cholesterol and triglycerides - in my opinion

I was recently asked for advice on how to get a person's Triglycerides down.  So I thought I would share the information on this blog.....

Like many Americans, I battle high cholesterol.  I exercise, eat well and overall live a healthy lifestyle ... yet my numbers can reach up to 260 if i don't watch what I eat.  Cholesterol and Triglycerides give our body the energy it needs.  They basically sit and wait for you to burn enery so they can re-build your cells.  However, if you don't burn the calories and fat they turn into high cholesterol and triglycerides.

In order to get these numbers under control, which I have done naturally, you need to monitor your diet and eliminate sugars.  I love to bake and my cholesterol numbers prove it :(  I find that my waist measurements directly relate to my cholesterol numbers.  If I am not exercising and my waist fills out, even though I am not putting on weight, my cholesterol increases. 

Overall, keeping your cholesterol numbers down fits my way of life.  If you eat foods that come from the earth, your body can digest them.  If your body can digest the food it is heathier and has less issues.  Man made ingredients cause digestive problems increasing your risk for medical problems (in my opinion); allergies, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity.  Throw out that box and make your food from scratch!

Tips to keep your cholesterol down:
Keep foods that come from a box or package to a minimum
Try not to indulge on foods high in sugar, i.e. ice cream, pastry, baked goods
Don't eat refined carbs, eat whole grain bread, pastas, etc. 
Eat grains versus refined carbs.  i.e. eat oatmeal instead of cereal, eat quinoa instead of pasta.  Grains come from the earth and are easier to digest than man made foods with additives and preservatives.
I drink apple cider vinegar tea daily, this has helped.  It cleans my body of toxins and excess waste and also boosts my immune system.
Some people take fish oil, the studies show this helps.  I do not take this.
Exercise most days of the week, and make sure you get your heart rate up!

Good Luck!

so many vegetables!

Do you ever wonder what to do with all of the extra vegetables in your fridge?  I often need to clean out before my next CSA is delivered.  This week I made a delicious concotion that was similar to a stuffed pepper and thought I would share!

First sautee the vegetables in olive oil. I used light green peppers, green peppers and an jalepeno (basically any peppers you have in the fridge), onion, garlic, and lots of diced tomatoes (I used everything I had, mostly cherry tomatoes)

In another pan I cooked 1 lb ground beef with 1 - 2 T worcestershire sauce and more garlic.  This recipe would taste good with any protein, beans, chicken, you name it.  But after eating chicken for 5 days I needed red meat :)

And in yet another pan I cooked 1/2 c quinoa with 1 1/4 c water.  You cook quinoa like rice, bring the quinoa and water to a boil and then reduce heat and let cook for 10 - 15 minutes.  i cook mine until the "eye" pops out but some people like theirs a little more crunchy.

Once everything is cooked add to one pan and let the flavors simmer for about 10 minutes or until you are ready to eat!

I just invested in a dishwasher which has greatly reduced my cleanup time :)

Potato and Leek soup

I know soup is a little out of season but I had tons of potatoes to use up and got leeks in my CSA last thursday!  Since I am not much of a soup person I decided to make a hearty soup, I believe that food should be chewed :)  This soup was creamy and the potatoes added a heartiness to the soup.  I picked up a loaf of crusty sourdough bread and it made this meal perfect!

1/2 c butter - next time I will use 1/4 c
a few medium leeks - I used about 8 small leeks
2 cloves garlic - I think I will double next time
1 T cornstarch
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
4 cups peeled and diced potatoes - I used yukon gold and some red potatoes
2 cups cream/half and half/milk - I used 2% milk
salt and pepper

In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter.  Cook leeks with salt and pepper until soft (10 - 15 min).  Add the garlic for about a minute, you will smell the garlic when it is done.
wisk in the cornstarch
wisk in the stock slowly
add the potatoes and bring to a boil
add the cream/milk and salt and pepper to taste
simmer until potatoes are soft, about 30 minutes

I ate about half and froze the other half for a cool fall dinner :)

whole chicken roaster in the slow cooker

Over the weekend I had a whole chicken that I needed to cook but didn't have the time to roast it in the oven as usual.  Plus it's been a little warm here and I am trying not to use my oven if at all possible.  So I decided to try it in the slow cooker.  This chicken turned out AMAZING!  The flavors steamed into the chicken meat and it was so tender it fell right off the one.  YUM!  And as usual, I used up the ingredients from my fridge.  Here is what I did:

I cut up 2 onions and the "wild" celery (it was a dark green celery that is a little more bitter than celery you buy in the store) and layered it in the bottom of the slow cooker.
I cleaned out the cavity of the chicken and rinsed well.
I stuffed the chicken with a lemon, a lime, garlic cloves and tarragon.  (again, using the ingredients I had in the fridge).
I covered the slow cooker with aluminum foil because the lid wouldn't fit and cooked for 8 hours.

Over the week we ate chicken in lots of ways; chicken with cous cous, chicken salad, chicken and mashed potatoes ... there were lots of leftovers since this was a 5 lb roaster which is quite large for a pasture raised chicken.  Enjoy!