Living Holistically

I saw a recipe for a raw chia pudding.  So I decided to try it this morning.  It is delicious!  This is what I used:

1/3 C Coconut Milk (with some of the cream mixed in) - You can also use almond milk, rice milk, raw milk, hemp milk or anything you want.
1/2-3/4 Tbs Chia Seeds
1/4 tsp Pure Vanilla
Agave to taste - you can also use Stevia, Honey, Maple Syrup

Play around with it.  Next time I will try some cinnamon or some fresh fruit.  The possibility is endless.

For those of you who want to know how to make some coconut milk, here is a great recipe.  I have a BlendTec blender and it works great.  I got my cheese cloth at Bed Bath & Beyond as well as a wonderful metal strainer.

Enjoy!

It's the Halloween weekend and I made a green smoothie for breakfast.  I have named it the Green Eyed Monster because you will be so envious.

1 Cup Kale
1 Ring of Pineapple
1/2 Banana
1 TBS Hemp Seeds  (yum - this is my first time trying them and they are awesome!)
1/2 TBS Chai Seeds
20 oz Water + a few ice cubes if you like it cold

Blend until smooth and creamy.  Drink up!

Check out the powerhouse of nutrients in this smoothie.  A great way to start your day.

KALE
PINEAPPLE
BANANAS
HEMP SEED
CHAI SEED


Power Up!

As I experience a high level of stress to finish my Doctorate of Naturopathy degree I have to remind myself to watch my diet to feed my body a lot of nutrients. When under stress your body can burn through more nutrients than you normally would. As I approach the finish line, the last thing I want to do is crash and burn as my diploma arrives. Today was a warning. I struggle from shingles and I felt them flaring up once again. So off to my chiropractor / ND doctor I went this morning for an adjustment. He reminded me that it was important to keep my veggie level high during this time.



So what's for lunch at my house today?

I took some veggies from my refrigerator and chopped them up.  I used zuchinni, red onion, carrots and fresh garlic.  I put 1 Tbs organic olive oil in a small cast iron frying pan and sautee'd them just to the point of slightly crunchy.  Too much cooking removes nutrients and kills off the good enzymes.



 I placed 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa in a pan of water and set it to simmer. 

I was grocery shopping yesterday and passing quickly down the baking aisle and noticed a new product on the shelf.  I was looking at all the new stevia products and then something caught my eye "NEVELLA with Probiotics".  HUH?  How can a sugar product have probiotics.  So I flipped it over and looked at the ingredients. 

Dextrose with Maltodextrin, Sucralose,Bacillus Coagulans GBI-30 6086

So lets start at the beginning:

Dextrose (Glucose):   is a high glycemic index, fast absorbing type of simple carbohydrate. Dextrose is used by bodybuilders and athletes to induce an insulin spike and replace glycogen in muscle cells which is lost during training.  This is not something good for the average person to be consuming since it sets you up for insulin resistance by constantly flooding the body with glucose.

Maltodextrin:  It is a polysaccharide that is used as a food additive.  Maltodextrin is easily digestible, being absorbed as rapidly as glucose, and might be either moderately sweet or almost flavorless.  It contains less calories than sugar.  This is a processed additive -both of which are a bad idea.

Sucralose:  A zero calorie artificial sweetener.  It is approximately 600 times sweeter than table sugar.  Sucralose belongs to a class of compounds known as organochlorides (or chlorocarbons).  They store in the fatty tissues of the body.  Anything with a chloride content will be an endocrine disruptor and will cause issues with hormone imbalances.

GanedenBC30: is the trademarked name for the patented strain of probiotic bacteria, Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086 manufactured by Ganeden Biotech. GanedenBC30 is not a drug. It is a natural supplement developed to help support digestive and immune health.

The fact that a probiotic has been added may look like a good thing but the question is, why would you add it in the first place to something so toxic as an artificial sugar?  You can't balance out a totally toxic substance with a product like this.  Not being able to find too much about this probiotic I am wondering how good it is.  The best probiotics can be found naturally in foods.  Try eating some of the following rather than a toxic no calorie sweetener.

Yogurt -low / no sugar and sweeten with honey or pure maple syrup and fresh fruit
Kefier - low / no sugar and add natural sweetners or use in smoothies
Sauerkraut - great probiotics
Any fermented food
Kombucha - I love making this drink.  It uses a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria & yeast) to create a fermented drink that is slightly fizzy and can be sweetened with fruit. 

Priobiotics are great for you and very important.  They line the gut and assist in defense against illness (60% of your immune system is in your gut). 

If you don't like probiotic type foods then get a good probiotic like UDO's Choice Super 8 Probiotic.  You'll find the best forms of probiotics in the refrigerator section of a Whole Foods Market or your local heath food store. 

Hippocrates said it best -  Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.