Okay keto people! This one is for YOU 🙂 This jalapeño burger is AMAZING….and messy…but mostly amazing!
If you are a little nervous about the jalapeño being too hot, just make sure to de-seed them well and you can cook them a bit before adding them to the burger to bring that heat level down a bit.
I highly recommend you use hormone free, antibiotic free, nitrate/nitrite free and grass fed and finished whenever you have such options with your animal products. Any of those attributes in your food will be part of your own system once you eat it. You don’t want that added inflammation, hormone imbalance, etc. to contend with!
This recipe is adapted from www.delish.com
Ingredients
Scale
4 oz cream cheese, softened
½ cup shredded cheddar
½ cup mozzarella
2 jalapeños, minced
salt
ground pepper
6 slices bacon, cooked & chopped
½ tsp chili powder
1.50 lbs grass fed ground beef
butter lettuce, or large lettuce leaves of choice (for wraps)
Instructions
In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, cheddar, mozzarella & jalapenos. Season with salt & pepper, then fold in cooked bacon.
Form ground beef into 8 large, thin rounds (about 1/4″). Spoon about 1/4 cup of filling mixture onto one patty, then place a second patty on top. Pinch edges to seal burger. Repeat with remaining patties.
Preheat grill to med-high. Season burgers on both sides with chili powder, salt & pepper. Place on grill & cook until done to your preference (should be around 6 minutes per side).
Add whatever condiments you love and use your lettuce in place of a bun!
These are hands down some of the best tasting meatballs I’ve ever had! We did test them out with some marinara as well and they were good, but I really preferred them without in order to have the unmasked flavor of the meatballs. They are that good!!
You could easily replace the cheese with a non-dairy version of your choice for a dairy free recipe!
As for the spaghetti squash, I absolutely recommend baking it WHOLE in order to easily cut it in half! This method has been a game changer for me! I would avoid spaghetti squash because it was such a pain in my rear to cut open. Now I just bake it whole and…HELLO…it’s SO easy!
Ingredients
Scale
1 lb Grass Fed Ground Beef
½ cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
⅓ cup Almond Flour
3 Cloves Garlic
1 tbsp Dried Basil
2 tbsp Dried Parsley
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp Black Pepper
1 Egg, beaten
Spaghetti Squash
1 Spaghetti Squash
Grass-fed Butter (Kerrygold is my favorite), to taste
Sea Salt or Pink Himalayan Salt, to taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F.
In a medium bowl, mix all of the ingredients well. Roll up your sleeves and use your hands (this really is the best way to do it).
Split the beef mixture into six parts and form six meat balls with your hands. Place them on a cookie sheet.
Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425F & line a baking sheet with foil.
Place the spaghetti squash on the lined baking sheet & bake 35-45 minutes (flip over halfway through). Check to make sure it’s ready with a knife. You should be able to cut through the squash very easily when it’s done baking.
Cut the squash in half lengthwise & scoop the seeds out. Use a fork to scrape out the strands of squash.
For this recipe I simply added grass fed butter and sea salt to the warm “noodles” and tossed well. SO delicious!
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population every year. The CDC has told us that this is one of the top risk factors for experiencing greater complications with Covid-19 is fear and anxiety. This is a rather overwhelming fact when so many are dealing with just this exact thing, at a critical level, due to circumstances surrounding Covid-19.
Something to understand is that anxiety disorders are highly treatable, yet only 36.9% of those suffering receive treatment.
People with an anxiety disorder are three to five times more likely to go to the doctor and six times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders than those who do not suffer from anxiety disorders.
Anxiety disorders develop from a complex set of risk factors, including genetics, brain chemistry, personality, and life events (emphasis on this last one right now). (Anxiety & Depression Association of America)
Most of us have at least experienced some form of anxiety in our lives. When someone mentions anxiety, we can typically all empathize to a degree. However, anxiety lives on a pretty broad spectrum and for some it can be quite debilitating.
Typically, if you go to your primary care physician and you tell them you are dealing with anxiety they are very quick to prescribe a medication. Now, I will not argue that at times that might be absolutely necessary. However, what this approach does is quiets the symptoms without dealing with the root cause. What happens then? It will likely cause side effects that then have to be dealt with and you will still have the underlying problem lingering. For some, the medications just don’t work or not well enough. OR, the side effects are just too great.
I personally went on a medication years ago when I was a single mom (my son was a toddler), I was going to college AND working full-time. Stress was high for sure! I had an episode where I had extreme (and quite scary) chest pain. The doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me and even thought I might be having an aneurysm. I was sent to the ER where the doctor there prescribed me some medications to calm me, told me I was stressed and sent me on my way. I then went to my primary care physician who put me on an anti-anxiety medication. I was hesitant, and yet followed through. At first I kind of liked the chilled out feeling it gave me. I even lost a couple of pounds effortlessly. But then things rapidly changed. The scale then went UP dramatically (well, 6 lbs in a matter of a couple of weeks on my 5’4 frame was a lot) AND I noticed I just didn’t really care…about anything. I was just FLAT. What really bothered me is that I typically used exercise to manage stress and moods and found that I could’ve cared less about exercise! Needless to say, I weaned myself off (*side note: I don’t recommend weaning yourself off of medication if you have severe anxiety and/or you’ve been on the medication for any length of time! This was not the case for me).
So, how does this even happen? Why do we experience anxiety?
There is no simple answer for this, as I am sure you know. It is never just one thing for almost any issue we deal with mentally or physically. We can’t just point a finger at a tough childhood, stress, genes or diet; it is often a combination of things that make us more susceptible to anxiety. With that being said, it is important to take a multi-pronged approach when trying to manage and/or reduce anxiety. Here are 5 things (there are many more, but let’s start here) that you might consider implementing for yourself:
*Please keep in mind that what works for me or your best friend or your neighbor may not work for you. We are all very unique even in this and must take an approach that works for our unique selves. Always listen to your body!
1) NUTRIENTS
According to Chris Kresser, “there are many nutrients that play an important role in mental health: B12, folate, zinc, copper, EPA and DHA, vitamin D, choline, B6, riboflavin, just to name a few”. In order to know where you are deficient, it is a very good idea to have your micronutrient levels tested by your doctor. If they won’t do it (which they should!), you can order your own online here. We sometimes have deficiencies we wouldn’t know about because our bodies aren’t processing our nutrients correctly or absorbing them the way they should be, so I do recommend testing.
2) MAGNESIUM
Magnesium gets it’s own place in this lineup because I recommend that EVERYONE supplement with this mineral! Over 80% of adults are deficient in magnesium due to soil depletion, gut dysbiosis, the use of antibiotics and poor diet. This micronutrient is responsible for over 300 biochemical reactions in our body. It would just make sense then that it plays into anxiety, wouldn’t it? Magnesium is known to have a calming effect on the body. It can help you relax, soothe sore muscles, help you sleep better, mitigate migraines, calm restless legs, etc.
You can get magnesium through the diet by eating magnesium rich foods such as:
Spinach
Almonds
Cashews
Avocados
Pumpkin Seeds
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
I typically recommend using a supplement as well. When looking for a supplement, steer clear of Magnesium Oxide. This is a form that is only absorbed by the body by about 4%, which makes it hardly worth the money.
Some good forms to look for are:
Magnesium Glycinate
Citrate
Threonate
Malate
It is important that you invest in a form that is more bioavailable, otherwise it won’t do it’s job! Dr. Josh Axe has some really good information on magnesium here (including more about what all it is involved in in our bodies).
3) COPAIBA ESSENTIAL OIL
Both Copaiba and CBD oil bind to cannabinoid receptors that we all have in our central and peripheral nervous systems (this makes up the endocannabinoid system), in the brain, organs, connective tissues, glands, and immune cells. “In each tissue, the cannabinoid system performs different tasks, but the goal is always the same: homeostasis, the maintenance of a stable internal environment despite fluctuations in the external environment” Dustin Sulak, DO.
We have two known types of cannabinoid receptors, CB1 & CB2. CB1 are found in the nerve cells in the brain and have to do with memory and pain regulation. Phytocannabinoids are plant substances that stimulate cannabinoid receptors; both CBD and Copaiba are examples of these phytocannabinoids. CB2 are connected to the immune system; they help reduce inflammation and support healthy immune function.
The main component of Copaiba (which comes from Copaifera trees in the Brazilian Amazon) is beta-caryophyllene which binds to CB2 receptors in particular. dōTERRA’s Copaiba essential oil is actually made up of 60% of beta-caryophellene (and only about 35% in CBD oil)!
And how does this all relate to anxiety? Neuroinflammation can cause anxiety. By targeting CB2 receptors, we can potentially reduce such neuroinflammation, relaxing the system and easing anxiety.
Benefits of Copaiba over CBD are cost (Copaiba is often a fraction of the cost for the same amount), more BCP per dose (beta-caryophellene), none of the controversy involved in using this substance AND, With doTERRA’s extensive 3rd party and open source testing, you know that the product won’t contain any pesticides or heavy metals (which can be a large cause of anxiety).
Copaiba can be used aromatically by diffusing, applying it topically to affected areas or internally (I use the capsules, but you can just put a drop under your tongue!
I know this is easier said than done; but it is critical!! Stress (regardless of where it comes from) will cause “changes in the output of stress hormones like DHEA and cortisol and pregnenolone, which in turn affects the production of many other hormones and neurotransmitters in the body,” according to Chris Kresser. Stress is also one of the main causes behind inflammation which is the culprit behind chronic conditions such as autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, crohn’s disease, asthma, depression, Alzheimer’s, eczema, ANXIETY…(the list goes on and on…MS, lupus, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)….
We can all do certain things to reduce stress, like get more sleep, have better boundaries, reduce screen time (this constant stimulation causes stress whether you’d like to believe it or not!), reduce toxic load in your life (this is a HUGE stress on the body!) like chemicals from toxic cleaning products, body products, make up, ingredients in processed foods, pesticides, etc. Sometimes we need to reach out for added support to wade through of this stuff with a counselor or coach; don’t ever feel like you have to figure it all out alone!
5) EXERCISE
According to the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, “numerous epidemiological studies have shown that exercise improves one’s self-esteem, and a sense of wellbeing…. Adults who engage in regular physical activity experience fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms, thus supporting the notion that exercise offers a protective effect against the development of mental disorders”.
This is an amazing research article to read if you’d like to dive in a little deeper to the “why” behind exercise reducing anxiety: Effects of Exercise and Physical Activity on Anxiety. The impact is pretty astounding! With just a little bit of regular exercise you will cause actual physiological changes and adaptations in your body. “Studies have shown that regular aerobic exercise is associated with lower sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity” (NLMNIH) which means less anxiety!
Before you start getting high anxiety over the thought of regular exercise, understand that I am not encouraging you to start training for a marathon or take up a CrossFit class (unless those things light you up inside!). I am talking about getting out and walking briskly so that you SWEAT and your heart rate stays up for a steady 20 minutes or so. I’m saying take a yoga class, get on your bike a few times a week, dance in your living room, swim, hike, ride a unicycle 🙂 Whatever it is, do something that you LOVE! Do it for a minimum of 20 minutes and 3-5 days a week (if you can get outside for a least some of this the healing properties of the sunlight will only make you feel even better)!
There you are; 5 things you can target in your life to help ease anxiety. Anxiety is no joke. It is important that you understand that a lot of people experience this and you might not even know it! It’s also important to understand that you really can do something about it; it doesn’t have to control your life. <3
Ok, this soup sounds a little weird, but in all reality it is SUPER healthy! Please do keep in mind that there is dairy in this soup. I am not sure if modifying would give you a soup that has the same delicious flavor and it might alter the texture of the soup too much. But, it’s worth a try!
This is made in a large pot right on the stove and is really pretty simple. I use all hormone free ingredients and our own grass fed, finished beef with no antibiotics. This is super important to me in how I feed my family! Whatever is in your food will then be in your body!
Ingredients
Scale
5 Slices bacon (hormone free, no added nitrates/nitrites, antibiotic free)
12 oz Grass fed ground beef
2 tbsp Butter (grass fed)
3 cups Organic beef broth (it’s easy to make your own!)
½ tsp Garlic Powder
½ tsp Onion Powder
2 tsp Yellow Mustard
½ tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Chili Powder
2.50 tbsp Tomato Paste
3 Dill Pickles, diced
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
3 oz Cream Cheese
½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
Instructions
Cook your bacon & hamburger meat first and be sure to crumble the bacon.
In a separate, large pot, add the butter and all the spices. Cook about 45 seconds, then add the broth, tomato paste, cheese, mustard & cream cheese. Cook about 5 minutes (until the cream cheese is melted).
Add the pickles and heavy cream to the sause and stir well.
Once combined add the hamburger meat and bacon. Simmer about 5-10 minutes and serve warm!
Who doesn’t love a good meatloaf?? You can feel good about this one made with grass fed {and finished} beef!
The flavor in this meatloaf is amazing <3 We just had grilled veggies with ours but a cauliflower mash {you know, instead of mashed potatoes…if you haven’t tried this, what are you waiting for?? SO good!} would be fantastic with this! Talk about comfort food that you can feel good about!
The ketchup on the top is absolutely optional. If you do add the ketchup, you can find an unsweetened brand at certain stores like Market of Choice, Whole Foods, Natural Grocers. You could also order it online from somewhere like Thrive Market OR you can make your own!
Ingredients
Scale
2 lbs Grass Fed Ground Beef
½ cup Almond Flour (or ground flax)
½ Onion, diced
8 Cloves of Garlic, minced
3 oz Tomato Paste
2 tbsp Worcestershire
2 Eggs
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
2 tsp Sea Salt
½ tsp Black Pepper
⅓ cup Unsweetened Ketchup {Primal Kitchen is a good brand} *this is optional!
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9×5″ baking dish & set aside.
Combine all ingredients (aside from ketchup) in a large bowl. Make sure you don’t over work the “dough”.
Transfer the meatloaf mixture to the greased baking dish & bake at 350F for 30 minutes.
Pull the meatloaf out of the oven to glaze with the 1/3 cup of ketchup; then bake for another 25-45 minutes. Using a meat thermometer, temperature should reach 160F.
Let cool for about 10 minutes and then slice and serve!
First of all, hello cold and flu season! This is an excellent soup for boosting your immune system and who doesn’t love soup as the weather turns colder and the days become darker?
I have recently learned I am battling some autoimmune “issues” and this soup is perfect for helping to lower inflammation while strengthening the immune system <3
Make a bunch & freeze some for those busy nights!
This soup has a little bite to it from the crushed red pepper (which I LOVE), but you can omit if you prefer a more mild flavor.
We actually picked up an organic rotisserie chicken last night when I made this. I love easy 🙂 Using fattier parts of the chicken like the darker meat is a GOOD thing as those parts offer even more nutrients! Go for it!
Ingredients
Scale
1.50 lbs Shredded Chicken
1 Onion, chopped
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 tbsp Olive Oil
14 oz Canned chopped Green Chiles
14.50 oz Canned crushed Tomatoes
3 qts Chicken Broth/Stock {I used organic bone broth}
1 tbsp Ground Cumin or Curry
1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
1 tsp Tumeric
2.50 cups Sliced Carrots
4 cups Chopped Cabbage
3 cups Brocolli Florets
2 Avocados, diced (for topping)
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Instructions
Put a LARGE pot on medium heat and add the olive oil, chopped onions & garlic. Sauté for 5-6 minutes until softened.
Add cooked, shredded chicken, green chilies, crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, all of the spices, carrots, cabbage, brocolli and 1.5 tsp sea salt (adjust to taste).
Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer about 20 minutes or until veggies have started to soften.
Hello pumpkin season!! Not going to lie, I do love it! This time of year in the Willamette Valley, OR is one I get so excited for. The crispness in the air, the changing colors on the trees, cool mornings, sweater weather, all things pumpkin and I do love back to school. Really…getting back into routine is something I crave after summer break! These little treats are perfect for a mini breakfast along with your coffee, tea, Matcha latte…whatever your hearts desire! They also make for a great anytime snack or something to bring to a gathering. AND they are dairy free, gluten free, Paleo or Keto friendly (depending on the sweetener you use). You can easily double the recipe and stick a bunch of these little guys in the freezer for those busy days! And this is something you can feel really great about adding to your kiddos lunch box as well. Enjoy!!
ENJOY!
These are super yummy heated up with a little butter or nut butter on them <3
Recipe adapted from goldenbarrel.com
Ingredients
Scale
¾ cup Canned Pumpkin (unsweetened, NOT pumpkin pie filling!)
2 Eggs
½ cup Pure Maple Syrup (for Keto use a keto friendly sweetener of choice such as organic erythritol or stevia. Adjust amount if needed. I used 1/2 cup erythritol and it was perfect)
2 cups Almond Flour
¼ cup Coconut Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Cinnamon
1.50 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
½ tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
¼ cup Coconut Oil
½ cup Chocolate Chips (I use Lily’s brand: dairy free & sweetened with Stevia)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F & line a muffin tin with liners (I made mini muffins and they make such a great snack!).
In a large bowl, combine almond & coconut flours, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin spice & salt. Stir well.
Add in pumpkin, eggs, maple syrup (or Keto friendly sweetener), coconut oil, vanilla and combine well.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Scoop batter into lined muffin tin (I use a cookie dough scoop for this), evenly distributing.
Bake 20-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Want a delicious, healthy fat filled, METABOLISM BOOSTING snack that tastes like a brownie??! Look no further! Coconut oil has a positive impact on your metabolism because of the MCT (medium chain triglycerides) in them that are so quickly converted in to energy. You can certainly use MCT oil alone, but coconut oil, grass fed butter and full fat cheeses all also contain MCTs. Great news, right (as long as your body tolerates dairy)?! I use coconut butter (also labeled as coconut manna) in addition to coconut oil because it has the coconut meat still in it which adds fiber and flavor. You can purchase this or make it simply by blending unsweetened coconut in your food processor until it is smooth! In addition, Cinnamon is naturally anti-inflammatory, an antioxidant and helps stabilize blood sugar. By helping stabilize your body in these three areas, you are also aiding your metabolism by bringing overall balance to your body. Your body will be in protect mode if you have chronic inflammation, low immune system and dysregulated blood sugar & insulin. (I like adding cinnamon essential oil to my water along with some of my other favorite metabolic boosting oils!) Macadamia nuts (aside from being delicious!) offer a good dose of vitamin B1 and magnesium, and just one serving nets 58 percent of what you need in manganese and 23 percent of the recommended daily value of thiamin (according to Dr. Mercola). They are also packed with healthy fats which make them one of the best choices for a low carb, high fat diet. Lastly, cocoa powder is full of minerals that are so important for our electrolyte balance! https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19930003
Ingredients
Scale
1.50 cups Macadamia Nuts
2 tbsp Coconut Butter
2 tbsp Coconut Oil
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
¼ cup Erythritol {or sweetener of choice. Just adjust amount as needed}
¼ cup Cocoa Powder
1 tsp Cinnamon
Instructions
Pulse/puree macadamia nuts in blender or food processor until broken down into tiny pieces. Add coconut oil, coconut butter and vanilla. Continue to blend until a “butter” starts to form.
Add cocoa powder, cinnamon and sweetener. Continue to blend until smooth.
Either line a mini muffin pan with liners OR use a silicone baking mold (this is what I did and it worked perfectly). Spoon the batter into the muffin pan or silicone mold until it is distributed evenly.
Freeze until solid (should only take about 20 minutes).
I let mine sit out for just a minute to softe slightly before eating it. These are SO yummy!
What do you do if you find yourself with a boat load of zucchinis, BUT you don’t want to resort the ol’ “I’ll just make zucchini bread” situation?! Well this casserole is a perfect option! Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE zucchini bread!! However, we are doing less and less of that kind of thing in our household these days; the sugary, carby, processed ingredients… and it feels darn good!! <3 Let me also talk DAIRY for a moment. We are also doing less dairy these days. WHY? First of all, dairy is a top food in terms of inflammation. None of us have gastrointestinal issues with dairy, BUT that’s just the most obvious symptom. It can cause skin issues, joint aches, raised blood sugar, etc. I also personally keep it at a minimum due to the hormonal impact it can have. Even if you choose hormone-free {which is what we buy}, it still has a ton of natural hormones in it, which you might notice makes a difference in YOU. I do!! Over the past year I have personally been working to balance my hormones, in particular estrogen dominance. What exactly causes this?? A number of things. Clearly, getting extra hormones in our foods is an obvious one. But, some less obvious, but super impactful things are toxins in our daily environment {in our makeup, body products, detergents, cleaners, foods from pesticides and artificial ingredients as well as xenoestrogens} and stress {hello cortisol!!! This impacts our sex hormones by driving down our progesterone and creating a bigger chasm between progesterone and estrogen which means estrogen will dominate too much}! If you are interested in learning more and/or would like to schedule a free consult with me to discuss your particular hormone situation and what you can naturally do to help balance that, please click the “book now” button you see on my site to schedule a free session! In addition, head over to my “shop” page and you can see what I personally use EVERY DAY for my makeup, body products and cleaning products in order to live a toxic free life!
Ingredients
Scale
2 Med/Large Zucchini {you can use yellow squash as well}
Grass Fed Butter for sauteing the zucchini
2 lbs Grass Fed Ground Beef
½ Chopped Onion
4 oz Green Chilis, diced, canned
2 tsp Pink Himalayan Salt {or Sea Salt}
¾ cup Sour Cream {full fat}
2 tsp Cilantro, fresh, chopped
1 cup Shredded Cheese
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F.
Brown beef & onions over med-high heat.
While beef is browning, cut zucchini into 1/4″ slices.
Sautee zucchini in butter over med-high heat just for about 5 minutes {make sure not to get these too cooked as they will get mushy!}.
In a separate bowl, combine sour cream, salt, green chilis and cilantro.
Add both beef mixture and sour cream mixture to casserole dish and combine well.
Top with shredded cheese.
Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes.
Top with your favorites if so desired: avocado, salsa, chopped olives!
This recipe is one that is perfect for you low carbers! It can also easily be something for those who do dairy or who are dairy free. I did not add any, however some cheese and sour cream on top would be perfect! This really was easy. Just some chopping veggies was the “hardest” thing!
Ingredients
Scale
1 Medium Spaghetti Squash
½ Chopped Onion
1 tbsp Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
½ cup Red Bell Pepper, chopped
1 Jalepeno Pepper, chopped {I removed the seeds for less heat}
½ lb Ground Grass Fed Beef
2 tbsp Taco Seasoning
Cilantro as garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place full spaghetti squash in the oven on a baking sheet and cook for 45-50 minutes.
Let cool completely. Cut in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Loosen up the rest of the ‘spaghetti’ with a fork but then leave the “spaghetti” in the skin.
While the spaghetti squash is cooking, heat olive oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Brown the onion and garlic, then add in the red pepper and jalapeño pepper, & cook for another 3-5 minutes.
In a separate pan, cook the ground beef until completely cooked through and no longer pink. Stir in the taco seasonings, and then add to the cooked vegetable and pepper mix
Scoop the veggie/beef mixture into each squash boat {add shredded cheese if you like}. Place in the oven on low broil for 2-4 minutes until slightly browned. Top with cilantro, sour cream, salsa, or whatever your little heart desires!
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