Heal The Liver And the Rest Will Follow!

If you have tried and tried to lose weight, even cut carbs down to nothing and still no progress, experts say it could be because of a fatty liver. Heal the liver and the rest will follow!

The following 14 foods cleanse the liver according to The Global Healing Center. There are explanations of each of these foods as to their positive affects on the site. If you are following “8 Greats for Less Weight” and are interested in healing your liver, good news, these foods all fit in. So to get your liver back into tip top shape, focus on eating as many of these specific foods when choosing veggies, and fruits each day and follow the other “8 Greats for Less Weight” tips.

• Garlic
• Grapefruit
• Carrots
• Green Tea
• Leafy Greens
• Avocados
• Apples
• Olive Oil
• Whole Grains??? What???? Not processed, refined grains, if you decide to eat these.
• Cruciferous veggies
• Lemons/Limes
• Walnuts
• Cabbage
• Turmeric
• Artichoke
• Asparagus
• Kale
• Brussel sprouts

And add:

• Milk Thistle with 420 mg silymarin
• A shot of apple cider vinegar

8 Greats For Less Weight

I have taken all the info I have read on low carb, real food, and being healthy and condensed it all down to these top 8 tips that are, what I hope to be, the key to weight loss and a healthy body and spirit. These are my 8 life changers. My plan is to put these 8 changes into action for 14 days. I have been playing with a lot of these ideas for a few months, but had yet to build a plan and experiment with all I had learned.  I have especially changing the way I cook- little by little- so I had some recipes ready to go to start the experiment. You can find them under the low carb categories on the right side bar.

8 Greats For Less Weight (and a healthier me)

1.     Begin each day by thanking God for your body and life.

2.     EAT REAL FOOD that is yummy and satisfying; organic when possible. Drink lots of good water. Lean meats and lots of  vegetables are key. Fruits, eggs, cheese, greek yogurt, nuts, beans, and good fats (butter, ghee, avocados, olive oil coconut oil, yum!) are in.”White foods” like potatoes, flour, pasta, rice and other grains,  as well as cereals and other processed foods- all out! If it comes out of a container, all the ingredients should be recognized as a food, not a chemical.

3.     Work out 30 minutes 4 times a week incorporating cardio, yoga and weights.

4.     Take super enzymes, probiotics, one baby aspirin, milk thistle with 420g of silymarin, one shot of organic apple cider vinegar (with the mother), and vitamin C each day. Super enzymes and probiotics two or three times a day with meals.

5.     Take some time to relax each day and shoot for 8 hours of sleep each night.

6.     Keep carbs between 50-100 g a day for optimum weight loss. Mark’s Daily Apple for more on this. Watch the fruit. The carbs can add up. Berries are low in carbs. Eat plenty of protein and fats when cutting out carbs. You will not be hungry if you do this. Eggs, cottage cheese, and greek yogurt are a great way to get some quick protein.

7. Cut out nitrates (Found in cured bacon and lunch meats. There are great uncured alternatives out there.), BPA (found in cans and some plastics), and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and use natural products on the body that are free of parabens, sulfites, and chemicals in general as much as possible. I use coconut oil as a moisturizer and Neutrogena has some products you can find at the grocery store.

8.  Use the “Lose It!” app to track calories, protein, fat, and carbs consumed.

Try it for 14 days and post your comments and progress. I will post some great recipes using The Low Carb Pantry items. Almond flour is my new best friend, cause sometimes I just want to eat something “muffin-y.” Check back in a week for my first update.

The Glycemic Load Diet by Dr. Robert Thompson is a great resource to get started and gain an understanding of carbs and what they do to the body. It was the first book I read on this topic, and then I couldn’t quit looking for stuff to read. At the bottom of the blog you can find the book in the GoodReads section along with other great resources. Wheat Belly is a great book too!

Why My Morning Smoothie Rocks

This smoothie is a great way to start your day. It is packed with nutrition and will keep you going all morning. You can get all the metabolism boosting, belly fat busting, rehydrating good stuff, in one yummy drink.

Ingredients

• 1/2 C unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 C unsweetened coconut water
• 2-3 T whole leaf aloe vera juice
• 1-2 T chia seeds
• 1-2 T ground flax seeds
• 3-4  frozen strawberries (or any berry you like). Add a little ice if not frozen.

Put all the ingredients in a blender. I just eyeball the ingredients, dump and go. I use a very small blender, like a Bullet, instead of getting out the great big one. It is easy to use and clean quickly.

• Around 129 calories with 4 g protein, 12.7 g carbs, and 7.4 g fat depending on how you dump

Why this is so great:

• Almond milk is high in calcium and lower in calories than cow’s milk
• Coconut water is 10 times more rehydrating than water and contains potassium
• Aloe vera juice boosts metabolism, helps eliminate bloat, and helps with detoxification
• Chia seeds are high in fiber, have 50% more calcium than milk, same omega 3 as salmon, and more antioxidants than blueberries!
• Ground flax seed helps decrease belly fat
• Strawberries and other berries are low in carbs

You can print the recipe here.

Stick With What You Know

I once read an article about what we do to children when they come to school by destroying their self-esteem. The article pointed out an example of a child who loved to paint and his mother would tell him how beautiful his art work was and hang it around the house. When he got to school his art teacher never complimented him and often pointed out what was “wrong” with his paintings. Thus…he learned he couldn’t paint in art class.

I was reminded of this story when I attended my first Zumba dance class. Coming from a dancing (ish), cheerleading (ish), background. I felt like I could probably hold my own in an exercise dance class. Ha! Picture in your mind the scene from Seinfeld when Elaine dances at that party. That was me in class. The more I concentrated and tried to look cool doing the moves, the more ridiculous I appeared. Eventually I slid over to the side where I could no longer see myself in the gigantic mirror at the front of the room. My fantasies about being a good dancer and being able to keep a beat were shattered in the midst of “boom, boom” moves and jumping up and down while kicking out my feet. I am unaware of the name of that move, but picture the scarecrow in the wizard of  Oz. This is how flexible you must be to do it. I left feeling defeated and soon realized I learned I can’t dance in Zumba class.

I did have a small burst of self-esteem when I saw that the teenager in the front row was also struggling with some of those cool moves. BUT just then I happened to dance/stumble my way back in front of the mirror and my thoughts returned to, “How in the hell did you get so fat? Is that really you?”

I hobbled home, got in the shower and stumbled to my bed where I spent the rest of the night staring at the TV. I was exceptional at that!

I shall stick to my 30 minute routine, treadmill, weights, yoga……in the privacy of my own home. Thank you!

Not Me!

 See the woman in the back in red pants? I get her! In fact I think I identify a little with several of these women.

Our Groceries App

Our groceries is the best free app to share grocery lists with others. I have 5 lists that I share with my husband on our smart phones:

1. Groceries for home
2. Groceries for shack (beach house)
3. Trader Joe’s
4. Walmart
5. Never Pass a Bar (liquor store stuff)

I hope to add Sprouts Farmer’s Market soon as a couple are being built in my area. Psyched!! We both add to the lists as we run out of items and when we go by that particular store the list is already made and available to whoever is there. Also cool: as one of us checks of items they are checked off the other person’s list immediately. So when we shop together we know exactly when one of us has snagged an item. We can get through a super big grocery store in 15 minutes when shopping together.  Once I stopped at the store, pulled out the list to look and all the items disappeared from my list. Right in front of my eyes. Hubby had already been there. Sweet!

Best Deviled Eggs

Best Deviled Eggs Ever!
It’s Easter. Don’t forget the deviled eggs! Horseradish is the secret ingredient to my deviled eggs. I hate a bland deviled egg. This is a simple recipe so it can be whipped up quickly. All the ingredients are in the pantry set up. Enjoy, and hand it down!

6 hard-boiled eggs
6 T. Mayo
2 tsp ground horseradish (if you love it, go ahead and add some more! I do!)
2 tsp yellow mustard
salt/pepper
paprika

Smash the egg yolks so they resemble a paste. You don’t want clumps. Whip in all the other ingredients. Stuff each egg half and dust with paprika. This makes 12 deviled eggs.

Low Carb Pantry

The pantry that I used to cook from has gone through some adjustments in the last few months. The following shows how I started with my standard pantry set up, took out the high carb food, and added some nutritional foods.  Also no high fructose corn syrup or nitrates allowed.  Items taken from the pantry are crossed off and the new items are in bold. As you can see the changes are small, but, believe me,  have made a significant difference. I admit I am still learning.

Basics of the Low Carb/Fresh Hand Me Down Pantry

Tomatoes

• Whole
• Crushed
• Diced
• Rotel (diced tomatoes with green chilies)
• Paste
• Sauce

Beans

• Black
  
•  Great Northern (white)
• Chick Peas (bean or pea, what will it be?)
• Kidney
• Red
• Rice
• Brown
• Parboiled (Uncle Ben’s)
• Brown Instant
• Potatoes-Whatever you like
• Pasta- Whole Wheat or one with extra fiber and protein
• Penne
• Spaghetti
• Lasagna noodles
• Egg noodles

Soups/Broths

• Chicken/Beef broth
  
• Cream of mushroom
• Cream of chicken

Fresh Herbs (These grow in my yard and in pots on my patio . I just snip and go.)

• Cilantro
• Parsley
• Basil (plant a few so we can make pesto in the summer)
• Oregano
• Sage
• Chives
• Thyme
• Mint
•  Rosemary
•  Dill

Dried Seasoning and such- I prefer fresh but that isn’t always possible.

• Oregano
  
• Cumin
• Garlic Salt
• Black pepper
• Salt-Kosher and Sea
• Paprika
• Tarragon
• Chilli powder
• Onion Powder
• Garlic Powder
• Crushed red pepper

Oils/Vinegars

• Olive
  
• Butter
• Ghee
• Coconut oil
•  Canola
• Sesame oil
• Rice vinegar
• Balsamic vinegar
• Apple Cider Vinegar (with the mother)

Nuts/Seeds- Raw and unsalted

• Walnuts
  
• Pecans
• Pine
•  Almonds
• Sesame seeds
• Pumpkin seeds

Veggies/Fruits (Many other fresh fruits and veggies are brought home in season. These are always in the house as a basic pantry set up. Organic when possible.)

•  Mushrooms
  
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Zucchini
• Kale
• Carrots
• Romaine
• Green beans
• Artichoke hearts
• Jalapenos (fresh and in jar)
• Celery
•  Bell peppers (all colors)
• White/red/green/yellow onions
• Corn (fresh and frozen)
• Peas (fresh and frozen)
•  Lemons/limes
• Berries (fresh and frozen)
• Apples
• Bananas
• Avocados

Dairy

• Shredded Block cheeses; cheddar, parmesan, jack, swiss…..(shred it your self and stop eating caking agent)
  
• Feta
• Parmesan
• Blue cheese
• Mozzarella
• Cream Cheese
• Sour Cream
• Milk/Cream
• Greek yogurt
• Cottage cheese
• Almond Milk

Protein

• Ground meats (beef, turkey etc.)
  
• Sirloin
• Flank Steak
• Pork Chops
• Chicken Breasts- whole and skinless/boneless
• Fish (whatever looks good and is on sale; tilapia, salmon, shrimp are always in my freezer)
• Cold cuts/Bacon-Nitrate free
• Nut butter

Other essentials

• Spaghetti Sauce (no high fructose corn syrup and only if you know what all the ingredients are)
  
• Salsa
• Sriracha
• Olives
• Honey
• Horseradish
• Sun dried tomatoes
• Ketchup (no high fructose corn syrup)
• Mustard (So many choices. I keep Dijon, yellow, stone ground)
• Blue Corn chips (because you can’t make crunchy avocado salad without them)
•  Worcestershire sauce
• Coconut Water and Milk
• Whole Leaf Aloe Vera Juice
• Chia Seeds
• Mayo (no high fructose corn syrup)

Baking

• Flour
  
• Sugar
• Oatmeal
• Almond Meal
• Coconut Flour
•  Flax Meal
• Garbanzo Bean Flour
• Turbinado sugar
• Apple Butter

That’s it! Now let’s get cooking. I will add recipes to the homepage and on the Low Carb Pantry page.  There are many, many recipes that can be made from these ingredients.

 

Skid Marks Across My Blog

Blogger Slacker

The second I realized what blogging was, I wanted to do it.  That is because I always wanted to write, but all my early attempts started with great passion and soon fizzled out as I got lost in the details of describing scenes, facial expressions, etc. Oh the details.

He looked at her longingly while the steam from his nostrils rose up into the cold night sky.

UGGGG painful.

Blogging was brief, to the point, and topic specific. It was made for me. Short bursts of energy expended on a passionate topic. I found my thing for sure. I blogged religiously for 4 months and picked up a small, slightly disturbed following (Just kidding you guys!). I took pictures. I tested recipes. I gave advice. I responded to all comments. I stayed true to my mission (beach houses and comfort food) and my audience. Then one day last May I just forgot what I was talking about. I soon developed a very serious case of blogger block. I tried to break it by just putting up a post. Desperation set in when I decided a picture with a caption would be good enough. Anything to just POST SOMETHING!

I thought, “Come on! A cat, a dog, a kid, everyone likes pictures of those. Take a picture of you cat and put it on your damn site!”

 It was exhausting just trying to choose the right photo. What was my purpose? Where had it gone? I wallowed around trying to recommit by reading past posts.  I scoured other more successful blogs to see why everyone liked them so much and to get inspired. But inside I kept trying to remember why I started the blog in the first place. Nothing worked. So I became a blogger dead beat.  It’s a very common tale. You would know this if you ever tried to start a blog by searching for an available name on a blogging site. All the good ones are taken. I had excellent ideas for my blog, and discovered that they were all taken, as was every variation and random spelling.  I went to those sites that had taken my idea to see what they were up to with my title, only to find that each person hadn’t blogged for 8 or more years and only had one post! The true blogger deadbeat, take a great name and then leave it lingering on the web for all to see how apathetic, and afraid of commitment you really are!

Coincidently I turned 48 at about the time that I developed “blogger block” along with a new crop of grey hair, a belly that was bigger than Dr. Oz said it should be, and a textbook case of acid reflux.  The pounds began to creep on as I told myself that I would take them off in the summer when I was less stressed. Well, each year I found myself looking at a backside that I didn’t recognize and a belly that I have now begun to disguise with flowing sweaters that hang down and cover everything. You know the ones. You put on an outfit and then cover it with a long flowing sweater thing. So abandoning my blog gave me time to read and research. Great! I had a new passion. I read everything on eating, wellness, spirituality, healing, parabens, and carbs. On New Year’s Eve, I declared that 2013 would be the year of “cleaning up.” Clean my diet, my closets, and get back to simplicity. I dug into more books, watched every show on weight, age, and exercise, spent hours on the internet, developed an obsession for the show “The Biggest Loser,”  Trader Joe’s, and discovered Pema Chodron in the stacks of my local library. (She wasn’t actually in the stacks, but her books were there.) She introduced me to meditation and dealing with my shenpa.

I would really like to live another 50 years or so. I now have decided to take everything I have learned about carbs, insulin, fat, coconut oil, almond flour, yoga, and shenpa and put it into action. Have I tripped onto the key to life by kicking carbs and artificial ingredients? Will this blog survive with a change in focus to low carb eating habits and away from some of the pantry recipes?? My pantry doesn’t look like it used to, but my flip-flops are still longing for the beach and I have many new recipes and ideas to hand down. Life is an evolution. So healthy, low carb comfort cooking on island time????? We will see.

Sunset On The Gulf

Photo by Zach W.

Beach Christmas

Here are the photos of our beach theme Christmas tree. I also found these great lanterns that add a beach touch to the mantel.

Lanterns add a nice touch! Nautical and “Christmasy” at the same time.