While at dinner in the mountains in Italy one night, Ceci and her family told us we were having a meal known as “Kilometer Zero.”
Kilometer Zero
Filed Under: Wellness Tagged With: eat, eat real food, gluten free, Healthy Lifestyle, travel
Healthy School Lunch Information
I was recently forwarded an email with subject line, “Healthy School Lunch Information.”
Habits, Coffee Cups, Healing
If you open your eyes (and your mind), it’s easy to see how our everyday habits become a metaphor for life. For me, this past week….habits, coffee cups, healing.
Habits, Coffee Cups, Healing
When I cut back on coffee, I simply changed the coffee cup I was using each day in order to feel like I was still drinking the same amount when I knew I wasn’t. I went from the standard large coffee cup to our classy, Apilco Beaded Hemstitch Porcelain Cups from Williams-Sonoma (which actually could be more of an Espresso cup).
We got this dish set for our wedding, but like my desire to cling to the “newness” of traditional towels, I was too scared to use the cups for a very long time.
I pulled them out this past year and began using them daily. They are lined up, stacked 2 high in my shabby chic cabinet. There are 12 of them, but each morning I use the same cup (or nearly each morning). The reason is because after final use of it the day before, I wash it then leave it out to dry on our drying rack. I don’t know why, but I never seem to put my coffee cup away. Instead, I leave it there for the next morning, when I can do it all over again.
That was until very recently.
I began to notice that that one cup is starting to get a little discolored (you know, like how your teeth do after years of drinking coffee).
It happened fairly quickly, relatively speaking, because I use it every single day, and fill the cup 2-3 times with fresh, super dark coffee.
I realized what a creature of habit I am. And then I realized how this is both okay and then again not okay.
Healing
Simultaneously, I began realizing how much better I felt when I ate a little of many things vs. a few things many times. Did you know that by eating a particular food over-and-over again you can become intolerant to it?
For so many years I was afraid of food. Subsequently, I stuck with eating approximately 10 different things, and ultimately many of those things I became intolerant to for a very long time.
Upon truly feeling the pinch of the situation from my coffee cup experience, I began buying a little of many things. My trips to the grocery store and Farmer’s Market look so much different these days. Additionally, I subscribed to a Farm Fresh to You box every other week.
At any given moment, you will find a wide variety of all food groups in our kitchen. I still won’t do gluten and rarely ever dairy, but everything else is fair game, even if it’s just once in awhile. (p.s. I still believe in the early days of healing, you must adhere to everything I teach via The Gutsy Girl’s Bible, but those teachings should not last for life.)
For dinner on Saturday night, we had ‘Taco Bowls.” Romaine lettuce, onion, Heirloom tomatoes, red pepper, ground beef, cilantro, parsley, basil, avocado and a Cilantro dressing. This, of course, meant I had nightshades, high FODMAP foods, vegetables, meat and more. But I had a little of many things vs. bowls and bowls of the same thing.
I woke up on Sunday morning feeling fantastic.
I grabbed my coffee cup (not one I had used during the previous week), poured a cup of coffee, added coconut milk and honey, then headed outside to the porch to enjoy the peace, quiet, and stillness of the morning.
Through coffee cups and healing, I am learning so much more about habits and about life.
Xox,
SKH
2016 Natural Products Expo West Favorite Brands and Products
I attended the 2016 Natural Products Expo West this year for the 3rd time on the official blogging team, and even though my top 3 products from the show were announced recently, today I have put together my 2016 Natural Products Expo West favorite brands and products.
But first, my general show thoughts….
2016 Natural Products Expo West Overall Trends and Recap Thoughts
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- Ginger, ginger everywhere
- Overheard all the time, which is super awesome, “How much sugar is in xyz product?”
- Less dairy, and when there was dairy, the trend seems to be spiking to high-quality dairy (i.e. Organic, Raw and Grass Fed)
- Probiotics infusion
- Probiotics and prebiotics as a topic of conversation
- Gut health is becoming more and more talked about, appreciated and focused on. YAY! All these years of being A Gutsy Girl, sharing information and caring excessively about the topic might finally start to pay off.
- Superfoods galore
- Paleo still on the rise, and yet I still don’t feel like there is enough
- Crickets entering the marketplace
- All hail the coconut
- Many Vegan options
- A ton of granola and granola snacks, making me wonder if the category is flooded?
- There is still a gap for quality meat snacks, as I found only a few
- Kombucha is the hot beverage
But, by far, my main overall recap thought and ah-ha moment came when I found myself perusing booth after booth and hearing companies utter phrases like, “100% natural, super clean, healthy.” I would then simply pick up said “100% natural, super clean, healthy” product and check out the ingredients, only to feel let down.
Ingredients don’t lie, and the use of buzzwords are confusing consumers. During all of those moments (because most of the times were convenience/packed goods), I decided to launch The Gutsy Girl’s Bible: a travel and convenience snack guide companion. The project currently hosts over 150 items….and I would guess it could hit 300 or more!
2016 Natural Products Expo West Favorite Brands and Products
HERE was my pre-Expo hot list.
From that list, my favorites included:
- Blue Bottle Coffee: they are releasing road-trip ready products
- Nutiva: their Organic (Vegan) Buttery Coconut Oil made my top 3 list, but they also debuted a Vegan Chocolate Spread that is a million times the product rotten and disgusting (poorly sourced) Nutella is (I can say that because Nutiva is not my company:))
- Real Bone Broth (aka Bonafide Provisions): their bone broth made my top 3 list
- Vital Proteins: they have just released a new Marine Collagen that I fell in love with, and the greatest thing about it is that (for me) it triple acts as a skin product, gut product and travel companion
- Charlie Banana: I met Gaelle, the founder and owner, and fell in love with her.
- Wedderspoon Organic: Traveling honey packets, pure and awesome as can be, need I say more?!
New favorite finds, not on the list, included:
- Farmhouse Culture: their Ginger Beet Gut Shot made my top 3 list
- Nikki’s Coconut Butter: I’m embarrassed to say that she’s a friend, but I had never even tried her coconut butter before. I am officially addicted to that Cashew Cookie Butter.
- San Francisco Salt Company: everything
- Wild Selections: tuna and salmon
- NOW Foods: If you’ve followed here for any length of time, you know I love their L-Glutamine for gut healing, but I was introduced to a new (traveling) probiotic that I’m excited to share more about soon!
- Rebel Kitchen: their coconut “mylks” (for on-the-go) are incredible
- Made in Nature: I had always seen them as a snacking option around, but never considered them….until now! They will be heavily featured in my guide because they are that awesome.
- Love Bottle: not food, but lovely
- The Ginger People: I may or may not have an obsession with Ginger Beer + their Gin Gins are kind of perfection
- Hamona: I really wanted to give them one of my top 3 spots from Expo West, but in the end, I decided it would be too hard because they are in Vietnam and the product is still not available here, but it’s a whole coconut with a little punch for a straw to (easily) drink straight from the coconut. They were friendly and awesome and when they come here I’ll be sure to let you know.
- Once Upon a Farm: Children’s pouches that I’d eat!
- Coyo: coconut yogurt, thick ‘n creamy
- RESTORE: Shortly before attending the show, a reader commented on the post wondering if I’d check them out, so I did and after I learned a ton, watched videos, spoke with the creator and tried the product, I can say I recommend it. I will hopefully get to share more with you soon.
- Hu Paleo Chocolate: I’m not kidding….there are zero lecithins in this chocolate and it is divine
- Wild Zora: Their meat and veggie bar was probably my favorite, namely the Meditteranean Lamb Bar with Spinach & Turmeric
- Thousand Hills Cattle Co.: But those grass fed beef sticks, though! Here’s the kicker, I don’t have access to them in California, apparently, but they are based in the homeskillet Minnesota and the guy told me that my family can get them at the Waseca Hy-Vee! How awesome is that?!
- Harmless Harvest: Organic, fair trade coffee coconut water
- Big Tree Farms: they have a coconut aminos product, which I’ve been on a huge kick with lately
- Gaia Herbs: at Expo West, they released a brand new product, Golden Milk. They served it blended in with warm almond milk and I was blown away. (Hopefully) stay tuned for more.
Did you attend the show? What were your favorites? Are there any of these products you’d like to know more about?!
p.s. Reading this in 2017? Check out my Top 15 Overall Expo West 2017 Finds.
Xox,
SKH
Coming Soon Travel and Convenience Snack Guide Companion
One thing I know for certain is that traveling when you have any type of dietary restriction needs is tough. You know how sometimes you are hit in the head a thousand times with something, but it’s on that thousand and first time that it just clicks? That’s what happened to me this past weekend while at Expo West, and so….coming soon travel and convenience snack guide companion.
{This is now available! Click HERE to grab yours for free.}
Coming Soon Travel and Convenience Snack Guide Companion
Here is the rundown on the guide:
- A simple, straight-forward guide to help those with food intolerances and/or special dietary lifestyle preferences navigate snacks and convenience items.
- It will be available at the beginning of May 2016, just in time for the late spring/summer travel season.
- I am giving it away for FREE! You’ll be able to download it right here from my blog, and if you’re on my email newsletter list(s) already, I’ll send it directly to you (Not signed up yet? Join thousands of others today! If you enjoy my posts on the gut and/or healing + true wellness with food and lifestyle click HERE to subscribe to my e-newsletter. If you enjoy my posts on life, inspiration, passion, entrepreneurship, adoption, love, thoughts, faith and living in a way that gives us purpose, daily click HERE to subscribe to my e-newsletter (a different one).
- This is a travel and convenience snack guide companion based on packaged goods. I am a firm believer that anytime we are at home we should be cooking vs. using packaged goods, but after traveling this past weekend (+ traveling a lot in general), I think there is a gap in a good resource out there that breaks down packaged and convenience snack goods based on different dietary needs.
- But even though it is for packaged goods, it’s not a guide for any and all packaged goods. In other words, you won’t find “M&M’s Fun-Size” on the list because most people with any special dietary need would not eat those to begin with. You may, however, see Unreal candies, since they are an alternative that some special diets can consume.
- The guide will come as a downloadable PDF, with the main image as a chart graphic. The chart will list out which categories each item falls under (ex. Paleo, AIP, Zero Sugar, Low FODMAP, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, etc.)
Your Help
I am already getting a ton of amazing thoughts and feedback on what people want to see, brands, etc.
I am working on a ‘travel and convenience snack guide companion’ to launch in early May for people with food allergies…
Posted by Sarah Kay Hoffman on Monday, March 14, 2016
I am willing to put in the work to make this a super-easy-to-read + informative guide, but I’d love even more thoughts.
What product(s)/brand(s) would you like to see on it? So far, some of the categories are desserts and sweets, beverages, protein bars, chips ‘n crunchy, but is there a specific category you are interested in? Any specific special diet you’d like included on the chart? So far some of them includePaleo, AIP, Zero Sugar, Low FODMAP, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, etc. Would anything else make this helpful for you?
Comment below or contact me privately!
Xox,
SKH
Moringa
Moringa is one of the things I added when healing my perioral dermatitis naturally.
Moringa
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I was first introduced to Moringa in the summer of 2014.
From April – November, we go to our local Farmers’ Market every single Saturday. Opening day is like Christmas, closing day like a funeral. We love our daily Saturday ritual there because we know so many of the farmers now, and we love knowing where our food comes from.
I have a few favorite stands, and one of them is my predominantly Asian-cooking food stand. Whenever I see a green vegetable or herb I have not yet tried, I ask the girls about it. I then take it home, figure out how to cook it and report back to them. They were the first stand there to have Moringa, and at the time, it was kind of a secret herb. I’d hear people ask if they had any, and when they said, “Yes,” they also said, “we have only a few back here, and if you want one it will be $3.”
Back in the summer of 2014, I listened to that for a couple of weeks whileI admired the leafy, abundant green. I’d go home and do research (I had to Google it several times because when they say it, it sounds like, “Molinga,” which I called it for a very long time.)
It didn’t take long before I began thinking about how I needed Moringa in my life. Shortly after, I returned, bought a bunch of Moringa and I have never looked back.
What Is Moringa?
The Moringa Tree is,
often called the “the miracle tree” or the “tree of life.” In the Philippines, they call it a “mother’s best friend.” In Senegal, it’s the “never die tree.”
Every part of the Moringa Tree is edible. Its contains pods, leaves, seeds and roots.
A drought-resistant plant, it is highly sustainable. It “commonly tops 3 m — or even 5 m –within a year of the seed being placed in the ground. This tree is raised for food rather than forestry. And beyond edibles, it provides products that make village life more self-sufficient: lubricating oil, lamp oil, wood, paper, liquid fuel, skin treatments, and the means to help purify water, to name but a few.” (source)
According to Mercola Moringa is loaded with,
- 9 times the protein of yogurt
- 10 times the vitamin A of carrots
- 15 times the potassium of bananas
- 17 times the calcium of milk
- 12 times the vitamin C of oranges
- 25 times the iron of spinach
Moringa is Healing
Moringa offers many healing benefits, which is the prime reason I have incorporated it as often as possible. Here are some of them:
- treat inflammation
- treat infectious disorders
- aid in digestive functioning
- improve liver function
- enhance milk flow in nursing mothers
- reducing high blood pressure
- eliminating water weight
- lowering cholesterol
- help regulate thyroid function
Sources: The Healing Powers of Moringa, The 6 Benefits of Moringa and Why Moringa is the New Superfood You Need to Know About
What Do You Do With Moringa?
I enjoy sprinkling the leaves over most everything, but to get even more of a boost, I make my Moringa into a powder form (so that I can consume more). Here’s how I do it:
- I buy the Moringa leaves at the Farmers’ Market
- I bring them home and lay them out to dry in a cool area, as Moringa does not like to be hot. (You must make sure they don’t have any water on them or the moisture will get trapped while drying and mold.)
- They will dry out pretty well about 1.5-2 weeks later.
- Crunch the leaves of the stems, and place into a grinder.
- Grind into a powder.
- Store in a sealed glass jar.
- Sprinkle liberally over anything and everything.
I realize that not everyone can make their own Moringa powder. It’s widely available to purchase today. I like THIS Moringa and THIS Moringa.
I was slacking for a few months with my daily Moringa use, but I started up with full force again.
Yesterday I made some of my amazing bread and threw a ton of Moringa in the “batter.” I also sprinkled it over my jumbo salad and added it to my chia pudding mixture.
Moringa is not going anywhere. In fact, I think it’s going to become the “next big thing.”
Have you ever had it?
p.s. Moringa is a plant, but because of how I use it, I think of it like an herb. I’ve loved herbs and spices for a very long time. I use them in hundreds of ways. I have a Pinterest Board dedicated to them.
Xox,
SKH