sauerkraut

Yesterday, I found myself searching for meal plans that nutritionists, bloggers, medical organizations and doctors shared for pregnant women and women trying to become pregnant. For whatever reason, I love seeing meal plans and getting an idea of what others are eating. Unfortunately, for the most part the meal plans were pretty terrible. They recommended oatmeal instead of eggs because of the fat content (um yeah, the omega-3s along with choline and vitamins A, E, D and K are kind of the point of eating eggs during pregnancy!), low-fat dairy products and a ton of fiber from “healthy whole grains.” Overall, the plans were very low in fat which is exactly the food a woman needs for optimal fertility. In fact, a study from Harvard found that women who ate two or more servings of low-fat dairy per day had an 85% higher risk of infertility than women who ate…

True story: to freak me out and annoy me, my husband used to awkwardly rub my belly and in a disgustingly creepy voice whisper to me, “I’m gonna put a baby in there.” It was the worst. But now we’re actually planning on getting knocked up in 2015. I’ve talked a lot about preconception diets, how important they are, how I plan on doing one before I get preggo, etc.  Actually, we both are doing a preconception diet. Don’t forget that dudes need to do this too! It’s just as important for the husband to take steps to detoxify as well as nourish himself to be able to make a healthy baby. It takes two to tango ya’ll, in more ways than one. Why You Need To Do A Preconception Diet When Dr. Price traveled the world studying indigenous cultures, he discovered that they prepared for pregnancy from three months…

Fermentation is an ancient method to preserve food. The earliest fermented food dates back to 6000 BC and virtually every culture has their own version of fermented food. The Koreans have kimchi, the Germans have sauerkraut, and us Russians have kefir. Other examples include wine, cheese, yogurt, cortido, pickles and kombucha. Fermented foods are food that have allowed the natural bacteria to feed on the sugar and starch in a food to create lactic acid. This creates different strains of powerful probiotics, enzymes, B vitamins and even omega-3s. Fermenting food also preserves it, I’ve kept my fermented salsa in the fridge for up to six months (although it usually doesn’t last that long before I eat it)! I used to be SO intimidated by fermenting my own food. I knew it was an amazing addition to a healthy diet, but stuck to store and farm bought ferments. What if I…

Last week I felt that familiar tickle in the back of my throat. What is this again? I thought. Oh yeah, a virus. A cold. Something making my throat hurt. It’s been such a long time since I’ve even had a cold I had to rack my brain to remember what the feeling was. I definitely remembered it as I woke up in the middle of the night when that tickle had transformed into a full-on scratch. My throat felt like sandpaper every time I swallowed. And WHY can you not STOP swallowing when your throat hurts? It’s like you do it just to double-check that that shit still hurts. Swallow. Ouch. Swallow again. Still ouch. So that was how I spent my night. Not ideal considering how crucial sleep is to the immune system. When I finally got up the next morning, I knew I had to whip out…

Ancient Fermentation + Healing the Digestive System It’s not uncommon to experience uncomfortable symptoms of digestive distress in this day and age. After all, years of gorging on convenience and processed food rather than indulging in fresh, whole foods will wreak havoc on the gut after many years, if not immediately upon consumption. So many of us have lost touch over time with our bodies and within that, we have lost touch with knowing what foods heal us. The good news is that this is changing rapidly as more and more people are bringing awareness to their plates and opting for a diet loaded with whole foods. We have the power within us to heal ourselves and it’s actually a very simple solution. It all starts with what you choose to put into your body, not just to fuel it, but to nourish it as well. It’s not likely that…