To all my faithful readers:  Are you part of a group, organization or company that is looking for someone to facilitate and present health and wellness classes, keynotes and, or offer healthy tips via video for employees? I’ve been teaching corporate workshops for the past 7-years and I customize for specific needs of each company. Contact me for more info jolene@healthydiscoveries.com.  Here’s a demo video that I put together this summer:

Have a great weekend!

Last weekend I attended The Cooking For Well-Being Conference, a Weekend of Traditional Cooking Techniques.  Monica Corrado, certified nutritionist and chef taught the course.  The class was centered around the research from Weston A. Price and Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions – The Cookbook That Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and Diet Dictocrats.

Weston Price was an American dentist who traveled the globe in the 1930′s. Price studied cultures that were healthy, thriving and free from modern day diseases.  His research shows their diets and food preparation techniques had these things in common:

Healthy Diets-

1. Eat whole, natural foods.
2. Eat only foods that will spoil, but eat them before they do.
3. Eat naturally-raised meat including fish, seafood, poultry, beef, lamb, game, organ meats and eggs.
4. Eat whole, naturally-produced milk products from pasture-fed cows, preferably raw and/or fermented, such as whole yogurt, cultured butter, whole cheeses and fresh and sour cream.
5. Use only traditional fats and oils including butter and other animal fats, extra virgin olive oil, expeller expressed sesame and flax oil and the tropical oils-coconut and palm.
6. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables, preferably organic, in salads and soups, or lightly steamed.
7. Use whole grains and nuts that have been prepared by soaking, sprouting or sour leavening to neutralize phytic acid and other anti-nutrients.
8. Include enzyme-enhanced lacto-fermented vegetables, fruits, beverages and condiments in your diet on a regular basis.
9. Prepare homemade meat stocks from the bones of chicken, beef, lamb or fish and use liberally in soups and sauces.

Unhealthy Diets-

1. Do not eat commercially processed foods such as cookies, cakes, crackers, TV dinners, soft drinks, packaged sauce mixes, etc. Read labels!
2. Avoid all refined sweeteners such as sugar, dextrose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup and fruit juices.
3. Avoid white flour, white flour products and white rice.
4. Avoid all hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats and oils.
5. Avoid all refined liquid vegetable oils made from soy, corn, safflower, canola or cottonseed.
6. Do not use polyunsaturated oils for cooking, sauteing or baking.
7. Avoid foods fried in polyunsaturated oils or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
8. Do not practice veganism. Animal products provide vital nutrients not found in plant foods.
9. Avoid products containing protein powders as they usually contain carcinogens formed during processing; and consumption of protein without the co-factors occurring in nature can lead to deficiencies, especially of vitamin A.
10. Avoid processed, pasteurized milk; do not consume ultra-pasteurized milk products, low-fat milk, skim milk, powdered milk or imitation milk products.
11. Avoid factory-farmed eggs, meats and fish.
12. Avoid highly processed luncheon meats and sausage.
13. Avoid rancid and improperly prepared seeds, nuts and grains found in granola, quick rise breads and extruded breakfast cereals, as they block mineral absorption and cause intestinal distress.
14. Avoid canned, sprayed, waxed and irradiated fruits and vegetables. Avoid genetically modified foods (found in most soy, canola and corn products).
15. Avoid artificial food additives, especially MSG, hydrolyzed vegetable protein and aspartame, which are neurotoxin. Most soups, sauce and broth mixes and most commercial condiments contain MSG, even if not indicated on the label.

Today the Weston A. Price Foundation continues to provide valuable resources to the public.  They have monthly meet-up groups all around the country where people learn and share about local organic farms, grass-fed meat, raw milk resources, and so much more!

They also offer cooking and healthy eating classes throughout the year.  On July 15th I attended my first Weston A. Price Cooking For Well-Being Conference in Broomfield, Colorado and I loved it.  I highly recommend attending a Weston A. Price conference for an in-depth understanding of why grass fed meat, traditional fats, pastured eggs and dairy, nutrient dense fruits, vegetables, non GMO foods, pure water, and wild seafood are so important to prepare and eat with your family on a regular basis.

On Friday night our course instructor, Monica opened the conference with a two-hour lecture called,

What Is Real Food? And Why Does It Matter?

Then on Saturday and Sunday we learned how to cook the Weston A. Price recommendations since we’ve lost many of the traditional cooking techniques which maximize digestion, absorption & nutrient availability

Traditional Fermentation Techniques:  Lacto-Fermented Vegetables, Condiments and Beverage

• Aids digestion.
• If you eat, drink lacto-fermented foods and beverages, you can skip that probiotic pill every day

We made:

Salt solo sauerkraut, salt brine sauerkraut, salt and whey brine sauerkraut and fruit kvass (fermented fruit beverage) with berries, apple (core included), grated ginger, whey from kefir, water and salt.

All recipes can be found in the Nourishing Traditions Cookbook.

Nutrient Dense Stock

• Stock is an original super food. Rich in valuable minerals. Athletes, pregnant woman, nursing women, growing children should all drink stock!
• Check out US Wellness Meats for grass fed, meat and bones.

The Beiler Broth was my favorite. Recommended for energy, overall health, fasting.  This combination of vegetables is ideal for restoring acid/alkaline and sodium/potasium balance to the organs and glands. Especially the adrenal glands.  Beiler Broth is highly recommended for anyone under stress.

I just completed a 30 Day Paleo Challenge.  I started it on June 17th and finished on July 18th.

My results?

I lost 13.5 pounds and 4 inches!

This is me on Memorial Day 2011 in the Bolder Boulder 10K Race.  I do not like this picture of me, but I’m posting it because it’s the only recent picture I had of myself  in workout clothes.

Fast forward to Monday July 18th, and this time I have lost the slouch, the sweatshirt and the 13.5 pounds.  And I feel much better than I did one month ago.

Paleo Diet Challenge In A Nut Shell:

I know, I know, you’re thinking,  ”This is I.M.P.O.S.S.I.B.L.E. there is NO WAY I could ever do this.”

That’s cool, I have no special interest in you eating this way or not eating this way.

But I want to tell you why I feel I was successful in such a short amount of time and why I think you’d be pleasantly surprised if you committed to your own 30-day Paleo Challenge.  30 days is nothing in the big picture of things.  If you hate it, then stop after the 30 days and never eat that way again, but you really have nothing to lose (except weight) and:

a.)  This isn’t as hard as it first appears.

b.)  You will look and feel so much better.

How I Approached My 30 Day Challenge

1.  I made a decision that I was going to do it- I stuck to it and I did not “cheat”, ever.  I made up my mind and my focus was laser sharp for 30 days.  Honestly people, making a decision to follow-thru and not quit is 60% of your success.

Now, let me say this.  It took me awhile before I decided to fully commit to this challenge.  It wasn’t that I was going through McDonalds drive-thru, I was just depleted.  I was weighed down and bloated with emotions that I wasn’t digesting and eliminating.  I reached for some comfort in food in order to replace the sweetness and calm that I wasn’t finding in my life.  It doesn’t work, I know that.  But the Bhakti Chai, corn tortilla enchiladas, blue chips and hummus, red wine, gluten-free cookies, and Justin’s chocolate peanut butter cups comforted me temporarily.  I needed that, and I’m not ashamed to say that.  I didn’t beat myself up then and I don’t beat myself up now.  It’s simply the place I was in and it had nothing to do with my lack of nutritional understanding.

I’m telling you this because if you’re in a starch and sugar rut right now, it may be exactly what you need to do.  So keep doing it!  I’m totally serious.  Give yourself a break and eat the cookie.  That’s what I did!

The research shows, and I agree, that when you stop berating yourself about what you ate, or didn’t eat, and how you think you look, you will be less likely to abuse yourself with food and chronic dieting.

However…

So on June 17th I decided it was time for me to change things up.  I needed a challenge because I had felt stagnate for too long.

2.  I Chose Paleo over anything else – I’ve studied and eaten Paleo  70%-80% of the time for years (I’m gluten-free) and I know it is biochemically sound, so I committed myself to a strict Paleo regime.  Here’s what I ate (and didn’t eat).

I didn’t eat processed foods

I didn’t eat grains or legumes- This includes soy, rice, corn, wheat, and any grain product like pasta, breads, or cereal as well as legumes (beans) and white potatoes.

I didn’t eat dairy- This includes milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, cottage cheese, sour cream, cream cheese.

I didn’t eat sugars- This includes all refined, processed and artificial sugars.  I didn’t drink soda (diet or regular) and I eliminated all alcohol.

I didn’t eat processed vegetable oils –  Soybean, peanut, cottonseed oils.

I did eat real foods

I did increase healthy fats – Coconut oil, pastured butter, avocado, fish and nut oils.

I did eat an abundance of colorful vegetables (50% of every meal if possible) and fruit when desired - beet tops, kale, collard greens, zucchini, spinach, berries, watermelon, pineapple, apples, etc

I did eat protein – beef, bison, chicken, turkey, fish, lamb, eggs

Here is a sample of my typical meals:

Breakfast

• Eggs, nitrate-free bacon, sometimes blueberries, often zucchini, spinach or whatever vegetable I had on hand to mix into my eggs.
• Tuna salad or egg salad on some leafy greens
• Salmon and veggies (left-over from the night before)
• Roasted chicken and veggies (left over from the night before)
• Smoothie – Whey Protein Powder (I use Jay Robb, chocolate because it’s one of the cleanest retail protein powders available) collard greens, beet tops, blackberries, ground flax seeds (2 tablespoons), water. Throw it all in the blender.  Liquify.  Drink!

Lunch

• Any protein, veggie left-overs I had from the night before.

• I’m often eating out at lunch so these are some of my go-to-fast-food-picks.

*Wahoo’s Fish Tacos - Grilled white fish and grilled veggies only $4.00 which I think is a great deal.

*Lark Burger – All natural Angus burger wrapped in lettuce with a side salad.

*Mad Greens – Any salad with chicken or steak (I like the Ty Cobb or Edgar Allen Poe Salads).

*Jimmy John’s  Unwich - Roast beef, turkey and tomato wrapped in lettuce.

*The Cup (my favorite Boulder coffee shop) – I order my regular turkey, avocado, tomato and lettuce club and then remove the gluten-free bread that I normally eat.  If I’m there for breakfast I have eggs, ham and avocado, they call it their Paleo option, imagine that

Dinner

• Every Day Paleo Cookbook – I use this a lot!  The author is a 30-something mom who only prepares protein and vegetable meals for her family.  The fact that her 3 growing boys love all the meals in this cookbook is a huge testament to her recipes.  Here’s a quick video about this cookbook.  One of my favorite recipes is the curry meatballs, I use bison meat.   Sarah, also has a fantastic podcast, she answers readers questions about anything and everything Paleo.

• Primal Blue Print Cookbook – More great protein, vegetable based recipes!  And Mark Sisson has one of the best websites about primal (same thing as Paleo) eating.

• Last night (Day 29 of my challenge) I grilled shrimp with curry powder, sauteed zucchini in coconut oil and had fresh pineapple for dinner.  This is a typical dinner for me, I tend to cook more fish at home.

• If I’m traveling or eating out with friends for dinner, I choose beef, grilled chicken or fish with a side of grilled/steamed veggies and a salad.

Social Occasions

• 4th of July – My friends and family annual picnic included a taco bar this year.  I ate the pulled pork, grilled chicken, pico de gallo, fresh avocado, lettuce, tomato, watermelon and berries.
• Italian Restaurant – I went out to eat with my sister and her boyfriend at one of their favorite pizza spots.  I ordered a grilled steak salad.
• Business Happy Hour – Most people were drinking beer, wine and eating tortilla chips. I ordered shrimp cocktail and drank water.
• Grace Potter Concert - I met friends before the concert for a drink.  They had beers and I had water.  I ate dinner at home before I left.
• Girls Bunco Group – There are always bowls of candy on the tables as we rotate through our dice game.  I usually eat some candy at Bunco, this month I didn’t eat any.

Not one person asked me why I skipped the taco shell/tortillas/candy or why I ordered shrimp instead of eating chips and just drank water.  I didn’t talk about it either, we honestly had more interesting things to talk about then people’s food selections.

Moral of the story, the less of a production you make about what you’re eating (to yourself or others) the less of an issue it is. I told maybe 3 people that I was doing The Paleo Challenge this month.  I went on with my life and rarely mentioned it.

Do not make this difficult.  You can pretty much ALWAYS find protein, vegetables and water options wherever you go.  Drop the OMG-What-Will-I-Eat-If-I-Can’t-Eat-Bread/Sugar drama and enjoy your nourishing social interactions and relationships while you nourish yourself with real, whole, nutrient rich foods.

Easy Peasy!

Snacks

I don’t snack per se.  I always ate 3 meals (I never skipped a meal) and I often eat 4 or 5 meals a day. I don’t count calories, I never have.  If I’m hungry I eat a meal, i.e. some left over egg salad and steamed broccoli that is in my refrigerator.  In a pinch I’ll have a Larabar (dates, nuts, fruit) but I try to avoid that and just eat a combination of a lean protein, healthy fat and colorful vegetables whenever I’m hungry.

3.  I did power (hot) yoga 3-4 times a week – I know a lot of people have negative connotations toward yoga for various reasons, and believe me, I get it!  I rolled up my yoga mat four years ago and didn’t step foot into a yoga studio for a long time.  But, there are many different styles of yoga and I have slowly come back.  The other thing is, I am the least flexible person in the world.  Truly I am!  But I find I really enjoy the flow sequence of Baptiste Power Yoga and Vinasaya classes. I feel great (mentally and physically) afterwards.

I also walked a 3-mile path in the hills of South Denver a couple times a week, but I felt like I really wanted yoga to be my primary source of exercise during this 30-day challenge.

Why?

Jada Teta, Naturopathic Doctor and personal trainer says, “You can either eat your way to gaining weight or stress yourself there.”  I think I did a lot of the later.

I needed to start moving some of those “issues out of my tissues” by sweating, twisting, stretching and bending my body.  Yoga classes were a perfect outlet for me.  Moving stagnate emotional energy out of your body through yoga or any exercise that resonates with you will always help the scale go down!

4.  I took Carnitine- I lost an average of 3.3 pounds per week.  I believe I lost 2 pounds each week because I ate Paleo based meals and I had a consistent yoga practice.  I believe I lost the other 1.3 pounds each week from Carnitine.  I love Carnitine!  I don’t know why more people don’t know about it and why more nutritionists don’t recommend it?

What is Carnitine? *It is sometimes thought of as an amino acid but it is actually very similar to choline, which is a B-vitamin.

What Carnitine is not – It is not a stimulate or diet drug.  It is naturally found in animal products, especially red meat.  However, unless you are eating pounds of (grass-fed) red meat every day (I’m certainly not doing that) you probably aren’t getting enough Carnitine.

What does Carnitine do? – *Carnitine supports weight loss.  It picks up fat and puts it in the part of the cell that burns if off without any side effects.  Scientific evidence shows that increased levels of Carnitine lead to increased fat burning.  Carnitine also helps increase metabolic rate while maintaining levels of muscle tissue.  This is crucial because muscle tissue is where you do most of your fat burning.  Carnitine is also useful for eliminating cravings and increasing the amount of energy you have for exercise, both of which are very helpful for those who want to lose weight.

My lean muscle to fat ratio is good right now. My body fat dropped to 16%.  I’m thrilled that I actually lost fat pounds and not muscle pounds during this 30 day period.  I attribute that to Carnitine.

Other Benefits - *Increases energy levels, lowers cholesterol and triglycerides, promotes heart health, promotes healthy circulation, promotes liver health.

Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?

Not only is it true but it is totally legit.  It’s a B-vitamin that you’re getting every time you eat a burger or steak (one of the many reasons to eat your beef, huh?)  Robert Crayhon, one of my nutrition mentors, and a man truly ahead of his time in the nutrition field, wrote The Carnitine Miracle in 2001, I highly recommend educating yourself on this nutrient, especially if you want to enhance weight loss.

Where Can You Get Carnitine? – I use Designs for Health (DFH) liquid Carnitine.  1 teaspoon equals 2500 mg.  I took it in the mornings with breakfast and then went to yoga.

DFH is a pharmaceutical grade, nutraceutical company that only sells to functional medicine medical doctors, acupuncturists, nutritionists, osteopaths, naturopaths, etc.  So you have to find a nutritionally oriented practitioner who carries liquid Carnitine.  I would not recommend buying capsules from places like Costco.  You need a high quality, high amount (2 grams), pure, trustworthy source.

Finally, don’t take Carnitine and then sit around and eat pop-tarts and drink diet soda, have you seen the recent studies on diet soda and weight gain? If you take it while you eat a crappy diet you probably won’t see any benefit, and liquid Carnitine is not cheap.  So don’t waste your time or money with Carnitine of you’re not dedicated to actively changing your diet.

*Source=DFH

5.  I drank a lot of water - I drank a minimum of 80 ounces of water every day and some days I’d drink 120 ounces (almost a gallon).

Don’t whine about this.  Drinking water is a crucial yet easy step in this whole process.  Just do it!

If you truly want to lose fat and avoid plateaus in your fat-loss process you HAVE to drink copious amounts of water. (80-100 ounces a day is probably a good range for most adults to drink over the course of a day.)

But there are two parts to this.

1.  Eliminate all soda (diet and regular),  juice, alcohol, chai, sweetened coffee, sweetened tea, and any artificially sweetened or “naturally” flavored water look a likes!

2.  Only drink fresh pure water, and drink it every day.  There’s probably a good argument for adding some pure electrolytes, trace minerals, or a pinch of Celtic Sea Salt to your water too, but we can talk about that later.

For the past 30 days all I drank was water.  Every once in awhile I would make one cup of herbal spice tea. I brewed 1 tea bag in the evening and drank a cup of tea before bed. That’s it. Taking my coveted Bhakti Chai and red wine out of my diet made a big difference.  They both add up to a lot of sugar over a 30 day time period.  Excess sugar (especially in drinks) = excess pounds.

Booyah!  I think that is officially the longest post I’ve ever written.

Now What?

I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing, no big changes.  I’m thrilled with how my body transformed in 4 short weeks.  And more importantly, I feel great.  I function so much better when I eat protein, vegetables, healthy fats (90% of the time) and eliminate grains and sugars.  So I’m sticking to it!  Does this mean I’ll never eat a chocolate peanut butter cup again?  Of course not.  But they are “treats” and not part of my every day coping mechanism right now. I will add a new dimension into my exercise routine, but I’ll blog about that later.

In the meantime, If you want help developing your own 30 Day Challenge, or you want to use Carnitine, electrolytes, and tweak your current routine, I can take a look your recent blood panels and any metabolic disturbances that might be tripping you up like thyroid issues, food intolerance, or cravings that sabotage you.  It doesn’t have to be that way, believe me, you can make some sustainable changes.

You now know my recent story and how I’ll use this to enhance my current consulting practice. I also continue to use my clinical nutrition experience from the last decade.  If you know me personally, you know that I’ll never take a “purist” or “guru” approach with you. My friend Connie wrote a blog post about what it’s like to mingle with me at a party on a Saturday night. This sums up how I try to approach all my patients and clients.

I work with people in person, over the phone or via Skype.  I will support you when you need it (because more than likely I’ve been there too) and I’ll hold your feet to the fire and keep you accountable (since I just finished holding my own feet to the fire, I’m reinvigorated with new tips and resources). Each session is $85.  Contact: jolene@healthydiscoveries.com

Resources

Frequently Asked Questions About The Paleo Diet

Nutritional Analysis of Paleo Foods vs. Whole Grains

The Paleo Solution – by Robb Wolf

The Paleo Diet – Loren Cordain

The Paleo Diet For Athletes - Loren Cordain

My family and I celebrated Mother’s Day on our family farm yesterday.

This is the house where I grew up.  My great grandparents, grandparents, parents, sister and I have all lived here. This house is over 80 years old and it’s where my parents still live today.

This is our barn, the FN stands for Fritz Niemeyer.  Fritz was my great great grandfather, he homesteaded our family farm in 1888.

My sister and I are the fifth generation to be born and raised on these 260 acres in Northeastern Colorado.

After 120 years our farm is still operating.  This is a picture of my dad chopping forage last summer.

And here’s yours truly in the pig pen on Easter morning.  No, these pigs are not cooped up and factory farmed, in case you saw Food Inc.  They are let out daily and roam freely around the barn yard in the bright sunlight and fresh air.

Yesterday, on Mother’s Day, I made a pork tenderloin for dinner.  It’s one of our family favorites.

I don’t like most grocery store pork tenderloin because they add sodium, MSG and goodness knows what else. Even though my family has raised sheep, cattle, chickens, and dairy cows over the years, along with planting a garden each summer; I don’t have the opportunity to eat farm fresh food every day.  And no, the pork tenderloin we ate yesterday did not come from the above picture!

A couple weeks ago I heard about a new market in the Highlands District of Denver.

It’s called, In Season Local Market.

Their mantra:  “if it’s not from here, it’s not in here.” They are dedicated to providing local food (within a 250 mile radius) that is naturally and ethically grown, raised, harvested and processed. In Season Local Market is about re-evaluating the way we eat and shop for groceries. By buying and eating locally, we can eat fresher, better food and support our own community.

Since this is the way I was raised and how my grandfathers and father always farmed, I was very excited to find “clean” pork tenderloins at In Season Local Market in Denver.  They also have things like; cheese, beef, bison, chicken, eggs, vegetables, fruits and honey  Click here to view the full grocery selection.

I was telling my sister about my latest Healthy Discovery and she told me about something she recently signed up for.

It’s called Door To Door Organics

They deliver a variety of fruit and veggie boxes straight to your door. The contents change every week based on the freshest arrivals from Colorado organic farms.

Now I’m following my sister’s lead and signing up for this.  I can’t wait to get my first box of fresh Colorado fruits and veggies!  Both my sister and I travel a lot for our jobs so Door To Door Organics allows you to put a week(s) on hold if you’re out of town.

If you don’t live in Colorado and can’t take advantage of these Healthy Discoveries look around your own area for locally grown farm fresh food.

A great place to start is Farmer’s Markets.

In the age of movies like Food Inc, and Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution people are remembering the benefits of the back-to-the-basics-farm-fresh-food.

Fritz, my great great grandfather (who spent cold winters in the late 1890′s building our farm house). Archie, my great grandfather (who plowed the fields 14-hours a day with mules) and James, my grandfather (who milked cows by hand twice a day) would all be proud, yet probably chuckle a bit at this “modern day trend”!

In February my friend Kendra taught me some fun, new ways to add more flavor into recipes.  Over a course of four Saturday afternoons she and I cooked up a storm in my kitchen.  We made:

• An herb roasted chicken.
• A pork loin rubbed with fresh spices and a cherry preserve sauce.
• Steamed fish, herbs and vegetables in parchment paper.
• Coconut rice with stir fry vegetables.
• Delicious polenta and quinoa.  Here is one of Kendra’s Quinoa recipes.

She even taught me how to make the perfect omelet.  Who knew?  I certainly didn’t!

Kendra is the owner of Flavor Catering, she makes some of the healthiest, best tasting food I have ever had; so I asked her to give me some cooking lessons using this criteria:

1.  2-5 ingredients (I have no patience to tackle complicated recipes).

2.  Whole food (no heavy creams, sauces, gluten, sugar or bad fats).

3.  FLAVOR!

Today, for lunch I was in the mood for one of her many flavorful creations.  I grabbed my camera and thought I’d take you along as I make this easy and oh so tasty recipe.

If you like egg salad and if you like curry, you’ll love this.  Warning, after trying this version of egg salad you’ll never want to eat plain old mashed up hard boiled eggs with a dollop of mayo again.

CURRY EGG SALAD

Ingredients:  Eggs, scallions, curry powder, real mayonnaise, craisins, pepper

Put the eggs in a covered pot of cold water.

Bring the water to a boil.

Once the water has come to a boil turn the heat off and leave the eggs in the covered pot for 20 minutes.

Let the eggs cool in cold ice water for 20-30 minutes.

Peel the eggs

Mash up those eggs.  I just use a fork.

Keep mashing!

Dice and add the scallions

Add a handful of craisins (I used dried pomegranate craisins today)

Add 1-2 Tablespoons of curry powder (depending on how many eggs you use)

Add 1-2 Tablespoons of mayonnaise (depending on how many eggs you use)

Mix everything together

Voila the Best Egg Salad ever!

I’ll be eating this for lunch the next couple days.  Honestly, it’s hard for me to even get it to a plate.  I just start scooping it out of the bowl and into my mouth – Not very civilized, I know, but a testament to its amazing flavor!

Curry Egg Salad

4 hard boiled eggs (I used 8 eggs today because I wanted left-overs)

*1/4 cup scallions

*2 T curry powder

*2 T real mayonnaise (don’t use the fat-free mayo.  Use the real thing.  Remember a little fat is good, trans-fats/partially hydrogenated oils are the bad fats and they are often found in fat-free mayo)

*handful of craisins

dash of ground pepper

*Adjust to your own taste preferences

Some Nutritional Pearls For Curried Eggs:

Eggs- A perfect source of protein, containing all 9 amino acids.

Turmeric (found in curry powder) – Anti-inflammatory properties which guard against muscle and joint pain.  Turmeric also has anti-tumor effects and it’s great for your liver.

Scallions – Powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibiotic and antiviral effects.

Pomegranates – Can slow the growth of prostate cancer, promotes cardiovascular health by reducing the LDL (bad) cholesterol.

Cranberries – Helps prevent urinary tract infections, reduces dental plague and cranberries can stop certain bacteria from sticking to the stomach lining, thus helping to prevent ulcers.

For more Nutritional Pearls on all types of food check out, Jonny Bowden’s book, The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth:  The Surprising Unbiased Truth About What You Should Eat And Why. If you’re worried about eggs increasing your cholesterol, don’t be!  Sugar and trans-fats are the culprit NOT eggs. – The Cholesterol Myths: Exposing The Fallacy That Saturated Fat And Cholesterol Cause Heart Disease. So enjoy those eggs, yolk and all!

For more information about Kendra and her company, Flavor Catering, click here.  Kendra also writes a weekly blog post for the Denver Westword, called Swirl Girl.  It is about food, wine and local restaurants.

Giselle and I work together.  We share a nutritionist position and work with an Internal Medicine Doctor in Littleton, Colorado. We see patients for weight loss, cholesterol, diabetes, celiac disease, and general nutrition counseling.  I love it!  One-on-one coaching is incredibly rewarding.

When we’re not seeing patients Giselle and I travel for our respective companies.  Giselle manages corporate health fairs around the US and I teach corporate health workshops around the US.  She has become one of my best friends.

(Giselle doing yoga in the Colorado Mountains)

Last Saturday Giselle and I attended a functional medicine conference in Broomfield, Colorado; then we went to Root Down for a late brunch.

Root Down is all the rage in Denver these days.  As nutritionists we were interested in the healthy, unique menu.  As Denverites we were long over due in visiting this hot spot.  This is what the Denver Post had to say;  “The place is packed. Solid. Hipsters, foodies, trendsetters — the beautiful people and their hangers-on come in droves to see the tricked-out, eco-conscious space.”

Really?

Yes, really!

Too bad I didn’t follow the crowd and the rave reviews a long time ago (it has been open for 14 months). This restaurant is a huge Healthy Discovery!

Root Down is a former gas station/mechanic’s garage.  Lanes from an old bowling alley serve as the bar surface, wood slats from an old high school gym are now part of the dining room floor and the bathroom wall is plastered with old cookbook pages.  On the weekends they show old movies (Kung Fu, When Harry Met Sally) on the big wall in the bar.

(Photo from RootDown.com)

And then there’s the menu. Oh my, The Menu! Following a “Field to Fork” mentality, Root Down focuses on organic, natural and local food.

Here is a sample of  their menu:

Banana Bread French Toast / Organic Chickory Creme Friache, Spiced Walnuts & Fruit Salad

Hazel Dell Mushroom Omelette / Goat Cheese, Roasted Mushroom, Sage & Caramelized Onion Creme Friache

Organic Beets 3 Ways/ Roasted Goldens, Fried Candy Stripes & Pickled Reds, Shaved Fennel, Organic Arugula, Candied Walnuts, Ewephoria Cheese & Citrus Vin

Organic Carrot & Red Curry Soup / Organic Gala Apple-Pear Chutney & Cilantro

Sweet Potato “Falafel” / Lemon-Tahini Yogurt, Israeli Salad, Sesame Seeds & Serrano Oil

Grilled Green Globe Whole Artichoke / Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Spicy Lemon-Herb Aoili

King Canyon Ranch Buffalo Sliders / Mongolian BBQ, Shitake Mushroom Relish, Arugula,
Udi’s Challah Bun & Burdock Root Chips

This is what I ordered:

Root Down Benedict / Quinoa “English Muffin”, Arugula, Iberico Cheese, & Oven Dried Tomato Hollandaise & Home Fries

It was AMAZING, the picture doesn’t do justice!  It was so tasty, I loved the Quinoa cakes in place of toast (they have many gluten-free options on their menu) I will return and order it again! Plus I can’t wait to try more things from their menu.

This is Bobby, the manager.  Doesn’t he look nice?  He is nice.  Say hi when you go.  We liked Bobby. He stopped and chatted with us; then he gave us a tour.

Root Down serves healthy, whole food – the exact food that Giselle and I recommend our patients eat.  It is a fun, happy, healthy place.  Check it out next time you’re in Denver - Located at the corner of 33rd and Osage.

1600 W. 33rd Avenue
Denver, CO 80211
303.993.4200/www.rootdown.com

AND

If you’re interested in scheduling one-on-one nutrition counseling sessions email me jolene@healthydiscoveries.com

If you know me, you know I love Omega 3 fats (fish oil, krill oil, flax seeds).

I recommend my patients add them to their diet.  I personally supplement my diet with fish oil, and I give away samples when I teach corporate wellness workshops.  Omega 3 fats are nutritional gold.  If you want to read more about my thoughts on these glorious fats go here and here.

Since I have an obsessive penchant interest in healthy fats it should be no surprise that I’ve recently fallen in love with another fat, and like anyone who has recently found new love, I want to tell you all about it, a.k.a. my latest Healthy Discovery!

1.  Coconut Oil Has Powerful Antimicrobial, Antibacterial, Antiviral Properties -

Coconut oil is a saturated fat with high levels of lauric acid which is a medium-chain triglyceride (MCT).  MCT’s are healthy fatty acids that naturally kill the following bacteria.

• Steptococcus- (throat infections, pneumonia, sinusitis)
• Staphyloccus- (food poisoning, urinary tract infections)
• Neisseria- (meningitis, gonorrhea, pelvic inflammatory disease)
• Chlamydia- (genital infections, conjunctivitis, pneumonia, periodontitis)
• Helicobacter Pylori – (stomach ulcers)

At least a dozen other pathogenic viruses have been reported to be inactivated by the MCT in coconut oil.  MCT’s also kill candida and other fungi in the intestinal tract but they do not kill the good intestinal flora.

2.  Coconut Oil Can Help You Lose Weight Or Maintain Ideal Body Weight-

• The MCT’s in coconut oil are easier to digest that other fats.
• The body uses MCT’s for energy and does not store them as fat.
• Some people swear by adding up to 3 tablespoons of coconut oil to their diet each day for weight loss and increased thyroid/metabolic  function.

3. But Isn’t The Saturated Fat In Coconut Oil Bad?

Nope!  Tranfats are the “bad fats.”  Watch one of my favorite medical doctors, Michael Eades M.D. explain the saturated fat myth in Big Fat Lies.  For more of Dr. Eades well researched critiques on nutritional science visit his blog.

4.  How Do You Cook With Coconut Oil?

Use coconut oil instead of other oils in your daily cooking. A “better than butter” replacement on bread (it makes fantastic cinnamon toast) and steamed veggies, or a tasty and nutritious substitute for shortening in baking. You can blend coconut oil in smoothies (that’s what I do!), or  use it as a topping on popcorn.

Coconut oil requires no refrigeration and can be stored like olive oil. It is solid at room temperature and melts at 76 degrees, whereby it becomes a liquid.  Note:  when you buy coconut oil, buy high quality Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, don’t buy virgin coconut oil or straight coconut oil! My favorite brand is Nutiva.

5. Rejuvenate Your Skin And Prevent Wrinkles With Coconut Oil-

It helps protect your skin from free radicals and it improves the skin’s appearance with its anti-aging properties. I may or may not slather coconut oil all over my face at night before bed.  It’s an incredible moisturizer in my dry Colorado climate!

Additional Resources:

Dr Mercola speaking about Coconut Oil

The Coconut Oil Miracle (Previously published as The Healing Miracle of Coconut Oil)

Coconut Cures: Preventing and Treating Common Health Problems with Coconut

The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What You Should Eat and Why - ”Coconut and its oil is one of the most healthy, amazing things you can ingest.  It deserves a place in the honor roll of healthy foods” – Jonny Bowden Ph.D., C.N.S.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl – When I first discovered the popular Black Heels to Tractor Wheels on-line love story last spring I was instantly hooked.  I sat at my computer for the next 3-hours and I didn’t move. I devoured Ree Drummand’s (aka Pioneer Woman’s) true story about how she met her husband, fell in love and lived happily ever after.

Apparently I’m not the only one, as I’m editing this post tonight I saw on Twitter, via the LA Times, that 2 million people visit Pioneer Woman’s blog monthly.  Wow!

I am also partial to Pioneer Women because she and I have lived a similar life – only in reverse order.  For the first 18 years of my life I grew up on the farm that has been in our family for over 120 years; then I moved to live life in the city (London, Los Angeles, Orlando, Denver).

Pioneer Woman, on the other hand, grew up in the city, attended USC and was on her way to become a young professional in Chicago when a handsome cowboy unexpectedly came into her life and whisked her off to the country.

I now read Pioneer Woman’s weekly accounts of life on the ranch.  She talks about hearding cattle, annual pasture burns, and the isolated life on the ranch.  I often think, “oh, better you than me, as I’ve been there done that, and it’s not exactly my cup of tea.”  Yet her adventures on the ranch are so fun to read.

Pioneer Woman makes home-cooked meals for her four kids and husband every day.  She recently put her favorite recipes into her first cookbook and she is gearing up for a national book tour. Here is her promotional video about the cookbook.  It’s very cute.  I’m excited for this down-home-farm-style-cookbook to arrive in bookstores October 27, 2009.

BabyCakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York’s Most Talked-About Bakery – Once upon a time not very long ago I tossed around the idea of starting a side business making gluten-free muffins.  I quickly discovered that manufacturing, packaging, delivering and running a food company is not easy. This is why I have admiration and appreciation for what  Erin McKenna, owner of BabyCakes has accomplished.  She makes gluten-free, vegan, low sugar baked goods in her New York City bakery and her products are wildly popular.  In May she released her first gluten-free cookbook.  Here is Erin’s promotional video about her cookbook – this video is way cute!

Healthiest Meals on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What Meals to Eat and Why – Okay the first two are fun, speciality cookbooks but if you’re looking for healthy, super food cooking, this is my favorite cookbook. Author Jonny Bowden is my nutritional hero!  His cookbook is dedicated to healthy, easy meals that taste great. Love that!

Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking – I loved Stephanie O’Dea’s 365 days of crock pot cooking blog last year.  This year she put those recipes into a book and it will be in bookstores on October 13, 2009.  I’m adding this one to my Christmas wish list.

And finally, if you haven’t seen the movie, Julie & Julia it is worth seeing.  Blogger Julie Powell made every recipe in Julia Child’s, Mastering The  Art of French Cooking Cookbook in 2002.  She blogged about it, wrote a book about it and then Hollywood made a movie about it this year.

It will inspire you to live your dreams (Julia Child didn’t start cooking until she was in her 50′s), create beautiful partnerships, both Julie and Julia (like Pioneer Woman) have amazingly supportive husbands.  And most of all, it will remind you to laugh at yourself and have fun along the way!

Bon Appetit!

Whether I’m speaking to a group or consulting one-on-one the issue of trans-fats and label laws frequently comes up.  Today I am reprinting a blog post that I wrote on this subject last summer.

June 2008 – This weekend my Southern California friends took me to the San Diego County Fair at the Del Mar Race Track. It was fun! We experienced all the fixn’s of the typical American summer fair: pie eating contests, demolition derby races, carnival rides, pig races, sunburns, and a lot of food. I saw (but didn’t eat) the deep fat fried concoctions that make their way to the summer-time fairs.

Walk me past enough signs for fried Snickers, fried Twinkies, fried Coca-Cola, fried chicken breasts sandwiched between two Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Voila! I am ready to write my next blog post. One of the single most important things you can do for good nutrition and good health is: avoid eating trans fats! You will find trans fats, also known as partially hydrogenated oils, in fried foods such as; fried fish, fried chicken, fried appetizers, and yes, fried Twinkies The other place you’ll frequently find trans fats is in boxed, packaged or frozen food. Trans fats are added to packaged food to help preserve shelf life, but they don’t help preserve your life! Trans fats are a huge public health problem. In 2006 it was legislated that all labels must report the trans fat content. But beware! Under FDA regulations, “if the serving contains less than 0.5 gram [of trans fat] the content, when declared, shall be expressed as zero.” In others words there might be partially hydrogenated oils in your granola bar, crackers, frozen dinner, coffee creamer, etc. but the food manufacturer can tell you their product is free of all trans fats. How can they legally do this? It’s easy, they just decrease the serving size. Very sneaky! This is what you can do to protect yourself? Read the actual INGREDIENT PARAGRAPH. If you see the words PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED, you are eating a TRANS FAT. Even if the Nutrition Facts say this do not assume it is true. The only way you’ll know if the product really has 0 grams of trans fat is to read the ingredient paragraph and look for the words, partially hydrogenated. Take a look through your cupboards and read the ingredient paragraphs next time you are grocery shopping! For more information on trans fats and their ill effects on our health, check out this site Ban Trans Fats.

Jazz in City Park is a Denver summertime tradition.

Every Sunday night from June through August, thousands of Denverites gather in City Park at 6 pm.  People bring their dogs, their kids, their friends, their picnic baskets, their blankets, their lawn chairs and they settle in to listen to live Jazz.  It is a lot of fun.

My friend Kendra loves Jazz in the Park.  She arrives early and grabs a spot on the lawn by the paddle boat rentals for our group.  We all bring various food and wine contributions for our Sunday picnic.

Kendra makes the most amazing dishes; she is a chef, and she owns a catering company called Flavor Catering.  Every week I gush about how good her food tastes and I always ask her, “Was this hard to make? Because something that tastes this good can’t be simple!”

Kendra waves off my comment and says, “oh no, this is so easy.”

This week as I was eating my THIRD HELPING of Kendra’s Quinoa salad I declared, “This is officially my latest Healthy Discovery! You have to email me this recipe”

From a nutritional perspective Quinoa is a powerhouse, I’m a big fan of Quinoa.  This 5,000 year old South American whole grain is gluten-free.  Quinoa is a complete protein grain with 16 grams of protein per serving and it has been heralded as the super grain of the future.

If you’ve never had Quinoa or you’re looking for a new way to fix Quinoa, here’s Kendra’s recipe.  It is one of the tastiest things I’ve eaten in a long time!

Spiced Quinoa Salad with Grilled Zucchini & Asparagus

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon turmeric, divided

2 teaspoons Spanish smoked paprika, divided

2 cups low-sodium chicken stock

1 cup quinoa

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

3 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise

1 bunch slender asparagus, tough ends cut off

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

4 green onions, green parts only, thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Juice of ½ lemon

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add cumin, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, coriander, and 1teaspoon smoked paprika; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add 2 cups chicken stock, quinoa, and coarse salt; bring to simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until all water is absorbed, about 16 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare barbecue (medium high heat). Place zucchini and asparagus on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle with ground cumin, coriander, remaining  1/2 teaspoon turmeric, and remaining 1 teaspoon smoked paprika. Sprinkle generously with kosher salt and pepper and toss to coat evenly.

Transfer asparagus to grill basket, and place on one side of grill.  Place zucchini slices directly on grill horizontally.  Grill the veggies until tender and browned on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes total. Transfer to cutting board. Cut asparagus and zucchini crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces. Add asparagus, zucchini, green onions, and parsley to cooked quinoa, then drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Toss to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Kendra also emailed me 101 Simple Salads for the summer season which was published in The New York Times last week.

Finally, check out Kendra’s web site.

Bon Appetit!