Lately, the weather has been beautiful!!! Which is such change from the amazing HOT HUMID summer. The kids have been outside playing, practicing soccer, ballet lessons, learning piano, school lessons, and EATING (I’m always thinking “didn’t I just feed them?”).
So, that tells you what I’ve been doing too…. along with helping my husband in his business.

A new food I’ve been using a lot is Quinoa. It is SO yummy, healthy, easy, and everyone likes it! It’s a seed, not a grain – and containing the proper balance of amino acids is a complete protein! A very good (and much more nutritious) alternative to bleached white rice, white breads/rolls, and pasta. Last night I made a Roast (with onions, carrots, and mushrooms), served it over Quinoa, with a fresh green salad, and everyone was happy. I’ve been using the pre-rinsed Quinoa (which cuts down quite a bit on preparation time).
And you need to know this…. my husband does not like healthy food that tastes like “healthy food”! So, if he likes it, know that you and yours probably will too.

Oh yeah! We found an Opossum in the chicken house! That was big news around here for a few days. Those sure are ugly critters – glad our egg thief is now gone.

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Purchase #2

This one is amazing – at least how I lived without it before. I can’t tell you how many times I tried several smallish mixing bowls before finding a size that (almost) fit – Or how many times I mixed food in a large cooking pot.

Purchase #3

I enjoy using this much better than my stainless steel round colander. Using my new sink colander I can wash vegetables more effectively, and use it for multiple purposes. And I LOVE that the sides are expandable to fit all sorts of sinks.

Nice kitchen stuff makes life easier! All of my items were bought at Walmart

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I’ve been having fun with Beet Root Powder the last few days. First I used it in my blueberry kefir smoothies – and it added some serious nutrients and color! Instead of looking like a homemade smoothie, it looked like something that belonged in a pretty photograph. A warning though – don’t mix spinach and beet powder in the same smoothie if you are wanting a fancy outcome (tastes good still). Then tonight I made couscous and added in fresh tomatoes, fresh broccoli, lemon juice, salt, feta cheese…. then last minute thought “Hmm… purple couscous would be cool too”. My 2 year old sous chef agreed…….So, in went 2-3 tablespoons of beet root powder. Here is a word about why you want to use this beautiful powder:

Beet roots are a healthy food and are a rich source of natural sugar along with containing sodium, potassium, phosphorus, chlorine, iodine, iron and various important vitamins. The high nutrient value of beet root makes it an invaluable food in terms of health benefits it provides and it is thus used for therapeutic purposes. The powder can be used to flavor carrot, celery, and other vegetable juices, and also to color a variety of foods.

Beet powder provides a wide range of nutrients, but its most significant phytochemical is betaine. Betaine helps the liver process fat. This prevents the accumulation of fatty tissues in the liver (steatosis), especially in heavy drinkers, and it also prevents excessive triglycerides and LDL cholesterol in the blood. According to the American Heart Association, beet juice can help lower blood pressure and due to the high content of iron in beets, it is good for anemia.

Beet root naturally cleans the kidneys and gall bladder. The potassium present in it helps in providing nourishment to the body for daily functions while chlorine organically cleans the liver and kidney. In addition, it has positive effects on one’s digestive system as it helps in the treatment of digestive disorders and problems like jaundice, nausea and vomiting due to dysentery or diarrhea. Beet root combined with carrot juice can prove extremely beneficial in building the red corpuscles thereby helping in treating low vitality and anemia. Being an excellent solvent for inorganic calcium deposits, beet juice helps in the treatment of hypertension and other cardiovascular disorders. It is also extremely beneficial for women as it aids in the regulation of menstruation. Along with having numerous health benefits, beet root is also beneficial for the skin.

The root contains about a tenth portion of pure sugar, which is one of the glucoses or fruit sugars and is very wholesome. Cane sugar has to be converted by the digestive juices into fruit sugar, before the body can absorb it, but the sugar present in the beet root is already in the more easily assimilated form, thus making the beet a valuable food. Its sugar is a force-giver and an energy creator, a source of vitality to the human body. Besides its tenth portion of pure sugar, beet root has as much as a third of its weight in starch and gum.

The red pigment in beets raises antioxidant enzyme levels in the liver and may promote detoxification in the intestines, blood and liver. Colon cancer research has also shown that consumption of beet fiber may increase colonic CD8 cells, which detect and remove abnormal cells.

Folate is considered an important aid in maintaining a healthy pregnancy. It is critical at times of rapid cell development as it is necessary for creating DNA and RNA. The high level of folate (up to 136 grams per cup) in beets makes them a valuable food for pregnancy. Spina bifida and anencephaly are two birth defects which may be prevented by the consumption of folate rich foods.

Magnesium is an important mineral in healthy bone production and maintenance. Without appropriate levels of magnesium, calcium cannot be utilized effectively. Beet root is high in magnesium, making it a good vegetable for women concerned with preventing osteoporosis.

Typical Preparations – One or two teaspoons added to water or juice, 2-4 times daily. One teaspoon of powder provides the nutrition in one beet.

The above is the description from More Than Alive (where you can also buy Cane Creek Coffee – which is what I use).
My personal stash of beet powder came from Bulk Herb Store, which is a good source too for herbs and such (AND where you can see me in the new video Making Herbs Simple Volume II). Okay, enough for promotions…. It doesn’t matter where you get your beet root powder – cause it’s a great source of nutrients, creative cooking, and fun!

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If you don’t know much about HFCS, read this description from Wikipedia. The first paragraph tells you  most of what you need to know:

In the US, HFCS is among the sweeteners that have partially replaced sucrose (table sugar), due to governmental subsidies of U.S. corn and an import tariff on foreign sugar, raising the price of sucrose to levels above those of the rest of the world, making HFCS cost-efficient for many sweetener applications. Critics of the extensive use of HFCS in food sweetening argue that the highly processed substance is more harmful to humans than regular sugar, contributing to weight gain by affecting normal appetite functions, and that in some foods HFCS may be a source of mercury, a known neurotoxin. The Corn Refiners Association disputes these claims and maintain that HFCS is comparable to table sugar. Studies by The American Medical Association suggest “it appears unlikely that HFCS contributes more to obesity or other conditions than sucrose” but calls for further independent research on the subject. HFCS was classified as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1976. Over 85% of the corn syrup produced in the United States is a genetically modified product.

So, according to a standard source….. HFCS:
1. Is extremely refined
2. Causes more weight gain in humans than standard table sugar
3. Contains mercury (a neurotoxin)
4. Is over 85% genetically modified. Here (Science Fiction Horror Story) is a simple read about genetic modification

I’ve also noticed videos online talking about how fructose feeds cancers and causes WAY more growth (of that cancer) than glucose by itself. Video from CNN

AND I’ve seen commercials telling people that HFCS is just the same as table sugar.
Watch this commercial spoof, it contains more information!

So, uh…. do you try to avoid HFCS?

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When I married my man, I thought his mother and siblings sure did a lot of complaining about aches and pains and went to a doctor or chiropractor more than was necessary. But since finding out in the last couple years that their mother had Lyme for over 35 years and had passed it to 4 of her 6 children, I now understand why they seemed so unhealthy to me. One brother got especially bad after going through some real stressful situations and became bed ridden. After years of doctors, tests, surgeries, and traveling to clinics, he was diagnosed with chronic Lyme. The info was overwhelming to him, esp. with brain fog, so he came to our house for a couple weeks while I researched, cooked his special diet and just tried to help him understand the protocol and diet his Lyme Dr. put him on. His was a long hard road, but in about 18 months he was near 100%. This experience really sparked my interest and when I realized how huge and complicated the Lyme world is, I couldn’t resist the challenge of learning more.

Now that I understand a lot about Lyme, I’ve been able to help quite a few friends consider the fact that they may have Lyme and helped them find a diagnosis, hope, and healing. One friend, after moving to our community, was flat on her back with pain, fatigue, racing heart, and air hunger. She had some health issues previously, but the stress of the move really brought out the worse. After many tests she was diagnosed with several conditions and at the time I met her it was Epstein Barr Virus. After 10 minutes of hearing her story I encouraged her to get a Western Blot done at IGeneX Labs. She did indeed have Lyme and is now following a Lyme protocol under a Dr’s. care.

Here is some basic information about the disease:

First off, Lyme Disease is the most misunderstood and misdiagnosed disease in America. Caught in its early stages, following a known tick bite, it is easy to treat. But when a person has no idea that they’ve contracted it and the bacteria is left to thrive in the body for years, it becomes a chronic condition that is VERY difficult to treat.

When one contracts Lyme (via ticks, mosquitos, mother to baby inutero or breastfeeding, sexually transmitted, and through many bodily fluids) the Lyme bacteria, a spirochete named Borrelia Burgdorferi, enters the bloodstream and, because of its spiral shape, can drill its way into tissue, muscle, and every organ including the brain. Thus it effects every and any area of the body and can manifest itself as a rheumatoid, musculoskeletal, or neurological disease. Because of this, a person infected with Lyme can and will experience a variety of health problems and after consulting Dr. after Dr. and test after test will only have their symptoms addressed while the spirochete is growing and multiplying inside them. And along with Bb (Borrelia Burgdorferi) come many vector-borne co-infections, Babesia, Bartonella, and Ehrlichia. They each carry their own set of pathogens which add to the complexity of the disease and treatment needed.The symptoms of Lyme disease are too many for me to type out, so here is a link to a fairly exhaustive list: Symptoms of Lyme

If you or someone you know has nagging health issues and have been through a myriad of tests and Dr. visits, have unexplainable pain, fatigue, or have a nagging feeling that something isn’t right in spite of the many positive health changes you’ve made, I think its time to consider the possibility of Lyme. It is truly the fastest growing epidemic in the nation. For every three people who have Lyme, there is an expected one more with a maximum possibility of two more and and expected increase of at least 80,000 Lyme disease cases per year and up to a maximum increase of 160,00 per year by the year 2012.

Getting accurate test results is also very difficult because the CDC (Center for Disease Control) has established such rigid criteria for standard testing. So, if you’ve been tested for Lyme through your Doctor’s office using an ELISA screening test and it was negative, that doesn’t mean you don’t have Lyme disease. Only a few medical professionals understand the complex pathogenesis of Lyme disease because this information is not taught in medical schools, conferences or seminars. This makes it difficult to recognize, diagnose, and treat. The best way to be properly diagnosed is clinically, by a LLMD (Lyme Literate Medical Dr.) or a holistic/natural Dr. who is familiar with Lyme. There are a couple labs that specialize in Lyme testing that have a good percentage of accurate results: Igenex and Central Florida Research.

If you discover that you have Lyme you’ll want to begin treatment as soon as possible. There are many different opinions and protocols out there for curing Lyme and the best place to start is with education. Read, read, and read some more. Here are some good books to start with:
The Top Ten Lyme Disease Treatments
Cure Unknown
The Lyme Diet

And you can also find Lyme forums or contact someone you may know of who has suffered from Lyme and find out what works for others.

Because of the spirochete’s ability to morph into 3 different and hard-to-treat forms, due to the complexity of co-infections, and because everyone is different depending on their health and lifestyle before and since contracting the disease, you will need to experiment and find the best treatment plan for you. A Doctor who is experienced in this is the best route to go, IMO. You can search for Dr. referrals in your area here at the Lyme Disease Association: In left side bar under “Resources” click on “Doctor Referral”.

Many of us don’t want to hear the idea that we may have a DISEASE. We, or our Doctor, want to address our health issues for what they are- inflammation, leaky gut, adrenal fatigue, thyroid problems, depression, pain- and treat them through meds, diet, detox, and/or supplements. And we will experience some relief and healing so we think we’ve found the answers. What we don’t realize, until we really understand Lyme disease, is that all these conditions have been brought on BY Lyme. And if we don’t KILL the Lyme bacteria, Borelliosis, we will fight those maladies forever and never really attain healing.

- Brenda

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I’ve been reading about this chemical element for the past few months. Here are some things I found most interesting:

• Iodine deficiency is the leading cause of preventable mental retardation. The LEADING cause! I could not believe it! Everyone thinks that because iodine was added to the salt – that we are okay. But even in developed countries there is a serious problem of Iodine Deficiency.
• There is a correlation between Iodine Deficiency and Breast Cancer – And Iodine Deficiency and Hypothyroidism. The thyroid gland and breast tissues actually hold Iodine (and use them).  Here is an interesting article by Dr. Howenstein, MD, called Iodine Is Vital For Good Health
• Iodine is put into animal feed as a supplement.
• There are A LOT of different types of Iodine….. Iodine – 131, Iodine 124, Iodine, 129, etc. Some are used to enhance our health and some are used as Radiation Treatments to destroy cancers. For a chemistry lesson read more at Wikipedia.
• There is some evidence that the fluoride we encounter in our water system and toothpaste prevents proper absorption and use of the Iodine we need. This is complicated to me, as the two Chemical Elements are similar and can be combined (I GUESS??). I didn’t take high level chemistry. Can you tell?
• Iodine shouldn’t be added just because or recklessly. As in any food element – it’s best in a whole food source so the body can process it correctly. This article from  Natural News recommends taking Kelp (it’s a whole food) to regulate your Iodine levels. They claim that taking Kelp can help a too skinny person gain weight and an obese person loose weight (again, linking thyroid function to proper Iodine absorption).
• There is an opposing view point that says too much Iodine messes with the thyroid and makes it not work properly. I’m really not sure about the evidence, but I’ll post the links so you can have the information yourself:                                                                            Jillian Michaels, Master Your Metabolism
  it says on pg 220: ”Don’t supplement with iodine. Many “holistic” nutrition websites recommend that you take supplemental iodine or kelp to support your thyroid. Don’t. The average American diet has plenty of iodine-and when the thyroid gland senses high levels of iodine in the blood, it will release even less thyroid hormone.”
  The New England Journal of Medicine article published new research from China that looks at the relationship between iodine intake and thyroid disease. Reporting in the June 29, 2006 issue, the researchers concluded that “more than adequate or excessive iodine intake may lead to hypothyroidism and autoimmune thyroiditis.”

I personally take Iodine as a supplement in Kelp form. I think I need it because I have a family history of hypothyroidism and have personally experienced pregnancy induced thyroiditis.

So, there ya go! I recommend everyone know there thyroid functioning levels (You can get a blood test from your doctor) AND make sure you are consuming enough whole foods that are high in Iodine. It sure helps me!

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If you follow my Facebook page you might have read that I need to lose some baby weight! I had my third child five months ago and have still not lost the extra. I had no trouble with the first two kids. But, now I realize what people mean when they say “with three kids everything changes”. Things aren’t all that much harder….. just totally different. Every minute feels like it’s filled with something, and then trying to walk with three little children is quite different than walking long distances with one or two even in the stroller.

Most people when they want to lose the extra think “how can I cut calories and fat?” Well, cutting calories can ultimately help… but NOT cutting the fat. You don’t want to cut the fat. Good fat is good for you. I’ll scream it again! Good fat is GOOD for you.

Whole fresh milk (more information about what is “fresh milk”? link to The Untold Story of Raw Milk), fresh butter, coconut oils, olive oils, fish oils, and animals fats are all foods I try hard to incorporate in our diet. Did you notice canola oil, margarine (read more from Body Ecology, 20 Reasons Butter Is Better) , low fat butter, and soy (yuck yuck) are not included on that list? Here is a really good article from the Healthy Home Economist about the important fats we need in our kitchen – Five Fats You Must Have In Your Kitchen and WHY you need them.

Okay, so what am I going to do – other than not cut out the fats?

1. Eat a good breakfast and no food after 7pm, unless I forget to take my vitamins during the day (then I’ll have to eat a little something – hehe)

2. Drink loads of water

3. Walk 2 miles a day – 4-5 times a week

4. Do about 20 pushups and 50 sits ups a day

5. Do this Dr. Schultz wieghtloss package called “Super Slim” for 30 days. I get this in the mail in a few days, and I’ll let you know how it goes.

6. Not have too high of an expectation. Just hope my clothes fit a little loser in 30 days.

I am still nursing, so I can’t be crazy about anything. I also hold onto a little bit of weight while I nurse…. but I’m about 10lbs over that heavier nursing weight.

There, I wrote it in my blog. Now I have to do it. *wink*

I’ll let you know in 30 days if I’ve been successful and what I think worked and what didn’t.

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www.simplykristen.com/audio/EnemasHowandWhy.mp3

Ene-whats!?

With all the information coming out about how important our GI tract is to our health, I wanted to know all the ins and outs about – everything! Well, enemas falls into this category and my friend Jillian shares with us how to do an enema, why they are so beneficial, and all the different types.

Yup, I have a lot to learn about this subject. For example, did you know that enemas were so popular at the court of King Louis XIV of France that the duchess of Burgundy had her servant give her an enema in front of the King (her modesty being preserved by an adequate posture) before going to the comedy.To read more, click here.

So, listen to my interview and be enlightened to the world of enemas – I certainly was!

* Enemas should not be done on a regular basis. Consult a healthcare professional if you have persisting symptoms.

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It was fine with me thinking it was unhealthy, I didn’t drink it. Then, a few years ago my husband started his own business and was working from home. He kept asking for coffee (he used to get it at his work)! So, we bought a coffee maker and I still had no desire for it. I thought it tasted like the instant coffee that my relatives drank.

We also have friends that are hardcore coffee drinkers. They get their beans whole and grind them fresh each time for their cups of java. While at their house I decided to finally try a cup and MUCH to my shock I enjoyed it.

The coffee I enjoyed was made with freshly ground beans, and loaded with sugar and cream. So, the sugar part wasn’t so great, but the cream was organic fresh cream (you know, the kind you skim off the top of a gallon jar). I think the key was freshly grinding the beans and drinking it right away. You know how most wheat bread is kind of gross? It’s because the ground flour goes rancid (the oils go bad). But man oh man, when you freshly grind those wheat berries and make cookies, muffins or bread – the difference is incredible – so yummy!

Wheat is healthy right? Wheat berries that are ground, stripped, chemically process, and stored are not healthy. The same is true for coffee beans (or berries). Those that are grown and picked without chemical processes, then roasted properly (without cheaper, chemical forms) and then ground before drinking are a whole different ball game than the heavily processed boxes you find at the grocery store.

Then there are all the additives that people buy to put in their java. White sugar is a no no. Ultra homogenized and pasteurized cream is also something that is not healthy. And here’s the worst one of all, the popular Coffee Mate with these ingredients: partially hydrogenated soybean oil, sugar, dipotassium phosphate, sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium stearoly lactylate, polysorbate 50, gellan gum, sodium citrate, natural and artificial flavor, and beta-carotene color. Yuck!

But, what if you used honey, sucanat, raw sugar, a stevia sweetener, or no sweetener at all, then added a dollop of fresh, organic cream? My oh my, it’s the health difference of store bought white bread (with a million bad ingredients) and homemade freshly ground wheat bread.

There are also issues about coffee that make it unhealthy like some of the decaffeination process’. The most popular (and cheapest) method is the use of chemical solvents.  The process is usually performed on unroasted (green) beans, and starts with steaming of the beans. They are then rinsed with a solvent that extracts the caffeine while leaving the other essential chemicals in the coffee beans. The process is repeated anywhere from 8 to 12 times until it meets either the international standard of having removed 97% of the caffeine in the beans or the EU standard of having the beans 99.9% caffeine-free by mass.EU standard of having the beans 99.9% caffeine-free by mass. Coffee contains over 400 chemicals important to the taste and aroma of the final drink; it is, therefore, challenging to remove only caffeine while leaving the other chemicals at their original concentrations. Wikipedia

But some coffees are not decaffeinated that way, a complicated soaking process is used that is free of chemicals. 99.9% of the caffeine is said to be removed and you don’t have the chemical residue. Sounds like a better option doesn’t it?

Now onto the health benefits of coffee – which I found the most surprising! Coffee has extremely high levels of antioxidants, and is connected in the prevention of all sorts of diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Colon Cancers. I read this article from Web MD and was pretty impressed with all the listed benefits.

I still have one question about coffee that maybe you can help me with. There is a connection with inflammation and the use of coffee. Do you think its in connection to the healthier chemical free coffees? Or to the highly processed stuff? Or is it the coffee bean itself?

If you enjoy coffee and would like a place to buy the kind of healthy coffee I wrote about, try Cane Creek Coffee. It’s the only homebrewed coffee I’ve ever enjoyed and it’s natural, free of chemicals, and roasted the old fashioned way. You can even get a free sample – No Strings Attached. Tell ‘em I sent you!

Write in the comment section about the inflammation issue, and remember to ‘like’ my facebook page, where I update daily. I enjoy seeing you all there! Simply Kristen Facebook

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