My Flirtation with Keto: What I Learned and Why I'm not Afraid of Fat Anymore!

I remember when I hit 100 pounds. I don't remember the age, but I remember I was being weighed at a doctor's appointment. I was starting to be self-conscious about my body because the girls at school were starting to get a little snarky about looks and weight. It must have been around 4th, 5th or 6th grade. This was in the 1970s! I can't even imagine what it's like for girls in this day and age of body shaming! 

Anyway, I remember feeling mortified about being 100 pounds and I'm thinking I might have started the dieting yoyo from that point on. That would be about 40 years of dieting on and off. Sheesh. I've never been extremely overweight, but I know at which point my body and mind feel good and I've rarely been at that target. Of course most of my "diets" have revolved around low fat which is what we've all been taught for the past 50 or so years since American's weight (and health problems) has creeped up and up into the danger zone. It wasn't until about five years ago that I started thinking of my overall chronic health conditions and started working with Chris Kresser to solve my health issues. He described the process as "peeling an onion": years of upon years of bad choices + a parasite added in had gotten me to the point of needing to solve my unhealthy body once and for all.

Although I was turned off a little bit about the "paleo" term at the time, I liked that he was more about finding out what would make my own body feel better and getting down to my own health issues to resole them, but yes, it did require a paleo "reset" which is basically an elimination diet. We worked together and the chronic conditions that I blamed on "my bad luck body" slowly (and not so slowly) lifted. Here's a list:

  • Indigestion (for twenty years)
  • SI joint pain (back pain) (for eight years)
  • Sinus headaches bordering on migraines (for twenty years)
  • Restless legs
  • Excess weight
  • Joint pain
  • Fatigue (for twenty years)
  • Low sex drive

Quite a laundry list, huh? But, I worked through most of this with Chris. Got rid of the parasite and pretty much all of the other conditions until I had enough clarity and energy to want to start sharing this natural healing with others which is why (and how) I got the energy up to start The Healing Farm.

Fast forward to 2017 (my 50th year) and I'm now completely in tune to the food and drink choices I make and how they effect my body. I try to keep to the following:

  • Mostly gluten free
  • Mostly dairy free
  • Mostly sugar free
  • Low caffeine
  • Low alcohol
  • Mostly whole foods eating, mostly organic and mostly grass-fed

It's not been easy to get to this point, but every time I go overboard and "off the wagon" as they say, my chronic conditions creep back. The back and joint pain kick in, I wake up with the sinus headaches, I get a pimple (or two) and sometimes I even get sick (a cold!). Frustrating, but in reality I know when I screw up and I know when I screw up badly, so slowly as I learn to hate having these conditions come back, I've learned to be MOSTLY sticking to what works for me.

The piece of the puzzle I have not yet figured out is the fluctuating weight issues. I came close to hitting that optimal weight when I worked with Chris, but it has slowly been creeping back and I've gone up and down since. After the last THF retreat, a few of the retreat participants and I got together and one of them told me about Keto and the "Keto Clarity" book by Jimmy Moore. She had lost 30 pounds and felt great. But what really caught my interest was that she said she felt "sharp". Since peri menopause kicked in I have not felt "sharp". In fact, I'm not sure I've felt "sharp" since maybe my early twenties. There was a period of time when I first started taking my business classes and started thinking about The Healing Farm that I felt energized and on fire, but I'm not sure if I ever felt "sharp". She explained that one of the concepts behind keto is that the brain feeds on fat. The more "good" fats you give it, the sharper it will become.

This intrigued me even more than the potential weight loss. Since I have Alzheimer's in my family, I'm more than interested in ANYTHING having to do with keeping my brain healthy. I thought of my father who was diagnosed almost two years ago and thought about his low fat diet since the mid 1980s after he had his heart surgery. His diet at home was low fat, but also a lot of carbs and sugar. When he went out, it was all bets off and high fat, sugar AND carbs AND saturated fats. I was a little scared because I've been the same way for years. I decided I wanted to test out keto for myself and weight loss WAS a big incentive.

Doing a "keto" eating plan is hard. Keto is basically VERY low carb (almost no carb), VERY high fat and pretty low protein. I think I may have had an easier time if I could have eaten more protein, but I felt like I was constantly eating too much protein which resulted in not being in a ketogenic state enough to warrant eating all that fat. As a result, I didn't lose as much weight as I had hoped. BUT, there were three benefits that came out of trying the keto thing:

1 - For the first time in my "dieting" life, I didn't dream about buffet tables of food. I'm not kidding. Every time I would go on a low fat/ low calorie diet, I would dream about buffets of food. It's a little embarrassing admitting that, but this time I was losing weight and not feeling deprived. That was an eye opener that my body did indeed like fat. Once I got through the first week of not knowing what I could eat and feeling miserable and headachey, I loaded up on the fat and felt better and didn't dream of buffets. To be fair to Jimmy, he does give some good ideas on what to eat, but I just didn't feel comfortable eating butter with cheese rolled around it. Plus I'm sensitive to dairy, so I was avoiding that anyway! Bottom line was that I had a hard time figuring out what to eat. Plus I also didn't feel comfortable eating so few fruits and healthy carbs, but if I had stuck with it longer, all that probably would have been figured out.

2 - I had more energy and mental clarity than I've had in a LONG time (when I was in a ketogenic state). There were a handful of golden days and hours when I did reach a ketogenic state and I was on fire. I felt like I could accomplish anything. It was great. This was AFTER I started using MCT oil in my coffee though. After three weeks of not really hitting the ketognic state, I read online that MCT oil is key. It really does work and I only use one TBS. in my coffee in the morning (eased into it starting with a tsp, working my way up). What is MCT oil? Says Dr. Axe (read more here)

“MCTs” are medium-chain triglycerides, a form of saturated fatty acid that has numerous health benefits, ranging from improved cognitive function to better weight management. Coconut oil is one great source of MCTs — roughly 62–65 percent of the fatty acids in coconut oil are MCTs — but recently more concentrated “MCT oils” have also been growing in popularity."

3 - I DID lose some weight. In fact, I've lost about 12 pounds in three months and the three months have included two vacations in which I was most definitely NOT in a ketogenic state.  

BUT, once I starting seeing the summer fruit at the farmer's market, I decided there was no way I was going to be able to keep up with a total keto plan. The peaches and cherries just looked too good! I also was getting headaches here and there still, my restless legs were kicking in every time I was not producing enough ketones and when I DID go off the plan, I kind of went bananas. That was a good indicator that this was not going to be sustainable for me.

I just finished up with Magdalena's "Cooking for Balance" program and am inspired again to add back in a small portion of healthy fruits and carbs into my diet. I've learned from the keto plan that I'm no longer afraid of fat. In fact, I lost some weight, felt satisfied AND felt great when I WAS eating a lot of fat so feel confident that I can rein in my tendencies to go overboard when eating if I continue to eat enough fat and not deprive myself of anything. I've also learned to rein in the carb intake too. Although I may add in a sweet potato here and there, it will probably only be a half or a very small one. I may even start adding in small portions of quinoa or rice to my stir fry meals. I'm not drinking nearly as much wine (although I did go overboard on vacation) and I'm definitely much more satisfied with eating nuts and seeds and not craving anything sweet or full of trans fats. I'm also not dreaming of buffet lines, so all-in-all, I think the keto trial was worth it in the end.

Now let's see if I can reach that weight sweet spot, but more importantly, I'm going to incorporate some of the "Cooking for Balance" tips by nutritionist Magdalena Wszelaki to tackle some final stubborn issues having to do with hormone balance and possibly SIBO. Maybe then I will reach my optimal health state once and for all. It's a work-in-progress that is taking several years, but as Chris said it's like peeling an onion. I hope that soon, I'll get to that core!

Come to the fall 3rd Act Retreat to immerse yourself in going through big change and at the same time kick off an elimination diet with a great whole food/paleo type meal plan and a nutrition lecture. The nutrition and eating plan will ALWAYS be a big part of EVERY Healing Farm retreat!

The Healing Farm - Cultivating Practical Wellness.

 

 

 

Old Fashioned Salmon Cakes - It's What to do with Leftover Salmon!!!!

My ex Mother-in-Law used to make these and I remember going over to her house the first time she made them and dreading sitting down to eat. I grew up hating fish for dinner, between the Fridays of Lent, fish sticks, and the dreaded whole cooked fish fresh caught by my dad on Lake Michigan that day (believe me, as a kid a whole cooked fish sitting on the table is not a welcome sight.) I've never been a fan of fish for dinner no matter HOW good it is for you. But as I've aged and started learning about the benefits of Omega 3s, I've been trying to cook more fish. Especially salmon, since that's the most satisfying to me and loaded with Omega 3s.

BUT, if I don't buy the tiny amount fresh at the farmer's market (expensive for such a small amount), I buy the packaged wild caught Alaska salmon at Trader Joe's which is two HUGE fillets. Even though I would be MORE than happy to eat a whole gigantic fillet without a problem, I'm trying to watch portions, so end up with leftovers. Especially if my equally non-fish-loving husband decides to make a frozen pizza instead. Unless I put it in a salad for lunch the next day, it's not very appealing to eat leftover salmon, so remembering the old days at my ex mother-in-law's and I looked up a salmon cake recipe. I'm HOOKED!

Even if your family LOVES broiled/grilled salmon for dinner, consider cooking extra to make these either the next day or freeze the cooked salmon and make the cakes another time. I've made the recipe a little more paleo-friendly (paleo mayo and gluten free panko). It's not 100%, but it's pretty close for those of you who are not 100% paleo like me. These are really tasty when you're hankering for something lightly fried and salty for dinner and really great heated up with salad and 1/2 sweet potato the next day for lunch.

Yumskells!!!! Enjoy!

"Let Your Heart Speak to Other's Hearts" | THF Women's Health Retreat

Thank You to All Involved in The Healing Farm's Women's Health Retreat!

"Let your heart speak to other's hearts." Found on a yogi tea bag, yes. But it's one I saved for a couple of years and had posted on my magnet board in my office. After the women's health retreat I truly found out what that meant to me in my quest to find myself and my new career journey. Obviously it spoke to me in my time of great change and I felt moved to to keep it. As I watched several women working diligently on their "manifestation" boards at the retreat and then thrilled at the results, I realized I wanted to do one too. I didn't get a chance to complete it (I barely started going through magazines when I had to run off to set something up for the next scheduled activity - or three!) so when I took my "staycation" the week after the retreat ended, I had a chance to work on this worthwhile exercise. The yogi tea bag quote finally found its place. So did the fortune cookie fortune that's been taped to my refrigerator door for a couple of years ("Your talents will be recognized and suitably rewarded.").

What the incredible group of women at the retreat showed me is that I truly do want "my heart to speak to other's hearts". On day one of the retreat when I was introducing myself and the team, I mentioned that I am not a specialist. I'm a generalist. That some of the women at the retreat would surely know more than me about health and nutrition, but what's becoming increasingly clear is that I like bringing people together. I want to bring educators and practitioners together in a beautiful setting to teach natural health solutions participants can build into their everyday lives. I want to share the joy and healing journey in my heart with anyone who will join me and I realized that I could actually do that in this new career journey. I learned as much from the women at this retreat as they learned from the talented educators and practitioners I brought together in the beautiful place that is Mayacamas Ranch. So at long last, I want to share my absolute gratitude to the participants, the team and Mayacamas Ranch!

The Participants

Thirty beautiful women and five team members. I was blown away by the enthusiasm, sharing, encouragement, breakthroughs and loveliness of the group of women who came together for this retreat. We welcomed women of all ages even though the retreat was focussing on menopause and indeed we had a wide range of ages. My guess? Maybe from early 30s to early 70s. What a wealth of knowledge coming from these wise and wonderful women. Old friendships were deepened, new friendships were forged. We ate, we hiked, we laughed and we cried. We had mothers of young children who weren't even close to menopause but who wanted to sincerely learn how they could best prepare their bodies for big changes (or who just needed to rest with clean food, exercise, fresh air and a digital detox). We had mothers of young children who were getting close to menopause, we had women who had never had children, we had grandmothers. We had cross-generational inspiration, we learned together and we had fun! We were all already talking about the next retreat so I need to get one on the calendar!

If you want to read a participant's take on the retreat, I was overwhelmed with gratitude and emotion when I read Sarah Kay Hoffman's blog post. She wrote it the day after the retreat (even with THREE kids to tend to at home!). You can read it here:

Dr. Amy Nett, M.D., Functional Medicine Practitioner and One of the Smartest People I've Ever Met

Dr. Amy Nett Clinician with Chris Kresser

Geez this woman knows her stuff. Of course I shouldn't have been surprised that one of Chris Kresser's staff clinicians at The California Center for Functional Medicine would be so knowledgeable. At last year's retreat we had the brilliant and passionate Chris Kresser himself as our keynote speaker and were all blown away by how knowledgeable his staff nutritionist Kelsey Kinney of "Healthy Gut, Healthy Life" was. How fortunate were we this time around to listen to two well-planned and informative lectures by Dr. Nett about what you can do to best prepare your body for menopause through nutrition and also about hormone balance. I wasn't surprised that Dr. Nett added several new patients to her calendar during and after the retreat! THANK YOU Dr. Nett!

Emily Boorstein: Life Coach and Creator of the "Inner Fitness" Program

Life Coach Emily Boorstein of the Inner Fitness Program

Life Coach Emily Boorstein of the Inner Fitness Program

This was Emily's second time speaking at a THF retreat and there's a good reason for it. I recognized through my own journey through midlife that it wasn't just my body going through major changes. I felt like in addition to Dr. Nett's contributions about the physical aspect, we needed to also cover the emotional experience of midlife. Emily graciously covered life-lessons learned through motherhood for all the mothers in the audience, but all of those lessons learned early on through her own personal growth translated well into how to gracefully and solidly tackle the emotional roller coaster that is midlife and menopause. Every time I hear Coach Emily speak, I pick up little nuggets of information that later on end up applying to (pick one or all): a wake up in the middle of the night panic attack (something I never experienced before menopause), a stewing in the shower about something my husband said that made me mad, a sitting in traffic and wanting to flip someone off or even an emotional transition to a new president. My favorite tip from Emily that I use all the time in my life is how to not panic. If I feel some kind of emotional turmoil coming on and want to react, I can now reach into my "Coach Emily toolbox", step back and consider whether this is something that is going to end the world or if it's something I can truly tackle without false emotion. I will forever be grateful to Coach Emily for her support, enthusiasm and contributions. She helped me through my true midlife crisis when I realized I was never going to be a mother and she will always be in my heart for opening hers.

Amanda Crutcher: Yoga Instructor/Yoga Therapy/Meditator Extraordinaire

Amanda Crutcher knows anatomy and ohhhh how to work with those yoga therapy balls! She cares so deeply about her participant's safety and bodies. Probably because of her Iyengar yoga background, Amanda really focusses on the physical aspect of yoga making sure her participants understand the postures and the anatomy behind them. It's really good training - especially for beginners and to prevent injury. She also brought out yoga therapy balls at her last class. From a practicality standpoint, using the balls at home (safely) is great. It's like being able to give yourself a massage and is great for deeply loosening those knots. I learned this technique at Rancho La Puerta with tennis balls, but the various sized yoga therapy balls were even better. Amanda also graciously opened up her one hour twice daily meditation practice to all the attendees. This is where her deep spirituality came out. Her calm presence and grace surely comes from her deep meditation practice. Something I hope to explore with her in the future.

Diane Gibbs: Massage Therapy and Feldenkrais

This was Diane's second THF retreat as well. Her talented hands were in great demand. Who wouldn't want a glorious massage by well-trained hands while on a retreat? Diane ended up completely booking up, so I was thrilled to bring on my dear friend (and someone who has done massage on me countless times) Angela Bausch. Thanks so much to Angela for bringing her experienced hands to our retreat!

Diane also brought her love for and practice of Feldenkrais to this retreat. As at the last retreat, a lot of the participants had never heard of Feldenkrais, but most experienced beneficial effects through this gentle movement practice. 

Mayacamas Ranch!

Once again I can't thank the staff at Mayacamas Ranch enough. Miguel once again knocked the paleo ball out of the park with his cooking, the rest of the staff was warm and welcoming and the property - even in the wintertime - was as peaceful and beautiful as ever. Seeing the milky way in the clear winter night sky, the fog in the valley on our early morning hike, the steam coming off of the pond, hearing those funny frogs loud and clear every night when going to bed - and that cozy bed! You can't go wrong with Mayacamas Ranch as your home base for a retreat!

And Then There was Karma.....

Karma Moffit and his Tibetan Bowls

Karma Moffit and his Tibetan Bowls

How do you top off what you know may be an enlightening weekend for your participants? I always say I don't want The Healing Farm to be too hippie dippy or new age and then I bring in a man named Karma. But, I've been going deeper into my own meditation practice as I move through this midlife of mine and all its changes and have been inspired by the crystal bowls meditations I've experienced at Rancho La Puerta. Since I was introducing various forms of meditation into this women's retreat I thought it might be nice to top off the last night with a crystal bowls meditation. My intention was to have Danielle Hall of Sound Embrace perform, but she ended up being unavailable. Through other contacts I found this man named "Karma" who plays tibetan bowls. He performs all over the world and had even performed at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco for a labyrinth meditation a few nights before the retreat. Now this is a man who has lived life and he didn't hesitate to tell us all about it. I love great characters who embrace life and whatever comes their way and although I might have been able to do without the high pitched conch shell blowing, it was great to be in a room surrounded by women I brought together, surrounded by deep vibrating sounds delivered by someone who has so obviously embraced life fully and taken the less-traveled path. Karma's heart truly speaks to other's hearts. I was so grateful he joined us to top off the retreat.

So what did I get out of The Healing Farm's Women's retreat? Hope and especially ENCOURAGEMENT for the future of The Healing Farm AND This Manifestation Board Illustrating my Hope for My Future and the Future of The Healing Farm.

I think it's no coincidence that this board came out of me on inauguration day, 2017. My hope is for a bright, inclusive and healthy future for all.

I think it's no coincidence that this board came out of me on inauguration day, 2017. My hope is for a bright, inclusive and healthy future for all.

As many times as I've muttered "Namaste" at the end of a yoga class, I've never known what it meant and never bothered to take the time to look it up. Coach Emily taught us that one of the translations is "The light in me sees the light in you."  I feel like we all experienced this at the women's retreat. I certainly experienced sharing my heart and felt like my guests shared theirs with me. I think I'm ready now to take the next steps with The Healing Farm. It's still scary and I still have doubts but when a dear friend sends you a link to Sia's "The Greatest" when you express fear of the next step you listen to her heart speak to your heart and so it goes and so it goes. Let your own midlife be a midlife renaissance no matter how scary it might be. Moving beyond your fears and your comfort zone will help you breakthrough to be your "greatest". 

See you all at the next retreat! 

All of my love and heart - Julie

The Healing Farm - Cultivating Practical Wellness!

 

 

Mayacamas Paleo Reset - I couldn't have asked for a better group and outcome!

There is so much I want to say about this retreat, the team and the guests. There's not enough time in the day for me to express my gratefulness, my joy, my feelings and my gratitude. Brennan and I are taking off tomorrow for Mercy Hot Springs for the retreat after the retreat so I'm feeling a bit rushed in posting this so I think I'll just suffice it to say for now that I've come out of the retreat feeling like a new person on so many levels. It's thanks mostly to my guests who shared so much with me last week. Not only about the reasons why they were there, but also the physical and emotional breakthroughs they experienced throughout the week. I wish we did the group shot earlier in the week when we were at a full 30+ people. We're missing so many in this shot, but  a HUGE thank you to my guests. It would not have been the retreat it was without your warmth and enthusiasm!

 

A career change and starting a new business mid-life is not easy and I've had lots of challenges, heartache, joys and breakthroughs along the path of producing this first multi-night retreat. I started a blog last year called "Birthing a Business" which I haven't kept up with much because I was afraid to post about all the truly difficult times, but I feel like last week I really did birth a business. I don't think I'll be afraid to post the challenges and heartache and panic along with all of the achievements because now I truly understand the rewards that come from really putting yourself out there and taking a chance and going outside your comfort zone. I would imagine it's like when people decide to have a baby. You are going into the unknown and you know it's not going to be an easy road, but the growth and rewards that come out of it far outweigh the challenges.

The team that supported me all week was not just professional and incredibly knowledgable, but as I got my two hour delicious massage from Diane Gibbs yesterday, I also realized that every single person on the team: the educators, the practitioners and the Mayacamas staff cared so much for our participants (and me). I really don't think I could have put together a more caring team and it made all the difference in the world. Thank you to:


Chris Kresser for such an inspiring and informative keynote lecture. Most people were there for you and you delivered a million times over. I can't thank you enough for putting your trust and faith in me with your patients and fans. We all want more!!!!


Kelsey Marksteiner of Healthy Gut, Healthy Life

Kelsey Marksteiner of Healthy Gut, Healthy Life. I knew that anyone who works for and with Chris Kresser would be incredibly knowledgable but how could I have known just how brilliant, informed and passionate you really would be. Everyone loved your lectures and for those who had a private consultation, I heard nothing but rave reviews and how much they got out of their sessions.


Diane Sanfilippo of Balanced Bites - What a thrill it was for us all to watch you in action and in person! Also so knowledgable about the paleo diet and cooking and the two dishes you made were so outstanding and soooo doable at home. I couldn't believe a zucchini, tomato salad would be something I would consider bringing to a party - any party, not just for the paleo crowd. Delicious!


A huge thank you to Erin Cookston for planning two yoga classes a day and for your constant smile and enthusiasm! Everyone loved you and your classes and you were one with the program, people and team. Your spirit and talent were felt by all! And Oh my. I just realized I never photographed one of your classes! Ugh!

Coach Emily Boorstein - Inner Fitness

Coach Emily Boorstein - A last minute addition, but I wasn't surprised to see her lectures packed every time. Adding personal/inside growth I realized as the week went on was just as important as feeding our bodies with healing and nutritional foods. Everyone agreed it was a valuable addition to the experience.


Diane Gibbs - I swear I would know who just walked out of a massage session with you based on the dreamy look they had on their face. Your caring, healing hands were also a much-needed addition to the retreat and the Feldenkrais classes you taught I think produced a LOT of Felednkrais converts!


Chris Randle of Oakland Community Acupuncture - I can't tell you how many people told me they went from a treatment with you right to sleep. Your treatments were all the rage and your QiGong series was a great addition of movement meditation. A lot of people agreed that more meditation type activities would be a terrific addition to the "inner fitness" (to use coach Emily's term) portion of the retreat.



The Mayacamas Ranch team and especially our chef Miguel. For a first stab at a paleo retreat - especially one as extreme as a reset - you guys nailed it. A+ all around. I was especially touched on the last day when Miguel told the remaining guests how inspired he was cooking the paleo diet and that he was so inspired he actually ate our meal plan all week and had some of his own physical breakthroughs! I could not have gotten a better compliment and hope to see the whole Mayacamas team again at the NEXT paleo reset retreat!


My Husband Brennan

For his unwavering support and patience.

A Million Thanks to everyone. I'm inspired to move forward with The Healing Farm and The Healing Farm | Retreats because of all of you and if I ever build The Healing Farm property I will create a "Founders" week and invite my first retreat group as an annual reunion!

Much Love - Julie

A Day (or Three) in the Life of the Paleo Reset/Yoga Retreat at Mayacamas Ranch!

I thought it might be fun to post a day or two in the life of the Mayacamas Ranch Paleo Reset/Yoga Retreat which will feature the first week of Chris Kresser's recommended Paleo Reset featured in his book The Paleo Cure

I was fortunate enough to work with Chris directly to work through some pretty major long-term chronic conditions like migraine-like  sinus headaches, chronic back pain, chronic indigestion, fluctuating weight (still haven't quite resolved that one), restless legs, chronic fatigue, low libido, etc. What I attribute to my long-term success is not just my direct work with Chris, but a big part was the paleo-reset. I learned that I have slight allergies to gluten and dairy and have to be careful with my alcohol intake. If I go overboard on any of these things, my conditions start creeping back. 

Let me tell you the reset is not easy, but you CAN get through it (it's a month of your life for lifelong changes in your health and well-being), but  as I went through it I started dreaming of being in a lovely place, exercising every day with people who were also going through the reset AND having someone else do all the cooking! That's when I hatched the plan of the first week of the paleo reset as a retreat and am incredibly happy that Chris agreed to do a keynote at the beginning of the week along with Q&A and booking signing. Then we will have one of Chris' nutritionists, Kelsey Marksteiner with us all week to cheer us on along with two lectures and private consultations by appointment AND a special appearance by Diane Sanfilippo, popular paleo blogger of "Balanced Bites" and author of The New York Times best-selling book "Practical Paleo". What a line-up!

Adding in some wonderful gentle exercise every day (or more rigorous if you choose) and some really great relaxation and pool time, it will be an ideal setting to kick off your reset and life-long changes. Just be sure to get your wine tasting in the Friday and Saturday before the retreat begins and stay tuned for a bit of direction on how to prepare your body for the reset!

Here is a sample of what our days will look like:

Sunday, April 17

4:00 - 6:00        Check in

6:00 - 7:00         Dinner

7:00 - 8:30         Keynote and Q&A with Chris Kresser

8:30 - 9:00         Book signing

Monday, April 18

6:30  -  7:00      Coffee and light snack available

7:00-  7:45        Morning mini-hike

7:30   - 9:00      Breakfast buffet

9:00   - 9:50      Beginner’s progressive yoga

10:00 - 11:30      Intermediate/advanced yoga

12:00 - 12:30      Swim clinic

12:00 - 1:30        Lunch buffet

1:00   - 2:30        Nutrition lecture and Q&A

2:30   -   6:00     Pool time or optional hiking field trip to local state park

6:00   -   8:30     Dinner

8:00   -   9:00     Evening campfire

Treatment appointments and nutrition consultation available by appointment

Tuesday April 18th

6:30  -  7:00      Coffee and light snack available

7:00-  7:45        Morning mini-hike

7:30   - 9:00      Breakfast buffet

9:00   - 9:50      Beginner’s progressive yoga

10:00 - 11:30      Intermediate/advanced yoga

12:00 - 1:30       Lunch buffet

1:00   - 2:30      Cooking Demo and talk with Diane Sanfilippo author of "Practical Paleo"           

2:30   -   6:00    Pool time or optional field trip to local organic garden and farm

6:00   -   8:30    Dinner

8:00   -   9:00    Campfire

Treatment appointments and nutrition consultation available by appointment

 

I Call Them "Meat Cakes"

Finished product!

Finished product!

My husband Brennan calls them "meat cupcakes". I found this recipe recently in Shape Magazine. Christmas Abbott is the author of "The Badass Body Diet" and although I wasn't familiar with her (she's a Crossfit celebrity and although I think Crossfit is a great workout, it wasn't for me!) I may look into her cookbook given how much I LOVE this recipe!

These things are great. They are:

  • a great snack
  • a quickie breakfast on-the-run (eat them cold!)
  • a good addition to a lunch salad (seen above although I usually cut them up into bite-sized pieces and toss them into the salad)
  • nice addition to a morning egg scramble
  • if you need a quickie dinner, heat them up and serve them with salad, veggie and mashed potato and it's like a meatloaf dinner!

What I love is that they are low-fat (ground turkey!), you can do any kind of variation with added seasoning, you can add any kind of veggie, they are super easy to make and REALLY they are so convenient!

Here's the recipe (remember that I usually stick to grass/veggie-fed and organic ingredients):

  • 1 pound ground turkey
  • couple of handfuls of chopped broccoli
  • 1/4-1/2 diced yellow onion (I bet green onion would be good too!)
  • chopped pitted kalamata olives (this is so key - they add a yummy salty taste)
  • any combo of seasoning - I added fleur de sel - I bet herbs de provence would be a good addition

Mix everything together and divide into a cupcake tin - the first time I greased the tin, but realized I didn't have to do that. Bake in a 350 degree oven and viola! Yummy!

SHARE YOUR FAVORITE VARIATION IN THE COMMENTS SECTION!

The Prep

The Prep

Store or freeze in an airtight glass container

Store or freeze in an airtight glass container



The Healing Farm Retreats: Paleo Reset at Mayacamas Ranch, April 17-24, 2016

Mayacamas Ranch will be the gorgeous setting of the first large-scale retreat offered by The Healing Farm {Retreats}. I am more than thrilled that functional medicine practitioner Chris Kresser will be our keynote speaker and we will feature the first seven days of a paleo “reset” as featured in Chris’ New York Times best selling book: “The Paleo Cure”.

Nestled in the Mayacamas mountains just outside of CalistogaMayacamas Ranch will be the perfect setting for this affordable holistic wellness retreat. On the property our participants will enjoy organic and grass-fed meals and snacks, holistic health and nutrition lectures, an organic garden tour, cooking demonstrations, daily hikes and yoga, plenty of electronics-free relaxation and pool time and optional add-ons like a field trip to a local grass-fed cattle ranch, massage and acupuncture treatments.

Although I would hope that participants will want to immerse themselves in the calm and relaxation of our retreat and stay put most of the week, the area surrounding Mayacamas Ranch is world class Napa Valley! With the sweet town of St. Helena, warm spring pools and mud baths in nearby Calistogaand loads of additional options for hiking there will be plenty of extra curricular activities to explore.

A few shots from Mayacamas Ranch in the wintertime:

Naturopath Chris Kresser and "Your Personal Paleo Code"

As I continued my healing path, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to holistic health practitioner, Chris Kresser author of “Your Personal Paleo Code” which is now out in paperback and renamed “The Paleo Cure”. You can go to Chris’ website at www.chriskresser.com to learn so much more about Chris’ incredible naturopathic teachings. Join his forum, listen to his podcasts, get on his e-mail blast because this man is full of healing information! What I loved about Chris’ approach is how realistic he is about lifestyle changes. He knows it’s hard to make major changes for your long-term health goals so is realistic in his approach. I would more than encourage you to read his book “The Paleo Cure” :

I was fortunate enough to be able to consult with Chris personally about all of my chronic conditions listed in my Fast Forward Three Years post and he encouraged me to try a “paleo reset” – a concept described in detail in his book. My heart sank a little when he first suggested this because I thought of paleo as such a trend. I was more than thrilled when he explained his concept about your “personal” paleo code and his “paleo reset” concept. Basically it’s a month-long elimination diet in which you embrace the paleo eating habits (but not quite as strict) for a month, see how you feel and then start adding different food categories back in (e.g. – dairy, gluten, etc) and then see if any of your old chronic conditions start popping up. This was a concept I could wrap my head around! At the time he hadn’t written his book yet, so gave me some detailed instructions and set me free.

Lo and behold, I discovered I had a very slight gluten allergy – certainly not to the degree of Celiac disease, but enough that I realized what was causing all of my manageable but uncomfortable chronic conditions. I added some things back in but in much more moderation (low lactose dairy, some whole gluten-free grains, a bit of caffeine, red wine, etc) but discovered that every time I ate gluten my old chronic conditions would start popping up. It has taken me a long time (three years!) and I still break down and eat gluten once in a while, but when I do my ears get the feeling of being under water. If I really go overboard, I inevitably get a full-blown cold. Even more than the cold, I get indigestion, I get bloated, I get sinus headaches, my chronic back pain gets worse. It’s really amazing and it’s all about INFLAMMATION. That danged chronic problem! If your body is constantly fighting against an invader (an allergy like gluten or dairy), your immune system is going to be constantly working against it and will weaken, allowing inflammation in and – aack – will allow all those pesky other things to start rearing their ugly heads!

I encourage you to read Chris’ book and visit his site and hope that someday The Healing Farm – Retreat Series will feature Chris and his realistic approach! I plan on posting more about my own healing journey and the small things I do to keep the inflammation in my body to a minimum, but Chris Kresser and his healing practices have done more for me in my life than anything else – bar none. After 25 years of chronic conditions, I know how I can keep them at bay. That’s a big deal.