Author: cleaneatingwithkatie

I am a Nutrition Consultant and Certified 21 Day Sugar Detox Coach who helps folks find health through food, lifestyle behaviors, safer skincare, and reducing toxins.
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Paleo Chili

Chili is one of my favorite dishes. It’s hearty, it’s warming, it’s tasty, I feel like ya just can’t go wrong with chili. In my vegetarian days I made chili and the recipe easily adapted once I began eating meat and the recipe adapted once again when I started avoiding beans (due to the type of fiber in them that can irritate people with SIBO and other GI problems). Here is my current recipe, but it gets tweaked often.

Paleo Chili

cleaneatingwithkatie
Chili tops my list of all time favorite and easy meals to make. It's honestly hard to screw it up! This recipe can be adapted to use any type of ground meat. We often use bison and it provides a great flavor. If you tolerate beans, feel free to add a can or two of kidney beans (or homemade equivalent).
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Course Main Course, Soup
Cuisine American
Servings 6 people

Ingredients
  

Chili Ingredients

  • 24 oz bone broth chicken, turkey, or beef
  • 16 oz diced tomatoes
  • 1 med onion diced
  • 4 med carrots diced
  • 4 celery stalks diced
  • 4 cloves garlic diced
  • 2 tbsp grass-fed butter
  • 2 lbs ground bison pasture-raised
  • 2 tbsp fresh sprouts optional garnish
  • 1 tbsp grass-fed sour cream optional garnish (per serving)
  • ½ avocado optional garnish (per serving)

Spice Blend

  • 1 tbsp coriander
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • sea salt to taste
  • fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • In a stock pot, sauté onions and garlic in butter until translucent.
  • Add bone broth, tomatoes, remaining veggies, spices, and bison. (If you're adding beans, add them in during this step.)
  • Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer. Continue on a low simmer for 45 min.
  • Top with avocado, sprouts, and sour cream (if using). Serve immediately and enjoy!
Keyword chili, paleo, paleo chili, soup

Tomatoes are rich sources of vitamins C & K, carotenes (especially lycopene), biotin and fiber. They are protective against cancer and should be eaten with an oil to improve absorption.

Celery is helpful in preventing cancer, improves white blood cell activity, and helps to lower blood pressure. It is rich in potassium and sodium. It helps the liver to detoxify as well.

Onions are a member of the allium (lily) family and are related to garlic & leeks. Alliums are known to have a cholesterol reducing effect and are known for their ability to help fight off cold and flu viruses. Onions are rich in antioxidants and biotin, manganese, copper, phosphorous, potassium, vitamins B1, B6, C, and fiber.

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The 52 New Foods Challenge – Quinoa

The 52 New Foods Challenge Food of the Week: Quinoa

Jennifer Tyler Lee suggests making savory quinoa cakes or a quinoa stuffing. When I make it plain, I use equal parts water, broth, and quinoa (usually one cup of each). I also made a great Quinoa Turkey Meatloaf that was delicious! My favorite quinoa was toasted with smoked trout from Nopa in SF. Seriously amazing!!

Food Facts:

  • Indigenous to South America
  • Not a member of the grass family, like other grains. It’s actually the seed of plant that is likely related to chard, beets, and spinach. The leaves of the plant are edible and very nutritive
  • High protein content compared to other grains
  • Good source of vitamins E and B6, and potassium, folate, thiamine, riboflavin, manganese, magnesium, phosphorous, iron, zinc, selenium, and copper
  • Good source of fiber
  • It helps protect against oxidative damage
  • Can be used instead of cornmeal for polenta or as a hot breakfast cereal
  • Contains antioxidants called polyphenols and flavonoids
  • Much less allergenic than grains
  • Persons that have had calcium oxalate containing kidney stones should limit their consumption of quinoa due to its moderate amounts of oxalate.

From The 52 New Foods Challenge: A Family Cooking Adventure for Each Week of the Year, with 150 Recipes by Jennifer Tyler Lee, Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray, Joseph Pizzorno, and Lara Pizzorno, and Superfoods: The Healthiest Foods on the Planetby Tonia Reinhard

Photo Credit: Luv Kreativ https://www.instagram.com/luvkreativ/?hl=en

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In Season, in March

Happy March!

March is one of my favorite months because SPRING officially begins and because my birthday is in March. 🙂 As for what’s in season in Northern California in March, I wish there were fruits that were in season besides citrus fruits, but since there aren’t, I’m enjoying the citrus. March is officially asparagus season in most of North America. After reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life I decided that I would only be eating asparagus during the late winter and early spring. 

It’s what I’m most excited for this month! Bring on the stinky pee!! What seasonal produce are you going to enjoy in March?

Hugs and Health <3,

Katie

 

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The 52 New Foods Challenge – Pears

The 52 New Foods Challenge Food of the Week: Pears

Jennifer Tyler Lee suggests making a pear sauce – like apple sauce or in a winter fruit salad (I made a similar one for Christmas). Mmmmm!

Food Facts: 

  • Pears ripen in late summer to mid fall, if you’re buying pears at any other time, they are either imported or have been in cold storage, like apples
  • Apples and pears are from the same food family and are very similar, except the flesh of pears contains stone cells, often called grits
  • Good source of vitamins C, E, B2, and K and potassium and copper
  • Good source of fiber
  • It is an anti inflammatory and it counters atherosclerosis, a common problem in cardiovascular disease
  • They are good for lowering cholesterol
  • Often recommended as a hypo-allergenic fruit because they are less likely to cause a reaction
  • Contains antioxidants called phenols
  • Antioxidants levels maintain even when cooked- this makes Jennifer Tyler Lee’s pear sauce an even better idea!

From The 52 New Foods Challenge: A Family Cooking Adventure for Each Week of the Year, with 150 Recipes by Jennifer Tyler Lee, Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray, Joseph Pizzorno, and Lara Pizzorno, and Superfoods: The Healthiest Foods on the Planet by Tonia Reinhard

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The 52 New Foods Challenge – Kumquats

The 52 New Foods Challenge Food of the Week: Kumquats

Jennifer Tyler Lee suggests making a kumquat jam or in a warm salad with green beans. Mmmmm! After my January 21 Day Sugar Detox, I bought some kumquats again and man were they tart! I think the jam may be the way to go!!

Food Facts:

  • IMG_0171Good source of vitamin C
  • Good source of fiber
  • The oval shaped variety, Nagami, is more tart, and the round variety, Marumi is more sweet
  • Eat citrus fruits shorty after buying or store them in your fridge, but do not store in a plastic bag – it retains the moisture and promotes mold growth
  • The white parts (albedo) of citrus fruits is the most nutritious – since kumquats are eaten whole- you consume a lot of the albedo.
  • Contains antioxidants called flavonoids
  • Organic citrus fruits have not been degreened

From Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health by Jo Robinson, The 52 New Foods Challenge: A Family Cooking Adventure for Each Week of the Year, with 150 Recipes by Jennifer Tyler Lee, and Superfoods: The Healthiest Foods on the Planet
by Tonia Reinhard

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The 52 New Foods Challenge – Grapefruit

The 52 New Foods Challenge Food of the Week: Grapefruit

Grapefruits are not a new food for most of us, but Jennifer Tyler Lee has a recipe for broiled grapefruit with a touch of honey which sounds pretty yummy. I’ve been wanting to try grilled or baked grapefruit because I think the caramelization of the sugars might make it more appealing to me. 

Food Facts:IMG_0170

  • Good source of vitamins A, C, B6, B5 (pantothenic acid), folic acid, thiamine, copper, selenium,  potassium, and magnesium
  • Good source of fiber
  • Contains antioxidants called anthocyanins, liminoids, lycopene, and carotenoids
  • The only citrus indigenous to the “new world” or the Americas (first found in Barbados)
  • They are known for helping to lower blood cholesterol, help normalize hematocrit levels (important if you are anemic), and helping to protect against cancer, macular degeneration,  and cardiovascular disease.
  • Can also help the body get rid of excess estrogen, helping to prevent breast cancer
  • Like oranges and mandarins, they are often picked when green, shipped, and then artificially ripened with ethylene gas which causes them to ripen. This causes them to look ripe but they aren’t truly ripe  and have fewer bionutrients than tree ripened fruit.
  • Grapefruits harvested after December are more likely to be tree ripened (their season is late winter/ early spring)
  • Organic Grapefruits (mandarins and oranges too) have not been degreened
  • To select the best grapefruits: look for large, smooth-skinned fruits that are heavy for their size
  • Until about one hundred years ago, all grape fruits had white flesh! The pink flesh was a natural mutation making it sweeter.
  • Some Medications and grapefruit should not be used together – meds used for blood pressure, cholesterol, anxiety, and those that reduce the rejection of an organ after transplant. Check with your doctor.

From Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health by Jo Robinson, The 52 New Foods Challenge: A Family Cooking Adventure for Each Week of the Year, with 150 Recipes by Jennifer Tyler Lee, Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray, Joseph Pizzorno, and Lara Pizzorno, and Superfoods: The Healthiest Foods on the Planet
by Tonia Reinhard. 

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The 52 New Foods Challenge – Mandarins

The 52 New Foods Challenge Food of the Week: Satsuma Mandarin Oranges

After doing The 21-Day Sugar Detox, this was one of my first fruits. I really enjoy eating a couple Mandarins for a snack. Like some of the other foods in the book, mandarins are not a new food for most of us, but Jennifer Tyler Lee has a recipe for mandarin orange and fennel salad which sounds pretty yummy.

Food Facts

IMG_0480

  • Good source of vitamins A, C, B6, thiamine, calcium, folate, potassium, and magnesium
  • Good source of fiber
  • Contains antioxidant carotenoids: alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin, as well flavonoids: tangeretin and nobiletin
  • They are known for helping to control blood glucose, lowering blood cholesterol, and helping to protect against cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and cardiovascular disease.
  • Like oranges, mandarins become sweeter and less acidic as they mature.
  • They are often picked when green, shipped, and then artificially ripened with ethylene gas which causes them to ripen. This causes them to look orange but they are more acidic, less sweet, and have fewer bionutrients than tree ripened fruit.
  • Organic Mandarins (and oranges) have not been degreened. 
  • Many of the nutrients in Mandarins are concentrated in the inner peel and the white pulp.

From Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health
by Jo Robinson, The 52 New Foods Challenge: A Family Cooking Adventure for Each Week of the Year, with 150 Recipes by Jennifer Tyler Lee, Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray, Joseph Pizzorno, and Lara Pizzorno, and Superfoods: The Healthiest Foods on the Planet by Tonia Reinhard

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The 52 New Foods Challenge – Avocado

The 52 New Foods Challenge Food of the Week: Avocado

I think we all love Avocado. Obviously there is guacamole- my favorite! But for a quick and easy option, I also like to have a half or whole avocado sprinkled with sea salt and lemon and maybe hot sauce. What I’ve been really digging lately is: guacamole deviled eggs! Jennifer Tyler Lee has a recipe for avocado chocolate pudding – I do want to try this too! I tried avocado ice cream and I wasn’t a big fan. What are you favorite ways to use avocado?

Food Facts:IMG_0163

  • Good source of vitamin E, folate, potassium, and magnesium
  • Very good source of soluble fiber
  • High in healthy monounsaturated fats
  • Haas avocados have 2-4 times more antioxidants than other varieties sold in stores
  • Unripe avocados will ripen quickly in a brown paper bag
  • They will also ripen on your countertops – but they stop ripening once in your fridge – so they can be kept in the fridge until ready to be eaten (usually for several days)
  • “One serving gives you more antioxidants than a serving of broccoli raab, grapes, red bell peppers, or red cabbage” (Robinson, 2013, p. 206)


From Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health
by Jo Robinson, The 52 New Foods Challenge: A Family Cooking Adventure for Each Week of the Year, with 150 Recipes by Jennifer Tyler Lee, and Superfoods: The Healthiest Foods on the Planetby Tonia Reinhard

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In Season, in February

It’s February!! <3 <3 <3 For me, the first day of February means January is over. Woot! I’m not a fan of January. 1.) It’s winter. 2.) It’s cold. 3.) It’s dark really early. 4.) It’s winter. 🙂

With the start of February in Northern California, comes cherry blossoms. I also love seeing trees, plants, and bushes in my garden with little flower buds. Just this morning, I saw blossoms on my blueberry bushes! This fills me with happiness because homegrown blueberries = happiness in my world. 

Well, even though blueberries aren’t on the list, here is what is in season in February. What seasonal produce are you looking forward to? I’m enjoying mandarins and arugula.

Health & Hugs <3,

Katie

 

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Detoxing Armpits! Say what?!

I first switched to Tom’s of Maine deodorant when I was about 21 years old. It worked well for a few days and then I broke out in a crazy rash. I had avoid wearing deodorant or shaving for about a week. Boy, did I stink!! [I’m normally kind of a stinky person, or at least I was…]

Fast forward about ten years. I had given up the natural deodorant quest during my 20’s. But as we began eating healthier and being more mindful of the toxins under our control, I went back on my quest for a more natural deodorant. I tried basically every brand that Whole Foods sells, including Jason and Nourish. I also tried Primal Pit Paste. None of them worked for me and most of them gave me a rash. I finally settled on a few days of my Dove deodorant and then a few days of my natural deodorant.

Then a friend gave me a recipe for a homemade deodorant. It used essential oils, shea butter, and cocoa butter. It didn’t give me a rash like the others, but I didn’t like the way it smelled (ylang ylang, yuck!) nor did I feel “fresh”.

I kept using my rotational method, toxic deodorant for a few days, natural deodorant for a few days. Then came L-Day [lump discovery day]. On April 30th, 2014, I found a lump in my right breast. After I picked my crying self up off the bathroom floor and after calling my husband sobbing, I did two things. 1) I threw my conventional [aka toxic] deodorant in the trash and 2) I recycled any plastic food containers we had [we never heated food in the plastic containers, but I didn’t even want them near my salads anymore]. My reasoning behind this logic: if it’s not Cancer, this is a wake up call for you. You might get a second chance, don’t blow it. Well, it turned out that it was Cancer [more about that can be found here].

I resolved to use only “hippie” deodorant [as my husband calls it] from there on out. Stink or no stink.

About 10 months later, after I got my Young Living Essential Oil Starter Kit, one of the first things I decided to make was deodorant. I really liked the blend that I made and was quite happy with it. Until I went back to work. I went back to teaching after Cancer treatment [chemo, surgery, and radiation] and I noticed very quickly that I was really stinky. BY 10AM!!! I really hadn’t even done much by 10 am, but it didn’t matter. I stunk.

I remembered having seen a pin on Pinterest floating around about detoxing armpits. So I found the long since buried pin and decided to give it a try. I had nothing left to lose.

Often times, when switching from conventional deodorant to natural deodorant, people often complain that natural deodorants don’t work for them. That was me every time I tried to make the switch. Our sweat glands can get clogged with toxins, especially when using conventional deodorants with chemicals in them. When the sweat glands get blocked, the armpit is more odorous. Using a bentonite clay mixture can hel
p to clear the glands of the blockages and can prevent your armpits from stinking. Here is a link to the bentonite clay. Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay Deep Pore Cleansing, 1 Pound. Here is the Pin from Wellness Mama.

Detox Recipe

1 T Bentonite Clay

1 T Bragg Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar, 32 Ounce – 1 Pack

water, as needed for consistency

Mix all three ingredients together in a glass bowl with a non-metal spoon. It should be the consistency of a smooth paste. Apply to armpits and leave on for 5-20 minutes. Wash off with warm water and a washcloth.

This is a bit messy, FYI. I did this for 5 days in a row before bed. I would mix it up, apply to my armpits, put a towel on the couch, and watch TV while it dried. It did not irritate my skin, but I would suggest doing a test run on a small area of the skin first.

Deodorant Recipe

10 drops Young Living Lavender essential oil

10 drops Young Living Purification essential oil

10 drops Young Living Tea Tree essential oil

10 drops Young Living RC essential oil

5 drops Young Living Joy essential oil

5 drops Young Living Eucalyptus essential oil

Add all essential oils to a roller ball and fill with fractionated coconut oil (or your favorite carrier oil). Enjoy!

Hugs and Health <3,

Katie