Sugar Free Jelly

Testimony of the Day

“The keto lifestyle and triathlon training go hand-in-hand! Forcing my body to utilize fat during the long swims, bike rides and runs makes fueling a breeze! No more gels or sports drinks every 30 minutes…and not only does my body remain strong, my mind and energy do as well.

My kids are loving all of the new recipes I have been making, especially the Keto Fudge! And I had to laugh when my husband was skeptical of your Twice-Baked Cauliflower recipe…and then I had to yell at him to save some for the kids because he was going to eat all of it!!! He requests them all the time now!” Kristen

30 Day Accelerated Testimony: “Some feedback for you Maria Wojcik Emmerich – it’s now officially Day Seven of my proper Keto food plan. I’ve already dropped FIVE pounds since Saturday! Given that I “only” had 15 pounds of excess weight, this is astounding! What’s even more astounding is the fact that: I haven’t been hungry for even a minute; I’ve been sleeping like a log and have woken up for the last two days super alert and super happy at SIX AM (I normally drag myself, reluctantly, out of bed at about 8.30am; I’ve been happy and contented all day long for the last 2 days – no afternoon slump or my usual bitchy/irritable self; I feel like I have rocket fuel in my veins – my brain is mega alert and feels like I’ve racked up a further stack of IQ points! I have not felt THIS way (without the help of coffee or recreational drugs) since I was about six years old.

None of this is an exaggeration – if anything I’m being restrained in my enthusiasm, because it’s been two years of feeling like death and a good few years before that of feeling like I had to drag and whip myself from one spot to the next. Even my voice has improved! Was singing yesterday at 9am and I have NEVER in my adult life been able to sing before midday at the very earliest. I don’t know whether to laugh and dance myself into a frenzy, or weep with joy… think I’ll just go and do it all at the same time because I certainly have the energy for it!! Oh Maria, Maria! “Thank you for your work”, doesn’t even begin to cut it!” 

To get started on your path to health and healing, click HERE. I’d be honored to help you too!

HERBS vs FRUITS

A lot of American’s are en-grained with the idea that they should be eating an apple a day so they pick a big red Golden Delicious feeling like they are doing a “body good.” But did you know that Golden Delicious are a hundred year heirloom? Shouldn’t heirlooms be better for us since we can breed more phytonutrients into it? Not necessarily; many times we focus on taste, or should I say sugar content, to stimulate sales. In the book, Eating on the Wild Side, Jo Robinson’s reviews a 2009 study that refers to 46 overweight men with high cholesterol and triglycerides who agreed to participate in an eating experiment. Half of the men stayed on their regular diets, serving as a control group. The other 23 added a Golden Delicious apple to their fare. The goal was to determine if eating an apple a day would reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. At the end of the study, the men who ate a golden a day had higher levels of triglycerides and LDL cholesterol than before the study began. The conclusion is that the golden delicious used were too low in phytonutrients to lower the men’s bad cholesterol, and too high in sugar causing an increase in their triglycerides.

For example, most animals have learned how to become fat and how to become thin. They do it in a tightly regulated way… Hibernating mammals will double their weight and fat in the fall in preparation for winter… I realized that I can learn by reading the studies about these animals. As I read them, I had another insight, which had not been appreciated before; these animals develop all the features of metabolic syndrome that we do. They get fat. They’re visceral fat goes up. They get fatty liver. The triglycerides go up in their blood. They get insulin-resistant… It’s a normal process.

Millions of years ago, our ancestors consumed fructose from natural fruits rather than the massive doses of high fructose corn syrup like we do today, but they still experienced this fat-gaining phenomenon. During the summer, they would consume large amounts of fruit and would put on weight in order to survive the famine during the colder months when fruits were unavailable. This led to a genetic mutation that resulted in a greater uric acid response to fructose. The more sugar we eat, the more uric acid our bodies produce, which increases our liver and intestines’ ability to absorb sugar, which is a bad thing! Obese people absorb fructose effortlessly, where skinny people don’t absorb it as well.

It is a detrimental snowball effect for my obese clients; the more sugar they eat, the more uric acid you make; which leads to the sensitivity to fructose absorption. Once you head down that path, it is almost impossible to stop. This is why I have to get so extreme with clients and cut out fruit too. If you start soon enough and cut out all foods that are creating the fat-creating snowball, you can recover, but if you don’t, you will lose the fat-burning, energy-producing mitochondria and you can’t restore them. At this point, you reset your fat cells at higher set point and our bodies want to stay at that set point for homeostasis.

You can try and try to lose weight, but our fat cells have memory. They are cozy in your body and think they are protecting you. Weight loss is more about hormone manipulation rather than calories in-calories out.

Leptin and ghrelin are very important hormones that work like a “checks and balances” that manage hunger and fullness. Ghrelin, produced in the stomach, increases appetite, while leptin, produced in fat cells, sends a message to our brain when we are full. This imbalance causes us to intensely crave food and never feel full. The worst part is that we don’t crave broccoli, we crave high calorie sweets and starchy foods. Over time, this imbalance can easily lead to long-term weight gain. Since insulin, ghrelin and leptin, function as significant indicators to the central nervous system in the long-term regulation of energy balance, decreases of circulating insulin and leptin and increased ghrelin concentrations, studies prove that it leads to increased caloric intake and eventually contribute to increased fat cells during high consumption of fructose.

HEALTH TIP: A damaged liver causes low moods and can lead to serious depression. Are you depressed? Get your liver checked and eliminate all foods (and topical products) that bog down your liver.

NO FRUIT? How will I get nutrients? When I am asked if I eat fruits, I jokingly say of course! I eat avocado, olives, cucumber, coconut and tomatoes! But most people think I am a bit extreme when I limit most vegetable consumption for my clients too. To get keto adapted, even some low-starch vegetables may keep someone with a damaged metabolism out of ketosis. Which is why my Accelerated 30 day meal plans are so detailed with what low-starch vegetables are allowed to get into ketosis fast.

We need to update the recommendation of eating 9 servings of fruits and vegetables for maximum health. This suggestion has a few issues with it. A few years ago, I read that most kids actually do get the recommended servings for fruits and vegetables. Are you shocked to read this? Yep, they eat French fries, onion rings and ketchup. Sad, but it does fit the guidelines. Will you reap the benefits of eating 7-9 servings of these foods? Absolutely not.

So even if you aren’t even eating French fries or ketchup, eating 3 bananas a day isn’t a good idea. Studies prove that the current state of the produce we consume is relatively low in phytonutrients, and much higher in sugar than it was in our Paleo days. All of the fruits and vegetables displayed in our supermarkets have much less nutrients than what you would find in the wild. Consumers want fruit that tastes sweet. This is why we now have “Cotton Candy Grapes!” Traditional grapes weren’t sweet enough, so we modified them to satisfy our kid’s desire for sweets in order for them to eat fruit. The sad part is, we think it is a good thing when our kids eat massive amounts of fruits. The more palatable our produce has become, the less beneficial they are for our health. The most beneficial phytonutrients have a bitter, sour or astringent taste.

Sure many high sugar fruits have healthy antioxidants such as Vitamin A, C and E. Antioxidants protect cells against the effects of free radicals. Free radicals are molecules produced when your body breaks down food BUT you produce little to no free radicals if you stay in a keto-adapted state. And what is interesting is an orange that is high in vitamin C also has a lot of sugar. Glucose and vitamin C have similar chemical structures, so what happens when the sugar levels go up? They compete for one another when entering the cells. And the thing that mediates the entry of glucose into the cells is the same thing that mediates the entry of vitamin C into the cells. If there is more glucose around, there is going to be less vitamin C allowed into the cell. It doesn’t take much: a blood sugar value of 120 reduces the phagocytic index by 75%. So when you eat sugar, think of your immune system slowing down to a crawl. Instead try parsley or bell peppers!

Fresh herbs like parsley, rosemary, oregano and basil are the most nutritious plants you can consume. For example, everyone things spinach is the perfect food, but fresh oregano has eight times the amount of antioxidants! Sure, we don’t eat a cup of oregano like we would spinach, but it does go to show that a little bit provides a huge benefit. Instead of consuming fruits and starchy veggies that have fructose and raise blood sugar quickly, I suggest using herbs and spices more often in your cooking preparations.

HEALTH TIP: Organic herbs are easy to grow in your own kitchen! You don’t need to be a “green thumb” or a huge garden to reap the benefits of these amazing herbs. But if you aren’t able to have your own herb garden, buy organic herbs in bulk and store in the freezer to have on hand at all times. I usually stock up at the St. Paul’s Farmer’s Market in the fall and store a bunch in the freezer to add to my meatloafs, meatballs, chili, and sauces all winter long while I dream of my next trip to the farmers market in the spring.

PREGNANCY TIP: Do not use Red Raspberry Tea if you are trying to get pregnant or if you are pregnant. It has been proven that red raspberry leaves can cause contractions. Drinking it at the end of the pregnancy can help make labor faster and less painful; as well as lowering cramping during menstrual cycles.

To learn more on what foods to eat and what foods to avoid during pregnancy, I have just the package for you! Click HERE to learn more and start your baby off on the right path!

Low Carb Jelly

Maria Emmerich

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Servings 12

Calories

Ingredients

  

0.25x0.5x1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup water
• ▢ 1 tea bag strawberry/raspberry/blueberry/peach/passion fruit/apple
• ▢ 2 tsp Further Food gelatin
• ▢ 1/3 cup Natural Sweetener
• ▢ 1 tsp stevia glycerite non-bitter stevia
• ▢ 2 tsp raspberry extract or strawberry/blueberry/peach/apple/orange
• ▢ 1/8 tsp citric acid for natural preservation and sour taste

Instructions

 

• Boil water in a tea kettle. Place a tea bag in a cup and place 1 cup water into the cup. Let steep for a few minutes.
• Soften gelatin in 2 tablespoons cool water for a few minutes. Add the brewed tea into the softened gelatin.
• Add the natural sweeteners (adding more or less to desired sweetness).
• Add the extract and citric acid.
• Let sit on counter to cool for at least 2 hours.
• Enjoy on my "healthified" Protein Bread (I fried in coconut oil).
• NOTE: If the jelly is too thick or too thin, just reheat until it is a liquid and add water if too thick or add a touch more gelatin if it is too thin.

Notes

NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per 2 TBS serving)
Traditional Jelly = 100 calories, 1g protein, 0g fat, 26g carbs
"Healthified" Jelly = 4 calories, 1g protein, 0g fat, 0g carbs

(NOTE: the ratios of this recipe is NOT keto. I suggest adding lots of organic butter to your toasted Protein bread).