As promised, here’s a tasty, good-for-you oatmeal cookie recipe made by using the conversion method I wrote you about yesterday. This recipe is not only delicious, but it’s gluten-free, diabetes friendly, and bone healthy to boot!
1 cup Earth Balance buttery spread*
1/2 cup Xylosweet*
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour*
1 tsp. xanthum gum*
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp salt
3 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free Oats
Optional:
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut*
1 cup carob chips*
(*These items can be purchased at DeLand Bakery & Natural Market)
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat together first four ingredients until well mixed.
3. Add dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet, lined with aluminum foil.
5. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Pull the aluminum foil with cookies on it onto a protected surface for cooling.
7. Cool for a few minutes. Place on serving plate.
This recipe made 3-4 dozen cookies last night, and they’re already gone! Guess I’d better make another batch tomorrow. 🙂
Tags: , bone health, Desserts, gluten-free, osteoporosis, Recipes
Here’s a quick and easy guide for turning a favorite recipe into a bone-healthy recipe, or for creating one from scratch!
1. Replace sugar with Xylitol. Xylitol is the commercial name for a naturally occurring sugar, called xylose, commonly derived from corncobs and birch trees. Xylitol is like other sugars in taste, but it as one major difference: The xylose molecule contains only 5 carbon atoms rather than the 6 of most other sugars. This molecular difference results in 40% fewer calories and a low glycemic index, as well as increased dental health. When cooking, I replace sugar with XyloSweet, an all natural Xylitol sweetener, in equal measures. XyloSweet is heat-stable for cooking and baking, and it mixes and dissolves just like table sugar. By replacing sugar with xylose, I avoid the insulin spikes, adrenal stress, and acid ash associated with table sugar.
2. Replace butter with Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread. Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread tastes, spreads, and bakes like rich butter, but it’s completely non-dairy! It’s churned from cold-pressed oils–truly natural oils–that are precisely balance and patented by nutrition researchers of Brandeis University to help improve the cholesterol ratio when used as a part of a heart-healthy diet and regular exercise regimen. It contains no genetically modified material, it is not hydrogenated, it is trans fat free…and it’s delicious!
3. Up the veggies, if possible, in proportion to meats. For example, when making beef stew, put in the normal amount of meat, but add a ton of veggies, such as, potatoes, carrots, peas, green beans, onion, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, lentils, and snow peas.
4. Replace peanuts with almonds. Peanuts are acid-forming, while almonds leave an alkaline ash. Nuff said.
5. Steam in pure H2O or Saute in olive oil, rather than frying vegetables or meats at high heat. The body has a terrible time trying to digest fried foods, and fried foods leave behind a ton of acid in the blood! According to The Acid Alkaline Food Guide by Brown and Trivieri, all commercial fried foods are highly acid-forming. In fact, preparing potatoes as home fries by sauteing them in olive oil would be in the “low akaline-forming” category, while deep frying potatoes as french fries makes them “high acid-forming.”
6. Use fruit to provide sweet flavor. Want a sweeter almond butter sandwich? Add thinly sliced apples or banana to your sandwich. Want a sweeter cup of herbal tea? Throw in some organic raisins. Yummy!
7. Replace cow’s milk with almond milk. Cow’s milk–whether skim, low fat, or whole–is acid-forming. Almond milk, on the other hand, is alkaline-forming, and it tastes great! My brand of choice is: Blue Diamond Natural Almond Breeze (Unsweetened Vanilla flavor). It’s perfect for cereal, mashed potatoes, or just by itself!
8. Replace nitrates with no-nitrate meats. No-nitrate bacon can be found at Publix in the Greenwise section. No-nitrate lunch meats are available at both Wal-Mart and Publix.
9. Use free-range eggs. Some people worry about cholesterol from eggs, but fertilized eggs contain lecithin, which emulsifies the cholesterol. Free-range eggs are a good source of protein, and I usually eat or two a week.
10. Substitute leaner cuts of meat. For example, if the recipe calls for ground beef (27% fat), use lean Maverick beef (4% fat) instead. Other extra-lean cuts of beef include eye of round roast, bottom round roast, top round steak, and top sirloin steak. Other low-fat choices are turkey breast, both ground and whole, and chicken breast.
Bonus: To enhance the flavor of your recipes, try adding spices, nuts, and extracts. I add vanilla extract to oatmeal, as well as chopped walnuts and cinnamon.
Okay, let’s practice. Today I’m going to create a bone-healthy recipe for oatmeal cookies by converting the recipe on the Quaker Oats package step-by-step, and I’ll post it later today on this website. Would you like to try creating a bone-healthy recipe, too? If you make one, I hope you’ll share it with us!
Tags: Akaline diet, osteoporosis, Recipes
“A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.” Proverbs 15:30
Yesterday, I received some wonderful news from my son, Ryan, who owns his own computer programming company (GoLevel, Inc.) and also manages my website. He said this website is now listed on the DMOZ!
“What’s that?” I asked him.
Ryan explained that the DMOZ is the home of the Open Directory Project, the largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory of the Web. He added that it’s not easy to get listed on the DMOZ, as only quality websites are listed. Well, that was good news to me! I felt elated that this project will be able to help more people in their efforts to reverse their osteoporosis, and I am very grateful to Ryan for his expertise and for his support of this project.
And if all that weren’t enough, the Bible says that “good news gives health to the bones.”
Thanks, Ryan!
Lots of love,
Mom
Tags: Faith Reflections, osteoporosis
I participated in my third 5K race on Sunday, and what a fabulous experience it was! Imagine this: a cool Florida dawn with the track running alongside a misty field full of grazing cows, continuing down a tree-lined lane and back. A bit of heaven, to my way of thinking!
Last year I walked my first race, but now I alternate between running and walking. Not long stretches of running, mind you. On this day, I was praying a rosary while I was racing, walking during the first half of each Hail Mary and running during the second half. With such divine assistance, I shaved two minutes off my previous time. Progress!
To top it off, I made a new friend during the race! Her name was Jacqui, and what an encouragement she was! She told me that she used to have osteoporosis, but that her bones were fine now. She said that training and participating in these races were just the thing! Jacqui also told me about a program by Jeff Galloway that trains runners like me to participate in 5K, 10K, and even marathon races. I went on-line, found his website right away, and signed up for his monthly newsletter. In time, I might even join his training group in Daytona Beach.
In the meantime, the next item on my exercise agenda is to buy a good pair of running shoes. With a lighter step, my speed should increase. Want to join me for the next race? I just signed up for the 5K Run at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church on March 1st. You can go to Alta Vista Sports to register on-line. Hope to see you there!
Tags: health, osteoporosis, sports, Weekly Workout
Breakfast: Fruity Protein Shake, Greens Shake, Raspberry Tea with Beyond C powder, water, supplements
Snack: Apple
Snack: Cherry tomatoes
Lunch: Mushroom and Barley Soup, Garlic & Basil Millet Cracker (from DeLand Natural Market), raspberry tea with Beyond C powder
Snack: Sunflower seeds
Snack: Banana
Supper: Steamed Kale Greens with Turkey Sausage Medallions, sweet potato with Earth Balance buttery spread, water, Lemon Zinger tea with Beyond C powder
Bedtime: Bone Cocktail, supplements
Tags: Daily Diet
On cold days, here’s an alkalizing soup to warm your bones–and build your bones, too!
1 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
6 cups of beef broth (Optional: Add 1 tblsp. of Instant All Natural Vegetable Broth – available at DeLand Bakery and Natural Market)
1/2 cup quick-cooking barley
4 carrots, thinly sliced
1 6-oz can of tomato sauce
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or parsley flakes
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1. In a skillet, saute’ onion and celery in olive oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Stir frequently, and add a little water while cooking, if necessary. Add mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. In a Dutch oven, bring broth to a boil. Add barley, carrots, tomato sauce, spices, and the cooked onions, celery, and mushrooms. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove from heat and let stand for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend and the soup to thicken. Reheat, if desired, before serving
Serve with toasted Ezekiel bread and Earth Balance Buttery Spread for flavorful meal!
Tags: Ezekiel bread recipes, Recipes
Yes, it IS possible to reverse osteoporosis! The body wants to have strong bones. All we have to do is help the body do what it was created to do. Here are 10 ways to do just that!
1) Find a substitute for drinking sodas. Carbonated drinks acidify your blood. The body must then neutralize the acid so that your blood can function as it should, and one way it does that is by pulling calcium from your bones! It took me a year to give up soda completely, but I don’t miss it anymore. I now enjoy the benefits of drinking bottled water, ice water with lemon, and a variety of herbal teas. Once a week, I also enjoy a glass of Perrier!
2) Find a substitute for drinking coffee. Both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee deposit huge amounts of acid your blood, causing the body to rob your bones of calcium in order to neutralize the acid. In addition, caffeine puts a strain on the adrenal glands by causing a cortisol response–stress response– in the body. Instead of coffee, I enjoy a variety of herbal teas, often with tart cherry juice, lemon juice, or Beyond C powder for added flavor.
3) Reduce emotional stress from work overload. Remember: It is not how much work you accomplish during the day that makes you valuable. It is the LOVE with which you do whatever you do during the day. There is nothing wrong with doing less things, but doing them well. Doing something well is worthy.
4) Collect recipes that eliminate dairy products. Now, before you scream at me that this is impossible, let me say that a year ago I thought so, too. In fact, I used to cry at night because I missed yogurt and cheese so much. It may seem hard to believe, but I don’t even miss them now! It can be the same for you, if you substitute a positive Ph foods for these negative, acidifying products. (No, milk does NOT do a body good!) Check out my recipes for starters!
5) Increase stress to the spine and hip bones! Increasing stress to the bones tells to bones to build bone density. You can walk 30 minutes a day, rebound for 5-20 minutes, work out with weights, stretch and bend–it’s all good for reversing osteoporosis.
6) Let your plate celebrate the wearing of the green! Green vegetables, such as kale, collards, and broccoli, are high in calcium and help alkalinize the blood for better bone building.
7) Sleep 8 hours every night–or as close to it as you can. Why? Lack of sleep leads to that cortisol response in the body that we spoke of earlier. The body simply does not build and repair well when it is in tensed for “fight or flight”.
8) Take supplements as needed for healing and maintenance of body systems. Dr. Rogers has changed what my list of supplements as my recovery has progressed. Eight months ago, he had prescribed 3 grains of thyroid hormone (NOT Synthroid) per day, along with MedCaps T3* (from Xymogen), which “features targeted nutrients and herbs that support healthy hormone synthesis.” Last month, Dr. Rogers reduced the prescription to 1 grain of thyroid hormone per day, as my thyroid is healing. Other supplements have been added to the original list. I’ll update the list later this week.
9) Enjoy 20 minutes per day of direct exposure to natural sunlight. Not just your face and hands–we’re talking 50% skin exposure. It’s hard to do in winter, but where there’s a will, there’s a way. Direct sunlight helps the body to assimilate Vitamin D, which helps the body to build strong bones.
10) Most important: Take your own healthy food with you wherever you go! This country’s groceries stores and restaurants are simply loaded with enticing, enemy foods that are loaded with acid-producing agents that will destroy your bones, if you give in. Protect yourself by keeping friendly foods with you at work, at play, to parties, and even to restaurants! What to pack? Raw almonds, sunflower seeds, an apple, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, bottled water, and a package of herbal tea. It all fits in a standard, insulated lunch box. This emergency stash of positive pH treats has saved me repeatedly from giving in to the temptation to drink coffee or eat fried foods or sugary treats that would acidify my blood and cause bone decay.
The body wants to have strong bones. Working WITH your body, you CAN reverse osteoporosis, while improving your overall health and happiness!
Tags: Foundations
