KeVita Giveaway Winner and my luscious fatty green smoothie

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                                                                 Congrats Kelli! You scored a KeVita coupon. Email me at: optimisticjessica@gmail.com with your address and I’ll get it mailed on out. Can’t wait to hear about which flavor your chose. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up, my luscious fatty green smoothie:

This was an indulgently delicious and SATISFYING breakfast to help me fuel up for the day. For so long, I have believed the hype on butter being bad (something that good couldn’t be good for you, am I right?) But since incorporating lots of healthy fat (grass-fed butter, ghee, and coconut oil) I have felt butter, better than ever!

Here is some info on the benefits of butter:

Why Butter is Better

• Vitamins …

  Butter is a rich source of easily absorbed vitamin A, needed for a wide range of functions, from maintaining good vision to keeping the endocrine system in top shape.

  Butter also contains all the other fat-soluble vitamins (D, E and K2), which are often lacking in the modern industrial diet.

• Minerals …

  Butter is rich in important trace minerals, including manganese, chromium, zinc, copper and selenium (a powerful antioxidant). Butter provides more selenium per gram than wheat germ or herring. Butter is also an excellent source of iodine.

• Fatty Acids …

  Butter provides appreciable amounts of short- and medium-chain fatty acids, which support immune function, boost metabolism and have anti-microbial properties; that is, they fight against pathogenic microorganisms in the intestinal tract.

  Butter also provides the perfect balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fats. Arachidonic acid in butter is important for brain function, skin health and prostaglandin balance.

• Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) … 

  When butter comes from cows eating green grass, it contains high levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a compound that gives excellent protection against cancer and also helps your body build muscle rather than store fat.

• Glycospingolipids …

  These are a special category of fatty acids that protect against gastrointestinal infections, especially in the very young and the elderly. Children given reduced-fat milks have higher rates of diarrhea than those who drink whole milk.

• Cholesterol …

  Despite all of the misinformation you may have heard, cholesterol is needed to maintain intestinal health and for brain and nervous system development in the young.

• Wulzen Factor … 

  A hormone-like substance that prevents arthritis and joint stiffness, ensuring that calcium in your body is put into your bones rather than your joints and other tissues. The Wulzen factor is present only in raw butter and cream; it is destroyed by pasteurization.

• Source: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/12/07/why-is-butter-better.aspx
• More information: http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/why-butter-is-better
• http://www.naturalnews.com/025564_butter_health_healthy.html

Now for the recipe (sorry no pic I drank it up!)

• 1 raw egg
• 1/4c greek probiotic yogurt
• 1/2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
• 1/2 tbsp grassfed butter (Like Kerrygold)
• 1 tbsp coconut butter (Marantha)- Trust me, THIS ADDS depth to the smoothie
• 1/4 cup almond milk or more depending on desired consistency of smoothie
• As many handfuls of spinach as you like
• Few drops of stevia to sweeten. I added chocolate stevia. Yum

Sunday morning musings on Paleo eating and oil pulling

—-Originally posted on Blogger in August 2013—–

Its been 5 days since I posted the pic of me at 130#. I’m currently 127#. Not bad for 5 days time. And the above picture illustrates my own mirrored inner “YES!!!”

I feel incredibly GOOD. I find, so far, what seems to be working for me is the addition of ghee, butter, and eggs. I don’t really feel drawn to meat. I’ll eat it but I’m more craving the fat. I use ghee the most, and butter (organic) when I run out and I did. In a weeks time I (and the kiddos) toasted through this:

Plus, I have always had extra virgin coconut oil but I’ve really upped my intake. The many uses of this product is amazing! Click the pic of the coconut for a great article from Wellness Mama on 101 uses of this deliciously fabulous oil. This past week, I’ve been drizzling it in my warm green tea and in any smoothie I make. AND I’ve been oil pulling with it.

Here is a great article on oil pulling: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-7857/why-you-should-start-oil-pulling-today.html

My very first experience was an instant.. “OH GOD I just put a whole glob of oil in my mouth” and I had to kind of fight the gag factor. But I soldiered on and swished and pulled for about 10 mins while I was in the shower. Then I blissfully ran to spit it out in the trash and instantly my sinuses began to feel leaky. I don’t have sinus issues but something was going on. My main reason for giving oil pulling a go is I started having a tooth ache, I still have unfilled cavities and well, I really don’t want to get them filled. I’ve been reading Ramiel Nagel’s Cure Tooth Decay. Fascinating.

Here is a link to a well layed out article: http://www.naturalnews.com/022564_cavities_root_canals.html

My toothache is gone and my teeth are looking whiter. I actually like this part of my morning routine. I feel good after, pretty energized. I’m not having the gag factor anymore and can swish for longer periods of time.. up to 20 mins.

I know this post is kind of all over the place but yes that’s how my brain works.. Going “Paleo” for me seems to be quite awesome. My main focus is still on TONS and TONS of glorious vegetables. I eat greens with almost every meal. I’ve limited my fruit consumption just because I want to limit my carbs for a brief time to speed up weight loss. I eat berries because they are lower glycemic and DAMN, when you take away the sweets and then have a piece of fresh fruit, your taste buds explode. Really. They do. Blueberries rock.

In a nut shell I have taken away from my diet: White sugar and white flour. And added: glowing skin and weight loss.

Whenever you cut carbs, your body can experience a “detox” and mine did. I feel it in the background but its not annoying. It was the 3rd day and I needed sleep like I never needed sleep before. I believe it was on Thursday, I came home from practicum, fed the kids dinner and all that mommy stuff and then I told everyone I was going to go lay down AT 8:30 at night!!! I didn’t wake up until the next morning at 8am. I got up to take Ollie home to Everett and when I came home, I fell asleep for a nap with Connor for 2 hours.

The only other side effect I have experienced is a slightly “off” feeling that my body is switching to burning fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates. I guess if this was your first time with low carb eating, this would be really weird and potentially scary but I’m an old pro at this. Hmmm not sure if I should be proud of that statement… lol.

I continue to work out to Fitness Blender (I’m so absolutely in love with this couple because their workouts WORK for me and I’m always excited to check what my work out is for the day).

Hmm what else what else? I guess that’s it for now. Stayed tuned. 🙂