Tasty Bytes: Dairy free mashed potatoes and gluten free stuffing.

I have tried both of these recipes and they are devine!  The dairy free mashed potatoes are creamy and full of flavor.  The stuffing left me nostalgic for my childhood Thanksgiving.  These are truly good eats.  Give them a shot and I encourage you to adjust the recipe to suit your own tatse.  

     Enjoy,

          Kim

Dairy Free mashed Potatoes

4 medium potatoes

¼-1/2 coconut milk

2-3 tablespoons earth balance

Salt and pepper to taste

Peel and slice potatoes.  Cook, but be carefull not to over cook.   We hand-mash our potatoes and add the coconut milk and butter while hand mashing.  Add a little less coconut milk for creamy potatoes without the coconut taste- add a little more and the coconut flavor creeps over your taste buds.

*For added spice have chipotle pepper on the side that guest can add themselves.  This brings mild heat and a nice smoky flavor.

OR

Instead of coconut milk and add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of organic chicken broth with some earth balance.   Both recipes are salty and creamy like good mash should be.

*This recipe is from Lorene Ledesma.  She didn't have a set recipe and cooks more by taste.

Gluten Free Stuffing

2 loaves udi's gluten free sandwich bread chopped into cubes and toasted in 400 degree oven until golden brown 

1 quart of chicken stock

1 cube butter melted 

3 ribs celery chopped

2 carrots chopped

1 large onion diced

2 small apples cored and chopped

1 cup chopped walnuts 

1 grocery container fresh thyme, rosemary and sage stems removed and finely chopped

1/2 pound chantrell mushrooms (any fresh mushroom will due)

salt and pepper to taste

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2.  Saute celery, carrots, onion, apples and mushrooms over medium heat until soft and lightly browned 

3. Add sauteed veggies, walnuts, chopped herbs, melted butter to toasted bread. Add chicken stock to desired consistency. Add more for wetter stuffing. Salt and pepper to taste.

4. Place combined ingredients in a 13x9 inch pan or large roasting pan. Cover with foil and back for about 30 min. Uncover and back for an additional 10 minutes or until stuffing is lightly toasted on top.  

Serves: lots,  20 servings? 

*This recipe comes from Sabrina Kimball ND, LAc.  She sent it to me in recipe form.  She did note that like most things she cooks she makes it up as she goes- so have fun with it.

Enjoying the holidays while staying true to yourself!

The holidays are times of celebration and coming together.   Most folks with Lyme disease and other chronic illnesses have specific diets which may not be part of the host’s menu plan.  Here are some tips to help you stick to your diet while enjoying the holiday season.

1. Bring something you can eat.   If you are keeping away from gluten, dairy, sugar, etc then bring a dish that you can dig into that mets your currrent needs.   By doing this you get to enjoy at least one dish and you also get to share your life style with others.   Also, consider bringing a dessert you can enyoy (fresh fruit, etc) or  a snack you can nibble on while mingling with the other guests.  A word to the weary- this is really OK to do.   This past Thanksgiving good friends of mine brought gluten free stuffing and gluten free/dairy free dessert- and it was delicious.
2. Eat before you go.  If you have any dietary restriction this can save you from a lot of discomfort- especially if you host does not share your specific diet.   Not being hungry helps you make smart snacking/dinner choices that support your well being.   Now you can focus on having fun instead of the painful bloating which will turn into a food hangover.
3. Avoid drink alcohol.   Drinking water instead keeps you hydrated, cuts down on unwanted calories, decreases sugar intake and the related yeast over growth plus you feel much better in the morning.  If you are able to drink alcohol and you choose to drink then pick a high quality beverage and enjoy one or two- this is not the place indulge.  If water sounds plain to you then add 3-4 slices of cucumber, lemon or lime to the water.   It is a little more festive and tastes really good.  Another idea is mineral water with cranberries.  If you are traveling to someone else’s home consider bringing your own drinks- someone else might appreciate what you have done!
4. Chew xylitol gum.  Chewing gum can help keep hunger away by stimulating taste buds helping you feel full longer.  Gum can also help with mindful eating by acting as an internal prop to remind you to stick to foods that support your body.  Plus, chewing gum with xylitol (not sugar) also helps prevent cavities as xylitol prevents bacteria latching onto teeth.  Xylitol gum is sold at some health food stores and can be found online- the brand a like is Xylichew or Spry from Xclear.
5. Take breaks.   If you are tempted by food consider taking a 5-minute break by walking down the hallway. If the stress or chaos of the event is pushing you right towards the very thing you have been trying to avoid eating consider taking a break by going to the rest room.  If you are in the right environment- you can always go outside and start a snowball fight or if you are home consider a 5-minute meditation to re-set your intention.   However it makes sense to you consider taking a break and changing your environment.  No matter how brief, this technique is beneficial.   
6. Be honest with your host and/or you guests.  Simply tell them that the food they prepared looks wonderful, but you are currently not eating …gluten, dairy, sugar, etc.   Be brief.  If you are struggling then tell them your are struggling and that the food or snacks they are offering is temping enough without added pressure to induldge.    Say that you appreciate their support to help you during the holidays.   No need to say more.  Sometimes this is better done before hand so no feelings are hurt and you can plan to bring something or your host can make a dish that everyone, including you, can enjoy.

This holiday season celebrate your health and happiness!

     My Best,

          Kim

Exercise - Getting Started, Staying Motivated and Having Fun!

It has been quit a while since I last wrote - but I am back and excited about todays blog!

Exercises that use many large muscle groups at once, like ball exercises that work legs and core or arms and core at the same time, help increase metabolism.   Added benefits of this type of exercise include rebalancing of weight (either a loss or gain depending on what is needed) and improved muscle tone with relatively less time invested compared to more isolated muscle exercises (like biceps curl only or triceps press only.)  Note: less time does not mean less effort.   During these exercises let the word “squeeze” me your mantra.  Focus on good body and spinal alignment- squeeze your core, squeeze your gluts- then squeeze whatever other muscles you are using.   If you are too tired to squeeze everything, then you are done for the day.  Stay in control when exercising and go slow enough to maintain good posture.  When you get fatigued, especially if you have a chronic illness, it is time to stop.  Fatigue can lead to injury especially when you get too tired to maintain proper posture.  

You can exercise at a gym, with a trainer or at home.   If you are working at home you have a variety of tools to choose from including an exercise ball, a yoga mat, a foam roller and even a TRX.   I encourage variety!  Exercise balls are relatively inexpensive and you can easily find guided instruction videos for purchase on the web or free videos on the web.   Try searching for "exercise ball exercises."  Yoga mats are also fairly inexpensive and again you can find videos for sale or for free on the web.   Search for "yoga exercises" or "recovery yoga." TRX has been my exercise of choice for the past year and cost just under $200 for the equipment and instruction DVD and booklet.   Don't let the website fool you - this is for elderly, fragile, chronically ill - this is for people rehabilitating from accident and injuries - and this is for athletes.  Literally every person adapt exercises on the TRX to meet them at their current fitness level.  The best part about this exercise tool is that as you get stronger you can challenge yourself more without spending more money or needing new equipment.  The TRX is also great for stretching.  

All of these suggestion including the ball, yoga and TRX focus on the core (core = gluts, hips, front and side abdominal muscle, lower and upper back, chest and shoulders!)  Focus your exercise on your core and the rest of your body will become strong as well.

The last recommendation is a foam roller.   This is more for post exercise to help release tight tissue or to help work on tight or sore muscles.   For most people this can take a little practice to master - it can be mildly uncomfortable but should not be too painful - but usually leads to decreased pain, increased mobility and better posture.

Over time you will be able to judge when you can push a little and when you can’t.  However, at the beginning be more cautious.  This goes for those of you who were once athletes and have had to slow down or stop due various life circumstances.  I frequently remind my patients that you are a different person now than you were when you were 20 years old, or 30 years old, or even last year.  For some, you are different than you were last week.   Some find it hard to adjust to who they are in the moment when compared to who they use to be.  Some have found it helpful to do a ceremony where they mourn the loss of old self and welcome in new self.  This doesn’t serve the purpose of settling for a lesser self.  Instead it helps to focus on the reality of today which improves perspective and awareness.   I find that letting go of old self images can remove an obstacle to cure and often propels people forward…I do recognize that this can take a lot of mental work and suggest people try it whenever they feel ready.

Need more incentive to exercise? The research on the benefits of exercise is impressive.  Exercise training reduces anxiety symptoms among sedentary patients who have a chronic illness according to a February 2010  article published in the Archives of Internal Medicine .  More over long term exercise in older men leads to improved inflammatory markers.  Resistance training decreases insulin resistance and improves insulin sensitivity.  Only 4 weeks of moderate aerobic exercise has been shown to decrease arterial stiffness, improves oxygen delivery and decreases blood pressure.  C-reactive protein (CRP), which is a measure of inflammation, significantly decreases in patients who do aerobic exercise combined with resistance training.  I could go on forever –

Please keep in mind that some of you are battling compounding illnesses including biotoxins from water damaged buildings.   These folks will only be able to do minimal exercise including light yoga, limited walking and gentle stretching until you have fully healed from your exposure.   

Yes, exercise is work and takes effort - but please have fun and vary your exercise so you do not get bored.  If you have exercises you like or suggestions share them with the group.   As always, consult with your doctor before adding in any exercise routine and ideally you will check in with a trainer or someone trained to teach exercise.

     In Health,

     Kim

Exercise ball example:  www.exerciseballworkouts.net

TRX website: http://www.trxtraining.com/

Foam roller example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=svcm1jr2yHE   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxQkVD0UQNg&feature=related

I'm too tired to eat well!

I hear this so often.  I hear it from people who are well, I hear it from people who are chronically ill, I hear it from young folks, athletes, my elders - I sometimes hear it from myself!   Patient’s ask me for tools to help them stay on track, especially when they don't have extra energy to spend.

I am going to share with you the strategies I developed in medical school, and others I have collected since then, to help you eat well while putting out as little effort as possible.  Let's start with some motivation: proper nutrition can help strengthen the immune system, improve mood, increase energy and balance weight (decrease weight for those over weight or increase weight for those under weight) to name a few things. 

If you tend to fall off the nutrition wagon I suggest you make a plan that covers several days.  The idea is that with a little inspiration (the plan) you will put out less perspiration (effort.)  Pick a day that works for you and make that your regular meal-planning day.  Write your plan down.  My plan is based off of the number of times I go to the grocery store.  I shop once a week so my plan includes 6 or 7 days of meals and snacks.  Consider what might work best for you and give that a try.  You might need to change your strategy a couple times before you find a schedule that suits you.

Strategies for meal preparation.  Recruit help.  It would be great to have someone do all the work for you.  If that isn't possible then see if you can get regular help with the shopping, entire meal preparation or some portion of meal preparation.  I would say it is fair to ask partners, children, friends and family.  Sharing the workload is also a great way to develop or deepen the relationships we have with others.

The salad bar.  I love this idea.  Cook and then chop or shred beets and put in mason jar.  Shred carrots can put them in a jar.  Cook beans and…you get the idea.   Wash some spinach or other salad greens.  Keep all of this in the fridge.  You just made a salad bar in your home.  Add some seeds and nuts and you have a meal with the prep work already done.  Baked chicken or fish adds another level to your salad bar without much effort.

The crock pot.  Set it and forget it!  Most crock pots now have timers so you just need to put the ingredients in and after the set amount of time the pot switches to low to keep the food warm.  This is another easy way to make soups, stews and other meals which are relatively easy.  During the "inspiration" phase of planning you can do a search for crock pot recipes.  Save them to your computer or print them out and you are done.   Depending on the size of your family you can usually get a few meals out of a crock pot recipe.  If your family is large, then recuit more help!

Soups.  They are easy to digest and delicious.  They can be chunky and hearty, blended and thick or more brothy.  You can use the crock pot or go stove top.  Some can be complicated to make (and by all means go for it if it sounds divine) but most have relatively few steps. 

Steaming.  Steam and eat right away or steam and use the salad bar concept.  Pick a couple veggies and steam a couple meals worth of each at a time.    Keep in the fridge. 

A lot of the food prep can be done on one or two days out of the week and the foods can be stored in the fridge.  This means less work for the rest of the week while still enjoying nutritious foods. Other healthy options include most grocery store deli's which can have soups, meats, salads etc.   The food is often less expensive than a restaurant and can be very nutritious.  You will need to read ingredient lists closely if you have food restrictions, sensitivities or allergies.

Last, and possibly the most important suggestion - snacks!  Identify a variety of snacks that you enjoy and keep them at home, in your car, at work and in your purse/briefcase.   Consider: Raw nuts and seeds, tamari almonds, dried unsulfured fruit, fresh fruit, seaweed (like Nori sheets), carrot sticks, almond butter (combined well with celery or apples), etc. This will help you stay on track when under pressure (insert here tired, stressed, stuck in the car, missed lunch, running late) and can free you up to choose your indulgence at a later date. 

What works for you?  Please share ideas you have for ways to prepare foods, types of foods to prepare and healthy snack option your enjoy.

     In Health,

     Kim

Food as Medicine - Variety

This morning, as I was making breakfast, a friend of mine was sitting at my kitchen table chatting away over coffee.  Her phone rang.  She answered it and from what I over heard I could tell the situation, whatever it was, was not good.  After she hung up she continued to chat, not to me, but as I listened I figured out her sister has cancer and it has spread to other parts of her body.

As I passively listened, her story began to influence my breakfast choices.  I am far from perfect when it comes to diet but this morning I enjoyed steel cut oats, a hard-boiled egg, avocado, strawberries and fresh carrot juice.   I think this knocks Denny’s Grand Slam breakfast out of the park.  More importantly I realized something about myself.   I eat better when I hear about the struggles others are experiencing.  I think I do this because I truly believe food is a means to healing.  Food is medicine!

About 1 hour later I received a phone call from my mother.  She told me that a family member was just diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.   I could feel my heart sink.  All of this was happening before I even walked through the door to my office and, like most bad news, it caught me off guard.

I thought about these stories and how they had already influenced my food choices for the day. This got me thinking about daily practices and how much they matter.  I eat daily.  I know food is important to my health. Then I realized food isn’t just medicine. Food is our number one medicine.  I believe this with all my heart (and my brain!) It often isn't the only thing we need, but with proper nutrition the body can do so much more than it can if it is malnourished. 

How important is it?  On his recent show Dr. Oz said choose "this" as he held up a fork, over "this" as he held up a Scalpel.  Diet first, surgery second.  T. Colin Campbell, Phd, author of The China Study discusses how diet can turn genes on and off - and this can control cancer growth.  Max Gerson, MD, born 1881 in Germany claims to have cured cancer and many other chronic illnesses with fresh foods - mostly fruits and vegetables, excellent hydration and proper mineral balance. 

Is this a hoax? No.  Is this hard? Sure, it can be.  We are surrounded with so many choices that are less than perfect for us.  So, what should we do?   My Motto is: Be as good as you can most of the time. 

Let’s talk side effects.  A side effect is an effect of a treatment that is not the main or intended effect. For example a pharmaceutical that can decrease pain (main effect) may also increase constipation (side effect.)  The same can be said of diet – if we eat processed foods with little nutritious value we feel full (main effect) but the side effects can be moodiness, weight gain, sluggish thinking, diabetes and heart disease to name a few.  The tricky part is that these “side effects” usually take years to show up. 

On the other hand, eating more whole foods and limiting processed foods also has side effects.  Simply reverse the items mentioned 3 sentences ago.  And the tricky part – some of these positive “side effects” show up quickly and while others take years.  Our daily habits really do matter.

It might be important to mention that variety helps maximize the bang for your buck.   The more varied the kinds and types of foods we consume equate to a wider range of nutrients available for our cells to use.  Nutrients often have additive or synergistic effects when taken together in groups.  Simply put - a variety of whole foods seems to be the way to go. 

I noticed that I eat the things I already know I like and that my food choices tend to be similar each week.  This week I am going to try an experiment.  Each day I will prepare or eat one new whole food that I have never tried before.  My categories include fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans and legumes and nuts. Also, I have a plan to do an internet search for a recipe if the food seems to be too foreign to me.  For added adventure I will not be attached to the outcome.  I want to be free to try new foods without holding back.  If I do not like the new food I choose or the recipe I try then I have pre-decided that I am OK with that.  

It would be great if some of you would join me.  Experiment on your own and share your experience or a food/recipe so we can all benefit.

For an advanced challenge: Choose foods you have previously disliked and try to discover new ways to prepare them so they transform into foods you now like.

So, have fun, try new things and enjoy your week. 

In Health,

Kim