Great deals on Nut and Seed Flours
Great news! If you use this link for your Nuts.com flour orders I can a little percentage that enables me to buy flours to experiment and make more great recipes! So stock up on one of these great “Maria Approved” flours:
Almond Flour (I buy the 25-pound bag and keep extra in the freezer, only $4.29 a pound!)
Coconut Flour
Peanut Flour
Hazelnut flour
OR Pumpkin seed flour
Click HERE. Thanks so much for your support! 🙂
FLU SEASON
How often do your children get sick? For a lot of parents, it can seem like your kid is always sniffling from one runny nose to another. If you’ve ever wondered why your kid can’t seem to stay healthy for an extended period of time, don’t blame it on the “other” kids at school or just accept it as the way things are. The sympathetic nervous system is our “fight or flight” response. High carbohydrate diets stimulate the sympathetic nervous system to release a stress hormone called cortisol. Cortisol inhibits the immune system; when we feed our cells tons of sugar half of them fall asleep, and this leaves the body very vulnerable to things like the common cold.
Good gut bacteria are the immune-building microorganisms present in the digestive tract. There are millions of different strains of bacteria that inhabit different portions of your child’s digestive tract, ranging from beneficial to damaging. The key to building your child’s immune system is to create an environment where beneficial bacteria thrive.
Kids Need Probiotics To Be Healthy
1. Good bacteria prevents infection while they are growing. Good bacteria will compete with the bad so when your child is exposed to illnesses 24/7 it won’t allow them to enter and colonize.
2. Good bacteria produce natural anti-pathogenic “worker-bees” that prevent bad bacteria from reproducing. Lactic acid is just one type of bacteria that is produced by LACTOBACILLI strains. Lactic acid inhibits the cell division of harmful bacteria. Lactic acid works hard in your child’s stomach and intestines, killing the growth of bad bacteria wherever they enter.
3. Good bacteria produce B vitamins that are required for a healthy immune system. Vitamin B-12 is essential for the metabolism of every cell in our body, including the immune system. If you have a large number of good bacteria in your stomach, you will be able to absorb vitamins, minerals, and a whole host of other nutrients.
4. Good bacteria detox chemicals that you and your children inhale every day. These helpful bacteria also break down some of the artificial colors, nitrates, and preservatives that are in all food products marketed to kids.
5. Good bacteria reduces and in some cases, eliminates allergic reactions to food and airborne allergens.
Here are the warning signs of a bacterial imbalance.
1. Sugar and Carbohydrate Cravings
2. Inability to concentrate, tired, irritability
3. Food Allergies and Sensitivities
4. Diarrhea or constipation
5. Bad breath
6. Skin issues; acne or eczema
Things that can cause low good gut bacteria:
1. Fluoride in toothpaste or chlorine in drinking water.
2. Acidic beverages, like coffee, tea, dairy, and fruit juices.
3. Sugar; which is everywhere! It is now added to the baby formula!
4. Food additives and preservatives.
6. Pesticides and synthetic fertilizers; this is why organic is so important. Check out the “Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15.”
CLICK HERE TO FIND KIDS SUPPLEMENTS and PROBIOTICS. Skip the flu shot and use natural ways to boost the immune system.
COOKIES:
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil
1/4 cup Swerve confectioners (or equivalent natural sweetener)
1 cup peanut flour or blanched almond flour
1/4 cup vanilla egg white
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
FILLING:
6 oz milk or dark ChocoPerfection Bar, chopped and melted
3 oz cream cheese or coconut cream, at room temperature
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix softened butter with sweetener and vanilla. Mix peanut/almond flour with baking powder and protein powder. Slowly mix the wet ingredients with the dry. Roll into a ball and refrigerate until ready to roll out.
FILLING: In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese with melted chocolate. Use to fill cookies.
Remove dough from fridge. Grease 2 pieces of parchment paper, roll the dough out in between the parchment until 1/8 inch thick. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 2 by 2-inch squares. Place one square on the cookie sheet, add a TBS or so of filling on the square. Top the filled square with another square. Using a fork, press down to make small indents to hold the 2 cookie squares together. Repeat with squares; placing them about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 9 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes 12 servings.
NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per serving)
Traditional Ravioli Cookies = 250 calories, 14g fat, 3g protein, 28 carbs, 0.8g fiber
“Healthified” Ravioli (with Peanut flour) = 191 calories, 17g fat, 7g protein, 6.5 carbs, 3.2g fiber
“Healthified” Ravioli (with almond flour)= 231 calories, 22g fat, 6.4g protein, 6.8 carbs, 3.4g fiber
Testimony of the Day
“Hi Maria, You have been helping me get my life back by getting healthy. My main request was to help me get pregnant. Since starting your way less than 3 months ago I have lost 31 pounds and am off all my autoimmune disease medications. And today, I can tell you that I found out I am expecting. I am only a few weeks along and so I can’t share with everyone yet but I owe you my gratitude. After a year-long emotional journey, your way restored my body back to health.” Carrie
Get started on your path to health today with the recently improved 30 day accelerated package! Now every day has calculations for percent of fat/protein/carbs. It has never been easier to follow the keto-adapted lifestyle.
Dawn looks amazing too!
Interesting! Sent this info to my sons. These cookies sound delicious.
In your book you promote agave nectar but in the class you said highest for sugar, so should we use it or not?
I am going to make these TODAY! And I don’t have any kids 😉 Thanks as always for your great recipes. I know you are excited to have your boys home for Christmas!
I no longer promote Agave:
Agave Syrup is marketed as “low glycemic” and that is true, but let’s look into why agave syrup is “low glycemic.” It is due to the shockingly high concentration of fructose. It is 90% fructose and 10% glucose. Sugar is about 50/50% fructose to glucose, honey is about 55% fructose, high fructose corn syrup can range from 55-65% fructose.
Why FRUCTOSE is so harmful:
1. Fructose can only be metabolized by the liver; glucose on the other hand can be metabolized by every cell in the body. Fructose raises triglycerides (blood fats) like no other food. Fructose bypasses the enzyme phosphofructokinase, which is the rate-limiting enzyme for glucose metabolism. Fructose is shunted past the sugar-regulating pathways and into the fat-formation pathway. The liver converts this fructose to fat, which, unfortunately, remains in the liver = FATTY LIVER DISEASE. Consuming fructose is essentially consuming fat! This is why I see so many children with fatty liver disease…they aren’t drinking alcohol, they are drinking sodas, juices and consuming too much fructose!
2. Fructose reduces the sensitivity of insulin receptors, which causes type II diabetes. Insulin receptors are the way glucose enters a cell to be metabolized. Our cells become resistant to the effects of insulin and as a result, the body needs to make more insulin to handle the same amount of glucose. We also start to produce insulin as a defense mechanism even if we don’t eat and sugar or starch. YIKES! This is why we shouldn’t allow our children to eat so much sugar and starch either…even though they are thin and active, you are setting them up for an adulthood where they can’t enjoy a dessert without reaping the adverse effects. I grew up on Fruity Pebbles and skim milk for breakfast, Cocoa Pebbles for dinner, which is why I am so sensitive to glucose.
3. Fructose is high in uric acid, which increases blood pressure and causes gout.
4. Fructose increases lactic acid in the blood. High levels cause metabolic acidosis especially for those with conditions such as diabetes.
5. Fructose accelerates oxidative damage and increases aging. Fructose changes the collagen of our skin making it prone to wrinkles.
6. High consumption of fructose leads to mineral losses: iron, calcium magnesium and zinc, which can lead to low bone density (osteoporosis). It also interferes with copper metabolism. This causes collagen and elastin being unable to form, which are connective tissue that hold the body together. A deficiency in copper can also lead to infertility, bone loss, anemia, defects of the arteries, infertility, high cholesterol levels, heart attacks and inability to control blood sugar.
7. Fructose has no effect on our hunger hormone ghrelin and interferes with brain’s communication with leptin, which is the hormone that tells us to stop eating and you CAN become leptin resistant!
Hope that helps!
YUM YUM YUM!!! I am going to make these when bubby goes to bed tonight. I love your blog so much, I’ve shared it with my Mum’s group too 🙂
I was wondering if you have any tips on foods for babies? It would be great if you could write a post or point me to one about feeding my 8month old. I want to get him off to a good start and I’m sure with your gorgeous babies you’d have a tip or two!
Thanks so much Maria 🙂
Sadly, parents often think that rice cereal is the first food to introduce to a baby. Avocado and Organic Egg yolks are much healthier for our babies. A recent Swedish study suggests that when infants are given substantial amounts of cereal, they may suffer from low concentrations of zinc and reduced calcium absorption. Dr. David Ludwig of Children’s Hospital Boston, a specialist in pediatric nutrition, says some studies suggest rice and other highly processed grain cereals actually could be among the worst foods for infants.
“These foods are in a certain sense no different from adding sugar to formula. They digest very rapidly in the body into sugar, raising blood sugar and insulin levels” and could contribute to later health problems, including obesity, he says.
The lack of variety in the American approach also could be a problem. Exposing infants to more foods may help them adapt to different foods later, which Ludwig says may be key to getting older children to eat healthier.
Avocado makes a great first food for baby due to its texture and creaminess as well as its high nutrient content. Avocados are often called one of nature’s perfect foods because they are said to contain everything a person needs to survive. A wonderful “good fat” food for baby’s brain and physical development, try an avocado as baby’s first food instead of refined cereals. Avocados contain valuable nutrients including 8% of the recommended Daily Value (DV) for folate; 4% DV for fiber and potassium, 4% DV for vitamin E; and 2% DV for iron. A serving of avocado also contains 81 micrograms of the carotenoid lutein and 19 micrograms of beta-carotene. Per serving, avocados have 3.5 grams of unsaturated fats, which are known to be important for normal growth and development of the central nervous system and brain.
Thank you for all this information. My son has ADHD, Sensory Integration Dysfunction, and a Visual Processing Disorder. I suspect that he is not only sensitive to gluten but grains in general, as his skin is always covered in eczema and no amount of meds seem to help. He does better all around in every category when he goes gluten free which is enough evidence for me, but not my pediatrician. Your recipes help us and me (a mostly Paleo) to keep his meals interesting. I am trying to get away completely from table sugar to more erythritol and “just like sugar.” Thank you.
You might want to see if he can meythlate B vitamins, its likely he can’t. A mom whose figured it out with genetics testing 😉
Thanks SOOOO much for writing Stacy! I really appreciate your support!
We’re can I get almond flour for 4.29 a pound?
I get mine here: http://astore.amazon.com/marisnutran05-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=112
Those look awesome!