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.
PICKY EATERS and GUT HEALTH
Do you have a picky eater in your home that only likes bland foods like butter noodles? They are most likely low in healthy gut bacteria. You have trillions of bacteria in your digestive tract. They are a major part of your immune system. A healthy lower intestine should have about 85% of “good bacteria” to prevent the colonization of disease causing organisms like salmonella or E. coli.When I ask someone if they take probiotics, I almost always get the response, “I eat yogurt.” Yogurt only contains acidophilus, but that is only one of hundreds of friendly bacteria we need. Our bodies should have somewhere between 400 and 500 types of bacteria. And the type of yogurt is usually Yoplait Low Fat which has more sugar than a Kit Kat bar… that kind is not going to help here:)Probiotics stop the growth of harmful bacteria which cause digestive problems (are you going #2??? You should every day!); they also improve digestion and absorption of vitamins; and enhance the immune system. The first 2 years of life are crucial for our long-term immune responses. Bacterial colonization patterns set up in the first years and continue to grow throughout our lifetime. The medications and foods that we give our kids totally affect this delicate balance. Probiotic supplementation promotes health in infants. They prevent eczema, diarrhea, diaper rash, and cradle cap. They also decrease anemia and asthma. Probiotics lower the chances of food allergies and eliminate thrush.
Click HERE to see the supplements for babies and children.
In older children, probiotics have been found to reduce the severity and frequency of respiratory infections and prevent irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, and constipation. Kids with allergies, ADHD, Autism (entire Autism spectrum), Celiac Disease, Constipation, Diarrhea, Diabetes, Halitosis (bad breath), Eczema, Leaky Gut Syndrome can all benefit from healthy doses of probiotics. Acne would also be an indication of low good bacteria. Having a bought of diarrhea, taking an antibiotic, eating a diet high in refined carbohydrates and low in fiber as well as stress can all deplete a healthy intestinal flora. If a child has been on an antibiotic, it is extremely important to replenish the beneficial bacteria lost by taking a quality probiotics supplement.
When shopping for probiotics look for lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. Lactobacilli is found in the small intestine and bifidobacteria is found in the colon. Fermented foods contain healthful bacteria: Kombucha Tea, sour cream, buttermilk, sauerkraut, pickles, and many PLAIN yogurts (not yoplait:). But generally pasteurization has eliminated the flora found in modern food. As a result, companies are fortifying foods with probiotics in an effort to re-introduce this bacteria. To read more on probiotics and serotonin connection check out my book: Secrets to Controlling Your Weight Cravings and Mood.
I also have a 2-hour class. Click HERE to watch.
Recipes and fun facts like this can be found in THE ART OF EATING HEALTHY!
COOKIE DOUGH DIP
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil
2/3 cup Swerve confectioners
8 oz cream cheese, softened or coconut cream (skimmed off the top of a can of coconut milk) if dairy allergy
1 tsp stevia glycerite
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 “Healthified” Chocolate Bars OR ChocoPerfection Bars, chopped
In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat (heat until it turns brown, not black). Add natural sweeteners until sweeteners dissolve and the mixture bubbles just a little. Using a hand mixer on low speed, add in extracts and cream cheese. Mix until combined. Once the mixture is totally cool (you don’t want the chocolate to melt), stir in the chunks of “healthified” chocolate.
Serve with Jicama Chips or my healthified nut-free FUDGE COOKIES!
Jicama Chips: Peel the jicama. Slice into 1/8 inch slices, then quarter the jicama into chip shapes. Enjoy! Makes 12 servings.
NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per serving)
Using regular sugar = 281 calories, 22 carbs, 0.7 g fiber, 3.1g protein, 20g fat
Using “healthified” sugar = 159 calories, 1g carbs, 0.5 g fiber, 3.1g protein, 20g fat
This looks cool. I love jicama. I wish I could find it more often, but I’ve only ever found it at one supermarket, and even they have it only occasionally.
I did click on your link for the Just Like Sugar – but all it says is “Just Like Sugar® is a 100% natural FDA GRAS approved sweetener made from only the purest of ingredients” and I never buy anything unless I know what the ingredients actually are! There are plenty of things that are FDA GRAS that I would never dream of putting in my body. 🙂
what does the jicama taste like and could you fry them to make chips?
Kapu-
Jicama has a slightly sweet taste, yet not as sweet as an apple. The texture is just like an apple though!
I’m not sure if they would fry good though… It is worth a try though!
I’ve found that jicama has a slightly marshmallow-like taste. I would imagine it would be a great pair with a cookie dough dip… Can’t wait to try it!
Be careful! It is addicting!
I absolutely loved this dip, as did my two sons. My daughter continues to eschew anything made with “Just Like Sugar” not sure why. So, is there any erythritol/stevia combination that I might be able to substitute?
You could try swerve with the same quantities. 🙂 http://astore.amazon.com/marisnutran05-20/detail/B006T352FA
After making this many times now and have a logistics question as the taste is out of this world. Every time I add the JLS to the melted butter in the pan, it immediately forms a solid hard clump. I have to quickly transfer to my quisinart and blend for a long time to get it to smooth out. The only way I seem to be able to avoid that is by mixing the JLS with the cream cheese and then adding to the butter. What am I doing wrong?
The JLS (mostly fiber) can gel up when you add it to the fat (butter). To avoid this, you can do just what you say and add it to the cream cheese first. I just beat it with my mixer until smooth. 🙂
Hey, Maria! I have a question about your substitution for cream cheese: when you say “coconut cream”, do you mean creamed coconut (aka coconut butter) or the cream that rises to the top of a can of coconut milk? The latter seems like it’d be way too thin to replace cream cheese, but I can’t be sure and thought I’d ask. Thanks. 🙂
You can use the cream off the top of a can. Take the cream off the top of the can when opened, put it in the fridge and it will separate more. 🙂
Is the nut. info including the Jicama chips? I was thinking of making this and freezing “chunks” of it to put into protein ice cream as a mix in.
Nope, just the dip. Great idea! 🙂
Hi Maria, would coconut manna also work instead of cream cheese? Thanks dayna
Yes, that should work. 🙂
I don’t see anything in your amazon store that is labeled probiotics or gut health….how would I find your recomendation for supplements to take from your store that fit the criteria in this post? Thanks.
They are all in my astore. Under “For Everyone” is my favorite probiotic. 🙂
http://astore.amazon.com/marisnutran05-20/detail/B004GLCX2M
Do you use confectioners or granulated swerve for most of your recipes?
Thanks!
I mostly use confectioners. 🙂
Thanks! I just ordered 6lbs of granulated. Will it still work, or will it affect the consistency of a lot of your recipes? I was also wondering if there is a difference between “Jay Robbs Enterprises Egg White Protein” and “Jay Robb Egg White Protein”? There is a huge difference in price and I was wondering why that is? Which would suggest I purchase? Thanks!
They are interchangeable. 🙂
Have you actually made this recipe with coconut cream? I did and it turned out like a soup, not at all like the picture. Any suggestions I followed the recipe exact.
Hi Maria, am taking the probiotic you recommend along with a number of the other supplements you recommend in your book Keto Adapted, have been reading about the benefits of probiotics and gut bacteria for weightloss and see that the following strains are recommended for weight loss, but can’t find a supplement with all of them…L. Acidophilus, L.Rhamnosus, S.Thermophilus, and L. Bulgaricus….am hoping you have a recommendation.
Am a little over 3 weeks into my Keto-Adapted journey (my second attempt) the first one was an epic fail after only one week…just didn’t have my head on straight and wasn’t fully prepared with the right items in my fridge and pantry…am having a much better time of it this go round.
Seeing benefits but have not weighed yet, am giving it a month before I weigh, hoping to post again with great results to report . 🙂
Awesome! You can do it and you will thank yourself later!
I like this probiotic best.
http://astore.amazon.com/marisnutran05-20/detail/B004GLCX2M
I made this twice tonight and both were epic fails. 🙁
The first time, it turned rock hard, then upon reading all the comments, I saw where a suggestion said to mix the JLS with the cream cheese then add to the butter. I did that and beat with my hand mixer. It turned out really dark and really slimy.
I am determined to make this work, so I need to figure out what I’m doing wrong! Does it lighten up and thicken more, the more you beat it? Should I use the stand mixer instead?
Help please! 🙂
You can use Swerve and add a couple tablespoons of vegetable glycerine to keep it softer in the freezer. 🙂
Thank you! I got my new Swerve in the mail today. I don’t have any vegetable glycerin though. Is there something else that would work? If I added Vanilla or salt would it keep it from setting up hard? Lots of questions, but I’ve so been looking forward to this one. haha
Sorry, about the only thing that works with Swerve or erythritol is vegetable glycerine (or let the ice cream melt a bit before serving)
Not sure if this is an odd question — but tried making Kombucha once and was thinking of doing it again. But just remembered that you have to feed it sugar to grow. Do you know about this? Is the sugar eaten up by the time it ferments, or would this be bad for the keto-adapted? (guessing it wouldn’t like sugar alternatives, but ???)
Thanks for any insight you might have. 🙂
Some sugar is consumed, but when I tried it (and fermented much longer than recommended 5-6 weeks), there was still too much sugar left for me. So I avoid Kombucha.
OK. All I’d seen was “most of the sugar is gone by the time it’s fermented” — but understand “most” is a broad term that means different things to different people. If it’s too much for you, it’s gonna be too much for me. Thank you!!
Maria, you say to brown the butter- would you “brown” the coconut oil option? Does coconut oil even brown?
I wouldn’t. I don’t think it would brown.
Also, I read a lot about fermented veggies throughout your blog. Do you have references as to how to make fermented veggies? As I know saurkraut and pickles off the grocery store shelf won’t cut it.
The bubbies brand is naturally fermented so they are a good option. Otherwise, any canning recipe with the sugar omitted. 🙂
How many carbs and sugar are in the nutrition info of the cream cheese you use? Mine has 2 grams of bothe carbs and sugar per serving. It regular cream cheese. Is this the same as yours?
Yes, 2g per 2 tablespoons. 🙂