Nourishing Chickpea Salad Recipe (Hormone Friendly!)

Summer is here! That means it’s time to put away the heavy carbs and opt for something fresh, yet nourishing!

Today, I’ll be sharing a delicious and simple recipe with you: Nourishing Chickpea Salad.

This recipe is great for those who are trying to eat healthier at home, without sacrificing their calories (nobody wants to eat restrictive salads only to be left unsatisfied, right?). This is also PCOS friendly, hormone friendly, and gut supportive—let’s get to it!

The recipe (the ingredients here DO matter):

-drained organic chickpeas (peeled if you have the patience hah)*

-organic kale

-organic cherry tomatoes

-ripe avocado

-soft boiled egg (pasture raised if possible)

-organic canned corn

-mozzerella/soft cheese (optional if going DF)

*removing the peel of chickpeas may help reduce bloating if you have sensitivities to legumes, due to lectins in the skin

The vinaigrette:

-extra virgin olive oil (cold pressed if possible)

-basalmic vinegar

-lemon juice

-salt + pepper

-oregano (optional)

Keep in mind, I don’t put portions/measurements because I believe it’s best for YOU to get creative in the kitchen to build a connection with your food! Listen to your body of how much quantity it wants and what herbs/spices you’d like to try.

Once you have all your ingredients, all you have to do is literally mix everything together! It’s SO simple.

Many of the ingredients I listed are organic because these are commonly sprayed food items, containing pesticide exposure. However, you can always play around with variations of this recipe to your liking!

Due to the high protein & fat content from the chickpeas, eggs, cheese, and avocados, this makes a great recipe to keep you FULL, while supporting your metabolic needs. Great for those hormones!

Do you like receiving recipe ideas? Drop your comments below and let me know!

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Gut Healing Pineapple Gummies

This easy 2-ingredient gut health recipe will blow your mind. Say hello to better digestion and skin just from this recipe alone!

These gummies are made with bovine gelatin, pure collagen protein which has an impressive amino acid profile that’s amazing for healing the gut lining, improving skin elasticity, strengthening muscles and joints, and so much more.

Collagen is actually the most abundant form of protein in the body. It forms our muscles, joints, hair, skin, nails, and supports the lining of our gut. Unfortunately, as we age, our bodies produce less collagen and it’s difficult to obtain from food unless quality animal proteins are a staple in your diet. Supplementation has been shown to help!

The collagen that I use is from Perfect Supplements, a brand I personally love and stand by wholeheartedly! They prioritize clean supplements that are pesticide, glyphosate free and source from pasture raised, grass fed cows. You can find many incredible products such as dessicated grass fed liver, pure vitamin D3 drops, Magnesium, and so many other great functional, whole food supplements.

If you’d like to find this exact supplement and make these gummies with me, you can find it here.

Let’s make some gummies!

Recipe:

-1/3 cup of Perfect Supplements Bovine Gelatin

-4 cups of 100% pineapple juice

First, bloom the gelatin in a small bowl with 1 cup of juice. Then heat a pan or pot with remaining 3 cups of juice on medium heat. Once the gelatin blooms (you’ll see it texturize), add it into the rest of the heated juice and stir.

Then grease a shallow glass container with virgin coconut oil. This step makes the gummies taste like pina colada flavored! Now pour in the juice to the container and let it cool down.

Place it into the fridge for 3+ hours or overnight to let it firm up.

Cut them out into cubes once it’s ready and enjoy!!

So much fun to eat. It’s great as a snack or breakfast bite if you’re on the go or have a hard time eating foods in the morning. It’s a great way to stabilize blood sugar and to stay nourished. A big batch will last about a week!

If you make this recipe, share your photo and tag me! I’d love to see your gummies!

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Have requests for recipes you’d like to see? Drop a comment below!

The Truth About Dairy-"Is Dairy 'Bad' For You?"

Is it really the dairy or is it your gut?

Dairy sometimes gets a bad 'rep' in the health and wellness world. Typically because most people associate dairy with inflammation which may cause an IgG inflammatory reaction (food sensitivity or intolerance). While it is true to some level, dairy may cause higher inflammation, it's the quality that matters--the quality of product and quality of your gut microbiome.

Here's what the research says...

“Although bovine milk and dairy products are an excellent source of protein, vitamins, and calcium (Ca), a growing number of individuals have adopted a dairy-free diet due to suggested associations between milk and dairy products with coronary diseases (e.g., cardiovascular diseases, hyperlipidemia, etc.) and weight gain (obesity) [1]. Recent studies have shown this association not to be true.”

“Daily consumption of 0.5 L of milk or an equivalent amount of other dairy products supplies a significant amount of various essential nutrients that are required on a daily basis [2]. The decision to follow a dairy-free diet may be driven by potential intolerance to one or more of milks’ components such as lactose [29], which as an example is often driven by assumption rather than confirmation through testing [26]. However, when consumers abstain from dairy products entirely without adequate substitution, their risk of developing nutritional complications and deficiencies such as Ca, vitamin D or long chain n-3 (Omega 3) FA may increase.”

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6723057/

Does this mean I should start consuming dairy??

No, not neccessarily. Consuming dairy should be taken with a bio-individualized approach just like everything else in nutrition. There isn't a one-size fits all.

Since dairy is a protein-rich food, it's important to look at the biological structure of each person's needs. Are you deficient in minerals? Do you have any dairy sensitivity? Do you have any gut related symptoms? Do you have any imbalances in your health that you've been tested for?

These things are important to keep in mind when making any diet changes.

If you've been tested and have worked on sealing and healing your gut wall, and are ready to incorporate some high quality dairy back into your diet, you CAN. And here's how.

Ways to re-introduce dairy back into your life!

Go slow! Reintroducing foods takes time and observation to get it right. Use a food log or journal and really track how you're feeling.

KEFIR

Kefir is an incredible dairy product to incorporate in your diet. It's a fermented drink which you can mix with fruit, honey, add in smoothies, etc. Better if you can get real, natural kefir grains and soak them yourself. It's worth the extra effort. Amazing probiotic for your gut!

GRASS FED BUTTER

Raw, grass-fed butter is undeniably delicious and full of healthy monosaturated fats that our hormones love.

GOAT OR SHEEP'S MILK/CHEESE

These are great alternatives to ease back into dairy. Goat and sheep products are not as sensitive and digest easier than most typical cow's milk. Cow's milk (if not raw) may contain hormones or antibiotics.

Word of advice:

It's always the quality that matters! These are the key words you want to look for in purchasing dairy.

-grass-fed

-raw

-pasture raised

-full fat

-non GMO

-hormone free

Anything else is just not worth it. You risk exposing your gut to harmful fillers, sugars, hormones and don't get the bacterial qualities you need for your gut.

High quality products typically have only 1 or 2 ingredients at most. That's how you'll know. ;)