The Natural Cure for Diabetes

Y’all know I love to give you the scoop on the incredible foods nature has to offer us, and I’ll continue to do so, but I think I’ll start finding other sources of evidence besides articles on the web.

Over the weekend, I went to a screening of a documentary called “Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days,” and to say was good is the understatement of the millennium! For the film, they found 5 subjects with Type 2 diabetes and 1 subject with Type 1.

All of the subjects met with a Dr. Cousens who introduced them to the raw food lifestyle and had them eat only raw for 30 days. As I’m sure you know, it wasn’t an easy thing to do because of all the sugar we Americans have in our diets: the average American consumes approximately 150 pounds of sugar per year!

One man’s story really made me want to break down in tears. Kirt was a 26-year-old African American man from Baltimore, Maryland. He shared a story about how one time he went to the emergency room and the doctors told him his blood sugar level was at 1200; the normal range for blood sugar is between 80-100!!

Kirt impressed me further when he adhered the most to the diet – he gave those 30 days 110% because he knew that that was what was required if he truly wanted to cure his diabetes.

On day one of the program, his blood sugar was about 346 and he was taking 4 to 6 insulin shots a day. By day 30, not only was he able to STOP his insulin, his blood sugar was down to 73! At the end of the movie, Kirt went to his doctor to get the results of some blood work and he was surprised to find that his doctor had reread his file and was going to rediagnose him as a type 1 diabetic and had plans to give him an insulin pump! I’m sure you all know that people with type 1 diabetes produce very little or no insulin – but after a strict 30-day diet of raw foods, his body was totally healed and started making its own insulin!

My moral of the story is, although many doctors mean well, they are definitely undereducated about the power of the food we have available to us. Granted, they take the Hippocratic Oath upon graduating from medical school, but the better musing from Hippocrates is “Let food be thy medicine and medicine thy food.”

Scintillating Scallops

When I was a kid, my mother would make flounder and white rice for me. Unfortunately, I was an extremely picky eater back then and I’d refuse to try other kinds of seafood.

Now that I’m older, my desire to experiment has grown exponentially and I want to share with you one of my favorite recipes: Seared Scallops with Herb-Butter Sauce. I’ve tweaked the recipe slightly; you can find the original recipe here.

 For the scallops, you’ll need:

• 1 lb of dry, large sea scallops

• 1 Tbsp Smart Balance with Omega-3

• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or flaxseed oil

• Fresh ground black pepper

For the sauce, you’ll need:

• 3 Tbsps Smart Balance with Omega-3

• 1 medium shallot, diced

• ¼ cup of herbs (I like chives, rosemary and parsley)

• ¼ cup of your favorite liqueur (I like Kahlúa)

• ¼ cup lime zest

• Fresh ground black pepper

Quick tip: Chop your herbs and the shallot for the sauce before you start cooking the scallops.

Cooking directions (scallops):

1. Rinse scallops in cold water then pat dry with paper towels

2. Warm a nonstick skillet on medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes

3. Add oil and Smart Balance to the pan → to test if the mixture is hot enough, run your fingers under some cold water then splash it into the oil and Smart Balance. When it’s hot enough, the cold water will instantly boil off

4. Pat scallops dry once more before placing them in the pan (spread them around the pan for best cooking results)

5. Season each scallop with your choice of spices and place in the pan to sear

6. Let each scallop cook for 2 to 4 minutes until nicely browned (you’ll know it’s ready when it’s mostly firm to the touch)

7. Flip with tongs and repeat searing on the other side

8. Transfer the scallops to a warm plate (turn the burner down to medium and let the pan cool for about 45 seconds before starting the sauce

Cooking directions (herb-butter sauce):

1. Melt 1 Tbsp of Smart Balance in the pan

2. Add shallots to the pan and sautee for 1-2 minutes

3. Pour Kahlúa and let it simmer for 1-2 minutes or until it reduces by ½

4. Mix in herbs and lime zest and reduce heat to low

5. Add the other 2 Tbsps of Smart Balance to mixture and whisk briskly until it melts completely

6. Return scallops to the pan and roll them in sauce until warmed through

7. Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

Sleep and Weight Loss

We all know how important it is to get a good night’s sleep to let our bodies heal itself from the wear and tear from that day. What we eat impacts how well we sleep.

I’m sure there have been several studies on this, but I like to try things out for myself before I back anything… and those studies are TRUE!!

When I ate junk like soda, Kraft macaroni & cheese, hamburgers, hot dogs, candy, and the like regularly I always had problems falling asleep for more than an hour at a time. Now, that I use simple ingredients in my recipes, I sleep like a baby and I can count on falling asleep at a specific time every night!

I’ve done a little research and apparently all of the sugar and chemicals from the boxed crap we eat keeps us from falling into what science calls “Delta sleep.” WebMD defines “delta sleep” (link here) as a stage in the NREM (non-rapid eye movement) cycle where the body can repair/regenerate tissue, build bones/muscles and strengthen your immune system!

So the next time you feel a little sleepy, listen to your body and take a quick nap!

Greek Yogurt is a FANTASTIC substitute for fatty oils and butter!

A few weeks ago, I was watching Dr. Oz and he was discussing how Greek yogurt is the best kind of yogurt you can include in your diet. It’s got a taste and texture that will take a while to get used to, but once you do, you’ll never want to eat any other kind of yogurt!

Towards the end of the show, Dr. Oz had a guest explain how she substituted oils and fats in her favorite foods to make it healthier and much more flavorful. She had recipes for some of my favorite indulgences like  chicken alfredo and brownies.

A special thank you to Allyson for the neat conversion chart!

I can’t wait to try this in some of my favorite recipes!

The 3-1-2-1 Diet

A couple of weeks ago I tuned into Bethenny and I was intrigued by her “Diet Debate” segment. She had invited Dolvett Quince from The Biggest Loser to talk about his program, the 3-1-2-1 Diet.

3-1-2-1 is a nice twist on the principle that any changes you make to the way you eat shouldn’t be temporary – 3-1-2-1 adds up to seven (it took me a few minutes to figure that out because I missed the beginning of the segment where he explained the title 🙂 ), but I digress.

Dolvett’s new method reveals how we can eat and cheat our way to lose excess weight (10 pounds in 3 weeks!). It’s a simple principle of body confusion when we reduce our caloric intake. As we all know, the first few weeks of a new diet are fantastic because we are dedicated and we’re seeing results quickly. After a few months, the exasperating plateaus start to kick in and make most of us give up.

This diet is amazing because it borrows from the principle workout rule: you have to constantly change up how you work out to keep seeing results. Our metabolisms are the same way. When we eat the same things over and over and over again, our bodies get used to breaking down those foods and go out of whack when we give ourselves a break and indulge. Dolvett recommends that you eat the “clean” foods like greens, lean meats, or legumes and indulge for:3 days (clean), 1 day (indulge), 2 days (clean), 1 day (indulge). At the beginning Dolvett stresses the importance of counting all of your calories.

Bethenny instantly challenged him by saying that the constant counting will drive a person insane and that we need to escape from that prison. However, when Dolvett agreed that the constant counting is infuriating and explained that the emphasis on counting was just a tool to help you build a solid foundation of what good calories and dense calories are, Bethenny lit up with excitement. Good calories include lean chicken breasts, fish, veggies, egg whites, and so on. Dense calories simply refers to eating foods like spinach because you can eat 2 cups of spinach and use less than 100 of your allotted calories for the day and spinach is packed with vitamins and antioxidants and minerals that will make you healthier long after you finish your meal.

I wholeheartedly agree with Dolvett’s assertion that calorie counting is a great foundation builder, but I’d also add that you should find an accountability partner that you can talk to. This partner can call you out (lovingly!) when the tool is becoming an obsession.

I should point out that Dolvett also included a workout routine to compliment his diet advice, but I didn’t really care for the exercises he recommends.

Tacos

As a kid, I remember being addicted to fast food joints like McDonald’s and Taco Bell. One of my favorite things from Taco Bell was their beef tacos. Now that I’m almost 30, I want to pass on healthier recipes to my friends and family.

This is my basic taco recipe, but you can make enchiladas, empanadas, etc. the same way!

Tacos

Ingredients:

• Ground beef, chicken, shrimp, lobster, scallops or tofu
• Tortillas (multi-grain or whole wheat)
• Shredded cheese (I like Sargento’s Pepper Jack)
• Green, red, yellow peppers (diced)
• White, red, yellow onions (diced)

Directions:

1. Brown your meat or meat substitute in a saute pan on medium heat (add adobo for seasoning)
2. Warm up the tortillas in a 2^nd saute pan → put water in the pan, place it on a low simmer and let the tortilla sit in the warm water.
3. After the ground beef is done, saute the peppers and onions
4. Plate up the tortillas, veggies, and ground beef and ENJOY!!!

My Makeup Evolution

With so many different brands and types of makeup that are available, it’s very easy to become intimidated and dismiss makeup as a false construct that exists only to help men objectify all of us, but it’s actually one of our best friends in the quest to embrace, develop and maintain our Aphrodite Attitudes! Think about it for a second… Aphrodite would NEVER allow the crazy stuff that’s in our air like car exhaust, pollen and dust near her face, so why should we?! Thankfully, more and more women are adopting that mentality.

I don’t know about you, but I could watch QVC for hours, especially when they are spotlighting Bare Escentuals, Mally Beauty, Josie Maran or Laura Geller. These brands blended my long-time passion for great skin care with my new love of makeup. Josie Maran, for example, is known for having high quality argan oil infused into all of her cosmetics.

Bare Escentuals has been my preferred makeup for about five years now and I thinks it’s a great brand to start with if you are just starting to play with makeup. The minerals are very pigment rich so less is definitely more! A second reason Bare Escentuals is perfect for makeup novice is that many of their kits come with instructional DVDs that will teach you the basics and help you master classic trends like the smoky eye. As much as I am in love with Bare Escentuals, I’m ready to branch out and try other brands.

Seasonal Epiphany

My Aphrodite Attitude may be a little too strong because I expect results from doing the right things at all times. The past month and a half, I’ve been eating very healthy meals with the occasional splurge (I LOVE LOVE LOVE Bethenny’s quip: “I hate the word ‘diet’ has the word ‘die’ in it!”). And I’ve been doing my workouts regularly, but I’ve actually gained weight.

Last night I was whining about this to my mom and she gently reminded me that it is the middle of winter and that my body WILL NOT release any of my excess weight because it wants to protect me from the cold, especially these polar vortexes!

So I’m going to have to put a sign up in my living room from October to April that says: “My extra padding in the winter will melt way and reveal my bikini body in the spring!!” or something to that effect.

Adonia Organics

Organic skin care is my newest obsession! These products feel like silk and they have never turned my skin into sand paper 🙂

My favorite organic skin care line is Adonia Organics. Adonia is on the forefront of using the incredible anti-aging properties of organic essential oils to help women look more like the women in Greek mythology who had impeccable eyebrows, eyelashes, plump/dewy skin, and so on. Not only that, Adonia has several fabulous products that will reverse common beauty faux-pas like over-waxing your eyebrows or help women grow fuller and thicker eyelashes. It’s a little bit more expensive side, but it’s worth its weight in platinum because it has no synthetic ingredients whatsoever!