Tag: wellness

Body Care, Podcast

Wellness Beets – Episode 5: Nutrient Boot Camp, Travel Foods, and Fighting the Flu

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Come Chat with Us on Social Media!

Brittany’s Facebook               Alex’s Facebook 

Brittany’s YouTube              Alex’s YouTube

Brittany’s Pinterest               Alex’s  Pinterest 

Brittany’s Instagram               Alex’s Instagram 

Updates

Alex’s Nutrient Boot Camp is under way! If you want  to join us (which we would love!), you can sign up by clicking here.

 

Travel Tips

Things to buy at the airport: Starbucks has Kerrygold Butter so you can ask for a bulletproof coffee, large salad (or buy 2 small ones!) with protein on top (like chicken, steak or beef jerky/sardines you bring), nuts, soups (just make sure they’re not thickened with flour), bunless burgers with guac on top, or chipotle. Buy duty free if the airport options are slim abroad.

Things to bring with: Wild Planet tuna packets, sardines, salads, wraps, snack pack nut butters, olives, guac. Alex’s top travel foods can be found in this post.  Brittany’s top travel foods can be found in this post. (Brittany’s philosophy: everything can be made portable with some planning.  Alex agrees.) Take a small insulated lunch bag and throw away containers and utensils.

Click here to get your free  PDF of The 15 Best Travel Fruits and Veggies. I keep mine in my pantry and take it to the store with me to make sure I’m not missing anything.

On the plane: most airlines have gluten free options that are rice based. But we recommend bringing food along anyway.  You can look up specifically what foods the country you’re traveling to allows.

Traveling and Food Thoughts: While traveling, we’re much more flexible. We will try foods normally outside our typical diet as long as it’s not something that we’re severely intolerant to. We’re only in those countries for a small time…make the most of it!

Attitudes Abroad That We Might Consider Adopting:  Food regulation is more strict with fewer additives overall. For more on this, check out Brittany’s pictures on Instagram.  Much more concern for the environment. Signs posted everywhere for water conservation, limited use of paper items, and well-labeled recycling bins.  People are more understanding of the seasonal aspects to food availability and make the most of what they have at the time.  There’s not a sense of everything-is-available-all-the-time.

 Click Here for Brittany’s Self-Care Tips for Traveling

 
Natural Flu Fighting

This episode is when both Brittany and Alex were sick…so excuse the nose sniffling and hacking cough.

Brittany got sick while traveling and resorted to Vitamin C rich smoothies and new medications/nasal spray to get through.  Biggest traveling while sick lesson learned:  Let your body rest, even if you’re missing a few things.  Brittany’s plan at home includes chicken soup, sipping bone broth, and a honey/cayenne pepper/lemon/ginger throat soothing cocktail.

Alex also does a lot of bone broth, liver, and soups with loads of vegetables while sick. Warm water with lemon and lime juice squeezed in (vitamin C).

But mostly Alex does herbal remedies that include a virus fighting gargle rinse, ginger lime tea, oregano oil steam bath.  See the complete list and other natural interventions here.

 

We love questions! Send us yours at [email protected]

 

Did you enjoy this podcast?

If so, please leave a review for us in iTunes and subscribe to get the latest episodes!

We are super grateful for you helping us get the word out!

 

You can get your free 15 Best Travel Fruits and Veggies by clicking here.

 

 

Body Care, Podcast

Wellness Beets – Episode 4: Liver, Eating Out, and Dinner Parties

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Come Chat with Us on Social Media!

Brittany’s Facebook               Alex’s Facebook 

Brittany’s YouTube              Alex’s YouTube

Brittany’s Pinterest               Alex’s  Pinterest 

Brittany’s Instagram               Alex’s Instagram 

 

Preparing Liver:

Liver is loaded with the fat-soluble Vitamins A, D, E, K (D and K2 more prevalent in grass fed sources) and a whole bunch of the B vitamins. It’s also really rich in iron and many micronutrients (magnesium, phosphorus, zinc)

Great for skin health, gut health, and long-lasting energy levels.

The liver processes toxins…but the liver DOES NOT store toxins (toxins are either excreted or stored in the fat of animals).

Chicken and lamb are more mild.  The work simply sauteed in lard/bacon fat/ghee, with onions, garlic, and mushrooms.  

Beef liver needs to be soaked in ice water with lime for about 6 hours-overnight in order to decrease the metallic aftertaste.

All livers can be paired with lots of strong flavors: garlic, onions, bacon, rosemary, thyme, sage, dry white wine; chicken liver mousse with coconut cream, lard/bacon fat and fresh herbs is can be found at this link.

Ways to hide it in other foods: burgers, meatballs, meatloaf, homemade sausage, bolognese sauce, chili, and taco mixes.

How Alex makes it and hides it in other foods

How Brittany makes it…so delicious!

One of our other favorite recipes is by The Paleo Parents: Chicken Liver Mousse

How often we eat liver: Brittany makes it about once a week and Alex makes a big batch and eats liver every day for a week straight, after which she takes a break.

We also talked on the subject of bone broth:

Here’s is Alex’s Never-Ending Bone Broth Recipe

Here is Brittany’s Bone Broth Recipe

 

Eating Outside the House:

Set your absolutes: know what you absolutely can’t eat and then figure out where you’re ok making concessions based on how you handle the food and your social situation.

Ask questions until you’re comfortable with the answer.

Tell the server it’s a food allergy rather than a preference or says it’s a doctor prescribed diet.  Make a joke about “tipping well for being a high-maintenance customer” (Alex’s go-to move) so that they know they’ll be well-compensated for any extra work they have to do on your behalf.

Don’t show up hungry and always bring a snack with you in case of emergency–carrots, jerky, sardines, apples are Brittany’s favorites.

Look up the menu of the restaurant ahead of time.  If that’s not possible, focus on vegetables and meats.  We both like big salads with protein, avocado, olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette/lemon juice, and possibly cheese for Alex. Steaks/chicken/pork and potatoes are Alex’s go-to non-salad option.  As for alcohol, Brittany normally abstains entirely and Alex gets ciders or vodka/club soda/lime.

For a handy PDF of how to prepare for eating outside the house, click here.

Dinner Parties:

If you’re going to someone’s house, plan ahead to bring your own dish and possibly dessert.  Calling ahead is optional but is a nice touch. Bring ahead meals include Bacon Wrapped Figs, prosciutto wrapped melon, sliced meat (and possibly grass fed cheese) platter, assorted olives, assorted salted and dried nuts. For dessert, Alex likes to bring Paleo Carrot Cake and Chocolate Covered Dates. Brittany likes to bring Honey Marshmallows and Maple Glazed Pumpkin Spice Bread.

When it comes to pressure from friends and family members,“that food makes me feel bad” is an easy, non-negotiable, and conversation-ending phrase. Not making a big deal of your “restrictions” is great and getting something with extra avocado and possibly bacon makes your meal more filling.  Alex usually plans to make up any “deprivation” feelings that might occur at dinner with a delicious treat at home afterwards.  We cover this in great detail, so make sure to listen to the recording for all the nitty-gritty, soul-bearing details.

 

We love questions! Send us yours at [email protected]

 

Did you enjoy this podcast?

If so, please leave a review for us in iTunes and subscribe to get the latest episodes!

We are super grateful for you helping us get the word out!

 

You can get your free Eating Outside the House Cheat Sheet by clicking here.

 

Body Care, Podcast

Wellness Beets – Episode 3: Body Alignment, Natural Movement, Changing Food Preferences, and Going Nutty Over Nuts

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Come Chat with Us on Social Media!

Brittany’s Facebook               Alex’s Facebook 

Brittany’s YouTube              Alex’s YouTube

Brittany’s Pinterest               Alex’s  Pinterest 

Brittany’s Instagram               Alex’s Instagram 

 

Alignment and Natural Movement:

Hear about how we set up our home offices: Brittany does more standing, Alex changes up ways to sit on the floor.

Movement throughout the day: incorporating movement into breaks, our take on treadmill desks, functional movements and varied positions, setting timers, and the importance of being outside.

Grounding mats: read more about them on wellnessmama.com

Get your free Daily Movement Reminder Cheat Sheet! You can post it up in your work station or at home in order to remind you to incorporate more of these techniques in your life.

 

Changing Food Preferences:

Making changes from breakfast can be the most challenging thing.  Here are our oatmeal-type alternatives:

►9 Paleo Oatmeal Alternatives up on sparklekitchen.com 

►Paleo Pumpkin Mash

►Cranberry and Spaghetti Squash Mash

Alex’s experience with Paleo Baked Goods when first starting Paleo and how Brittany went way too low carb: feeling satiated from good carbs and fat sources (sweet potatoes, ghee, coconut oil) can set up a better baseline for making new, positive food choices.

Changing food preferences in family: exposure, hiding things appropriately, no pressure, and trying a bite.

How to make changes slowly.


Nutty Over Nuts

►Nuts are designed by nature to protect themselves; because of this, they are quite difficult to digest.  This difficulty in digesting stems from phytic acids, missing enzymes, and how minerals are bound.

►Other nut considerations: omega 6s and inflammation, as well as co-processing with unstable oils.

►How to prepare nuts in a more digest-friendly way: soaking (for about 8 hours), sprouting, dehydrating, and roasting.  More on how to sprout buckwheat.

►Almond flour vs Nut Butters

►Fun cashew fact!

►Nut recommendations: use an elimination diet to find your perfect balance, as well as sourcing and preparing as needed.

►Alex’s favorite use for nuts: homemade Larabars!

►Important legume considerations and comparison to nuts.

►Find the helpful guide on Brittany’s blog, Not Going Nutty Over Nuts.

 

We love questions! Send us yours at [email protected]

Did you enjoy this podcast?

If so, please leave a review for us in iTunes and subscribe to get the latest episodes!

We are super grateful for you helping us get the word out!

 

Don’t forget to sign up for your free Daily Movement Reminder Cheat Sheet!