Finding a New Primary Care Doctor

A Big Thanks To Leslie at Wellparents.com for this great advice Thanks to Leslie at Read more

The Rollercoaster of Life

Grandma: "I always wanted to go again. You know, it was just so interesting that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together! Some didn't like Read more

Sheltering at Home/Covid 19

Never in the last two decades of my career as a physician would I have imagined that we would be using the same mask to see patients all day and then sterilizing/recycling them at the end of the day. Read more

Turmeric Health Benefits

Have you ever wondered what the paste is applied to the bride and groom's faces and arms in Indian weddings?  It's actually the spice turmeric.  Turmeric is the ingredient in curry that gives it a vibrant yellow color.  Actually, Read more

COVID 19 Precautions

With the scare of COVID here in the USA now, I wanted to post a little info about boosting immunity to prevent contracting the virus. Here are some important facts about Covid-19 It is spread by contact with Read more

Natural Tips for Avoiding Colds

This cold and flu season is still upon us and unfortunately, many patients are still being plagued by these nasty viral symptoms.  Here are a few tips to try if you feel like you are coming down with something. Of Read more

Sherry's Story

Sherry has a great story.  She has been diabetic for years and she has made some massive changes!   "I have been on a lifestyle change. It has been a year following a ketogenic food plan.  When I started this journey Read more

Pharmacy to Farmacy

Many of you may know Erin-- the fabulous Pharm D that worked in our office a few years back.  Erin is a phenomenal gal and we embarked on the journey  into natural medicine around the same time.  As we both Read more

clean eating

Chicken/Kale Pasta

A big shout out and thanks for this recipe share from Kim:

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Chicken/Kale Pasta

1 (16) oz. Gluten free pasta (you could also substitute spaghetti squash or zucchini ribbons)

4 (6oz) skinless and boneless chicken Breast cut into 1 inch pieces (organic/local)

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper (I like Pink Himalayan)

Extra virgin olive oil

Kerry gold butter

4 garlic cloves minced

1 cup (homemade) chicken broth

3/4 cup dry white wine

5 oz kale stemmed and coarsely chopped

2 cups grape tomatoes(halved)

1 cup shaved parmesan cheese

1)Prepare pasta as directed.

2) Season chicken with sea salt and pepper, cook in a single layer of hot oil and melted kerry gold butter in a large skillet over high heat without stirring for 1-2 minutes. Turn chicken: cook 2 more minutes or until done. Transfer chicken to plate.

3) Add garlic to skillet and reduce to medium heat. Cook constantly,for 30 seconds then add homemade chicken broth and wine, stirring to loosen browned bits from bottom of skillet, simmer 6-8 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Add kale, stirring until kale wilts.

4) Add kale mixture to reserved pasta. Stir in tomatoes and 1 cup shaved parmesan if desired.

Prep time 25 minutes Cook time 30 minutes

Posted on by Angela in Green Living, Nutrition, Organic, Uncategorized, Whole Food Leave a comment

Dee knows what to eat

Here’s another great post from Dee!!
As promised, here is an expanded narrative on focusing on what you can eat, instead of what you can’t. Let me start with an example of how one’s day goes on a diet. Let’s say there was a family gathering over the weekend and your neighbor’s half-eaten chocolate cheesecake was leftover in your fridge. You go to work on Monday with your cooler of veggies and mid-morning you start saying to yourself “I won’t eat that cheesecake, I won’t eat that cheesecake, I won’t eat that cheesecake.” After a nice, lunch of spinach salad and berries you start to think of your evening plans and again recite your directive of “I won’t eat that cheesecake…and on, and on. Guess what happens when you walk into your kitchen that night! You have practically brainwashed yourself on NEEDING to eat that cheesecake because it has been incessantly imprinted on your brain all day.

Right now, in order to gain better health, I have decided to not eat sugar, flour, potatoes, rice, pasta, fried food, fast food, high-fat food. That said, I cannot eat some of my favorite happy foods: Buffalo wings, pizza, egg rolls, baked Brie, loaded potato skins. (See where the need to change eating habits came from?)

Sounds like there’s nothing left to eat if I take away all of my favorite comfort foods. But let’s be honest. For the short list of what has to go away as I adjust to some better choices, here are some great things that I can eat: eggs, oatmeal, yogurt, pineapple, bananas, strawberries, oranges, kiwi, apples, blueberries, grapes, pomegranate, pecans, almonds, cashews, wheat tortillas, wheat pita, salsa, hot sauce, marinara sauce, spinach, avocado, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, tuna, turkey, chicken, salmon, ginger, tilapia, shrimp, lobster, filet Mignon.

True story: yesterday I had nothing planned for dinner and started thinking that maybe my kids would like a pizza because when Mama diets the whole family diets. That pizza notion turned into thinking maybe I would make a homemade flatbread pizza with turkey pepperoni. Then I thought maybe a turkey burger instead, no wait, a black bean burger on a bed of lettuce and tomato. By the time I pulled into the drive, I was actually craving a black bean burger and that’s what I had for dinner. It was delicious! Lucky for my kids and husband they had all gone out for Mexican before I got home.

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Detox Cleanse

Well, it’s that time of the year when we all start making resolutions for change.  We aspire to become better people and to take better care of ourselves.  We set unrealistic goals, take an all-or-nothing approach, and most of us will epically fail within the first few months.  Weight loss, nutrition, and self-improvement are choices that we make daily, every time we open our mouths to put something into our bodies. 

Many of you have asked about cleansing and detox kits.  Don’t buy them!  Anything that is artificial or comes as a supplement or powder isn’t worth chancing.

I do think cleansing and detox can be healthy and play a good role in jump starting you into a new healthier lifestyle.  I came across a 14 day detox program that uses only real food to detox which I think is safe for most.  It also incorporates social support for the program which is where many of us fail in our New Year’s Resolutions.  You can learn more about this at http://www.yurielkaim.com/

 

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Nutrition, Whole Food 1 Comment

Guess Who’s Back? Back Again? Dee is back–tell a friend!

Remember Dee?

Dee fell off the wagon for a while–heck don’t we all?  I’m not sure I’ve had a CLEAN eating day since Thanksgiving!   That’s not even mentioning the half a bottle of wine I probably polished off that day.  How is that for toxic calories?   But remember, it doesn’t have to be black or white and all or nothing.  It’s about meaningful eating and wanting to be a better version of yourself.  This counts in all aspects of life, not just eating and exercising.  It’s about individual behaviors, decisions, and not about outcomes.  I am responsible for how I look and feel today!  Nobody else forced me to eat badly, skip exercise, or allow negative thoughts to arise.  I did that all myself.   There is no quick fix in the game of life and dieting isn’t just a hobby!  Or at least it shouldn’t be–save that for something that is actually fun and not such hard work!  Our good blogger, hilarious writer, and real friend Dee emailed me that she is back in the game!  She missed the team spirit and wants to play–so let’s get inspired by her spirit  and rededicate ourselves as well.

Dee writes:

Taking a quick-lunch break to check in. I have been AWOL again but I just noticed that Dr. Angela re-linked my blog and I have a co-worker who has agreed to work with me in the area of accountability. There is a saying that people don’t do what’s expected, they do whats inspected. This is true for me. So, thanks to Dr. Angela and my new accountability partner (you know who you are) for helping me help myself.

This blog has really been a blast for me, and was a great tool in helping in my weight loss efforts. Last November/December I lost nearly 20 pounds and plan to do it again. Actually, if successful, I’ll be losing the same 20 pounds. Frustrating to admit, but I will never give up. I will make better choices and I will get control of my weight.

I shouldn’t admit this, but I really love Dr. Phil-isms. As much as I try, they always pop into my brain when relevant. So, I have to say that “the only way to fail, is to quit trying.” Check back for new posts this weekend.

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Exercise, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Clean Chocolate Bars

Thinking about the holidays?  I plan on giving all homemade gifts this year (yes, I am broke).  Because my sewing and knitting capabilities are lacking, I am looking for healthy recipes that follow along with our no artificial, whole, clean foods eating plan.  Here is a recipe Kathy stumbled upon that might be a keeper.

 

Chocolate Bars

(12 servings)

3/4 cup pure coconut oil

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup honey

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp sea salt

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients.  Whisk well.  Then spread the mixture over parchment lined cookie sheet and chill in the fridge over night.

Bah Bam!!!!  Now that is my kind of easy recipe!!!!!  Beware —you all may be getting these for the holidays!!!

You can find more clean recipes at http://www.thegraciouspantry.com   This is a great website with tons of CLEAN recipes!

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Nutrition, vegan, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Monsanto Evils

This post is for Cindy–a dear patient and friend who has been suffering from a debilitating illness since 2001.  She has been to Cleveland Clinic, Mayo, and to all of the top specialists in the fields of neurology, rheumatology, infectious disease, dermatology, oncology, cardiology, and pulmonology.  Geez–I think we hit every field of medicine.  However, I promised Cindy that I would never stop looking for what may actually be making her sick!  I recently did an ALCAT test on her to find that she has a severe intolerance to GLYPHOSATE.  Ba Bam!!!  Ironically, if you have been following the news lately, you are aware of  The Monsanto Company who exclusively produces Roundup Ready soybean seed for the commercial market.  Allegedly,  many of monsanto’s seed products are genetically modified to make them resistant to the Monsanto produced agricultural chemicals such as Round Up herbicide.  They also allegedly produce recombinant Bovine somatotropin.  Yes, I know  What???  It is a synthetic growth factor injected into cows to increase their milk production.  Watch this trailer for more information.  And watch out Erin Brockovich because if I cure Cindy by getting her off of Monsanto products—I’m casting Channing Tatum in the movie!

Posted on by Angela in Body, Call to action, Diet, disease, Exercise, Humor, Nutrition, vegan, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment