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

GMO

So this happened—

Maybe the full moon is making me crazy or I’m flat-out insane and haven’t come to full self-realization because tonight’s Kroger excursion resulted in $120 worth of legitimate poison for my children.  No different from injecting them with heroin, I literally bought so many processed/carb/sugar-laden foods I could have put a diabetic into a coma.  I’m definitely not headed for mother of the year.   Sidney(16) has already decided that I could possibly be one of the dumbest humans on Earth and am destined to ruin her life–so what did I really have to lose by buying her exactly what she wanted? It was a massive parenting fail — similar to that newborn cat-like scream she belted as she almost tumbled to the floor one of those first nights home from the hospital at 2 am.    No – that never happened!

I have come up with 3 reasons for my temporary insanity :

  1.  I’ve spent so much time preaching to patients and trying to work on my own diet that I have nothing left to give to my own family (geez that doesn’t sound like good judgement and reasoning)
  2.  I just don’t give a shit anymore!
  3. Or — I am so busy running between work, Emma’s softball practice, Sid’s band practice, and the usual laundry/cleaning etc– that I’m completely spent.   DING DING DING

Yep –I didn’t meal plan this weekend.  I caved into convenience when I got the text from Sidney complaining that we had NOOOOO FOOD in the house.  She wanted:

Wheat Thins

Goldfish Crackers

Tostitos with Nacho cheese and Salsa

Lucky Charms

String Cheese

Coke

Frozen Pizza

Pringles (cheddar cheese flavor)

Yep –I bought every single one of those GMO-laden processed foods and will serve them to the most important people in my life just to get that “good mom” card.   I feel terrible.  I won’t eat them but how can I serve them to my girls with a clear conscious?  I won’t –but I will this guilty and remorseful moment remind myself  that even though I preach healthy eating 24/7 like I am authentic–I’m not!  I’m no different from you (probably way worse).  This leads me to my brainstormed solution that I just came up with —–Meal prep —

This is my plan for next week —

Breakfast— it’s a play on the Panera egg white/avocado/spinach sandwich –sans the bread since I’m gluten-free IMG_4759

Lunch – I will pack some PB/J for Emma on gluten-free bread (she doesn’t know) along with fruit and some nuts or seeds —-with water or all natural fruit juice.

Dinner– some organic pastured chicken/wild caught fish/ or grass-fed meat with 2-3 veggies.

That’s about as good as it gets right now for our family.  I’m not a blogger that does bento box style vegan lunches for the kids –I wish I was more like that  pinterest savvy, Food Network Giada look-alike mom—- but that’s not me — or you I am guessing.

It’s baby steps –right?

In the comments below—let me know your tips to getting healthy meals on the table?  I’ll take any advice you have–

Or better yet, share the epic fails you have made because we are all in this together!

Posted on by Angela in Body, Family, Nutrition, Whole Food 8 Comments

8 GMO Foods to Avoid

What is a GMO?

A GMO (genetically modified organism) is the product of a lab process that takes genes from on species and inserts them into another species to attain a desired trait.  Viruses or bacteria are used to infect animal or plant cells with the new DNA.  The DNA is coated with tiny metal pellets and shot into the cells.  Then, the new DNA is injected into fertilized eggs and electric shocks create holes in the membranes of sperm forcing the new DNA into the holes.  Although, no research on humans has shown detrimental effects from eating GMO foods, numerous studies on animals have shown immune damage, pre-cancerous cell growth and many unexplained anomalies.

For more information on the history of GMO’s visit HERE

Here are the top 8 GMO foods to avoid

1.  CORN– corn is the most prominent genetically modified crop here in the US.  Please know your farmer if you want good fresh sweet corn–and ask what type of seeds he uses.

2.  SOY–90% of soy is genetically engineered to be resistant to Monsanto’s Roundup.

3.  SUGAR–since 2009, genetically modified beets have been used to make beet sugar.

4.  ASPARTAME -not only is one of those toxic food additives, it is actually made from genetically modified bacteria.

5.  PAPAYAS—yep, this wonderful fruit is exported here from Hawaii since 1999 and is genetically modified to be resistant to the Ringspot virus.  They are banned in all European countries.

6.  CANOLA– canola is made from rapeseed which is one of the most chemically modified and adapted oils.

7.  DAIRY–  1/5 of all dairy cows are injected with rBGA growth hormone from Monsanto—Drink organic or plant-based.  Remember that 93% of all soy is GMO— Silk Brand Soy milk is non-GMO.

8.   ZUCCHINI AND YELLOW SQUASH– most are genetically modified to resist viruses.

Luckily, Connecticut and Maine have recently passed laws requiring manufacturers to label all products with Genetically Engineered ingredients.

4 Tips to avoiding GMO

1.  Buy organic–labels saying 100% organic or made with organic ingredients

2.  Buy Non GMO–labels saying “artificial hormone free”

3.  Avoid high risk ingredients–corn, soybean, canola, cottonseed, sugar beets, corn syrup

4.  Download shopping guide and get the app “ShopNoGMO”—a great app with plenty of good information and specific products to avoid.BagofNon-GMOGroceries

Posted on by Angela in Call to action, disease, Nutrition, Organic, Whole Food Leave a comment

Don’t Hold the Mayo!

Traditional commercially prepared mayonnaise contains high levels of omega 6 oils which as we know lead to many disease states.  Hellman’s mayonnaise gets a C- score on the Fooducate website because of the GMO production.  Even Trader Joe’s mayonnaise which is non-GMO still contains chemicals and natural flavorings.  I stumbled upon this homemade mayo recipe in Mark Sisson’s , The Primal Blueprint Cookbook.

Mayonnaise

Ingredients:

1 whole egg or 2 egg yolks (best to get organic/pastured if possible)

2-3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

1 tsp of Dijon mustard

Dash of paprika

Pinch of salt

3/4 -1 cup pure olive oil (use refined or light olive oil)

Directions—

Whisk the ingredients together and drizzle in the oil with a hand-held whisk

Voila!!! 

Ranch Dressing

1 cup homemade mayonnaise (as above)

1 cup cultured buttermilk

1 tablespoon finely chopped green onions or chives

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1 tablespoon finely minced onion

1 small clove garlic, minced

dash of paprika

dash of cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Whisk together and enjoy—store in a tightly covered jar in the refrigerator

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Nutrition, Whole Food 2 Comments

Say NO to Lean Cuisine

Vani Hari aka “The Food Babe” does a great video exposing Lean Cuisine and helping the buyer beware on so-called “all natural” products.  I hate to say it, but I feel pretty sorry for the poor customer service representative on this call.  It’s not her fault.  This just reminds us of the importance of reading labels!!!

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

What is a GMO?

Here is Christa Orecchio from The Whole Journey giving some information about “What is a GMO?”

And here is the trailer to the fabulous documentary “Genetic Roulette”

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

ShopNoGMO

 

What is a GMO?

A GMO (genetically modified organism) is the product of a lab process that takes genes from on species and inserts them into another species to attain a desired trait.  Viruses or bacteria are used to infect animal or plant cells with the new DNA.  The DNA is coated with tiny metal pellets and shot into the cells.  Then, the new DNA is injected into fertilized eggs and electric shocks create holes in the membranes of sperm forcing the new DNA into the holes.  Although, no research on humans has shown detrimental effects from eating GMO foods, numerous studies on animals have shown immune damage, pre-cancerous cell growth and many unexplained anomalies.

4 Tips to avoiding GMO

1.  Buy organic–labels saying 100% organic or made with organic ingredients

2.  Buy Non GMO–labels saying “artificial hormone free”

3.  Avoid high risk ingredients–corn, soybean, canola, cottonseed, sugar beets, corn syrup

4.  Download shopping guide and get the app “ShopNoGMO”—a great app with plenty of good information and specific products to avoid.

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Exercise, Nutrition, vegan, Whole Food 2 Comments

Breaking up!

Instead—-upgrade to a more healthy alternative–try Spectrum’s Coconut spray oil available at http://www.spectrumorganics.com

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

Genetic Roulette

Here is the trailer to Genetic Roulette which will help explain a little about GMO’s and why our food is making us so sick!  The version above is closed captioned and the one below is subtitled in spanish.

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

Fiber One Bars–Epic Fail

The mornings can be hectic getting ready for work, rousing a 5-year-old for Kindergarten, and calming a preteen in outfit crisis.  I hit the grocery last week in hopes of grabbing something healthy for the kids to eat quickly if that unexpected event put us in time crunch mode.  Wow, I should have used my fooducate app at the store before bringing these goodies home.  They get a “D” rating which is downright awful.  Who knew?  Read those labels!
 Contains controversial artificial colors
 For dieters: FoodPoints value is 2
 Controversial additive BHT present
 Serving size unusally small
 Dare you to count how many sugar— ings here?

NUTRIENTS

Value My Daily Value
Calories 90 Kcal ?
Total Fat 2.5 g ?
Saturated Fat 1 g ?
Trans Fat 0 g ?
Cholesterol 0 mg ?
Sodium 80 mg ?
Total Carbohydrate 17 g ?
Dietary Fiber 5 g ?
Sugars 5 g ?
Protein 1 g ?

INGREDIENTS

Chicory Root Extract, Rice Flour, Sugar, Whole Grain Oats, High Maltose Corn Syrup, Milk Chocolate Chunks (Sugar, Whole Milk Powder, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate Liquor, Soy Lecithin, Milkfat, Salt, Natural Flavor), Honey, Puffed Wheat, Palm Kernel Oil, Glycerin, Roasted Peanuts, Maltodextrin, Canola Oil, Cocoa, Peanut Butter (Peanuts, Salt), Soy Lecithin, Salt, Nonfat Milk, Malt Extract, Whey, Natural Flavor, Reduced Minerals Whey, Peanut Flour Partially Defatted, Cellulose Gum, Fructose, Color (Yellows 5 & 6 Lake, Red 40 Lake, Blue 1 Lake and Other Color Added), Baking Soda, BHT and Mixed Tocopherols Added to Retain Freshness.
Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Nutrition, vegan, Whole Food 2 Comments

Cow Farts

“I’ll never stop eating animals, I’m sure, but I do think that for the benefit of everyone, the time

has come to stop raising them industrially and stop eating them thoughtlessly.” (Mark Bittman)

Mark Bittman is a bestselling cookbook author, journalist and television personality. His friendly, informal approach to home cooking has shown millions that fancy execution is no substitute for flavor and soul.  Listen to this entertaining and informative talk on the necessity of changing our diets for the future of mankind.

Posted on by Angela in Call to action, cancer, Diet, disease, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment