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hormone balancing meatballs

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Hormone Balancing Meatballs

June 28, 2016

Paleo Hormone Balancing meatballs

I love meatballs. And when I love something, I obsess over it for a good month-ish…

There were the meatballs for breakfast.

Lamb meatballs with sweet potato pasta.

And who could forget the Fertility Feast meatballs?

Meatball-making reminds me of cookie-baking. You roll up all of these fantastic ingredients into tiny little balls, put them on a baking sheet, and fill your kitchen with all the smells, until it's time to pull them out and try one bite of the juicy, herby, spicy, meaty cookie. But unlike cookies, I don’t believe you have to follow an exact recipe. That’s the beauty of cooking after all. A pinch of this, a handful of that – as long as it’s all things you like, it will most likely be delicious.

Besides being addicting, these particular meatballs have so many health benefits, it’s ridiculous. The reason? Because they have liver. Yes, liver. WAIT! WAIT! Before you freak out and close this page, please do two things for me: 1) Read the benefits below. And 2) See how I’m going to make it really easy for you to incorporate the liver into your diet through this awesome recipe.

Hormone Balancing Meatballs

Ridiculous Benefits Of My Liver Meatballs:

LIVER is one of the most nutrient-dense foods. Period.

Greater than 65% of daily requirement of folate for 30-something women.

High in B12, B6, zinc and iron, which helps with…

  • Depression
  • Thyroid issues
  • Low energy

The highest source of vitamin A, which improves…

  • Thyroid function. It supports thyroid deficiencies so it's perfect for anyone with hypothyroid.
  • Liver health and detoxification.
  • Absorption of Vitamin A. We can’t get ANYWHERE close to this amount of Vitamin A from vegetables – not only because vegetable don't have as much, but becasue the body has to convert it to retinol first in order to use it. Unfortuantely, the veggie conversion rate is not good – especially for people with thyroid issues. But with liver, it's already converted and ready to use!

Anti-Fatigue factor:

  • In a famous study done by Benjamin K. Ershoff, PhD, liver consumption prevented rats from exhaustion, even after swimming for 2 straight hours.
  • Could have implications for human consumption; many people report feeling energized after eating it.

WALNUTS are high in Omega-3 which has been shown to:

  • Balance depression, anxiety and mood swings associated with hormonal imbalances
  • Reduce inflammation and balance insulin

COCONUT OIL is a medium chain fatty acid which:

  • Is essential for hormone production
  • Keeps inflammation levels low
  • Boosts your metabolism
  • Promotes weight loss

My personal experience with these liver meatballs:

  • Incredibly satiating – I've tried liver in many different ways and THIS baby finally made me enjoy them.
  • Improved digestion
  • More energy
  • GREAT for fertility

Paleo Hormone Balancing Meatballs

Ridiculously Easy Way To Make It Delicious:

  • So that you don’t actually taste the liver, we’re going to mix it together with grass-fed ground beef and lots of seasonings and ingredients.
  • So that you don’t have to touch the liver (too much), I’m going to ask that you ask your local butcher to grind it for you. And if you ask really nicely, they might grind it together with the beef. (Shoutout to Anthony at Local Foods for being the sweetest, most accommodating butcher ever 🙂 )
  • So that you don’t have to deal with liver often, we’re going to make one BIG batch now so you can freeze them later and have a ready-to-go, highly nutritious dinner any night of the week.

Okay, enough talk. Are you ready to put all your fears aside and try liver???

   Paleo Hormone Balancing Meatballs Ingredients

Hormone Balancing Basil Meatballs
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
45 Meatballs 30 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Servings Prep Time
45 Meatballs 30 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Hormone Balancing Basil Meatballs
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
45 Meatballs 30 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Servings Prep Time
45 Meatballs 30 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: Meatballs
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and set out three baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Melt 1 teaspoon of coconut oil on the sauté pan and toss in onion; sauté for 5 minutes-ish.
  3. While that's cooking, chop up garlic cloves, basil leaves and walnuts; Set aside.
  4. Set aside cooked onions and let cool to room temperature.
  5. Whisk eggs in a bowl.
  6. Stir in garlic, basil, walnuts, nutritional yeast, coconut flour and red chili pepper flakes.
  7. Pour mixture into beef and liver; Pour onions in separately.
  8. Get your hands in there and mix it all together.
  9. Roll mixture into 1 inch balls and place on parchment paper.
  10. Stick in oven for 10 minutes.
  11. Bonus: Once cooled, stick in freezer ON THE PAN to flash freeze your meatballs. Doing so will keep them in meatball shape so you can stuff them in freezer bags and have them on hand whenever you need them. Believe me, nothing is better than coming home to an empty fridge, and then remembering that you have delicious pre-made meatballs waiting for you in the freezer.
  12. TO RE-HEAT: Warm in pan with a bit of coconut oil, bone broth and/or spaghetti sauce for approximately 10 minutes.
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What Do I Eat On The Paleo Diet?

July 11, 2016

I still get weird looks when I tell people I’m paleo. Either it’s because they don’t know what that means. Or because they do know what it means, and are thoroughly confused as to how I get by every day with such a "restricted" menu. They always ask, without bread, grains, beans or dairy*, what do you eat?? The answer: A LOT.

*Note: I am paleo-ish, so at times, I do eat dairy, quinoa, hummus and trial bites of my husband's burger pretty much every time he orders one 🙂

So I thought that I’d share with all of you who are curious – what does this paleo girl eat in a day?

— June 24 —

First Thing: Turmeric Bone Broth

This is paleo bone broth with a touch of turmeric and salt and peper

If you read my last post on how to make bone broth, you know how I'm a big fan of sipping the golden juice daily (or at least a few times a week) for preventitive care of joint pain, inflammation, indigestion and tons of beauty benefits. Any way I can get turmeric in my day is a good thing. So this  morning, I tried a simple combo of turmeric, salt and pepper + coconut oil. Remember, turmeric is much more effective if it's taken with pepper and fat.

Ingredients:

Breakfast: Booger Smoothie

PaleoSmoothie

You can't get away from the ugly colored smoothies when you've got greens in your juice, but you can make it prettier by adding pretty healthy toppings like bee pollen and goji berries. I've already told you all about why Bee Pollen is the New Black and why Turmeric is my Favorite, but there are some other gems in here like Ginger Root (good for inlammation), Wheat Grass (known to be a healing agent, but not to be used in mass amounts on a regular basis) and Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides (my favorite – and the most natural way to get extra protein in my smoothies). I was particularly proud of this combination of fruits and greens, as the flavor turned out delicious – which is not always a guarantee when your as ambitious as I am about stuffing every fruit and veggie imaginable into one Vitamix.

Ingredients:

  • Romaine Lettuce
  • Ginger root
  • Turmeric
  • Pepper
  • Frozen Pineapple
  • Frozen Mango
  • Coconut Water
  • Bee Pollen
  • Wheat Grass
  • Vital Proteins Collagen
  • Goji Berries

Lunch: Fruits from my Roots Salad

PaleoMangoAvocadoSalad

I have a salad almost every day. I know to some that sounds boring. But I don't see it that way. With the pure number of fruits and vegetables, spices and seasonings, and nuts and seeds in this world – there are endless combinations to what you can stuff in a bowl. This particular one reminded me of my childhood because I used two fruits that were staples in my house growing up – Avocados and Mangos. My Barbados-born dad was adamant about never wasting ANY of the fruit. So I'd always have to scrape that mango dry before I threw away the skin. Don't worry Dad, I made sure to get every last drop 😉

Ingredients:

  • Romaine Lettuce
  • Sliced Cucumber
  • Chopped Mango
  • Chopped Avocado
  • Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette (Balsamic Vinegar + Red Chili Pepper + Salt + Pepper + Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

 

Dinner: Hormone Balancing Meatballs + Paleo Pasta

Paleo meatballs with zucchini pasta and sweet potato pasta created in a spiralizer PaleoPasta

You guys have already heard me sing the praises of my hormone balancing meatballs. You'll see these pop up on my dinner table (and my Instagram feed) often because they're so easy and so damn good. I love coming home from work, and pulling out a few already-made delicious meatballs from the freezer. All I have to do is simmer them in bone broth for 10 minutes or so in a saute pan. They are part of my fertility diet, but I highly recommend them to anybody who is looking to balance their hormones. My favorite thing to top them with is "Paleo Pasta" which is really just a combination of any vegetable I can spiralize. In this case, I used a Sweet Potato, Zucchini and Yellow Squash.

Ingredients:

  • Spiralized Sweet Potato >> sautéed in Dr. Bronner's coconut oil and sprinkled with Salt, Pepper and Cinnamon.
  • Sprialized Zucchini and Squash >> sautéed in Dr. Bronner's coconut oil and sprinkled with Salt, Pepper and Herbs de Provence.
  • Hormone Balancing Meatballs, defrosted from frozen by simmering in Bone Broth for 10-ish minutes.

Alrighty folks, that's all she wrote. Question: Did you like this post? Would you like to see more of what I eat in a day? Or could you care less? Comment below and let me know!

Much Love,

HealthyStaceySignature

Vitamin Food

January 15, 2018

BrazilNuts_650

Tell me what you see when you look at this picture. Nuts? Brazil nuts? Nope. WRONG. These are my selenium vitamins.

I've never been one for vitamins and supplements. From a young age I absolutely hated swallowing pills. It took me at least 137 tries to gulp a multi-vitamin down, no matter how much water I downed it with. 

Fast forward to today, and I'm still not a big fan. I can do it if I have to — and I did when it came time to take prenatal vitamins. But as far as my nutrition routine goes, I'm all about food as vitamins rather than choking down horse pills. 

That’s why every morning, I look forward to my “vitamin routine.” I very rarely let a day go by without consuming these foods in some shape or form every day. You know what they say, "Two brazil nuts a day keeps the doctor away!"

Captain Obvious PSA: I am NOT a medical professional. This vitamin routine is my opinion based on my own experience and should not be taken for medical advice.

2 Brazil Nuts

I consider myself a bit of a nut connoisseur. Macadamia nuts, almonds, walnuts, pistachios — I am crazy for them all (note how I did NOT go for the easy pun there; I can do better). 

Brazil nuts are not quite as popular as your average almond or walnut, but that's because they are totally under-appreciated. They're big, crunchy, buttery, and happen to be ridiculously good for you. I love taking these right after I swallow down my prenatal vitamins as a bit of motivation at the end of the hard-to-swallow rainbow. One Brazil nut has 90 micrograms of selenium, or 129 percent of the daily intake recommended by the U.S. government. 

This helps with…

  • Hormone Balance
  • Skin and Breast Cancer protection
  • Heavy metal protection (particularly mercury — what you get from eating a lot of fish)

Source

1 Slice of Liverwurst

Liverwurst_650

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Liver is one of the best things you can eat for your health. You could literally eat a slice of liverwurst or a few bites of liver and onions a day and get nearly as many nutrients as a multi-vitamin, plus do wonders for your digestive system and hormones. I love getting already prepared liverwurst from US Wellness Meats because it prevents me from having to make it from scratch (not pleasant, as you can imagine).

A 3.5-ounce serving of liverwurst sausage contains 6.4 milligrams of iron. Men need 8 milligrams of iron a day; women need 18 milligrams. It also provides 14 grams of protein, 2.3 milligrams of zinc, and 4.3 milligrams of B vitamin niacin.

All this helps with…

  • Healthy red blood cell count
  • More energy
  • A healthy immune system
  • A healthy nervous system

Source

 

2 Pasture-Raised Eggs

PasturedEggs_650

An egg is like that kid in school that was so easy going and likable that everybody could hang with him. My day has not begun until I've eaten at least two eggs. I like them over easy, covered in sautéed kale, and topped with avocado and a couple leftover sweet potato fries. It’s heaven. I promise. But the key to making sure they are really contributing to your health is to get them pasture-raised. Which has become a whole lot easier since Vital Farms made them widely available. 

Hens that are free to graze on pasture have significantly higher levels of Omega-3 and Vitamin E (as much as 200%) to caged hens. In one study, a pasture-raised egg versus an organic egg produced:

  • 1/3 less cholesterol
  • 1/4 less saturated fat
  • 2/3 more vitamin A
  • 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
  • 3 times more vitamin E
  • 7 times more beta carotene
  • 3-6 times more vitamin D

Source

1 Teaspoon of Camu Camu (in my yogurt or a smoothie)

I must admit, the first time I tried Camu Camu, it was because I got it for free from a work project and I was NOT impressed. I added an entire tablespoon to my smoothie thinking — Oh it's pink, so it probably tastes like pink Starbursts! WRONG. Camu Camu is very sour and not something you want to go around eating by the spoonful. However, this wonder food contains as much as 60 times vitamin C than that of an orange. It also includes amino acids and phytochemicals and minerals that can help the body in a variety of ways.

I highly recommend putting no more than a teaspoon in your smoothie or yogurt and making sure to fill it up with other delicious fruits and toppings to off-set the sour face. Real convincing, I know. But come cold and flu season when you find that your cold is lasting half as long as everybody else, you'll thank me for the increased immunity as well as these benefits…

  • Decreased inflammation
  • Improved gum health
  • Improved eye health
  • Improved mood

Source

1 Heaping Spoonful of Fermented Food (sauerkraut, carrots, kefir, pickles, etc.)

FermentedCarrots_650

Fermented food has been the missing link in our diets for the last hundred plus years. Somewhere along the line, the food makers decided to skip the natural fermentation process and start preserving pickles and sauerkraut in vinegar instead. But with this shortcut, you lose their best benefit — probiotics. I'm sure we've all hopped on the probiotic bandwagon at some point or another, but I'm telling you, getting them through food is always going to be your best bet.

Food like sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, and fermented carrots contain vitamins, minearal, and phytonutrients that are more bioavailable to the body. Plus, when you switch up the types of fermented food and eat a variety on a regular basis (rather than take the same pill every day), you provide the body with a cross-section of probiotic strains. A probiotic food such as sauerkraut provides high levels of fiber and significant levels of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, and B vitamins.

All of this helps with:

  • Enhanced digestion
  • Increased blood circulation
  • Improved heart health
  • Improved energy
  • Strong immune system
  • Strong bones
  • Reduced cholesterol
  • And inflammation elimination

Source

What do you consider your "vitamin food?" Comment below, shoot me an email or hit me up on Instagram!

Much Love,

HealthyStaceySignature

Healthy Body

Healthy Stacey is having a baby + Spicy & Sweet Brittle Recipe

May 4, 2017

A lot has happened since my last post in December (embarrassing, I know). I’ve been writing up a storm for a few publications including The List, Mashed, and more, I’m really coming into my own as a personal chef, and oh yeah, I’M HAVING A BABY!

HealthyStaceyHavingaBaby

Yup. It’s official. All my efforts in fertility food have paid off. Well, that mixed with a few months of frustration, a few weeks of letting go and having fun (read: more wine, less paranoia), and finally, a big old positive on the pee stick. Baby Hutson is arriving in September and my husband and I could not be more excited.

HealthyStaceyPreggo2

In the meantime, however, months have gone by of me learning tons of new recipes, techniques, and information that I’ve been dying to share with you. Just haven’t made the time to do it. 

Because I couldn’t settle on one topic to talk about, I thought I’d give you a sampling of my new-found knowledge (i.e. a brain dump) so that we can get this train moving again. You ready? Here goes.

The Book I’m Reading:

DeepNutritionBookCateShanahan

Deep Nutrition: Why your genes need traditional food, 2nd Edition. I read the first years ago and it opened my mind up to the world of Epigenetics (meaning, what you eat and how you live can alter your DNA — and your future children’s DNA — for the better). Dr. Shanahan has now updated the book with more information on vegetable oils, brain health, body symmetry, and diet, and I cannot get enough. This book is really hard to summarize in a nice, neat paragraph. So maybe it’s better served having its own post. But if I can convince you to do one thing differently this month to better your health, it would be to read this book. No, I’m not getting paid to say that. I just really want more people to know more about it because it’s THAT good.

The Foods I’m Eating:

CadoIceCreamPaleo
At the moment, I love all things cold, crunchy, and/or sweet. That includes (but is not limited to): Cado ice cream (yes, it’s avocado ice cream), frozen grapes, jicama, my homemade spicy brittle crunch (recipe below), and plantain bread with almond butter and cinnamon. I’ve also been really diligent about drinking bone broth as much as I can for all of the benefits it brings to me and Baby H. I’ve increased my carb intake, not only because it’s important for hormone balance, but because my body is begging for it. I’ve done that in the form of sweet potatoes, plantain bread and chips, sprouted quinoa, and the occasional piece of sourdough bread with a heaping spoonful of almond butter. Besides that, it’s really just me eating more of what I already know and love. Loads of veggies, lots of meat and fish (grass-fed, free-range, and wild-caught as much as I can), hormone-balancing meatballs (read: LIVER!), and tons of nuts and seeds (more cashews and almonds than one human should consume in a day). Which segways perfectly into my next update…

The Project I’m Working On:

PaleoishCookbookNotes_HealthyStacey
Pregnancy has caused me some serious insomnia over the last two months. At first, I was frustrated. And then, I decided to use it to my advantage. So, I did what I always do to relax me. I wrote. And what came out of my writing was the beginnings of a cookbook. A paleo-ish pregnancy cookbook to be exact. Full of information about the benefits of a full-fat, meat-on-the-bone, organ meat-full, and gluten-free diet during pregnancy (with room for mess-ups and why-nots). I have no intention of taking this to a “real publisher." Instead, I am writing it because I love cooking, I love writing, and I wanted one place to put all my “craving recipes.” I’ll keep you updated on how that goes. Who knows. Maybe I'll print them out and make them available to you fine people. But no pressure, either way, cool? Cool.

The Cookware I'm Using…And Why:

CastIronPan_HealthyStacey
I’ve made the switch to cast iron pans. It wasn’t easy. I’ve had them sitting in my cupboards for years, only pulling them out every once in a while, for special occasions. But after reading about the dangers of the chemical coating that could be coming off in my food while using a non-stick pan, I decided to lug the heavy stuff out for good. Non-stick pans are great, right? No stick, no mess, no scrubbing with a brush to clean up caked-on ground beef. Problem is, the non-stick pans apparently can’t stand the heat. When heated to high temperatures, they can emit polymer fumes that have been shown to kill pet birds (what??) and cause people to develop flu-like symptoms. Cast iron, on the other hand, is a much better alternative. Not only is it free-from chemicals or toxic fumes, it actually serves as a good source of…wait for it…iron. Genius, right? Who’d a thunk. Oh. As far as lifting them goes – my advice is don’t. Just leave them where they are and clean them off with a paper towel, then wipe them down with a little oil to keep them well-seasoned. Wouldn’t want you breaking an arm while scraping off turmeric scrambled eggs.

Alright folks. That's all she wrote for now. But don't worry, I'll be back. And it won't take nearly as long next time, K? Promise. 

Much Love,

HealthyStaceySignature

 

Spicy & Sweet Brittle Recipe (AKA My #1 Pregnancy Craving)

SpicyBrittleCrunchRecipe_Paleo_HealthyStacey

This recipe, first written by a food blogger, Amanda Skrip, was shared with me by health & wellness chef, Alia Dalal, as we were cooking it for a client of ours. I took one bite and knew I had to have it for myself. Since then, I’ve made some additional tweaks, and the result is this masterpiece. It has been, hands down, my biggest craving. Pregnant or not, the ingredients (nori for protein, minerals, and more vitamin C than an orange; molasses for strong bones and healthy blood; pumpkin seeds for immune support, omega-3, and hormone balance) are highly nutritious. But somehow, put them all together, and they are to-die-for. I’m talking, dream-about-it-all-day-till-I-get-home-and-stuff-my-face-with-it delicious. You catch my drift?  

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup sesame seeds
  • 3/4 cup sunflower seeds, sprouted
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, sprouted
  • 2 sheets nori (the seaweed paper your sushi is wrapped in)
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon molasses
  • 2 tablespoon coconut oil
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Tip: If you love ginger, grate a ginger root over your sticky mixture (or half your mixture if you don't want it ALL gingery) for an extra spicy – and anti-inflammatory – kick.

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Mix all of your seeds in one bowl together.
  3. Put your two sheets of nori on top of each other. Now, using scissors cut them into small, thin 2-inch strips, and add them to the seed mixture (Tip: If you have herb-cutting scissors, they make this job SO much easier).
  4. Mix together maple syrup, molasses, cayenne, cinnamon, and sea salt in a bowl.
  5. Pour sticky, spicy mixture over seeds and stir to coat them.
  6. Now, pour mixture onto parchment-covered baking sheet, and use a spatula to spread it into an even layer.
  7. Put pan in oven for 18 minutes at first. Check to see if it’s burning at all. If not, leave in for another 3-5 minutes. At this point, the mixture needs to dry to form together so DON’T MESS WITH IT TOO MUCH.
  8. Let it cool for 30 minutes until it’s hardened.
  9. Break apart into big chunks and take a bit of the most delicious bark you’ve ever tasted.

PaleoSeedBrittle_HealthyStacey