We All Scream for Ice Cream

When it's hot and muggy outside, I like something cold and sweet. But I don't sacrifice my health for an ice cream treat, nor do I trade away "delicious" for "healthy". This yummy ice cream recipe is adapted from Sally Fallon's "Nourishing Traditions" cookbook for the Know the Cause Phase One Diet

Chocolate Raspberry Soft-Serve Ice Cream

3 cups heavy cream
3 egg yolks
6 T. unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup xylitol

Whisk together in a bowl.
Pour into ice cream maker (the kind with the bowl that you freeze. Mine is a Cuisinart model) and allow to mix for 25-30 minutes.
Add 1 pint fresh raspberries and mix another 5 minutes.

Best if served directly from ice cream maker, but can be stored in a sealed container and stored in the freezer. This will change the consistency, however, to something like you would have if you try to refreeze a Wendy's Frosty, for example. But it still tastes good!

Questioning Vaccinations

Questioning Vaccinations

Click the above link to read this article from www.knowthecause.com Newsletter.

Taco Salad - Phase One Friendly

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I thought I'd post my original taco salad recipe. If you're following the Know the Cause Phase One Diet, if you're into low-carb, or if you're just a healthy eater, you'll love this recipe.

Taco Salad
1 – 1 ½ lbs grass-fed ground beef
Chopped onions & green peppers
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes (check ingredients! No sugar, etc)
Chili powder
Paprika
Cayenne pepper
Salt
Pepper
Onion Powder

Sauté onions & peppers in olive oil until clear
Brown meat, break down into very small pieces
Add diced tomatoes
Add spices
Bring to a boil
Allow to simmer on Low 30 minutes, until liquid is reduced
Add garlic

Guacamole
1 avocado, diced
3 grape tomatoes
Green onion, roughly chopped tops & bottoms
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt
Mix together in Magic Bullet with Cross Blade,
Using Short Cup

Serve over a bed of leafy greens, grape tomatoes, and shredded yogurt cheese. Top with a dollop of real sour cream. Serves 3-4, depending on portion size.

Think Outside the Box - Snack Bar Recipe

For those of you who enjoy trail mix-type bars, I thought this recipe that I adapted from TBS Dinner & A Movie's "Cramming for the Bar" is a yummy alternative to those pre-packaged "healthy" snack bars with all the added sugar and grain. If you're following the Know the Cause Phase One Diet, or if you're just a healthy eater, you'll love this recipe.

Healthy Snack Bars
No Grain, No Sugar


Ingredients:
• 2 1/2 cup dried unsweetened cranberries and other berries
• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1 cup raw almond slices
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1/4 cup raw pecans
• 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup ground flax seed
• 1 cup unsweetened dried coconut
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 5 tablespoons agave syrup or raw unpasteurized honey
• 1/4 cup Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil

Directions:
1. Combine the dried fruit in a food processor. Pulse mixture 10-15 times until a ball forms. Add the remaining dry ingredients and continue pulsing until the nuts are chopped and the mixture begins to come together. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl and add the oil and honey and knead 5 minutes until the mixture holds its shape in a ball.

2. To form the health food bars, line a cookie sheet with plastic wrap and press the mixture forcefully into the pan. Place another piece of plastic wrap over the top and then use a large rolling pin to compress the mixture into a solid block. Alternatively you can press into small cake molds or wrap in foil and twist tightly into cylinders.

3. Cut into bars. Bars can be left plain or coated in your favorite choice (i.e. sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds, dehydrated coconut, green tea Mache, powdered cocoa, etc.) Freeze bars for 30 minutes and then wrap individually and keep refrigerated for longest shelf life.

Chicken Veggie Stir-Fry

It's been an adventure for me to find and create easy Phase One (www.knowthecause.com) recipes. Here's one I came up with tonight when I needed to find something quick, using the groceries we already had in the house. Enjoy...

Chicken Veggie Stir-Fry

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
Mrs. Dash Original
Salt & Pepper
Sesame Oil
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
Fresh broccoli florets
(or chunks of any other fresh veggies, i.e
carrots, bell peppers, cauliflower, zucchini, etc)
2 ice cubes

Saute onions on medium heat in generous amount of sesame oil, allowing onions to brown and carmelize (20 minutes) You may need to periodically add more sesame oil to keep them from sticking to the pan.
Cover chicken w/ salt, freshly-ground pepper, and generous amount of Mrs. Dash.
Add more sesame oil.
Brown chicken thoroughly, stirring often.
When chicken is cooked through, add fresh veggies and 2 cubes of ice.
Cover and turn on low heat. Allow veggies to steam for 15 minutes, soaking up flavor of onions)

This was delicious! And if you are on not on Phase One, you can add snow peas, which are yummy in stir-fry. You could also serve this over brown rice. But if you're grain-free like me, you will enjoy it just with the meat and veggies. Also, you could substitute pork, turkey, or beef for the chicken.

Wahoo! Cheesecake

A lot of people say that the Phase One (www.knowthecause.com) diet is too hard or too restrictive. But I think that if you have delicious foods to eat, made by replacing "forbidden" ingredients, you will find that it's not as difficult as you think. I had this cheesecake during my first 30 days when I was staying with my parents - my mom made it for me - and it was heavenly! Tonight is my first time making it myself, and I can smell the crust baking right now. Here's the recipe for a grain-free, sugar-free, Phase One-friendly cheesecake:

Crust
2 cups finely ground walnuts (other nuts can be used)
3 T. organic, unsalted butter
2 T. cinnamon
Stevia, to taste (optional) You will need very little as it goes a long way

Combine ground nuts, butter, cinnamon, and stevia using a pastry blender or fork
Press into 9-10" pan
Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes

Filling
12 oz. organic cream cheese
2 eggs
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 cup organic heavy whipping cream
Stevia, to taste

Combine cream cheese, Stevia, lemon, and 1 egg; blend until smooth
Add 2nd egg
Fold in whipping cream
Pour into crust
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes
Cool to room temperature (top will crack)
Refrigerate minimum 2 hours.
Top with fresh berries

The crust just came out of the oven, and it smells great! I like to let my cream cheese sit out to get to room temperature before mixing, but it should be ready now. If you make this recipe, let me know how you liked it!

Roasted Cinnamon Almonds

People have asked me for some Know the Cause Phase One Diet recipes. The following is actually in the cookbook that you can order from knowthecause.com, but I'll post it here. It's one of my favorites because it's very simple and something I can take with me to the movies, on a road trip, or to a sports event so that I won't be tempted to eat something at one of the concessions:

Roasted Cinnamon Almonds

1 egg white
1 tsp cold water
4 cups whole, raw almonds
1/4 cup stevia powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 T. cinnamon
Coconut oil

Beat egg white and cold water until frothy.
Mix in nuts until all are moistened

Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl.
Sprinkle over nuts until coated.
Grease jelly roll pan (small cookie sheet) with coconut oil.
Spread nuts evenly over pan.
Bake at 250 degrees for 30 minutes, then turn nuts over and bake another 30 minutes

I've also used pecans for this recipe, and they were very good also.

To Make a Long Story Short...

The past month has been very eventful, and I know it's been a long time since I posted - shame on me! I thought it would be a good idea to give you an update on my life and health. Inquiring minds want to know, apparently. Where to begin? Well...it all began in the spring when a friend of a Facebook friend contacted me and referred me to this website. With all my health issues, the one thing I thought was under control was my thyroid disease. But I soon learned that I, like hundreds of thousands of thyroid patients, was on the wrong medication. I found a doctor in my area who prescribes natural thyroid hormone and also believes in taking elimination of symptoms into consideration when adjusting medication levels, rather than just thyroid lab tests. After 8 consecutive months of gaining up to 10lbs/month, I immediately stopped gaining weight. My new doc also started me on natural progesterone to treat my Polycystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD).

Over the next few months, my doctor continued to monitor my symptoms and my hormone levels, adjusting my medicines accordingly. I almost immediately saw a major reduction in two symptoms I'd been plagued with for years: excessive sweating and severe digestive problems. However, I did develop some new heart symptoms which included an elevated heart rate, chest pain, and sudden drops in my blood pressure that caused me to pass out or fall down. I saw a cardiologist and had several tests done to determine the cause of this. We're still not 100% sure of the cause of these symptoms, and I continue to have episodes with my heart from time to time. I'm told there is nothing wrong with my heart, but that I have another condition that is affecting the functioning of my heart.

In August, a friend and I began following The Maker's Diet by Jordan Rubin, which is a way of eating that follows biblical principles concerning food. I lost a few pounds doing this but nothing major. But then, at the urging of my mom, I started watching a television show called "Know the Cause" on the Christian Television Network. The host, Doug Kaufmann, teaches that most diseases actually come from fungus, mold, and mildew rather than bacteria and viruses. He has authored several books on the subject and also has a website: www.knowthecause.com. The more information I heard and saw, the more I believed that this concept made a LOT of sense. I had been urging my doctors for years to find a commonality among all my diagnoses, believing firmly that one person could not have so many separate diseases without them being somehow related. I wanted to "know the cause" instead of just treating the symptoms with drugs, drugs, and more drugs. So I began the Phase One antifungal diet on September 1st.

In the past several weeks I have lost 25 pounds, I have gotten off 4 medications, and I have seen a reduction in the severity and frequency of my heart symptoms and my cataplexy attacks. This is a miracle! For the first time in my adult life I feel like I am getting better! I can see actual tangible evidence of an improvement in my health. That's not to say that I am cured, by any means. I have a LONG way to go before I could ever consider referring to myself as healthy. And there are still serious health issues involving my heart and liver that need to be addressed. But I believe I am on the right path. And that includes continuing to rid my body of mold, mildew, and fungus; getting off as many pharmaceutical drugs as possible, putting only the purest, natural substances into my body - whether it be food, beauty products, cleaning products, etc.; and supplementing with high quality vitamins and nutritional supplements, tailored to my particular conditions and symptoms.

This is absolutely the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, but I am convinced that I am doing the right thing. And I believe that anyone dealing with a chronic health issue can benefit from the information at Know the Cause and from Doug Kaufmann. Please continue to keep me and my husband in your prayers as this continues to be one of the most difficult times in our lives.

This I can say with 100% assurance, though: God's promises are true, and He is faithful. Take Him up on His offers:

"Call to me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things,which you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." James 1:5

Construction Zone

"...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6

You may have noticed that my blog is undergoing a facelift right now, so please try not to judge the content by the current layout. Not being an html wizard, I haven't figured out yet how to adjust Blogger's 2-column template to work with my new 3-column background. It makes it pretty difficult to read the blog content right now if you're actually viewing the blog itself, rather than reading it through your RSS feed, email, or Facebook. If anyone reading this takes pity on me and knows how to fix this, I welcome your assistance.

Actually, my entire body is also "under construction" right now. I'm doing a major detoxification of my gastrointestinal system, and I'm also following a very strict dietary protocol to rid my body of mold, mildew, and fungus. I know that probably sounds pretty bizarre - it did to me when I first started hearing about it - but I've begun to understand that most illness and disease comes from fungi infiltrating tissues and organs in the human body. The reason we don't know about it is simply that medical schools mostly focus on bacteria and viruses being the cause of disease. They simply do not teach doctors about mycology, the study of mold, mildew, and fungus. Don't believe me; research it for yourself. Read The Fungus Link by Doug Kaufmann, and check out his website and/or TV show, "Know The Cause." Go to http://www.knowthecause.com to find out where to watch his TV show in your area. You can also watch the show live on the website.

So, please don't judge MY content based on MY layout either. I'm a work in progress, and it's going to be a long, hard road. I believe God has lead me here and that His hand is guiding my steps. And I believe that this path leads to a healthier future for me. Please continue to pray for my healing and for deliverance from the oppressive world of medicine and pharmaceutical drugs. I can't wait to see what God has in store!