Testimony of the Day
“Maria words just cannot express how thankful and blessed I feel to have found you and your blog. I started grain fee back in March 2013 with moderate success in weight loss but hit a plateau after about 6-7 months but still had overall amazing success with eliminating stomach issues, fatigue and joint pain. My husband has been hearing me blab on and on about wanting to do one of your nutrition plans sooo that was my early Valentines present from him this year. I am so happy to report that after 5 weeks with the advanced keto package that I have lost another 15-18 pounds BUT most amazingly I have went from a 8-10 in jeans to a 5/6!!! Lord I’ve not wore a 5/6 in years and I feel amazing!!!! I still have 30 days to go by starting my maintenance phase of the plan and I’m very excited to keep seeing results! We are all so very blessed to have a person like you who cares enough to want people to get better and be successful in the right way with weight loss and healing the body! Thank you from the bottom of my heart Maria!
(3 pictures, the collage consists of pics of me at my heaviest around 185-190 along with a new one, a tag with my new clothing size and a new pic in my 5/6 jeans as of last night)” – Dawn”
ClickHEREto get your 30 day meal plans and start your transformation!
I had the great opportunity to speak at Low Carb Denver. One of the doctors who spoke talked about how easy the keto diet can be and that if you need a keto dessert, just make a package of sugar-free Jell-O! WHAT???? I couldn’t believe my ears! A doctor speaking at the conference is recommending a food item filled with food dye, aspartame and chemicals?
I get frustrated when I hear type 2 diabetics tell me that sugar-free Jell-O is considered a “free” food item for them to consume. There are a few reasons to toss Sugar Free Jell-O out of your pantry!
Ingredients in Jell-O gelatin strawberry flavor = gelatin, adipic acid, disodium phosphate, maltodextrin from corn, fumaric acid, aspartame, less than 2 percent artificial flavor, acesulfame potassium, salt, blue 1 dye and red 40 dye.
1. FOOD DYE
There’s good reason to cut the artificial food coloring. They’re in almost all processed foods and even some fresh whole foods; fruit growers are now allowed to dip oranges in a carcinogenic red food dye to make them more appealing. We have a natural instinct linking color to freshness, and to entice kids to eat junk. It’s not just the hot pink cherries in the Captain Crunch that have these detrimental dyes; cheese, vegetable juice, and yogurt contain food coloring. Did you know cheese should be white?Synthetic dyes cause hyperactivity because it is an excitotoxin, where it over stimulates our dopamine production, but then we don’t produce enough; which causes a deficiency. ADD is a symptom of a dopamine deficiency.
Becoming quickly bored with the routine and having a hard time focusing are classic symptoms. People with dopamine deficiencies tend to start a lot of things yet don’t finish them. They work on a lot of different things at once. In an ADHD child, low levels of dopamine don’t allow the child to focus or attend to anything in the environment, looking very physically hyperactive due to their lack of focus. As dopamine levels in the brain begin to rise, we become excited and energized. If it gets too high, which usually happens with stimulations like MSG, food dyes and drugs, then the body becomes hyperstimulated by our environment, becoming guarded and suspicious. With low levels of dopamine, we can’t focus while with high levels of dopamine our focus becomes intense to the point of focusing on everything as though it were directly related to our situation. Steering clear of these excitotoxins are your best defense for your family! Kraft, Coca-Cola and other manufacturers already removed artificial dyes from the products they distribute in other countries, but not in America. Nutri-Grain bars in American include Red 40, Yellow 6 and Blue 1, but in Europe, they use beetroot red, annatto and paprika for color.
2. Aspartame
Aspartame has been found to “eat” tiny holes in our cellular membrane. When this happens, things like Multiple Sclerosis (MS), cancer, mood disorders and many other serious issues will show up. One client in particular LOVED her diet co*ke. She drank 6 cans a day. As an adult, she developed MS; which became so severe she was bound to a wheelchair. After doing some research on aspartame, she decided to kick her addiction to soda. Guess what? Her body started to heal. She is no longer in a wheelchair. She still has symptoms, but her diagnosis went from “extreme MS” to “moderate!” Most people I meet say, “I don’t have depression, but I do feel lousy, crabby, and “fly-off the handle” over no reason lately.” My first suggestion is to kick the aspartame from our lips, which can be very difficult, but in the end, they become a happier person. Same with your children!
3. Maltodexterin
The danger is that maltodextrin is very high on the glycemic index: 105. This is 5 points higher than glucose which is 100. And, it is almost double that of table sugar which is around 59.
To learn more on specific foods and how it effects our mood and our children, I have a very shocking class called Food Mood Energy and Weight Loss for only $25 and I also have a Healthy Kids Class. Just click here to get the slides and video! 🙂
SUGAR FREE JELLO
1 cup cold water
4 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 cup boiling water
3 tea bags (blueberry, chai, peach, lemon, pomegranate or other)
2 TBS Swerve (or stevia glycerite to desired sweetness)
OPTIONAL: 1 tsp extract (blueberry, pineapple,lemon or strawberry, depending ondesiredflavor)
1-3 tsp citric acid (natural sour taste)
Soften gelatin by soaking in 1 cup of the cold water for a few minutes. Boil water and add 3 tea bags to 1 cup boiling water and steep for 3-5 minutes. Remove the tea bags (squeeze out water from the bags) and add the cold water to the hot tea. Add remaining ingredients, stirring until thoroughly blended. Pour into an 8×8 baking pan. Refrigerate until set. Cut into desired shapes. Makes 4 servings.
NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per serving)
Traditional Jell-O = 70 calories, 0g fat, 1g protein, 17g carbs, 0g fiber
“Healthified” Jell-O = 8 calories, 0g fat, 2g protein, 0g carbs
NOTE: I don’t use regular store brand gelatin. I use Further Foods Gelatin. It is grass-fed, pasture-raised premium beef hide gelatin. Flavorless and naturally thickens your cooking and baking recipes. I buy a HUGE amount (gelatin doesn’t spoil!)
According to Nourishing Traditions and the Weston A. Price foundation, there are various health benefits to Gelatin, including:
1. Can improve digestion since it naturally binds to water and helps food move more easily though the digestive track.
2. Good for joints and can decrease pain associated with arthritis.
3. Can help tighten loose skin. I get questions all the time on how to do this! Here is one trick!
4. Supports skin, hair and nail growth.
5. Great source of dietary collagen, therefore it helps reduce cellulite! (BEAUTY TIP: do not waste your money on topical creams that claim to reduce cellulite. Collagen is too large to be absorbed by the skin, so those skin creams are a waste of money. Consume it internally and use almond or coconut oil for lotion).
6. Speeds wound healing: Gelatin is mainly composed of the amino acids glycine and proline, which many people don’t consume in adequate amounts as they are found in the bones, fibrous tissues and organs of animals and as a population, we don’t consume these parts as much anymore. These amino acids are needed not only for proper skin, hair and nail growth, but for a healthy immune function and weight regulation! Glycine, which makes up about 1/3 of the amino acids in gelatin powder is anti-inflammatory and evidence is finding that it can help speed wound healing.
7. Helps with sleep: Glycine in gelatin can also help improve quality of sleep.
8. Balances hormones: We are living in a “Sea of Estrogen” (yes, even men!),which can be caused by consuming alcohol, excess carbohydrates, hormones in food, phytoestrogens in soy, xenoestrogens found in plastics, heating food in plastic, even soap is estrogenic. This hormonal imbalance causes aging, inflammation, and infertility. Gelatin has anti-estrogenic effects which can help offset the effects of excess estrogen in the body.
9. Weight Loss: It boosts Human Growth Hormone production and boost metabolism. The largest surge of Human Growth Hormone is 30-70 minutes after bed (I write all about the Human Growth Hormone in my book: Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism).
To help with weight loss, do not eat 3 hours before bed to let the natural rise of Human Growth Hormone happen (or insulin will stop the natural rise) and consume at least 1 tablespoon of gelatin powder before bed. You can eat it plain, but I recommend mixing in to a cup of ‘sleepy time’ tea by dissolving at least 1 TBS in about 1/3 cup cold water and then adding 2/3 cup of the steeped tea.
So Gelatin is a super supplement!
