I feel like I need to re-introduce myself as I’ve been away from this blog for so long! My Fall season is always SO busy till the New Year so I need to figure out how to discipline myself to make this a priority even in hectic times!
I will say though I have to give thanks to the Lord in ALL things because if I hadn’t been on a journey to heal myself, I’m not sure I would have been so obsessed with research. I have read, listened, and watched hundreds of doctors who have moved on from conventional medicine to functional medicine with tons of tests and research, using Food as Medicine of thousands of patients, getting those patients off meds and healthy for maybe the first time in their lives.
Before the Pandemic, we had a health crisis in our nation, with half of Americans suffering from diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and cancer. Then when the Pandemic numbers started coming in, we realized that most of the people who succumbed to the virus were people with those health issues.
Most doctors and nurses did not have a lot of nutrition courses in Medical school and unless they keep up with research, they still don’t know that so much of our health issues can be treated with diet and lifestyle changes. This is my passion and I believe my purpose – to help people find a way to not only eat the foods they love, but the foods that are going to give them optimal healthy lifestyles.
Therefore, I have been in an online course to become a Functional Nutrition Counselor. I want to be able to find out the root cause, not just put a band-aid on whatever is causing sickness symptoms with meds. I believe everything starts in the gut – the good health, as well as the bad (inflammation, autoimmune, brain issues) and I believe we can take charge of our health, and I think it is TIME!
I started my journey several years ago to heal a leaky gut, which can be caused by many things – stress, meds, bad diet, toxins, lack of sleep, insulin resistance – but then after my mom died of Alzheimer’s, I became very interested in that research. Little did I realize all of it can be treated the same way. I want to live a long life as long as I have a healthy body and brain.
The book “Any Way You Can” by Dr. Annette Bosworth I feel has changed my life! I have studied all diets but have really focused on the ketogenic diet for several years because of the research and results that have impacted thousands upon thousands of people and doctors, and weight loss is just the bonus! Dr. Bosworth used this research to cure her mom of CLL, a form of leukemia, when her mom was ready to die, and her mom, in her 70s, is cancer free now for five years. Dr. Boz has cured so many patients with this diet but she has found the RIGHT way to cause the chemistry changes in our bodies to produce ketones which burns fat instead of glucose. So she is now teaching a six-week pilot course called “Consistently Keto” which I am taking.
This is where YOU come in. One of my assignments is to have a support group which she believes is one of the biggest reasons for success on this diet. I will be able to use all her videos and handouts. It will be FREE and the date and place will be determined by the amount of interest. In all my books, cookbooks, audibles, and research, she has the most informative approach for successfully getting our bodies into ketosis so that we can heal. Please email me if you would like more information!
The ketogenic diet is delicious and I never feel deprived, but I never did it the right way until I found Dr. Bosworth. I know that when people find out you can’t have sugar (the biggest contributor to inflammation and disease), processed carbs or grains, it daunting, so I will leave you with this scrumptious Keto Lemon Cake that I made for Mother’s Day just to show you really can have your cake and eat it too! Just please don’t eat the whole cake because you will want to!
Lemon Cake
Serves 12 – 16
Both of my grandaughters are highly allergic to nuts so most keto desserts substitute flour with almond flour, so I love using coconut flour whenever I can. This recipe is very easy and it makes the most delicious cake. You can halve this recipe to make a loaf for a delicious breakfast bread!
Ingredients:
1 cup coconut flour
1 cup granular erythritol (Swerve or Monk Fruit)
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
½ teaspoon salt
6 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons avocado oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
Frosting:
4 ounces softened cream cheese
1 cups confectioners erythritol (Swerve or Monk Fruit)
½ cup heavy cream (or enough for good consistency)
Juice and zest from one lemon
Preheat the oven to 325. Line 2 9-inch cake pans with parchment or grease or spray.
In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, erythritol, baking powder, xanthum gum and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the sour cream, oil, and vanilla extract and whisk until blended. Slowly stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture with a spoon until the batter is well combined. Stir in the lemon juice and zest.
Pour the batter into the two pans and bake for 20 – 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool and turn out onto wire racks. Make frosting by stirring all ingredients together or using mixer.
Enjoy!
So nice to see you posting again. I sure do miss you and terry…
Liz, I would like to stay on your email list. One thing I could use extra from you is to know where you find your unusual ingredients. Is there a local store or do I need to order online?