The Anti-process Series: Fabulous Fall "French (turnip) Fries!"

I have to apologize in advance because I don't have any pictures of this recipe right now 

(because someone, a-hem, forgot to take them!!!).

(...ok it was me...)

So let's just dive right in!

This recipe needs just six simple ingredients:

• Turnips - 3 lbs, peeled & cut into sticks the size of homemade french fries (about 1/3" wide x 3" long)
• (turnips that are more than 3-inches in diameter tend to get too fibrous for this  recipe; so be sure to buy turnips less than 3-inches around!)
• Vegetable Oil - 2 Tbsp 
• Grated Parmesan Cheese - 2/3 cup 
• (fresh is best! ...if you have the time, I mean.)
• Garlic Salt - 1 & 1/2 tsp
• Paprika - 2 tsp
• Onion Powder - 2 tsp

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with aluminum foil & coat lightly with oil (I like to use coconut oil here, just rubbed on using a paper towel, because coconut oil is simply wonderful, isn't it?)

2. Place oil & turnips in a large bowl & toss to coat. Next, add parmesan & the spices to a large, resealable bag & mix well. Add the turnips to the bag & give it all a shake until the turnips are evenly covered with spices. Spread in a single layer on the baking sheets.

3. Bake in upper & lower thirds of oven until crisp on the outside & tender on the inside (usually around 30 minutes, but everyone's oven is different!).

Nutrition:

In each 3/4 cup serving, these have only 100 calories, 5.5g fat, 3.5g protein, 10g carbs, 3g fiber, 390mg sodium & 5.8mg cholesterol.

***NOW...***

Turnips have less starch than potatoes, which is one of the reasons they are a much better carb, but this also means that your fries won't be exactly as "crispy" as potato fries.

BUT THEY ARE FREAKING DELICIOUS SO SIT DOWN & EAT YOUR FRIES! 

;)

My Very Favorite DETOX Water!

This is a fairly simple post, but I just wanted to share my very favorite detox water. Remember to always use glass pitchers or jars when adding essential oils because the oils can break down the phthalates in the plastics (more on phthalates here); & who wants to drink up those yummy man-made chemicals? Mmm, mmm, good...

Anywaaaaay...

 I have an infusion pitcher & I fill the infusing sleeve with mint leaves & oranges without the peel, but with plenty of pith. The pith is where the nutrients are, people!

Then I add Young Living's lemon essential oil, about 1-2 drops per cup of water. Let it sit for an hour or two & it is ready to go! The longer it sits, the more the water becomes infused.

I personally like to make some infused green tea instead of water, otherwise using the same recipe. 

And I'm not talking about hot tea from a plastic pod in a machine! Did you know you can make your own tea from boiling water, tea bags 

& a pot lid? I know, right?!? CRAZY TOWN!

BUT...

Just in case you don't know how to "steep" your own tea (which not everyone does! No judgment here!), you just bring water to boiling, remove from heat, add your tea bags & put the lid on the pot. Your tea should be ready in just a few minutes, but I tend to let mine sit there for awhile because I like my green tea cold most of the time anyway.

When you add the green tea, you not only have water that is

Detoxifying

Hunger-curbing

Alkalinizing

but now you have also filled it with

ANTI-OXIDANTS!

And those little guys get rid of free-radicals in your cells. 

And those little bastards are responsible for speeding up your aging process! 

Ummm, no thank you!

Here are some variations to the recipe:

To switch it up to a weight - loss boosting water, you can add Young Living's grapefruit, lemon & peppermint essential oils to the water. I do leave the peppermint out 

if I'm already diffusing mint in the pitcher itself, though.

Why do these boost weight loss????

Lemon - detoxes fat from your cells & alkalinizes the body*

Grapefruit - boosts metabolism

Peppermint - curbs appetite & reduces sugar cravings

* People always ask me how/why lemons & apple cider vinegar make the body more alkaline when they are so acidic themselves? I mean, the chemical name for vinegar is acetic acid. Could a name BE anymore acidic sounding? {side bar, you're supposed to say that like Chandler Bing.} The answer is really quite simple. The reason that foods are acidic or alkaline have NOTHING to do with the state of the food itself when it's outside of the body. It is determined to be either acidic or alkaline by the way the food is broken down & reacts inside the body. So while lemons & vinegar are acidic when you put them in your mouth, they become alkaline in your body, which balances your pH.

An acidic body is more prone to sickness, disease, cancer, AGING (if the other reasons weren't enough for you, ladies ;)...), hormonal imbalances (can you say 'mood swings?') & mental health issues such as depression & anxiety. Alkaline foods help to restore pH levels & oxygenate your body.

This has made me realize that I need to do a post on pH balance in the body, why it's important & how to regulate by what you eat. So I'll shut up for now & do that later because this is getting off-track!!! hahaha

I hope you enjoyed this post & trying out the recipes! 

And if you have any questions about how to get Young Living Essential Oils, please contact me. I'd love to help you on your journey to good health!

With much compassion & respect,

~ Natalie ~

Stay FNT!

The Anti-process Series: The Best Breakfast for Your Human Body

            I've been meaning to get more recipes on here for cooking from scratch with your family. I haven't made any breakfast posts & I figured that needed to be the next project! I have included a recipe that really nails every aspect of the basic daily dietary need for the HUMAN BODY. 

            This is what your body NEEDS! Not what we want to stick in our mouths, but what you need to rewire your brain to realize is actually food -- real, minimally processed, whole food that your body recognizes, absorbs & can change the way you feel, think & act. So many of the negative aspects in our society can be fixed by simply treating your body for what it is & what IT needs. I know I say this a lot, but I don't think it can be emphasized enough: 

you only get one body!!!! 

            Ok, so I'm going to use the "F-word" a lot in this post. FIBER. Fiber is so important! Whether you are trying to get healthy, stay healthy or even lose weight, fiber should be something you eat & eat LOTS of; but the  majority of Americans hardly ever reach their daily requirement! It is a very small minority that even does this fiber thing right. VERY, VERY SMALL!!!

            The reason we have trouble getting our fiber is because this comes from carbohydrates. When most people think carbohydrates, they think bread, pasta, cereal & other things along these lines; but most of the carbohydrates in these items come from SUGAR, not the necessary dietary fiber that is what our body actually needs. 

            Actually, I just deleted a lot of what I had written because I didn't mean for this to turn into a fiber rant. I'll do that in another post to help you debunk what actually has fiber & what is sugary crap! 

On to breakfast!!!!

            Breakfast is the best place to start your day off with fiber because it's like your body's health insurance for the rest of the day. You want to shoot for somewhere between 10 & 15 grams of fiber in your breakfast. If I ever find a (ahem, still yummy) way to get above 10 while still staying at a proper caloric level, I will let you know; but for now, I have two variations on the same recipe with all the proper nutrition. Ready to get started? OK!

The FNT Miracle Oatmeal of Your Dreams!

(REMEMBER TO DRINK HALF YOUR BODYWEIGHT IN OUNCES EVERYDAY*)

Prep Time:   just enough time to grab the ingredients & boil water.

Cook Time:  30 minutes (if you use steel cut oats -- much less if you use quicker cooking oats. The original 30-minute stuff is the best, but the five minute stuff certainly won't kill you, haha. Because I know the steel cut are the best for me, I like to make a batch the night before & refrigerate in small serving containers.)

First Variation Ingredients:

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup steel-cut oats
• 2 scoops vanilla-flavored whey protein powder
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 1 whole medium banana

Directions:

1. Bring the water to a boil. Slowly stir in the oats & reduce the heat to a medium/medium-high, depending on your stove. (Just low enough so that the pot doesn't boil over.) Let it cook for five minutes or until the oats are starting to really thicken (it usually is five minutes).
2. Reduce heat & let it simmer (uncovered) for 30 minutes (or to whatever consistency you prefer. I just do the 30 minutes).
3. Turn off your burner & stir the oatmeal. Then, while it is still very hot, add the protein powder, stirring in one scoop at a time. Stir & then taste to make sure there isn't any undissolved powder.
4. Stir in the chia seeds one tablespoon at a time. Really give it a few good stirs to distribute all the ingredients as evenly as possible & then just let it sit for about a minute.
5. This is where I get out four containers & separate the oatmeal into four 3/4 cup servings. Any little extra in the pan I will distribute evenly to the four. Refrigerate or if you want to eat right away, move on to the final step.
6. When you're ready to eat it, either fresh & still hot or just reheated, top with the banana. I like to slice up the banana & just put it on top, but you can also mash the banana into the oatmeal itself if you like!
7. Go eat!

Second Variation Ingredients:

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup steel-cut oats
• 2 scoops vanilla-flavored protein powder
• 8 almonds, crushed into pieces (like you put them in a plastic bag & smashed them with your kitchen mallet)
• 1/2 medium banana (a HALF of the banana this time!!!!!)

Follow the instructions above, but top now with the almonds & only half of the banana this time.

Nutrition Information:

Both variations have pretty similar nutrition, except for the fat; but the fat is healthy fats from almonds that your body needs & ups the fiber to exactly 10 grams, so that can be easily overlooked at this point.

First Variation:

• Calories 350
• Fat 5
• Carbohydrates 55g
• Dietary Fiber 9.6g
• Soluble Fiber 3g
• Insoluble Fiber 6.6g
• Sugar 16g
• Protein 24g

Second Variation:

• Calories 353
• Fat 9.8g
• Carbohydrates 57g
• Dietary Fiber 10g
• Soluble Fiber 3g
• Insoluble Fiber 7g
• Sugar 16g
• Protein 25g

*If you are adding fiber to your diet, you are doing something really awesome for your body & any of it's icky symptoms; but when you are increasing fiber, you certainly want to increase your water intake as well. 

(YES, I SAID WATER! DIET COKE IS NOT WATER! GATORADE IS NOT BETTER FOR YOU THAN WATER! IT'S CALLED ADVERTISING & THEY PAY A LOT OF MONEY TO MAKE US THINK THINGS THAT ARE NOT TRUE TO GET US HOOKED ON THEIR PRODUCTS BECAUSE WE THINK WE'LL BE BETTER, SMARTER, FASTER, OR STRONGER BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT WATER IS THE ONLY DRINK THAT CAN DO THAT FOR YOU! YOU'RE A FREAKING HUMAN BEING & YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO DRINK WATER, DAMMIT! WOULD YOU GIVE GATORADE TO YOUR CAT? NO! BECAUSE IT'S BAD FOR THEM! AND IT'S BAD FOR YOU, TOO!

Oh, but green tea ain't too shabby, either; BUT THE REAL STUFF YOU STEEP AT HOME & NOT PRE-MADE IN A BOTTLE MADE BY BASICALLY ANYONE ELSE!)

       

.....ok, whoops. Sorry about that. ANYway, I've said it on this blog a hundred times, but I'll say it again. We are supposed to drink half of our bodyweight in ounces each day. So if a woman weighs 130 pounds, she needs 65 ounces, or 8.25 8-oz glasses, of water (AT LEAST) to keep her body operating optimally. For anyone who didn't catch that math, I wrote out the instructions below. Just remember that this is the minimal amount. Drinking about two extra glasses is even more ideal.

1. Find your bodyweight in pounds
2. Divide it by 2
3. Divide that by 8 (as in ounces of water in an 8-oz glass)
4. The number you get is the number of 8-oz  glasses of water you should be drinking a day.

Thank you all & I hope you enjoy!

Stay FNT,

Natalie