitions

According to Google, Vegetarianism is defined as “a person who does not eat meat, and sometimes other animal products, especially for moral, religious, or health reasons”.

Also, according to Google, a Vegan is defined as “a person who does not eat or use animal products”.

Can You Be Healthy Long-Term?

Being a vegetarian or vegan and being healthy long-terms is not impossible, but it will likely be tough. I heard on a podcast not that long ago that was discussing vegetarianism and veganism and they were saying that it takes about 7 years for the long-term effects of missing nutrients and poor nutrient absorption to have a negative effect on their health.

Many folks who choose a vegetarian or veganism way of eating typically rely too heavily on grains, legumes, GMO foods, and highly-processed food-like products as the bulk of their diets. If you tolerate grains and legumes, it is ok to use them sparingly, however they are low in bio-available nutrients, they contain lectins and phytates, and can also contribute to intestinal permeability. It is helpful if you properly prepare them, soaking them overnight and allowing them to sprout before cooking them. If you already have any intestinal permeability or inflammation they can wreak havoc. Generally speaking, these items also are not very nutrient dense, especially compared to other vegetable options. It is important to watch blood sugar issues with eating lots of grains and grain products.

Fruit is very yummy and do contain usable nutrients, but can cause increased issues with those with blood sugar problems and those who are fructose intolerant (avoid Agave). Eating some fruit is ok, but eating massive amounts of fruit all day isn’t a good idea.

A lot of folks also rely on soy products, which I say is a bad idea due to the estrogenic activity of soy. This is super important for men. Just say no to soy. Most soy is also GMO soy. If you choose to eat soy, I suggest you only eat traditionally fermented soy.

If the goal of either of these lifestyles is to be healthy, the main food items that need to be consumed is organic non-GMO vegetables, some fruit, and the use of supplements. Many vitamin and mineral deficiencies can occur over time from not eating animals and or animal products; for example: B12, iron, zinc, calcium, fat-soluble vitamins D and A, and other long-chain fatty acids like DHA and EPA.

Personal Opinion

I believe that having a plant-based diet is important. We should be eating a minimum of 2 – 3 cups of veggies with each meal. Eating a variety of foods is very important. Get them all and eat them all.

I also believe that the human body needs the bio-available nutrients that come from animal products (meats, organs, seafood, bi-products ie. Eggs, Bone Broth, Collagen Protein, Honey, Butter or Ghee.

I do not think that you have to eat meat or animal products with every meal to gain the nutrients your body needs. If you focus on the most nutrient dense the less you have to eat of them, like cold-water fatty fish, liver, pastured egg yolks, pastured bison or beef.

I believe that there are good and ideal ways for people to eat animals and animal products that do not involve large-scale factory farming practices ie. feed-lots and other confined animal feeding operations, closed-in chicken farms, or GMO plants etc. Vote with your dollar!

In my post Quality Food Sources, I provide my thoughts on sourcing our foods from responsible places. Regardless if you eat meat or not, you should be sourcing your produce from locally grown sources, the closer to you they are grown the less nutrients are lost and the less gasoline is needed to transport it. You can source responsibly raised and butchered meats, bones, and organs. With a little online research you can find local farmers and ranchers that are doing things in an ethically responsible way. If you have local farmers markets that is also a good place to start, they are usually there. Ask questions.

Small Rant:

It is naive to think that because you are vegan or vegetarian that your food doesn’t cause animal death. It does. The farming practices kill hundreds and thousands of animals and animal habitats. Why is it ok to kill a field mouse, mole, rabbit, snake, insect or bird and not a cow, pig, or deer? Anyway, that is not really a question….

The Bible says in Genesis 9:3 “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.” There is A LOT more details in in Deuteronomy 14:1-29 and in Leviticus 11:1-47. The Maker’s Diet has a bunch of details in it too.

Recommended Supplements:

Purepea by: Designs for Health

Calton Nutrition – Nutreince

EnergyBits

Various Resources:

The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability

The Vegetarian Myth (review by Mark Sisson)

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

17 Primal Tips for Vegans and Vegetarians

Sustainable Living

Joel Salatin

Sustainable Farming