Both Food and Thoughts - Recipe philosophy

My recipe philosophy is they be no fuss, minimal cleanup, and always use fresh, organic ingredients. My father, his family were all diabetics, so I use a minimal amount of sugar as well. (more on sugar later). My advice to someone who can't afford all organic, start with organic fats as fat retains chemicals that you don't want to ingest. Fats are important for your brain health which includes your mental health.

My recipes are mostly my own. Of course any recipe can be found online and are sometimes copied from one location to another. Recipes are always "tweaked", a little change here or there for ingredients that are preferred. Some of mine have their roots in other recipes but I will mention the original source if so. Some are just recipes passed throughout generations, fund raiser cookbooks, etc.

With all the troubles I've had with weight, and various health issues, I've returned to focusing on my degree attained in Food Science and Nutrition. Many of my troubles started in the late 1990's, which as I've discovered, is about the time that the food industry began adding a lot of extra chemicals to food products starting with MSG. Now that I no longer eat that food, and am recovering from Small Intestinal Bacterial Overflow (SIBO) my recipes all avoid added chemicals.

I've transitioned to completely organic foods and avoid all GMO's. With family members who have cancer or lost the fight with cancer, organic is something I strongly believe in. While the science  community tells us that GMO structures may be no different that the original organism, they have impacted our environment, changed farm practices so that soil no longer has the nutrients that get passed onto the plant and may also have impacted our gut health. The increased use of glyphosate (round-up) is destroying our heath.

Whether you follow Paleo, Blood type, or any "diet", the main approach is to eat the best ingredients you can afford. You can eat organic now and pay a little extra in your grocery budget.  Or not and pay a lot later in medical costs or serious health conditions, including obesity, cancer, heart disease, diabetes and auto-immune disorders.

I believe that obesity is no longer a simple calorie/exercise issue. I think the chemicals in foods are causing food cravings that lead to increase calorie consumption and slowing metabolism at the same time. So when you try to lose weight these foods are basically sabotaging your efforts.

If you aren't trying to lose weight my recipes all support better health using the most updated information on nutrition knowledge. This knowledge is always changing as more research is completed. It's important to note that the fund source of the research should always be considered as the food industry has strong influences on what does and doesn't get published. Case in point the sugar industry suppressing for years that sugar was more detrimental to heart health and pushed that dietary Cholesterol was the culprit. Nutritional advice is still slow to recognize that sugar rather than cholesteral in meats, eggs, etc., causing more health issues. This is due in part to the heavy influence of the pharmaceutical industry that is heavily invested in cholesterol lowering medications.

So, you can see that my recipe philosophy is influenced toward creating nutritious, health conscious food that doesn't rely on factory prepared foods yet is still easy to prepare.

Both Food and Thoughts - My food journey

After numerous attempts to lose weight, I finally discovered the controversy over the so-called "normal" range for Thyroid TSH levels. I looked through my past blood tests to the first time I remember having one due to feeling chronically fatigued and the beginning of my weight gain. Sure enough my TSH was on the high end of the normal range.

Off to see my Doctor and get her opinion on the whole TSH levels and whether Thryoid medication. After reviewing my blood work, she prescribed Armour Thyroid (T4/T3). I immediately felt better. Dose adjustments ensued but when I still didn't feel completely normal, she added a small dose of Synthroid (Levothryoxine). This combination is still not recognized by conventional medicine, but it definitely works for me. I'd been previously diagnosed with Fibromyalgia but that along with the fatigue went away. I started sleeping through the night and woke up feeling refreshed, not as I'd been feeling for years, as if I'd barely slept, waking up groggy and no energy.

Once I started the new medication combinations, the difference was like feeling I had been moving through mud and now could move with ease. My energy levels returned and I was able to continue exercising which had almost ceased due to the lack of good sleep and fatigue.

Also at this time I was entering menopause, no bad hot flashes, but definitely had "brain fog". I'd always been able to remember conversations and what I had read easily. Now I couldn't remember 2 tasks walking from my boss's office to my desk without writing them down!

Back to my Doctor and she put me on a compounded Bio identical Estrogen, hormone cream. All my hormones were low, including testosterone, which yes, women have as well as men. There are ties between your female hormones and your thyroid, so it's good to have all looked at to find the best medical approach for you.

I'm thankful everyday for this combination of medicine that is working for me. That said, each person is different, so you have to work with a Doctor willing to be open to hormone supplementation and explain the risks and benefits. There are risks and not all should take the hormones. Finding your optimal health solution is worth taking the time.