Blog Archives

Brown Rice Banana Bread

3/27/2013

This is a healthy and easy to make gluten, dairy and refined sugar free banana bread. They key is to use extra ripe bananas. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1/4-1/3 cup coconut oil (melted) or grapeseed oil
1/3 cup unpasteurized local honey
2 large local eggs
1/4 cup any non-dairy milk (soy milk, rice milk or almond milk)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups brown rice flour
1 tbsp arrowroot powder
1 tsp baking powder (aluminum free)
1/2 tsp baking soda (aluminum free)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups really ripe bananas mashed bananas in a separate bowl
1/2 cup chopped raw nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans) (optional)
1/4 cup Camino brand chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Use a cloth to coat bread pan with coconut oil. Mix oil and honey together. Add eggs and beat well. Add milk and vanilla and beat again. Mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and add alternately with mashed banana to egg mixture. Stir in chopped nuts and/or chocolate chips if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes until browned and tooth pick comes out clean in the middle. (If the top starts to brown early on in baking turn the oven down to 300 degrees).

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Weight Loss

3/19/2013

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The first thing we ask patients trying to lose weight is; how much would you like to lose and how long did it take you to gain that much weight? Or in other words when was the last time you were the desired weight?
What this does is make people realize that they did not put 10, 20, 30 even 100 pounds on their body’s overnight and it will take just as long, if not longer to get rid of any weight that they have accumulated over the years.

There is no magic solution that will burn fat from your body. No drug, pill or surgery can help you lose weight without side effects. Counting calories is not the answer either, as all calories are not created equal. We could guarantee that if you ate 5000 calories of broccoli per day you would not gain weight (not that we recommend you do this!). Low fat foods will lead to more weight gain as they contain either real or artificial sweeteners which your body converts to fat as well as other chemical additives that are harmful to cells and hormonal balance.

Hormones play a large and complex role in weight gain and weight loss that scientists and experts struggle to grasp and may never truly know the entire picture. Balancing these hormones will help you in the pursuit of weight loss, but in the absence of proper diet and exercise in daily living it will not be enough.

Fad diets can only take you so far and you may initially lose weight, but most of these are extreme and to continue with them will cause long term damage to the body. Once you cannot live off of these diets anymore your body will put the pounds right back on.

The only way to lose weight is to change your lifestyle completely and in a sustainable manner. Eating healthy every day and exercising regularly will help you lose weight gradually and for the long term. Foods and sweeteners that contain no calories are full of dangerous chemicals that will affect your body in ways that are just as harmful as weight gain and may even disrupt certain hormones leading to an increase weight that was attempting to be avoided.

The bottom line is that there is no quick fix for losing weight and no miraculous supplement or short term diet. The good news is that with the proper motivation and a whole foods diet, weight loss can be a healthy and sustainable goal to reach that leaves you feeling better in all aspects of your life.

Here are some helpful tips to get you started. For a more detailed program come visit us for our “Weight loss program” that will be coming soon.

Tips for Weight Loss

Eat mostly whole foods that do not come from a box, can or any other packaging.

Do not eat within 3 hours of bedtime.

See a health care professional to balance hormones that may be affecting your weight.

Self-control when presented with opportunities to consume unhealthy foods.

Regulating stress through meditation, daily journaling or gratitude exercises.

30 minutes of exercise daily.

Consume 3 cups of organic green tea daily which can help increase your metabolism.

Eliminate food sensitivities from your diet – see food allergy testing.

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Healthy Homemade "Nutella"

3/6/2013

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Neither one of us grew up eating Nutella which is probably for the best! Recently, we looked at what was actually in Nutella and were totally appalled by the ingredients: sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, skim milk, reduced minerals whey (milk), lecithin as emulsifier (soy), vanillin: an artificial flavor. The claims made are: no artificial colors and no artificial preservatives with over 50 hazelnuts in each jar of 13 oz.

So here is what's wrong with Nutella. The number one ingredient is sugar! Refined white sugar. We already know why sugar is detrimental to our health. (See our previous blog post on refined sugars). Palm oil is okay but unnecessary as you will see below in our recipe. (We are sure if you wanted to add some coconut, walnut or flax oil to your homemade version it may make the consistency a bit better but we like the way our's turned out). Hazelnuts and cocoa are great! Conventional cow dairy is filled with hormones and antibiotics so substituting for a homemade raw almond milk is much better for you. Soy can be a common allergen and not to mention is one of the biggest GMO (genetically modified) crops out there. Choose organic if you are having soy. The last ingredient is possibly vanilla. Why not just use real vanilla powder? It's great that there are no artificial colors or preservatives but look at the rest of the ingredients! The sad thing is that is food is fed mostly to children which we can't understand why you would ever want to give this to anyone. Now for the healthy version.

Healthy Hazelnut Butter Recipe

Makes about 1 cup. Double the recipe if you want more.

1 cup of raw hazelnuts (filberts)
2 tbsp cacoa powder (we use Organic Traditions brand)
3 tbsp unpasteurized local honey
2 tbsp almond milk (preferably raw homemade)
pinch of vanilla powder (we use Organic Traditions brand) (optional)
pinch of sea salt

Soak hazelnuts during the day for about 8 hours and dehydrate overnight for about 8 hours. If you don't have a dehydrator, roast hazelnuts in the oven (approximately 100-200 degrees F for 30-60 minutes checking regularly).

Add all ingredients to a food processor and process to desired consistency stopping to scrape down the sides. Add more almond milk and healthy oil if desired. Store in the fridge.

Here it is spread on a homemade yeast-free, gluten and dairy free bread. Couldn't wait to try it as you can see! Delicious.

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Brown Rice Banana Bread

Weight Loss

Healthy Homemade "Nutella"

Healthy Hazelnut Butter Recipe

Chris and Darcie

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Tips on whole foods, gluten and dairy free cooking, healthy living and more. We keep your information private and confidential and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Brown Rice Banana Bread

Weight Loss

Healthy Homemade "Nutella"

Healthy Hazelnut Butter Recipe

Chris and Darcie

Archives

Categories

Request a Free Consultation

Get natural health updates delivered to your email!Tips on whole foods, gluten and dairy free cooking, healthy living and more. We keep your information private and confidential and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Get natural health updates delivered to your email!
Tips on whole foods, gluten and dairy free cooking, healthy living and more. We keep your information private and confidential and you can unsubscribe at any time.