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Our pear #harvest this morning.... I think I see some Asian Pear #Kombucha in my near future, and some pulpy muffins. 💚🙂 #PaleoVegeo #wholefoodlove #happiness
Here's a little instamood from my day. Joy, Food, Paleo Vegeo, Vegan joy I hope.

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Me, #chia seed with minerals and antioxidants, #Saturday... Could it get any better? 🤘 #PaleoVegeo
Here's a little instamood from my day. Joy, Food, Paleo Vegeo, Vegan joy I hope.

Chia seeds... you love them or you hate them. Or you grab a fun loving Chia Pet and grow it because it's hysterical and weird. However I am going to share with you how I got started with chia seeds because it's a great story.

So I have a friend that is very much like myself... total multipassionista. She went through this phase where she was all into HIIT kids cardio where you would go out in the front yard and play tag with your kids for twenty minutes and that was cardio. When her kids were little it was a great idea. Even better when you add water into the mix on a hot, hot day!



This was when she was leaning slowly into a more paleo sort of idea of eating. She also really wanted to run and got the book "Born To Run". The Tarahumara diet is described in some small detail in the book, with repeated mention of two staple items including pinole and chia seeds.

So of course she started making chia seed drinks for energy. I thought... she's crazy. I often think my good friend, Heidi, is crazy before she makes an amazing breakthrough. I am pretty sure she feels exactly the same about me. I think it's why we've been good friends for over a decade.

So the Tarhumara diet included this drink called the iskiate, which is simply water mixed with chia seeds. This combination was thought to give them endurance and hydration for their long journey of running from village to village. And seven years later I have to say I do love the Mamma Chia drinks, but not the $3/pop that it costs to buy it. So I want to share with you my healthy version, costs about a $1 and is my secret energy drink during my workouts. And for your kids, just replacing the sugary/corn syrup laden sports drinks and giving them a natural sports drink that's healthy and costs less (one serving is about 1/2 the cost of the sports drink) is a win win for any parent that I know. As part of efforts to fight our nation's childhood obesity epidemic, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that kids stick to drinking water, but especially now with the Olympics and Ad placement ... our kids are going to see more and more sports drinks. And they just aren't the best solution.

There was a study done called the 'Omega 3 Chia seed loading as a means of carbohydrate loading' that has shown a combination of half/half Gatorade and chia seeds works just as well as plain Gatorade for training sessions lasting longer than 90 minutes. Yet it offers a larger nutritional boost due to the reduction of sugar and increase of omega-3s. So I thought why wouldn't I just cut the Gatorade out of the solution and use what has to be the best vegan hydration mix out there. I love it, my daughter loves it without the chia seeds, and it's good for us as well!

Paleo Vegeo Chia Seed Workout Drink: 

Just 1 Weight Watchers Smart Point and really filling!! 

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This delicious #greensmoothie is totally #minecraft building approved. I see a smoothie shop being built in the near future in this realm. #minecraftkid #paleonourished #PaleoVegeo
Here's a little instamood from my day. Joy, Food, Paleo Vegeo, Vegan joy I hope.

Really great tip to really boost up your salad dressing is this wow recipe that everyone will love. So simple, vegan and what a great idea! Antioxidants fight the oxidation process, a chemical reaction that can cause damage to many cells in your body. This oxidation can be caused by environmental toxins in your home, in the air, in the pesticides and other chemicals in our everyday lifestyle.

Antioxidants are like an amazing natural detergent for our bodies the scrub out this oxidation, and stop the rusting from the inside out. When we lack enough antioxidants we start to see the damage due to free radicals. Besides nutrient antioxidants you can find them in vitamins A, C and E, and many important minerals. Minerals are essential for so many of our important cellular functions. What I love about having these together is that what is often not talked about is that some essential minerals are required for the body's production of endogenous antioxidants. The most important of these you've heard me talk about before... glutathione. But also ALA (alpha lipoic acid), catalase, SOD (superoxide dismutase) and CoQ10 which I have been talking a lot about with friends of mine.

So if I can sneak more of these good nutrients into my body using non-gmo, vegan sourced support, then why not. I love using this dressing because it just gives your salad an extra oomph. And you can recreate it any way you like.

Antioxidant Salad Dressing

Ingredients:
Dressing:
1 scoop Cherry Minerals & Antioxidants
¼ cup olive oil
1 ½ TB balsamic vinegar
¼ tsp mustard or mustard powder
1 lemon, juiced {optional}
Salad:
8 cups mixed salad greens, such as arugula, spinach or lamb’s quarters, etc.
½ cup or more toasted and crumbled pecans or walnuts
add any other vegetables or salad toppings you’d like to add like shredded carrots and quartered artichoke hearts, red onions, tomatoes or more.

Directions:
To make the dressing you can add the ingredients into a mason jar and just shake, which is what I do, or whisk the balsamic vinegar, mineral mix, mustard and olive oil. Finish off by mixing in any other seasoning of choice. Lemon juice will give it a less sweet flavor, and garlic makes it AMAZING... so go with what you love.
Dress the salad with the dressing and serve.

Magnesium, calcium, vitamin D, the B vitamins, essential fatty acids... fiber rich / resistant starch carbs... all of these are important for a healthy gut because they are essential for digestion. Fiber-rich, low starch foods include items like your soaked chia, flax, (Fall favorite) pumpkin, juicy berries, raw greens, cauliflower (my fav plant protein for dinner), broccoli and avocados. 

In addition there are fantastic (and yummy!) healthy carbs that are good for your gut and will help give you energy. These are so good for you, and good resistant starches like sweet potatoes (and white are making a comeback), bananas, figs, squash, nuts, apples (an apple a day), and those whole, plant-based foods. The right food makes your belly strong. As well, vegan, non-gmo, gluten-free and grain-free ‪‎probiotics‬ give you that good bacteria quickly, and the gut bacteria that will powerfully drive your health, well being, and in turn increase your strength, endurance and muscle growth.

I wanted to choose a subject to focus in on this month... so I decided on this one area that impacted my health the most... the gut. Did you know IBS affects 1 in 7 Americans? I was that 1 in 7. I couldn't even make it through a four hour shift of work when I was in my early twenties. It took two long years to get a diagnosis. And that's only because I PUSHED them to figure it out and finally went to a young new doctor with the knowledge of what I was dealing with. Love this House Call with Dr. Hyman (and btw we were all Paleo Vegeo before he was Pegan... but we'll totally invite him to the club any day of the week!)

So start thinking whole foods, start thinking replenishing the good, and start thinking about how you can heal rather than fear food. I know that fear.

As well, if you react badly to probiotics then you're probably dealing with some leaky gut sidelines, and then you may want to ask your GP about using a Lactobacillus Plantarum to start with as it's very colon-rific. :) I have no idea how to make colon into a fantastic word. So there you have it. A blog post that will make my husband super uncomfortable to read, and very unlikely to talk about.

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My little twist on the #mojochicken... But total #pegan using eggplant, cauliflower (one of my favorite proteins), fresh orange and lemon juice, green verde salsa, garlic and pineapple. Seriously through the roof amazing!! 💚 #plantstrong #PaleoVegeo #joyfood #nomnom #eatup #dinnertime #vegan
Here's a little instamood from my day. Joy, Food, Paleo Vegeo, Vegan joy I hope.

Okay... Here's my secret to how I cured the DIY coconut yogurt that ends up like kefir instead... Don't you hate that?

After it did the full yogurt course in the pressure cooker I stirred in 3 tbsp of my plant based protein and set it in the fridge until the next day. And go figure it worked amazing and is just so much better than the store bought coconut yogurt. I think I am in love because I can't stop talking about it. Recipe is : 2 cans of coconut milk, starter or probiotics, (added after the milk is heated and cooled down to under 110°), use either your low temp stove, the warm feature on the pressure cooker / crock pot and and let it do the bacteria magic for 8 or more hours.

Then stir in your protein powder, pour it all into your containers and put in the fridge to set up. I let mine go over night. FYI I did try adding goat milk powder to another batch to test and it stayed kefir and never set up. So my hubby will drink that batch. Sometimes it's nice to have a carnivore around. 😝 I use the protein powder from my amazing partnership and I get my vegan probiotics from there as well as the grain-free food for my doxie. I wish they were available outside of the US besides to my military friends, but fingers crossed soon we'll see that happen.

Finally... You know I really felt like a dork because I could only ever make kefir. Ta-da... I rock!! 🤘

Pegan Coconut Yogurt Recipe

Ingredients:
 2 cans of Organic Native Forest Coconut Milk
2 capsules of probiotcs
3 tbsp grain-free protein powder

Directions:
1. In pressure cooker brown/saute (low boil) for about 18 minutes total. On the Cook's Companion add 3 minutes to the brown timing.
2. Let cool to about 100 degrees, stir in your probiotics
3. Set your machine to the yogurt setting and put the lid on.
4. When the time is up add the protein powder, mix it in really well and put it in mason jars.
5. Let it set up in the fridge overnight. Simple and delish!

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Brekkie plus workout, vlogcast, phone calls and now focus time on family... #BOOM that's a #lifeonfire my friend. Monday, I'm on track. #PaleoVegeo #fitmum #joylife #nourished #LoveBarbaraChristensen #holisticpractice #mamawholewellness #letsgetit
Here's a little instamood from my day. Joy, Food, Paleo Vegeo, Vegan joy I hope.

Date Puree:

Gluten-Free Buckwheat Pancakes

Some of you may still eat buckwheat, or be looking for easier to digest grain options for your kids. Buckwheat is the seed of a plant called "fagopyrum esculentum." It's related to rhubarb, not wheat, rye or barley and despite the confusing name, buckwheat is gluten-free. This buckwheat pancake is a good option for kids that I modified from this recipe I saw on the Food Network website:

Ingredients
3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup LA Protein Powder {vegan and grain-free}
1 1/2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon Himilayan salt
1 cup cultured coconut milk
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon raw local honey or molasses
2 large pastured eggs (or flaxseed egg substitute)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 cups organic blueberries, divided
1/2 cup real maple syrup (optional)

Directions
In a large bowl whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, beat together the milk and cultured milk, raw honey, eggs, and oil. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing only enough to combine them. Stir in 1 cup of berries.

Preheat a large nonstick griddle or skillet over a medium flame. Ladle the batter onto the skillet with a 1/4-cup measure. Flip the pancake when it is golden brown on the bottom and bubbles are forming on top, about 1 1/2 minutes. Cook the other side until golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes.