Almond Flour Flapjacks Recipe

 

Almond Flour Flapjacks

2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. almond flour
1/4 tsp sea salt.
1/4-1/2 cup water (depending on how thick you like them)

Mix together thoroughly, batter will be stiff.  You can add up to 1/2 c water, but I like it stiffer.  The more watery it is the more difficult it is to flip them.  I cook them on my electric skillet about 275 degrees.  I grease it with coconut oil or bacon grease, first.  Cook a few minutes on each side.  They are difficult to turn, since they do not "set up" like traditional pancakes.  I have learned to loosen all the way around, and then quickly scoop and flip them.  It takes a bit of practice.  They get a bit crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside.  You can add chocolate chips or blueberries.

Busy life

I know, I know, it has been too long since I wrote.  I've had lots of things running through my mind; lots of concerns about my life.  So... maybe this post is going to be a bit of a rambling...

Over the past couple of weeks, I have gotten increasingly frustrated with my job.  There are management/administration concerns.  But the bigger picture for me, is our very damaged Health care system.  I work on the Oncology floor.  We treat patients who are receiving chemotherapy/radiation.  We help people who are dealing with the myriad of side effects of those treatments.  We take care of hospice patients and families.  Also, the rest of our beds are filled up with all sorts of other illnesses.  I am continually disgusted with how we diagnose, and then medicate.  There is no thought to the cause of the diagnosis.  Is there something in the patient's lifestyle that needs corrected?  Can we be proactive in preventing disease?  Nope.  Because that would be mean the hospitals wouldn't make the money they do now.  I don't understand much about the financial aspect of hospitals, but I do know that we have enough money at my facility to be doing renovations continually.  Multi-million dollar renovations.  That is a lot of sick people.

So... I am venturing into understanding a bit more about Food as Healthcare.  There is a time for Medicine, I do understand that.  But... like this post I saw the other day...


I wish there was a way to incorporate this into the hospital.  So, because of my issues with this; the more you understand the more you realize you aren't doing what you should be; I wish I could make changes.  However, how do you take the risk of leaving a job where you make GOOD money, and have a flexible schedule.

I want to make changes in people's health and lifestyle.  I want to mainstream the idea of eating food for nutrition, not for emotional baggage.  But, it seems, no one wants to take responsibility for their own health.  Few people want to break the mold, go against the drift that everyone else is on.  There is only a relatively small group of people who question the "authorities" and get to the real research about our health, life, and our amazing bodies.

I am looking into treatments for diseases/illnesses using natural products that have been used for thousands of years.  I was introduced recently to the world of herbalism.  This intrigues me.  There is a great fad going on right now, for essential oils.  I have shied away from them for this reason. There are lots of people who are selling these oils who do not understand health, the body, side effects, and ultimately, the oil themselves.  They simply read in a booklet that is published by "their company" that this oil treats this, and this, and this.  I want to REALLY understand these treatments before "prescribing" them to anyone!  There is danger in this, and there are a lot of uneducated people who have jumped on this bandwagon for the MLM and $$ aspects.  Just because these oils are natural does not mean that they are harmless.  But to me, essential oils are only part of the picture of herbalism.  Salves, ointments, tinctures, teas...the list goes on.  How do we use them, safely, and appropriately?  I am excited about learning these time honored treasures.

I would like to help people view food as nutrition.  It is not something to be taken lightly.  Just as you wouldn't put bad gas in your car, and hope to go anywhere safely, you shouldn't put bad food in your body and hope to thrive.  But the question in my mind is HOW?   People are in a rut.  They don't want to change, or if they do, they don't want to work too hard at it.  They want a pill, a shake, a surgery, a promise of a "easy fix'.  Well, I know from some personal experience, that none of those are the easy fix.  But for some reason, when you tell people that they just need to eat REAL food...they can't do that.  But, if you said drink this shake (full of chemicals) for 2 meals a day; that sounds like a do-able option. 

Anyway, I feel like more change is on the horizon.  I don't know where my ideas will take me.  I am thankful to meet more and more people each week who agree with me!  It is encouraging to think that change is coming to the minds of Americans. 

Treat your body well... it's the only one you're gonna get!

A typical Day of eating.

One of the most frequent questions I get asked is "What DO you eat? If you don't eat bread, then what do you eat?" 

I chuckle to myself.  Bread, flour, sugar.  Really?  That is what people rely on to eat?  I know I did at one time.  But seriously, so much so, that all other food is irrelevant?

Breakfast.  Well, I seldom eat when I first get up.  This hocus pocus about it being the "most important meal of the day", so you must start with sugar and coffee.  Nope.  not me.  frequently, I don't eat for several hours, usually around 1030-1100.  I wait until I get hungry.  And then I have protein.  Sometimes it is leftovers from supper the night before.  Sometimes it is yummy Almond Flour Flapjacks, with real maple syrup.  I will add berries... strawberries, blueberries or whatever is in the fridge.  It is amazing to me how little food it takes to satisfy my acute hunger. 

Lunch/Dinner.  Often I eat twice a day.  So, the 2nd meal I eat is "suppertime".  We have meat and veggies.  Chicken stir-fry and mix frozen veggies.  Sometimes with hot sauce.  Or pork chops with green beans or salad.  Or venison stew.  Or ham.  sometimes potatoes, or sweet potatoes!!  ooohh sweet potatoes. 

Snacks:  usually vegetables.  or clementines or apples or bananas.  I love a yummy fruit dip: coconut oil, honey and peanut butter.  Sometimes I put cocoa in it.  It is delicious with bananas, especially.  Sometimes we will have popcorn.  Lard/Coconut popcorn, popped on the stove.  Add a little sea salt, oh yeah.... yummy!  If we really want a treat, I make Almond Flour chocolate chip cookies.  They pass the test with people who don't eat paleo.

Do I miss bread and junk?  Sometimes, yes.  But it is more about the experience than the food.  When I really wish I could eat bread, is when I am really hungry and I just want something quick, like a sandwich.  But, when I take the time to cook a yummy stir-fry, well, I certainly don't miss the bread.  It is also difficult when someone offers a yummy treat at work, when trying to avoid all the junk in the staff room.  Sometimes when I am stressed at work....oh yeah, I just want that chocolate brownie.  BUT, when I remember about how it will make me feel... that sluggishness, the headache, the runs to the bathroom.  Well, it loses its appeal quickly.

Anyway, I have found that I have LOTS to eat.  I am thankful to live in a country with lots of options to eat.  Someone told me once a few months ago, that I was a picky eater.  I've never considered myself picky.  I am very open minded, and will try most foods.  BUT, if it is going to make me sick, or I am not going to enjoy it, I choose not to eat it.  Does that make me picky?  Maybe.  But it also makes me smart.  I am also finding that I enjoy foods that I never would have tried before.  One of my new favorites is sweet potatoes.  I have always declined them in the past...why?  because they were always loaded with sugar and spices which made them more of a dessert.  I thought that was disgusting.  Well, now, a little oil/butter, sea salt, some pepper, maybe a sprinkle of garlic... oh they are yummy. 

So, you all probably think I am nuts.  Well, I have learned, as I said in an earlier post, to LOVE food.  I thoroughly enjoy what I eat.  EVERY TIME! 

LIVE your life!!

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to feel every experience, negative and positive.  This has been quite a roller coaster, trying to do that. I have cried more tears of happiness, and of despair than I have in a long time.  It basically was me being still, and allowing emotion to reach me.

On Saturday we attended a District Band Festival Concert.  150 kids from many schools performed.  It was amazing, and that is a gross understatement.  The president of PMEA addressed the audience and told us to look at our kids and watch them in amazement, to see their accomplishments.  Our kids were not on stage but it made think of them in that regard anyway.  And yes, the tears started to creep out. 

Sunday morning we have a 100 year old man who meets with us for bible study.  When he walked in to meeting, his weakness was obvious.  But when he prayed, it was evident where is strength was, and yes, I started to cry. 

My daughter told me she thought I was her best friend.  I cried.

Another daughter broke something of mine and tried to give me money to replace it.  Her honesty and humbleness made me cry.

When those kids on Saturday played the Irish Washerwoman, my heart started to sing.  I felt so happy, and uplifted and joyous to hear that melody that I have heard so many times in my life. 

When they played our National Anthem, I was so proud of my kids, of those kids, to live in a country where there is a measure of freedom.

These intense feelings have been a roller coaster, yes, but they have helped me LIVE.  I don't want to coast through life, I want to LIVE life.

I was chatting with someone this week about eating nutritional foods.  One thing that I told her, that I didn't hardly realize myself until my mouth formed the words is this:  "enjoy the food you eat".  It should make you feel good when you eat it, and you should feel good long after you eat it.  You should feel, really feel, like you just put the most nutritious food in your body.  There should be no shame.  There should be no thoughts of "I'm cheating today".  Eat it, enjoy it, and feel it.  Acknowledge how it made you feel.  If you feel negative, may it be enough reinforcement that you don't eat it again.  Ever.  You only live once, shouldn't it be the healthiest?  Shouldn't you strive to live as healthy as you can as long as God gives you life?  Don't waste today or the following days feeling less than you should, because you ate something that your body is struggling to deal with.

Lonliness on the journey

It is very scary, you know, putting all this out there for everyone to read.  Some of the issues that I will write about are things that I have dealt with for years, some most of my life.  So, to acknowledge them myself, and then to share with others, is no small thing.

The last few days I have been thinking about how other people deal when we make changes like this.  I have been so thankful for the positive feedback I have received from this blog.  It means so much, because I don't have much positive feedback from others.  Most of what I have experienced on a personal level has been a negative response due to ignorance.

We used to have a social life, going out to eat, etc.  First of all it was expensive!  And then to be sick from eating that all the time, I just got to the point of having to STOP.  Well, when we let people in our social circle know that we don't go out to eat, the invites to dinner stopped, period.  And, I think that they became uncomfortable because they don't understand it.  They don't know how to cook for me.  I also know they are probably thinking I am a "fruitloop", on the latest diet craze, and they wonder when this will pass.  I feel like these few people are watching me, judging me, waiting for some miracle weight loss or something profound to be a sign to them that I am on to something amazing.  I'm not sure why anyone else would need that, when it is my life, my journey, my choice. It feels like people are waiting for me to "fail".  Im just not sure what the parameters are that decide that. Regardless, it seems that friends have abandoned me.  I'm not saying this for sympathy, just the reality of how uncomfortable people are when you make profound changes in your life.  This is more than a personal journey, it affects other around me, and I have to be willing for that as well.   

Another subject that has made this difficult is that people have been programmed for a couple generations that low fat, low cholesterol, and high intensity cardio workouts are the gold standard for which to lose weight.  Research shows that there is no science basis for those claims, but that research was not widely publicized by the media.  The marketing for that diet scheme has been successful and brainwashed our entire nation.  So, when I talk about cooking with lard, butter, bacon, coconut oil, almond flour, etc, people look at me with my extra fat and erroneously think " yep, and we see what that has done for you".  Well, the sad part is that I gained my weight on the SAD (Standard American Diet) diet.  The low fat, low calorie diets killed my metabolism, screwed up my insulin response, and drastically affected my organs!  But, the general population doesn't see that. YET.

I have to take part of the blame too.  It makes me physically nauseas to see what garbage people are feeding their body with, continually.  We will have times when we will all do that.  But to see people doing that, naïvely, and then to complain about illnesses, frustrates me to no end.

Anyway, that is part of what has made this a lonely experience.  Thankfully, my children are supportive and understanding.  Even my husband does not understand what a journey this is.  So, to not have friends or a confidante to "bounce things off of", makes this a deep struggle.  I have learned to dig deep for strength.  I have cried many tears of loneliness when it seems like everyone else around me is doing well.  BUT, I have also risen in sincere happiness when I have discovered something about myself that I didn't realize before.  These things are encouraging and help to support me in my lifelong journey to health and wellbeing.

Questions

This post is not about Questions that I have...but things I don't understand why experts are advocating them, and the public is blindly following them.

Why are synthetic foods "healthy"?

Why is margarine or other hydrogenated oils healthier than fat or lard or coconut oil?

Why does our government feel that there are so many valuable nutrients in processed grains, even to the point of saying they are more important than fresh fruits and vegetables?

Why are chemicals better for us than whole foods?

Why is intensive cardio training better for our bodies than good old fashioned work that our bodies were intended for?

Why is processed formula better than breast milk?

Why is medical intervention preferable to healthy living?

Why does everyone want a pill, a shake, a surgery, a diagnosis, but they don't want to change the very basic of their lives?

Why eat garbage and then go to the doctor because you are sick? 

Why do humans have this "quick fix" mentality?  instant gratification?

I am just boggled about why Americans are just going along with these.  I admit that I did for a long time, too.

My medical story

For me it started when I was a teenager.  My mom had gone to weight watchers, and lost a significant amount of weight. She did it with low calorie, high processed junk.  I had digestion problems as a teenager, gas pains, bloating.  I was assigned the BRAT diet.  Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast.  Yum.  Bananas are good.  Rice, ok.  Applesauce--- laden with sugar, and Toast.  Really?  Digestion problems and they advocate TOAST???  Then, they did my blood work.... as a teenager I had high cholesterol.  First of all, what number is indicative of "high" cholesterol.  The powers that be in charge of this thing have appointed a specific number.  Individuality is not allowed.  If YOUR number is off from this set range, then you must be treated.  How is that treated?  With a low fat, high carb diet mixed with some aerobic activity.  Whoever came up with this plan does not understand basic chemistry of food.  Did this help?  NOPE.  I continued to have digestion issues into my early 20s, when I had gall bladder issues.  The answer?  remove the gall bladder!  Whew... it was GONE.  To be replaced with diarrhea, urgency, inability to leave a restaurant, or the mall, or any driving route to anywhere,  with out knowing where the bathroom is.  Yay, such a fun way to live.  I tried multiple diet changes to figure out the "allergy".  Was it dairy?  Was it fat?  For years I tried different things.  Finally, I settled on carrying immodium with me everywhere.  When I was eating and felt that familiar rumble that was indicating a flying race to the bathroom was forthcoming, I started popping pills.  I took 2 start.  If in 1/2 hour I was still having pains...I took 2 more.  I could stop my bowels for up to 3 days.  This was great.  THEN I could eat whatever I wanted!  Sometimes I took Immodium on purpose if I was going to be visiting someplace for the weekend.  This enabled me to have fun, and not spend so much time in the bathroom.  I am in complete denial, and at this point, I do not want to know what this did to my GI track.  FINALLY in 2013 I started doing research about how to heal chronic body pain.  I had difficulty when getting out of bed in the morning. Lower back pain that made it difficult or impossible to tend to my own body care.  I started the day popping Tylenol/ibuprofen/any other medication to help with the pain.  When these pains started to wake me at night, I knew I needed to find some answers.  So...to the internet I went.  Well, what I found has changed my life.  I found information on WHOLE30, Paleo, Primal, inflammatory foods.  I learned about how our nutrition affects how we think, feel, deal.  I haven't been perfectly paleo since then.  I have fell off the "bandwagon" twice.  It seems that I heal my gut, and then inflammatory foods don't bother me for awhile.  But then, they DO.  And when that creeps up on me, well, I know what to fix.  Eating the SAD (standard American diet)  I have; leaky gut, diarrhea, constipation, indigestion, bloating.  I also have emotion issues; labile emotions, depression, anxiety (the newest issue added in the past year or so).  I have muscular issues; generalized achiness, unexplained pain, exhaustion, plantar fasciitis, neck stiffness (leading to migraines).  Now, those lists sound like a horrible way to live.  But, when I was living it, well, it was normal.  I didn't know what it was like to live without pain, and GI problems.  I didn't know how  to cope with anxiety attacks.  They just seemed to be the latest symptom in the rapidly increasing train towards old age. 

I've been renewing my paleo life for the past month.  It has been a month of healing.  I am no healed yet.  I do not have bloating or indigestion.  I am still trying to get the constipation/diarrhea regulated, although it is MUCH improved.  My general achiness is gone.  I only notice it when I am really low on sleep.  Depression?  Much less.  Anxiety? Much improved, maybe even gone.  Neck stiffness?  less, but not gone yet.  For me this means success.  This means that my body is improving.  I feel stronger.  I do not crave food much at all.  I eat when I am hungry, and seldom eat for any other reason.  I eat food that is nutritious, and seldom eat for any other reason than that.  I have lost a few pounds.  But, I am NOT dieting.  This is the way I am going to live.  If I lose weight, that is a benefit and not the real reason. 

I could go on and on about this.  Maybe, just maybe, my story will help someone else.  I know that reading stories online about people who transition to Paleo, primal, whole foods, and how their bodies change is incredibly inspiring.  It brings hope to those still struggling; those going to Medical Doctors and enduring tests without answers.   It is YOUR body, it the only one you get!  Treat it well, nourish it, and it will inspire you.

Never going back.

 

I saw this posted to facebook the other day.  I immediately thought about how my thinking has changed.  I now can't believe how many people are brainwashed by our current government led nutritional ideas.  Anytime I talk about Paleo, there is always at least one person who tells me how unhealthy they feel the diet is.  "you need carbs" they tell me.  So, I respond that I get plenty of carbs through fruits and vegetables.  And F & V's have more nutrients than bread, anyway.  I prefer to eat nutrient-dense food, so that I don't have to eat as much food!

 

I find it interesting looking back at things that I used to think.  As I have learned new things through nursing school, nursing in the hospital, studying about homesteading, and nutrition, I have changed.  I feel like I am more educated but yet I am aware of how little I know.  There is so much information out there about these things.  I am striving to make educated decisions about many aspects in life.  To get to my "goal" of 2015 being my healthiest yet, I am continuously researching different topics.  And I truly never want to go back to who I was.  I never want my family to go back, either.

Resolutions

Happy 2015!  A new year.  A new start.  New focus. 

I was thinking about Resolutions. 

 

Resolve: to come to a definite or earnest decision about; determine (to do something): "I have resolved that I shall live to the full". -dictionary.com

 

I find it interesting about making resolutions for a new year.  What is the ultimate thing you want to change in your life this year?  That is pretty big considering that we don't know what experiences each year will bring.  What adversity will we face?  What blessing will we experience? I like the definition example: "I have resolved that I shall live to the full".  I want that to be one of my goals this year. 

 Live life to the fullest, enjoy every moment, appreciate every experience.

  I want to learn from negative experiences.

I want to relish positive ones.

 

I don't believe that resolutions should be something that you decide on January 1st.  It should be something that you are seriously considering and that you have worked towards.  On New Years Day, you simply make the commitment.

 

2015 will be the healthiest year I have ever had.  Regardless of what comes my way, I want to be in the best physical and mental health possible.  I want to continue to work on my nutrition, I want to gain strength.  I want my mental and physical abilities to be continuously improving.  I want to help my family to achieve the same.  I am looking forward to achieving health goals, weight loss, running, biking, or whatever else I am inspired to do.  I am looking forward to spending more time on activities that help me to relax, and enjoy life.

 

Kudos to you and yours!  Make today the best day of the year, so far!