Tuesday, July 15, 2014

3 Keys to Weight Lose

Obviously these 2 have no sleeping issues!

Any good life style change, weight lose, weight maintenance program should address three key points:
  1. Sleeping
  2. Increasing healthy fat intake
  3. Carb loads 
When working with my clients these are always areas I address to some degree or another, because of their importance. Some need more support and guidance in one area verses another.                

So, why are these three important?

Sleep:
Sleeping is the time our bodies repair, grow, our minds can processes and decompress our days, rest. Our bodies take care of the stress and damage we have done to them throughout the day. Important hormones are made and released during our sleep cycles that aid in weight lose and maintenance. Have you ever noticed that when you get a good nights sleep, you are not as hungry the next day? That is because your body has gotten what it needs, rest, repair, growth, production of good hormones. Do what you need to get restful sleep every night, seven to eight hours. You will think more clearly, your hungry levels will be in-check and your weight will do better.

Increasing healthy fat:
You should know by know my love of fat, butter, bone broth, marbled meats, eggs, all that good yumminess. When we are not eating enough healthy fats, animal fats, our bodies do not have the building blocks they need to make hormones, as well as the nutrients in fat.
Eating healthy fats will keep you full for longer periods of time. They are very nutrient dense, giving our bodies the nutrients they need to thrive and will aide significantly in weight lose. You will begin to effortlessly lose weight by increasing your fat intake. Good fat = effortless weight lose

Carb load:
We all need carbs to some degree or another, however these carbs do not have to come from grains. We need carbs to help our brain and thyroid function properly, among other things. The trick is figuring out how much you need. If you are looking for weight lose, you want to be on the lower end of the carb load. Weight maintenance, you can be higher, but you have to figure out what you need to maintain your weight and feel your best. Your carb amount will change depending on your workouts. If you are training hard, you will need more. If your are not, then you will need less. There are many factors that go into the amount you need, some trial and error is involved in figuring it out where your sweet spot is.

Wherever you are in your health journey, be sure to check in with yourself and make adjustments where needed.

Saving the world one stick of butter at a time.
God bless,
Jenn




Monday, July 7, 2014

Supplements 101

Image found on Google 

Obliviously a questions many people ask me is regarding supplements. Do I need them? What do I take? How many different ones should I be taking? How often? What about protein powders? Supplements are so expensive. You probably have other questions, but these are some of the most often asked. Today, I will give you my guidelines and rules I follow regarding supplementing. I hope it helps.

My first rule:
You absolutely canNOT, under any circumstances, out supplement a bad diet, period. If you are eating dead, pseudo, fake food, all the supplements in the world are not going to make up for that.

Second rule:
Supplements should be food based, not synthetic.

Two pretty simple and easy rules to keep in mind. Every question you have regarding supplements should be tested by these. This is really the base of it, the rest of this is my ramblings going further into why I hold pretty fast to these two rules.

Food was created to give us all of the nourishment we need. In an ideal world, the one we used to live in, this was where all of our nourishment came from, there were no supplements. There were no stores dedicated to nothing but supplements. Food was your medicine and it gave you everything you needed.
I understand that today this is not the case. Our soils are depleted of vitals nourishment. We do not practice good farming, re-nourishing the soil, putting back in what we have taken out. Picking veggies and fruit green, unripened and shipping it around the world so we can eat it all year long. All of this is adding up to food that is 50-75% less of it nourishment, from some of the studies I have read.
Our animals are not eating what they are suppose to be eating, so they are not as healthy. Some of the healthiest parts of the animal, organs and fat, we do not eat.
We are told beta carotene and carotenoids are vitamin A, retinol, they are not. Remember, retinol is what our bodies need.
We are afraid of the sun and think 10-15 minutes of a little sun will give us all the vitamin D we need, it does not.
Our guts are so out of wack, we are not up taking the nutrients we are consuming.
The list goes on for why we are not receiving the nourishment we need from our food. This is why we supplement, but that is what it should be, a supplement to what is lacking in our food supply, where we have our own deficiency and to support our goals for our lives. You should fist be concentrating on eating nutrient, dense, rich foods, ones that nourish you at the cellular and DNA level. Then, and only then, supplement where you need.

The supplements you do take, should be based on food. Our bodies do not know what to do with the synthetic vitamins and minerals. The synthetic ones are also the mirror image of the real nutrients found in food. Meaning it is the other side of the DNA that is used. Yes, our bodies know the difference.
When nutrients are on their own, they are not as effective. In food there is a synergistic effect of them all working together and nutrients we do not even know about are present. When taking vitamins and minerals in supplement form, on their own, we have a much greater chance of toxicity. When they work together, like they do in nature, the risk is almost nothing.
Look for food based supplements. They are going to be more expensive, but you will not need as many because you supplementing your food.
Look for quality supplements, this does not always mean the most expensive, but it can be. You want to make sure that what they say is in them, is actually in them. Research the company before buying hundreds of dollars worth of supplements with all these bogus claims and what they say is in them is not actually in them. Higher quality and having what they say is in them is actually in them, means less supplements, less cost in the end.
Do you really need that obscure, berry, herb or whatever the latest and greatest wonder pill is for weight lose, heart health, this that and the other that is going got make your life so much better, they claim? Probably not. Our ancestors were able to maintain their health by living off the land, what they could hunt and gather, not something from the other side of the world, that they probably did not know was even there. They maintained their health and weight by what was around them.
Be wise in what you take. Think critically before buying. Ask yourself if you really need it or if you are trying to out supplement a bad diet.

Saving the world one stick of butter at a time.
God bless,
Jenn

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Sweet, Spicy, Tangy, Mango and Sriracha Marinade, Dipping Sauce

I had some drum sticks I purchased for a really great price a few weeks back and decided to grill them last night. I needed a tasty marinade for them. And thus, this was born.


What you need for marinade, dipping sauce:
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 large ripe mango, or 2 smalls mangoes, peeled and cut into large slices
About 1 inch of ginger, peeled and zested or roughly chopped
2-3 tsp of sambal oelek* 
1-2 tsp of white balsamic coconut vinegar %  
A shake or two of sea salt
Sriracha to taste, this is spicy, begin slowly and add more* 



Protein, I used drum stick, but any chicken will do, pork, fish, even beef would be tasty. Pick your protein.
If using chicken with skin on to grill, rinse the chicken off and pat dry for crispy skin. 

All ready to be marinaded and grilled to yumminess 
Method:
Put all of the ingredients for the sauce into a food processor and pulse until well blended, but still has small chunks. After blended, I divided mine into two bowls, one for un-cooked chicken and one for a dipping sauce for serving.
Place marinade over your protein. Allow it to sit for a half to over night, the longer the better. I did mine for about a half hour.
Cook meat 
Once cooked allow meat to rest for 10 minutes to soak up all those juices.
Serve with extra dipping sauce. 
Everyone will be asking you if there is extra dipping sauce, just like my Hubby! 



Smothered chicken in the marinade. 

 
Messaged the marinade into the chicken, under the skin and all around.

Preparing to be grilled to perfection for our nourishment 


I flipped mine about every 5 minutes for even cooking on all side.
I cooked them until they were about 185-190 internal temp, about 30-35 minutes

Resting

Doesn't that look tasty?!

*These are Asian hot sauces. You can find them either in an Asian store or possibly in the Asian section of your local grocery store.
%If you do not have white balsamic coconut vinegar, you can use white wine vinegar and coconut water instead. Use 1 tsp of the vinegar and as much coconut water as needed for the taste.

Saving the world one stick of butter at a time.
God bless,
Jenn


Cook Once, Save Money, Eat Multiple Meals

The whole chicken I grilled the other night
Cooking once, eating multiple meals and saving money, something we all want and need these days with busy lives and everything more expensive. Here are a few tips I have picked up and incorporated into our lives over the years.

Cooking:
When I am preparing meals for the week, I try to have some that will have left overs so my Hubby has lunches for the work week and me, when I eat lunch. Or, I cook extra meat if there will not be left overs.
Most of the time, it is the protein that takes the most time to cook and prepare. So, why not do more of it at once, either for left overs for lunches or another dinner? Making enough for lunches is an easy way to save money and eat healthier.
When you are cooking one chicken breast, steak, pork, it is easy to cook another to take for lunch with a salad.
Cooking a whole chicken is another great way to go and they are usually cheaper. Cook the chicken, eat dinner, take left overs, take all the extra and freeze it or use it for another meal later that week. The hard part of cooking the meat is already done. While you are cooking one, why not cook two or three chickens? It might take another 10-15 minutes to cook, but will save you hours later because the meat is already cooked. Then, use the bones and make broth.
It just takes a little up front planning, but that planning will save you time, money and heart ache later .

For shopping:
There is the look at the add, and I think this can be a good idea. But what I find even better is just going to the store you frequent. And you find a managers special, or the deal of the week, whatever your store happens to call it. This is meat, or produce, they are usually selling at almost coast to them, be sure to stock up on this meat. Wrap it well, identify it, I either leave the tag in it or put a sticky note in the bag so I know what is in it, or I forget and freeze it.
Look for the meat that is about to expire, it is identified some how with a reduced price on it. I have found some great look meat this way and saved money. You need to either use this meat right away or freeze quickly so it does not go bad.
Another great idea, is to buy a half, whole beef, pig, bison, whatever your like and amount you can afford and have room for. You can usually find higher quality meat this way.
Use the cuts of meat others do not normally like, especially the organs and bones.


I made bone broth with the carcuse and juices

I hope this helped at least some.
Saving the world one stick of butter at a time.
God bless,
Jenn