nutrition Archives - Kristen Anne Glover

God Wants You to Fail

A few weeks ago, I was asked to be a contributing writer to the Allume blog. I looked through the list of contributing writers and swallowed hard.

(Eep).

I was more than a little afraid I’d trip all over my prepositional phrases and flat-out fail in front of all the real writers and big-time bloggers.

As I struggled through writing my first post, God kind of hijacked the whole thing and whispered in my ear, “May you fail.”

That is not what I want God to say to me when I write. But it was exactly what I needed to hear.

Today, my inaugural post is up. It’s a little raw and a little real and a little not-what-I’d-planned to write. It’s about coming to terms with the fact that God wants me to fail. If you read along, I think you will find that God wants you to fail too. And it’s okay.

Won’t you join me?

8 Ways to Eat Healthy

And for something completely different, I had the privilege of writing a post for the Fit2B blog yesterday. I’ve been following Beth’s exercises to help heal my diastasis, so when she asked for some help writing a few posts on nutrition, I jumped at the chance. I have not been writing much about health and nutrition lately because I’m trying to follow a few blogging rules (focus, focus, focus), but if you know me, you know that nutrition is a passion of mine.

But for most of us, eating healthy is hard.

In my post for Beth, I offer 8 tips to help you get a handle on healthy eating. And guess what? They’re all easy.

Enjoy the blog hop! Tomorrow, I’ll be back here with something new.

–Kristen

Non-Dairy Coconut Creamer

Coconut creamer and coffee

Breaking news: I have given up half-and-half.

I have long since given up sugar and white flour. I even gave up Diet Coke, though I think I’ve been drinking it since birth. I walk right past the processed foods in the grocery store like they don’t even exist. My counter is crowded with things I sprout, ferment, and soak in the name of better health and nutrition.

But. I love my half-and-half.

Deep down inside, I knew my health would benefit if I gave up this dead, nutritionally void food. So, when I came across a recipe for coconut creamer, I thought I’d give it a try. I didn’t have the exact ingredients, but I tried it anyway. Surprisingly, I liked it. It was by far the best option I had tried for a non-dairy, non-soy, minimally processed creamer. In fact, I liked it so much, I haven’t used half-and-half since, even though there’s still half a quart in my fridge. Now that’s saying something.

Here’s my modified recipe:

Coconut Milk Creamer

1 can coconut milk*, room temperature

1 very fresh, organic egg from 1 very happy, pasture-raised hen

Optional:

Stevia (I don’t like sweet coffee, but I find a few drops of liquid stevia makes up for the lack of lactose in the coconut milk)

1 t. Vanilla

Cinnamon

Whirl the egg in a blender. Be sure to use the best eggs because you’ll be eating them raw. Slowly add the coconut milk and any optional ingredients you like. Blend until frothy and somewhat thick, about a minute in my Vitamix. Pour into a container and store in the fridge. Mixture will continue to thicken as it cools.

Coconut creamer makes a yummy topping! Try a breakfast parfait of bananas, raw granola, blueberries, and coconut cream.

*The original recipe calls for regular coconut milk. The first time I tried it, I used light because that was all I had in my pantry. I thought the creamer was tasty even so. I’ve since tried full-fat coconut milk, and even half-light, half regular. In my opinion, the taste difference between light and regular in this recipe is minimal, especially if I add a couple drops of stevia. Sure, the full-fat is creamier, but the fat and calories are more than double. In fact, full-fat coconut milk is much more calorie-dense than half-and-half. Eep!

In the end, the choice is yours. But, if you choose to use light coconut milk, look for a brand with no additives, like Trader Joe’s (a steal at only $.99 a can).

The original recipe also calls for 2 T. of coconut oil. She blends the egg and the oil slowly to create an emulsion, then adds the coconut milk. This creates a very thick whip. In fact, you have to spoon it into your coffee. She does this to keep the coconut milk from separating, but I find the lecithin in the egg is enough to keep the coconut milk from doing funny things in my coffee. So I cut out those extra calories. However, add the coconut oil in if you want a divine topping for a bowl of berries or a diary-free dessert!

Questions

Won’t a raw egg kill me? No. But it’s important to use farm-fresh eggs from reliable sources. See Nourishing Traditions for more about rawness.

Does the creamer taste like coconut? No.

Does a carton of coconut milk work as well as a can? No.

Is this coconut creamer gritty like the coconut milk creamer you buy in the store? No. In fact, it tastes much, much better than store-bought coconut creamer.

How long will the creamer last? I would try to use it up in about a week (I have no trouble with that!), although it may last longer than that.

Ready to give up dairy in your coffee? I hope you give this a try!

Giveaway!

A Baltic amber giveaway (baby not included)!

Update: This giveaway is now closed! Congratulations to reader Sarah who chose the Lemondrop necklace as her prize!

Thanks to all of you loyal readers, this website keeps growing and growing, which means it’s time for another giveaway! I’m proud to offer one of my favorite products as our latest giveaway, a Baltic amber necklace from Hazelaid!

What’s so great about an amber necklace, you ask? Well, let me tell you.

A Testimonial

A year ago, I was introduced to the Hazelaid company. A friend of mine recommended their Baltic amber and hazelwood products, which she said had incredible healing properties. I read everything on their site, including the following description of Baltic amber:

“Amber is not a “stone” but a natural resin. So as it warms with the body’s natural temperature, amber releases its healing oils (these oils contain succinic acid) which are readily absorbed into the skin and then into the bloodstream. Baltic Amber has some of the highest concentrations of succinic acid found in nature, and this is what makes it so special. Succinic acid is a natural component of plant and animal tissues, and its presence in the human body is beneficial in many ways.

Commonly known as “teething jewelry” in Europe, Baltic amber has been a natural remedy for pain relief for hundreds of years. Baltic amber is a natural analgesic that will help relieve headaches, reduce inflammation of the throat, ear and stomach and fight irritations, infections and respiratory diseases as it dramatically improves the body’s immunity. Many adults report improvement of arthritis discomfort and carpal tunnel pain in their hands when wearing amber on the wrists.”

I then bought two items, hoping they would help with some of my life-long health issues including inflammation, joint pain, and a chronically weak immune system.

But I was skeptical. How could tree sap and bark help? I’ve been dealing with these issues for so long, I couldn’t believe anything so simple could help.

I received my order very quickly, put on the products, and waited. I was stunned—simply stunned—at how the products began to work and my life changed. It sounds dramatic, but when you deal with chronic health issues, and they suddenly go away, you can’t help but be amazed! Here are the changes I experienced:

Since I was a child, I have experienced chronic pain in my limbs due to the way I grew. I used to have to take medication every night just to sleep, and often more during the night because the pain would wake me up. Since wearing the necklace, I have been able to completely cut out all pain medication! I have not been able to do this in years.

My immune system has never been stronger. I am the kind of person who used to get sick all the time. Since wearing the Hazelaid products, I have only gotten two colds this year. This is a miracle for me! I didn’t even get the flu that my kids caught. Usually, I’m the one who brings it home in the first place!

My menstrual cramps have virtually disappeared (male readers, you have my apologies!). I did not expect this to happen, as it’s not something Hazelaid talks about on their site. I have always suffered from extremely painful cramps during my period. I live on Advil, and if I don’t take 3 at a time, I can’t function. I sleep with Advil beside the bed because the pain wakes me up. My menstrual cycle has always been a huge source of stress and frustration for me because of this. I feel like once a month, I have to enter a long, dark, painful tunnel. I was astonished when the natural pain relief in the necklace was powerful enough to combat even my menstrual pain. I now take, at most, 2 Advil the entire duration of my cycle. It’s absolutely incredible!

I have become such a believer in the power of Baltic amber that I contacted Hazelaid and asked if I could give away one of their products. They were gracious enough to give me a discount so I could order two necklaces. I chose the strongest, most powerful necklaces they have! The winner gets to choose their prize, either 16” Super Butter Baltic amber necklace or an 18”Lemondrop necklace.

The Super Butter amber necklace has the highest succinic acid content.

The Lemondrop necklace also has a very high succinic acid content, but the more neutral color might work better with your wardrobe!

How do you win one?

The contest is open to all of my readers around the world! Simply leave a comment below and the winner will be chosen at random at 4 pm PST on Sunday, April 29, 2011. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery.

A discount for everyone!

I wish I could give everyone a necklace to try, but since I can’t, Hazelaid has graciously offered a 10% discount for all my readers!

Simply shop online and enter code tow10 at checkout. This code has no limitations and no expiration, so feel free to share it!

Thank you all for your continued support!

Kristen