Browsing Tag

Liverwurst

Vitamin Food

January 15, 2018

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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

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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

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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.)

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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

Paleo Fast Food + US Wellness Meats Featured Chef + Giveaway (YAY!)

November 30, 2017

Before I get to my chit chatting, I'm going to guess you saw "Giveaway" in the title and might want to cut straight to the chase. Here's the deal. I'm December's US Wellness Meats Featured Chef and we're running a contest together until December 10th (Woohoo!). Sign up to win ALL OF THIS STUFF from US Wellness Meats at the link below. 

HEALTHY HAPPY HOLIDAY FEATURED CHEF PRIZE PACK


In May of this year I decided to send an email to one of my favorite companies to tell them how much I love their products. I had just put in an order with them and was thinking how much easier they had made my life by making grass-fed meat and bones (for my broth!) so much more accessible (Why do I care about grass-fed? I explain here). Much to my surprise, they emailed me back thanking me, and also with a special request:

Would I be their featured chef for December?

Umm, YES! I thought. Is that a rhetorical question? At the time I was still only 5 months pregnant and had no idea how life would be for me come December. 

LiverSaladsPaleo_HealthyStacey

When their marketing representative emailed me in November with a reminder — it was time for me to write my post — I may have had a heart attack. With a 6-week old baby who would not nap for more than 15 minutes, and me going on little to no sleep, how could I possibly find the time to write a post and create recipes for them? For the first time in my life, I truly understood what my readers mean when they tell me that they DO NOT HAVE TIME TO MAKE PALEO FOOD. 

SkilletMeal_Paleo_HealthyStaceyFastFood

Before Charley arrived, I had only myself to take care of. I had no idea how much time I spent in the kitchen tinkering with recipes and making complicated meals until I didn't have it anymore.

I am now the proud parent to a beautiful, rambunctious, curious, curly-haired, smushy-faced 2-month old. I’m going to state the obvious here, but I am madly in love with her and I can’t imagine life without her in it now. As expected, my whole world has been turned upside-down and priorities look very different than they did just a few months ago.

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Every waking moment is spent feeding her, changing her diapers, changing her (poopy, spit-uppy) clothes, tickling her, smiling with her, shhhh-ing her, rocking her, bouncing her, and loving on my Charley girl.

YolkyEggs_HealthyStacey_PaleoFastFood

Come breakfast or lunch time, I’m waiting for just the right moment to throw something on a pan or in a bowl, and shove it down my (very hungry) throat. I’m not saying that I’m resorting to McDonald’s drive-thru runs or Lean Cuisines (no judgement if you do). I still put eating whole, unprocessed food very high on my list of priorities — not to mention that I’m breastfeeding which means what I eat, Charley eats. But what I needed was to simplify.

BoneBrothPaleoFastFood_HealthyStacey

I pulled it together and got US Wellness Meats their recipes, using some of my favorites from past posts. In fact, their beef liverwurst was the perfect thing to work with because it literally takes no cooking at all, but gives me the nutrients of three different organ meats and it's DELICIOUS.

You can see the post here (eek, my head looks HUGE as the header). But this little exercise also made me think about the kind of cook I need to be at this time in my life. I can no longer be the spend-hours-in-the-kitchen type of cook. But that doesn't mean I have to stop cooking all together. 

So I started taking all the last-minute recipe searching, marinade-ing, spice mixing, and time-intensive meals out of the equation. I finally realized that this is a time for fast food. Or at least, faster food. All I ask is that my meals are Paleo-ish, comforting, and satisfying. But they should all take 15 minutes or less to cook. I searched the interwebs looking for such a guide, but could not find one. So I created my own.

I give you…

My Paleo-Friendly Fast Food Cheat Sheet

PROTEINS:

Pork Chop or Loin
Cook Time: 5-8 minutes per side on the stove top (depending on how well done you like it)
Method:

  1. Season with Salt
  2. Turn pan to medium-high heat and let sizzle on side 1 for about 5 minutes
  3. Turn over and put temperature reader in pork until it reads 145 (medium rare) to 160 (well done).
  4. Let rest for 3 minutes before serving.

Optional: Before cooking, add Dijon mustard and sprinkle seasonings of choice (thyme, oregano, cumin, paprika, etc.) on top of sauce.

 

Ground Meats (Beef/Lamb/Chicken/Turkey/Pork/Bison)

Cook Time: 5-10 minutes depending on meat

  1. Heat pan on high until sizzling, and plop meat in pan (I usually avoid adding fat because it creates so much on its own)
  2. Add in seasonings (cumin, cayenne, chipotle powder, etc.) + salt, chop up into small chunks with spatula, turning over frequently; turn pan down to medium heat
  3. Cook until you no longer see pink; season to taste.

 

Fish

Cook Time: About 10 minutes (rule of thumb is to cook about 10 minutes per inch of fish, turning it halfway through cooking; internal temperature of 145 degrees

Method:

  1. Season your fish with salt and pepper (other seasonings welcome, such as dill, tarragon, cumin, parsley, basil, etc.)
  2. Heat your skillet over high heat, add fat of choice
  3. Lower heat before you plop fish on and let sizzle for 2-5 minutes per side (see rule of thumb above).

 

Yolky Eggs

Cook Time: 5-8 minutes

Method: 

  1. Heat pan till sizzling and add fat of coice
  2. Crack egg over pan and let sizzle for approximately 3 minutes
  3. Sprinkle salt and cover pan with lid. TURN OFF burner and let sit for 2 minutes (I like my egg yolk runny, but let it sit longer if you want a more solid egg yolk)

 

Bone Broth

Cook Time: 2 minutes (re-heating)

Method: 

  1. Re-heat homemade (see my recipe here) or store-bought broth on stove or in microwave
  2. Add leftover meat, chop up vegetables, wilt in spinach…or just drink it straight with a sprinkling of salt and seasonings of your choice

 

Liverwurst Sausage

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Method:

  1. Slice into thin circles and use it to top salads, eggs or crackers. No need to cook.

*Note: I recognize that this one is not easily available at most stores so I highly recommend ordering it from US Wellness Meats. All of their meat is grass-fed and finally gives us a way to get this incredibly nutrient-dense food into our diets easily and quickly. This Liverwurst is a mixture of grass-fed beef, liver, heart, and kidney. DAMN. That is a whole lotta healthy.

 

Sardines

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Method:

  1. Throw canned sardines with extra virgin olive oil (ideally, wild caught) on a big bowl of lettuce – I like this brand.
  2. Add chopped veggies (if you have time)
  3. Toss with lemon juice and sprinkle salt.

 

Smoked Salmon

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Method:

  1. Take it out of the package and toss it on a big plate of greens 
  2. Toss with lemon juice and sprinkle salt.

 

VEGETABLES
Asparagus

Cook Time: 4-5 minutes

Method:

  1. Drizzle with avocado oil/ghee/coconut oil/olive oil
  2. Sprinkle with salt
  3. Put in oven at 425 for a quick flash of heat — just enough to get it hot and crunchy

 

Bed of Greens

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Method:

  1. Literally lay your protein over a bed or a big bowl of greens.
  2. Drizzle olive oil and lemon juice.
  3. Sprinkle salt. Done.

 

Broccolini (unlike broccoli, it's ready to cook – no chopping required) 

Cook Time: 5-10 minutes

Method:

  1. Heat up large pan on medium-high heat, once it’s sizzling add fat of choice
  2. Toss in broccolini with plenty of room for them to breath
  3. Sprinkle with salt
  4. Stir fry on high heat until desired doneness (less time = more crunchy).

 

Baby Bok Choy

Cook Time: 2-3 minutes

Method:

  1. Slice baby bok choy into strips,
  2. Sauté on pan at medium-high heat
  3. Sprinkle with salt

 

Much Love,

HealthyStaceySignature