Aloha!
We just returned from an amazing Hawaiian cruise and the two Hawaiian words I learned and heard constantly, besides Aloha, were Mahalo (thank you) and ohano (family). My blog has been under construction and I’m excited to be back! The reason I wanted to mention this wonderful trip is because about a year ago I couldn’t have gone because I really felt like a prisoner in my home because of all my digestive issues. Now, if you know me, you know that my purpose and passion in life is to nourish and share, whether it be by cooking for you, teaching you how to cook, or sharing a recipe, which is the whole purpose of this blog.
For about the last three years, I have been on a journey to heal myself and to help me and my family get as healthy as possible. I have learned SO much, way too much to share in this one blog, but if I can share a few tidbits in each and every blog, maybe, just maybe it will be the missing link to a problem you’ve been desperate to find. Just remember, I have no medical background, only food, but I’ve read so many books and listened to so many podcasts whose authors are doctors, and I do know I have healed myself and have never felt better… even though my age shocks me when I think about the number!!
I’ve always been very interested in every aspect of food… after all, God gave us the perfect array of food to not only sustain us, but to nourish and heal us, and I have always believed “you are what you eat” and “food is medicine”. I also believe man has messed up so much of our food supply with chemicals and greed. We have to take our health and bodies into our own hands. Which is exactly what I did after having all the gastro tests and seeing an integrative, functional-well doctor who ran tests to only tell me what I already knew… I had a leaky gut.
So here’s my simple, yet powerful tips for today:
1. Your gut is responsible for everything good or bad happening in your body. If digestion is working properly, everything else will. If not, most diseases begin in the gut. What you feed those millions of good and bad bacteria will determine your gut health and therefore, the rest of your body.
2. There’s no one diet that fits ALL! Everyone is different. And there is SO much information out there regarding what is good and what is bad, it is confusing and if you are like me, you try it all! One “expert” tells you one thing while another contradicts. But I think it’s because one food affects someone one way and it affects someone else completely different. And then you have some advice from people that are paid to tell you something. We have to find out individually what foods are right for us.
For instance, after being tested, the functional-well doctor suggested I eat the low FODMAP diet foods, which is a list of foods that are poorly digested by the body causing all kinds of digestive issues such as bloating, gas, pain, frequent loose bowel movements and constant urges to go. But even when I adhered to this list, I had to pick and choose because I learned very quickly that raw veggies were causing me problems so I had to make sure they were cooked.
Now the great thing about all this discovery is that once you heal your gut, you can return to some (or all) of the foods that once created problems. But then, there are foods you may not ever want to bring back because they just don’t make you feel good and it’s not worth ruining your day.
Sugar is one of those foods for me. I have learned so much about sugar, how it’s processed and the effects it has on our bodies. It definitely causes inflammation which leads to pain and sickness. It is very addictive and makes you want more. Then there’s the blood sugar, glucose, insulin problems. And we want our bodies to burn fat and as long as there’s an abundance of glucose, it will just keep using that for energy instead of the fat.
I know you’re thinking “live without dessert?? No way! Life is too short!” I agree, though I have reduced my craving for sweets unbelievably, but do still like some little something every day.
Now you can go the Paleo natural way where honey, maple syrup, fruit and coconut sugar are acceptable in small amounts. But for me, I really want to limit the insulin situation (which I will get into another time). There’s been so much success for the ketogenic diet as far as obesity, diabetes and brain health. I am very hopeful that eventually horrible brain diseases like Alztheimers, Dementia, ALS, and Parkinson’s will show a huge decline by so many people adapting this type of healthy fat, no processed carbs, and moderate protein way of life or the Paleo whole natural foods with healthy fats, carbs, including starchy ones, fruits and protein. I love them both and like to mix them up so my body doesn’t get used to one limited set of foods and get into homeostasis where it would resist any change. I also love intermittent fasting for that reason and to let my digestion rest and hopefully burn some fat!
So all of this brings me to my recipe which is a Keto dessert. Through all of my research, I found monk fruit, stevia, erythritol (Swerve) to be safe for diabetics and they are all derived from plants. In my opinion, monk fruit has the closest taste and mouth feel to real sugar, but I love Swerve too! This pie can be changed in so many ways which I’ll add another time! Hope you enjoy!
KETO KEY LIME KIWI PIE
Crust:
1 cup almond flour
1 tablespoon Swerve
½ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons softened butter
Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Mix together with a fork and press into a 9 inch pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes. Let completely cool.
Filling:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup Swerve confectioner sugar
1 teaspoon vanillazest and juice from two limes
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 kiwis, peeled
Directions: With electric mixer, mix cream cheese till smooth. Add sugar, vanilla, and lime juice. Mix till blended. Add heavy cream and mix till thickened. Stir in lime zest. Spoon into cooled crust. Slice the peeled kiwis onto top of pie. Refrigerate. Enjoy!