Well, its that time of year again when zucchinis are growing in abundance and garden growers are trying to sneak them into any meal. That is one great thing about this abundant summer squash – it is so sneakable!
Here is a great tasting zucchini pancake recipe that has a bit of a kick to it:
Spicy Zucchini Coconut Pancakes
1 med. zucchini grated and squeezed
4 green onions
3 tablespoons of coconut flour
3 organic pastured eggs
3 tablespoons of coconut oil or butter (melted)
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne ( feel free to adjust to taste)
pepper to taste
Coconut oil or butter for frying
Grate zucchini and give it a good squeeze too drain the water. Chop green onions.
In a bowl mix dry ingredients: Coconut flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and cayenne. Mix well. To the bowl add melted coconut oil, eggs, zucchini and green onions. Mix well again.
Melt coconut oil in a skillet and spoon 2 tablespoons of pancake mix into it. Cook pancakes until golden brown. Flip pancake and do the same on the other side.
I love coconut oil. It is wonderful for many things. It is also one of the healthiest oils to use. It is a stable oil and does not oxidize easily and can be left at room temperature for up to two years. It is has antimicrobial, antifungal, antiviral and antiprotozoal properties. It is also great for fat loss as it stimulates metabolism and suppresses appetite. Another great property of coconut oil is that it can protect against heart disease by raising the HDL (good cholesterol) and improving the total cholesterol ratio.
So how can you incorporate coconut oil into you daily life?
I created a low carb grain free bread recipe that my kids and I enjoy. The bread toasts really nicely and has a very light texture. Kind of a blend between bread and cake.
Coconut Bread Recipe
1 cup of ground dessicated coconut
1/4 ground golden flax meal
5 pastured organic eggs
1/4 cup of coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 drops of NOW non bitter stevia
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together coconut, flax, salt and baking soda. Mix well enough so most of the lumps are gone. Add wet ingredients (eggs, stevia, coconut oil). Mix well again. Place batter in a buttered pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes until knife comes out clean.
Note: From what I have read the essential oils in the flax seed do not get destroyed.
This bread is really good. It has a very mild coconut flavour but in a not offensive kind of way. Nut butters go very well with this bread.
My lunch consisted of a cheese sandwich with fresh dill and tomato. You hardly notice the coconutty taste.
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!
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.
Fiber does not prevent colon cancer
Fiber does not prevent breast cancer
Fiber does not lower cholesterol
Fiber does not reduce the risk of heart disease
Fiber does not regulate blood sugar
Fiber does not reduce the risk of diabetes
Fiber does not decrease appetite
Fiber does not help with weight loss
Fiber does not keep the colon clean
Fiber does not help stop diarrhea
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.
I learned about coconut oil and its amazing benefits 5 years ago but have had trouble supplementing with it daily. I hate the taste of it. Previously I have tried taking it frozen, mixing it in foods, and in orange juice, smoothies and making low carb chocolate. Any way I tried it, I hated it.
But in this simple recipe the coconut oil tastes AWESOME!
Coconut Oil Milk
0.5 cup of warm milk or (cream and water)
2 heaping teaspoons of Coconut Oil
1 teaspoon of Vanilla
For the past nine days I have been taking Coconut Oil on a daily basis. The dosage I have been taking is 2-3 heaping teaspoons. I have gained a few pounds from doing this! Yikers! I will continue taking it to see if this is just my initial reaction to it and see if there will be any other changes. Coconut Oil is just too healthy and after trying for a long time to find a tasty way of supplementing it into my diet, I have finally found a way that could eat it every day!
I am also experiencing a mild Candida die off. My tummy has been sensitive for the past 4-5 days. I am glad that it is not as severe as when I initially started the Atkins Low Carb diet. The first Candida die off lasted about a week and a half and I could not leave the house or eat anything because the food would just go right through me.
My weight now is 120 – 122lbs. It was 117lbs a few weeks ago. Maybe I should just throw out my scale. My goal is just to get rid of belly fat. But instead of losing weight I have stalled and gained.
Exercise Update…
I have not been good this past week. My youngest daughter is sick with a nasty fever and cough and I have not gone running outside. It has been cold here but the sun has been shining and I have been itching to just go running. Since my schedule has been a bit off I have not done my regular Unstoppable Fat Loss Workouts either.
I have no idea if I will be able to reach my goal to lose my belly fat by April 25. There is only two short months left to go.
One thing that I love is blogging about my weight! It holds me accountable and keeps me on track so I can reach my goals. I may also start a food log and log my daily food intake. This is highly recommended by lots of “experts” but I have always found it tedious. I may have to control my meal portion sizes (Gasp!) and write down what I eat.
After listening to yesterday’s livin lavida low carb podcast about sleep, my intentions were to go to bed by ten pm. Well that did not happen (laundry was calling me!), but I did lower the lights and took some Valerian Root. I had no trouble falling asleep and I slept deeply. Tonight I will again aim to go to bed by ten and do the same thing, lower the lights and take Valerian Root. Hopefully I will be able to wean off Valerian and adjust to this routine.
Sleeping better will reduce my dependence on caffeine which can release an insulin response and inhibit low carb fat loss. And of course if I reduce my caffeine I will have to replace it with water therefore increasing my over all water intake.
Break through the stall steps:
1. Log food
2. Log beverages
3. Sleep – get to bed by ten pm.
4. Keep taking coconut oil
Including Coconut Oil in your Low Carb diet may be the way to lose those last stubborn pounds. I do have coconut oil in my cupboards and use it on occasion. I dislike the taste of it in my cooking unless it is a curry or coconut bread. For instance I would not like coconut oil in my eggs because it will give my eggs a coconut taste. However I do know the benefits of Coconut Oil and will be taking it daily to help me lose my last 10 lbs. Here are some great reasons why everyone could benefit from coconut oil:
Dr. Weston A. Price was a dentist who wanted to find out why Americans had such poor dental health. He travelled to many nations to study diet all over the world. He found that the populations that ate coconut oil were the slimmest even though they ate a more fats then western diets.
Coconut oil contains lauric acid which is also found in breast milk and known to be antimicrobial, antiviral, and antifungal. Coconut oil is 50% lauric acid.
Coconut oil is thermogenic and will raise body temperature and speed up metabolism. It will also help with thyroid function.
It will also benefit the heart. Studies have shown that it can prevent heart disease. Saturated fats get lumped together as being bad for the heart but that is not true and coconut oil has been shown not to cause heart disease. It is hydrogenated oils and oxidized vegetable oils that are very bad for heart health. Coconut oil is also has the most saturated fat of all edible oils (90%).
Coconut oil is comprised of such fatty acids as caprylic, capric, stearic, oleic and lauric acids. These oils are metabolized directly by the liver and used as fuel. It gives the body an instant energy source.
Coconut oil is great for suppressing appetite. When I have a light meal, I can almost always predict that I will be having the munchies. To get rid of late night snacking and food cravings I eat fat! The recipe that I use coconut oil is great for appetite suppression. In my own experience I find fat to be better than fiber for controlling cravings.
A bonus is when you eat coconut with coconut oil. To make a low carb cereal I use dried shredded coconut mixed with coconut oil and yogurt. The coconut has the fiber and the coconut oil contains the fat to suppress the appetite. Adding walnuts, flax or chia seeds to this low carb cereal will also add beneficial omega 3 EFA.
The recommended therapeutic dose of coconut oil is 3.5 tablespoons. It is good to start adding it to the diet slowly (1tsp a day and add in slow increments) to see how your body reacts to it. If you have an undiagnosed case of candida you may experience a die off and may have some gastro-intestinal distress.
Because of the anti-fungal properties coconut oil is a beneficial treatment of Candida (as well as removing all sugars, grains, fruits out of the diet). Adding lacto-fermented foods such as sauerkraut and naturally fermented pickles (Bubbies brand or homemade), yogurt, kefir, raw milk also feed the good intestinal bacteria and are good treatments for Candida. (as a side note I did finally make my first successful batch of sauerkraut and will be making a video of it. Stay tuned!)
Here is a video that does a great summary of the many health benefits of coconut oil.
It is important to get the Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. The kind that is unrefined. The oil should smell and taste like coconuts. Even if you don’t like the taste of the oil it is still worth the effort to try to swallow it. A lot of coconut recipes have sugars or honey in them. I don’t recommend you do this because this will sabotage any fat loss. Any sugars will spike insulin. Insulin is known as a fat storing hormone.
I would love to know if you take coconut oil and how you eat it. One recipe I use it in is sugar free almond chocolate clusters. This recipe I will post later this week as well.
Eating Low Carb is a great way to burn fat but there is some uncertainty if a low carb diet will cause muscle mass loss. It could depend on the type of exercise being performed.
Amino acids in protein build muscle. Muscle burns calories. If you eat enough calories than building muscle is possible eating low carb. Some studies have shown that muscle can be gained while on low carb diet. This is because the amino acids feed the muscle. So it is important to eat good quality protein that is found in meats, fish, eggs and nuts.
Exercise does deplete glycogen from the muscle. Carbohydrates replenish the glycogen. The problem arises when the glycogen stores are used up and muscle mass may be lost.
To increase and boost muscle strength it is beneficial to eat a combination of protein and carbohydrates. I prefer to eat vegetable carbohydrates because I am on an anti-candida diet. Grains and fruit sugars feed candida yeast and at this point I am not able to eat them. Coconut water is a great post workout drink. Coconut water contains some carbohydrates and sugars but it also contains essential vitamins, minerals and electrolytes. Coconut, coconut oil and coconut water are anti-fungal and are allowed on an anti-candida diet.
When doing long duration exercise like cycling or running the body will need more carbohydrates. Short burst exercise like High Intesity Interval Training has worked well for me on low carb. But you may need to experiment with your low carb diet and track performance and how you feel. If strength and performance begins to drop that is a good sign to increase carbohydrates. Just make sure to stay away from the refined flours. The muscles only use a small amount of glucose and if there is too much it will raise blood sugar levels and insulin.
Let me know what you think about low carb diets and muscle loss.
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