PB2 is all the rage, and really it's so bad for you. I really don't get all of the posts I see about people that appear to be healthy adding it to their shakes every day.

PB2 is Not Whole Real Food. Right? If you are going to have a nut butter, wouldn't you want the real deal? They extract through a pretty bad process {I've read all about it and it made me shudder} almost all of the essential monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, and then it leaches the vitamin E content out which is fat soluble. Hmmm... see the problem with the nutritional content. And the fat you get in nuts is the good stuff that you want out of them. The company also add a mix of sugar and salt in to make it taste better {everything fatty tastes different without the fats}. With that added sugar, it's for sure NOT appropriate for a Paleo diet of any kind. And on top of that it's not organic. I don't really like peanuts because of the aflatoxins in them - so I really dislike this PB2 product for anyone that is looking for a cleaner way of eating.

What problems can arise from using products like this?

If you suffer from any sort of infertility, then you need your vitamins A, C and E. David Christopher recently talked about the number one reason we are seeing such a rice in  Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), and that is TOXINS!!

There was a huge story a few years ago that said:

"Alarming findings from a study on pregnant women and some potentially dangerous chemicals. A University of California, San Francisco study found that dozens of chemicals showed up in the blood and urine of expecting moms. Some of the chemicals like P-C-B's and ones used in flame retardants were banned before the women were even born. Out of the 163 chemicals studied, 43 of them were found in nearly all of the 268 pregnant women tested. The study is published in the journal of Environmental Health Perspectives. It's the first time researchers analyzed chemicals found in pregnant women."

Wow!! So no matter what your gender, what a great reason for a cleanse. No doubt. Wow. So stop adding the toxic load to your body with craptacular foods, and start using the real deal. Real organic foods = healthy happy life. :) End rant.

You can't out exercise a bad diet. And you can't outrun your hormones or check ✔ out when life sends you stress. All of these cause a chronic inflammatory cycle. When we are out of alignment within, we our out of alignment at the atomic level. If you are ready to shift, it starts with the basics. Then you leap into a new you. First you get the foundation, then you get the shift. 

The movement to accumulate less...eat food with less ingredients...take in less toxins.... balance your happiness with less stress....and of course less sugar, less gluten and less dairy are truly growing so rapidly for big reasons and I have to tell you that if you're looking to make some changes it's easier than you think.

Less ingredients is as simple as adding more whole foods into your diet.

Now is the time for you to join us to change your food choices, your movement and your mindfulness. It can be so complicated because wouldn't you agree that our world is more toxic than it was ten years ago (both in environment, nutrition and emotionally/socially)? And wouldn't you agree that our foods are more toxic than they were... heavy on the herbicides? the sugar content? And the foods we just can't digest well.

High blood pressure is a serious and widespread problem for people around the world, including my husband for a short time. However we changed his diet and changes his life. It is often recommended that among lifestyle changes, diet can play a hefty role in attaining a healthier, higher quality of life. An advantage of using diet to modify blood pressure, is that foods typically do not have the side effects such as those common with the use of medication. For example the DASH diet is often recommended and uses calcium, magnesium and potassium rich foods to combat high blood pressure. However we know that most people aren't going to change their diet and stick with it if they don't change their mindset, and if they don't change their cravings.

I love recommended you increase your beta-glucans. You're like, WHAT in the world is that? Well most of us healthy folks used to get this in our oatmeal. But people are afraid of oats now, and I agree in the instance of non gluten-free oats. However we need these complex carbohydrates that encourage a slower digestive process for the body. In fact there are so many research studies right now on beta-glucans that are so encouraging for our health. One reason I added my low glycemic plant based shake into my diet was for the mushrooms. These mushrooms are good sources of beta-glucans. My two shakes a day contain juice powder from Agaricus bisoporus – commonly known as the Portobello mushroom (when mature) or the button or crimini mushroom (when smaller) – the most widely consumed mushroom in the world. So not only do you get Vitamin D from your happy little mushrooms, but you get that healthy complex food to help your digestion.

Bananas are well known for their high potassium content. They can be used in a variety of ways to suit your needs and tastes. You can cut it up, blend it into a smoothie, or simply peel it and eat it. Potassium is absorbed by the body much more efficiently through ingestion of foods than through supplements, so try adding banana to healthy desserts and snacks. I can't eat bananas because of my latex allergy. I love to grab a sweet potato, or winter squash. But for the Paleo Vegeo follower an avocado is probably the BEST potassium rich food you can grab and go with because it also has those heart healthy monounsatured fats!

So let's talk about fats since health through food is about balance. Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids which are seriously important for heart and arterial health. Western diets typically contain heavy doses of omega-6 fatty acids which destabilize the delicate balance between the two types. These are found in fish, or you can simply take a supplement. I take a healthy vegan omega because where do you think the fish get the omega-3's from? That's right, algae is the omega source. I use an algae oil as well in my turmeric ginger coconut milk.



Of course my favorite daily staple is my matcha green tea! Green tea has become famous for it’s amazing health benefits around the world. It contains a wide array of antioxidants and polyphenols. The polyphenols in green tea have been found to increase blood flow and improve blood pressure. Studies have proven that drinking just a few cups a day can widen arteries by almost 40 percent, and tea drinkers have been found to have a lower risk of heart disease, so you might want to try a cup of green tea today!

Those Eating a Modified Paleo Diet Or Suffering From a GI Disorder Could Be Zinc Deficient

You are vegan or vegetarian and you don't eat grains or meat.... could be that you are zinc deficient. People at risk of zinc deficiency or inadequacy need to include good sources of zinc in their daily diets. Supplemental zinc might also be appropriate in certain situations.  Zinc is an essential mineral that is found in almost every cell!!

Those with GI issues, or who have had GI surgery or IBD, UC, Chrohn's disease, etc, can see a decreased zinc absorption and increase endogenous zinc losses primarily from the gastrointestinal tract and, to a lesser extent, from the kidney

Vegans and vegetarians get zinc through plants, and the bioavailability of zinc from vegetarian diets is lower than from non-vegetarian diets because  of this. Meat is high in bioavailable zinc and may enhance zinc absorption. Legumes and whole grains, which contain phytates that bind zinc and inhibit its absorption, so if you are vegan or vegetarian then that lends a better reason for why you may be looking at the paleo diet. For those that still use some grains, legumes or other iffy foods, you really need to make certain that you reduce the binding of zinc by phytates and increase its bioavailability through soaking beans, grains, and seeds in water for several hours before cooking them and allowing them to sit after soaking until sprouts form. I found this really great soaking and sprouting image that I think many of us could use from Vidya Cleanse - here on Facebook. Unless you consume reasonable quantities of assorted soaked and sprouted nuts, seeds and raw peas, mushrooms and broccoli your diet most likely contains inadequate zinc levels. Soybeans have the highest levels of phytic acid of any legume and this chelates (binds with) zinc and makes it unable to be absorbed, one more reason to dump the soy from your life completely.

There is a fact that obese individuals have low zinc and poor leptin regulation. This decrease in zinc leads to a leptin issue that can cause the body to build more ‘fat body mass’ as opposed to lean body mass. And zinc deficiency has been linked to various chronic ailments including infertility. Zinc deficiency also inhibits TSH release in the anterior hypophysis and brings about a decrease in thyroid hormone levels and is involved in the structure of 1,5-deiodinase enzyme which transforms T4 to T3. If you have any sort of thyroid and infertility struggles you know what all of that means to your health. For men a little zinc supplements may actually help raise your testosterone levels, as will adding in that all needed weight training.

I can tell you that from all of my research I've seen that both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics tend to be deficient in zinc. Zinc deficiency affects the ability of the pancreatic beta cells to respond to the body’s call to produce and secrete insulin. If that cute little pancreas does not produce and secrete enough insulin , your levels of glucose in the blood stay high.

Zinc is required for the synthesis of serotonin, which stimulates the sensation of satiety and reduces food intake. Now dopamine activation decreases food intake and high-dose zinc administration was shown to inhibit the binding of dopamine to D 1 and D 2 receptors, which are important in dopamine's food intake-inhibiting effect. So you need to make sure you do not take too much zinc if you find to be deficient.

And guess what, zinc is known as a copper ‘antagonist’ or ‘competitor’... so low zinc almost always means high copper. So you need one to balance the other. Zinc has a big impact on our other nutrients. In fact, zinc deficiency is thought to interfere with vitamin A metabolism, and vitamin A deficiency may exacerbate iron-deficiency anemia. Makes me wonder what my daughter's real internal issues are because she eats meat, but has been tested low iron. Could it be that she is not absorbing zinc, among other nutrients, and that it's just this cascading waterfall of issues? I also have low iron, and a condition called xerophthalmia (dry eye), which can be caused by low vitamin A....ah the brain is spinning thinking about all of this.

Now keep in mind that thiazide diuretics such as chlorthalidone (Hygroton®) and hydrochlorothiazide (Esidrix® and HydroDIURIL®) increase urinary zinc excretion by as much as 60%, and antibiotics and zinc supplements should be taken four hours apart. So don't just go starting supplementation without talking to your doctor and/or pharmacist.

You can try the Optimal Zinc Lozenge (http://bit.ly/OptimalZinc) for supplementation because it's a really good bioavailable supplement, and is good dosage that can be cut in half for a lower dosage as well. It is free of magnesium stearate, milk/casein, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat/gluten, corn, yeast and soybeans and contains no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.

An adult needs 40 mg of zinc a day, and if you think about the fact that you're only getting about 1 mg in an oz of almonds. Here's an article with vegan zinc sources which may give you an idea on why so many of us are zinc deficient. http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/zinc Unfortunately zinc is hard to test for... so good luck to us all. ;)

Always drama over legumes

The other day I shared this amazing broccoli and oregano hummus recipe from The Flexitarian on my Facebook page, knowing that the first comment I would get would be that "chickpeas aren't Paleo". I get this all the time in my large nutrition group as well. And my standard answer is from the "authorities" in nutrition because of course myself with a nutrition diploma and a lifetime of ingredient research cannot be the common sense for many of these folks. The people that hate on these sorts of posts are those that are very traditional in the defined roles of Paleo Vegan (Pegan as Dr. Mark calls it) as you can see the traditional below.


What I tell them is this:

t depends on where you get your information, ____. If you look at the Whole 30 Vegan/Vegetarian shopping list Tofu, lentils, and properly prepared beans are all acceptable paleo foods. Paleo Leap says, "Legumes and pseudograins (which include vegetarian staples like buckwheat and quinoa) are both promising solutions to this puzzle – as long as they’re prepared correctly." 

And if you have read my basics you know that this Paleo Vegeo lifestyle is all about finding YOUR nutritional truth. That means for some people chickpeas would be fine, lentils would be fine, kidney beans would be fine, and GASP ... organic tofu would be fine if it works for you. It doesn't work for me, and I am not fond of soy in general personally. But it's your personal truth not mine. I like the TEMPT Hemp Tofu... so yummy. But even some Paleo folks would want to toss me to the timbers for saying hemp is okay if you are paleo. The truth is as you know that you have to get to know yourself and that generally means doing at least 30 days elimination from all of these foods and then reintroducing one at a time to see how your body reacts to them.

It's hard to be vegan. Don't you agree? Especially if you have food allergies. Even harder to be paleo and on top of it vegan. And so for us we have to be aware of genetics, digestion, micro-nutrients and macro-nutrients even more so than your average Paleo off the street. Although many of those that are Paleo should be genetically tested ans see if there are any gene mutations first. If you have the right gene mutation you should be low protein, high fat. If you are eating bacon and ribeye at every meal you could be doing serious damage to your brain and not know it otherwise. That foggy feeling may not be overwhelming life after all.
And there are very few vegan protein powders for paleo folks to choose from. There is the Warrior Blend and Non-GMO Pea Protein, Hemp Protein, Sacha Inchi Protein... and I am just going to say it... rice protein.

Yes I said it. I know that Paleo and Rice are not often said in the same sentence because it's not allowed. But rice in the right form can provide you with a good resistant starch. The best sources of resistant starch is going to be from those supplementary isolated starch sources, and rice protein is a better option than cold cooked rice. So I don't look at it in the same tones as I do eating rice. It's like the Alpha Meta that I have recommended to so many people.

But if you don't react to a little rice you may have been looking at B-Strong by Skoop. However I would not recommend it for B12 MTRR clients because it does show in the ingredient panel that it is not methylated b12, and I did confirm with the company. I do like the Green Foods True Vitality Protein Powder, as an alternative to the B-Strong, I actually like to mix it into The A-Game. I was actually introduced to True Vitality through Choosing Raw because it has an added DHA from algal oil which if you don't eat fish you are unlikely to get. This combination is sort of like a crazy old-school Shakeo... if you know what I mean.

Wild Blueberry Coconut Flour Pancakes

We love Easter, for so many reason. I love especially the traditions we have created with our little family each year. 

From the start making Easter eggs has been a daddy and daughter combo. My feeling was that mom gets to do everything with the girl, so shouldn't daddy have some connecting time as well? Of course he should!!

They can't wait to make their Easter eggs, and as we've gone more and more green we end up using of course pastured eggs... all nice and varied in colors, natural egg dye and apple cider vinegar instead of white "corn" vinegar. If we want to eat them later, don't we want them to be edible? 

So that is where the traditions start. This year we added in the making the wild blueberry jam, and so I just had to make some grain-free pancakes to go with it. The Pear Coconut Flour Pancakes held together a little bit better I think because of the added chia seeds. So I may add some chia seeds the next time I make these.

Wild Blueberry Coconut Flour Pancakes

Ingredients:
2 Pastured Organic Eggs (or egg substitute for vegan)
2 tbsp of vanilla coconut yogurt
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
1/8 tsp Himalayan salt
2 tbsp organic coconut flour
1/8 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 cup wild blueberries 
1. Mix all of the liquid ingredients first in your Blendtec Express or other high powered blender. If you need a new high-speed blender the Blendtec for its safe and advanced cutting-edge technology! Get a $600 retail value Blendtec Express blender for $199 or a $1500 Blendtec Express Pro blender for $599when you subscribe to 12 months of Blendfresh (min. $69 per month). What a deal!

2. Add in the salt, baking powder and wild blueberries and blend.

3. I use the Green Ceramic pancake pan because I can just flip it over after 3 minutes, but use a good coconut oil and medium heat and I do 1/4 cup of pancake mix for each pancake. This recipe makes 4 decent sized pancakes. 

These must cook through the full three minutes to hold together. If they aren't pancakey enough for you, make sure you look at the chia pancake recipe linked above. 

The Nourished In 30 Finally On Kindle 

I have been teaching others through my Nourished In 30 program for the last year - and I have met some amazing people that live their own nutritional "paleo" truth. And so I was so excited to finally have my program on Kindle. YAY!!

I feel like there are enough "recipers" out there that this isn't a recipe book, although I do include a few very simple recipes. This is an information book. It's exactly what I teach my clients about nutrition and how it impact their wellness. It is meant to be both physically healing and emotionally healing because if you've ever done a program like this you know that you are going to be pulling up emotions. They go hand in hand. It is why there are so many emotional eaters. We too often connect our food to our souls. And unless you are creating amazing recipes and open fantastic restaurants, connecting food to your soul is a very bad thing.

So what I wanted to do was share something that would educate, give you some good cleansing results, and also help you come out the other side feeling like you've learned something amazing that you will take into the rest of your life. I want to make sure you read labels, and think about epigenetics, and I also want it to be easy. So I hope that I created all of those things. Please feel free to share your testimonial below, and let me know what you think the best part of the program was for you.

You can order your Nourished In 30 for your Kindle on Amazon - http://amzn.to/1yrXi9K

Pear and Chia Coconut Pancakes:

Who doesn't love something sweet for breakfast... or lunch... or dinner!!!??

Ingredients:

2 large pastured egg, beaten
3/4 cup non-dairy unsweetened vanilla milk (I prefer hemp milk)
2 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp honey (optional)
2 ripe medium pears, grated
1 scoop BlendFresh Yellow (great for added nutrients but optional)
1/2 cup coconut flour (add additional tbsp if you find they aren't holding together to your liking)
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder (aluminum-free)
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted


Directions

1. In a medium bowl, beat the egg for 30 seconds. Add milk, chia seeds and honey, and mix. Set aside for chia seeds to soak up the liquid a bit. This is what will hold your pancakes together with the pears so don't get cheap on the timing.
2. In another small bowl, grate you pears. Use the larger holed section on your grater. Compost your cores. Add to the liquid mix (including juice). Mix. 
3. Add flour, salt, baking powder & baking soda, and mix to combine. 
4. Melt your coconut oil in microwave and add to the batter. Mix in well/
5. Preheat your skillet to medium, I love my green ceramic skillet!! Spray with coconut oil spray, and before each additional pancake. 
6. Pour 1/3 cup of batter onto skillet.. Cook until surface of pancakes have some bubbles, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until browned on the underside, 2 to 3 minutes more. I found mine really needed that four minutes to solidify nicely. 
7. Serve warm, with desired toppings like some fresh mashed fruit or preserves with no added additional sugars.

it's a perfect amount of pancakes for myself and my daughter if we are eating these for a meal. If you add my husband into the mix, this becomes a side dish. You get the jest. Makes about 6 pancakes. 

Cellular Health Challenge I The Force Awakens

I'm on a challenge, and it's because the more I learn the more I want to prove that it works. So my husband and I have set ourselves up to really go for it this season for health. After the last year I realized that even beyond the gained pounds, was the soft body... lean muscle dysfunction I call it. We seemed to have stopped building lean muscle mass. That makes you wonder because for me without all of the animal protein you could easily say that it's just that. But my husband is the carnivore. He too has had this struggle. What is the cause?

So that is the core of what I'm challenging this month. Hopefully I'll have amazing details for all of you at the end of December so that you can have the most amazing January ever! Why can't 2015 be the year of cellular health? The year your metabolism renews itself, and your body just feels good is ahead. That's the motto I'm going to keep telling myself. I'm thinking of this as my own little "The Force Awakens" ... because I could use all the jedi support I can get. {YES I AM A GEEK}

Speaking of which, have you seen the trailer yet? 

The first big movie I remember seeing in the theaters was Star Wars, and I will never forget it. I loved getting lost in those films, and coming out of it feeling like I could be the Princess and I could be strong and go after anything I wanted to. And so I cannot wait for this release, and I'm going to push myself to give this as a reward.

Do you use the reward system to get after your health goals? 

In the mean time, while you are waiting on how this all works out let me share with you that for Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday I have the Nourished In 30, Paleo Vegeo Challenge program for just $2.99. Use Code: CyberMonday and get a HUGE discount of over 90% off!! 

On Tuesday We Talk

While we were on vacation I decided to start doing a weekly vlogcast. I believe that there is something in each of us that we can share, and that through that connection hopefully stronger bonds will form. And hopefully education will be passed from one person to the next.

This week I talked about a few items. I start with the safety of essential oils on children since I've seen far too many posts suggesting that children under age 10 should not have oils diffused around, or applied topically to them. Seriously? And so I'm going to share a little bit of the information from Essential Oil Safety: A Guide for Health Care Professionals

I also wanted to share a great book that you should read to really get into this whole "entertainment" blog/news/social media growth we are seeing out there more and more.  Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator 

In this great book by Ryan Holiday, he delves into these online posts are created in dramatic format to really bring more viral traffic to their sites. It can honestly be completely fabricated lies, and since it's entertainment it's just seen as okay to say whatever you want. Check out this great podcast with Dr. Drew and Ryan talking all about this - http://drdrew.com/146/

I also just want to really talk about your authentic truth is woven into everything in our lives. What you choose to read, eat, share, post, watch, and of course you need to understand not everything you see is truth.

Enjoy the podcast below or on my YouTube Channel

I have a million allergies... corn, soy, nuts, seeds, bananas, kiwi, avocado, lemon, orange... and on and on. So it's only reasonable that I would be very interested in food and how that food can change your health. Don't look at this site and hate right off the bat. Just because I don't eat a cow doesn't mean I'm not hitting the mark on nutrition.


When I grew up we had a huge, beautiful garden, that is until my mom went back to work in my early teens. That is when the processed foods and my allergies and health issues (IBS) started. I did the Zone diet once in my late twenties, but still was eating a lot of processed foods. My IBS got so bad at one point that I couldn't work a 4 hour shift without ending up on the floor curled up in agony.

My first big food change was to organics after my daughter was born. She was 18 months old and I found myself over 70 pounds heavier than I had been before I had gotten pregnant, miscarried, gotten pregnant again and had my daughter. I was probably as round as I was tall... which is easy to do when you are just five feet tall.

The next was a conversion in my life was to pastured foods along side the organics. My friend and I would hit the local farms in the afternoon or on a Saturday morning, buying our whole chickens, eggs, and beef. But I wasn't really losing much weight it seemed. Of course every Saturday (and a lot of the days in between) I was enjoying a big Venti Skim Milk Matcha Green Tea Latte {sugar full} at Starbucks after doing an hour of cardio at the gym. I was eating clean, so I thought. But I was still using a lot of products full of sugars, full of garbage and my system was going through overkill on inflammation due to allergies and the problems that milk {no raw local dairy} was having on my body.

In January of 2010 I did the 21 Day Kickstart program and went completely Vegan. I felt great. I was a cardio TurboKick girl and the weight started to drop. In June of 2011 we moved to Washington and had a horrible experience, and ended up looking for another house the second day we were here. With no fridge, and starving I had some eggs at Whole Foods that morning and it was not bad. Over that first couple of months I added back in pastured eggs and wild caught salmon. But a few months later I was back to a strict vegan diet.

Then I started Les Mills Pump. It's still very cardio based, but it builds muscle. By the time I got into lifting weights 45 - 55 minutes 3 times a week I was one tired girl. I thought it was B12, even though I was getting 100% of my B12 with coconut milk and the big expensive shake. {never realizing the folic in the big expensive shakeo could be the problem} So it must be iron. I started taking iron. I was still tired. I finished Pump, but only dropped 3 pounds. {Although I did drop 10 inches} Something didn't fit. Weights + Veganism wasn't working for my body. I will share more on what the real problem was another day, but this is where I was.

Next was my 21 days of the body reset. 1 week of fish, dairy {couldn't do it} and chicken {also couldn't do it}. Then two weeks of vegan eating. Not bad. I lost a few more inches, and felt good. But then I kept getting tired. Tired, tired, tired. When I started Body Beast I decided the game plan had to change. I read up a lot about glutathione, and proteins, and paleo athletes. I knew that I couldn't go back to cows, chickens, turkeys... sorry folks it's true. So I decided to add back in the pastured eggs. Then come phase two I added back in the wild caught fish. Guess what, I actually did better with the wild caught fish, the raw whey when I actually used dairy, and more vegetables than I had ever done before. So this is my journey. You may call me more of a " Pescetarian" but I like to call it Paleo Vegeo, or a paleo vegetarian --- leaning most days into straight up vegan joy. You may not agree, but that's what living is about... choices.

So flash forward. 2015. I started dealing with some autoimmunity issues and I looked inward. I started using whole food supplementation and went back to my Kickstarter roots and as a vegan following the Paleo Vegeo lifestyle just feels right. I may change that up at some point in life as I follow my own body, and what I feel internally.

So you can do this lifestyle vegan no matter what anyone tells yo. As well if you feel it go vegetarian, eat fish, add in tofu... you choose what you feed your body to feel amazing. That's what personal nutritional truth is. Your truth!