Quinoa 'Oatmeal' Breakfast... In 5 min or less!

Breakfast this morning... Quinoa in warm almond milk with pecans and freeze dried blueberries from Trader Joes. I ran out of fresh fruit. This is a great version of oatmeal for those who miss it on Candida Clear or anyone looking for a healthy quick breakfast option!

What I do is make 2 or 3 cups of quinoa each week and keep it in the fridge so it's ready to eat. Then I don't have to sit and make it each morning or evening because it takes about 30 minutes to make. I have it already made so I just have to quickly heat it up! (Not in a microwave... Right :) ) So my breakfast takes 5 min to heat up and then I am good to go! Quick as that.

Side note: fresh fruit tastes better in this but the Trader Joes freeze dried blueberries and raspberries are great treats and snacks. They have no added sugar or preservatives (nitrates, nitrites, sulfates, sulfites, and many others). The only ingredients are blueberries or raspberries. These are more than likely at other stores but when looking make sure they have NO added sugar or preservatives in them... its actually pretty hard to find. Try these ones and enjoy!

Natural Neosporin! Great for adults and kids!

Silver Shield gel is an amazing product by Nature Sunshine that has many different uses (it's antiviral, antibacterial, and slightly antifungal).. It's great for any cuts, scrapes, breakouts on skin, insect bites, skin rashes, diaper rash, etc. Basically it's perfect for any topical skin issue (especially on the little ones). It can also be used to get rid of yeast infections! Women keep reading below... :) (We have it at the office or you can order online... Visit www.drcarolynmaxfield.com for more info)

For Yeast Infections
Put silver shield gel on a tampon. It works even better if you put 1/2 of a probiotic capsule on it too (just sprinkle it on the Silver Shield gel). This is because probiotics are the 'good' bacteria and help to get rid of the candida (aka yeast aka 'bad' bacteria). It's all natural, works amazingly, and there is no need for anymore nasty Monistat! Also for those of you who get recurrent yeast infections it means you more than likely have candida throughout your body too... Call the office at 615-656-3558 to learn more and find out how to get rid of them permanently through diet and supplementation!

Weight Loss and Protein in the Morning

I was listening to a conference call yesterday and learned something interesting to help promote and maintain weight loss...

Eat 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up.  It is a lot of protein, however it jump starts your metabolism by promoting and initiating weight loss as well as helps to control your blood sugar levels throughout the day.  It is equivalent to 5 eggs or 4 scoops of the whey protein we have in the office... which is what I will be doing in my morning smoothies (I can only eat so many eggs).  You can use other protein sources but the goal is to get in 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up.  Let us know what you think if you start adding this into your routine!

Pumpkin Almond Flour Muffins (I fixed the ingredients 5/2/13)

I got this recipe from a patient who said they were delicious... and she was right!! This is my breakfast for the rest of the week!  Very moist and a great 'carbohydrate' tasting food for those who miss the breads and pastas.. esp on Candida Clear/Phase 1.

Ingredients
-1 cup almond flour
-1 cup canned pumpkin
-1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
-1/4 cup xylitol (or honey).. I will maybe add 1/3 cup xylitol next time I make them
-2 eggs
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp sea salt

Mix all the ingredients together and bake on 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.  You can line the muffin tin with paper liners or rub coconut oil all around each spot for the muffins so they did not stick.  I always forget to buy muffin liners.. and the coconut oil works great. Bake and enjoy! 

Recipe modified from Nutrition Nut on the Run

Homemade Chocolate! Only 3 Simple Ingredients!

I was in the mood tonight for something sweet.. in particular chocolate.  I didn't have anything at my house and figured I would look up a recipe to try.  I had nothing to loose with the basic ingredients and to my surprise it actually it turned out good!  (No its not a Reese's or Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar... however I really liked it and curbed my chocolate craving!) Mine turned out to be more like a fudge but the longer you freeze it the more it would turn out like a chocolate bar.

Ingredients
-5 Tbs melted coconut oil
-5 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
-2 Tbs Xylitol or Coconut Palm Sugar (For those on Candida Clear- use Xylitol)

Simply mix all the ingredients together.  You can enjoy right away for more of a fudge like texture or put in the freezer for more of a chocolate bar like texture.  I just put my bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes and then it was more solid... It tasted really good!! You could put wax paper on a plate and flatten the batter out for chocolate bars.   I am terrible about food presentation so my chocolate ball that came out of the freezer was good enough for me! Tasted great and that's all that matters :)  Next time I may add a tablespoon of crushed almonds in it... I don't see why that couldn't work.  So I hope you all enjoy this simple, quick, tasty sweet treat like I did!

Cholesterol Myths!!

From Dr. Michael Gaeta
"Reducing blood cholesterol does not reduce cardiovascular disease risk. This is one of the greatest lies foisted upon the planet by the drug industry, that lowering cholesterol will keep you safe. If you just get that number down, everything will be fine. That’s a lie. The average person’s cholesterol level in the US, without medication, is about 220. That’s why Big Pharma created, out of thin air, an upper limit of 200, so everyone would be scared/scammed into taking the drugs. Because the only reliable way to get most people’s cholesterol down below 200 is with drugs. This happened after the upper limit of cholesterol was 330, for decades, until the first statin drug, Mevacor, came out in 1987."

If you or anyone you know is or has ever been on cholesterol medications you need to start taking CoQ10. These medications deplete the CoQ10 in your body as well as other vitamins and minerals. CoQ10 is found in every single cell and used for energy processes (converting food energy to energy the body can use). So if you started taking these medications and noticing your energy decrease... This is why. Quality CoQ10 can be found through Nature Sunshine. Online ordering instructions can be found on my website.

Read more at http://gaetacommunications.com/site/?cat=22&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=twitterfeed

Healthy Simple Dessert

Take as many frozen berries as you would like and put in a skillet with 1 to 2 tablespoons coconut oil.  Put the burner on medium and heat up the berries until they are nice and warm... Thats it!  You can eat the warm berries (which are delicious) and the juice run off which tastes so good too!  I think it tastes nice and sweet but feel free to add some xylitol (or honey for those not on Candida Clear) in it.  When it was cooler outside I used to make this everynight for dessert.  Its a great snack or dessert and an easy one for kids too! (You can also put it over almond flour pancakes...)  Taste it and enjoy :)

Great Snack!

Below is a pic of a healthy and delicious snack that I highly recommend!  They are crunchy peas that have a little spice to them.  They are great for anyone and everyone (esp on Candida Clear) if you missing that 'crunch' in your life.  I eat them all the time!  I found them at Kroger in the health food section but they could easily be in other stores.  Enjoy!

Easy Egg Breakfast Cupcake!

This is another recipe I got from a patient.  Its so simple and tastes really good! It takes 2 minutes to make and you are set for the week.  Perfect for anyone (especially those on Candida Clear).  

Ingredients
12 Eggs
12 Pieces of Bacon or Turkey Bacon (stay away from preservatives.. aka nitrates, nitrites, sulfates, sulfites)

Grease cupcake tin (best to use coconut oil).  Wrap each piece of bacon around each of the cupcake holes.  1 piece of bacon per 1 cupcake hole.  Then crack and put one egg in each cupcake hole.  Bake for 20 minutes on 350 degrees or until the eggs are solid.  Let them cool and then spoon out and enjoy!

You could also add different spices or garlic to them to add different tastes!

I just made them for the week and it was soooo easy and they are yummy! You can store them in the fridge and enjoy throughout the week for an easy breakfast on the go!

Homemade Deodorant... That works! I promise.

For those of you who are new to this.. You want to stay away from aluminum in deodorant. It's a heavy metal that acts as the 'antiperspirant' portion of your deodorant. Anything you put on your skin absorbs into your body including this which is right where the lymphatic system is for the breasts. So why would you want to but a heavy metal right by the area that is getting so much attention for having cancer? If it was me I would do anything to avoid putting toxic stuff on my body. Starting with deodorant.

I have tried about all the aluminum free deodorants out there... Toms (which they are now making some with aluminum! Sad but true. Read the ingredients!), Body Shoppe, Trader Joes and others. I have done plain coconut oil and plain tea tree oil which worked okay. I found the best success with Toms until.. I made this.

We found it on Pinterest claiming to be the best homemade deodorant. (They all have those claims). But it was easy to make and Lori gave it a try. It was true!! It works better than anything else I have ever tried! I will even forget to put it on and have never had a problem once! And with the other brand names I would have to apply twice a day. So bottom line.. Yes I do shower. And yes this stuff works amazing!! And it takes 2 min to make!

Ingredients
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup baking soda
5 to 6 tablespoons melted coconut oil
Optional: 5 to 6 drops of your favorite essential oil (I did tea tree oil, but I think lavender or eucalyptus would be great too!)

Mix together and that's it! I keep it in a glass pyrex jar with a lid in my bathroom. Get a little on your fingers and rub it together so it's more liquid (warms up the coconut oil) and apply! Easy as that. Enjoy!

Rainy day drink

Need a rainy day drink? Simply warm up almond milk or chocolate almond milk and add a little xylitol to make it sweeter. Tastes delicious and warms you right up!

You can also add some peppermint oil to the chocolate almond milk for a different twist on the drink. It's my fav!

(For people on Candida Clear/Phase 1 make sure the almond milk is unsweetened. Look for it on the front of the box.)

Almond Flour, Strawberry, and Basil Muffins

I got this recipe from a patient and finally made them tonight! I didn't have a muffin tin so I decided to make it as cookies instead. Same ingredients but I just cooked them for 10 min instead of what the muffin recipe calls for.

Ingredients
-2 1/4 cup almond flour
-1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
-2 eggs
-1 cup of finely chopped fresh strawberries
-1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
-1/4 cup xylitol (or honey for those not on Candida Clear)
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon sea salt
-2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients together and add in strawberries and basil last. Spoon mixture in muffin tin with paper liners. Bake for 25 min or until top of muffin is golden brown. Cool for 10 min then enjoy!!

For the cookies I did the same stuff but put on a baking sheet and greased it with coconut oil so they didn't stick. I rolled the dough into about 2-3 inch sized cookies and baked for about 10 to 15 min till golden brown. Picture shown below.

They also suggest storing the muffins in the fridge or freezer as leftovers and heat them up when you are ready to enjoy them again!

Enjoy!!

Get rid of that nasty white flour with ALMOND FLOUR!

White flour has no health content... It causes an inflammatory response in your body which most people recognize (or chose to ignore) as bloating or gas.. There are many other terrible things associated with it ranging from altering blood sugar levels, weight gain, digestive issues, etc. but at my practice I see candida issues on almost every patient (thanks to sugars and antibiotics.. But that's a whole different topic) and they all need to steer clear of any flours big time! (Except almond, quinoa, coconut flour)

With candida issues people can not have flours except the ones listed above because it breaks down into sugar and feeds the bad guys.

I have posted a pic of my favorite flour substitute!! It's Trader Joe's Almond Meal. It is around $4 but if you get it at Whole Foods or Kroger it's around $12. Big difference!! I have 8 right now in my cabinet.. There are so many great things you can do with it. Make pancakes, cookies, crackers, bread chicken, etc. I will be doing a lot of recipes in the near future but I wanted to show you all a pic of what I get! The only ingredient in it... Almonds! So healthy for you and finely chopped up to be like flour! So make the switch to ditch the nasty flours and try almond flour for a change :)

And for those of you on Candida Clear there is hope! You can have the starchy things you crave as long as its made with this stuff :)

Tonight's Dinner!

For anyone on Candida Clear or Phase 1 (for my patients) this is a great meal!

Today before work I put 3 chicken breasts in the crock pot and it was soooo good!  You want to wash the chicken off and put in the crock pot with about 1 inch to 2 inches of water (can do organic chicken broth instead of water).  You want it so the top of the chicken breast is NOT covered with water so you can season it.  This will allow the seasoning to bake into the chicken.  After putting the water in with the chicken breast, season it with your favorite stuff.  I did Cajun and sea salt for a little kick.  Then cook it on high for 4 hours... when you come home you will have chicken that is so tender and cooked perfectly!  I took one of the chicken breasts out and put over the hydroponic lettuce (from Costco) with raspberries, pine nuts, olive oil and balsamic vinegar! It was soo amazing and filling! 

Now I can keep the left over chicken breasts for salads, put over quinoa, make in salad wraps, and have it for quick left overs.... It was a great mid week meal and I will be set for the rest of the week!

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!  I was on a walk today thinking about how I can help my patients even more.. I am continuously thinking about how I can improve the practice and make life changes more doable and less overwhelming for everyone.  Then it hit me.. create a blog.  I know these may be overused and I am new to this but I think it will be a great portal for people to get info.. not matter if you are patients or not!

I have had some patients lately that are new to eating healthy and want to change their life but it can be overwhelming.  I plan on sharing good recipes, healthy foods, tips for the home, inspiring stories from patients, and anything else I can think of to help make the world a healthier place!  That's my simple goal in life...  Make people healthier and happier and appreciate life to the fullest.  It's hard to do when you don't feel good, get overwhelmed by work or life, or have no direction or help... That's what this blog is here for and my practice too! 

So feel free to visit www.drcarolynmaxfield.com for more information on what I do at my office!  I love love love what I do and giving people the tools to feel better and take control of their life is the best job in the world! (And I do not take my job lightly... because there are so many people out there feeling sick and tired).  So hopefully you will find this blog helpful, interesting, and possibly learn a few tips that myself and my office manager, Lori, have learned along the way.  Knowledge is power and I hope you find something inspiring in this blog no matter how big or small it is!