Wednesday, March 22, 2017

3 Essential Oils for Menopause Relief

The brand of Essential Oils I love and use are Rocky Mountain Oils. I like that it is not a MLM, they have great quality oils, and great customer service.

  1. Clary Sage
    May be helpful for hot flashes, night sweats and insomnia. Clary Sage Essential Oil is known to help balance progesterone and estrogen. It's my favorite hormone-balancing essential oil. Try 15 drops to 4ml of Fractionated Coconut Oil (or carrier oil of your choice) to a dark spray bottle. Very little goes a long way.
  2. Peppermint
    May be helpful for hot flashes and energy. Peppermint Essential Oil is an extremely versatile oil. One drop (Peppermint oil is very strong) can be added to mocha to make it a peppermint mocha or hot water to make peppermint tea. For a quick pick me up, put a drop on your hand and take a lick and then rub it into your hand or just take a whiff from the bottle. For hot flashes, a spritzer of peppermint and distilled water in a dark glass spray bottle. Spritz to the neck or temples for relief from hot flashes.
  3. Ylang-Ylang
    May be helpful for libido. Ylang-Ylang Essential Oil is widely used as an aphrodisiac and has a gentle floral scent. Try blending 2 drops of Clary Sage, 2 drops of Cedarwood and 4 drops of Ylang-Ylang. Use it in your bath, put in a spray bottle and/or as a massage oil. 

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

3 Reasons Soy Is Not A Healthy Food Alternative

Everything you know about soy is from years of big marketing telling you what they wanted you to think…that soy is a super food. Soy is not the super food we've all been led to believe.
  1. Approximately, 95% of all soy in the United States are GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). A GMO is the result of a laboratory process where genes from the DNA of one species are extracted and artificially forced into the genes of an unrelated plant or animal. The foreign genes may come from bacteria, viruses, insects, animals or even humans. What can GMOs do to you…
    • Food Allergies
    • Toxicity
    • Infertility
    • Gluten Disorders
    • Birth Defects
    • Cancer
    • to name just a few.
  2. Soy contains phytoestrogens, which are estrogen mimickers in the body. When women consume too much phytoestrogens it can cause cervical cancer, breast cancer, PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) and hormonal imbalances. If you are a woman going through perimenopause or menopause and are estrogen dominant this could be a double whammy. When males consume too much phytoestrogens they start to exhibit feminine characteristics (think man-boobs).

    Bottom line…stop eating soy, especially if you are estrogen dominant.

Friday, January 20, 2017

Greens Are Good...Or Are They?

We all know veggies are good for us and we should eat at least 5 servings a day, or should we? Last year during a doctor's appt that I scheduled specifically to check my hormone levels the doctor said my thyroid was enlarged. Great information, but he never once asked me what I ate on a regular basis. I'm a hypochondriac. Of course, I scoured the Internets looking for why my thyroid might be enlarged.

FYI I LVE Kale! Like seriously LVE Kale. I also enjoy eating Cabbage, Broccoli, Kale, Brussel Sprouts, Cauliflower and other cruciferous vegetables. All of these contain substances called goitrogens.

So what are Goitrogens? Goitrogens are substances (whether in drugs, chemicals, or foods) that disrupt the production of thyroid hormones by interfering with iodine uptake in the thyroid gland. This triggers the pituitary to release TSH, which then promotes the growth of thyroid tissue, eventually leading to goiter.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

I typically ate kale for breakfast (egg whites and Kale), lunch (the Kale / Broccoli salad), and dinner (Kale as a cooked side or in more salad).

Does it mean these veggies are not good for you? No, because goitrogens are neutralized (partially) by cooking.

Cabbage, Broccoli, Kale, Brussel Sprouts, Cauliflower and other cruciferous vegetables should all be cooked prior to consuming. Having them raw once in a while won’t do you any harm, but juicing or eating these veggies raw several times a week over several months or more can certainly cause thyroid issues.

I still haven't really found a replacement for my egg whites and Kale breakfast, but now mix some Arugula in with it and it is cooked. I no longer eat the Kale / Broccoli salad I was having every day for lunch, I have a spring mix now instead. And I occasionally have a side of cooked Kale with dinner.

Ideas for other veggies to use in my egg whites are welcome!

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Clean Eating Protein Bars

Too many protein bars tout to be great sources of protein for grab and go, pre- and/or post- workout nutrition, but most fall extremely short and are just crappy tasting candy bars. Full of so many forms of sugar, under different names and things we can't even pronounce!

Here is my list of cleaner protein bars:

Epic Bar

Epic has several Paleo bars to choose from…beef, chicken, bacon, turkey, wild boar, bison, etc. All are paleo, dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free, and sweetened with fruit. Calories range from 80 calories to 150 calories and the protein ranges from 8g to 15g.

How do they taste…of all the ones I've tried…good, although some are a bit salty for me.

Get them here ß

Exo Bar

They may not be for everyone (they are made using Cricket flour…yes those kind of Crickets!), but that's because we are snobs. According to the eXo website, 80% of the world already eat insects on a regular basis and Cricket flour is 65% protein almost twice as much as beef jerky (33%). They have no gluten, grain, soy, dairy or refined sugar. All of the bars are over 250 calories, so they are basically a meal replacement bar as opposed to a quick hunger fix. All bars are 10g of protein.

How do they taste…surprisingly good.

Get them here ß


The RXBARs are gluten, soy, dairy, and refined sugar-free with very few ingredients, although I'm not a big fan of seeing the ingredient "natural flavors" on a few of their bars. All the bars have 12g of protein and use dates or fruits to sweeten. All the bars are 200 to 210 calories.

How do they taste…of all the ones I've tried…ok. I was really disappointed in these bars. They are so chewy and hard I was afraid I was going to pull a tooth out.

Get them here ß

Caveman Primal Bar

The Primal bars are gluten, soy, dairy, and refined sugar-free with very few ingredients, however, one does have coconut sugar. Unlike the Epic Bar, Caveman only uses chicken for these similar style meat protein bars. However, they do have four different flavor combinations. All of them are 18g of protein the highest among the cleaner bars I've tried and all are around 150 calories.

How do they taste…of all the ones I've tried...good.

Get them here ß

I actually like the Exo Bars the best. I just wish they all had more grams of protein. The quest will continue to find a super clean protein bar with high protein.

What are some of your favorite bars?