Gluten freedom story: Jazmyn

Today I have a real treat for you =) I asked a sweet sweet friend of mine to share with us about her journey of going gluten free. Her story is fascinating on so many levels... so read on:

Jazmyn`s Story: Quitting Cold-Turkey

A little history to go along with my story…Since I was a sophomore in high-school I’ve had this terrible red rash on my hands that would itch and crack. It was terrible. It looked bad and it felt bad. Pretty much it was bad. I never thought anything of it, other than it being psoriasis and do the best I could to stay hydrated and lotion up. I am blessed to have incredibly great vision. In August of this last year my eyes started getting itchy and red all the time. I granted that it was probably from allergies as we live in one of the driest, sunniest places on earth. After a month of red, itchy eyes I went to the eye doctor who told me I had pretty sever allergies. I continued using eye drops as I always have only to find it worsening with each week. By the end of October my eyesight began to diminish. At first things just seemed blurry far away but progressively they got worse. By the time Thanksgiving came around my eyes would swell at some points during the day and the white of my eyes were a continual pink color. Between October and the beginning of January I saw 4 eye doctors, all of who were stumped as to what would be causing this and causing it to worsen at such an intense speed. 

Our church held a class about healthy eating, raw foods, and affects food can have on your body. I decided to do a little research when a friend asked me if I noticed that it increased after I ate. I took the next three days, didn’t change my diet, and noticed that 1-2 hours after I ate was when my eyes would become itchy and swell. This happened every time I ate during the coarse of those 3 days.

I know quite a few people who had gone gluten-free due to allergies and after seeing the affects of what I was eating and how it affected me I researched a bit to find out that my skin problems and stomach upsetting were some signs of have a gluten allergy. I decided that trying to eat gluten-free for a couple of weeks were worth seeing if it would help. I mean ANYTHING had to be better than what I was dealing with.

Starting that following Monday I quit eating anything with gluten cold turkey. I literally saw the benefits within 36 hours. A day and a half into eating gluten-free my eyes began to clear up. They stopped being itchy and swelling, and my eyesight began to get better with each passing day. By the end of week one my left hand completely cleared up of its rash that I’d had for 9 years (yes NINE years…_) by the middle of the second week my right hand also healed up and my eyes completely restored. I couldn’t believe what a transformation had occurred simply from choosing to eat differently and being careful about what I put in my body. All this was caused by an ingredient??

I found it to be hard, but not AS hard as my thoughts had originally presumed. I did as much research as I could on ingredients, foods, etc that had gluten and prepared myself with a list of YES ingredients and NO ingredients that I keep on my phone for when I go grocery shopping.

Although eating gluten can be a pain at times(there are days when all I wanna do is eat a funfetti cupcake……) but for the most part being gluten-free has only shown it’s self positive. Not only are my skin, eyes and stomach benefiting, but also my diet is much healthier as it has caused me to eat a much more balanced diet packed with fruits, veggies, and lean meats.
I have found that changing my diet to meet my need for no gluten has been slightly trying, very informational, but mostly fun. It’s like a little challenge I have daily and something that I feel proud of each and everyday I move forward. I also, am incredibly blessed to have Katrina in my life as she is a world of wisdom on eating gluten-free and is loaded with recipes to keep fun foods in my life.

“Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.” – General George S. Patton

Live life to the fullest!-Jazmyn-

What a story. Thank you so much Jazmyn for sharing.. You are an inspiration to us all! ;)

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Chocolate chip cookies

When 7 bananas are getting too ripe, fully aware I cannot finish them all in just a couple of days - I start looking for a recipe. I always crave oats, something sweet and filling. So in my search today I found a "healthy chocolate chip cookie" recipe that called for ripe bananas (score!), amongst other things. So I jumped on it, tweaked it, made it gluten, egg, casein, sugar and dairy free (this is about as healthy as a chocolate cookie can get!), here is the result:

Super Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

3 ripe bananas

1/4 cup applesauce (I used unsweetened)

Egg replacer for 1egg

2 tbs honey

1tbs flax meal

1tbs warm water

Mix together in a blender of heavy duty kitchen machine

In a different bowl mix the dry:

2 cup oat flour (you can do half and half with oat flour and rolled oats)

2/3 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup Amaranth flour

1/4 cup teff flour

1/4 cup brown rice

1/4 cup sorghum

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Baking powder 

Mix the wet and the dry ingredients then fold in some chocolate and nuts of choice. 

I used TJ`s unsweetened baking chocolate chips (super dark and chocolaty) and a handful of walnuts. 

Bake in the oven at 350F/170C for about 10-12 minutes. Make sure you don`t overcook the cookies, because bananas and gluten free baking has a tendency to get way to chewy. 

TIPS: Anytime you bake GF, DF etc, try to bake a couple of samples in the oven before you bake it all. You don`t want them to spread out too much, sometimes they don't spread out at all..... so then you have to form them with your hands. If you make a sample you will know how your dough will act in the oven and you can take it from there. If you notice that the dough spreads out too much - put the dough in muffin pans instead of a flat baking sheet.

These cookies I had to form with my hands before I put them in the oven, so they got the right "cookie" shape.

 

Nutritionally these cookies have a high value. Lots of fiber, whole grains, sweetened with fruit etc makes them a great treat for breakfast or as a mid-day snack. If you goal is weight-loss remember that these have allot of good carbohydrates in them, that your body needs and the amount is according to how active you are. 

-Kathrine-

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What I do today, will benefit me tomorrow

Today I am thinking about lasting health and how - what I do today will benefit me tomorrow. (Tomorrow, as in 10-20 years from now on.)

Some people seems to age really well. We can find really "fit" looking people in the entertainment world like Madonna. She is a lady that has been around with her music for years and years and managed to stay in shape through pregnancies and through the years.
I firmly believe that what we do with our health right now, will have lasting effects on our life. Madonna didn`t just follow a trainer for a few months, neither did she just do yoga for a month to be where she is at right now, she has worked to stay fit all of her life - when she was in her 20`s, 30`s and 40`s.

Healthy habits will keep us going strong and in some ways "slow" the aging process.
Exercise and diet goes hand in hand and plays a vital role here. Now Madonna probably has all kinds of chefs, trainers, equipment not to mention time, to focus on her health. But her example still stands.

(I want to explain myself, I am not using Madonna as a role model for her skinny-ness. People with allot more weight on their bodies can still be in great shape...! It`s not about how skinny we look, it`s about having a strong heart and strong muscles. Anyone can be skinny or fat, but it takes work to become strong and age well. Which I think Madonna has done well.)

I don`t ever wanna become a slave to something. For example an extreme diet, or too harsh of a work out routine that will only last for so long. Finding a balanced lifestyle where diet and exercise goes hand in hand, with all the other aspects of our lives is really important.

When working out becomes hard or boring to do day in and day out, I remind myself that I`m doing this with the future in mind. For myself and for the people that are important in my life. Quickly the sense of purpose comes back to me and I stay motivated for my work out.
So keep running, you runners, keep skiing, keep walking, dancing, lifting weights - whatever it is. Just stay active. =)
I realize that some of you don`t have that habit of exercising or eating healthy, but you know what, It`s never too late to start, never. Health is for everyone who wants it. It does not require anything, just your choice.

-Kathrine-

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Sunny day!!

Wooh! I am so happy to see the sun today =)
I have been working allot at the gym lately and have not been a very good blogger, sad story - cause I LOVE posting fun recipes, pictures and such. But I will get back into the groove of it starting today!

Another thing I am starting with today is that I am going all dairy free, again. Again because a few years back I was dairy free for 2 years. When my digestive track got strong (being GF and DF) I introduced dairy, but as of late, maybe since being sick and taking antibiotics(?), I don't do dairy well at all. So here we go - no whipped cream goodness, no buttered anything. Good thing there are so many substitutes these days, rice cheese, nut milks, coconut etc.
This morning my breakfast consisted of a delicious fuji apple with raw almond butter, then a bowl of GF toasted granola with hemp milk. mm so satisfying =)

 

Have a beautiful morning

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My work outs and Carbs

Me saying that I am enjoying this day is a huge understatement. I love days when I can drink tea with my love, research the web for recipes, bake and cook delicious food and in the end of the day have our best friends (I so love you guys!!) over for an evening of laughter, conversations and a good meal.

This week I have put in many hours working out and instructing classes. My body screams for relaxation and recovery, I am mostly sore in my upper back but my arms are a little jello-like too. I am also tweaking my diet to fit my activity-level. Loading up on carbohydrates and nutrient rich food.

My work outs week 12:
Monday: EFX circut training 50 min. 
Tuesday: Stairmaster 45 min.
                Bodysculpt 50 min.
Wednesday - Stairmaster 30 min.
                      EFX circut training 50 min.
Thursday - Bodysculpt 1 hour
                  Spinning 45 min.
Friday - OFF
Saturday - Spinning race-day 2 hours

 Carbs, carbs, carbs:
A few years ago, during my transitioning time of becoming gluten free, I ate 95% raw and vegan. It was rewarding to focus on what I could eat, rather then what I could not eat. The backside of it was a constant feeling of being hungry. I snacked on carrots and nuts all day long in order to keep that hunger in check. But even with eating vegetables all day long - in the end of the day, a raw and vegan lifestyle did not support my activity level. Working out was hard and gathering motivation for it likewise.
As I started introducing more and more carbohydrates, protein and dairy products into my diet I found that I had more energy. My body felt more at ease because I was not constantly hungry and now I had a ton of energy for daily chores and working out. Over the years I have come to find what foods work for me and the amount that supports my activity level.

Food is obviously essential. The type of food we eat has powerful effects on energy levels, moods, appearance, longevity and how we age. There are foods that are good for us, then there are foods that are good in smaller portions, and there is foods we should stay away from (like overly processed food).
Dietary carbohydrates play a vital role in human nutrition because they provide the primary source of the energy we need to fuel bodily function.

Some carbs are good and some are bad depending on what it does to our blood sugar levels. We can use the glycemic index (GI) to find out just how much our blood sugar increases in the hours after ingesting. The food with the highest glycemic index aka the nastiest food you can eat in terms of turning to sugar the minute you eat it is... drum-roll, white bread! The GI of white bread is set to 100 and all foods are compared to it (GI charts either use white bread as reference point or pure glucose which has a GI of 140.

What we call simple carbs = empty carbs = high GI foods, have been refined and stripped of their supportive nutrients. So white sugar, white bread, pastries and even cereal has no nutritional value. It goes like this: you eat it, your blood sugar spikes, the pancreas works really hard to pump out insulin to get the blood sugar level down, and it works... fast, now you crash, feel fatigue and soon enough hungry again.
Anyway, since our bodies needs energy and fuel, we need carbs, good carbs! Ones that digest slowly and allows us to stay full for a long time, it also supplies us with balanced energy levels throughout our day. On a gluten free diet we often turn to replacement foods (gf bread, pizza, pasta, cookies etc), and the typical main ingredient is corn, white rice and potatoes which unfortunately is not much else but starch and lacking in nutritional value.
Choosing foods wisely is essential to our health in the long run, gluten free or not. Complex carbohydrates from grains are the body’s best source of energy because they are burned in a constant, time-released manner. Some of the carbs that I choose, that leaves me feeling full for a long while and also supplies me with high nutritional value include but are not limited too:

• Quinoa, millet, sorghum, oats, teff, amaranth and buckwheat
• Apples, kiwi, avocados, tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli, spinach and brussel sprouts
• Berries, nuts and seeds.

 So that was a little bit of allot of things =) I need to get to my cooking and baking now. I wish you all a peaceful day!
 

 -Kathrine-

Resources: The encyclopedia of healing foods, Gluten free for dummies

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Do something different

Today is a busy day as I am instructing a few very different classes and have meetings etc. I just wanted to share what was on my heart this morning before I have to run out the door........:
When we pursue fitness and health in our lives, we want to be able to see measurable goals. If we don`t see the change we want - we need to do something different. I am all about variety and will rarely be found doing the same work out two days in a row.
If getting a six pack is your goal, and your 300 sit ups a day is not cutting it... you have got to do some different exercises. If loosing weight is your goal, but the 3 classes a week of some activity is not getting you there - then change it up! Do something you haven`t done before, new work out classes, new schedules, new exercises, new type of food... and have fun with it =)

-Kathrine-

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A Fundraiser and 4 favorites

Hi Everyone! I hope You are doing wonderful today. Thanks again for reading my blog, I love hearing back from you all whether over e-mail or in person ;)

One of the projects I am working on this week is for Saturday when we will have a race-day (testing our fitness level in spinning) and do a fundraiser at Everyday Fitness. We want to support the Haven Humane society here in Redding by gathering money, pet-food and warm blankets for lost, homeless and abused animals. If YOU wanna help out you are welcome to bring your support to Everyday Fitness (2345 Athens ave.) on Saturday March 26th, between 9am and 1pm.


Anyway, here are four favorites of mine this week:

The Stair-master - climbing stairs is a great way to improve cardiovascular fitness! I love this simple yet super effective work out that will target the lower body especially your legs and buttocks. It will also burn calories and improve balance. I especially like the real old stair-master that has actual steps as oppose to the steps that follow your feet.

Udi`s Vanilla Granola - For a while I was trying to make my own granola, but every time it would burn, or just not get all crunchy like granola should be. Maybe I just don't have the patience to make granola (there`s is quit a few steps to it!!)... But I found what I was looking for in Udi`s gluten/soy/dairy/egg free vanilla granola. Theres like 4 ingredients total, it`s super tasty (I love anything vanilla), crunchy and just perfect to eat after a work out session. Here is how I eat my granola:

Spring - Yesterday was the first day of spring and hurray for that =)

Basil Honey salad - This is one of the simplest yet most tasty salads ever. I could eat this salad for the rest of my life and be happy. The ingredients are: Romain lettuce, fresh basil leaves (cut up) then add a dash of olive oil/red wine vinegar/balsamic vinegar/honey and mix well. Yum!

-Kathrine-

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Milk chocolate caramel/Candy Cupcakes

I have some very sweet friends that just moved to town, and I wanted to bake a little something for them just to say "Welcome" and we love you. They have a little boy who I`m thinking will love these cupcakes. The milk chocolate pairs so well with caramel and makes this cupcake a delightful treat.

Norwegian chocolate is one of a kind and I dare to say the best in the world. My fridge has been stocked up on this kind of chocolate since Christmas so I decided to make good use out of it.
Any chocolate can be used in this recipe but the better tasting chocolate, the better tasting the cupcakes will be. You can even use your favorite candy. For example starburst (which is infact gluten free) as they will melt just like chocolate over heat.

The basic muffin recipe is from Gluten-free baking classics, but I added my own touch to it to get the rich caramel milk chocolate flavor in it.

Candy cupcakes

1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups brown rice flour mix
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup whipping cream

1 tsp  pure vanilla extract

10 dumle (pieces of candy/chocolate)

Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C. Position rack in center of oven. Place cupcake baking liners in a 12-cupcake baking pan. Beat sugar and eggs in large bowl of electric mixer at medium speed for one minute. Add flour, salt, baking powder, xanthan gum, oil, whipping cream (heat up on stove and add candy then stir till it melts) and vanilla; beat at medium speed for one minute. Pour batter into prepared pan. Place in center of oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until centre springs back when touched and cupcakes are very lightly browned (bake about 35 minutes for nine-inch round, 40 minutes for eight-inch round). Cool on rack for five minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan onto rack and cool completely before icing.

Milk chocolate frosting:

3 Egg whites

2 Tbs Vanilla sugar

1/2 Cup Sugar

1 Chocolate bar

Place a pot with water on the stove and get it to boil. On top of that place a bowl with the ingredients, then using a hand mixer - mix it for about 7-10 minutes. Set aside. Pour the water out of the pot and put the chocolate bar in and let it melt. Pour melted chocolate to the other bowl with the egg white cream and stir together. Let cool in the fridge before you decorate the cupcakes.
PS: can also now be mixed in with whipped cream for a more sturdy frosting.

-Kathrine-

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Homemade fruit and nut dressing

 After visiting the grocery store yesterday I came home with fresh flowers, green juice and more vegetables then ever before. Herbs and plants adds so much to a home, especially the kitchen.

My fresh green vegetable juice consisted of spinach, cucumber, celery and apples and it was really good. I love fresh raw juice.

I found a new product at Trader Joe`s - called Prune Walnut log. They are cut up in little slices, soft and round (kind of a little fruit cracker). On the package they recommended to pair it with cheese. I say it will pair great as a salad dressing! Something sweet (the prune), something crunchy (the walnut), add some garlic cloves and olive oil... and just drizzle on a salad. This will make any "boring" salad extremely exciting.

How to make the dressing:

1. Put the slices of prune walnut log in a kitchen machine
2. Add 3-4 Tbs good olive oil
3. Add 2-3 cloves of garlic 
4. Blend for a few minutes
5. Mix the dressing with a nice salad (mine had romaine lettuce, macha, arugula, cucumbers and heirloom tomatoes)

This type of salad dressing can also be made with other types of nuts and dried fruit. For example, almonds and apricot. Or, hazelnuts and cranberries.
Making your own dressing isa great way to make sure that the dressing you and your family use, is not full of high fructose corn sugar and other additives.

I am off to instruct a spinning class right now. Not sure if I`m all the way ready for it, still sore from the Thursday class. =)

-Happy Saturday-

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EFX Boot-camp!

Calling out to all you gorgeous woman of Shasta county area..

EFX Boot-camp is starting up in just a few weeks!
EFX Boot-camp is a combination of intense work outs, nutrition talks with recipes and also body composition analysis.

EFX training is a hard core program that will inspire you to the next level of fitness. Let us challenge you to reach beyond your limits and towards your fitness goal.

Health and fitness is not just for the wealthy or the young - it`s for anyone who wants it!

benefits.

• burn up to 600 calories per class for fat loss.
• improve your strength and overall fitness.
• improve bone health and density.
• get a toned and shaped body.
• improved heart and lung capacity.
• improve coordination.
• come away feeling strong and confident.

When: Tuesdays and Thursday`s at 6AM
Where: Everyday Fitness  - 2345 Athens Avenue
Who: Woman Only!

The Boot-camp is starting up on March 29th and will go for 6 weeks. You do not have to be a member of this gym to sign up for the EFX Boot-camp..

For more information call Everyday Fitness at 530 246 1902 or e-mail me at mrsjkunde@gmail.com. Lori and I are the trainers for the EFX Boot-camp and we are excited to work with YOU! =)

"Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body,  it is the basic of dynamic and intellectual activity" -John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Photo is taken by Myriah Grubbs.

-Kathrine-

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Getting back into the swing

As the last month has been a bit of a hold-back month as far as training goes - dealing with painful knees and then bronchitis, I now feel ready to get going with training again! =)

I have instructed a bunch of classes in the last few weeks, but that is different. My first real work out was done yesterday and it was allot harder then I expected. Usually I love going from one exercise to the other and pushing really hard. But all I wanted to do yesterday was to quit. I felt weak.

At times working out is not all that fun. Not having a work out rhythm can become and ongoing cycle. Always having to do a "first work out" in a while is not awesome, especially finding out that our fitness level is not all that it could be. 
I think once we have established a rhythm, working out feels allot easier, more fun and our fitness level will always improve.

Anyway, when I finished up my work out yesterday and felt "down" about it, I made a decision to look ahead. I told myself that after the next work out I will feel a little stronger and a little more fit. Immediately I started looking forward to my next work out..
This morning I got up and hurried to the gym, I had already decided to be challenged in a EFX (Everyday Fitness Extreme) class at Everyday Fitness. (A high intense interval circuit training class that goes for an hour.) Sure enough, I did the work out and felt 10 times better about it today compared to yesterday`s work out. I remember now that I do love to exercise.

 -Kathrine-

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Vanilla Macarons

Remember my lavender Meltaway cookies? The phenomenal cookie recipe that are both gluten and egg free. I pulled up the recipe and switched it around a little, today i call them Vanilla Macarons. I used powdered vanilla sugar, and the cream is a vanilla mascarpone icing.

mm...

-sweet dreams-

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Morning snack

One healthy powerhouse of a fruit is grapefruit. Reading up on the benefits here, makes me confident in choosing this as a snack throughout my days.

This one in particular was sweet, juicy and not too sour. For me this is one of those fruits I can get enough off =) Some years back I tried eating at least 2 a day, and it left me with a sour mouth and a serious "hatred" towards the fruit. Now I just have it every once in a while and it`s enjoyable ;)

-Kathrine-

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Monday Morning

From a sugar loaded weekend with baked goodies, back to the gym and back on the treadmill. I cannot wait to get my sweat on this week in many work outs! I instructed a Spinning class this AM and it felt so right. Now I`m enjoying a plate of banana oatmeal porridge.

For this week I am hoping to get started on more weight training again, plus I wanna tackle a few runs outside.
I love how our bodies can just get right back into things when we set our hearts on it. Whether it is starting over with a work out routine, or simply adding a few activities that will help us feel healthy and well.
What are a few things you wanna do this week for your health?

-Kathrine-

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Heavenly pancakes!

Yet another successful Sunday, never seems to fail to be my favorite day of the week.

There is this well known breakfast place a few miles away that we decided to go to this morning. Well known because of it`s fabulous coffee and pancakes.
I prepared with packing sliced apples, bananas and a little jar of almond butter just to make sure I would be able to eat something.
To my big surprise, the waitress informed us that they can make gluten free pancakes...
Emotions stirred up in me and I found it hard to believe. So I asked her "how gluten free...?". Silly me. Despite the insecurity I went ahead and ordered one gluten free banana blackberry pancake.
Years, maybe even more then 10 has it been since my last pancake. There has been attempts to make them, but nothing very edible.
This pancake thou was something else, it was sweet and flavorful. It was soft, not too chewy. It was absolutely the best pancake I have ever tasted in my whole life! Thanks to The Sin of Cortez in Chico, California for your well brewed coffee and delicious pancakes ;)

 Good night!

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Ooey Gooey Brownies

Today I am testing out a gluten free product. The brand is called The cravings place and I picked the Ooey Gooey Chocolatey Chewy Brownie Mix. Not only is it gluten free, it is also free from nuts, dairy, eggs and beans. All I had to do was add oil and water.

I love how on the backside of the package there is a long list of variations. For example how to do a low fat version - where you use apple sauce in place of the oil.. Or the adding of coffee instead of water witch makes for Mocha Brownies. There was even the choice of big chocolate chunks that came in a bag inside the bag.
I only have a big YES in me for The Cravings place! Super easy to make and tasted incredible.

Yum.

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Bike ride day

Sunny and 61F/16C calls for a bike ride. Luckily we have a cruiser in the garage just waiting to hug the road. To me there is something so romantic about a bike ride. Feeling the wind in my hair, going at a comfortable pace, the freedom to go places I normally would not get to in a car.

I think of flat European country roads with fields and coffee shops and old men selling strawberries by the side of the road. I think of those people as the most hospitable loving people I will ever meet - those that just enjoy life by the side of a road. I also think of a basket hanging on the front of my bike and what I would fill it with. Bunches of herbs, some fruit and maybe a bottle of water. Some other necessities like a game of Yahtzee, swim trunks and a map would be in there too. I would hope to see castles, beaches, Switzerland and lavender fields.

One day I`ll take a bike ride vacation.
Today I am making gluten free lasagna. And brownies. I have also prepared tomorrows dinner which will be tandoori chicken. The traveler in me wants out =)

-Kathrine-

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On a Thursday

Today I got my sweet tooth back after having been sick. I baked some simple vanilla cupcake, followed by almond crumb cake. I have also spent the day preparing for classes - spinning and body sculpt. Earlier this week I posted that this week was gonna be "super-foods" week, and it has been nice to enjoy simple spinach and banana smoothies for breakfast, grapefruit, pumpkin seeds and coconut water for snacks and good old normal healthy dinners.

I am truly enjoying the growing community of gluten free foodies. Simple e-mails about GF baking, sharing of experiences and learning from other people is becoming a part of my daily life and I love it.
Thank you so so much for reading my blog by the way. I appreciate every one of you! ;) 
I hope to have all my creativity and energy back in full swing by tomorrow so that I can bake more fun gluten free goodies and share it with you all.
Have a wonderful evening...!

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Baked beet and Quinoa Salad

 

 -Kathrine-

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Super-food Week

Happy Monday everyone =)

It`s always nice to start a new week, especially if last week was challenging.
My focus this week is on eating plenty of incredibly nutritious foods that will strengthen my immune system and boost my overall health. I will be posting my meal plans for some of the days and add the recipes along with it.

Super food are foods high in nutritional value and low in calories. They are superior sources of anti-oxidants and essential nutrients that our bodies cannot produce on it`s own. It`s food with allot of color, it usually tastes awesome in it`s natural state and can be found in nature.
These foods have high concentration of easy digestible nutrients, vitamins and compounds to burn fat, protect and heal our bodies. The green leafy vegetables are especially rich in chlorophyll, which our cells thrives on.
This can be foods like, but not limited too: goji and acai berries, cacao, vegetables, fruits, seeds (chia, flax, hemp etc) and nuts.


Here is my super food meal plan for today:

Breakfast - Papaya Salad (ripe papaya, blueberries and blackberries)

Lunch - Baked beets and Quinoa salad (gold beets, cooked quinoa and minced baby broccoli)

Snack - Coconut water, bee pollen and homemade chocolate fudge,

Dinner - Belgian Endive salad (endive, arugula, avocado) with apricot garlic crumbs (dried apricots, almonds and 1-2 cloves of garlic in a food processor)

Vitamins - pro-biotic, multi vitamin (B12, B6, C, folat etc) and flax oil.

I will post pictures after every meal. I really love capturing amazing foods on photos ;)
Have a wonderful day -Kathrine-

Resources: Eating for Beauty

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Inspiring Determination

Elite athletes work hard for years and years. They work on building the right muscles, balance, focus and all the specialties to their sport. Athletes embraces the competition and take any "setback" and uses if as fuel for further improvement of skill. These people have an ability to come back even stronger, to compete again and again till they finally win. It fascinates me - these character traits.
I came across a few people - "determined" people that have achieved some pretty great things.


The ultra fit Dean Karnazes ran 50 marathons, in 50 states of the US, in 50 days. Why: He wanted to send a message to the people of America; get off the couch and reclaim your health! Here`s Karnazes secret:

"run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must, just never give up"

A Romanian woman, Nadia Comaneci is known to be one of the worlds best gymnasts. At the age of 14 she scored a perfect 10 in Olympic competition, making her the first woman to ever do so. Comaneci has personally funded the construction and operation of a Children`s clinic that provides low-cost and free medical support in Romania. She also speaks no less then 5 languages and has spoken at the UN. Comaneci`s words are:

"Hard work has made it easy. That is my secret. That is why I win."

Lance Armstrong was a promising athlete who got served the worst possible news as a 25 year old. He was diagnosed with cancer and given less then 40% chance of surviving. Despite the odds, he managed to beat the affliction, he then returned to his sport (cycling) and won it`s top prize, not just once - but seven years in a row he won Tour De France. Armstrong is now doing awareness work for cancer, see livestrong.com. Armstrong`s wisdom in few words are:

"Pain is temporary. It may last for a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever".

 Learning about these people inspires me to go after more. To dream bigger, to not let anything hold me back, but to be determined. I love how these 3 people have fought their own battle, and now they fight battles for other people!

 

Something stirs up inside of me when I see the charts of child obesity increasing every day in America, it`s also not right that people suffer from eating normal food because of additives and chemicals. I am not a politician, nor am I a doctor. But I am one that cares about these things, and can make a difference.

About a week ago I got to do a photo shoot with an incredible photographer and a good friend - Myriah Grubbs. I wanted her to capture my passions, and I thought she did a phenomenal job. Here is just a sneak peak ;) Here is me "picking a fight" with some of the "issues" that I care about...

I think one of the main goals of staying healthy is so that we are strong enough to fight battles for others. For our sons and daughters, for our parents, siblings grandparents and friends. And for those that don`t have the resources to make it happen. These are reasons that inspires me for health. 
-Kathrine-

Resources: 

www.lancearmstrong.com, www.livestrong.com, wikipedia,

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GF Pizza Caprese

Pizza is almost always very tasty. The gluten free kind can be a bit of a challenge. The texture of the dough and the flavor needs to be just right.

My first encounter with gluten and celiak disease was at the age of 13. A sweet girl had just moved to town and was working on getting new friends. She invited me and some other friends over for pizza. We expected a frozen pizza scenario, and was surprised when she threw on her apron and started baking. While kneading the dough, she explained to us that she had to bake her own pizza crust because she could not eat gluten, she had disease called celiak. 

I had no idea what she was talking about. Sadly, the pizza was not very good at all. Little did I know that I would be the person to throw on an apron and bake my own pizza just a few years down the road.

Red sauce, different types of meat, cheese, favorite vegetables; there are endless ways on how to top off a pizza. One of my favorite ways to eat pizza is the "Caprese" way. I simply cannot get enough of fresh basil and colorful mini heirloom tomatoes..

 

I usually buy a packet of Bob`s Red Mill pizza crust and make what I consider good pizza. When The gluten free goddess announced that she had made the best gluten free dairy free pizza crust she had ever eaten, I got curious and had to test it out to see if it was true for me. So the recipe for the crust can be found on her site. I topped the pizza off with olive oil, pressed garlic, oregano, fresh basil and spinach leaves, tomatoes, roast beef and some mozzarella.

The dough is mostly made out of the starchy flour tapioca flour, which for me is a minus because I want all my food to have some substance to it. The flavor was very subtle and actually very right for a pizza crust - huge plus right there. My last point will be that the finished product - the crust was extremely crunchy when baked too thin, and was soft and chewy when baked too thick. Which I did a little bit of both so it was my own fault, next time I`ll be using a rolling pin. All in all - I liked the crust. I will keep using it a few more times and see if it`s a keeper. 

-Kathrine-

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Pjeh!

Being sick is one of my least favorite ways to spend days. As little as have happened during these 24 hours spent in bed with a fever, cough and crazy headache; I feel like it`s been my very own season of  the TV-show 24.
Every single task seems dramatic and overwhelmingly impossible. Jack Bauer has 8 minutes to get to the other side of town, check the perimeter, find the hostages, release the hostages, find the bomb, find out if it really is a bomb and deactivate it.
In as little time as possible, I have to get out of my bed to our far away downstairs kitchen, fill up my water cup etc. Same level of difficulty. =)

Anyway, It`s a good sign that I`m writing a post, yey for recovery.

As far as medicine goes when you need it to be gluten free;

- Airborne (vitamins) is completely gluten free - your good to go on that one. 

- As far as painkillers - Target sells ibuprofen that is clearly marked gluten free.

- Mucinex might not be marked so clearly, but is in fact gluten free. 

More importantly then medicine is to allow our bodies rest - and allot of it. Same with water.

Have a beautiful day!

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GF Crispbread

Here is a gluten free healthy recipe for crunchy crispbread that are rich in whole grains and packed with nutrition. I got inspired by Manuela and her knekkebrød, so I decided to make a gluten free version.
To shed light on one of the many healthy ingredients: teff - has twice as much iron as both wheat and barley (easy absorbed iron) and is also higher in protein than wheat.
Crispbread can be eaten plain, with peanut butter and jelly, with a slice of cheese and fresh produce...

 

Or next to soup and salad - spread some garlic butter on, I promise it tastes amazing.

Ingredients:

1,5 Cup GF Oats

1.5 Cup GF Flours ( I used a mix of teff, amaranth, millet and hemp)

1/2 Cup Flax seeds

1/2 Cup Hulled Sesame seeds

1 Cup Sunflower seeds

1/2 Tsp Salt

2 Cups water

2 Tbs brown sugar (or honey)

Add dry ingredients, mix in wet ingredients, spread it all out on baking sheets about 1 centimeter thick. Use a pizza slicer and make squares in the dough. Bake in oven at 300F, for 40-50 minutes.

I eat these and stay full for a long time. Crispbreads are high in complex carbs (the GOOD kind) which provides calories for energy needs. This would be a perfect meal 2 hours before a work out. Oh! One more thing, put the crispbread in a mixer and mix for a few moments - now you have your very own cereal.

-Kathrine-

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Frisbee golf

On Sunday we found a park. It had big fields of grass, perfectly placed benches, massive trees and a frisbee golf court. J had shared stories from last year of his adventures here. I was excited to try out a new game and to soak up some sun, most of all I was excited to spend quality time with my very best friend, my Husband J.

 I quickly realized that Frisbee golf (or more correctly disc golf) is allot of fun. 

"The object of the game is to traverse a course from beginning to end in the fewest number of throws of the disc." -Rules, PDGA.com

Not that I can brag about my well-done-ness (scored 15 over par), but I loved the simplicity of just throwing the disc and doing my very best.

This is a perfect Sunday Fun-day game for families, friends and can even be done alone. Click here, and search for courses close to where you live. It`not just a recreational activity - there can be several fitness benefits of playing this game. Throwing the disc works muscle strength, walking the hilly course can work your heart/aerobic fitness and the mental challenge can lead to emotional relaxation.

Some of us need exercise disguised as fun =)

 -Kathrine-

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