Summer is officially here!
I’ve been quiet for a couple weeks, as we kicked off June in style with my husband’s 70th birthday and then rounded things up with a trip to Trinidad for my baby brother’s wedding! Now we’re back in time for another wedding here in San Diego, and the July 4th holiday!
When I was growing up, I remember everyone would need a nap after a big holiday lunch. My grandmother had day beds all around her house for exactly this reason so that we could all find a spot sleep off the food coma. And we’d all be left feeling sluggish and foggy for the remainder of the event!
Does that sound like you?
One of the simplest ways to change this is to choose foods that:
- keep your blood sugar balanced
- are rich in nutrients
- aren’t inflammatory, like gluten, dairy and seed / vegetable oils or sugar
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- Instead of a traditional burger, with a burger bun (plus, there’s usually breadcrumbs in the burger pattie), opt for a grass-fed, grass-finished steak – organic of course – to minimize the exposure to synthetic hormones and antibiotics that traditional factory farmed animals are given). You’re not just what you eat. You’re what your food eats too!
- If you don’t have issues with nightshades, then you can eat potatoes, but they are pretty starchy. To minimize the blood sugar spike, choose a purple potato or even a sweet potato. They’re rich in phytonutrients. Portion sizes do matter, so aim to keep your serving to one cupped hand! You can fill up on vegetables that grow above the ground like broccoli, asparagus, tomatoes, cucumbers to name a few!
- Oils matter! Believe it or not, canola oil, soybean oil and vegetable oils are probably worse for you than sugar / starches! Because with sugar / starches you can burn it off with exercise. Not so with industrial oils, and their inflammatory effects are far reaching. Aim instead of avocado oil, cold pressed coconut oil, or extra virgin olive oil.
- If you’ve got a sweet tooth, healthier desserts needn’t be a challenge! Check out my recipes for some fun dairy-free, gluten-free, grain-free and refined sugar-free options!By the way, if you always need something sweet after a meal, that’s a clue that your blood sugar is not balanced, and you’d benefit from stabilizing it either with eating more protein and fat, and reducing carbs, or eating little and often, fasting, or supplementing with things like berberine or chromium. What you need to stabilize it, will depend on your unique biochemistry, and requires professional guidance!
Let me know what you think of the recipes once you’ve tried a couple!
Wishing you a happy and healthy Fourth!
If you’d like to meet, schedule time directly in my Calendar here
