Category Archives: healthy alternatives

January 3, 2013 · 12:02 pm

A New Year…A New Savory Grain-Free Bread Recipe…Yum!

Savory Grain-Free Bread Recipe

Savory Grain-Free Bread Recipe

OK, this savory grain-free bread recipe is a winner!

Since Dr. Daren and I have been going Primal, I’ve been experimenting with so many grain-free recipes for breads, crackers, muffins etc. and they are sometimes good (sometimes), sometimes edible (sometimes), and sometimes funky, weird, and yucky (eeew!).  Some grain-free baking uses bean flours, such as chick pea, but beans are not part of the Paleo/Primal diet.  I have discovered I am not a fan of coconut flour, one of the alternatives to wheat in   grain-free baking.  I do however love almond flour, but it lacked the holding (binding?!) properties of other flours…in comes arrowroot powder.  So, this bread is by far my favorite grain-free bread recipe.  It tastes great, has a very “bready” texture, toasts well (hello breakfast toast!) and is not a complicated recipe.

Savory Grain-Free Bread Recipe

1 1/2 cups almond flour (also called almond meal)

3/4 cups arrowroot powder (you can sub tapioca starch)

1/4 cups + 1 Tblsp pumpkin seeds, ground (ok if you don’t have a grinder, just put them in whole!)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup pecorino or parmesean cheese

2 Tblsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

5 eggs

1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

 

Preheat oven to 325F.  Line a loaf tin with parchment paper.

Place the almond flour, arrowroot powder, 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, sea salt, baking soda, cheese, rosemary and pepper in a medium sized bowl, mixing together to break up any lumps.  In a seperate bowl, lighly beat eggs and apple cider vinegar.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry bowl and mix together. Pour the mix into the lined pan and sprinkle 1 Tblsp of pumpkin seeds on top.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

 

Please try this savory grain-free bread recipe, you will like it!

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August 2, 2012 · 6:03 pm

What’s in your soap?

What's in your soap?

What’s in your soap?

You only need three ingredients to make soap:

Water, Fat, and Lye.

This is pure soap, with the natural glycerin retained.  Glycerin is a great moisturizer that attracts moisture to the skin and is best if just left naturally in the soap.

(from NaturalNews)” The next time you walk down the soap aisle at your favorite store  enjoying the fresh, clean scents and the bright colorful packaging, pay  attention. Look at the labels. The vast majority of the products on the shelf  don’t say ‘soap’ on their labels. They might be called beauty bars, moisturizing  bars, or body bars, but not soap. That’s because these bars aren’t actually soap  and can’t legally claim to be; they’re detergents. The manufacturers have  removed most of the ‘good’ stuff that occurs in the soap making process, and  replaced it with synthetic lathering agents and harsh chemicals. These cheap,  plentiful detergent bars are not only bad for your skin, but they’re also bad  for the planet, too.”

What’s in your soap?

Cold-Process is the basic form of handmade, from scratch soap making.  The result is a luscious, gentle soap with a fine texture and lovely lather.  Hot-Process uses the same technique, however goes one step further applying heat to the soap “cooking” it.  I use both processes to make my soaps, preferring lately the rustic look of hot-process.

McGregor Chiropractic & Massage carries real natural soaps!  We know exactly what is in them because I make them!  Yep, I make my own soap, and you should try it! 

What’s in my soap?  

No Artificial Ingredients

My soaps are made of water (or beer [home-brew, of course!], or goat milk), lye, and blends of different fats-mainly olive oil and coconut oil.  I use only plant based colors and pure essential oils.  And there are no preservatives in my soaps.

If you have never used real soap before you are missing out!

It’s time to come clean!  Big name bars are not soap, but detergents, synthetic lathering agents, and harsh chemicals.  Bad for you, bad for our planet.  Do yourself and your world a favor and start using real soap!

What’s in your soap?

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June 5, 2012 · 1:38 pm

Mason Jar Salads?

Yes! Mason Jar Salads!

I should have a “where have I been?!” category (you saw my epiphany over almond milk right?)  Once again in my perusing of food blogs I find a brilliant idea that sadly isn’t mine-

Mason Jar Salads

These salads are as beautiful as they are convenient.  Apparently they stay fresh for days (although I haven’t tested that theory out for myself…yet) & they look good enough to eat!  The basic build is dressing on the bottom (vinaigrette, creamy herb, homemade ranch…your favorites!) next you put in items that can stand up to soaking in dressing such as cucumbers, carrots, beans, radishes, onions-again, your favorites…then, above them you layer in anything else you want in your salad, and pack in some greens on top!  You can google Mason Jar Salads like I did and search images.  I only look at the ones that caught my eye-but there are so many out there I’m sure you’ll find ones that appeal to you!

Mason Jar Salads

These were the prettiest ones I found, thanks to Kathy at Healthy Happy Life and her blog post here .  Pretty right?!  Makes you hungry for salad right?!

There are some great tips I found here at another blog for keeping crunchy things (croutons, nuts…) crunchy, and stinky things (blue cheese) from smelling up your whole jar.

I’m so sad I already ate lunch today because now I really want a salad…a pretty, pretty salad!  Well, I guess I’ll just have to prepare some Mason Jar Salads tonight and see which one I get tomorrow!  (bet it’s pretty!)

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March 6, 2012 · 4:19 pm

Homemade Almond Milk…it’s so easy!

Almonds waiting to become almond milk!

Really, Homemade Almond Milk is super easy!

OK, I consider myself a good cook, an informed cook even, and someone who has been on a path to better health through nutrition for years now.  So, when I was watching a show on PBS about healthy cooking (I think the show had Michele Beschen of b. organic on it but I’m not sure, oops!), how surprised was I when the very lovely lady (who I can’t name, again, oops!) made her own Almond Milk I was dumb struck!  And to learn people have been doing this for a very long time-what?!-duh, where did I think the people who make commercial Almond Milk got the idea from?!  You may remember from a previous post how much I love Almond Butter, and that still remains one of my favorite things, however, I have a new obsession in making

 Homemade Almond Milk!

It is seriously so easy you’re going to wonder why every single one of your neighbors isn’t doing this- everyday.  Oh, and have you read the label on the packaged Almond Milk?  You want to know what is in mine?!  Almonds and water. (I know!!)

Almond Milk

Now, there are as many recipes for Homemade Almond Milk as there are almonds…well, maybe not that many, but some people put stuff in theirs that I don’t find necessary, like sweetners, emulsifiers, flavors.  I like to keep mine plain.  If I want to make a sweet drink with it, I’ll sweeten it then, I also want the option of putting it in something salty, again, adding salt to it then.  Some people insist on using blanched almonds so the skins don’t dirty the milk…I don’t find that a problem and I’m sure part of the good stuff is in the skins!  Basically the only rule I have is 1 cup of nuts to 4 cups of water.

So, make your own-here’s how:

Homemade Almond Milk Recipe  

Step 1: soak 1 cup raw almonds in water overnight

Step 2: drain and rinse almonds and put in blender

Step 3: put 4 cups clean water in blender and blend for 1 minute

Step 4: pour mixture into a nut milk bag  (or save yourself a few dollors and get a grain bag!) over a bowl to drain

Step 5: squeeze all of the delicious milk out of the pulp (and reserve the pulp for later…I’ll have a recipe for you!)

That’s it!  viola!  Ta da!

Homemade Almond Milk!

Warning! I’m going to blow your mind again…you can make nut milk with other nuts!  I’ve made Walnut Milk too! (had to use 2 cups of walnuts per 4 cups water because 1 cup was too watery)  And plan on making cashew milk (actually cashew cream-as I hear it’s divine…basically to make nut cream, you use a tighter ratio-more like 1:1 or 1:2 nuts to water) in the very near future.  Did I mention I’m obsessed?

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January 24, 2012 · 3:34 pm

Chiropractic care and simple home exercises work better than painkillers for neck pain

New study says chiropractic care and simple home exercises work better than painkillers

Most of you readers (especially our patients) already know that chiropractic (and massage) help with neck pain.  For those who need to see it in writing…I found the article on this study on NaturalNews.com written by Elizabeth Walling , and it states:

 Painkilling drugs are associated with dangerous side effects, addiction and overdose. And it turns out they are also much less effective than harmless natural treatments. A new study shows that simple remedies like chiropractic treatments and home exercises relieve sub-acute neck pain better than pharmaceutical drugs – and without all the negative side effects.

Dangerous painkillers can (and should) be avoided

It’s estimated that 75 percent of Americans deal with neck pain at some point in their lives. Neck pain accounts for millions of trips to the doctor every year. The pain can be acute and severe enough to interfere with our everyday lives, but modern medicine offers little help. At best, you get over-the-counter pain relievers or narcotic drugs, all of which come with dangerous side effects and are often not effective enough to get rid of pain.
 
A new study published on January 3, 2012 in The Annals of Internal Medicine demonstrates the power of alternative therapies for neck pain. Participants in the study were divided into three groups: one group made regular visits to the chiropractor, one group received traditional drug therapy, and the third group was instructed on how to perform therapeutic exercises at home to combat their neck pain.
At the end of 12 weeks, it was clear participants who engaged in non-drug therapy fared better than those who received painkillers. In the chiropractic group, 57 percent of individuals reported at least a 75 percent reduction in pain. In the home exercise group, 48 percent reported similar pain relief. However, only 33 percent of the painkiller group saw such results.
The long term benefits are equally impressive. Even one year later, patients in the chiropractic and home exercise groups were still experiencing benefits. About 53 percent in each of these groups still saw at least a 75 percent reduction in pain. In the painkiller group, only 38 percent reported this kind of pain relief.
Besides being less effective, the painkiller group was also increasing their medication over time, which can lead to more serious side effects.
“The people in the medication group kept on using a higher amount of medication more frequently throughout the follow-up period, up to a year later,” says Dr. Gert Bronfort, research professor at Northwestern Health Sciences University in Minnesota and an author of the study.
He adds, “If you’re taking medication over a long time, then we’re running into more systemic side effects like gastrointestinal problems.”
It’s clear that pharmaceutical drugs are not only dangerous, but ineffective compared to safer natural alternatives for dealing with neck pain.
Sources for this article include:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/03/for-neck-pain-chiropractic-and-exercise-are-better-than-drugs/
http://www.annals.org/content/156/1_Part_1/1.abstract
About the author: Elizabeth Walling is a freelance writer specializing in health and family nutrition. She is a strong believer in natural living as a way to improve health and prevent modern disease. She enjoys thinking outside of the box and challenging common myths about health and wellness. You can visit her blog to learn more: www.livingthenourishedlife.com/2009/10/welcome.html
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034689_neck_pain_chiropractic_painkillers.html#ixzz1kPBVG4nM
 
Thank you Elizabeth!  It is always nice to see these studies being done to confirm what we do, and see everyday:
Chiropractic care and simple home exercises work better than painkillers for neck pain!

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January 12, 2012 · 12:56 pm

Homemade mint skin toner

 

Try this homemade mint skin toner!

homemade mint skin toner

Cleanse and tone your skin with this DIY natural mint skin toner. In a few steps, you’ll have a great toner that is free of synthetic chemicals and much less expensive then store-bought brands. Apple cider vinegar is packed with alpha-hydroxy and amino acids that help to dissolve dead skin cells, balance the pH level of skin and stimulate blood circulation. The acetic acid in apple cider vinegar stimulates the capillaries under the skin, leaving you with a soft glow. Made with simple ingredients everyone is likely to have on hand — a pinch of mint from the pots on your front porch (or your Lady Moon Farms produce box, or the grocery store!), some apple cider vinegar, and distilled water. This is homemade skin toner that you could eat. Your skin absorbs 70% of what you slather on it; so why would you want to put weird chemicals and other junk on it just to make it feel nice? I started doing for my skin care products what I’d done with my food — looking at ingredients labels. Skin toner, lotion, gentle cleansers. It didn’t matter. They were all costly and had labels that read like chemistry textbooks. So, I stopped using them. I started using skin care products that I could happily eat (no, I don’t eat them).

Apple cider vinegar alone makes a useful astringent that can help clear up oily or blemished skin, but many find the scent to be too off-putting or the straight vinegar to be too acidic. That’s where this recipe for homemade mint skin toner comes to the rescue. The mint infusion makes the skin toner pleasant, and the added water dilutes the acidity to the perfect levels for daily use. Among the benefits: it helps even out skin tone and smoothes out your skin’s texture, helps minimizes the size and appearance of pores, dries up and reduces redness from breakouts almost over night, and helps regulate oil production and impart’s a radiant glow. Sounds like a winner to me!!

I’m already a huge fan of vinegar in general-I add plain white vinegar to my washing machine because it eliminates ground-in odors and helps prevent colors from fading (and no, your clothes don’t come out of washing machine smelling like salad dressing-you can’t even smell it) as well as to my dishwasher in lieu of “Jet Dry” because it prevents streaks and spots on dishes.Yay vinegar!  Ok, here it is:

Homemade Mint Skin Toner Recipe

3 Tablespoons fresh mint

2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Cup distilled water

1.  Chop fresh mint and put it in a glass jar

2.  Add vinegar and water to jar and put the lid on

3.  Let sit for 3 days at room temerature to steep

4.  Strain into clean container and apply with a cotton ball (or you can use a spray bottle and spray directly on your face) after cleansing

Using this toner is just one way to reduce your chemical exposure, but keep up the good work and keep reading those labels!

*UPDATE 01/20/2012 : OK, I’ve been using this homemade mint skin toner on my face for a week now, and let me tell you, I love what it is doing for my skin tone.  I’m less dry, less noticeable splotchiness…It does still have a funky scent-it is vinegar after all-but the smell goes away as soon as it dries!  Try it, you’ll like it!

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