Autumn Harvest Soup

It's getting colder out. Yeah, I said it. Why not capitalize on two awesome things that accompany colder weather -- squash and soup. 

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 55 minutes

2 tablespoons coconut oil
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
2 parsnips, peeled and diced
1 large white onion, peeled and diced
4 cups peeled butternut squash, cut into bite size cubes
1 white potato, peeled and cubed
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 whole bulb of garlic, top chopped to expose tops of garlic cloves
1 lb. sausages, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
8 cups homemade chicken broth
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes, with liquid
2 cups lightly packed and coarsely chopped kale, stems removed
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. 
2. In a baking dish add diced carrots, parsnips, onion, squash, potatoes and garlic. 
3. Toss with coconut oil and bake for 40 minutes, stirring vegetables halfway through.
4. Meanwhile, brown sausages over medium heat for 5 minutes. 
5. Once veggies are cooked, set garlic aside to cool.
6. Transfer veggies and sausages into soup pot, add stock, tomatoes, spices and kale.
7. Bring to a boil.
8. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. 

Probiotics 101: Part 2

Last week, the blog was about probiotics; what they are and how they affect your body. If you missed that post, you may want to read back and get up to speed because this week I am highlighting some of the reasons why MOST people in North America no longer have a healthy balance of bacteria in their gut.

Reason #1 – Modern Birthing Techniques

About 1 in 4 children born in Canada miss out on the benefits of having good gut bacteria right from birth. The Canadian Cesarean Section rate is approximately 26%, which is an increase of 45% since 1998.

When a baby is born via cesarean section, they are missing out! There are lots of good bacteria in the vagina. I know it sounds gross, but it is important that babies get some of these bugs on their way into the world because they protect them from infections.

When the digestive tract and respiratory system remain sterile, opportunistic infections in the gut, ears, nose and throat are more common.

Another early factor is formula feeding. Children who are formula fed miss out on bifidus bacteria. This bacteria is present in the mother’s nipples and helps to colonize the baby’s gut.

Reason #2 – Over Sanitization.

Antibacterial dish soap, surface spray and hand jelly that kill 99.9% of bacteria are devastating your inner environment.

You need dirt in your life. More dirt means more bacteria.

We are still members of the animal kingdom, designed to live where dirt and bacteria are abundant. Eliminating constant exposure to bacterial life is incongruent with the natural state for your body and prevents proper development of your microflora.

Reason #3 – Little or No Fermented Food.

Prior to refrigerators, which were only developed for home and domestic use in 1913, fermentation was a standard process for preserving food.  

Fermentation is a process where bacteria eat the sugars in a food and enables the food to ‘go bad’ in a controlled way. This keeps it from rotting and allows it to be stored longer than would otherwise be possible.

In order to have meat between hunts, hunter-gatherer societies buried animal carcasses in grass-lined holes, allowing the meat to ferment. This preserved the game.

Traditional cuisines across the globe include fermented foods. Pickled fruit and vegetables, cured meats, unpasteurized cheeses and yogurts contributed greatly to most people’s diets until the last few decades.

In our society most of the fermented foods we do still eat, like pickles and sauerkraut, are pasteurized and then loaded with preservatives so that they can sit on shelves in your grocery store for weeks or months.

Pasteurizing kills bacteria. Unfortunately, having NO bacteria in your food is more likely to make you sick than the rare event of food contamination.

Just a couple of generations ago, we were exposed to bacteria regularly. Humans evolved over hundreds of thousands of years to be in a harmonious relationship with bacteria.

Ironically, we now eliminate bacteria from our environments thinking we are less likely to get sick. We do not realize that living in a sterile environment devastates our immune systems.

If you want a healthy body and a properly functioning digestive tract and immune system, you will need to take steps to restore and maintain your gut bacteria. Next week, I will give you a few strategies for getting your probiotics.

Probiotics 101: Part 1

This week the video blog that we sent out to our Eat By Design Coaching mailing list was talking about probiotics. It was a really short video that barely skimmed the tip of the iceberg on this topic. Probiotics are something that I find myself talking about quite a bit. My inner science nerd gets so excited about bacteria and how they can help our bodies to be more awesome.

There is quite a bit to know on this topic. Last time I tried explaining why probiotics are important and how to get them (this morning to a friend over breakfast) it was a 45-minute monologue of me brain dumping everything I know on my poor listener.

I am not going to do that to you. Instead, for your reading pleasure, this post is the first of a 3 part blog series: Probiotics 101.  

Part 1: What Are Probiotics and What Do They Do?

Part 2: Why You Probably Don’t Have a Healthy Probiotic Balance

Part 3: What You Can Do About It.

So, what are Probiotics??

Probiotics are bacteria.

The World Health Organization defines probiotics as “live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host.”

Your gastrointestinal tract (GI) tract includes everything from your mouth to the end of your intestines and is home to thousands of species of bacteria.

Total bacteria living in your body outnumber the cells that make up your entire body by a ratio of about 10 to 1.

You have approximately 23 thousand genes. The number of additional genes from your microflora (the bacteria inhabiting your body) is greater than 3.3 million. These genes affect the expression of your DNA, which impacts how your cells, organs and your entire body function.

These little guys have a big impact on what happens inside your body.

70% of your immune function goes on in your GI tract. Proper functioning of this system is vital to your health. If your immune system is not performing at peak levels you are more likely to get infections, inflammatory conditions and develop cancerous tissue.

The cells lining your GI tract are constantly exposed to an environment of foreign matter. Everything going into your mouth, from food to toxins to pathogens, enters your GI tract where the cell lining acts as a gatekeeper to your body.

Recent scientific evidence links healthy gut bacteria to the proper development and correct functioning of gastrointestinal cells; establishing their crucial role in human health and disease.

Bacteria secrete a chemical called butyrate and a few other short chain fatty acids. These chemicals support and regulate cell growth and maturity, which is important for digestion, immunity and for preventing precancerous cell changes.

Microbes make making B vitamins, amino acids (building blocks for proteins), help form new blood vessels, metabolize fiber, glucose and cholesterol and signal your body’s immune cells when a pathogen is present. Below is a chart outlining functions of probiotics.

The grey bubbles are types of bacteria. The white bubbles are effects on your cells. The black bubbles are noticeable systemic effects including: improved immune function, proper gut function, regulation of the stress response and drug and food metabolism.

In addition to producing materials essential for proper functioning of host cells (your GI tract), natural microflora make antimicrobial compounds. They prevent non-friendly organisms from moving in and competing for nutrients and space to colonize in your gut.

When you do not have a proper balance of bacteria, your cells do not function properly and there is increased susceptibility to opportunistic infections. 

What things are preventing you or your children from having healthy gut bacteria? 

Tune in next week to find out.

Same bat time. Same bat channel.

Out of The Groove

It has been a busy few weeks. With multiple events going on the last few weekends, I have not made time for my usual amount of bulk food preparation.

Yes, I said made time. I had time. I always have time. I just have not made food preparation a priority.

Getting home last night was frustrating. It was 10pm, I was hungry and I had no meat cooked in my fridge. This is such a rare occurrence. I was shocked.

I should not have been. Groceries are not going to cook themselves. But my mind was offended as to how this could have happened. I am usually so good at keeping emergency meat and vegetable supplies stocked and ready to go in my fridge.

It made me realize just how easy it is to get out of the groove. Even when you have good habits and feel like you have the hang of this Eat By Design thing. A few days of letting things slide and all of a sudden, its like you are standing in your kitchen looking into the empty fridge of a stranger.

It is interesting how down you can feel just from getting out of your routine. I have not eaten off track. I managed to stay on track with quick meals thrown together on the fly and a few restaurant meals that I By Design’d. Still, that sinking feeling of “this is not what I am supposed to be doing” creeps in.

So now what?

Back to the basics.

Last week is done. Over. Buh-Bye.

What am I going to do this weekend? How am I going to set myself up for success and get my I-am-on-top-of-the-world feeling back?

In the wise words of Dr. Jenna “You know what you are supposed to be doing. You just have to do it.” Thank you. I needed that.

It is good to have people around you who tell you what you need to hear and hold you accountable. I am often a talk-things-to-death kind of person. Jenna is a shut-up-and-do-it person. It really helps having her influence around when I just want to keep talking and not doing.

So here is what I KNOW I need to do.

Step 1 – Plan.

My meals for next week:

o   Cabbage & sausage (An old faithful that I make ALL THE TIME.)

o   Bone broth -- Or as I have recently come to view it ‘Meat Tea’

o   Slow Cooker bean-less chili

o   Bacon & Eggs

o   Tacos  (Meat. Cheese. Avocado. Cilantro. Onions. Lettuce. Tomato. Jalapeño.)

Since I have been eating By Design for years, I have a good idea of how much food I will need for the week. If you are new to eating By Design, it might take a few weeks to figure out how much you need to buy and prepare for you and your family. Keep at it. There is nothing wrong with a little trail and error.

Step 2 – Go to the Market.

Make my list from the ingredients I need for my meals and then get going to the market and stock up my fridge.

Step 3 – Cook!

Crank up the John Mayer tunes and get busy!

Chop-chop! Getting down to work!

It should take less than 2 hours to get everything prepared for my coming week of on-the-go By Design meals.

Again, have a good idea of how long this takes because I have done it before. At first, it took longer and I left myself more time.

Step 4 – Repeat next week.

And the week after. And the week after that.

The hardest part of all of this is shaking off the feeling of failure and launching yourself back on the success train. But man, it feels GOOD when you get going, get productive and settle back in that groove.

Are you feeling this way? Did the summer give you all the excuses you needed to get out of your routine and stop eating By Design?

Here is the good news. It’s September. Summer is gone my friend. Time to get back into your routine. Make your list and take action. Now.

Make it Yours

I have had a number of conversations recently about eating By Design that started off with a variation of the statement “I don’t think my body will do well eating that much meat and fat.”

This particular comment always arouses the same response in my head “How much meat and fat?”

It has become evident that there is a misunderstanding that many people have concerning Eat By Design. While eating animal protein and fat are requirements that we highly recommend you add into your diet if you would like to be healthy, I have yet to be at an Eat By Design seminar where the presenter said how much of these things to eat.

Back to the basics: Eat By Design is based on the principle that all of our bodies require the same basic nutrients (fats, protein and micronutrients).

That does not mean that everyone eats the exact same way when they Eat By Design.

We can acknowledge that our species has the same biological requirements while honoring our individual uniqueness!

To compare us to cars, a Mini Cooper and a Hummer both run on gasoline but they have very different fuel economies.

The exact types and amounts of food that you eat should be dictated by your activity levels, body composition goals (whether you are trying to lose, gain or maintain body fat and muscle mass), how you feel and what you enjoy eating.

From a life experience and logic stand point, it is easy to see that different

things work for different people when it comes to maintaining a healthy body weight and feeling at peak energy and performance levels.

You need fat. Without fat you die… its really that simple. Your brain, nerves,

immune system and all of the cells in your body are made up of fat.

You need protein from animal sources. Your body cannot function properly without enough protein and will break down muscle tissue when you don not eat enough. Your body has enough B12 to keep you feeling good for a couple of years if you eat ZERO animal products. Past that point, significant immune compromise, energy deficiency and neurological damage occur.

You need vitamins and minerals. The best sources are meat, vegetables and fruit.

But – and this is a big but – How much of each of these things you get and the

sources you get them from are completely and totally unique to every person.

Grains and legumes are not good for anyone. Grains and legumes cause gut irritation and contain antinutrients that keep you from absorbing the nutrients they contain. They also interfere with your protein and carbohydrate digestion and the balance of healthy bacteria in your intestines.

There may be ‘better’ grains and ‘better’ preparation methods for grains and legumes, but there are no grains or legumes that are in any way more nutritionally beneficial than vegetables.

You have options

If its between starvation and grains.. Grains is the better option. Otherwise, there is no logical reason to eat them.

The take home point here is that when it comes to fueling the body, everyone has

the same basic requirements.  The STRATEGY for meeting those requirements can be drastically different for different people.

If you are vegetarian and committed to that lifestyle, you can make that By Design.

A vegetarian diet composed of lots of vegetables and fruit with some high fat

dairy and eggs and maybe a bit of seafood could be absolutely perfect for your body. You can maintain great health as a vegetarian as long as you are not consuming a processed food and grain-atarian diet.

Another important thing to note is that even within your own body, the amount and types of food that allow you to function optimally will change on a day-to-day, month-to-month, season-to-season basis.

This is especially true for women. Your optimal diet fluctuates with your hormones and menstrual cycle. When a woman is pregnant, she typically needs less protein and more fat to fuel her developing baby.

As long as you are eating real food (not grains, legumes or processed sugar and

vegetable oils) listen to your body and do what feels the best to you.

If you are unsure whether a food is best for you, eliminate it for a few weeks and then slowly reintroduce it. Keep track of how it affects your energy levels, digestion, skin and sleep. These 4 areas produce particularly noticeable responses to food sensitivities.

I hope this post helps. I hope that you realize that Eat By Design is based on principles and it is up to you to develop the strategy for how you will Eat By Design.

Your Eat By Design and my Eat By Design do not have to look or taste the same.

Be okay with it.