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Today, Alice and I went to see one of the pediatricians at her doctor’s practice. While I really like and respect this man (he’s not her normal doctor), he really harped on how she needed to drink lots and lots of cow’s milk. Cow’s milk huh?

Oh and he was specific on the type of cow’s milk. He didn’t mention organic but he was big on “low fat cow’s milk” because “kids don’t need extra fat, and you know…that is what causes heart disease”. Wait, what?! Kids don’t need extra fat? No omega-3s,6s or 9s? No DHA? No EPA? Isn’t that what develops their brains and gives them energy?! And wait, since when did cow’s milk cause heart disease?? There are so many crazy myths out there about cholesterol and/or heart disease!!!

Anyway, I just smiled and nodded as my daughter stared at me with wide eyes.

Now, we all know that animal fat  is high in cholesterol, right?  Right. And it causes heart disease, right? Actually, no, that’s not right.  It absolutely does not cause heart disease. Even Dr. Oz has now come to grips with it…

Dr. Oz video

I was going to do a long post on cholesterol and heart disease but I really think Dr. Oz’s show and some of the links below can explain it better than I can in a short post.

You Tube video

Article 1

Article 2

So, what is the conclusion?

1. High cholesterol is not the primary cause of heart disease.
2. Diets high in saturated fat and cholesterol don’t cause heart disease.
3. Consumption of margarine & hydrogenated oils are linked to heart disease, cancer and many other conditions because it causes inflammation.
4. Sugar damages arteries, increases blood pressure, and ages your organs and yes, it also causes inflammation.

So let’s celebrate cholesterol with some good ole grass fed beef!

So after just getting back in town Friday and then working all weekend, this is what I came home to Sunday night….

Not only did my husband have a great dinner ready, but also he made enough to supplement breakfast, snack or lunch for the week too. Ahhh so nice!!!  I know they aren’t necessarily pretty but man they are good!!! One of my besties shared some with me and the kids last week and we absolutely loved them.

Anyway this is a recipe from Nomnompaleo with a few adjustments. Aside from the Thai Burger I posted at the beginning of summer, this is my favorite burger. Actually, I prefer this one, but it could be because it’s new. It’s tastes almost creamy to me. I think that’s why the kids and I love them so much.

I know, I can hear some of you thinking, “but my kids won’t like them because they’re green”. And that may be true, but they really do taste so good that I think it’s worth a shot. Worst case, you have some fantastic leftovers for the week. Oh and by the way, my husband doubled the recipe so we could have leftovers, but he knew already that we loved them.

GREEN SLIDERS

Ingredients

• 1o oz. frozen chopped spinach
• 1 tbsp Kerrygold (or any grass fed) butter
• 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion (from 1/2 medium onion)
• 1/2 pound mushrooms, finely chopped (can skip fresh mushroom and onions if in a hurry and just use onion powder 1 tsp)
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1 pound grass fed ground beef
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced
• 2 tsp celtic salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Directions

Allow frozen spinach to thaw. Put in colander and strain. You may want to squeeze with hands to really get the water out.

Next, saute finely chopped mushrooms in butter, and then once cooked, put them in a large bowl with the strained spinach. Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix well by hand. Then form small slider sized burgers. Warm your cast iron skillet on medium to medium high heat. Place burgers in pan, flip once they are brown on one side, and continue to cook on the other side until the desired temperature. That’s it. I hope y’all enjoy them as much as we did!

I swear they are sooo much better than they look. They are also fabulous dipped in a tomato or marinara sauce!

Some last quick thoughts…

This weekend’s Prepping Kid for School with Nutrition events went really well.  I hope everyone got some good take-aways and great new lunch and snack ideas for your kids for school.  I really had a lot of fun doing it!

I have had a number of people say they were not able to make  this weekend’s event and wondered if we would offer it again. We’ll aim to do another session sometime this fall but need to figure out a good day/time that will work best with schedules. If you were one of those that told me you wanted to attend but couldn’t, would you please let me know what day/time would work best and we will try to accommodate? That would be so helpful!

Oh and thanks again to Dan from Trader Joe’s for coming out too! That was such a treat!!!

Time is flying! I can’t believe some kids are back in school in just two weeks! Anyway, while it is still the summer I thought I would post a summer staple. Cucumbers and vinegar are always awesome in the summer, but this new recipe really jazzed up this salad and it was a big hit in our house.

Here is what you need:

• 2 large cucumbers or or 4 small Persian cucumbers
• 1-2 tsp celtic salt (for salting the cucumber)
• 4 fresh scallions, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp lemon zest (optional)
• 1/8 tsp pepper

My kids love those little Persian cucumbers from Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods (or even Costco).  They are small, sweet and seedless and make for a great snack alone.

Here is what you need to do for this Cucumber Salad:

1. Peel all of the cucumbers.

2. Add some salt to the cucumbers and let them sit for an hour.

3. Rinse the salt off of the cucumbers, or at least most of it off and put in a bowl.

4. Add the rest of the ingredients, allow to soak in your fridge for a few hours or over night, or eat immediately like we did.

The salad is suppose to sit for at least a few hours in the fridge but we ate it immediately, and it was awesome.

Oh, and the electricity went out (because of a summer rain shower, yet again!) so this was the only thing I could make at the time, and Alice and Tate devoured it in 5 minutes flat. This definitely would have been a good recipe to double.  I’m sure the leftovers would have been even tastier.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

We spent the last week out in the sun on the beach, which was so great and so fun…

But on our drive home, I noticed my forearms looked old..really old, and really wrinkly. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I am leaving my 30’s behind this year…right? Yeah, right.

So for the past 15 or so years I used the strongest sun blocks and rarely got sun on my body. But the past couple of years I have let myself get some sun, and boy it feels good. I think part of me was rationalizing that I need more vitamin D (which I was deficient in somehow, like most people). But, then enters my vanity and well, lately my arms looks like Magda’s from Something About Mary.

So I’m hoping part of the wrinkly “problem” stems from neglecting to moisturize on a daily basis. I am not expecting miracles, but it’s time to work on some preventative measures for myself. I work on nourishing my internal body so much and yet somehow I totally neglect my external, as you can probably tell if you see me often in my regular attire — gym clothes, no make up, and hair up.

So, while this looks like I am posting a recipe with ingredients (see below), these are actually some of the best natural hydrating/age preventative things you can use.

Coconut oil

I have actually used coconut oil on my body for years (and face in the winter) but I just don’t use it as regularly as I should because it can be a little messy on clothes. Fortunately it soaks in fairly quickly and it really does make immediate difference in how your skin looks. It is such a great moisturizer. It also helps strengthen underlying tissues and helps remove excessive dead cell on the skin’s surface that makes your skin rough and flaky in texture. And if you haven’t read my post on coconuts, here are some other benefits of coconut oil that can actually be absorbed by using it on your skin.

Olive Oil

Olive oil is also really great for nourishing dry and aging skin but it unfortunately doesn’t smell quite as good. It also has strong anti-inflammatory properties which is thought to play an important role in skin aging as well. It’s been used for years and years in other countries as an anti-aging remedy, so there must be something to it! I’m going to continue using it as a change from the coconut oil to see which works best on my skin. I’ll report back the results.

Raw Honey

Honey helps keep skin hydrated and fresh and prevents drying, it traps and seals in moisture leaving skin soft and supple. Below are two good post from Bohemian Kate on how to wash your face with honey and why it’s so great:

Post 1

Post 2

I have also heard if you put it on your lips and let it sit and then wash it off, it will make your lips ultra soft.  But for some reason, it didn’t stay on my lips for long.  Yum!

Bio-Oil