It has been months since I have done any Weight Lifting, High Intensity Interval Training or Long Duration Cardio. I still take walks ranging from 30-45min on an almost daily basis. There are some good reasons for this:

1. It was causing me stress
2. I was doing some of the exercises at night after the kids went to sleep and the physical exertion was disturbing my sleep. (Morning workouts just don’t fit into my schedule)
3. I was not seeing results even though I was lifting weights and running for 45min/day 5-6 times per week.
4. Adrenal fatigue – though the doctor did some tests (not sure what) but said that my thyroid looks fine and adrenal function is linked to thyroid function. The doctor definitely did not do any comprehensive testing but just looked for some “markers” which he did not find. However I do suffer from insomnia, stress, anxiety and other such things.
5. Hard exercise causes a physical stress on the body. When the body is already stressed out this extra stress can actually be harmful instead of helpful.

Here is a good video that Paul Check gives on Adrenal Fatigue

I don’t know why I feel so let down by this. It just seems like I have tried so many exercise programs and I finally found one that I was having fun with and one that I initially saw results with. But the results stopped and the fun faded.

Yoga/stretches and deep breathing are the exercises that I need to work on right now.

I love experimenting with new foods. Tongue is something that I remember eating as a kid because it was so different. It is a traditional food as our ancestors ate all parts of the animals. I took pictures of my cooking adventure so If you don’t want to know anything about pork tongue then you don’t need to read any further.

I googled how to cook it and am glad that I started out with pork and not cow! Cow tongue happens to be huge and very ugly. Pigs tongue is much smaller and less intimidating.

Here is my chronicles of cooking pork tongue. Unfortunately I did not do anything to make this recipe exciting.

Pork Tongue

Raw Pork Tongue

Boil Pork Tongue for 3-4 hours

Cooked pork tongue

Peel the skin off the tongue and chop into slices.

I just put on some home made garlic and herb butter and salt and pepper. I did not make the garlic and herb butter but I believe there is garlic, parsley and chives in it.

This was a great tasting meat! I happen to really like it. It is soft and has a great ability to become a meat salad that you can flavour in any way you like. You can sauce it up, dress it up, or just eat it plain.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday hosted by CHEESESVE

Most stevia extracts taste horrible. They have a real bitter after taste and are hard to swallow. I have tried many brands and it is nearly impossible to find one that tastes great. If you are on a low carb diet or an anti-candida diet then NOW Stevia Extract needs to be your sugar substitute because it tastes great! Artificial Sweeteners are really horrible and you definately do not want to use them. Read all about the dangers of using Splenda and Aspartame.

Liquid Stevia extract blends so much better than any stevia powders. It tastes great in coffee and tea. I can even put some on my finger and eat it straight without grimacing! I have not used it in baking yet, but am excited to try.

The price is high for this product but the bottle is very big and even if you used this stuff daily, I am pretty sure that you will only have to buy it once a year. There are 1823 servings in the 8oz bottle! The cost is also pretty reasonable compared to natural sweeteners like honey and maple syrup.

I can’t say that this Stevia product tastes like sugar, because it does not, but it is the best tasting stevia I have tried.

Benefits of Stevia:

• It is a very concentrated sweetness so you don’t need to use a lot. A drop or two will work to sweeten a cup of coffee.
• Stevia does not raise  blood glucose.
• Stevia does not feed candida yeast.
• Stevia is a natural herb.
• It is non toxic and has no adverse health reactions.
• There are no adverse stomach issues (gas and diarrhea) like there are with using sugar alcohols.

I know that there are a lot of bad tasting stevia products on the market but do not let that stop you from trying this one!

I have thought for years that I would be stuck using Sensodyne toothpaste for my extremely sensitive teeth. Whenever I have tried to switch toothpastes to a natural toothpaste, my teeth would start hurting within 2 days. They would hurt so much that even breathing air through my mouth would cause extreme pain. I was also sensitive to hot and cold foods and even walking would cause my teeth to feel like they would fall out. Weird, I know. Lately even with the use of Sensodyne, my teeth were hurting when I was eating my lacto-fermented Sauerkraut. I was even considering blending my kraut in a blender and drinking it with a straw.

Learning about Weston A. Price and his work I understand that many traditional cultures did not use toothpaste or even brushed their teeth. They ate a nutrient rich diet high in seafoods, organ meats, mineral rich broths, healthy saturated fats and properly prepared grains (soaked, sprouted or sour leavened). These traditional cultures had near perfect teeth (free of dental decay and perfectly aligned teeth)  without the help of toothpaste or braces.

I was stumbled across a “toothsoap” video that explains how toothpaste can inhibit remineralization. I was taken aback by the discovery that the glycerin in toothpaste can inhibit remineralization of the teeth.

My children are not regular users of toothpaste either. My oldest has used natural toothpaste on and off in her young life. But my youngest hates toothpaste and just brushes with water. Both girls have no cavities or decay. So I set aside my Sensodyne toothpaste and created my own with Coconut Oil.

Coconut Oil Toothpaste

1 teaspoon of coconut oil

1/8th teaspoon baking soda

2 drops of stevia

3-5 drops of peppermint oil

Mix all ingredients together and store in a small jar.

I have been using this toothpaste for 2 weeks. The coconut oil makes your mouth feel moisturized and your teeth very polished.

I have no sensitive teeth and I can eat my sauerkraut without pain!

This post is part of Fight Back Fridays hosted by Food Renegade

In an attempt to get my children to eat (and like) liver I have been experimenting different ways to make it. I think I have come close. Although this recipe was not a hit with the kids at dinner time last night, it has great potential. I enjoyed and loved it very much and would not mind eating liver like this weekly. My children do not enjoy the texture of fried onions so I gave it to them without them. The onions contribute a lot of  the flavour. Next time I will add the fried onions into the food processor while making the liver mix.

I tried to make liver meatballs but had to much liquid and they went flat, turning into patties. This is a Low Carb Recipe using almonds instead of white flour or bread crumbs.

Yummy Liver Patties

1 lb of organic liver (I used pork)

1 organic pastured egg

1 cup of almonds (preferably soaked overnight and oven dried)

1/2 cup of milk

2 cloves of garlic

3/4 tsp cumin

1 large onion

Salt and Pepper to taste

Butter for frying

Chop onion and fry in butter until golden brown. Place liver, egg, almonds, milk, garlic, cumin in a food processor and blend mixture until smooth. Spoon out liver mixture into the frying pan and cook for a few minutes until golden brown. Flip the patties and cook for a few minutes. Top the patties with onions, salt and pepper.

My question to you:

What else could you add to make these kid friendly? I was also thinking about adding a can of tomato paste.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly The Kitchen Kop.

Did you know that your gut is your body’s primary defence against pathogenic bacteria and viruses that create illnesses?

I have been reading Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr.  Natasha Cambell-McBride and found the chapter on our Immune Systems so incredibly fascinating.

Here is a very brief summary of how our immune system is related to our gut flora:

• Bad intestinal flora weakens the immune system
• Antibodies (immunoglobulins) start to attack our own body tissues such as brain and nervous system
• The bifidobacteria (good gut bacteria) cell wall creates Muramil Dipeptide. These muramil dipeptide initiates the production of lymphocytes.
• Lymphocytes are what protect us from viruses and tumours.  They are able to recognize and kill or neutralize any foreign invader virus/cells. Source
• People with damaged gut flora have a lesser amount of lymphocytes
• Lymphocytes create immunoglobulins including Secretory Immunoglobulin A (IgA).
• IgA is one of the most important as it is secreted in our bodily fluids and mucus membranes (eyes, nose, mouth, genitals).
• Bad bacteria, viruses and parasites enter our bodies through our mucus membranes.
• IgA is critical for good mucosal immunity.
• IgA breaks down quickly but the good bacteria in the gut are able to slow down this process.

There is a lot more wonderful information in this book. As well as methods and supplements on how to heal your gut flora. You can also find out more information at the GAPS diet website.

Lacto-fermented foods have traditionally been used for keeping our gut flora healthy. These foods include milk kefir,  water kefir, kombucha, clobbered milk, yogurt, lacto-fermented fruits and vegetables. I have created videos on how you can make lacto-fermented sauerkraut and how to lacto-ferment fruit. All of these foods are loaded with beneficial flora for gut health.

Imagine your child is sick and you want to get some Vitamin C to boost their immune system. Now imagine Vitamin C being illegal. GASP! Your vitamins are going to become as illegal as Herion!

Have you ever heard of Codex? It will be implemented on December 31, 2009…

• Every dairy cow on the planet will have to be treated with a Monsonto bovine growth hormone.
• Every animal (if it has fins, feet and feathers) on the planet will have to be treated with antibiotics and growth hormone.
• Codex will mandate that all food be irradiated including our local food!
• Organic standards are very low and they will be able to give animals growth hormones and drugs and still classify the as organic.
• Codex sets extremely high limits (these limits are poisonous) on industrial chemicals allowed on our food.
• Codex brought back 7 out of the 12 extremely toxic pesticides that have been world banned pesticides.
• When just the vitamin and mineral guideline alone goes into implementation a minimum of 3 BILLION people are estimated to die. 1 Billion people will die of starvation alone.

Dr. Rima Laibow is suing the US Government because Codex is illegal. Watch her presentation it is well worth the time.

From the video… “He who controls food, controls the world”

Congress uses a multiplier and every e-mail, fax and phone call counts as 13,000 constituents!

Use your voice to prevent this from happening!

Sign the petition here and visit www.healthfreedomusa.org

Please help share this message and tell as many people as you can. Show your outrage and don’t let Codex control our food!

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday hosted by Cheeseslave!

Constipation is a big problem for a lot of people. Especially those that are transitioning to a low carb, low fiber diet. Did you know that this transition to low fiber is actually very beneficial to your colon health?

Of course constipation is not good, but using fiber to relieve this constipation can be very damaging. Fiber may actually be the cause of your constipation.

Konstantin Monastyrsky, the author of the Fiber Menace  describes how all our belief systems about the virtues of fiber have been all lies.

1. Fiber does not prevent colon cancer
2. Fiber does not prevent breast cancer
3. Fiber does not lower cholesterol
4. Fiber does not reduce the risk of heart disease
5. Fiber does not regulate blood sugar
6. Fiber does not reduce the risk of diabetes
7. Fiber does not decrease appetite
8. Fiber does not help with weight loss
9. Fiber does not keep the colon clean
10. Fiber does not help stop diarrhea
11. Fiber does not ease constipation

Watch these videos as Konstantin Monastyrsky explains the fiber misconceptions with scientific studies.

I have found 2 effective ways of regulating bowels without the use of fiber.

Lacto-fermented foods and coconut oil.

The lacto-fermented foods provide my gut with beneficial probiotics and enzymes required for food digestion as well as nutrient assimilation. The coconut oil stimulates bile production.

Dietary fat stimulates the release of bile from the gallbladder, which, in turn, stimulates the gastrocolic reflex. This in turn stimulates peristaltic mass movement, which, in turn, stimulates defecation. Source.

For healthy bowel function I try to eat lacto-fermented foods with every meal and take 2 tablespoons of coconut oil daily.

Share your thoughts!

I am extremely excited to share with you a great link to a book I have just discovered (it is a scanned “ancient cookbook” published in 1869). Sometimes in life we may need some grandmotherly guidance and wisdom. It seems since the invention of televisions and just over scheduled lives, the art of housekeeping and cooking have been lost. We don`t spend time in the kitchens with our mothers or grandmothers anymore.

A lot of us just don’t have any  kind of motherly resource and just end up lacking. We may learn the hard way with trial and error or never learn these necessary skills at all. I don’t know about you, but I was thrust into marriage and parenthood without knowing how to cook and sew and once my girls arrived I needed some major help!

If you have a close grandparent, I encourage you to find some of their old cookbooks. You will be shocked at how different the recipes are compared to today’s cookbooks. A lot of traditional ways have been lost in the modern age of convenience.

So here are some ancient recipes that you won’t find in a modern cookbook from Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers.

How to Boil A Calf’s Head

How to Brown a Calf’s head with the Skin On

How to Bake a Beef’s Heart

How To Cook Rabbits and Squirrels

How To Make Brain Cakes
(We are of Polish Heritage and my mother said that eating Brain was a delicacy in her youth!)

How To Make Giblet Pies and Soups

There are 5 pages dedicated on how to eat oysters (just keep hitting the *next* button at the top of the page)

How To Make Milk Yeast

Blackberry Cordial
“This is valuable medicine for children in summer”

How to Make Vinigar

And how to pickle, preserve, make catsup (just keep hitting the *next* button at the top of the page)

How to make liver sausage and head cheese

How to Render Lard and Tallow

The rest of the book deals with how to keep house, herbal and medicinal food remedies (butter oil was used for soothing the stomach for violent vomiting and dysentery)

Take note at all the simple and plain recipes there are in this book. Yet they are so extremely nutritious and loaded with fat, milk, eggs, gelatinous stocks, brains, liver and feet. I also saw tongue amongst the recipes but did not link. I remember having had cows tongue as a kid and it being extremely chewy but tasting good nevertheless.

There are recipes in there that are good for the “delicate persons”. These recipes are high in fats from “rich milk” and eggs, butter and highly gelatinous from boiled pig’s feet. Calf’s foot gelatin with cream is “nice for the sick person”. And note that this milk and cream would be raw and unpasteurized.

Spend some time exploring this book and hopefully try out some recipes and remedies.

Note what ingredients are not included in this book:

1. Canola oils, corn oils, soy oil and other “new” industrial vegetable oils.
2. Skinless, boneless chicken.
3. 1% and 2% milks.

Animal fats, bones and organs where used for medicine and good health. This is how our great grandparents and grandparents ate before heart disease, cancer, and obesity became epidemic.

Share your thoughts!

This post is part of Fight Back Fridays hosted by Food Renegade.

To your health,

Lately I have had this fascination about microbes, lacto-fermentation, and healthy gut flora. The other day I was contemplating how people ever survived before the invention of soap and antibacterial products. As I read through the Bible there is no mention of soap. All the washing is done with water (Note: The Bible is a spiritual book with mysteries in it. There are very spiritual meanings to water. Check out Eph. 5:26). Since the creation of man it was water that has kept us clean.

I have to admit that I am a bit of a germ phobic. I sanitize my counters after preparing my meats. I make sure to wash my hands very well and get uncomfortable at public venues.

But really I should not. Here are my thoughts why…

• Earlier this year, we had a deer that got struck by a car across the road from our house. We live in the country and have a neighbour’s dog that runs at large. He discovered this deer a few days after it was struck. This dog had large chunks of fur sticking out of his mouth and running happily home. He came to visit this deer for a few days until it got taken away. This deer was old meat and infested with all kinds of lovely bacteria and as far as I could tell my neighbour’s dog is still quite healthy with no ill side effects.
• My dog decided that he enjoyed living at my mother in law’s farm and she was happy to have him. One thing that he loved doing is eating cow poop. Yum. That is extremely gross but yet again; he had no known unhealthy side effects from it.
• I have known 2 dogs that eat their own poop (both are Labradors… I don’t know if this trait is common among those breeds). Totally gross but they don’t get the runs after doing so.
• This amazing intestinal quality is not just limited to dogs. In my college years I lived with a cat that had a litter of kittens and she would eat her kittens poop too.

In my studies in Environmental Sciences it has been taught to the students that our tolerance for poop bacteria (coliforms and e-coli) is not that high. In fact we get very sick from even the smallest amount. We have to kill these bacteria with chlorine in our water systems. Not only in the water itself but also in the pipes so that bacteria does not grow during distribution.

I know that people are a very different species from cats and dogs, but how can these animals have so much intestinal tolerance from eating solid poop and rotten meat and not die? If a person was to do the same we would get deathly sick, have organ failure and probably die.

How can animals eat decomposing flesh and we have to sterilize our kitchens after handling meat?

Could it be that the good bacteria that lives on us and in us get destroyed by antibacterial products (chlorine, medications and antibiotic use) allowing the pathogenic bacteria to take over and decreasing our own natural immunity.

A good related post to this is What Really Causes Disease by Kelly The Kitchen Kop. This post debates the “germs cause disease” or “immune failure cause disease”.

What about just washing with water? I don’t think I could do it, but it sure gives me lots to think about.

Edit Note: I actually did an electronic search of the word “soap” in the Bible after writing this post to confirm that soap was not used in the scriptures. I found 2 verses containing that word (Jer 2:22 and Mal 3:2). My mistake, Soap IS mentioned in the Bible.