Allow yourself to do what you can, with what you have, where you are – Theodore Roosevelt.

Today I’m going to talk about why I love applying this statement to embracing a real food lifestyle.

I follow some amazing bloggers in the real-food “blogosphere”. They inspire me every day to continue my healing journey. It has gotten to the point that my Facebook feed rarely has updates from friends but instead is flooded with updates from my favorite blogs. I read new recipes and information daily on how to get healthier and live cleaner. Life truly has changed. But sometimes, even I’ll admit, it can get a bit overwhelming. Articles daily are being released about why this flour is suddenly not good for you, and how if you aren’t eating only grass fed meat or butter you are not doing good enough! Sometimes I look at how far ahead these people are from me and sometimes it even makes me feel that what I’m doing is still not good enough….

But hold on a second. Let’s take a look back at where my life was just a short couple years ago! I was living with hives, unwilling to take medication to heal them because I didn’t think it would do anything, and I had NO concept of real food or real nutrition. So how dare I let myself feel bad that I am not doing a “perfect” job all the time? How many other 26 year olds are having to eat the way I do because there is no other option? Last time I checked, not many.

This is where the statement I mentioned is so profound. The reality is life gets in the way sometimes and that is OKAY. I’ll be the first to admit, I do not eat 100% grass fed 100% of the time. Financially, I’m just there yet to be able to afford it. So I do what I can with what is accessible to me, and that is OK. I buy organic sunworks meat from Blush Lane when I can, and grass fed beef from the market when I’m able to, and I’m lucky that my mom sometimes buys too much and gives me her leftovers. But guess what? I shop at Safeway the rest of the time. No, I don’t buy nasty ham full of preservatives or lunch meats loaded with junk, or sausages full of sugar, nitrates and gluten — but I’ll buy their other meat. Yes I’ll cringe each time I put it in my basket. But that’s OK – why? Because I’m allowing myself to do what I can with what I have. I don’t have access to grass fed butter – afterall this is Canada- but was I even eating butter 5 years ago? Probably not. I buy lunch A LOT at Sunterra (this little food market in my office building) because they have a great salad bar, and ready to serve roasted vegetables and pieces of meat. Is it the best quality meat? No, but I’m horrible at remembering to pack a lunch – and I like eating there because it gets me out of the office to take a walk.

So I do what I can – I live mostly grain free & refined sugar free.
I do it with what I have – I embrace my real food lifestyle with the ingredients I can afford and have access to.
And I do it where I am - Yes, sometimes I’m limited to being able to access high quality meats and dairy because of where I live or the time it would take to go and get them, but I do my best at consuming high quality ingredients when I can, and I’m currently looking into organic meat boxes from farmers around the province.

It’s okay to take baby steps when embracing a healthy lifestyle. And its even better to not do it all at once. After all if you did – it would be way too overwhelming, and its always good to have a new goal to accomplish, and a new milestone to reach. For instance, I only just starting fermenting vegetables and beverages — that is not something I would have been able to do at the beginning, it would have been too overwhelming.

I don’t even think I can remember how many times people have said to me “I feel so sorry for you gluten free people, it’s so expensive! A loaf of bread is like $5!” or ” I just couldn’t do it, I couldn’t give up my bread”. The reality is living this way does have an added expense and definite compromises, but I do what I can with what I have and at the pace I am able – and so should you. I don’t buy a lot of GF baking because it is expensive and often the added ingredients aren’t very healthy – I bake from home instead. My meals are mainly vegetables, meat, some fruit and healthy fats. I laugh when people feel sorry for me, because it feels so damn good to live this way! And if you can’t give up something completely because you just can’t part with it, take baby steps! I downloaded a free “paleo” ebook the other day and I was shocked when the author (I don’t remember the book or the author) was saying how the only way to do paleo properly was to do it cold turkey – while there is some value to this statement this is obviously NOT true for a lot of people. I didn’t clean out my pantry for about a month after giving up grains. I allowed myself to cheat a lot more at the beginning, and now I just don’t have the cravings to do it as much. It takes time for your body to learn to love a real food diet — and to crave real food — allow it time to transition.

So what I’m really wanting to get out of this rant is just to remember that it is OK to be embracing a real food lifestyle at your own pace and at your own capabilities. If you aren’t doing it 100%, 100% of the time, don’t worry about it – the real foodie police IS NOT going to come knocking at your door. How “hard core” you are is often a matter of your health, and your accessibility to quality food. I’m 100% GF because I HAVE to be, but that is not the case for most people. Just remember, when all the bloggers are telling you not to eat this or suddenly now this is bad for you when you thought it was suppose to be good for you – always look at things in moderation and perspective. Do what works for you and your family, and all the health tips out there are merely guidelines to help you embrace a real food lifestyle. At what pace you take it is up to you.

So please —- Join me in giving yourself permission to do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

~~~ End Rant ~~~~

Over the Easter weekend, my sister did some “ear candling” on my Mom. My Mom has quite bad psoriasis in her ears, and her wax hardens and becomes very difficult to get out. Even flushing her ears at doctors offices often doesn’t help. So we decided to resort to the ancient home remedy of ear candling to help remove her ear wax.

When the ear candles are lit and placed in the ear, they create a vacuum system that draws wax up out of the ear. They are not recommended for use in the event of an ear infection or serious ear condition. Always consult with your doctor before use. Ear candling should not be performed in replace of professional medical advice or treatment of ear conditions. They are however, helpful in removing wax or loosening wax.

Here is the process of how to do Ear Candling. It takes approximately 10-15 mintues per ear, and a recommended 2 candles should be done per ear if necessary.

1. Have the ear patient lay on their side, with their head on the lap of the person who will be holding the ear candle.
2. You may want to adjust the tip of the candle to the size of the patients ear canal. To do so, trim the tapered tip of the ear candle with sharp scizzors to adjust it to the size of the ear canal. You will need to insert a toothpick into the hole to make it round again. It should fit snuggly into the patients ear.
3. Light the top of the candle with a lighter, and wait for smoke to come out of the bottom. Allow smoke to come out of the bottom for about 10 seconds before placing in the ear. Keep the candle lit at all times.
4. Place the candle in the ear at an up right position, do not angle the candle. No smoke should escape from the ear at this point. The patient should be comfortable, and will hear crackling during the candling process.
5. As the candle burns it will need to be cut. Have an assistant cut the burnt parts of the candle off as the candle burns down. You will need to have either a large moist paper towel or a paper plate with a moist paper towel on it for the cut ends to drop into. A second assistant is useful for this process. There may still be a flame attached to the burnt parts, so make sure it falls onto something wet so the fire extinguishes. It is common for people to cut a whole into a paper plate and place the candle through it so any drippings do not get into the patients ear. Be careful not to let the cut parts fall onto the patient.
6. Let the candle burn down until there is about 2-3 inches left of the candle. At this point you can remove the candle from the ear, and cut open what is remaining of the candle to see what has been drawn up.
7. Repeat this process with the other ear.

Click Here to see a video on how to do Ear Candling

Gluten free diets are all the rage these days. Cafe’s serve gluten free biscuits, restaurants now offer gluten free menus and even pizza joints are getting on board with gluten free crusts! It seems this 4.5 billion dollar industry is only strengthening by the day. So what is the deal with this scary gluten stuff, and why does it seem that every other person is trying to avoid it?

So here is a list of many of them, and a brief description of what they are.

The Paleo Diet

The paleo diet, also known as the ancestrial diet, caveman diet or paleolithic diet is based on the idea that we should eat foods that existed pre-agricultural revolution. It condones the consumption and preparation of food that hunters & gatherers would have eaten. It encourages followers to base the decision of what to eat based on whether or not food would have been found in nature at this period of time. The paleo concept understands that while our genetic makeup has not evolved much in the last few thousand years, our food industry has; and we are not built to consume the processed food that is readily available to us on a Standard American Diet. The concepts of what you should and shouldn’t eat on the paleo diet are as follows:

What not to eat:

All Grains
Refined Sugar
Legumes
Dairy
Processed food
Vegetable and highly processed toxic oils
Soy

What you can eat, and should include in the diet:

Vegetables
Healthy meats, specifically from grass fed animals
Fish
Fruit, though not over-consumed
Nuts, though not over-consumed
Healthy oils that are not toxic such as coconut oil and olive oil
Healthy natural fats such as ghee, nut butter, coconut oil, avocado, olive oil
Organ meat
Egg yolks
Bone Broth
Fermented Foods

A paleo lifestyle

A paleo lifestyle will include stress management, exercise (often intense interval based exercises such as crossfit), and proper sleep for a balanced life.

For more information on the paleo diet, please visit www.paleodietlifestyle.com

The Primal Diet

The primal diet is very similar to the paleo diet. One of it’s main advocates is Mark Sisson. The main difference between the Primal and Paleo diet is that the Primal diet allows full fat dairy. Many people will follow this diet if they are interested in a paleo diet but do not wish to give up dairy.

The SCD Diet

The SCD diet is also known as the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. This diet supports the consumption of food that is grain-free, sugar-free starch-free and unprocessed.

This diet was designed by Dr. Sydney Valentine as he treated celiac patients for gluten intolerance. The belief system behind this diet is that not everyone can properly digest complex carbohydrates and refined sugars found on a SAD (Standard American Diet) diet.

The main difference between SCD and paleo is that SCD allows specific types of dairy and legumes for consumption.

GAPS Diet:

The GAPS diet (also known as the Gut and Psychology or Physiology Syndrome) is a protocol designed by Dr. Natasha Campbell Mcbride. She designed GAPS based off of the specific carbohydrate diet to help heal and seal the gut lining to reverse many conditions that were related to a damaged and leaky gut. What you can and can not eat on GAPS is very similar to that of the SCD diet, however there are stages to GAPS diet including 6 introductory stages before the FULL GAPS diet. Patients move through the stages as their symptoms heal. A lot of importance of bone broth, fermented foods and probiotic supplementation support is stressed on GAPS to help heal the gut. Please visit www.gaps.me for more information on this diet.

Weston A. Price Diet

The Weston A. Price “diet” or way of living is based around the works of Dr. Price, who was a dentist and traveled the world in search for the healthiest groups of people. He discovered that those following a “traditional” diet, free from processed foods showed little to no sign of malnutrition and deformation. The Weston A. Price organization supports the consumption of traditionally prepared food including fermentation, sprouting, raw milk, grass fed meat, healthy fats, the elimination of processed and soy based foods and the use of cod liver oil for functional support. This diet is not grain free as sprouted grains are supported, but many who follow a grain free diet will incorporate concepts of Weston A. Price into their daily regime.

FODMAP Diet

Fodmap stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides And Polyols. This diet was created for those with gut damage and gut disorders. The diet has been developed to eliminate food that make symptoms of gut damage worse. This specific diet has been known to greatly help those with IBS and other such related disorders. There are specific foods that are considered “FODMAPS” and should be avoided if following this protocol. For a great list of FODMAP foods to avoid, check out this list from Cassandra for Sythe.

Autoimmune Diet

The autoimmune diet is a list of foods that should be further avoided if you are following a grain free diet for control of an autoimmune condition. There are certain foods that are known to intensify the symptoms of an autoimmune disease, and avoidance is recommended. These foods are:

1. Nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers & eggplant)
2. Eggs
3. Nuts & Seeds

Anti-Histamine Diet

This diet is specific for those who react to high histamine foods. It is great for those who suffer from accute allergic reactions and skin conditions such as hives or ezcema where histamine is released if these foods are consumed. I will argue that the anti-histamine diet is great for a short term avoidance of foods that may provoke a histamine reaction, however getting to the root of the problem is probably more beneficial. Here is a list of some items to avoid on the anti-histamine diet:

1. Seafood including fish
2. All fermented foods
3. berries and citrus fruits
4. Dark, Leafy greens
5. Eggs
6. Nightshades
7. Processed meats
8. Artificial food colors and Preservatives
9. Alcohol
10. Chocolate,
11. Spices

So which diet is right for you?

I would recommend:

1. One you can follow & enjoy.
2. One that may be specifically geared to a condition or health problem you may have.
3. One that you feel can help you towards your health goals.

Many people will float between the diets, trying them out until they find one they are comfortable with. Other people may use some of them as “healing diets” and others as “maintenance diets”, going back to specific ones if new or old health issues arise and more healing needs to be done. In my opinion, there is no right or wrong one, they all offer great benefits and are geared towards different people and different health conditions.

Which ones have you tried? Which ones have worked? Are there any that have not?

They turned out very delicious, and very chocolatey. I used a very dark chocolate, so they are made for those with an extreme love affair with chocolate, no moderate lovers here! They actually turned out suprisingly more fluffy than I anticipated. Since they don’t have flour, I thought they were going to be very dense, but I was pleasantly suprised that they were not.

What You Will Need:

4 oz dark chocolate
1/2 cup of butter
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
4 eggs
1/3 cup of maple syrup or sweetener of choice
1/2 tsp. baking powder
A dash of salt

Now What?

1. In a small double broiler or pot on low, melt chocolate and butter until thoroughly melted.
2. In a separate small-medium sized bowl, beat eggs with an electric beater until mixed well and lightly frothed.
3. Add chocolate and butter to egg bowl.
4. Add cocoa, baking powder, salt and maple syrup to the mixture.
5. Beat with the electric beater or by hand for about a minute to ensure the batter is well mixed.
6. Place mixture in a small baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Cool for about 15 minutes before you cut into brownies and Enjoy!

The crockpot will do the trick. You don’t even need a very large crockpot, and they will turn out tender, juicy and delicious every time! This is a very simple recipe with minimal ingredients, but it never fails to please. Sometimes, less is really more!

What You Will Need:

3 lb of wings (approx. 30-40 wings)
3/4 cup of raw honey
1.5 tbsp of minced garlic
2 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Now What?

1. Place wings in your crockpot (I used a 2 quart crockpot, and it filled them to the top).
2. In a small bowl, mix honey, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Drizzle ingredients over wings, and stir so the sauce covers the wings throughout.
4. Cook on low for 6 hours or 3-4 hours on high.

The following is my personal experience with NAET. Please see a certified NAET practitioner if you are interested in this method of healing.

NAET, Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Treatment, is a treatment that uses acupressure, acupuncture and energy healing to determine what allergies you have and to alleviate their symptoms. It was discovered by Dr. Devi Nambudripad as a natural solution to alleviate allergies.

One allergen is treated at a time, and they must be treated in a specific order, as it may take several visits to desensitize a specific allergen. When you first start NAET you will be tested and treated for the top 15 allergens before others are able to be performed. However many patients will notice that their allergy symptoms will disappear even before they have a specific allergy treated, because with each allergy treated, your immune system will strengthen – as allergies can weaken immunity.
(source: www.naet.com)

How are allergies tested?

NAET uses kinesiology to compare the strength and weakness of any muscle in the body in the presence and absence of any substance. This is also known as  neuromuscular sensitivity testing (NST). This process is completely painless and it tests the body’s acceptance of the energy of a specific item. If your body shows that it is rejecting the energy, an allergy is discovered.

So what is the treatment?
(Please note that below is my experience with NAET, it may vary practitioner to practitioner).

The practitioner performs NAET-specific spinal acupressure, and many practitioners (such as mine) will follow up with acupuncture right after.

The patient must then avoid the allergen for 25 hours after the treatment. If the patient does not avoid the item thoroughly during that 25 hour period, they risk not passing the treatment at all, or the possibility of the allergy fully or partially returning.

My practitioner explained to me that if a patient passes the test 51% or more, the allergy will likely not ever return, if however they pass it less than 51%, there is a risk of return. Your practitioner will test to see if you have passed at the next visit.

Some practitioners will also use NST to test which organs are being affected by the allergy. While the patient is still holding the vile of energy of a known allergen, the practitioner places his hand over top of your organs, and performs another resistance test. If an organ is affected, you can be treated for that as well. For example, I was treated for one of the nut mixes, and it was discovered that this allergy was affecting my skin organ.

What to look for in a practitioner – VERY IMPORTANT!

It is very important to ask specific questions when finding practitioners. The NAET organization is becoming more strict on how it is practiced, and i’m so glad for that! I believe there are very specific ways NAET should and should not be done.

Your practitioner MUST do avoidance with you. If not, the allergy will most likely return (the first NAET practitioner I went to did not do avoidance and 90% of my allergies returned).

Red Flags: If your practitioner says they do a “new way” of NAET, adding in other vials with the treatment so that you don’t have to do avoidance, please, do yourself a favor and find another practitioner; someone who does it the traditional way – the way that works! After All, why cut corners? In my experience, doing it this way has made the allergen return. My first practitioner did it this way on me, and all but one returned. Talk about a waste of time and money. I’m lucky I have found someone who does it properly.

How have I used NAET?

I have used NAET in the past to help alleviate my symptoms of urticaria. Multiple times it has calmed the symptoms down during an outbreak. I will continue to use it as long as it continues to work. Sometimes the symptoms have cleared after one treatment, other times it has taken a few months before we figured out which allergen is causing the reaction.

Summary

I believe that NAET is a great method for reversing the symptoms of allergies and other autoimmune conditions. I believe it should be done in conjunction with natural healing of the gut to reverse allergies. The two go hand in hand very well and compliment each other greatly.

For more information on NAET, please visit their website at www.naet.com or www.naet-canada.com. You will be able to find local certified practitioners on their websites.

What You Will Need:

1 lb ground or cubed chicken
1/4 cup of butter
1/4 cup of raw honey
3/4 tbsp curry powder
dash of salt

Now What:

1. In a frying pan, cook chicken until thoroughly cooked on medium heat.
2. Add butter and honey until they liquify in the pan.
3. Add curry and salt.
4. Sautee on medium for 10 minutes

Serve on a bed of spinach, lettuce or cauliflower rice.

Sweet, savoury and very tasty!

What you will need:

4 chicken legs
1.5 tbsp organic molasses
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp melted butter

Now What:

1. Mix molasses, lemon juice, garlic powder and butter in a bowl.
2. Place chicken legs on a pan
3. Pour sauce over chicken (you can use legs, thighs or breasts…up to you!) flipping legs over to ensure both sides are covered.
4. Bake at 425 degrees for 30-35 minutes
5. Serve with your favorite side dish

Option: Marinate the chicken and sauce in the fridge for 1/2 hour before placing in the oven to enhance the flavor.

Here are some great kitchen gizmos and gadgets and books that are sure to please the butter lover and health nut! No grain free kitchen should be without them!

Fermentation Crock.

Great for making sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables.

Butter Crock

Great for keeping butter fresh outside of the fridge.

Vegetable Spiral Slicer

Amazing for making vegetable pasta. A MUST own for grain-free cooks

Avacado Peeler

I couldn’t believe I didn’t own one before I got this!

Julienne Peeler

Also great for making vegetable pasta. A smaller and cheaper option to a vegetable spiral slicer.

Spice or nut Grinder

Great for making small batches of almond flour or spice mixes.

Prepara Oil Minster

These are just neat! The Patented design lets users create flavored, infused oils in a spray bottle that won’t get clogged with herbs or spices.

Fermentation Starter Kit

Neat stocking stuffers for the fermentation lover of the family!

Practical Paleo Cookbook

Great for getting started on the Paleo Diet for those looking for a menu system or the or for those looking for a specially designed menu for a specific health issue. Lots of tasty recipes in this one!

Nourishing Traditions Cookbook

A cookbook by Sally Fallon that greatly describes traditional food preparation methods.

The Art of Fermentation Book

All you need to know about fermentation!

Wheat Belly book

Wondering about the dangers of wheat? This book will tell you all about it!

Mason Jar lids with straw

Drink broth or smoothies on the go? Or maybe you are an iced coffee lover. These look so cute! And it’s from Poppy and Pearl Co on etsy, so it is great to support the hand-made arts!

Meat Grinder

Great for making home made sausage or ground meat.