Tag Archives: sprouted pumpkin seeds

Cod Liver Oil All That Its Cracked Up To Be?

First, before I tell the cod liver tale, I want to share my new breakfast concoction that is total yummo.  Total healthy.  Plus a secret ingredient that makes it all worthwhile.

Karen’s Yogurt Supreme

Ready?

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Fresh Blueberries

A couple of tablespoons of flax

A couple of tablespoons of Chia seed

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Full Fat (always.  If the fat is from a good source, it is terrific for us.) Organic PLAIN yogurt.

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A couple of tablespoons of pumpkin seeds. Preferably soaked and dried.

A couple of tablespoons of sunflower seeds.  Preferably soaked and dried.

About 8 drops of Stevia sweetener.

And now for the secret ingredient…..

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The darkest chocolate you can find.  Less sugar.  Less processed.

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A teaspoon (or more) of grated dark chocolate.  Ooooh myyyy goodnessss.  This breakfast is good.  And thoroughly healthy.  Every last drop.

Cod Liver Oil

I was reading an article about a gal who had extreme inflammation in her mouth.  Her dentist had her on antibiotics over the course of a year and did not help her.  Someone told her to take 1 1/2 t. cod liver in the morning and at night.   Also, she was told to do “oil pulling” which is where you put gobs of oil in your mouth and “chew” it for like 15 minutes and spit it out.  I have done this before and it is not pleasant, and made me gag.  I do believe it has medicinal qualities but the buck has to stop somewhere and that is where it stops for me.

5 months ago I went into my dentist for a cleaning and told them that it sorta hurt to bite down on popcorn.  Nothing else, just popcorn.  Next thing I knew I was in the chair getting a filling and a crown right next to each other.  I don’t know what they did in that process but I left the dentist not being able to chew on my right side at all.  So, I was no longer sad about not being able to chew popcorn.  I was sad about not being able to chew anything.   I kept going back to Mr. Dentist and they ended up crowning my new filling.  I now have two little crowns side by side.  Kingy and Queeny.  Fast forward 5 months… I still cannot chew on the right side.

When I read this gal’s story, I thought, I can at least try stepping up my cod liver intake from 1/4 teaspoon a day to 1 1/2 t.  and see what happens.  What happened?  I can chew on my right side.

Moral of this story?  Cod liver oil is an excellent anti-inflammatory.  It healed my king and queen.

It is filled with Omega 3.

You’ve heard of Omega 6 and Omega 3.  They are both wonderful for us….HOWEVER…… and I say that really loud……  We get Omega 6 from lots of foods.  All the oils especially, which whether we know it or not,  we eat so much of.   Nuts, seeds, butter…..all good stuff right?   Not good if you are not balancing it with Omega 3’s.  It is necessary to keep those balanced in our bodies or we open up huge opportunities for chronic inflammation and what not.

Omega 3 foods?   Flax.  Beef.   Fish.  Walnuts.  Tofu.  Things we do not eat a ton of.  Unless you’re like me, who is racing against the clock to see if I can eat 900 lbs. of beef before it goes bad in our fridge.

Cod liver oil is a great way to supplement so you can stay balanced.   I am reaching a point in my vitamin supplement journey that if I had to give up all but one of my supplements, I would keep the cod liver oil.

Let me just say that in my research on cod liver oil…I have found most oil has been processed with heat and has synthetic vitamins added back in.  NOT GOOD. Might as well not take it.    It keeps  coming back to the same brand.  It is the best on the market.  It is the bomb.

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It is the real deal.

I may have said before, that I am bankin’ on donuts galore in heaven.  Succulent cookies falling from the sky.  Ice cream fed to me from my chaise lounge down by the river.   I get my “version” of those things every so often but not as often as I would like.  Until then, I fill in the holes with cod liver oil.  I ain’t complainin’.

God bless,

Karen

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Granola. Friend or Foe?

5 Degrees?  BRRRRRR.  Our little hens are cozy under their heat lamp.

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Precious they are.  Just love them.

Granola. is. awesome.  It is nearly impossible for me to keep my paw paws out of it.  And I think it can be very confusing because while it all looks the same, sadly, it is not.

The differences are in the type of fats used.  The quality of ingredients.  The amount and type of sweetener.   And whether the seeds and nuts are prepared properly for the best digestion.  It can be trash.

The following recipe  is wonderful.  I sprouted the seeds which will aid in digestion.  You don’t have to.   The original recipe called for 1/2 of Brown sugar and 3/4 cup of Pure Maple Syrup.  I used much less and it tastes great.

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KAREN’S GRANOLA

Ha.  A recipe named after moi?  I’m the boss, so yeah.  A recipe named after me.

Preheat oven 300 degrees

3 cups of Old fashioned rolled oats

1 cup sprouted sunflower seeds

1 cup sprouted pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup coconut unsweetened

1 cup soaked and dried cashews

1/2 cup soaked and dried walnuts

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup Pure Maple Syrup  (Don’t know if I have to capitalize this but it deserves it.) Add more if you must but you really don’t need it.

1 teaspoon of coarse sea salt (or more)

You can add anything else you may like, but do me a favor, and make sure it is organic and unrefined.  Thant means NO SUGAR!

Mix all the ingredients.  Spread out on 2 cookie sheets with sides.  Cook for about 50 minutes stirring every 15 minutes.  There is  outstanding granola out  in that there world.  I figured it was high time I figured it out.

Stay warm.

God bless,

Karen

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